AN: This chapter has a scene that could be considered a bit gruesome. I didn't describe it in detail, because I didn't want this fic to get to M rating territory just for one chapter, but just be warned anyway.

Ch11-

Hunter was with the others in the temple the next morning. Even if it was a school day, neither he nor Corona felt any motivation to go. Rather, they'd be wasting their time if they attended, they thought. Hunter still felt very unsettled about what had transpired the day before. The memory played clearly through his head.

Magma was furious, unsurprisingly.

"We can't let that girl escape. Now we know she's the one who took Portia!"

"But she's…" Hunter tried to speak, but he wasn't sure how to argue about this. "Maybe there's a better explanation," he instead continued."Aqune is a Spider Rider, and Spider Riders are heroes, so she couldn't be bad."

"Who did she warn us to be careful of?" Corona wondered, interrupting their debate. It almost seemed like Aqune was especially directing the warning towards her. This made her already tense mind feel just a bit worse. "Unless… does she mean the principal lives in this place?"

"What?!" Hunter exclaimed. "How is he dangerous?" Annoying, yes, but that was a far stretch from dangerous.

"But it makes sense," Corona answered. "He looks just like the man I saw in my dream. Brandon came to us asking about that same person, when he wanted to find Aqune. From the way he sounded, I think he was worried about her. When we found Aqune just now, the person she was together with was Buguese. So I think Brandon is really Buguese, and the principal isn't who he says he is either."

Hunter was definitely startled. But it did all seem to fit together.

"Yeah. Buguese and Brandon do kind of look alike. And if Aqune is a Spider Rider, it finally makes sense how Buguese seemed to know her from the start. If she really just moved here, there's no way someone from the Inner World would know about her."

"I don't care who's really who," replied Magma. "I can't just sit around here talking when I've finally found Portia." Then he took off on Brutus.

"Wait!" Hunter called. "We still have to find out what the principal is up to!"

"On the contrary, this is way too troublesome, Hunter," Lumen said. "We fight Insectors, but we can't start fighting humans now too. Let's go back."

"I… I have to agree," Corona spoke up.

"But why? We're heroes, remember?!" Hunter shouted. "If there's evil, we have to stop them no matter what."

"Because I'm afraid," Corona admitted. "We may have found the truth about Aqune, but I don't even know who or what I am anymore. Maybe some things are best left uncovered."

"Good. Then it's settled," Lumen spoke.

Now, they were all back at their base, even Magma. But not a thing was settled. Every minute spent sitting there just gave Hunter more worries.

Meanwhile, all of the Big Four were again gathered for a meeting in Mantid's chambers, as well as Aqune.

"At last, the third Oracle Key is mine," Mantid gloated. "Our ambitions are nearly at their conclusion."

"Wow!" exclaimed Grasshop in admiration. "We're actually winning!"

"It was Buguese who got the Keys," Beerain pointed out.

"Who gets the Keys doesn't matter," replied Mantid. "That is why I need all of you to ensure we take the final Key. The one which is unfortunately in the Spider Riders' possession."

"All of us?" Stags wondered. As a man who loved an honorable one-on-one duel, that seemed like too much.

"This is a dire situation," Mantid answered. "There are five Riders to defeat. Six if you count the one who is only a child. And there are five of you, including Aqune."

"Aqune is fighting too?" Buguese asked.

"Indeed," Mantid answered. "She may be a human as well, but she is stronger than any ordinary Spider Rider. Now, there are to be no more questions. You must head out as soon as possible, and return here with the Key."

Aqune stood before Buguese outside. She looked worried, and honestly didn't need anything else to be concerned about at this point, but wouldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry it came down to this, Aqune," said Buguese. "But Mantid-sama is right. We must take the Key no matter what. This will save all Insectors."

"I know," she answered. She was barely looking up at him.

"Therefore, you will fight too." Buguese took the red and white mask from under his cape, and placed it on Aqune. Now, she had to fight.

The group of Spider Riders were a short distance away from the temple, gathering some food from the trees. Hunter noticed that no one else had even spoken of the previous incident again. That was the only thing prompting him to keep quiet too. But nonetheless, definitely all of them were uneasy.

"Hey, what's that?" Sparkle was bent down, picking some fruit, when she spotted a shadow up above them.

"Insectors!" Igneous shouted. "They're persistent!" Still, he and the rest were not expecting the emergence of the entire Big Four.

"Hunter Steele! Hand over the Key!" Buguese ordered, looking angry.

"Absolutely not!" he replied.

"You'll regret that choice," said Buguese. But he rather wanted to fight anyway.

