CHAPTER ELEVEN: XAVIER XAIN GOLDHEART

Hunter was…gone. Just like that. He didn't say why he left, besides saying "time" ran out. Sure there was a war in the Outer World, but time passed a lot slower in the outer world than in the inner world. A year in the inner world was probably a mere day or so in the Outer World. Different worlds and dimensions meant different time lengths of course.

Corona stared numbly at the nearly shredded, clawed, slightly burnt, and scribbled note in her hand. She read it and reread it over and over again and with each scan she felt more and more lightheaded. She looked around the destroyed room and noted, "It's a mess...why didn't anyone here anything…"

The door was literally hanging on one hinge, clawed, burned, and shredded, the walls and the furniture were equally just as burned and clawed, the window was so shattered that no glass was left on the window, but littered on the floor. It was like someone had neatly cut out the glass and threw it on the ground, but the scratches on the wooden frame didn't say so. There was a medium sized hole in the wall. It was much bigger than Corona and most likely bigger than her spider.

She flipped back the bed, which was strangely spared of any burns and only slightly clawed, which Corona was grateful for as she was getting lightheaded from the damage of the room and Hunter's disappearance. She read Hunter's note over again, for the 20th time and shook her head sadly, placing her head on Hunter's pillow, which seemed to have been spared as well. She held up Hunter's remains of his manacle and the note, not even noticing that she fell asleep.

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Silver scales illuminated the night. Streaks of Indigo pattered the belly of a large beast, fearsome and strong, but beautiful and striking at the same time. The creature let out a strong screech, a sound that rang like crystal bells. It stretched it's wings, long and elegant and gave it a few testing flaps before lifting off and flying towards an unknown string of mountains and hills that nobody, no human, spider, or invectid had ever venture. Another screech was heard, as it flew on, loud, strong, beautiful, and elegant, but at the same time, sad and filled with sorrow.

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Memories played like a film in a cinema, smiles instead of frowns, laughter instead of cries. She watched with a grinned, the day she met Hunter. She was patrolling the woods that day, her and her partner, Venus. She remembered the light that shot sky high, the urgency in the voices of those she communed with through her manacle, and then…the boy…the HUMAN boy, from UP there. His pink hair, and that silly headband with those silly green orbs sitting on top. In truth she had thought that those were some sort of…adventure goggles, they weren't.

She remembered how the boy, scared out of his wits, ran from him in mach speed, fear can do that. She remember how she found the boy again and after a series of events, she took the boy back to the kingdom. She remembered the "test" Igneous gave to him, to prove he was a real spider rider at heart. He passed and she grinned.

She remembered the many battles they had together afterwards. He was there for her, for THEM ALL, when Buguese had broken the Oracle's Shrine, when helped aid the citizens trapped in the Numa Castle by the invectids, when the castle began to crash down, when they helped Brutus reunite with his sister Portia and Aqune with Corona, when he helped them fight their war against Mantid, when he won that battle, setting Mantid free from his hate, and returned light to the invectids, and when they created a mutal alliance with Buguese, the invectid population's new leader. He had been there for them all.

Corona smiled at the warm memories, the memories when everyone was happy, even when there was war. She didn't notice a tear slip past her, didn't notice when her smile slowly form a thin line, then a frown. "Hunter…"

"It'll be fine." Hunter stood in front of her. Her hand was now in his, protected. "We'll see each other again, soon."

"Why did you leave, Hunter? And…your manacle…it's shattered, there…might not be a way to fix it anymore, you won't be a Spider Rider anymore…what about Shadow?! You two were best friends!"

"Corona…a spider rider isn't just someone who is confined to a manacle. They are someone who is brave, courageous, hard worker, and someone who is willing to help others even if it's a problem he will no longer return physically from. It's someone who aids others without a second thought in mind. The manacle's broken, but I'll always be a Spider Rider at heart.

"Hunter…where did you go…?"

He merely smiled, "I'm sorry, you'll know in soon's time…" with that, he was gone and she was alone again.

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"—ona!"

What?

"—RONA! CORONA!"

Someone was calling her name…no…a lot of people…"

Corona forced herself to open her eyes, prying them open. "Waah…..?"

