10- Lost

Sitting behind a desk was the man with short red hair. He was tossing up and down the black box into his hand.

"So, the enhancement worked as well as I hoped on that spider," he said in amusement. "Good. I think it's about time I move on to the next phase of my plan."

"Tell me one thing," Corona said. Just because she wasn't physically threatening Richter anymore didn't take away the anger from her voice.

"Try me," Richter replied.

"Why did you betray us?"

"Betray you?" Richter asked, actually laughing. It felt like an odd question to him. "You consider this betrayal? From the start, I was never interested in joining you. It was just simpler that way."

"But all along, you were working for that man," Corona continued, while she tried to register his words, piece the situation together.

"No, that's not right either," answered Richter. "Don't insult me! I would never work for that man. He's doing his own thing, and I'm doing mine."

"Well, who is he?" Corona asked.

"A monster," Richter replied. "If you don't know him, you don't want to know him. Just like you don't really want to know me." He scowled, and began to turn away. But to his surprise, Corona grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Let go!" he shouted.

"No," Corona replied. "I'm going to find Hunter, and you're coming too."

"Why's that?" Richter asked. "You know I might just stab you in the back."

"Because this is your fault, and Hunter trusted you," answered Corona. "At the very least, when we find him, you owe him an explanation."

"How do you know we'll find him?" asked Richter, annoyed. "I told you he's probably dead."

"Because I'm an Oracle Handmaiden," replied Corona. "Right now, I can sense that he's alive."

"Where are we?" Hunter wondered, as he looked at the scene around him. Suddenly, it appeared that he and Glint had found themselves in a forest.

"Hunter, this is terrible!" Glint exclaimed. "I don't know where we are! What if we get lost forever, and die of starvation, or something worse happens to us… On second thought, being stranded alone together with you seriously must be a romantic flag! This could be a stroke of luck!" She latched herself onto Hunter's arm, grinning.

"Glint, we're not going to die," Hunter said. "Now, would you mind letting go of my arm? We need to look for a way out."

"Oh, alright," Glint answered, pouting.

"Hey, Shadow," Hunter spoke, as he started walking aimlessly.

"Yeah?" Shadow questioned.

"This isn't the Forest of Bewilderment again, right?" Probably not, but it was a pretty grim though.

"I doubt it," said Shadow. "The cabin was right outside a forest, though it is a fairly deep one. As long as we go in the right direction, we'll probably be able to find Corona soon."

"I guess so," said Hunter. "But, I hope she's alright. What if Richter attacked her too?" The thought worried him a lot. "And… why would he attack us in the first place? He is a Spider Rider. And, that man… who was he?"

"I don't know the answer to your questions," replied Shadow. "But we can easily find out if Corona is safe. Why don't you try calling to her with the manacle?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" he replied. He was too worried to even think of it, despite it being fairly obvious. "Thanks, Shadow!"

"Wahhhh!"

"Uh… I'll do it in a minute, anyway." Hunter's plan was stopped when he heard Glint yell. He'd thought she was right behind him, but apparently not.

"Glint, where are you?!" Hunter called.

"I… I fell into a big hole," she groaned. "It really hurts. Please, save me!"

"Good grief," Shadow sighed. "This girl is a walking hazard."

Hunter laughed nervously, not really being able to object.

"I'm coming!" he called. Quickly, he found the hole, which was rather big. Still, he jumped right in. "Shadow, I just need you to pull us up."

"Right," he replied, as he shot thread down to the hole. Taking Glint by one hand, Hunter took the thread with the other, and the two were soon pulled out.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Glint, who grabbed the boy in a tight hug. "Oh, but I'm hurt so very much. I guess you'll have to carry me now."

"You don't sound hurt," Shadow said, who proceeded to shove her off of Hunter. The spider wondered if she'd fallen into the hole on purpose.

"I can feel him!" Corona exclaimed. As she and Richter searched, she was constantly focused on Hunter's presence. Finally, she felt she was getting close. And it was then when her manacle lit up, and Hunter's voice echoed through.

"Corona! Corona, can you hear me?"

"Hunter!" she shouted. "Yes, I can hear you. I'm coming to find you."

"So, you're safe?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "What about you?"

"We're fine too," Hunter answered. "Glint and Shadow and I."

"That's good," Corona sighed in relief. "Just stay where you are, and I'll be there shortly." She decided not to mention just yet that Richter was with her.

Soon, Corona spotted Hunter up ahead.

"I'm glad!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

"Corona…" Hunter said, holding her too.

"Wait! Richter?" Hunter caught sight of the boy behind Corona. The two quickly let each other go.

"What?" Richter asked, scowling.

"I want to talk," Hunter said, moving closer to the boy. "What is going on? Why have you been attacking people, and who was that man you were with?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk!" Richter yelled. He looked over to his spider. "Wave, we're leaving."

"Not yet!" Corona declared, now aiming her weapon once more. "There must be some explanation to this."

"Please, aren't we all Spider Riders?" Hunter said. "Aren't we comrades?"

"Comrades?" Richter asked. "When I'm through with you, you'll be corpses. But not today!"

Then, Wave shot out a giant web, knocking both Hunter and Corona backwards. Using that opportunity, Richter jumped onto his spider's back, and took off.

"We have to go after him!" Hunter said, rising. He easily brushed the web off of him.

"No!" Glint yelled. "Don't forget me! I'm hurt, remember?"

Hunter sighed.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to go after him in the first place?"

"Yeah," replied Glint. "But that was before I knew how mean and scary he was. Who needs him anyway?"

"But he's…." Hunter began. But he wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't like he could really defend Richter.

"Hunter…" spoke Corona, concerned.

"Alright," Hunter decided. "Let's go back for now. We should tell the others about what happened. At least Igneous will be happy to know he was right this time."

"I guess so," said Corona. "But then, we have to find Richter, and that man."

"Yeah, he seemed really suspicious," Hunter responded. "Maybe, he's using Richter."

"I don't think that's the case," replied Corona, looking down. "Richter told me that he wasn't working for that man. He seemed to really hate him. It's weird though, because then why would Richter run off to meet him?"

"This is turning into a real mystery," Shadow chimed in.

"So," Glint interrupted. "Hunter, aren't you going to carry me back home?"

"What?!" both Hunter and Corona exclaimed.

"Hey, you promised you would," argued Glint.

"No I didn't," said Hunter.

"But… well… fine. But it hurts so much! Ow!"

"Then, ride on a spider with us," Hunter suggested. "I don't think I could carry you anyway. No offense, but I've never tried carrying someone before, and you're taller than me."

"There's a first time for everything, right?" she asked.

"Listen, we're not far from home," Corona said. "If you're hurt, I'm sure Aqune will heal you when we get back."

"Oh, alright. I'll try to make it there on spider-back," Glint sighed. "But being healed by a girl is no fun. Aren't there any boy handmaidens?"

"Why do I get the feeling I'll have to be the one ferrying this drama queen?" Shadow groaned.