Hunter was sitting in one of the front row pews inside the funeral parlour, his head downcast. The pastor had been droning on for nearly half an hour, but it was all noise to him at this point. Everything around him was an unimportant blur, unable to penetrate his depressed thoughts. It had been a little over a week since Trigger had passed away in his sleep, and Hunter had never felt more lonely in his life than he did in that week. His parents had died when he was barely a toddler, and Trigger was his last known living family member, so his death left Hunter anchor-less for the first time he could ever remember.

A stormy cloud of despair, confusion, and anguish engulfed his mind as he tried to make sense of it all. Even right up to the night of his death, Trigger was his usual self: Jovial, sharp, and full of energy compared to most men more than half his age. There was no signs that he was sick, as far as Hunter could tell. So when Trigger didn't wake up that Thursday morning, even with Hunter's prodding, he wasn't sure what was wrong at first. The reality of it all didn't settle in until he had attended his grandfather's wake, when he saw his lifeless body in the casket.

The rest of the service went by in a such a blur for Hunter, he didn't even fully realize he was taken to the cemetery, until the pallbearers carried Trigger's casket out of the hearse. Hunter couldn't bear to watch, and looked away the entire time as they lowered Trigger into the freshly dug grave, fighting back the tears stinging his eyes. He clung tightly to Lavell, who was also struggling to maintain his own composure. Hunter tried his best to remain strong, as his grandfather would've wanted, but how could he remain strong when the main person who kept him grounded was now gone?

He'd never get to go on camping trips with him again.

He'd never come home to his warm smile again.

He'd never be able to hear his stories again.

And worst of all, they'd never be able to go explore the Inner World, like he promised.

"Hunter, wake up! We're about to land at Arachna Castle!"

Hunter groans as he awakens from his slumber against one of the walls of Buguese's airship, feeling someone shake him. "Already?" he mumbles as he opens his eyes. He's immediately greeted by the sight of Corona looking at him with a concerned expression, confusing him. "What's the matter?"

"You've been crying," Corona says, carefully wiping his the still-damp tears off his cheeks. "Are you alright?"

Hunter was puzzled by Corona's statement, and slowly raised his own hands to touch his face. Sure enough, there was still wetness on his cheeks from his tears. He could even feel some leftover tears continue to fall down his face. Quickly, he shakes his head, and blinks away the remaining tears out of his eyes.

"I'm fine," Hunter replies, not looking Corona in the eye. "My eyes were probably too dry or something."

"Hunter, this isn't the first time I've caught you crying in your sleep," Corona says gently, but firmly. "I don't know if it's just bad dreams or what, but it worries me seeing you like this."

"It's nothing to be worried about," Hunter insists unconvincingly.

"Hunter." Corona grabs hunter by the jaw, and forces him to look her in the eye. "I am your partner. Not just on the battlefield, but in life as well. I love and trust you enough to tell you my problems and deepest secrets; it's only right I expect the same from you."

"It's nothing, honest." Hunter forces a smile. "I appreciate you looking out for me, Corona, but everything's alright, I swear."

Corona gives Hunter a skeptical look, but decides not to press the issue any further. "Fine. I'll let it go for now; but we will be talking about it later, Hunter Steele."

Hunter grumbles as he pulls himself off the floor of the airship, and back onto his feet. He wants to protest, but he knows Corona could be twice as stubborn as him when it really came down to it. No to mention, Corona could also be scarier than some of the enemies he's faced when she got mad, though he'd never admit that out loud.

It didn't take the couple long to join the rest of their comrades near the ship's exit. "Glad to see you up again," Magma quips as they approached. "I was worried I'd have to carry you to your room!"

Hunter rolls his eyes, but takes the lighthearted jab in stride with a smile. "I'm fine, though my room sounds good, right about now," he admits. "We haven't had any proper rest in who knows how long."

"You're not wrong," Magma agrees. "I don't think we even fought this much in the old war."

"Hopefully, we'll be able to get some decent rest for a while," Lumen says. "We inflicted major damage to the Invectids in our last few fights, so they won't be able to launch any full-scale attacks on Arachna or the Insectors for quite some time."

"That's our hope as well," Buguese agrees. "But the Invectid council always has a trick or two hidden up their sleeves; which is why we need to find this new rider as soon as we can."

