7- Insectors Attacked

Near the entrance to Arachna castle, Richter sat pressed to a wall.

"This is getting much too boring," the boy complained. He lifted his manacled arm closer to his mouth, and softly said, "Hey, Wave. I'm gonna need you to help me with something again. Something to make this day worthwhile."

Sparkle stood behind a tree, counting. She was at a park in the Insector Empire, and in the midst of a game of hide-and-seek with Grasshop. She was it.

"Ready or not, here I come!" she shouted, and headed off to begin her search.

"Kyu, kyu, kyu," Hotarla added.

'Hmm…' the girl thought to herself. 'Uncle Hop usually isn't a good hider, so where could he be?'

Then, she heard noise from the bushes nearby. That was a good clue. But as she approached the bushes, the girl jumped back, startled. Because out from the bushes emerged a shadow.

"Kyu! Kyu! Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!" Hotarla began to jump around nervously.

"That's…" Sparkle began. "Is that the thing Hunter and the others fought against? Ahhhh!" The shadowy figure thrust his blade in her direction.

"Princess!" Grasshop yelled, concerned when he heard her scream. Deciding to leave his hiding spot, he rushed over to her.

"Uncle Hop!" Sparkle shouted. "Look!" She was unharmed, having run away fast enough, but rather afraid.

"What is that thing?" he asked, and then was forced to grab Sparkle out of the way and duck the blade as it again moved in for another attack.

"It's the new enemy," Sparkle said, worriedly. "I think there's no choice but to fight it."

"Are you sure it's not too dangerous?" Grasshop asked. But the girl was already prepping for transformation.

"Oracle's Purity!"

In Spider Rider mode, Sparkle made no delay to start pounding at the shadow with her yoyo.

"Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away!"

"Sorry to say, but I don't think that's working," Grasshop said, as he was watching from a safer distance. He didn't want to get hit by Sparkle's vicious attack either.

"Do something…" she replied. Then, a swift retaliation shot from the shadow made contact, sending Sparkle flying.

"How dare you hurt her?!" Grasshop yelled, charging at it with a knife. When he stabbed the shadow, it seemed to be in pain.

Sparkle had recovered quickly, and aimed her yoyo.

"I won't let you bully anyone else!"

With new determination, she smashed at the shadow. Finally, this one too disappeared.

Grasshop looked around, confused.

"Huh? Is it gone? Did I dream the whole thing?"

"I think it left," said Sparkle, who was rather puzzled herself. "But, at least we're safe now."

"Kyu."

"Umm…" Grasshop began, a nervous sweat forming on his forehead. "I'd better tell Buguese about this. But Princess, I have a very important mission for you, if you can handle it."

She looked to him with a serious face.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Make sure my family is safe. If one of these things attacked, there could be more."

"Sure, Uncle Hop!" she replied.

Grasshop made his way back to the Insector castle, hoping that indeed, his family was unharmed. On top of that, he didn't want Sparkle fighting against another shadow alone. But regardless, this was something he had to do. After the war, Buguese had restored his rank. Though the man still rather hated Grasshop, it was Mantid who had chosen to outright fire him. And Buguese understood he had a family to support.

"Lord… Buguese…" he began, once he'd found the man. "No, that always sounds too weird to say. Can't I just call you Buguese?"

"Call me what you like," Buguese replied in annoyance. "Why did you need to see me so urgently, Grasshop?"

"Let's see," he began. "Because Sparkle and I got attacked by this shadowy thing. We beat it, but it was really tough. I thought you would want to know about it."

"What?!" Buguese exclaimed.

"It's just like I told you," replied Grasshop.

Buguese had a furious expression.

"I know what it is, but why would it attack here?" He paused. "I knew this was a possibility, but I hoped the Insector land would not be bothered. Grasshop, for now, do not tell anyone about this. I need to think it through."

"Uhh… if you say so," he replied.

"Don't tell anyone about what?" Beerain entered the room, interested.

Seeing her there, Buguese felt guilty. He realized he had to tell her, at least.

"Grasshop and Princess Sparkle were attacked while in Insector lands. Unless this is an isolated incident, it is possible we may have to go to war."

She was shocked to hear this.

"But we can't do that. After everything, we finally took back our green land. We are at peace at long last."

"I know that," replied Buguese. "In any case, keep quiet about this as well. Now, I must find Aqune."

"Where is she?" Beerain wondered, surprised that she wasn't hanging around Buguese.

"She went shopping," Buguese replied. "There is a possibility," Buguese continued, "That we were only attacked because of Sparkle's presence here. Our best option may be to keep the Spider Riders in Arachna for now. And that includes Aqune."

'Spirit Oracle…' Aqune thought to herself, as she walked the bustling Insector marketplace. 'Can you hear my wish? If you live inside me, then you must be able to hear it. The Inner World is a place whose peace I want to protect more than anything. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing now. Must I fight? I will do whatever is your will. Please guide me on the right path.'

Stopping, Aqune glanced at a stand selling fresh fruit.

'This looks delicious,' she thought. 'Perfect for my recipe.'

Selecting various types of freshly-picked berries, the girl paid for them. But as she turned to leave, she felt someone grab her arm.

Concerned, she looked above her.

"Buguese…" she began. "Y-you scared me."

"Sorry," he said bluntly. "Aqune, let's go. I have urgent matters to discuss with you, but this is not the place to do it."

"R-right," she replied, her voice concerned.

Buguese brought Aqune onto his snail-shaped transport, which was nearby. For a moment, he was silent, as he just watched her worriedly. This didn't help to ease Aqune at all.

"Aqune," he finally said. "Before, the Insector land was attacked."

"No!" Aqune exclaimed. "You mean, by the shadows?"

"Yes," said Buguese. "As far as I know, this was the only incident. It was Grasshop and Princess Sparkle who were attacked, but both are fine, and the enemy was defeated."

"I'm glad they're okay…" Aqune responded.

"Yes," Buguese said. "However, I'm afraid they may have attacked us because the princess was a Spider Rider. The only way I can prove this is if the both of you leave the Insector lands for a while. Is that alright?"

"Uhh… y-yes," Aqune replied. "I fear it isn't that simple, but… that's alright."

"You are probably right," Buguese said. "However, you are not the only one who wishes to avoid fighting. The Insector world cannot go to war again. Certainly not so soon."

"It's okay," Aqune said. "I guess… the wedding plans will just have to wait for a little while. At least I'll get to meet the new Spider Rider I've heard about." Then she just stood there silently for a moment. "Actually, Buguese… I've been thinking."

"About what?" he asked.

"About what I should do," replied Aqune. "I've decided that I'll take things however they come, even if it does mean I must fight again. The Inner World is important to the both of us. So, Buguese, let's both do whatever we can to protect its people."

"Yes, I agree," Buguese answered, gazing at her figure lovingly.

Aqune reached up, kissing his lips.

"Perhaps I too will stay in Arachna for a while," Buguese stated.

"Hm? But… can you really do that?" Aqune wondered. Of course, because Buguese was the emperor, his presence would be needed if the Insectors were attacked again.

"If it is not for too long, yes," he replied. "The more power we have in Arachna, the sooner we can deal with this enemy, and keep them away from this nation."

"Great!" said Aqune. The idea of being together with both Buguese and the Riders for once was perfect.