StarLight

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Stalkling and the Storm

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Arya
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I had gone home after training with Skylar, Jim, and Toby.
However, I decided to go hunt for Bular again.
I had a feeling on where he could be.
Mostly because of the feeling I had for a couple hours.
Something wasn't right in the air, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
I had no idea what exactly it was, and I was going to find out.
I walked down the street, stopping in my tracks before I ran into someone that just walked out of the convenience store with a red slushy.
Their blue eyes met mine, a smile spreading over their features.
"Hey, Arya." Skylar greeted.
"Hey." I greeted, giving a small nod.
"What brings you here?" She then asked.
"Searching for something. Have you noticed how off the air feels?" I spoke in reply.
"Well, a storm is coming in." She replied, taking a sip of the slushy.
A frown then pulled at her features.
"But I do get what you mean. I was about to go on a walk if you want to join, get your mind off it." She then spoke, shrugging.
"I suppose that'll do me good." I stated, the two of us walking side by side towards the tree line on the other side of the canal.
As we walked her phone began to ring.
With a sigh, she pulled it out of her pocket and placed it to her ear.
"Shoot for Sky. What's up?" She answered with.
"Skylar, where are you right now?" Jim's worried voice spoke through the receiver.
"Uh, walking across the bridge to the canal with Arya. We're taking a walk before the storm hits." She replied as I looked around.
"Listen, you need to get home. Something-" He was cut off by a terrible sounding screech as the rain began falling heavily from the clouds above us.
A dark form moved through the clouds, the occasional lightning strike outlining its form, its screech covered up by the thunder.
"What is that?" Skylar asked, lowering her phone.
"I can't tell from here." I replied as we both watched it.
It began to dive and my eyes widened as it grew closer.
"Get down!" I shouted, tackling Skylar.
The claws just missed us as the stalkling pulled up, rising back into the sky.
"Is that a stalkling?!" Skylar shouted, getting to her feet as her armor equipped itself.
"Yeah, it is." I replied, watching for it as she readied her sword.
Without warning, I felt it's claws dig into my shoulder, lifting me off the ground into the sky.
"Arya!" Skylar shouted before taking to the air after me.
I slashed at its legs with my dagger, putting as much strength as possible into my swing.
Sparks flew from the contact and the Stalkling screeched in pain, dropping me.
Skylar tossed her sword, the blade passing by me as I fell, bouncing off the stalkling.
Skylar caught me, her sword manifesting in her hand moments after.
We dived, Skylar setting me on the ground before taking back to the air.
I watched as they fought in the air, flying higher into the crowds until the only way to see what was going on was when the lightning lit up their forms.
The sound of thunder crashed, accompanied by a pained scream.
Skylar was hurt and I was stuck here, not able to do a thing about it.
I glanced over, seeing Skylar's phone laying on the ground, rain drops bouncing off it.
I grabbed it, opening it and making a call to Jim.
He picked up immediately.
"Skylar?!" He shouted through the phone.
"It's Arya. Look, Skylar is fighting the Stalkling above the bridge over the canal. I don't care how you knew what was about to happen, what I need from you is to get here now and help me help her." I spoke quickly, seeing the two of them dive below the cloud line to clash once more.
"I'm already on my way. Toby, Draal, Blinky, and Arrrgh are with me as well." He spoke.
I nodded before remembering he couldn't see me.
"Good. Get here-"
I was cut off from another scream.
I looked up, seeing the stalkling had caught Skylar, digging it's claws into her skin.
"Sky!" I shouted.
Suddenly, she began to glow, her wings sending blue sparks into the air, her hair beginning to lift with a blue tinge as an electric energy pulsed around her.
The stalkling hissed, letting her go and my hand dropped away, grip tightening on the phone as I watched with utter awe and fascination.
Skylar only seemed to glow brighter, purple crackling within the blue as the sword in her hand seemed to split into two, also glowing as brilliantly as she was.
Quicker than the human eye could see, she stabbed the stalkling through the chest, holding her other sword to the sky to act as a conductor for the lightning, not that she needed any more electricity.
The lightning hit the sword, traveling through and into the stalkling, turning it to stone completely.
Skylar pulled her sword free from the stone, watching the stalkling drop to the earth, shattering as she slowly lowered to the ground herself.
Her normal blue gaze seeming enhanced with pinks and purples racing through them.
"Skylar!" Jim's voice shouted, causing her to turn her blank gaze to him.
After a few seconds, the glow began to die down as she looked to be off balance.
Her armor deactivated, the amulet dropping to the ground as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
"Sky!" I shouted once more, catching her before she hit the concrete.
Jim raced over, checking her forehead with the back of his hand.
"She's burning up. Let's get her home before she get's sick." He spoke quickly, Draal picking her limp body up with ease.
I picked up the amulet, sending one last glace to the pieces of stone that were once part of a stalkling before following after the group.

We made it to Skylar and Jim's house, Draal laying Skylar on the couch.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jim asked, looking to Blinky.
"It is uncertain, we have never dealt with the amulets merging and anything on the night watcher only leads to a bigger mystery. It could be too much for her human body to take, or her power is adjusting itself to Lady Skylar as much as she is to the power." Blinky suggested.
"Her entire being coursed with a magic that held energy I have never seen before. I've seen what the magic within the trollhunter amulet can hold once, never to be forgotten. What she did today was tenfold. The amulets merging is far more powerful than Merlin could have ever hoped to be." I found myself speaking, turning my clam gaze to them at the end.
"What do you mean?" Toby asked.
"It means, we should be afraid." I replied, turning my gaze back to Skylar.
"There is unknown consequences to these amulets merging." I ended, everyone turning their gaze onto Skylar.
"Bittersweet Sixteen." Jim stated with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
Draal then left the room, leaving something on the coffee table, no doubt for Skylar.
We then heard a car pull up and Jim quickly walked Arrrgh and Blinky out the back, Skylar letting out a groan as I sat down next to her.
She slowly sat up, blinking her eyes rapidly as she looked around.
"What happened?" She asked softly with a frown.
"I'll explain later. Draal left this for you." I stated, giving her the item on the table.
Dr. Lake then walked in as Skylar looked at the gift laying in her hands as Toby and Jim walked into the room with some popcorn.
"Hey kids, how are you all doing?" Dr. Lake asked, smiling at the four of us.
"Pretty good, we were just about to watch a movie." Jim stated, gesturing to the popcorn.
Dr. Lake nodded before looking to Skylar.
"That's pretty, who gave that to you?" She asked.
Skylar shrugged, setting the choker down.
"Nobody important." Skylar replied, Jim's frown not going unnoticed by me.