Chapter 1: Start the Invasion

Disclaimer: I don't own Spider Riders.

SPIDER RIDERS

There was no greater cause for celebration, the various creatures of the Inner World had decided. 6 years, it had been, but the people of Arachna had been reluctant to simply forget about what was perhaps the greatest event to have ever happened during their lifetimes, and for quite a good reason. It had been 6 years to the day that the Spider Riders had returned from the home of the Invectids with their brand new Invectid allies, battered and bruised, but victorious nevertheless, and more than ready to usher in a new age of peace.

Despite their initial hesitation—which was understandable, as far as all involved parties were concerned—there were some concerns about the sudden appearance of Invectids within their midst, but their trust in the Spider Riders had allowed the people to set aside their differences for a time, and with time came forgiveness, even if the people could not truly forget.

It was a wonderful day for the people, 19-year-old Hunter Steele told himself as he watched the festivities through one of the castle's many windows, watching as Corona hurried about with a bright smile on her face, her unusually bright blonde hair shining like a beacon amongst the people of the city. She had been determined to take part in all of the festivities this year, having been forced into patrolling the year before, and Hunter was pleased to see her so happy.

Hundreds of vibrantly-coloured paper lanterns flickered across the city, casting their soothing, twinkling glow upon the brightly-coloured banners, the souvenir and food stalls, and the dancing creatures who came from all over to take part in the festivities. A lot of work had been put into the celebration that year, as always.

"You still aren't taking part?" a lazy voice asked from behind Hunter with a stifled yawn.

Hunter turned to face his best friend—amongst humans, anyway; if he forgot Shadow, the Spider would end up being troubled by it, even if he was loathe to admit it—as the 19-year-old king ambled down the hallway, his arms behind his back, and his violet eyes twinkling in the low light. His formal white robes swept across the floor as he came to join Hunter by the window, the golden bracelets, belt and necklaces with their precious stones glinting in the light from the lanterns outside.

The diamonds on his large gold crown, the inside lined with something like red velvet, glimmered similarly from its place atop Lumen's head, his long dirty blond hair falling neatly around his shoulders in slight waves. When he finally turned to look out the window, Hunter was able to see that even the sapphire blue cape that he wore was studded with clear gemstones—more diamonds, perhaps? Hunter had to wonder what would happen if any of them ever popped off. He assumed that most of the castle would be enlisted to look for them.

"That's the first time you've had to wear that. Must weigh a ton. Are you used to it all yet?" Hunter asked with a smile as he gestured to Lumen's kingly garments, hoping that he'd skilfully avoided the question.

"Ah, yes," Lumen muttered with a sigh as he looked down at his robes. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this. It's far too heavy, positively ghastly, and much too thick for a warm day like this. I even have my own clothes under this, just in case something happens and we must fight, not that it will. How Father did it, I'll never know. It's only a show of power for the everyone from the other kingdoms, though. Tradition and all that. I'll have it off sometime after noon tomorrow when the last of the visitors leave...but that's nothing to do with the question I asked, you, is it?"

Hunter let out a playful groan. "I keep telling you, Lumen, I'm not interested. All that stuff that went down in the battle with Mantid..." Hunter shuddered, his voice trailing off as his mood rapidly declined. "I'm just not comfortable with that," he finally told his friend. Lumen grimaced.

"I will admit that your little outburst under the influence of the Oracle's power was...uncomfortable to watch, to say the least, but we were all equally susceptible to such a thing. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else. You did the right thing in the end. He's happy somewhere," Lumen told Hunter with a gentle smile, his voice soothing. "Either way, it wouldn't kill you to at least make use of the day off that you've been turning down every year. The people are starting to think that you dislike them. You've never once shown up to the celebration that they mostly throw in your honour."

"Maybe someday," Hunter responded rather abruptly, his mind already racing as he tried to think of another topic, but from the expression on Lumen's face, he already knew that the young king knew that he would get no more out of him. "Why don't you take that off, at the very least?" Hunter raised his hand, covered by a white glove, to point at Lumen's crown. "Give your neck a break. It's just the two of us here."

Lumen let out a dry laugh. "Not likely. The nobles have been hovering around me like mosquitoes all night, trying to earn my favour. They'll soon be trying to find me again, if they aren't already. If I take this off, it'll look like I'm not taking their presence seriously, and it would be rude of me to retreat to my room, I fear," Lumen informed him, suddenly looking very tired—an alarming contrast to his usual lazy, somewhat apathetic expression.