"Wait," Stags interrupted, seeing that Buguese was about to draw his weapon. "I will be the one to defeat Hunter Steele. You have already seen firsthand the power of the Keys. I have not been granted such an opportunity."

Buguese did want to protest. However, he was aware that Stags was stronger than him. Perhaps things would work out better this way. "Very well."

"You again?" Hunter wondered, as Stags approached him. It wasn't that he was afraid, but definitely a bit nervous. The last time he fought against Stags, it didn't end all that well, and he hadn't had much time to prepare for a rematch.

"You're going to give Portia back to us!" Magma called, already jumping at Aqune. The girl effortlessly dodged. Aqune smirked, and slammed Magma with a swift blow from her sword.

"Magma!" Igneous said worriedly. However, he was distracted by Beeran's whip, which flew in his direction. He narrowly avoided it, and transformed as fast as he could.

All the others, aside from Magma who had done it earlier, transformed then as well.

Corona decided to take on Buguese, and approached him, armed to attack.

"If you think you can possibly defeat me, you're wrong!" Buguese said, and started to fire blasts at her. Evading, Corona began to follow his lead with her arrows.

"Uh… so this leaves me against the prince?" Grasshop thought nervously. Not that he really was enthusiastic about fighting any of them.

"Aww… too bad for you," Lumen said, and smacked the bug with his sword.

"Can I at least go back and get a Machine-Sector?" he asked, rubbing his head where it was bruised.

"No, that's cheating," Sparkle said. And she proceeded to pound at him with her yo-yo barrage.

Grasshop yelled out in pain. But not all the Riders were having as easy a fight.

"You're pathetic," spat Aqune, as she hit Magma with yet another rough attack. It was obvious he and Brutus wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. The normally sweet Aqune fought absolutely brutally.

Igneous seemed to have the upper hand against Beerain, as he was quite the skilled tactician. But Corona was struggling against Buguese, and Hunter was being pounded by Stags again.

"Won't you use the Key's power?" Stags questioned, anxious. "Otherwise, you will die in this battle."

Hunter groaned. Sure, he wanted to, but he wasn't really sure how to do so freely.

Corona was knocked to the floor, as one of Buguese's blasts of energy made contact.

"Hunter…" she said worriedly, as her eyes met him. More than herself, he was all she could think of. Then, a sudden light was released from where she lay. Once again the Oracle Key Hunter held began to react.

"At last!" Stags said.

"Yeah, finally!" Hunter agreed. "Stags, now it gets serious!"

Stags began to charge at the powered form of Hunter, while Hunter made a move simultaneously.

"Full Screw!" Hunter yelled. The massive blast shot at Stags.

"Something's wrong." Just as this happened, Aqune was hit with a bad feeling, which even the influence of her mask could not prevent. She ran towards Buguese, grabbing him by the hand, and tried to move back.

The Insector was confused, but only until he noticed exactly what was troubling her. A blast was coming, something much more massive than Hunter's Full Screw. Even from the slight distance they'd gotten, Buguese and Aqune couldn't really avoid it.

In an instant, the battlefield turned silent. All warriors had fallen. Aqune's mask had broken from the impact, and aside from that, all of the Riders had come out of their transformed states. Hunter's Key was lying on the floor beside him.

Aqune stirred, despite the pain she was feeling all over.

"What was that? Buguese!"

"Aqune…" he was barely conscious, but could at least acknowledge her.

It was the principal who then stepped onto the scene, laughing to himself. Approaching Hunter, he bent over and took the Key. Even though both Aqune and Buguese saw this, they were too weak to do a thing.

"At the very least, I still have one other daughter," the man commented, noticing Corona as well. "The one who didn't foolishly deny me." He started to drag her away.

"Corona…" Aqune spoke. "She's my…" She paused. ""Buguese, we have to stop him." Will alone propelled her to a standing position.

"Yes, he has the Key," Buguese replied. His priorities differed, but he stood along with her.

"Oh Aqune, you really think you can stop me?" the principal said, deciding not to ignore her completely. "You should just feel lucky I didn't kill you with my cannon," he continued. "But I really couldn't have used its full power. After all, I need your sister alive."

"Wh-what…" Hunter's eyes cracked open. He saw Corona and the principal, Buguese and Aqune following after. But he couldn't move.

The principal finally stopped at the temple.

"Why here?" Aqune questioned.

"You should know very well this is a portal between worlds," answered the man. "You used it to get here."

He dropped Corona to the floor, and kneeled down in front of what appeared to be four small dents in the wall. However, he pushed the Key into one of them, and it fit there perfectly.

