21- Just Like You

"Why am I so unsatisfied?!" yelled Richter, as he rammed at a tree trunk with his foot.

"Because you haven't destroyed the world yet?" Wave guessed.

"Will that even be enough?" Richter replied. "What is enough? Spiting my father certainly wasn't. Not even the satisfaction of seeing him dead lasted long enough. Why is this happening? Is it because, in the end, he was my father?"

In his mind, the events at Hunter's home played through.

"It couldn't have worked that way with Siegfried. We couldn't have reconciled so easily, could we? I may be a Spider Rider, but I'm different from the rest of them."

Then, his mind jumped to an earlier memory.

"My parents… they're never around. I don't think anyone would notice if I left.

'Since that day, I wondered. Could that girl understand me? Maybe, seeing her could lead me to the answers I need.'

"Wave, we're going back to Arachna Castle," he announced. "I need to see Glint. And if the others get in my way, I'll just kill them."

"Yes, sir," Wave answered.

Hunter was in the kitchen, scrubbing vigorously. Corona had decided to make breakfast earlier that day, and left a disaster in the room. Before Lumen went for his early-morning nap, he insisted Hunter handle the clean-up.

'It was Corona who did this,' he thought to himself. Though, he didn't really mind the task too much. At least it kept him busy, because he was already getting bored again. 'Magma was right, though. Buguese is a better cook than Corona, and he burned salad.'

"Hey, Hunter!" Sparkle and Hotarla had wandered into the kitchen.

"Um… hi," Hunter said. "I'm a little busy now, so unless you want to help-"

"Sure, we'll help!" Sparkle interrupted.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

Well, Hunter wasn't sure how helpful Hotarla would be, but he handed Sparkle a rag.

"Can you scrub the floor a little?"

"Okay," Sparkle said, and quickly got to work. "Hunter, I wanted to ask you something, though."

"What?"

"Can we go to the mall again someday? That was fun."

"Only if we go window shopping," Hunter replied. "I won't be able to get any more Earth money so easily." He thought his parents would probably give him some money if he asked, but that would likely be taking advantage of the kind of relationship they had now.

"Aqune, please teach me how to cook!" Corona called, looking at the older girl with a pleading expression.

"Sure," Aqune said, though she was somewhat uncertain of what she could do. "However, I don't think we can get in the kitchen now."

Corona laughed nervously.

'Ah, I see…' Glint thought to herself, as she watched on from behind a couch. 'Corona's biggest weakness of all is that she can't cook.' Though, she looked boreder than usual with the news.

Then, Igneous and Magma ran down into the room.

"By the way, Igneous, I never got to properly thank you for this wonderful book!" He was hugging the Brade story tightly. "I read it as a kid, and it brings back so many memories. Were there anymore?! Can we go look?!"

"Maybe. I don't remember," replied Igneous.

'Huh? What's this?' As they were all talking innocently, Glint watched as a light appeared from nowhere in the room, surrounding the four Riders. And then, they were gone.

"Oh my gosh!" she shouted. "Hunter! Something happened! Hunter!" She ran for the kitchen, but Hunter wasn't there either, nor was Sparkle.

"I see," said Glint, looking down. "That's what it's like for a Spider Rider. Always getting dragged off on some wild adventure. And me, I'll never be like that."

"Guys… where are we?" Hunter found himself with the rest of the team, including Lumen, who was now lying confused on the floor. They were in a rocky area.

"I don't sense anything evil," Aqune said, looking to Corona. She shook her head in reply.

"Spider Riders…" they heard a voice call to them.

"That voice!" Magma's ears perked up.

His suspicions were correct, when the image of the Hero Brade appeared.

"Hero Brade-sama! I was just reading about your greatness!" Magma attempted to embrace him, but his arms merely phased through.

"A Gh-ghost?" Igneous wondered, a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

"Yes, I'm a ghost," replied Brade. "Technically, I shouldn't even reveal myself to you anymore. But I had to bring you to this remote place to discuss important matters."

"Like what?" asked Hunter.

"Namely, the fact that you've neglected such a threat for so long!"

"A threat?" replied Corona. "But we defeated Siegfried."

"He must mean Richter," Igneous stated.

"No, I'm not talking about Richter," Brade replied. "That boy is difficult. Perhaps the most difficult Spider Rider I've seen in all my years. But you already know all about him."

"Then what, Hero Brade-sama?" questioned Magma. "You can't mean… the Insectors are planning to attack us again? I knew it was a bad idea for Buguese to be around all the time."

"No, I don't mean the Insectors," answered Brade. His image started to fade. "Find it, as soon as you can. Before someone gets hurt."

"He's gone!" Magma yelled, crying gushes of tears.

"This is serious!" Igneous shouted.

"Yeah, and the least he could have done was teleported us back," said Hunter.

Richter easily made it into the castle. When he had a transporter, guards were nothing to be concerned about. The real challenge started now that he was in.

Cautiously, he darted around an empty hallway on the bottom floor, checking for anyone familiar. Then, outside the kitchen, he came across a sulking Glint. It was that easy?

"It's you!" Glint shouted, noticing as soon as Richter walked in. "The others are gone, so you're not going to find them." Her arms were crossed.

"I'm not looking for them," answered Richter. "I'm looking for you."

"Why me?" Glint asked, surprised.

"Because I thought… maybe we were alike," said Richter.

"Huh? Cut to the point?" replied Glint. She seemed pretty annoyed.

Richter knew how odd and sudden that must have sounded. Still, he wasn't ready to stop.

"I remember when you talked about your parents being away. That they wouldn't even notice if you were gone. And you haven't gone back to your house since you came here. Have you just forgotten about them? Is that even possible?"

"Oh," Glint said. "That. Who cares about parents? I only care about Spider Riders. And now I think it's my turn for a random question. Can I look at your manacle?"

"Umm…" Richter said. He was disappointed that she didn't give him a straight or helpful answer. But, as for his manacle, he supposed it would be alright. "It isn't really that interesting," he continued, as he unlatched it and handed it to her.

"Yes!" Glint exclaimed. For a minute, she simply held it in her hand, admiring it. Then, she latched it onto her own arm. "So this is how it feels? What it's like to wear a manacle." Her voice turned more quiet. "But it's meaningless in the end."

"Glint, are you alright?" Richter asked.

The girl smiled, a cold smile.

"Oh, I suppose. I've resigned myself to this fate some time ago." She reached her hand into her pocket. "Richter, you were right. We are very much alike. Because the both of us our liars."

From her pocket, she pulled out a knife, and pushed the unprepared Richter to the ground. With the knife, she made a deep cut in his leg.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Richter shouted, trying to push her off despite the pain, and the pouring of blood.

"Want to know the truth about my parents?" she said, slashing at his face, then his arm. "They died a long time ago. It was during an Insector attack."

Richter reached for his manacle. Maybe he wasn't so strong as a human, but if he could fight as a Spider Rider…

"That manacle is mine now!" Glint shouted, as she began to stab at him with the bloodied knife. "It should have been mine from the start. I've always dreamed of being a Spider Rider. Always. And then you came around!" Another slash here. Another stab there. "But as you can see, a plain human like me is defeating a Spider Rider like you. And I'll do the same to all the rest. I've learned so much about them from my time here. It will be so easy."

Glint stood, looking down at Richter. He was barely conscious, and lying in a puddle of blood.

"I hope Hunter and the others enjoy this gift when they return."

AN: I wonder if anyone saw that coming.