AN: Just, for the record, this is not going to turn into a high school (err… middle school?) AU, with all the associated clichés. More like, the school aspect was just thrown in for kicks, and realism, since Hunter is a teenager in the real world, and it's really not that important to the overall plot.

Ch4-

Lumen was glad that the matter of Hunter and Shadow's teamwork had been settled. However, that didn't help at all to soothe the biggest concern on his mind.

"Alright, so we're in the Outer World, but we belong in the Inner World. How do you suppose we get back?"

"That is a valid concern, but our priority now is stopping the Insectors who are here," replied Igneous.

"Fine. Well… what about after that? Any ideas?" continued the prince.

"Maybe there's a clue in the temple," Corona wondered out loud. "We came in from there, so there could be some kind of portal."

"Well, let's look!" Hunter suggested. "Never give up!"

And so, the group began searching through the mountain temple. Although it still hadn't likely been used in a long time, it was a lot nicer than the abandoned one in Arachna. It was still rather dark, but oddly enough, this temple actually had running water. But sadly, there was no portal to be found.

"So now what?" asked Corona in disappointment. "Does this mean we have to live here?"

"Living inside the temple wouldn't be so bad, but camping in the woods… especially at night…" Just thinking about it brought a chill down Igneous' spine.

"It's not too hard to live off the land, guys," Hunter said. "As an adventurer, that's what I thrive for."

"That's good for you. But we lived in a castle," Lumen spoke. "And… and Sparkle is still there. Oh, I hope she'll be alright without us."

'I hope you'll be alright without her,' Corona thought to herself.

"Who's Sparkle?" Hunter asked.

"The princess of Arachna," Igneous answered. "She's Lumen's little sister, and also the youngest Spider Rider."

"Oh, wow! So there's even more of us?" asked Hunter.

"I guess that's possible, but she's the only one we know of," Corona replied.

Hunter suddenly looked nervous.

"Well, speaking of family members, I wonder if my parents are angry at me for skipping school. Or… maybe they didn't find out," he added the last part hopefully. But normally, absences would be reported to the parents.

"You go to school?" wondered Corona.

"Uh… yeah," Hunter said. "Don't you?"

"Actually, no," Corona said.

"You don't have to go to school in the Inner World?!" Hunter exclaimed. "Then, do they even have schools? That's so cool!"

"There actually are schools," Igneous responded. "But they're mainly for studying specific trades. I have heard of some more general schools, but in the Inner World, most of us start training to keep up family trades from a young age."

"What's school like?" Corona asked.

"It's really boring," Hunter replied. "You sit through lectures, take really hard tests, write essays and then they give you a ton more work to do at home… which I forgot to do last night. Now I'm even happier I missed school."

"I'd kind of like to try school and see what it's like," Corona replied.

"I don't think that's possible," Hunter replied, skeptical of the idea. "If you tried to register, they'd probably want to know where you came from. That would bring up some problems." That quickly brought another issue to his mind. "Oh, guys! If you meet any other Earthens, don't let them know you're Spider Riders. People hate spiders in this world, so I think it would get weird and messy. Or, it would turn out like some science fiction movie, where they think you're aliens and capture you to do weird experiments."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" asked Shadow, a bit annoyed. Spider Riders could pose as normal humans, but giant spiders... not so much.

"Stay in the manacle at all times," Hunter replied. "Unless we're away from other people, like right now. Spider in." Shadow was retracted into the manacle.

"I guess that's wise," he mumbled. "But only because I don't want to be experimented on." Now, he was even more anxious to get back home.

"Okay, I've really got to go now!" Hunter called. "But I'll definitely be back. Maybe I can smuggle you guys something good to eat."

Although Hunter didn't expect this, Corona wound up accompanying him back to the town. She had said she was just curious about everything. Hunter didn't mind her company, and he certainly would have been curious too in her place.

"Hold it!" The two were stopped when an angry looking man called to them.

"Uh… that's the principal," Hunter whispered to Corona.

"Hunter Steele! Cutting classes again?" he asked sternly. "And all to hang out with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Hunter exclaimed in his defense, though both he and Corona were blushing a bit from the accusation.

"Who is she, anyway?" asked the principal. "Not a student here, I believe." He was staring Corona down.

