Ch9-

Aqune kneeled down before the Oracle Key, the one they had acquired back in her home world. Mantid had brought it with him, of course. She echoed her chant over and over, trying to clear her mind, and just focus on the Keys alone.

'I can't believe Corona was able to use all that power,' she thought to herself. Maybe Aqune was wrong about her own power being weaker. Maybe, she just could have been using it wrong, she considered. But it was that which motivated her to try harder to find the remaining two Oracle Keys. Well, that and Buguese. Naturally, he was upset over what happened at the amusement park. The Insectors wanted the Keys just to survive, so this was more than a simple loss. Although she and Buguese did have their differences in ideals, that didn't mean she couldn't care about him, and because of that, he was strongly on her mind. Lately, he'd been on her mind often.

'I have to keep focusing,' she reminded herself, noticing her train of thought slipping.

Aqune envisioned the Key in her mind. She concentrated on that, as well as her surroundings. A faint feeling began to grow stronger.

'Focus harder…'

The school. That was what came to her mind.

"There's an Oracle Key in the school," she realized. Possibly, that was the one she had sensed previously. And this reminded Aqune of one more thing. The weekend was over, which meant she had classes. If she stayed around meditating any longer, she was going to be late.

'I'll tell Buguese later,' she thought to herself.

Little did Aqune know, but a messenger bug had overheard her discovery.

"Where is he?" It was finally lunch period. Aqune glanced around the cafeteria, hoping to spot her master. It was usually easy, because he kept away from the crowds. But on this day, he was nowhere to be seen.

'Could Buguese have stayed home?' wondered Aqune. Of course, she didn't necessarily need him. She could look for the Key on her own. But she still was in a position where she had to avoid combat situations. Much as she liked Hunter and Corona, it felt like they were following her even more than she was following them, and she was the one who was supposed to be spying. She almost expected they would find out if she went looking for a key.

"Buguese, I didn't expect you to be at the mansion today." It was Mantid's voice. Buguese had gone to his leader's chambers, as he was instructed to do.

"I apologize, Mantid-sama," Buguese answered. "As you know, we lost the Key. Perhaps a new strategy is in order. Especially now that the Spider Riders also have a handmaiden on their side, and may be searching for the Keys as well."

"You needn't worry. There is already another Key in our sights," Mantid replied.

"What?!" Buguese questioned.

"At Hunter Steele's school," the Insector leader answered. "I have already sent troops there. We will use any force necessary to claim it this time. Any casualties won't matter."

'Aqune is there,' Buguese thought to himself. 'I doubt she knows of this attack, if even I wasn't told. Then… she will likely be caught up in it.' He had no other choice but to head there too, he realized.

"Umm… Hunter."

"Yeah?" replied Hunter. He and Corona were reluctantly heading to their math room after school that day. Sadly, like many other students, they had to take a make-up exam to improve their grades. That was the result of failing their big test.

"Look outside," Corona said. She was staring at a window, concerned.

Hunter spotted immediately what she did. Right outside was a lone Insector soldier. He didn't seem to be doing anything, but his presence there alone was a red flag.

"Guess the test will have to wait," he said. Not that he minded. Fighting Insectors sounded a lot more fun.

Both Riders rushed outside. They transformed as soon as they could, and approached the soldier.

"You're not getting near the school," Corona said, her bow aimed at him. The Insector didn't reply, but appeared rather afraid. He started to run.

"We can't let him escape!" Hunter yelled, and immediately began to chase him.

"Wait!" Corona called.

Confused, Hunter turned his head to her. A distance away, close to another entrance, was a larger group of soldiers.

"This is bad," he thought out loud.

Remembering that she too had to take the make-up test, Aqune had already gone to the room. She knew she didn't actually need it, as her grade was meaningless when she wasn't even a real student. But following procedure would keep her from becoming suspicious, and Buguese still wasn't around to help her get the Key anyway.

