14- Buguese Strikes

When Hunter and his group returned to Arachna castle, it was late. They were surprised to see Igneous and Glint waiting up for them.

"Did you find him?" Igneous asked, though he felt stupid for bothering, because they clearly came back alone.

"No," Hunter replied. "But, it might be more serious than we thought."

"How so?" Glint asked.

"Currently, Aqune and Buguese's whereabouts are unknown," Corona answered. "And also, I feel that Spirit Oracle's power may be weakening."

"We have to do something, and fast!" Hunter shouted.

"Right, right," came Lumen's voice, as he walked into the room. "But honestly, could you guys make less noise the next time you come in at night? You woke me up."

"Prince!" Igneous exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, sorry about that," said Hunter.

"Before you do any more hunting, all of you need to get some sleep," Lumen said. "I know you may not take that advice seriously coming from me, but I have to warn you anyway."

"I guess so," Hunter replied, though he was very apprehensive.

"The prince is right," said Magma. "As much as I want to make sure Portia is safe, we have to be ready to fight if there is a problem. And it's pretty clear that Richter and that man don't want to be found."

The next morning, Siegfried went over to Buguese's door, the grey spider by his side, and gently knocked.

"What do you want?!" Buguese asked angrily. Though Siegfried couldn't see, he was glaring hatefully.

"How would you like to know where Aqune is?" Siegfried asked.

Buguese growled. "You wouldn't simply tell me, unless there is some sort of catch."

"Ah, you're right," he replied. "There is a catch. You have to help me out with an experiment."

"I will not help you with anything!" Buguese argued.

"Then, do you not want to know where Aqune is?" Siegfried asked.

"I will find her by myself, or force the answer out of you," Buguese answered. Well, that's what he intended once he could figure out how to escape himself. "But why would anyone want to be a part of your twisted experiments, human?"

"You really don't appreciate the joys of science, do you?" Siegfried asked. "However, I've been very anxious to see what an enhanced Insector would be like. Probably, you'd be even stronger than my spider. So in the end, I never intended to give you a choice."

"Shadow!" Hunter called. "Today for sure, we'll find Richter. Are you ready?"

"Yes," the spider replied. "If we don't get to the bottom of this soon, we might have a real crisis. We'll have to push ourselves even harder."

"I can handle it!" declared Hunter.

"Ah! So cool!" Glint exclaimed. "Just like always." Excitedly, she followed Hunter and Shadow, as they headed down to the meeting room.

"Somebody please teach this girl about privacy," Shadow whispered.

Before long, the whole team was gathered, filled up on breakfast, and ready to begin.

"Alright," Igneous announced. "Which of us should go to the Insector lands?"

"I will!" Magma said. "That's probably the quickest way to find Portia."

"I want to go too," Sparkle said. "Maybe Uncle Hop needs my help."

"No," Lumen flatly replied.

"But how come?" Sparkle asked. "It won't be dangerous if I have Uncle Hop with me. And I'll also have Hotarla."

"Kyu! Kyu!"

"Sparkle, I said-"

But Lumen was interrupted when a violent crash was heard. Then, in an instant, a section of the meeting room's wall started to fall.

"Look out!" Magma yelled, as he and the others tried their best to move to safety.

Then, when the dust cleared, Buguese appeared, holding his sword in front of him.

"Buguese?! What are you doing?!" Hunter exclaimed. "Are you trying to break the castle?"

"The castle was just in my way," he replied. "I came here to annihilate all of you!" At that, he made no delay to swing his sword again, the shockwaves sending everyone in the room flying back.

Hunter was the first to stand. But that was one seriously strong attack he'd definitely be feeling.

"Annihilate us? What are you talking about? I thought you were our ally now?"

"Is that so?" Buguese replied. "Well no longer! Now I will crush you, as long as you stand in my way!"

He moved closer to Hunter, threateningly.

"I won't let you hurt him!" Corona declared, now fully transformed. She stood in front of him, protectively.

"Then you'll die first!" Buguese answered, blasting her with his sword.

"Corona!" Hunter shouted. Though Corona seemed alright, that was still enough to anger him. Quickly, he transformed as well.

"I don't understand what you want, Buguese," Hunter said. "But where is Aqune?" He somehow felt Aqune not being there had something to do with Buguese attacking them. No, it definitely had to be connected.

"I don't know or care where she is," answered Buguese. "I care about one thing, and that is killing every one of you!" He fired a shot of energy through the ceiling, causing a piece of it to collapse. Having nowhere to run, the Riders other than Hunter and Corona appeared to be crushed.

"No!" Corona shouted, horrified.

"Guys!" Hunter called. "Are you alright?!" But he received no reply.

"Don't worry! You'll join them in death!" announced Buguese, who raised his sword in the air.

Hunter stared at him angrily, not sure what to say anymore.

"Wait! Hunter!" Corona yelled. "What if Buguese is being controlled somehow?"

"Huh?" Hunter replied. Not that he had time to dwell on the oddity of that, for Buguese's sword came crashing down at him. He was barely able to block it with his pike.

"When he raised his sword to attack you," Corona said. "On his wrist was this metal band. I've never seen it before."

"Maybe," Hunter said, trying to stay composed, as he was being pushed by the intense force of Buguese's attack. Somehow, the Insector had gotten substantially stronger than he used to be, too. "I'll keep him distracted," Hunter decided, who pushed harder, and was now at least keeping Buguese still.

"Alright!" Corona declared. Carefully, she aimed her arrow. If she missed, Hunter was in range, and could possibly be hurt. Shutting her eyes, concentrating mentally, she fired. And the arrow made contact with its target, breaking it.

In shock, Buguese reeled back.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Spider Riders?" He was seriously confused, and also annoyed.

"Good, I think it worked," Hunter said, relieved. "But, Buguese, please tell us. What is going on?"

Though Buguese's head was pretty much a blur, he was starting to mentally put the pieces together.

"Hunter Steele, Corona…" he started. "I suppose I must thank you this time. Aqune is being held prisoner by a madman named Siegfried." He paused, panting. He could barely focus. "Right now, she is in the Outer World!"

Then, suddenly, light came around Buguese, and he disappeared from that spot.

"Where did he go?" Hunter wondered, as he attempted to process this. But it was far from the most important thing on his mind. He turned to where he last saw the others.

"They… they can't be-"

"Wait, Hunter," Shadow interrupted. Then a blast erupted, and the other Spider Riders and Glint rose from the rubble.

"You're alright!" Hunter exclaimed. "But… how?"

"Thanks to Hotarla," Lumen said.

"Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!"

"Hotarla fired web to protect us, as the ceiling was falling," Lumen continued. "I guess, maybe we should take Sparkle along after all."

"Alright!" Sparkle exclaimed.

"Sure," Hunter said, not that he objected to begin with. "But we're not going to the Insector world."

"Really?" Igneous asked. "Then where?"

"The Outer World," Hunter said. "Because that's where Aqune is, and probably Buguese too. Because of someone named Siegfried."

The others looked at him, stunned.

"That's it!" Corona shouted. "I know why the Oracle's power felt weak. Because now, Spirit Oracle herself isn't even in this world."

"Then, what's going to happen to the Inner World?" Sparkle wondered.

"I don't know," replied Hunter. "But I will not wait around to find out."