"Well, at least you can rest easy knowing that the people of the kingdom don't care what you look like," Hunter told him with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. Lumen shot him a mischievous grin.

"What's that supposed to mean, if I may ask?" Lumen responded, a laugh nearly slipping out as he anticipated the answer.

"Well, think about it," Hunter went on with a grin. "How often do they see you covered in mud? What about that time you got locked out of the castle in your boxers, and on top of that, how many girls have shot you down over the years?"

"Oh, Hunter! That last one was a step too far! How could my good friend say such a thing?!" Lumen dramatically exclaimed, making grand gestures with his arms as though he were truly offended. "As for the second one, that would never have occurred had your girlfriend not gotten unnecessarily mad at me, and just over a little paperwork!"

"Hey, I don't control Corona. She controls me," Hunter admitted with a shrug and a light chuckle.

"In addition to that, all of Corona's sisters control Corona," Lumen bluntly declared, and Hunter had to agree, but before he could respond with the joke that he'd planned, a booming voice echoed down the hallway.

"Ah! Your Majesty! I've found you at last!" the owner of the voice exclaimed in a sickeningly fake posh accent.

Despite having never met him before, Hunter already had an idea of who this man might be. He'd heard enough from Lumen to figure it out for himself. This was, unfortunately, the lord of a rather large mining town to the east called Lord Gammon, and Hunter had to agree with Lumen's previous suggestions about the man. He was the sort of man who used cheap materials to craft clothes in the image of kings despite his obvious lack of class.

The excessively portly man strode forwards, his royal red robes, held tightly at his waist by a tight black belt that tried in vain to reduce the size of his stomach, swishing behind him, a white fur cloak of unnecessary length dragging on the carpet behind him. His fingers were covered with an assortment of gaudy jewellery that, if Hunter had to guess, as a whole wouldn't even come close to scratching the price of the cheapest piece of jewellery that Lumen wore that night.

The brightest thing about him, though, was not a jewel, but his bald head, which was clearly visible beneath a slick black wig that was far too small for his large head. His beady dark grey eyes shone greedily as he turned to the other nobles that he was with to casually—and rudely, in Hunter's opinion—dismissed them, much to their annoyance.

"Hunter...!" the young king hissed quietly, sounding distressed, but not without a sounding somewhat indignant. "That's Lord Gammon...! He's an absolute nightmare, and that guard of his has been glaring at people all night, looking down his nose at them...! The absolute nerve of them...! Do stand behind me, will you Hunter...? Glare back if he glares at you... That'll show him..."

"Is that proper...?" Hunter whispered back somewhat urgently, leaning down so that he was at eye level with Lumen. "What if he tells...? Won't that reflect badly on you...?"

"I'll deal with that...! Just give me something to enjoy tonight, Hunter...! I've been waiting to see that condescending expression be wiped off his face all day...!" Lumen hissed through his teeth as he tried to offer the approaching lord a pleasant smile, Lord Gammon obviously failing to notice the not-so-subtle apprehensive expression on the king's face as the noble rubbed his hands together greedily, like something from a cartoon. His guard followed him in bright silver armour, the visor of his helmet pulled up to reveal the stiff, serious face of a middle-aged man with sharp brown eyes, a scruffy, yet short, black beard, and a hooked nose.

"How nice to see you again, Lord Gammon... This is the...ninth time we've run into each other today, if I'm not mistaken..." Lumen greeted him, desperately trying to sound welcoming as he stepped forwards, Hunter close by his side.

"Ah! Yes! It's as though fate is drawing us together, Your Majesty!" the man responded just as loudly as he ever had. Up close, Hunter could see the sweat on his hands and forehead, and he hoped for Lumen's sake that Lord Gammon would not offer him his hand.

"Yes...! Surely, it must mean something...!" Lumen responded with a shaky smile.

Meanwhile, Hunter became aware of the fact that someone was staring at him. Ah... The guard... Hunter turned to look at the guard who, surely enough, was staring down his hooked nose at Hunter with the same condescending glare that Lumen had described.

Hunter stared blankly. What did this man have against humanity? Perhaps this man had something against life, because if he'd been glaring at Magma, he might have lost his own. Surely he realised how ridiculous he looked, right? Glaring at the captain of the Spider Riders, of all people... It wasn't like this guy had a giant Battle Spider roaming around the castle somewhere. What did he have to be condescending about? This man was so short, too...and he was really starting to get on Hunter's nerves...