'Hunter and Corona aren't here?' she noticed. She was starting to second-guess her decision already. 'Could they have found out about the Key?'

But Aqune quickly became distracted by something completely different.

It was thin, but noticeable. From outside the classroom, smoke was pouring in.

"What is this?" Being in the back of the room, she at least had her distance. But there was nowhere to run either.

The teacher and other students who were closer looked positively nauseous. They were starting to collapse in pain.

'Whatever it is, I shouldn't breathe it.' The girl did her best to cover her nose and mouth with her hands, her back pressed to the wall. 'Once it dissipates, then…' But it was hard to think. She already felt a bit lightheaded.

"Aqune!" Like a rocket, Buguese charged in and threw his cape around Aqune, hoping to shield her.

"Buguese… what's going on?" She felt the Insector lift her from the ground and into his arms. Instantly, Aqune felt safe and warm.

"Don't talk and just hold your breath," he said, as he hurried out of the room with her.

"Insectors?" That was the first thing Aqune noticed when they made it out. There were Insectors in the halls.

"That was an Insector made poison," Buguese said. "It was not a strong enough amount to kill anyone, or it likely would have been too late by the time I found you, but not a good thing for those who inhaled it either. Are you alright?"

"Yes," Aqune said. "A little weak, but I'll be alright. Thank you."

Buguese sighed.

"This could have been avoided if-" But he was distracted by the appearance of the two Riders in the hall.

"Buguese!" Corona shouted.

Hunter was more surprised to see that he was carrying Aqune.

"Let her go!" he yelled.

"Wait… Hunter," Aqune spoke. "Buguese … just saved me."

"Saved you?" Hunter wondered. It didn't make much sense to him. "Probably just so he can use you again. Buguese already kidnapped a spider!"

"What do you mean?!" Aqune exclaimed. She was genuinely confused, not knowing which spider Hunter was referring to.

"We know about Portia now."

Both Buguese and Aqune were shocked to hear this. Exactly how much about Portia did they know?

"I don't know where you heard that name from," Buguese answered. "But you are mistaken once again." Annoyed, the Insector looked to the soldiers in the area. "Destroy the Spider Riders!" After that command, he took off with Aqune.

"I didn't tell them about Portia," Aqune said. She obviously hadn't even worn her manacle since she'd been posing as a student.

"I doubted you would," Buguese replied. "But someone did." Grasshop was the first suspect that came to mind. He was probably the only one careless enough to say anything, and he had fought them the other day. "Anyway, that's not important now," he continued. "Why didn't you tell me about the Oracle Key?!"

"That's…" she paused. "I wanted to, but I couldn't find you."

"Fine," answered Buguese. He had to admit to himself that it was somewhat his fault. He couldn't really overreact in that case. "Now we must focus on finding it, preferably while the Spider Riders are still being kept busy."

"Right," Aqune answered, worriedly.

Although Hunter and Corona wanted to pursue Buguese, they certainly had their hands full.

Corona had just finished taking several soldiers out with an array of arrows.

"Hunter, we really shouldn't be fighting in here," she said. "We don't want to cause any more damage to the school."

"Yeah, I know," said Hunter, frustrated. Naturally, he had spotted the people who were in the classroom. He didn't know what had happened to them, but there were definitely victims already.

"Let me out!" Shadow called.

"In the halls?!" Hunter yelled. They weren't exactly wide.

"Just trust me," Shadow said.

"Well, alright," Hunter decided, for lack of better options. "Shadow! Spider out!"

"Thank you," said Shadow. "Here goes!" He launched out a large web, catching all the soldiers in range.

"Woah!" Hunter exclaimed, thoroughly impressed.

"There may not be room for me to move in here, but all you've got to do is drag these guys outside," the spider instructed.

"We'll do that," Corona spoke.

"Where exactly is the key?" Buguese asked. This time, he was going to find it without anyone interfering.

"We're really close," Aqune said. She was concentrating hard on the key's presence, despite her own headache. "Hmm… this is odd."

