Glitter & Gold (Marvel/Star Wars Crossover)

Chapter 7: The River Stone

At once Loki stopped and at the same time Cronal released his hold on my neck. Maya and the others reluctantly lowered their weapons. However I noticed that Loki switched holding his dagger from his right to his left hand. He looked directly into my eyes and asked me the same question he asked me when he took Thor, Jane, Maya, Hilna, and I to his secret passage to Svartalfheim. "Do you trust me?"

I smiled, remembering the memory. "Yes, I trust you."

"As touching as this is, the show must go on." Cronal stated as he approached me, placing a hand on my forehead. "Now you may feel excruciating pain."

I closed my eyes, prepared to fight off what was to come. However there was no pain. Rather confused, I opened my eyes to find Cronal just as confused as I was. I then heard the sound of a pebble drop to the ground. What I saw on the ground surprised me. It was the smooth black river stone with revealed red veins inside it whenever the light hit the stone. My jaw dropped. It was the stone that Anakin gave me just months before he turned to the dark side. I remember Anakin telling me that this stone's force sensitive, which explains why I didn't feel any pain. After all this time, I had it with me and I had no idea.

"Loki now!" I quickly yelled out.

Before Cronal could do anything, Loki appeared behind him, destroying the helmet. And as soon as he destroyed the helmet, Areria and all the Trailians under his control were free. I managed to escape Cronal's grip as I searched for Areria, who found me first as she gave me a tight hug. "Master! Oh thank the Force you're alright! I was afraid that I might've hurt you."

"I'm quite alright, Areria." I assured her. "I'm glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back." Areria replied.

"So what do we do with Cronal here?" Kina inquired.

"I say we kill him." Loki suggested as he placed a dagger at the base of his neck.

Cronal became nervous rather quickly. "Let's not do anything we might regret."

"You nearly killed my betrothed. Tell me how would I regret killing you right here and right now." Loki shot back.

I placed a hand above Loki's hand that held the dagger. "Loki don't."

"But he almost killed you, Storm." Loki protested.

"As much as I want to kill him for all he's done, especially for torturing Areria, we mustn't. He'll be of value to the Republic." I explained.

Loki sighed in frustration before reluctantly lowering his dagger. Cronal chuckled, clearly not knowing when to stop. "Yeah, that's right. You listen to your betrothed. After all she seems to be the rational one around here."

Loki clenched his jaw before whipping around and punching Cronal's jaw, causing him to stagger back nearly falling to the ground.

"I wouldn't antagonize him." I warned. "But it seems you know that now."

"Thanks for the tip." Cronal rebuked.

"Take him to the ship, and find some stun cuffs." I ordered.

Kina and Maya offered to take him back, violently grabbing him and taking him out of the lab, causing the Trailians to cheer. I turned back to where the river stone fell, and I was quite relieved to find it still there. I still remember when Anakin gave me the river stone.

"That stone saved you, didn't it?" Luke inquired as he approached me, looking at the river stone with lots of curiosity.

I nodded. "Yes, I can't believe after all this time I still had it with me."