Hunter shot a glance at Lumen who returned the look, looking expectant. Hunter turned and regarded the man who was still staring at him as one would look at a smear of dung on their shoe. For once, Hunter put aside the fact that he was constantly forced to duck underneath doors, and he was glad that puberty had hit him like a train.

Standing at 6'5", and with all of his baby fat gone, Hunter struck an imposing figure. Even then, he towered over all of the people in the hallway, and he was, according to Lumen, quite possibly one of the tallest people in the Inner World where people didn't tend to get very tall by Hunter's standards. With his sharp, almost menacing green eyes standing out against his red hair, which he'd grown out to the point where it nearly brushed his ankles and tied up in a tight ponytail, he definitely looked like he was someone that shouldn't be messed with.

His white cape, which was held to his shoulder by a single sleek blue pauldron, flowed down over his light blue tunic, the orange jewel on his chest and the surrounding white lines mimicking the design of the Oracle Keys. A pair of slim black trousers and a pair of long white boots almost made Hunter seem taller than he already was. Hunter moved his gloved hands behind his back to where a large spear with an ornate blue pole, dotted with small orange gemstones, was strapped to his back, hoping to look a bit more dignified. He didn't like to toot his own horn, but Hunter wasn't quite sure how this man wasn't already pissing himself. It wasn't as though others hadn't done so, quite literally.

The glare that Hunter finally shot the man was not overly noticeable, but it was very sharp. Sharp enough that, taken by surprise, the guard jumped just enough to knock his visor down, sending it over his face with a loud clang. Lord Gammon jumped at the sound and rounded on his guard, his face already going red with embarrassment.

"What are you doing?!" Gammon practically screeched, drowning out Lumen's satisfied chuckle. They'd interrupted an 'important' talk, no doubt, and a poor guard reflects badly on their boss.

Well done, Hunter Steele...

Satisfied, and having given himself a mental pat on the back, Hunter averted his gaze and let his eyes scan the hallway with its red carpet, white walls, and many doors and windows as though looking for threats. Finally, after much shouting, the guard gave his excuse in a shaking voice.

"B-but, Hunter Steele glared at me, sir..."

Lord Gammon turned and carefully regarded him with his beady eyes before declaring, in a much quieter voice, "The good captain appears to be doing his job. Thank you for your service to our King, and our world, Captain Steele."

Keeping up appearances for Lumen's sake, Hunter turned his gaze to the floor and slowly bowed his head slightly in thanks for the acknowledgement before getting back to scanning the doors and windows once again. Briefly, his eyes fixed on Lumen, who was staring at him with an expression of satisfaction.

"Ah, yes. My good friend Hunter is certainly a credit to the Spider Riders. He earned his title through his strength, experience and loyalty. I must say, though..." Lumen trailed off, looking awkward, and Hunter wondered if it was feigned. "Well, I must say that I have been receiving complaints about your guard all day," Lumen finally told him matter-of-factly.

"C-complaints...?" Gammon stammered quietly. "A-about what, Your Majesty?"

Oh...?

"Well, some of the other guards and nobles were complaining that he was behaving in a condescending and intimidating manner. I wholeheartedly trust that you didn't order him to do such a thing," Lumen responded, his expression one of feigned innocent confusion.

Oh...

"N-no! No! Absolutely not, Your Majesty!" Gammon stammered on, his face becoming almost purple with embarrassment, all while retaining that sleazy grin of his.

Lumen, you absolute genius...

"I-I'll go. I'll discipline him immediately. P-please forgive us, Your Majesty..." Gammon bowed deeply before shuffling away with a brief, "Please excuse us," as his guard, his face still hidden by the visor, followed suit. Lumen simply waved lazily as they rounded the corner, and in time, their footsteps finally faded away.

As soon as he was sure that they were alone, Hunter bent down until he was level with King Lumen. "I think that went well," he said quietly, unable to hide the amusement in his voice. Lumen patted his shoulder.

"See? What did I say? We embarrassed that guard and got rid of Lord Gammon all at once," Lumen bragged, puffing out his chest.

"I'll never doubt you again," Hunter declared. He'd never felt such blind faith in the young king before, and it was over something like this.

