43- No Longer a Child

At last it was morning. Though he liked sleeping in, Hunter was up bright and early.

"Hunter, I'm ready," Corona said. She had gone to find him as soon as she'd gotten up, knowing Hunter was anxious to head out on their journey.

"Good to hear," Hunter replied. "You know, we never would've beaten Stags back in Nuuma if not for your help. Can I count on you to lend me your powers against Mantid too, if things turn ugly?"

"Of course," replied Corona, smiling.

Stags had returned to the other side of the sea after that incident. He bought any of his soldiers who were still left behind in Nuuma along with him.

"I was defeated," he said. "But still, this war continues. I must return to the fight, until Mantid-sama can gain the last Oracle Keys."

The other Riders had soon gathered around Hunter, near the castle entrance.

"Alright, I guess it's now or never," Lumen sighed.

"Don't worry," Sparkle said. "I'm sure we can win."

"Sparkle, I told you, you're not coming," Lumen replied.

"No!" Sparkle argued. "I can fight too."

"It's dangerous," said Lumen.

"I came to Nuuma with you," Sparkle replied. "That was dangerous too, but I was fine!"

"This is going to be a lot more dangerous than Nuuma," Igneous added.

"Besides that, you're still too young!" Lumen scolded. "No means no!"

"But…" Sparkle's eyes became teary. "I… I'm always the one who stays back worrying about all of you."

"Why can't she come?" Hunter asked.

"Because I said so!" snapped Lumen. "Not as the prince, but as her older brother. Sparkle, you might be worried, but if you come, I'll be worried. If we're fighting for our lives, I can't focus on protecting you."

"I'm not helpless!" Sparkle argued. But Lumen wouldn't answer her. And soon, the rest of them left.

"How could they have left me behind?" Sparkle wondered.

"Kyu…" Hotarla whimpered, sympathetic.

"Don't be sad, Hotarla," said Sparkle. "I think I have an idea."

"Kyu kyu?"

"We'll go and catch up to them! I'll prove to Lumen and the others that I'm a real Spider Rider!"

Aqune had gone back to chanting as usual, feeling better than she was the previous day. Buguese was relieved to see this. Actually, she had seemed more vibrant just because he had gone out of his way to help her. Just what kind of affect did he have on her, he wondered.

Buguese had also noticed that since the second Key was returned, the Insector world was looking brighter.

'Soon, we'll have our sun again,' he thought to himself. 'We just need to capture the last two Keys.'

"Where did they go?" Sparkle's plan was cut short when she realized she didn't really know where the others were headed.

"Kyu," said Hotarla.

"Hmm…" Sparkle looked around. "I can't quit now. There has to be a clue somewhere."

"Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!"

"What is it, Hotarla?" The spider seemed to be very excited by something. Sparkle realized soon just what that was. There were Insector soldiers up ahead.

"Oracle's Purity!"

Sparkle transformed herself, and headed towards them.

"A Spider Rider!" one Insector exclaimed, having noticed Sparkle as well.

"That's just a little girl," another replied. "Is she even a threat?"

Sparkle charged in, knocking down some unexpected soldiers with some hard blows from her yoyo.

"Don't call me a little girl!" she shouted. "I'm a real Spider Rider, and I won't let you Insectors win!"

These Insectors quickly learned how serious Sparkle was. Despite being a cute girl with a cute spider and a cute weapon, she and Hotarla could actually pack a punch. Things seemed to be going in Sparkle's favor, until he appeared.

"Stags!" Sparkle exclaimed.

"Get out of our way, and I will not harm you," Stags spoke.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Sparkle declared. Though she said that, she was sweating nervously. Nonetheless, she knew she had to stand her ground.

"That's a very bold statement," Stags replied. "But you could not possibly defeat me."

"Let's find out!" replied Sparkle, firing off her signature yoyo. Stags didn't even flinch when he was hit, however.

Sparkle was shocked. She didn't have any other attacks either, so how could she possibly win this fight?

'Am I really too little to make a difference?' she thought to herself. 'Maybe I shouldn't have gone alone.' She felt herself wanting to cry. 'No! A real Spider Rider would never give up! Somehow, I'll be okay.'

To Sparkle's surprise, out of nowhere, a knife was thrown at Stags' side. The Insector general actually seemed to be caught off guard, and cringed.

"Uncle Hop!" Sparkle saw him behind her, and knew he was the one who attacked.

"What was that underhanded attack?!" Stags exclaimed. "Grasshop?!"

"Don't pick on Sparkle!" Grasshop declared. "If you want a fight, take me." Though, Grasshop was actually terrified at the idea of fighting against Stags. But if it was that or watch Sparkle get creamed, he'd pick the former.

"I have no desire to fight with a cowardly, traitorous opponent like you," Stags said. "Why are you fighting on the side of the Spider Riders?!"

"Boy, Stags, you missed a lot," Grasshop replied. "I got fired. I'm not even a part of Mantid's army anymore."

"Even still, you would betray your own race?" he asked. The idea of Grasshop being fired didn't surprise him at all. He never thought Grasshop was a worthy member of the Big Four.

"Yeah," Grasshop said. "Well, it's not quite betraying. I just decided I'd rather be a hero, and fight with the princess."

"That's surprising," replied Stags. "I can see that the princess, while young, has the heart of a real warrior. She is nothing like you."

"Don't bully Uncle Hop!" Sparkle yelled. "I mean, he has done bad things, but now he's a hero! It's you who's fighting for evil."

"I'm fighting to save the Insector race," Stags declared. "The Oracle Keys are the only thing that can save us."

"But don't you know what will happen when Mantid gets the Oracle Keys?!" Sparkle shouted. "He's going to shut down the sun, and the entire Inner World will be destroyed!"

"What?!"

"It's true! Really!" yelled Sparkle.

"I can tell that you have an honorable heart," said Stags. "You would not lie, even to an enemy."

"That's right!" she declared.

"Where did you here this?" Stags asked.

"From the Hero Brade!" she answered.

"If that is the truth," said Stags "Then I have devoted my life to the wrong cause. We Insectors fought so that Mantid could have the Keys, so that we could have light. But in the end, Mantid just plans to dispose of us as well."

"Sadly… that's the kind of twisted guy Mantid is," Grasshop commented.

"I must pay for what I have done," Stags declared, his voice solemn.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Grasshop.

"I mean, with my very life," answered Stags. "It is the only proper fate for a dishonorable warrior."

Stags unleashed his retractable blade, and thrust it into his chest.

"No!" Sparkle shouted. "You can join us, like Uncle Hop did!"

"That's not something I can do," replied Stags. "Even if my time here wasn't about to end, I would not drop everything and switch sides. Princess Sparkle, I'm glad I got to meet you. Please make sure that your heart is never led astray."

And at that, Stags breathed his last breath.

AN: Alright, hopefully no one kills me for this. I got the idea from reading through all the summaries that Stags would have to die. I think he's an awesome character, really, and I was a little torn on if I should actually go through with it, and how, and this was the end result.