AN: After a long absence of the other characters, they finally get some spotlight again. This chapter was one of the hardest to write, because I didn't want it to be exactly like ep. 33 of the real anime, yet I had to somehow reach the same result. Hope it ended up decent.

35- Good Company

In the meantime, Lumen and Igneous had washed ashore on another area of the beach.

"Igneous, are you okay?" Lumen groaned. He was wet and tired and not too happy.

"Yeah," Igneous replied. "But I wonder… where are Hunter and the others? We can't be the only ones who made it."

"Knowing Hunter, Magma and Corona they're all fine," said Lumen. "They're strong. Maybe they even made it to Nuuma already. But…" He cringed, because they weren't the only people unaccounted for. "Oh Sparkle," pined Lumen. "Where could you be?"

"If she's with Hunter, then I'm sure she's safe," said Igneous.

Lumen still didn't look convinced though.

"Let's go look for her," Igneous decided. "It would be a grave loss if Sparkle didn't make it. But we must hold out hope that the Oracle would protect her."

"Alright," said Lumen. For once, he didn't care about things like taking naps. He had to make sure that Sparkle was safe.

Sparkle found herself all alone in a grassy area.

"Lumen!" she called, worried. "Hunter! Anyone!"

"Kyu! Kyu!" Hotarla added.

"Oh, Hotarla, where could they be?" she asked. "I don't want to be alone."

As Sparkle continued wandering, she saw something that startled her. And she wasn't the only one with that reaction. Seeing the princess and her spider all of a sudden, Grasshop let out a scream.

"It's you," Sparkle said, trying to look tough.

"Mhm." Grasshop nodded, not sure how to react to this. There he was, stranded in a strange place again, when a Spider Rider approaches him. Not a very menacing looking one, at least, but there was something about that piercing glare she was shooting him.

"This is your fault!" Sparkle declared. "Apologize!"

"Umm… apologize? Why should I be apologizing?" asked Grasshop.

"Don't play dumb!" Sparkle continued.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

"Alright," Grasshop said. "Sorry."

"Okay." That was enough to satisfy Sparkle, who smiled at him.

'Actually, she's terribly cute,' Grasshop thought to himself. 'Maybe that's her most dangerous point. Who could say no to her?'

"Hey, why did you betray Hunter and the others?" asked Sparkle, curiously. The two had just started walking together, without any real reason.

"Let's see…" said Grasshop. "I didn't have much say in the matter. I got fired, and I needed to steal their Oracle Keys so that Mantid would like me again."

"Stealing is wrong," lectured Sparkle. "If you think hard enough, there's always another way."

"Hmm…" said Grasshop. "Well, that depends on the situation, I think."

Sparkle glared at him. "You're wrong, Uncle Hop!"

"Huh? Why Uncle?" Grasshop asked.

"I don't know," Sparkle replied. "I guess it fits you."

"How 'bout something cooler, like Lord Grasshop, or Grasshop the Great?"

"No. Uncle Hop," she asserted. "Don't you agree, Hotarla?"

"Kyu kyu."

"By the way, why do you want Mantid to like you?" she asked. "He's not very nice."

"It's simple," said Grasshop. "If I'm successful, my family will like me more."

"I'm sure they'd like you anyway," said Sparkle. "If they're family. I love my brother."

"You're too young to understand," argued Grasshop.

"No, it's you who doesn't understand," said Sparkle. "But Uncle Hop, why don't you come with us? We're going to save Nuuma. That would make you a real hero."

'A real hero?' Grasshop thought to himself. "Well, that does sound nice. You're actually pretty smart, Princess. Maybe it's worth a try."

Up ahead, the two saw Igneous and Lumen.

"Brother!" Sparkle called. "Over here!"

"Oh my gosh, it's Sparkle!" Lumen ran over to her, excited. But, he stopped short when he noticed Grasshop as well.

"Get away from Sparkle you dirtbag!" Igneous shouted, pulling out a sword.

"Yeah. We're not going to let you hurt her," said Lumen, doing the same.

"Uh… can you get those pointy things away?" asked Grasshop.