Standing up straight, Hunter followed Lumen to the window as the king began to look at the crowd with a fond expression. "Gone are the days where I can revel with my people, I suppose. This is my life, now!" he finished dramatically, no doubt trying to improve the mood that he'd just inadvertently killed with a single sentence.

"Now, now. It's not that bad," Hunter responded with an awkward grin as he looked out over the buildings and out into the barren deserts and strange rock formations beyond the city. "You'll always have us to party with."

"Ugh..." Lumen groaned. "It's just not the same without all the pretty women..."

Suddenly, Hunter froze—an action which didn't escape Lumen. Hunter leaned forwards onto the windowsill as he stared out towards the rock formations, and Lumen found himself doing the same.

"What is it, Hunter?" Lumen asked urgently. "Danger?"

"I'm not sure. Look over there." Hunter pointed towards one of the larger rock formations, and Lumen followed his finger. Hunter knew that he saw what he'd seen, because Lumen, too, froze.

Out there in the dark, barely given form by the light of the lanterns, was a large black mass atop the rocks, and it was shifting occasionally, almost as though it were alive. Hunter watched on, looking for any sudden movements, and when none came, he hazarded an uneasy guess. "A trick of the light, maybe...?"

Lumen said nothing for a very long time. It was only when the mass visibly shifted to the side that he dared to speak. "That's definitely something."

"I'll find Shadow and head out. Even if it's nothing dangerous, we can't be too careful on a night like tonight," Hunter reasoned, more with himself than with his king.

Lumen gave no response, and Hunter correctly took it as an affirmative. Moving away from the window, Hunter strode down the hallways and up several flights of stairs. It was as he was approaching his room where Shadow was no doubt hiding away like a recluse that Lumen's voice finally came through the Manacle on his wrist.

"Calling all Spider Riders. Calling all Spider Riders. Are you there?" his voice asked quietly, a hint of unease making its way through. Magma's response was immediate.

"I'm here. What's wrong," the large Spider Rider asked, his voice urgent. He obviously disliked the tone of Lumen's voice, too.

Quickly, one by one, each Spider Rider declared their presence with a simple statement of, "Present, Your Majesty."

"Something has been sighted at the city's perimeter. North-East. Hunter is going to investigate. Say nothing for now. We don't want to cause a panic, especially if it's nothing to be worried over," Lumen ordered, slowly starting to sound more confident. "Pay close attention to your surroundings, and even closer attention to your Manacles. Find your Spiders if you're not already with them and be prepared to move out on Hunter's signal, should he give one. The guards will evacuate the people if necessary."

Hunter focused on heading to his bedroom, and when he finally opened the door, to his relief, he saw that he had been right. There was Shadow, watching the festivities. If Shadow had been able to make expressions, Hunter would have expected the giant blue grouch to be frowning. Partying was not his thing at all, and Shadow was not ashamed of that. In fact, he'd tell anyone who'd stop long enough to listen. The Battle Spider turned as Hunter entered, and gave a grunt.

"Too lively out there for me," Shadow grumbled, stepping back from the window to speak to Hunter properly.

"Well, too bad. We're going out. Lumen and I spotted something outside the city, towards the North-East," Hunter informed Shadow matter-of-factly. Shadow stiffened instinctively, gearing himself up for battle. "It was definitely alive, but it could be nothing important, I suppose. Even so, we can't risk something happening with all these people here. We'll check it out, and if it's too much for us to handle alone, we'll call in backup."

"Understood," Shadow immediately responded. He'd definitely entered battle mode. "There was only one, correct?" Hunter merely nodded as the Manacle finally fell silent, and he made his way back towards the door, Shadow following at his heels. "Any clue as to what it was?"

"No clue. It was too dark, but it was big, and it was definitely moving," Hunter told Shadow as the giant Battle Spider squeezed out through the door behind him. Shutting the door, the two made their way down the hallway. "We'll have to be discreet until we get out of the city. Think you can take us across the buildings if we leave from the top of the castle?"

"Easily," Shadow stated with an air of utmost confidence in his abilities as the pair climbed up the long flight of stairs that led to the roof. "What we'll need to be careful of is whatever you two saw."

The warm air, only slightly cooler than the air inside the castle, hit them the moment they opened the door. Closing the door after them so as not to arouse suspicion, Hunter raised his Manacle, and with a cry of, "Arachna Power!" the multicoloured light that was so familiar to him flowed over his body like water. Very soon, Hunter found himself in his usual armour, the Axial Pike clutched tightly in his hand. Hunter jumped on top of Shadow's back with practiced ease, and without having to wait for any sort of signal, Shadow immediately took off, silently soaring over the people below.