"Speaking of, isn't Beerain supposed to be here?" Hunter asks, looking around.

"You rang?" comes a familiar dry response from behind the Riders. Everyone turns around to see a young woman walking towards them. Her light brown skin seemed to glow from the sunlight peeking into the ship, and her long, auburn hair, and dazzling golden eyes complimented the gold and scarlet dress she wore. Had it not been for her voice, Hunter would swear it was someone else, and not Beerain. He still wonders how Beerain can easily hide all of her Insector features with her human disguises, but Beerain kept it a trade secret, even to Buguese.

"I must say, your disguises never fail to impress me, Beerain," Buguese compliments. "Many of our spies have tried to copy your technique, but nobody comes close."

Beerain could feel a sense of pride swell up inside of her from Buguese's words. She may no longer harbour any amorous feelings towards him, but it still feels nice to hear the rare genuine compliment from the otherwise stoic Insector leader.

"I appreciate your kind words, Buguese," Beerain replies. "It's been a long time since I had to put on a human disguise, but I haven't lost my touch. A good thing, too, since I need to start our search for this new Rider as soon as we get out."

"But we still don't know if they're even in Arachna!" Hunter reminds her.

"It's better to look anyway, than let the Invectids beat us to the punch," Buguese says. "I suggest looking around the nearby villages first."

"I agree, but I'd rather skip the Village of Fragrant Blooms, if it's all the same to you," Beerain replies. "They still haven't forgiven me for destroying most of their flowers years ago."

Buguese nods. "Then you can start at either Araja Village, or..." He trails off, noticing Aqune swaying oddly in front of him. "Aqune? Are you alright?" he asks, concern audible in his voice

Aqune doesn't answer. Beerain is mildly confused, until she gets a good look at the handmaiden's face. Her eyes immediately widen in shock. "Her eyes...!"

Indeed, Aqune's irises were glowing a shimmering white, a sign that a substantial amount of the Oracle's power was flowing through her. Such a sight isn't uncommon for Oracle Handmaidens like Aqune when actively channeling Spirit Oracle's power, or someone using the Oracle Keys, but never does it show up spontaneously like this. Immediately, the rest of the Spider Riders got worried.

"What's going on? Is it another vision?" Igneous asks, glancing at Corona.

"I-I'm not sure!" Corona says. "But a vision wouldn't cause her eyes to glow like that!"

Before anyone else can question what was happening, the glow from Aqune's eyes disappear just as quick as it came, and she was back to normal. Her body immediately stops swaying around, though part of that is due to Buguese protectively holding onto her. After blinking a few times to gather her bearings, Aqune's mind fully came back to reality.

"Aqune...?" Buguese asks cautiously, not sure if she was fully back to normal.

"I'm fine, Buguese," the handmaiden replies calmly, reassuring the Insector leader's worried thoughts. "But I honestly wasn't expecting that to happen."

"What was that all about, anyway?" Corona asked. "You were channeling a lot of Spirit Oracle's energy for a few seconds."

Aqune nods. "I know. It was because I could feel the Earthen bond with a battle spider."

Hearing this piqued Lumen's curiosity. "Really? Are you certain?"

"There's no doubt about it," Aqune confirmed. "I'm not sure why Spirit Oracle specifically chose me to feel it, but I assume it's because of our current mission; or Beerain's mission, rather."

"Were you able to pinpoint their location?" Beerain asks. "It would make the mission go a lot smoother."

Aqune nods. "I don't have an exact location, but it was definitely near Fuushuwa."

"That makes sense," Magma interjects. "The forest near there is where Quake first met Dagger when he first started out; it's basically a holy ground for other battle spiders in Arachna. You could throw a rock there, and probably hit one within ten feet of you."

Hunter laughs self-consciously, remembering how his first encounter with Shadow had gone when he first entered the Inner World. "Yeah, I really hope they didn't do that..." he muttered, mostly to himself.

"Then they're likely headed for the port," Buguese declares. "I'll fly you as close as I can once the Spider Riders leave, Beerain."

"Understood," Beerain replies with a nod.