Aqune ran to Corona's side. Buguese, however, used his second wind to charge at the principal with his blade. Although the sword made a cut, and his arm was bleeding, the man retaliated, easily able to push the weakened Buguese down.

"You really thought you were going to kill me?" he mocked.

"I must have the Keys!" Buguese declared. "And if I have to kill you to take it, that will be no loss for me."

"Both of us feel we need it, it seems," answered the man. "That's why I built that cannon as insurance some time ago. Right now, it's aimed right at the home I so kindly lent to the entire Insector army. If you don't want all of them dead, why don't you bring me the Keys you have? Then, I can finish setting up the portal back to my future paradise."

Buguese glared at him, holding his sword but not making any moves.

"You wouldn't risk using such a weapon," Buguese said. "The Oracle Keys will be destroyed in the process."

"Oracle Keys can't be destroyed so simply," he replied. "I've run plenty of tests on the one I held all these years."

"Corona…" Aqune held the girl who was said to be her sister, as her eyes finally opened.

"Aqune?" Corona spoke, in surprise. "Why are we here?"

"That man. He's…" Aqune started. "He's after your power. He's our father."

"Father?" Corona wondered. "Then, you're saying you're my sister?" She tried to run all this through her head, but wasn't getting anywhere. The fact that she had a headache already from getting blasted wasn't helping matters. "Aqune, I'm sorry," Corona continued. "I don't remember you. I don't remember my past at all."

"Then we're the same," Aqune said, half-smiling. "We're both handmaidens as well, so I believe it's true."

"A handmaiden?" Corona wondered. Now, things really were making sense. Well, a bit more sense. "You mean you don't remember your past either?"

"No," answered Aqune. "Not before I was with the Insectors."

Right, the Insectors. Corona recalled that they had just been in the middle of fighting against them. And fighting Aqune. Noticeably, Buguese was in the temple too.

"Aqune, please tell me," Corona spoke. "Are you really our enemy? If you're a handmaiden, and a Spider Rider, then why?"

Aqune looked away. She didn't want to make eye-contact.

"I really enjoyed being your friend. But it's complicated." She shook her head and faced Corona once more. Now was the time to just be honest. "I'm a Spider Rider, and I don't want to be anyone's enemy, but it would be wrong of me to betray Buguese. You see, he's a very important person to me. I think it's sort of like the way Hunter is to you." Her face was lightly flushed.

'Aqune truly thinks that much of me?' Buguese thought to himself. 'She isn't angry?'

"How about one of you hurries along and gets the Keys?" said the principal. "Otherwise, I might just fire the cannon right now because I'm so bored. And I can do it whenever I want, even from this spot."

"Then that must mean you have some sort of switch!" Buguese said. "I simply have to take it from you!"

Angrily, he jumped at the man, near ripping his shirt off.

"Rash movements are not recommended," the principal said, while pulling the switch from his pants pocket. "Now then…" he slowly started lowering his finger, giving Buguese a chance to let go of him.

"No!" Aqune exclaimed. Running in, she knocked the switch from his hand, barely catching it as it fell.

As Aqune was now awkwardly on the floor, the principal stepped on her back in response. "I have to admit, that surprised me. But how long do you think you can you keep up this meager resistance?"

Aqune cringed, but tried to keep a tight grip around the switch. Buguese was furious, and Corona worried.

Suddenly, laughing echoed into the room.

"Mantid-sama!" Buguese realized.

Rather than responding to Buguese, Mantid just quietly walked inside, his gaze focused on the principal.

"It seems it's time for our partnership to come to an end, Earthen," Mantid finally spoke.

"G-go ahead," the man replied worriedly. This, he absolutely hadn't anticipated. He stepped away from Aqune. "Restore your sunlight or… or do whatever you want! The last key is here. But then-"

"Oh I planned to take the Key whether you offered it to me or not," Mantid replied. "But you won't live to see it ever again!"

The Insector leader thrust down his pincers, slicing off the man's very head.

Aqune gasped. Buguese and Corona seemed equally stunned.

"Mantid… why?" Aqune asked. Even if they were an enemy, the thought of anyone losing their lives upset Aqune. And, he was her father after all. "All life is precious," she spoke. A bright aura grew around her.

"No. Not all life," Mantid replied, grinning. The remaining three keys, which were also glowing now, he placed in the slots. "Now, everything is as I planned."

Then, the entire room became filled with light.

"Huh?" Hunter stopped in his tracks, shocked. Just as he was arriving, he could see a tremendous light all the way from outside the building. And just as quickly as it formed, the light suddenly faded.