It didn't take long at all for Shadow to cover the distance, and both Spider and Rider quickly found themselves touching down outside the city, peering up at the rock formations that towered above them. Hunter hopped down, peering into the shadows, and Shadow stood nearby, attempting to do the same. There was no noise, which was, Hunter supposed, normal for the area, but considering the circumstances, he'd like to have been able to hear something, if only to get his bearings.

"Are you sure that this is the place, Hunter?" Shadow asked, sounding unsure.

"Yeah. Lumen and I both saw it. It should be out-"

Hunter quickly stopped himself as, finally, he saw something move in the shadows, not up on the rocks, but on the ground just beneath them where the shadows were the deepest. Hunter backed up and nudged Shadow, and as the Battle Spider followed his gaze, he immediately crouched, prepared to pounce on whatever the shadow was if it dared to come too close. Hunter gripped his weapon tightly, but feigned a polite smile regardless. What if it was nothing to be worried about, and they startled it? He shuffled forwards slightly and peered into the darkness.

"Who's there?" he questioned, watching carefully as the creature in the shadows shifted its weight. "This is Arachna. I'm the Spider Rider Hunter Steele, and this is my friend and partner, Shadow."

Silence.

"We mean no harm," Shadow immediately followed up. "Do you need aid? Are you lost or injured?"

More silence.

The creature shifted further, stepping out slightly, and Hunter and Shadow found themselves staring at a large dark green leg that could only belong to a somewhat small Battle Spider. Red eyes shone from the darkness as the Battle Spider watched them carefully, taking in their every movement. Hunter didn't dare to say anything, but Shadow inched forwards, taking the initiative now that they knew it to be a member of his own species. He eased out of his battle stance and called out to it.

"My name is Shadow," Shadow introduced himself once more, sounding a little less cautious. "Battle Spiders don't live out this far. Where are you from, young one? Has something happened? Have you been driven from your home?"

There was only more silence.

"Perhaps he's mute, like Flame," Shadow quietly reasoned to Hunter before raising his voice again. "Is this true? Are you unable to speak? Give us a sign if you aren't."

Finally, Shadow returned to Hunter's side. "I don't know, Hunter..." he muttered. "Something isn't right."

"I know," Hunter responded with a nod, "but we can't attack it. It's against the Oracle's Second Law."

The Oracle's Second Law: do not take the life of a Battle Spider, for they are the Oracle's sacred creatures. It was one of the Inner World's most well-kept laws, along with the First: do not take the life of a human being. There was nothing about Invectids, sadly, but they had already added that to their own laws. There was nothing to say that they couldn't, and the Invectids did the same in their lands as part of the peace process. It had worked well, fortunately, but it seemed then that the Law was about to work against them.

"We can't kill, but we can fight if need be," Shadow reasoned quietly.

Hunter nodded and made to step up on Shadow's back when, suddenly, from high above them, there was a long, fearsome hiss unlike anything Hunter had ever heard before. Instinctively, Hunter leapt onto Shadow's back, and the Spider launched himself out of the way just as a large white Battle Spider with uneven red edges to every plate of carapace and eight blood red eyes landed right where the pair had been standing. Spider and Rider backed away as the reality of the situation became apparent. They were even less alone than they'd thought. From out of the deep darkness, dozens upon dozens of eyes began to gleam out at them. Hunter without thinking, activated his Manacle.

"Calling all Spider Riders. Calling all Spider Riders. We have an emergency," Hunter hurriedly began. Just as he was about to continue, Lumen cut in, his tone urgent.

"What's your status?"

"Surrounded," Hunter told them honestly. "There's a small army of Battle Spiders out here."

"Battle Spiders?!" Corona responded with a gasp. "We can't-"

"I know," Hunter quickly responded, eager to get reinforcements, "but regardless, we've been attacked. They're hostile, and are apparently refusing to communicate. We need to drive them off somehow."

"Understood," Magma piped up, sounding worried. "We're on our way. Hang in there."

"Will do," Hunter responded, glancing around the hundreds of eyes that stared at him. "Hurry. I can't hold off this many for long."

Shadow backed away. "Should we run?"

"No," Hunter quickly responded. "The other Riders should be with the Battle Spiders like Lumen ordered. They won't take long. We have to hold these guys off."