Within moments the door of the ship opens revealing the gates to the city of Arachna. A large crowd of citizens and royal guards gathered outside the gates, waiting for the Spider Riders to exit the ship. Among the citizens was Princess Sparkle, Lumen's younger sister, and her battle spider, Hotarla. Now fifteen years old, the young princess had grown from a cute little girl to a beautiful young woman, now wearing a dazzling orange and pink dress fitting for a princess. Hotarla, for her part, had grown several times in size over the years, and was now a fully-grown battle spider, but still retained her youthful cuteness.

"Lumen!" Sparkle cheers as her brother and comrades made their way down the ship's ramp. "You all made it back okay!"

Lumen, despite himself, manages to crack a smile at his sister's cheerfulness. Even on his worst days, she can always manage to bring the best out of him.

"Salutations, sister," Lumen greets as he gets off the ramp. "And all of the citizens of Arachna, as well. I take it we had no Invectid squads tried to siege the town since we left?"

Sparkle shook her head. "No, it's been pretty peaceful in Arachna." Her smile then turned into a surly frown. "Speaking of, how come you won't let me battle? I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm more than capable of fighting the Invectids!"

Lumen sighs in exasperation. He knew this was coming. "I know, Sparkle; but we've been over this. One of us has to stay behind to defend Arachna and maintain our royal duties if the Spider Riders have to leave the country; you know this." This was partially true. While Lumen normally wouldn't have a problem naming a temporary regent so they could both battle, the royal line would be destroyed if they both died in battle. Lumen would rather make that sacrifice by himself, rather than have his sister share that fate.

"Even so, you never let me take your spot when it's time to go!" Sparkle complains. "I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing but paperwork!"

"And I'm tired of sitting in a manacle all day!" Hotarla interjects. Now that she was fully grown, she couldn't freely travel inside the castle like she used to, forcing Sparkle to keep her inside her manacle, driving her stir crazy.

"Now you know how I felt when I was your age," Lumen chuckles, earning a snarl from his annoyed sister. He would be lying if he said he didn't take some pleasure in pawning off some of his royal duties off to his sister now that she was of age. "Listen, Oracle forbid something happens in the next little while, but if we get called on to fight, I promise you can go in my stead."

"You better!" Sparkle huffs.

"Lord Buguese! Lady Beerain!" One of the royal guards speaks, stepping forward. "Allow us to escort you to the castle!"

"That won't be necessary," Beerain says. "We aren't staying for long."

"Indeed, we're pressed for time," Buguese adds. "However, I do have a parting gift of sorts for the Spider Riders before we leave." He pulls out a handful of wristwatch-like items from his robe, and hands them off to the Riders.

"What are these?" Igneous asks curiously.

"Communicators," replies Buguese. "Since we can't contact you through your manacles, and there's a language barrier with our messenger bugs, Grasshop and I created these in order to communicate with you across long distances with less hassle. Just press the button on the side, and you'll be able to reach us at any time."

Ah, how novel," Igneous says as he attaches his communicator to his free wrist. "Something like this could actually help us build relationships easier with other far-off nations like Nuuma."

Hunter is very tempted to mention the more advanced means of communication the outer world had, but thinks better of it.

"In time," Buguese says. "For now, let's focus on ending this pointless civil war. We'll be in contact if we find out anything in Fuushuwa."

"Huh? What's going on in Fuushuwa?" Sparkle asks, not having gotten the memo.

"I'll explain once we're inside the castle," Lumen says.

The Riders say their goodbyes to the Insectors, and depart into the town, all the while followed by the citizens of Arachna, cheering and clamoring for them. Hunter, however, isn't in the mood for any merriment, and simply tuned out everything around him; eager to get some proper rest for once. Soon, the castle was in sight, and Hunter quickly makes a beeline inside, heading straight for his room upstairs. But just as he gets close to the door, he feels someone grab onto the back of his shirt, and stop him in his tracks. Hunter glances behind him, and sees an irate Corona holding onto him.

"Not so fast, Hunter Steele. I told you we were going to talk about what's going on."

Hunter sighs in resignation. He knows there's no charming his way out of this. "Can we at least go in my room first?"

Corona's expression softens a bit, and lets go of Hunter's shirt. Hunter walks over to the door, and pulls out his room key, and inserts it into the door knob. A few seconds of fiddling later, Hunter opens the door, and beckons Corona inside. The handmaiden follows Hunter into his room, which hasn't changed much during his six years as a Spider Rider, save for a bigger bed to accommodate his increased height.