"Stop it!" Sparkle shouted. The two boys turned to her, surprised.

"Uncle Hop isn't going to hurt me. He decided to come with me."

"Don't trust him!" Lumen yelled. "That's what he said to us before he ambushed us."

"No, I think he means it this time," Sparkle argued.

All of them were in for a surprise when a group of Insectors appeared.

Aqune stood against a wall of Buguese's transport, looking down at her manacle.

'Portia, I'm sorry,' she thought to herself. 'I know that you want to be with your brother. I also really enjoyed that time I got to spend with Hunter and the others. They're wonderful friends. But, I also want to be with Buguese. If only I didn't have to choose.'

Buguese noticed her standing there, and was curious as to why she looked so troubled. Was it because of her returned memories? Because she was taken from the Spider Riders? Something else? Not that he was really supposed to care at all.

"Buguese," called Beerain. "Can we talk?"

Buguese silently decided to follow her.

"What do you see in her?" Beerain asked.

"Huh?" Buguese replied.

"Don't act like it's nothing," said Beerain. "You're always watching her. You were obsessed with finding her. Even if it really is just because of her powers, which I doubt, you can't just rely only on her. Don't forget that I'm always on your side."

"I know that," said Buguese. "You wouldn't understand." Naturally, as Buguese didn't fully understand it himself.

"So the rumors are true," One of the Insectors, who seemed to be the leader said. "The Spider Riders are headed to Nuuma." He noticed Grasshop standing among them. "Ah, General Grasshop. Are they your prisoners?"

Baffled by the situation, Grasshop wasn't sure how to reply. But he realized something. This Insector seemed to not know about him being fired. Certainly, he could use that to his advantage.

"Yes," Grasshop replied. "They are."

Lumen and Igneous shot him death glares, not that he was looking at them.

"It really is a shame you beat us to the chase," replied the leader. "If we were to present them to General Stags, it would surely lead us to a big promotion. Perhaps you could show a little kindness to us low-class soldiers and give us one."

Without even waiting for Grasshop to reply, the man grabbed for Sparkle.

"Ahhhh!" Sparkle screamed as the man violently pulled her to him.

Grasshop was sweating nervously. How did he get himself into this situation? If he seriously had the Spider Riders as hostages, then yeah, he could get the promotion he wanted. But Sparkle was actually nice to him. She trusted him.

"Leave her alone!" Grasshop declared, leaping at the man, though he didn't have any weapons, he realized afterwards. Regardless, the Insector let go of Sparkle in shock.

"What was that for?!" asked the Insector, who retaliated by violently throwing Grasshop out of his way. "Maybe I should just take all of them. It's obvious that I'm twice the warrior you are."

Bang! Sparkle's yoyo collided with the Insector's face.

"No one hurts my Uncle Hop!" she declared.

"Sparkle?" Lumen was shocked to see that she was still defending Grasshop. Nonetheless, Sparkle wasn't a match for all these Insectors alone.

"Igneous, let's fight too," he decided.

"Alright," Igneous replied, deciding to trust the prince's judgment. The two of them transformed.

"No one hurts Sparkle and gets away with it either!" Lumen yelled, launching a fierce attack at the Insector leader. As for Igneous, he managed to take out several of the grunts effortlessly. Before long, the group of Insectors retreated.

"Uncle Hop, are you okay?" Sparkle asked.

"Hmm… I think so," sighed Grasshop. "Listen, you probably hate me for this, but I really wasn't going to take you hostage. I didn't know how else to deal with the situation."

"It's okay," Sparkle said, smiling. "Just apologize to everyone, and then we're all friends."

"Uh… yeah," said Grasshop, though the idea of apologizing to the vicious-looking Lumen and Igneous was pretty daunting to him.

Lumen approached the bug.

"There isn't a need for you to apologize," he said. "Sparkle trusts you, and I just have to do this!"

He took his sword and whacked Grasshop over the head with it. "There, that feels better."

"Well my head doesn't," Grasshop whined. Though, pain aside, he was glad this all worked out. Maybe being a hero really was the answer he was looking for.