Ch 7- The Road to Escape

"Roanin is a lot like you, Buguese," Aqune said.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Buguese answered. Knowing the realities of Mantid's motives in hindsight, he wanted to object to the comparison on principle, but he honestly couldn't. He was thinking exactly the same thing. "Of course no Insector would believe that story so easily. We wanted to believe in Mantid. We had to… especially myself. And he too was a general, one of the Big Four."

"If Mantid lived for many generations, I guess there were many different Insectors who made up the Big Four throughout time," Aqune said. She only knew of the Big Four from her time, and had never imagined that they had a long history like the Spider Riders. "Even if he wasn't one of the Big Four, I still feel the two of you were very similar."

"As are you and Spirit Oracle," Buguese replied. "That willingness to throw your own life away if it would save others has always frustrated me. You are not even Spirit Oracle, but a mere handmaiden."

"But… it's still my will to help other people before myself. My own happiness comes only second. Isn't that the same with you, Buguese?"

"That's…" He couldn't protest. He knew, again, she had a point. All throughout the war, he felt it was fine if he died, just as long as he could bring the Insector people sunlight. Even if that meant never getting to experience it for himself.

"We've always been rather alike, when it comes to our responsibilities," Aqune continued. "I wonder… are Aura and Roanin also alike? If so, I think they can understand each other. And that's an important step."

The fact that the door was unlocked might have been some kind of test. Aura definitely considered this, when she made it out into the corridors of Mantid's castle so easily. There weren't even any guards stationed in front of the door to stop her from leaving. This did worry Aura to an extent. She definitely couldn't proceed carelessly. But she couldn't let it deter her now either. She had the chance to leave and get back to her Spider Riders.

It was actually even darker in the halls than it was in the room she was being held. There were lit candles lining the sides of the corridor every couple feet or so. But the actual light they emitted was minimal. She could generate light if she wanted to, to help her see. But that would absolutely draw more attention to her. It was safer not to.

"Hmm…" Every few soft steps she took, she turned her head from side to side, searching for any movement. She'd yet to see anyone there. That was comforting, at least. But she was still managing to become increasingly tense.

'I'm not even sure which way I should be going,' she thought to herself. It was to be expected, as she'd never been in the castle before. Though she knew of it, that didn't mean she ever saw reason to study every winding hallway and where they led to. She was pretty certain that she wasn't on the bottom floor, but she didn't even know how high up she was either. Not that she'd encountered any sets of stairs yet going in either direction.

Finally, she'd made it to one end of the hall. There was still not a guard to be seen. Just a lone door at the end. There was nothing particularly special about the door. It looked the same as the one in the room she was in, and all the rest she'd passed as she walked by.

'It probably doesn't lead to stairs,' she considered. 'Most likely, it's someone's bedroom.' If that was the case, she wasn't going to risk opening it. She had no choice but to retrace her steps and try a different path.

When Aura turned around, she gasped. Roanin stood behind her, glaring at her sternly. How long had he been there? She hadn't noticed anyone at all.

Aura looked down at the floor in defeat. No, she had to keep composed. She mentally yelled at herself. She stared up at him.

"Trying to escape, I see?" Roanin said. "Well you have put yourself in a most vulnerable position."

It did look that way. Even if Aura went into the door behind her, even if by some fortune it was completely empty, there would be nowhere to hide. Perhaps there was a window inside she could escape from, but even then, how far could she run now that someone was pursuing her?

"No… I'm not," she decided to answer. "I… the door was open, so I went out." She didn't think stating this would necessarily improve her situation. But it was only a partial lie. The door was open.

"And so you took advantage of the circumstances," replied Roanin. "Still… you surprise me. Is your power also too weak that you can't simply leave this place at will?"

Aura flinched. She could have, she knew, if her power was at full strength. She hadn't tried at first because she was genuinely curious. She wanted to talk with Roanin, and try to understand him. And when Mantid came and started taunting her about Trigger and the other Riders, she was too shaken to even think of it.

"I can…" she answered. "But I told you. I'm not trying to escape."

"Then what do you want?"

"To learn," she decided. If she couldn't escape now, either with her powers or the old-fashioned way, she thought she'd try to make the most of her situation. Aura knew all about the state of the Insector world. But she'd not gotten the opportunity to see it first hand. Maybe being able to do this would help her just a little.

"To learn?!" He repeated her words, seemingly dumbfounded by them.

"Yes," said Aura. "I want to learn more about the Insector world. What is it really like? Would you show me around?"

He stared at her, observing her expression closely. It showed nothing but sincerity. No wicked intention buried within.

"Very well," he decided. "But know that Mantid-sama may look for you. He will not be pleased to find that you left your room."

"Yes, I know that," Aura replied. "I'm not afraid." At the very least, she knew that she had some of her power intact. She hoped very much that the more time passed, the more her strength would return to her. Already, she felt slightly more powerful than before. Maybe by the time Mantid found her, she would be able to escape.

