5-
"It was bright just a moment ago!" Hunter had been looking out the window, Corona standing beside him. Snailclone Interceptor had passed over a rather ominous forest, officially crossing into the Insector lands.
"Is it really dark forever?" Corona wondered.
"Yes," said Sasagawa.
Corona looked saddened. "I can't believe anyone could live like this."
"Neither can I," said Sasagawa. She hadn't been there for long herself. It was eye-opening, thinking about how it was like for people who lived there all their lives. That was simply why they had to succeed.
Sasagawa also got a strange feeling, being near Corona. A feeling of closeness? Could she also be an Oracle Handmaiden?
Sasagawa had been the first to leave the hangar when they'd arrived. She left the two Oracle Keys in their possession with Karigari. Her goal was to take the two which were still inside the orb. Assuming they were still inside the orb.
Did she have to sneak her way around? As far as she knew, Aqune was supposed to live there. Was supposed to be in that room, repeating that prayer. Yet it felt like a stealth operation to her. That made it a little more fun.
'They're still here.' She breathed a sigh of relief. Sasagawa reached her hand inside, taking the two Keys. 'Now I have to get back.'
"You've returned, Aqune…"
She froze, hearing a voice she easily recognized.
"Mantid!"
"I wondered why you and Buguese returned, only to immediately leave again. He should know better than anyone that I have spies everywhere." A dung-beetle type Insector popped up before Mantid, carrying in his hands one of the chirping bugs.
"So what if you saw?!" Sasagawa exclaimed. "You still can't win against Buguese!" Sasagawa had faced things much more terrifying than Mantid. She'd seen her life flashing before her eyes more than once. And each time, someone came to her rescue. Be it Cyclone Interceptor, or Karigari himself. She didn't fear anything, knowing she'd come with quite a few heroes.
"The Oracle Keys belong to me!" Mantid thrust down his pincer, much faster than Sasagawa expected. She flinched. But the attack didn't come. It was blocked by the hands of the Machine-Sector, which swatted Mantid away.
"Kari… Buguese!" she corrected herself.
"You had my antennae standing on end for a minute there, Miss," Karigari replied. He scooped her up into his machine's hand, opening the Viper door and allowing for her to climb inside.
"I got them!" she said.
"I knew you would."
"To think you would bring the Spider Riders back with you, Buguese." Mantid had gotten to his feet, just in time to see the Riders rush into the room. "I always knew you would try to betray me one day, but to rely on the ones you despise more than anything… it's as if you've become a completely different person."
"Perhaps I have," he said. "All that matters is that I have the advantage against you. You talk quite confidently for a man with nothing but your pincers to defend you, when I have a cutting-edge Machine-Sector and all four Oracle Keys right in my hands."
"You… what?!"
The look of sudden horror on Mantid's face was a delicious sight to Karigari.
"Not only that, but I have Aqune, who can activate them for me right now."
"Right!" she said, excited to be of help. As soon as she began her chant, a great light emanated from the Viper, surrounding the entire Machine-Sector.
"Miss!" Dizzy, she fell backward into Karigari's arms, barely registering it as he called her name.
"I… don't worry about me…" Sasagawa opened her eyes. "I must have used a lot of power."
"As long as you don't push yourself," said Karigari, holding her close to him. "If the cost of divine power is your life, I'd have to move to plan B."
"What's plan B?" Sasagawa wondered.
"I haven't quite worked that one out yet," Karigari replied. "So I'm glad you seem to be alive and well. Now then…" He had to focus on the task at hand. Karigari grabbed Mantid with the hands of his machine, squeezing just tight enough for it to hurt.
"Buguese!" Karigari heard a man's voice then. And it didn't belong to Mantid.
"That's the Genius Scientist Who's About to Defeat An Evil Emperor, Buguese," he replied. "I don't have time for interruptions."
The voice only laughed. "I thought you might want to hear this one, Buguese… or whoever you actually are."
A small, elderly man manifested in the room, as if he'd just transported there from nowhere. Perhaps he'd done exactly that.
"Who are you?" Sasagawa asked.
"My name?" He smirked. "Well, that would be the Hero Brade. Buguese isn't the only one who gets a title before his name."
"The Hero Brade?!" The owner of the green spider, whom Sasagawa had learned to be named Magma, seemed to be in awe at that name.
"More importantly," said Brade. "I'm the eighth Spider Rider." He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a manacle underneath. "It's impressive that you managed to collect all four Oracle Keys so quickly. But to truly summon Spirit Oracle and create the miracle you hope to achieve, all eight Spider Riders need to be gathered. It's a little known fact, so I don't blame you for being ignorant."
"Ignorant?" Karigari scoffed. "Don't you know who I am?"
"Not especially well," Brade admitted. "I only started trailing you recently, when I felt a strange disturbance from you and Aqune. And you are much more cunning than I imagined from an Insector. But that does not make you all-knowing."
"Well clearly you aren't either Mr. Hero, if you haven't been told of my great number of accomplishments, that far outshines anything Kurumada's managed to do. I doubt you've heard of Kurumada either." Karigari already disliked this man.
"Look, Dr. Karigari!" Sasagawa's attention was taken by a woman's figure, which seemed to be forming from the light up ahead of them.
"Spirit Oracle!" Mantid was furious.
"So you're this Oracle person the Keys were named after," said Karigari. "Well then, since I've successfully summoned you, I have a few requests for you. First, I want you to expose the true identity of Mantid… and broadcast it to all Insector-kind!"