"I appreciate your concern, Corona, I really do," Hunter says as he kicks his boots off, and flops down to his bed. "But I'm fine. There's really nothing to be worried about."

Corona lays down next to him on the bed. "But you never cry," she points out. "At least I've never seen you cry openly. And this has been going on for a while during your sleep, so it can't just be bad dreams, or you'd have gone to Lily for advice."

"Not really, namely because I don't want to see a vision of me becoming Grasshop's bride," Hunter chuckles. Corona, irate once more, jabs Hunter in the ribs, earning a pained yelp from her boyfriend.

"Oooowwwwww! That spot's still tender!" Hunter whines.

"I'll hit it harder the next time you bring that up," Corona warns.

"It was only a joke!" Hunter complains.

"Well, I don't find it funny, Hunter!"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry," Hunter apologizes. "I was only trying to lighten the mood."

Corona snuggles closer to Hunter. "Mhm. I should apologize as well. That time with Lily was when I was in one of my lowest points of being a Spider Rider, so I get a little defensive whenever it's brought up."

"Riiiiiiight, only a little," Hunter replies sarcastically, rubbing his now sore ribs. "Though, I guess I should tell you what's been bugging me, since you've been nothing but an open book to me, even before we got together."

Corona gives him a curious look.

"I never told anyone this, but Trigger, my grandfather, raised me," Hunter continues. "My parents died when I was really young, so I never got to know them, and he was the only other family I had. Well, at first, anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" Corona asks.

"There was another family that lived next to my grandfather that he was close with," Hunter explained. "They were the Washingtons. They often looked after me if my grandfather had to go off to work. They had a son around my age, named Lavell. He was my best friend pretty much since we both came out the womb. We had the same hobbies, played the same sports, but he was more laid back, more reserved. He liked to observe a situation first, before jumping right in, while I was the complete opposite."

He lets out a small laugh. "More often than not, he was the one who bailed me out when my impulsiveness got the best of me."

Corona laughs as well. "That doesn't surprise me one bit."

"Hey, he could be just as bad, too!" Hunter replies. "Though that was only if you managed to make him really mad. Anyway... we were close; practically brothers, even. Gramps loved him like he was his own son, and Lavell's family thought the same of me. So when Gramps passed away, they adopted me, and we officially became siblings." Hunter's mood changes from nostalgic to sad. "When I left to find the Inner World, I wanted Lavell to come with me, but he backed out. He thought it was too dangerous, and tried to talk me down. That was the last time I saw him."

"So you miss him," Corona surmises. It made sense. Even though Hunter loves his life in the Inner World, he likely had people in the outer world he was attached to.

"Every day," Hunter says sadly. "It wasn't as bad at first, because most of my time here was spent fighting or adventuring. But over time, memories of us playing and hanging out would play out more and more, and then I realize he's not here. That's why I cry sometimes when I sleep." A depressed sigh escapes his lips. "I can't go back to the outer world, nor do I want to; but I wish I could see my brother again, just for a moment."

"Do... do you think there's a possibility he's the new Rider that's in Fuushuwa?" Corona asks cautiously, remembering Hunter's doubts from earlier.

Hunter remains quiet, unsure of what to say. His silence worries Corona, thinking she may have struck a deep nerve. "Hunter...?"

"...I really don't know," he finally admits. "I did give him a copy of my grandfather's journal before I left, but that temple nearly came down on me when I went exploring in it, like I said before. If there's another way in, I don't know about it."

"I'm sure we'll solve that mystery in time," Corona says. "But, I think Lavell would be proud of how far you've come; as would your grandfather. You've built an amazing legacy here in such a short time."

A small smile spreads across Hunter's face as he looks lovingly at Corona. "We built the legacy, all of us," Hunter corrects. "I may hold the Oracle Keys, but I never would've gotten as far as I have without you and the others guiding me. It's our legacy."

Corona giggles, and kisses Hunter on the forehead. "Still, what you've achieved is amazing, and I think your brother would tell you as much if he could see it."

"I'd hope so..."