Roanin led Aura to the actual staircase. She stayed very close to him. Short of Mantid actually seeing them, it likely wouldn't be trouble for her to walk around in the company of his high-ranking general. Few would have the authority to question him. On the path they followed, to a certain room, they did encounter some guards and other Insectors along the way. But aside from some curious glances, no one actually approached Aura.

The room that they reached was a hangar of sorts, with a large iron door. Roanin flipped a switch, which resulted in the door slowly lifting. An opening to the ominous outside was created.

Roanin jumped up onto what looked like a metal platform. But on closer inspection, it was shaped like a bug. It seemed almost life-like to Aura, though she didn't sense the presence of a living thing. Overall, it was fairly creepy.

"Get on," Roanin said.

Aura continued just staring at it.

"You won't fall, not unless I push you. The ride is smoother than it looks." Roanin held his hand out to her. Aura certainly hadn't been expecting this, but she took it, and let him pull her up onto the platform.

Once they were both on, the platform lifted up from the ground. It moved rather slowly, but it made its way through the hangar door, which closed just as soon as it had been cleared.

"As you can see… there isn't anything to see." Roanin gazed out ahead of him, not looking back at Aura. All that could be seen was barren dirt. Not a flower was growing, nor a blade of grass. The area around the castle wasn't attractive at all.

"Hey, Roanin… is it daytime now, or night?" It might have been a stupid question. But Aura was still curious to know how much time did go by.

"Does it matter?" Roanin asked. "Most Insectors do not even bother to keep track. We do what we need to do and sleep when we are tired. Day and night are human concepts."

"I see…" replied Aura, somewhat disappointed.

"Going by my perception, I would say it's early morning," Roanin answered anyway.

"I thought you didn't keep track," Aura replied.

"I said, most Insectors," he answered.

'Early morning?' she thought to herself. 'Then, a whole day went by?' If that were true, she was a bit relieved. There was no way the Spider Riders could still be fighting. They must have all returned to the castle. Of course, she knew, they would have also realized she was gone. Probably, they would be troubled. She didn't want to make them worry for much longer.

"What is it like in the towns?" She wanted to put her mind on something different. It had to be somewhat nicer where people lived. In the castle, really only the military, and Mantid himself stayed there. But there were plenty of civilian Insectors. Those were the ones she felt the most sorry for. They never did anything to hurt the humans. Most likely, they were just average people, trying to live out their lives under difficult conditions.

"I will show you," Roanin replied.

"Huh?" Aura was distracted, when she heard a noise in the distance. The sound of weapons clashing. Clearly, Roanin heard it too, as he looked in the same direction she did. Both could see the flashing of lights, although it was a bit far off to make out the details.

Then, all of a sudden, something rushed out in their direction. No, it wasn't one, but two somethings. As they got closer, Aura could tell it was two giant spiders, one black and one pink. Both were mounted by their Riders.

"Trigger!" Aura exclaimed. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Therma!"

Roanin shared none of her delight.

"Spider Riders!" he snarled. "But how?!"

"Aura!" Trigger called, as soon as he caught sight of her. "We're here to rescue you!"

"You will do no such thing!" Roanin leapt down from the platform, and unsheathed his sword. He stood in Trigger's way.

"Oh no!" At the same time, Therma cried out. Insector soldiers were tailing the two Riders. "I thought Mantle was holding them back."

"Go and help him!" Trigger shouted.

"I would, but…" The Insectors were on the attack already. Therma was barely able to dodge an incoming blow.

"Worry about your own life, not your ally!" Roanin shouted, throwing down his own sword at the off-guard Trigger.

"Ahh!" He screamed, taking a hit on the back of his shoulder.

"No!" Aura yelled. This was definitely taking a turn for the worse. Even if she was relieved that the Spider Riders would come and save her, she hated the thought that they came to such a dangerous place just for her. She clasped her hands together tight with worry. All she could do was watch, and hold faith that her champions would be able to pull through.

Despite the blow Trigger took, he wasn't hurt badly. At least he was hit by the flat of the sword, not the sharp end. He jumped in to counterattack, quickly as he could. His pike was blocked by the blade of Roanin's sword, but that didn't stop him. He continued to push.

"How could you hurt her?!" Trigger yelled. The bloodstain on her dress was still plain to see. "She cares about Insectors just as much as she cares for humans!"

"Tempted as I was, I did nothing to hurt her," Roanin replied. "And do not expect me to believe something so absurd!" Anger building, he increased the force of his strike, causing Trigger to lose his balance. He fell on his butt onto Darkness' back.

"Well it's true!" Trigger shouted. He immediately attacked once more. Roanin lunged forth with his own blade, at an even faster speed. It seemed his intent was to simply impale the Rider. Fortunately for Trigger, Darkness quickly darted off to the side.

"Be careful!" the spider said. "This is one of the Big Four. He's not going to be easy to take alone." Sadly, it seemed he was going to be alone. Therma was holding her own, but there were simply too many soldiers teaming up on her. And they hadn't seen Mantle yet.

"I'm not going to lose!" Trigger glanced quickly at the girl atop the platform. "It will be alright."

Therma was panting.