"What?" asked Buguese.

"It feels as if the key is below us somehow," answered Aqune.

"If that's so, it won't be an issue." Buguese lowered Aqune gently, though he was still supporting her with one arm. He pulled from his belt the retractable sword and fired at the ground. As a result, a large hole was created.

"It's hollow?" Aqune wondered.

Then, to her surprise, Buguese picked her up again and leapt into the hole. At least it wasn't too far to fall. Just a bit jarring.

"This looks like some sort of shrine," Aqune said. There were intricate paintings on the wall, though they were hard to see clearly when the only light coming in was from above. There were also some statues, and fancy urns placed around.

"The school was built on top of this?" Buguese wondered. It was a little suspicious. But then, if the Keys were sent to the Outer World somehow, he didn't see why Oracle Shrines couldn't appear there either.

"The Key is straight ahead," Aqune deducted.

"Then that is where we'll go," Buguese said. He started to run.

"Wait! Buguese!" From the corner of her eye, Aqune noticed as something shot from the wall. It was a spear, and several more followed.

Buguese was able to catch sight of it, and just at the right timing. With a rolling motion, he avoided getting hit. However, he ended up awkwardly on his back, with Aqune on top of him.

"Buguese… " Aqune mumbled, embarrassed. She managed to crawl off of him.

"Wretched Oracle! Buguese yelled. "She will do anything to get in our way." As a handmaiden, he thought at least Aqune would have been protected. But either he was wrong, or it was the fault of his own presence. Regardless, they had to continue.

This time, a large panel began to crash down from the ceiling. Quickly, Buguese fired at it with his sword. After several swift shots, it had mostly crumbled before it hit the ground (or its intended targets).

Aqune sighed with relief. After the relative ease of pulling the Key from the belfry, she wasn't expecting this much of a challenge.

Both Aqune and Buguese proceeded carefully the rest of the way, looking in all directions for more traps. Fortunately, there were none. Only the Key awaited them.

"At last!" Buguese said. The Insector reached for the Key, which sat in an orb. However, upon touching it, he learned that said orb was actually a barrier. "Aqune, you must take it," he instructed.

"Right," she said.

Buguese stood behind her, as Aqune reached her hand into the orb. Her hands were able to pass through. She pulled out the Key.

"Here," she said, handing it to the Insector.

"Good work," he replied. He put the Key away where it would be safe, and not visible to anyone. Then, he once again lifted Aqune.

"Now we have two," Aqune said.

"Yes, but we can't be sure of that until we make it back to the mansion," Buguese replied.

"Umm…" Aqune spoke, softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I rest for a while?" She still didn't feel at full strength. But on top of that, it was still so oddly comfortable to be held like this.

"Do what you like," he answered. He didn't really mind. It actually felt nice to hold her.

"Alright." Aqune closed her eyes.

Soon, Hunter and Corona had finished fighting the Insectors, and even managed to clean it all up.

"What do you think that was about?" Hunter wondered, as they headed back towards the school. "Buguese didn't seem interested in attacking us. And if they came to beat us, wouldn't they have sent someone stronger than those soldiers?"

"You're right, Hunter," said Corona. "I was thinking the same thing."

"It's weird," said Hunter.

As they made it through the entrance, Corona felt a chill.

"Hunter… I think I understand."

"What?"

"There was an Oracle Key," Corona said. "Somehow… I can tell. But it's gone now."

Though Hunter was terribly confused, he was also concerned.

"Then Buguese must have taken it!"

"I guess…" said Corona. "But, why did I know that?"

"Corona," Venus said. "I don't have all the answers, but this must mean that Spirit Oracle really is on your side."

"Yeah!" Hunter agreed. "And if that's the case, that means we're going to beat the Insectors. We can get back the key they took, and Portia too."

"Hunter…" His enthusiasm was nearly enough to make her feel better.

AN: It was fun coming up with the death traps in the way of that Oracle Key. Can't make them all easy to get.