Her friends, the spider riders and their spiders, Drake, Leric, Lilly, and even a couple of the castle's nurses crowded around her bed, no…Hunter's bed. "I fell asleep?"

"Asleep?!" Venus gave a near demanding cry, though Corona could hear the worry in her voice. "We thought you were dead!"

Aqune spoke, "You left our room 3 hours ago and when you didn't come back I went to look…I found you…well…unconscious and unresponsive on Hunter's bed—"

"On his ravaged bed in his destroyed room!" corrected Igneous. "Aqune went to get us when you didn't respond to her shaking you and we came to see THIS" he pointed to the room's charred and clawed walls, "THAT" he turned is finger at Hunter's shattered manacle and note, still gripped tightly in her hands, "AND YOU UNCONSCIENCE!" he then finally pointed at her, poking harshly at her forehead several times, trying to drill his point into her head.

"You had us worried…" Sparkle whispered.

"We thought whatever attacked Hunter might've attacked you too, but the nurse's found no wound." Lumen stated.

"Corona…" Shadow spoke up, mildly surprising everyone, "what do you have in your hand?" Corona looked sat up and looked at the note and manacle tightly gripped in her right hand. She handed the note to Igneous who read it with a growing horrid look in his eyes, his face going from angry to a pale milk white. Magma snatched the paper from his hands and Corona watched as the note was passed to everyone else in the room, besides the nurses and the Spiders, whom didn't really have a "hand" to hold the paper up to read, and Drake and Leric. She watched her friends follow suit in Igneous's facial behavior, before it was past to Leric and Drake, who merely looked at each other.

The spider's began to grow antsy, "WHAT DOES IT SAY?!"

Aqune answered, she was usually the calmest, even in situations like these, besides Drake and Leric, who didn't seem to really have a reaction to the note. "The note said: 'Time ran out. I'm doing this on my own. Don't look for me. I'll be fine.'"

"It's probably written by Hunter." Igneous explained, "Which would rule out him being attacked and more of him—"

"—running away," finished Magma.

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Leric was talking to Drake in their room, alone. "He probably…went to HER"

"She's gentle my son, believe in her. She wouldn't hurt her favorite nephew. They ARE blood related after all." Drake said.

"But…"

"No buts…"

"They're suspicious."

"Of Hunter? I know, my son."

"Then what do we do?! Tell them?!"

"You have to believe in her, AND Hunter. He clearly didn't want them to follow in his footsteps, he didn't want them to know."

"…"

"Besides, Leric. I KNOW you pay attention in my lessons right?"

"Yes."

"Even if they followed him to his destination, they wouldn't survive. There isn't any way to travel there besides air travel. Even if they made an air-ship, the mountains have a maze only blood lines of…HER…would know, would NATURALLY know."

"The Sky Maze of Celesta. One correct route out of 1000. One entrance and 999 death paths."

"Exactly, we are mere humans, even if they push us to lead them there, they will die."

"Then what do we do?"

"We wait, my son. We wait and place our trust on Hunter and on HER."

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Hunter flew longer than he'd ever flew. "Must be because I haven't actually been in flight in awhile, a LONG while." It had been over a century since he last flew, he let himself get out of shape and a flight this simple made him tired already. He had taken a light nap earlier, and saw the comfort of Corona's face. "I'm grateful for having close friends…" he shook his head and let out a screech to clear his head. He had miles to go, but he knew exactly where to go. He'd never been there, but he heard Sasha was there. No, he felt her presence and KNEW for a fact she was there. "I just have to follow the sense…"

"I'm sorry Shadow." He thought merely of how urgent it was for him to leave. The manacle refused to budge, and so he could only watch desperately as it shattered when he transformed. Of course, the destruction to the room was not…necessary. He'd just haven't been in that state in a while. Hunter would apologize later, but for now, he really needed to get to Sasha.

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The remaining spider riders all crowded around the meeting table in the throne room again. There wasn't the same buzz and talk as the first meeting, only silence. Leric and Drake were not present, they say in their room. Corona nearly pouted, "Doing who knows what, talking about who knows what…"

Igneous jumped in, "I had considered spying outside their room, but strange enough, I couldn't hear a word through the door!"