"Hang in there," Plasma attempted to encourage her Rider. But it seemed that the spider too was getting worn out.

"I know," Therma said. "I'm going to give this everything I've got. Protecting Spirit Oracle is my duty as a Spider Rider!"

She began to twirl around, fast enough to make anyone dizzy. As she did, she fired arrows, with a surprisingly accurate precision. That attack was enough to take out a good number of the Insectors. The Rider fell down to her knees on Plasma's back, holding her head.

"Leave the rest to me." Plasma whipped at the Insector soldiers who remained with one of her threads, giving time for her partner to get her bearings straight in the process.

Just as she was wrapping that up, a muscular-looking man entered, riding on a green spider.

"Mantle! Perfect timing," Therma exclaimed.

"Trigger is…" His face was tense, seeing how banged up the Earthen Spider Rider appeared. He didn't seem to be quitting any time soon, but he certainly wasn't winning.

"Please, help him!" Aura called to the two. She was aware neither of them were in the greatest shape either. She felt a bit guilty asking them to keep fighting. But she wasn't going to watch Trigger die again.

"You've got it!" Mantle shouted.

"Right," Therma answered.

The two rode up towards Roanin, Mantle heading to his right and Therma his left.

Roanin cringed, as they each raised their weapons.

"For someone who claims to care about Insectors, you are quick to order three of your champions into an unfair fight against one."

"You must see… Trigger can't win on his own." Still, though she said this, Aura wondered whether Roanin was right. Once again, she was worried too much about Trigger's well being. If Trigger did win this fight, what would happen to Roanin? Would he be slain in battle?

Furious, Roanin moved quickly as possible, just to dodge the incoming strikes from Therma and Mantle. He did succeed. But that left him easily vulnerable for Trigger to strike him. He was knocked to the ground by a blow from behind.

Therma also took this opportunity to make another hit. She fired off multiple arrows, which cut through the Insector's flesh.

Roanin grunted in pain. His sheer anger is what propelled him to stand again. He leapt high into the air, attempting to give himself some distance from the trio of Spider Riders, and landed a few feet away.

"You're not getting away!" Trigger yelled. He dashed closer and swung out his pike again. Like before, Roanin tried to block with his sword. But this time, Roanin's hands shook. It was clearly a struggle for him to hold the blow back. The Insector lost grip of his sword, and was pushed down to the ground again.

"This is the end!" declared Trigger. He held his weapon in the air.

"No! Wait!"

Aura hopped from the platform. She awkwardly ran to Roanin.

"Aura?!" Trigger lowered his weapon immediately. But from his voice, the shock was obvious.

"Trigger… you won. You don't have to do anything more." She was still full of worry. But of this, Aura was confident. She wouldn't allow this fight to go on any longer.

"Why?" Roanin could only gape up at her from the ground.

"Because I do care about Insectors," Aura replied. "I meant everything I said to you."

Aura knelt to the ground next to Roanin.

"What are you doing?" He flinched away.

"Wait…" she put a firm hand on his arm. "Let me heal you." Light came around her. It was only just as she'd started when Aura realized how much stronger her powers were compared to a little earlier. They might have even been back to normal. At least, they were good enough to take care of Roanin's injuries.

"Let go of me!" As soon as he felt the warm light on his back, he pulled away from her grip.

"But… I just want to help," Aura replied, though she stopped what she was doing. She wasn't going to violate his request.

"And what if I don't want your help?!" he answered angrily. "Even if you did heal me, you would quickly regret it!"

"I won't regret it," Aura replied, troubled.

"You will if he hurts you again," Mantle said. "And nothing will stop him then. Except us, of course."

"That's right," Roanin replied mockingly. "And you wouldn't want to throw your exhausted warriors into yet another battle, would you, Aura? For I can finish all of them before you can heal them as well. Why just heal me, and why not all these other Insectors too?"

"Well…" It struck Aura that she hadn't even thought to try and heal them. She supposed, she was more concerned for Roanin. She had gotten to know him… just a little, but still.

"Aura, it's not worth fighting over," Trigger said. He also kneeled down by her side. "We should get out of here. Hero Brade found a route for us, so we don't have to go through the forest."

"Right…" Aura answered. She glanced at Roanin, sadly. She didn't think he would die. But she wished she could help him, regardless.

"Good," Roanin replied. "Go. And if I ever see you again, I will kill you all." He stared particularly at Aura.

"Wait… you're done trying to fight us?" Trigger asked.

"We'll take this chance, if you offer it," Aura replied. She stood up and walked towards Mantle and Therma. Trigger quickly followed after her, confused. "However… Trigger, we don't have to take the route Hero Brade showed you."

"Huh?" Trigger replied.

"Didn't you want to see me 'poof' you somewhere with my powers?" she asked, emphasizing his curious choice of words.

"Yeah! That sounds awesome!" Trigger replied.

"Then I'll take us back to Arachna Castle," she said. She was confident that her powers would work, and was glad to be able to indulge Trigger.

Momentarily, the three Riders and Spirit Oracle vanished into light. They appeared once again outside the gate to Arachna Castle.