40- Oracle's Life

"I wonder if everyone's alright." Sparkle sighed, as she sat in one of the chairs in a quiet meeting room. She wasn't happy about being left behind. She might not have been as strong as the others yet, but she could still help them, especially in a situation like this.

"Well," Grasshop replied. "They're pretty tough. I know, from all the beatings they used to give me."

"Please, Uncle Hop, I want to go see them," she said.

"Umm…" Grasshop wasn't sure how to reply. He did see where she was coming from. But on the other hand, he didn't want her to be put in danger either. And if she was, the other Spider Riders would probably kill him for not watching her like he was supposed to.

"Maybe we should go and see." To both Sparkle and Grasshop's surprise, Solan spoke up. "It does sound much calmer than before."

Corona threw open the door to the next room. And as soon as she opened it, she realized something important which she'd forgotten long ago.

"Mom!" Corona ran to the green-haired woman, who sat inside the room. Just one look, and she knew it was indeed her mother.

"Huh?" said Hunter. "What do you mean, Corona?"

But she didn't reply. The woman also rose immediately, and took Corona in her arms.

"You're… you're alive?" she asked, tearfully. "For so long, I always prayed that you would return to me, my dear Corona."

"Hey, who are you anyway?" Magma asked.

The woman, who had let go of Corona, sighed.

"I suppose I owe you all a big explanation," she began. "I am Queen Illuma. I also possess the abilities of an Oracle Handmaiden. And in order to protect this land of Nuuma, and the Oracle Key, I decided to remain in the castle all alone. I could not see anyone at all, not even my beloved one. I know… the people all worried for my fate."

"But… now the Key is lost," said Corona, sadly.

"I know that," Illuma replied. "I sensed it when that happened. And to protect all of you inside, I concentrated my own energy to sustain the castle, so that it wouldn't fall."

"So that's why," said Hunter.

"Now I've been gently releasing it, so the castle will be on the ground shortly," she added.

Then, Sparkle, Grasshop and Solan arrived on the scene.

"Everyone!" Sparkle exclaimed. "You're alright!"

"Yes," said Lumen, going to Sparkle's side. "Sorry if we worried you."

"But all is still not well," Illuma said.

Seeing her alive and well, Solan went to her side.

"I missed you, Solan," said Illuma. And she then pecked him on the cheek.

"Umm… are you Corona's dad?" Hunter asked, noticing that they were very close.

Illuma shook her head.

"Solan and I met not too long ago. Unfortunately, my first husband died of illness many years ago. Corona," she turned to the girl. "I'm sure if he were still around today, he would be very proud of who you've become. You clearly grew up to be a strong and brave warrior. I sensed that you all were fighting your hardest out there."

"Thank you," said Corona. She felt vague memories of her father as well. But she realized she was very young when he died. Early childhood memories were always vague, even to those who didn't have amnesia.

Slight tears came to Corona's eyes.

"Corona," said Hunter, approaching her. "You okay?"

"Yes," Corona said. "I'm crying because I'm happy. Finally, I remember my family."

"Everyone!" That was the voice of Hero Brade, who materialized into the room.

Buguese rode back in the direction of the Insector lands. He held in his hand the Key which he had successfully seized, and while he should have felt victorious, something still bothered him.

"The Oracle's reincarnation?" He looked over towards Aqune. She was silent now, still wearing her mask and acting as she always would. "That's the first I've heard of such a thing."

"Hero Brade-sama!" Magma explained, running to the man and tackling him down in a hug.

"Oh right," said Corona. "We forgot to tell you Brade showed up."

"I missed his heroics?" asked Magma, sounding depressed. "Brade, please forgive me."

"Err… you're forgiven if you'll let me go," he said, though he didn't really care anyway.

Magma promptly did so, and bowed down in forgiveness.

"I came here to tell all of you some very grave news," Brade spoke. "Now that the Insectors have two of the Oracle Keys in their possession, they're halfway there to their ultimate ambition."

