13- Darkness Approaching

Hunter and Corona were currently the only two in the castle's lounge area. They had been sitting there for a while, working on strategizing like Igneous had instructed, but even with the help of their spiders, they hadn't gotten anywhere worthwhile. Hunter was mostly too frustrated that he couldn't go out and just do something.

Then, Corona gasped, and suddenly stood up.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Hunter asked.

"I… I don't know," Corona replied. "All of a sudden, I got a really terrible feeling. I don't know what it was though."

"I knew waiting around was a bad thing," complained Hunter.

"I'm sorry," said Corona. "But we have to wait until Magma and Igneous get back from their patrol at least."

"Yeah, I know that," Hunter groaned. His mood wasn't eased at all.

Just then, Igneous and Magma walked into the room, however.

"Alright!" shouted Hunter. "We were waiting? Did you find anything?"

"Calm down, Hunter," Magma spoke. "And… unfortunately no."

"Then, it's our turn!" Hunter said. "We did come to one conclusion, and that's the fact that Richter was last seen in the Insector world. Therefore, that's where I want to go."

"I can't sense him now," Corona added. "That's why I believe he's somewhere pretty far away."

"You might be right," said Igneous. "In that case, it is a good idea for you to go over there. Though I doubt Aqune knows anything new, since she hasn't reported to us, it wouldn't hurt to ask her."

"Yeah," said Hunter. "I'll go see Aqune first."

"I'll come too," Magma said. "I understand how you feel, Hunter, because I'd get pretty anxious too just waiting around at a time like this. And of course, Corona, you're coming too, right?"

"Yeah," Corona said.

"Wait for me!" Glint called.

"When did you get here?" Hunter asked.

"I've been watching you for a while," replied Glint. Chew marks all over her sleeve were clearly visible.

"Umm…" Corona replied. "We were honestly just sitting here."

"Together," she added. "And you didn't invite me." She began gnawing on the side of the couch, as fake tears poured from her eyes.

"Glint," Igneous said. "It would be best if you stay here this time."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If Hunter and the others do find Richter, it could be dangerous," he answered. "You're not a Spider Rider, so it would be safer if you stay in the castle."

"Oh? Because you want to protect me?" she wondered, her eyes glittering.

"Yes, we will protect you if something happens," replied Igneous.

A while later, Hunter's group had made it to the Insector nation.

"You know," Hunter said. "Even though we're at peace, it still feels kind of ominous to come to this castle."

"I agree with that," Shadow replied.

"At least it's much prettier here than it used to be," Corona added.

The group was a bit surprised to be greeted by Grasshop once they got inside.

"Hey, Grasshop," Hunter said. "Umm… we need to see Aqune."

"You're so cold," Grasshop replied. "You're not at all excited to see your old pal? What can Aqune do for you that the great Grasshop can't?"

"Uhh… it's not that," Hunter said. "But, as you probably know, the situation is pretty urgent."

"Right! Urgent!" replied Grasshop, attempting to look more serious. "Well, in that case, I haven't seen Aqune or Buguese today. They're probably busy searching for the evil Spider Rider."

"I'm concerned that they haven't come back at all," Beerain said, as she entered the room. "Buguese may want to search day and night, but he is with Aqune. At the very least, that girl is more practical than him, and would want him to rest." Regardless, she was worried about him.

"Yes, I suppose," Grasshop said. "Wait! You don't think they're in any kind of trouble, do you?"

"I don't know," Beerain replied. "All I can say is that I'm uneasy about all of this."

"We'll find them!" Hunter said. "We're looking for Richter anyway, so it won't be too much trouble to keep our eyes out for Aqune and Buguese too."

"Yeah," said Magma. "And if Aqune is in some kind of trouble, that would mean Portia is too. Brutus, you would do anything for your sister, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Thanks," Grasshop said. "We're counting on you to find our great leader, and his wife, and her pet."

"They're not married yet," Beerain commented.

"Oh, touchy," Grasshop said.

"And Portia isn't a pet either!" Magma exclaimed.

"I get it," Grasshop said, concerned with the death glares he was getting from both sides. "Please be on your way!"

Buguese found himself in a small and unfamiliar room.

'Where is this?' he thought to himself. But he quickly remembered exactly what had happened earlier. And he noticed that Aqune was nowhere to be seen.

"Aqune!" he called, though he didn't honestly expect to get an answer. "Where are you?!"

Then suddenly, the door to the room he was in was opened, by none-other than Siegfried.

"You!" Buguese declared, immediately lunging at him. He reached for his sword, only to find it was no longer on him.

Despite the fact that Buguese had a tight grasp on his shoulders, Siegfried seemed unconcerned.

"Maybe I'll give your weapon back to you later," Siegfried said. "But not if you cause trouble and get my nice suit dirty."

"Where is Aqune?!" Buguese demanded.

"That, I definitely won't tell you," Siegfried answered.

"Then I will force the answer out of you!" Buguese declared, grabbing the man's neck with one of his hands.

"Even if you find Aqune…" Siegfried continued, "Which you won't, it's not as if you can go anywhere. Let's just say, you're a very long way away from home."

"What do you mean?!" Buguese demanded, not loosening his grip whatsoever.

"This is my home land," said Siegfried. "The Outer World."

The shock of hearing this was enough to make Buguese let go.

"Hunter Steele's world?" he thought out loud. "How?!"

"I transported you here," Siegfried answered. "And I thought you should know that in this world, bugs are tiny little creatures who can easily be smashed to death. Yet, humans fear them anyway. So if anybody sees you, I can guess within seconds you'll be shot dead, then stuffed up and shipped to the Smithsonian. Just a little warning."

"How dare you?!" Buguese yelled, even though he didn't quite comprehend what Siegfried was talking about. But he couldn't make a move, as the grey spider appeared, forcibly ramming Buguese back into the room. Siegfried quickly shut the door, before he could recover.

"Don't worry," Siegfried said. "I will let you out soon. Actually, I require your cooperation with something, and I always get what I want."

"Aqune!" Hunter called. "Buguese!"

"Portia!" yelled Magma.

"I don't sense Aqune at all," Corona said. "Or Richter, for that matter."

"Could they both have left this country already?" Hunter wondered. It would be annoying if they came all the way to the Insector lands for nothing, but even worse if Richter had gone to Arachna, and made another attack there.

"I guess so," said Corona, though doubt showed in her voice. The girl took a deep breath, concentrating on the Oracle's presence as best as she could.

"Umm… Corona…" Hunter knew something was wrong, seeing a frightened look on his companion's face.

"This is really weird, Hunter," said Corona. "I only feel a very faint presence from you and Magma."

"But we're standing right here," Magma commented.

"I know," replied Corona. "Maybe… this was the bad feeling I got before. It's as if the Oracle's presence is fading."

"Then this is really bad," said Hunter.

Siegfried looked down at the figure of Aqune, who was lying on a bed.

"Very soon," he said. "Spirit Oracle will awaken once more. As soon as I get rid of your human consciousness forever. And then, I'll have that great power for myself. I can do whatever I want with my Inner World."