"We can't risk getting swarmed. If they attack, we have to keep moving and deflecting," Shadow strategised, watching the group carefully.

"Agreed. If they swarm us, we're done for," Hunter responded, for once annoyed that they had made the decision to lock up the Oracle Keys. The speed boost would have been nice. "If we can manage to get up on the rocks, we should."

"Right," Shadow agreed gruffly, already launching himself at one of the larger rock formations, and just like that, the Battle Spiders started to move.

They were untrained, sure, but obvious problems came from facing such large numbers. Webs flew into the night sky, trying to get hold of either Hunter or Shadow as the two made their way up at the fastest speeds they could manage, and every so often, a massive Spider would launch itself out of the shadows, intent on ramming into the pair, or latching onto them with their giant legs, and Hunter knew that trying to get out of such a grip would be like trying to rip through metal with his bare hands.

Hunter ducked out of the way of another Spider, allowing it to harmlessly soar over his head, and watching as it plummeted to the ground, landing on another group of Spiders, all of whom seemed furious and relatively unharmed. Almost as soon as Shadow reached the top, he leaped for the nearby rocks, hoping to put distance between himself and the Spiders who were relentlessly pursuing them. Chancing a glance backwards, Hunter saw the forms of his friends leaping across the city as quickly as they could go, heading straight in their direction.

"They're coming, Shadow! I see them!" Hunter declared, sounding somewhat relieved as he jabbed the Axial Pike at a large red Spider that dared to come close. It retreated with a hiss as the blade narrowly missed its unnerving green eyes.

"I don't understand!" Shadow shouted over the sound of the rushing wind. "What provoked them?!"

"I don't know! Maybe Lumen can talk them down and we'll find out what's going on!" Already, Hunter was imagining what could possibly have caused the Spiders to have such a response. Had a human killed one of them? Had their forest been burnt down? Why in Arachna were they so angry, and how could they be calmed? Even with his expertise in ending conflicts without further conflict, could King Lumen even achieve such a thing?

Over the noise of the pounding footsteps of the Spiders and their angered hisses, and with all of the thoughts that were buzzing around his head like a swarm of angry wasps, it took Hunter a good few seconds to realise that Shadow had been chased from the rocks by a group of several spiders, and had dropped to the ground. Already, the Spiders were starting to surround them.

"Any way out of this, buddy...?" Hunter asked hopefully, glancing down at his faithful partner.

"Be quiet," Shadow spat, his head shifting as he looked around at the Spiders who were slowly approaching. "I'm thinking. This isn't good... The others need to get here, and they need to do it now."

Hunter realised that his Manacle was suddenly going off. He blocked a large leg with his shield and hurriedly activated it, lifting it to his face.

"Hunter!" Lumen barked with a sense of urgency that Hunter had never heard him use before.

He sounds...afraid...but that's not true, right?

"What's wrong, Lumen?!" Hunter shouted a little louder than he had intended to. Then again, Hunter was a little more nervous than he'd intended to be, too...

"Hunter, get out of there! Look up! We can see the Spider from here!" Lumen shouted desperately, his voice cracking.

That's really fear, isn't it...?

"Move!" Hunter heard Corona scream through the Manacle.

Shadow crouched, intending to use his powerful legs to leap away from the Spiders as well as he could, and Hunter looked up towards the Spiders who still crowded the rocks above him and...

"By the Oracle..." Hunter muttered numbly. "It's huge..."

It was huge, and it was coming right at them, plummeting from the rocks at speeds that Shadow could never hope to match.

"Hold on!" Shadow shouted, sounding panicked as his entire body shifted, and the Spider launched himself into the air.

It's too fast...

The next few moments were a painful blur. Shadow was forced back to the ground as the impossibly large Spider landed directly on top of Hunter. There were flashes of black and a sickly green colour as Hunter felt multiple bones on the right side of his body break from the sheer weight of the Spider, and the force of the collision. Shadow began to buck wildly, screaming something unintelligible as Hunter felt something rip through his flesh all the way from his stomach to his shoulder, and a white hot pain unlike anything Hunter had ever felt before rapidly began to spread throughout his body. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from Hunter's throat as the Spider was finally thrown off, and Hunter tumbled from Shadow's back.

As the pain consumed him and the world rapidly went dark and silent, Hunter could barely make out the sound of a voice.

A scream.

Shadow...?

SPIDER RIDERS

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