Meanwhile, many miles away from Arachna Castle, lay the Invectid kingdom, or the "Nation of Mantid", as the locals call it. Once part of the larger Insector kingdom, it was formed after the initial start of the civil war, following a thwarted coup d'etat by a group of eight Mantid loyalists. This group not only staunchly opposed interacting with humans, but wanted to wipe out Arachna, and any other human nations; managing to get a substantial amount of support from the Insector populace. After the failed coup against Buguese, this group started their own kingdom, and became known as "the Council" to their citizens.

Among the members of the council were Apophis; a dragonfly-type Invectid. Apophis was crimson red in color, and unlike most Invectids or Insectors, he had a scale-like exoskeleton. He mainly spent his time handing the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom, occasionally overseeing the progress of the military's Machine-Sectors, and generally being the figurehead (or scapegoat, as he'd call it) for citizens to complain to if something went wrong. Not exactly 'easy' work, but it was not what he wanted to do; preferring to do military centred work. Unfortunately, nobody else on the Council wanted to pick up the slack, so he got stuck with it.

Currently, Apophis is by himself in the council chambers, going over a damage report given to him by one of his generals. He sighs in frustration as he goes over the tallies from the last two battles inked on the papyrus in his hand: Hundreds of troops dead or captured, the last of their battle-ready Machine-Sectors destroyed, and at least one district reclaimed by the Insectors. He takes some minor solace in the fact both fights ended up being severe Pyrrhic victories for the Arachnan kingdom, but it wasn't enough to offset the fact that his army, quite simply, got their butts kicked to the point where they'd be almost defenseless against a full-scale attack if Buguese decided to launch one.

As he goes over the report, the chamber door quickly opens and slams shut. Apophis glances up to see his brother Dragon walking towards him. Befitting his name, Dragon was also a dragonfly-type like Apophis, but dark-green in color, and lacked the scales on his exoskeleton. He was in charge of the Invectid army, and the development of Machine-Sectors, which allowed Apophis military access he probably wouldn't have otherwise.

"Please tell me you've come with good news, brother," Apophis says wearily. "Mantid knows we could all use some right now."

"I truly wish," replies Dragon. "But I just received a messenger bug from Scarab."

"Right, he's in Fuushuwa Forest with his troops," Apophis notes. "Were they compromised?"

"Worse; a new Spider Rider took them out," Dragon explains bluntly.

Apophis looks at his brother in horror, unsure he just heard correctly. "What?!"

"That's not all," Dragon continues. "This new Rider is an Earthen, and he's travelling with hero Quake."

Apophis instantly shoots up from his seat. "You jest! Quake is dead!"

"These words are Scarab's own mouth, not mine," Dragon points out. "I don't have a clue what the Oracle is doing, but if she thinks highly enough of this Earthen to bring Quake back to train him, it's no wonder Scarab's platoon was bested so easily."

Apophis looks down at the floor, processing Dragon's words. "...Just when I thought this day couldn't get worse. This could have lethal consequences for our kingdom!"

"How so?" Dragon asks, folding his arms. "It's only one Spider Rider."

"He's one of eight," Apophis explains. "And if all eight active Spider Riders gather together, the oracle herself will appear! They'd be unstoppable! And that's not even factoring in Quake!"

"Then we have to neutralize this new Rider fast!" Dragon declares. "He's headed straight to Fuushuwa, according to Scarab, but we need to act now. Scarab and his men are going to be vulnerable to the battle spiders in the forest, and we don't know if the other Spider Riders are aware of the new one's existence yet."

"Get as many able bodied men you can, and head straight to Fuushuwa!" Apophis orders. "Send a platoon to retrieve Scarab and his men, and another to the port! We need to reach this new Earthen before the Spider Riders do!"

Dragon nods curtly. "Got it. And what about the rest of the Council?"

"I'll arrange an emergency meeting right away," replies Apophis. "We didn't come this far to let the Oracle destroy our plans; so it's only right we destroy her new hero."

I feel like my writing skills are dwindling as I write more chapters, mainly because I fear fleshing out personalities too much because I (irrationally) think the chapter will get too bloated. :^) Nevertheless, here's the latest chapter after a long wait. I will admit, the idea of dragonfly Insectors/Invectids, particularly the character Dragon, came from Soaker87/TL-Chan's own fic "Hidden Feelings", which you should go look up and read. Kinda short, but pretty good.