"Just as no noise came from Hunter's room despite the amount of damage." Aqune pointed out.

"Maybe it's some sort of magic…"Sparkle said. "Like when Mr. Drake used it to fight the bad guys in his garden!"

"It's possible." Igneous sighed. "I'm just wondering what happened to Hunter. Shadow ran off too." There was silence again, "You can't blame him though. He no longer has a viable rider, he's a lone battle spider again."

There was a creak by the door. Drake came in with a bow and sat down on one of the seats still available, along with his son. "Well, my dear friends." He began, "perhaps it will do your spirit good if—"

Corona bursted, "Good?! How can we be GOOD in ANY WAY when one of us spider rid…no..not a rider anymore….one of our friends is IN DANGER."

Drake remained calm, he raised his hand to calm her down, "My dear child, Hunter is fine." Leric grinned and, like a child filled too much with excitement, he bounded out of his seat, much to his father's displeasure, "YEAH! WE SPOKE TO HIM A FEW MOMENTS AGO!"

"WHHAT?!" there was a unison in speech. "Why didn't you tell us?" Corona screamed, near tears. "Where is he? Why did he leave? When will he be back? Will he be back at all?!" she fired a multitude of questions at the calm old master, who merely listened and shook his head. He started to answer each question, one at a time, looking at everyone's eyes in those deep understanding mentor eyes of his. "Hunter, has arrived at his destination. I will not tell you where. I will not show you where. It is impossible to get there, as a human." He paused, looking around for anyone who wanted to speak, "He left because he much talk to someone." He paused again in which Igneous mumbled, "Aren't we here for that?" Drake smiled, "Talk to someone, not for counseling, but to request something. He will be back soon. Perhaps in the following few days…" he paused, "or..perhaps the following weeks, or the following—"

"MONTHS?!" Magma screamed. Drake shook his head. "He will be back for certain, by the end of this month or the beginning of next month. The person he is visiting, is a stubborn person who doesn't like to see people leave." The left everyone agasp. "Don't want him to LEAVE?"

"In a good way." Leric piped in.

Corona growled, "You can't tell us more?"

"In soon's time, Hunter will be back, he will explain everything himself."

"That idiot better do so!" Corona threatened. She remembered her dream, "Cause he promised me it'd be okay." Everyone looked at her. "When?"

"Well…In…a dream alltooreallastnight." He mumbled in a shootout sentence. She blushed, calming down, "It can't be just a dream! Ask LILY! She sees things in her crystal ball and stuff!"

Lumen shrugged, "If we have to people to witness," he looked at Drake, Leric and Corona, "We can be sure our friend is alive and well."

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"Hunter!"

The red head spun around and his exhausted frown immediately became a grin, "Aunty Sasha!" he hugged the woman.

"It's been way too long since I last saw you!"

The elegant woman smiled, "And you! You have grown, how are your parents?"

At the mention of his parents, Hunter frowned, his expression saddened, "They're…dead…" Sasha continued to smiled, calmly, something Hunter always loved about her, "It'll be alright, my dear!" she pointed at his shoulders, right than left, "I'm sure they are always next to you, protecting you and watching over you."

A maid walked over and whispered into Sasha's ears, "Hunter, your brothers are here as well, but we will speak to them later. For now you rest, I'm sure you came a long way." Hunter grinned, "It's been a long time since I've transformed or even flown. I'm beat!" He looked at the maid and turned to his aunt, "King and Fae are here?" he thought about his plan and said, "I need to talk to you later, Aunty."

"Alright than, Hunter…"

Hunter beamed, "Call me what my mother used to call me! Call me by MY name, Aunty!"

Sasha chuckled, "Alright then…Xavier Xain Goldheart."

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Yeah, so this chapter sucked, so bad that I don't even know what It really looks like. I have a writer's block, but since it's summer vacation, I couldn't just ditch or dump it, I have time now, therefor any excuses are invalid xD

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Spider Riders As much as I love this show

READ AND REVIEW XD SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

If you are wondering, YES Hunter is a Dragon and his real name is Xavier Xain Goldheart 3