"She's… a relative!" Hunter decided. It was the best he could think of on the spot. Corona looked at him in confusion, but figured leaving the situation for him to handle would be best. "Corona lives very far away, but she's staying in the area for a while. I missed classes today to help her move in."

"I see," said the principal, but he sounded doubtful.

"I'm going to start attending school here too!" Corona declared. Now it was Hunter's turn to be surprised.

"Alright. Then I'll gladly arrange for that, and the both of you had better be here bright and early tomorrow," he answered, then quickly walked away.

"That was close," Hunter said. "I thought he was going to kill me. But, Corona… why did you say that?"

"For strategy," she answered, smiling. "If the both of us have to pretend not to be Spider Riders, but something happens when you're in school, you'll need someone to help cover for you. If there's unavoidable danger, the two of us can fight together if we stay close."

"I see!" Hunter said. Also, he wasn't expecting the principal to just register a strange student. Maybe he was a bit too enthusiastic about his job. "Well, thanks Corona. Although, if you really go to school with me, you're going to be pretty bored."

The next day at school was naturally an unusual one. However, a surprise awaited both Hunter and Corona. Not one, but two new students were standing in front of the chalkboard, waiting to be introduced.

The other, of course, was Aqune. She was dressed a bit differently, wearing a plain black t-shirt in place of her normal Insector-print shirt. However, she still sported the very long earrings.

'That girl… she's also a Spider Rider,' Aqune thought to herself. She could sense the power from Corona. 'Hmm…'

"Class…" the teacher announced. "Today we have two new transfer students. Please, introduce yourselves." She first pointed to Corona.

"Hello…" she spoke nervously, not really expecting her entrance to include introducing herself to an audience."My name is Corona. I just moved here. My hobby is cooking. Nice to meet all of you." Then, she took a seat right behind Hunter.

"Good morning everyone," Aqune was next. "I'm Aqune. I came here from Alaska. Cooking is also my hobby. Hopefully, we can all be good friends."

She then moved to a seat in the back. However, she made sure she could see Hunter well enough, and Corona too.

'They seem normal enough,' she thought to herself. She'd never met another Spider Rider before, so she wasn't sure what to think. 'I wonder how Buguese is doing.'

Buguese and Aqune were put in separate grades. Technically, both of them were older than Hunter. But it was easier for Aqune to pass herself off as his age, and things would look less suspicious this way. However, Buguese's human disguise was quite an impressive one. His skin was the same color as Aqune's. His hair was blonde now, and no longer tied up in a ponytail. He was dressed in human clothes, and any bug features weren't visible. He even looked a bit younger. Whoever arranged for all of that was indeed talented, Aqune thought.

When it was time for lunch period, Hunter and Corona sat next to each other.

"I can't believe there was another transfer student besides you," Hunter commented. "That's pretty rare."

"She seemed nice though," said Corona.

"So, you also like to cook?" To both their surprises, Aqune was standing behind them.

"Oh… yeah," Corona answered. "But I think I still have a lot to learn."

"Maybe we can exchange recipes, or cook something together one day. Your name is Corona, right?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised you remembered," the blonde girl said.

"And you are?" Aqune asked, pointing to Hunter.

"Hunter," he said. "Hunter Steele. It's nice to meet you, Aqune."

'He remembered her name too?' Corona thought.

"I suppose you don't also like cooking?" Aqune asked. It would be strange if all three of them did. "What do you like?"

"Adventure!" Hunter answered.

"I see," Aqune said. "I haven't had much adventure. But, now I'm in a strange new place. I guess that's like an adventure."

"What was it like in Alaska?" asked Hunter.

"Cold," she said. "And dark, sometimes even in the day." It was kind of like the Insector world. Well, that's what she was told about it. The main difference being, sometimes it was always light, while the Insector world was always dark all year round.

Thinking of Insectors, Aqune turned her head. She could see Buguese, who was glaring at them from a distance away.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Hunter asked.

"No," said Aqune. "I'm just a little tense. All this new material to learn is really hard." She felt bad about having to lie, but she really was confused by a lot of the material, having never been schooled formally herself.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Corona said. "Where I came from, we didn't have to learn any of this."

"I've been going to school here all my life, and I still have trouble," Hunter admitted. Of course, that was partially because he was so bored with it, he often didn't bother.