"What do they want to do with the Keys?" Hunter asked.

"Shut down the sun completely," Brade replied. "And when that happens, the Inner World will perish."

The Riders gasped.

"But why would they want to do that?" Igneous asked. "Wouldn't they die too?"

"Yes, most likely," said Brade. He had a puzzled look on his face, for it was rather odd.

"You see," Queen Illuma added. "When the four Oracle Keys come together, they can bring darkness or light. The Keys are essentially the very life of Spirit Oracle. If you bring them together, you can restore her to this world once again, and spread an unbreakable light."

"Then we have to get back the Key!" Hunter exclaimed.

"There's a problem with that," said Lumen. "We don't have a boat anymore. How will we get back to Arachna?"

"I will provide you with a boat," said Illuma. "Solan, take the Spider Riders to the dock."

"Yes, of course," he replied.

Hunter and the others turned to follow him, all except for Corona. She walked up towards Queen Illuma.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she said. "We just met again for the first time, but I have to go with them."

"I'm aware," Illuma replied. "That is your destiny. But feel free to return here if you'd like when this is all over."

"Alright," said Corona. "I'll definitely see you again."

"Oh, one more thing," Illuma spoke. "That boy with the red hair, be good to him."

Corona blushed.

"What do you mean?"

"I can see that the two of you have a special bond," replied Illuma. "Mothers can notice these things, after all."

"Thank you!" Corona replied, feeling elated. She headed out to catch up with the other Riders.

'Hunter,' Corona thought to herself, as she stood on the deck of the boat. Though her mother's words certainly made her hopeful, she still couldn't forget what she'd learned from Brade.

'No matter what, Hunter and I can't be together. Because Aqune is the Oracle's reincarnation. He must be in love with her. But, on the other hand, Aqune is with the Insectors. That's only because of the mask though, isn't it? What would happen if she joined us for real?'

The only thing to snap her out of her troubles was the nauseating smell of Magma who was throwing up again.

'I guess I should go inside,' Corona decided. 'Yeah! I'll cook something up. That's always relaxing.'

She headed inside and searched around. Finally, she found the ship's kitchen.

When Corona walked inside, she was surprised to see Hunter was there. She stepped back, nervously.

"Hey, Corona! Come in!" Hunter called.

"Uh… yeah, sorry," said Corona, and she went inside for real.

"I was wondering if you were going to come down here," Hunter said.

"You were waiting for me?" Corona asked.

"Well, yes," replied Hunter, his face a bit flushed. "I mean, it was fun when we cooked something together on the way here. I thought, why don't we do it again?"

"Yeah!" Corona replied, excited.

"Hopefully it comes out even better this time though," Hunter stated.

"I have a great recipe idea!" Corona declared.

The two then began to work, this time on a vegetable soup. Hunter was careful that Corona only put in the necessary ingredients, even though she tried to put in chili peppers and sugar.

"I can't believe the Insectors are trying to shut down the sun," Lumen commented.

"We blundered this time," Igneous replied. "If only we were stronger, then maybe we could have been of more use to Hunter, and prevented the Key from being stolen."

"We'll just have to work hard and catch up," Lumen replied.

"Prince!" Igneous exclaimed, shocked by the prospect of Lumen even suggesting working.

"Of course, what's the harm in relying on Hunter?" Lumen added. "He was incredibly powerful when he used three Keys at once."

"No, we definitely have to train a lot," Igneous asserted.

Lumen laughed nervously, regretting having made that suggestion.

"Me too," Sparkle said, watching them from a distance. "I'm also going to get strong, and next time they won't leave me behind."

"Hey!" called Hunter. He and Corona walked out, trying to balance the large pot of soup they made. "Let's eat!"

Everyone but Magma rushed to the table, the thought of a nice meal after all this sounded wonderful.

AN: So, as you can probably see, in this story Corona and Aqune are not related. I actually prefer it that way. I think the two have a great dynamic together, but they would be better as friends/friendly rivals than sisters.