Suddenly, light enveloped Mantid. In the hands of the Machine-Sector was not a green-skinned, towering man, but a normal-sized human.
"Y-you were right all along!" Sasagawa exclaimed. "Not that I doubted you."
"Mantid is a human?!"
"This can't be!"
There were Insectors coming out of the woodwork, appearing in the chambers. This included Grasshop, Beerain and Stags.
"We were forced to obey a human?!"
"He was never going to save us! He must have wanted to destroy us all!"
"Here, have at him." Karigari released his grip on the helpless man, throwing him to the mob of angry Insector foot soldiers. The remainder of the Big Four wasn't participating, but could only watch.
"The next thing that we want," Sasagawa continued, "Is for you to make it light again in this world. Just during the day, of course."
Sasagawa waited. But nothing seemed to happen. And she knew that it was actually still day. "What's wrong…?"
"Spirit Oracle is crying." It was Corona's voice. She seemed just as puzzled as Sasagawa was, though. "I can feel it."
"Crying?" It was true, when Sasagawa focused her powers. Despite the fact that she was still a bit exhausted, and had been trying not to use them. She sensed a deep sadness from the Oracle. "Could it be, she doesn't want Mantid to suffer either?"
"Ridiculous," said Karigari. "If this is a goddess, she must want what's best for her world. A lying, deceptive villain who doesn't have half the brilliance as me can't be her first choice for ruler of the Insectors."
"Stand down, please!" Sasagawa called, to the Insectors. They didn't listen.
"Fine, send Mantid to a maximum security prison somewhere," Karigari said. "Preferably not one in this country. I'd hate to see him break out and try to assassinate me as revenge. I do expect many attempts on my life, given my fabulous reputation. But it's far more annoying when it's the ex-king trying to do it, rather than some no-name."
Spirit Oracle lifted her hand. Mantid floated up into the air, away from the mob. He was surrounded in light, and disappeared suddenly. After that, a great light consumed the entire castle. When it dissolved, Spirit Oracle too was gone. And light from the sun shone in through the castle windows.
"We did it!" Sasagawa exclaimed! "The sunlight has returned!"
Karigari stood in front of the newly installed throne for the first time. He was quite disappointed when he'd learned Mantid never had one, and had one built urgently. In truth, there were many interior updates he hoped to make, and exterior as well. Mantid had no sense of class. But that could wait until later.
"Miss…" he kneeled down in front of her. "Will you marry me?"
"Huh?" Sasagawa blinked at him, though her hands were clasped together, her eyes glowing with excitement. "Haven't we already planned most of the wedding ceremony?"
"We have," said Karigari. "I just wanted to actually propose to the most beautiful woman in this world and the previous one. I never actually did so proper."
"Well then, yes!" she exclaimed. Her arms were suddenly around him. "Of course I'll marry you, Dr. Karigari."
Losing his balance, Karigari fell backwards onto the throne, pulling Sasagawa down with him. Neither of them cared, though. The new queen-to-be pressed her lips to his. Yuri Sasagawa really had died, but in this new life, she might have been even happier.
But what, in fact, happened to the real Buguese and Aqune, before their bodies were effectively hijacked? Well, that was a story of its own. At the same time that building collapsed, crushing Sasagawa and Karigari to death, Buguese and Aqune were struck in a freak lightning storm. The two of them died instantly. Naturally, Spirit Oracle who loved all her people mourned the loss of one of her chosen very much. And knew that the Insector world might never be saved now. Aqune and Buguese were dead. They could never come back. But because it just so happened that these deaths occurred simultaneously, the Oracle decided to create a miracle. Time was set back just a little, and Buguese and Aqune were reborn… in the body of a certain egomaniac scientist, and a popular announcer for Akasaka TV.
As one might expect, they faced some hardships at first. Aqune had never heard of TV. She didn't have any idea how to be an announcer. But she chose to dedicate herself to that task, just as she dedicated herself to the job of being an Oracle Handmaiden. And she was rather taken by Team Drive Head. They reminded her a little of the Spider Riders.
Buguese was none-to-happy to have Akira and Yusuke following him around. He'd attempted to murder them, only to learn that Karigari was not very physically fit, and made it clear to them from day one that he was not their beloved boss Dr. Karigari, not that either of them were willing to believe him. They feared he had amnesia, and were desperate to help him. This led to them introducing him to the love of Karigari's life, believing it would surely trigger his memories. And something was triggered. Buguese soon realized then, he'd encountered Aqune once more.
In this world, Buguese and Aqune were now the same species. They weren't tied down by obligations, not like the ones in their home world, at least. They were just a normal man and woman in love. When Aqune saw in a dream that the Insector world received light once again, she was no longer tied down by even the regret of abandoning that world. Nor was Buguese. He was willing to believe Aqune's words, if after all, Spirit Oracle brought them to life once again, and brought them together. He didn't want to believe, but if it were Aqune he was believing in… well, it was all hard to deny anyway.
The pair lived together, along with Akira and Yusuke. It was a quiet, reclusive life. Buguese hadn't really minded being reborn as a wanted criminal who needed to hide from the world. He didn't like humans anyway.
Truly, the hardest thing for Akira and Yusuke to comprehend was that the new "Dr. Karigari" was a vegetarian. The idea of eating a steak repulsed him.
As for the real Karigari, he did invent a way to transport cows through a dimensional portal to the Inner World, and he and Miss enjoyed all the steak they could at their first diplomatic meeting in Nuuma Kingdom.