"I know," Aqune said. "Maybe we should get together and study It might not be as fun as adventuring, but it will help us all."

"That might be a good idea," Hunter said. As long as they had time between actual classes and battles with Insectors, anyway.

"Well, alright," Corona decided, though the idea bothered her a bit.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Corona.

"Why not?" Hunter asked.

"She's just a normal girl," Corona said. "If she spends time with us, what if she finds out who we really are?"

"Hmm… I didn't think of that," said Hunter. "Well, she seems really nice. Hopefully, we have nothing to worry about."

"Aqune, you seem to be enjoying yourself." Buguese's voice sounded bothered. The two of them had met outside the building after school.

"Yeah," she answered. "We're going to start hanging out to study. That way, I'll also be getting closer to them. Do you want to join us?"

"Definitely not," he answered. "But do what you like. Report anything interesting you find to me."

"Yes, I understand," Aqune answered.

The next day of school began as routine. There were no new transfer students, just classes and work. At lunch, the three Riders arranged to have their first study session after the day's classes. After all, a big math test was coming up.

Before going to meet the others in the classroom, Aqune was approached by Buguese.

"There is something you should know," the Insector began. He looked quite serious.

"Yes?" Aqune wondered.

"An attack was planned for today, on this very school."

"Why?!" Aqune exclaimed. She clenched her hands together, worriedly.

"So we can face Hunter Steele," Buguese answered. "At the very least, we can get a better gauge on his power. He is staying here today, correct?"

"Yes," Aqune said.

"Now that you're aware, be careful," Buguese warned.

'Aqune…' he thought to himself, as the girl left, clearly concerned. He didn't think she cared as much about her mission as she did for making actual friends. Perhaps that was natural.

"I guess we should wait until Aqune gets here," Corona commented. She and Hunter were alone in an empty classroom. In a way, she wouldn't have minded if it stayed that way, not that she disliked Aqune.

"Yeah, but I wonder what's holding her up," Hunter said.

Then, all of a sudden, something crashed into the window from outside. Or rather, quite a lot of somethings.

"Buzzrays!" Corona exclaimed.

"What are they?" Hunter replied, but could tell they were trouble even if he wasn't familiar with them.

"Quick, lock the door!"

Hunter did so, as Corona transformed herself. She then began to try and swat away the incoming swarm of bugs.

"Hang on!" Hunter yelled, also transforming.

From a distance outside the school, Beerain was watching. She was the one who had summoned the Buzzrays.

'Good,' she thought to herself. 'I found them.'

Aqune finally reached the classroom. Although the shut door helped to mute the sound of the fight, she peered through the glass to witness what was going on.

'I can't interfere…' she told herself. 'But…'

Worriedly, she continued just staring.

Hunter slashed, while Corona swatted. She thought actually firing arrows would do too much damage to the room. Not that the Buzzrays weren't causing damage themselves.

"It's no use…" Corona decided. They had to hurry and finish this. The impact from the arrow she finally shot took out several Buzzrays. However, it also took the door.

Aqune darted back as it fell. She had the reflexes, so that was no problem. But her presence was then revealed to those inside. They could only stare.

"Aqune…" Hunter said nervously. "I… I can explain later. Just run!" Hunter turned, and began to hit more Buzzrays.

"Run… where?" Aqune asked out loud. She didn't want to just leave them, but her inability to act and risk exposing her own identity made it pointless for her to stay.

'That's… Aqune?' Beerain noticed. 'I don't think she can interfere, but that also makes her vulnerable.' That was actually a strategy. She signaled to the Buzzrays. "Attack her!"

As Aqune was about to run, she was surprised that a stream of Buzzrays came after her.

"Oh no!" Hunter yelled. "Corona, hurry!"

"Right," said Corona.

As Aqune did her best to stay a step ahead, the two Riders hit the Buzzrays with all they had. At last, they had fallen.

Frustrated, Beerain flew away.

"Aqune, are you alright?" Hunter asked. He and Corona approached her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. She wasn't even scratched. "Thanks to you two. But you're going to have to explain… and maybe clean this up." She noticed the mess of Buzzray corpses on the floor. Those would definitely be very suspicious if left around.

"At least nobody else saw," Corona sighed. It was fortunate that the halls were pretty empty, as most students had already left school, or were in their club rooms for after school activities. "Alright, let's take care of it."