Star

Choir Fest Part 3

Lilly was sitting in her seat when she felt a twinge in her magic. She immediately knew something was wrong. One of the girls was in trouble. She quickly left the auditorium and used her magic to sense Emma's location. She also felt Sunny near her and sprinted in the direction her magic pointed her.

"I blinded one of them. Her wind magic relies on her seeing where to send it."

"You've hindered one. Time is running out. How are you going to take care of the other two? The water girl knows how to use her magic. The seer didn't wipe her memory the last time. She is in complete control of herself as well; there are no bad emotions to pull her down with. Her mind is completely surrounded by a wall."

"Yes, but ironically the mind of the girl with mental abilities, the one I controlled last time, is the weakest. And her mental health is quickly collapsing. The stress may be enough to decapitate her completely at this point."

"As long as you take care of them."

The shade king's son walked away from his father and entered his room. He stared at the wall briefly and ran his hand through his hair. Even though he could take on another form, he was much more comfortable in human shape. He stared at his reflection in his mirror. Seeing the girl called Sunny sparked memories inside of him that he never had realized he even had. He took out the sketchbook he hid under his pillows and stared at one of the images he had drawn. The girl looked almost precisely like Sunny, but he had drawn it before he had learned of the Star girls. It couldn't be a coincidence. His mind warred against itself. He wanted to understand what was happening, but he knew his father had given him a job, and he couldn't deny his father, could he? Suddenly a portal opened in front of him.

"Time for you to finish the job. Time is short. Good luck, son." his father's voice said behind him. He nodded and walked through the portal.

Lilly ran up to see Emma clutching Sunny's shoulders. "Sunny, take a deep breath."

Lilly glanced at Sunny's black eyes. "It has to be the shade." Lilly realized. "Emma, do you...?"

"I remember everything," Emma said. "Stella told me my dreams were correct."

"I'm glad," Lilly looked at Sunny. "What happened?"

"The shade got her somehow," Emma said, panicking. "I don't know what to do!"

Lilly grabbed Emma's hand. "Take a deep breath. Emma, you're completely fine."

Emma took a breath, and Lilly watched as her body immediately relaxed. She squeezed Lilly's hand. "I..."

Lilly nodded. She turned to Sunny. "Can you do everything except see?" Sunny nodded. Lilly placed a hand on Sunny's shoulder. "We'll figure this out." Suddenly a portal opened behind them, and a tall boy leapt out. He was carrying two large swords. Lilly immediately grabbed Emma and Sunny, pulling them behind her. She summoned her abilities, her sword growing from nothing in her hand. She swung it, deflecting the first strike from the boy.

"You can't fight this." The boy said, and Lilly recognized the voice of the shade who had taken over Emma's body a few weeks before.

"Why are you doing this?" Lilly asked.

The boy looked almost sad. "I must. My father is forcing me."

Sunny froze at the sound of his voice. She recognized that voice, but she didn't know how. A name popped into her head. "Noah?" she whispered softly.

The boy turned his head to look at her. "How do you know that name?"

"I don't know," Sunny replied, trying to see. "I can't see you. But I recognize your voice. Are you really... the shade? You sound so human."

"He looks human, too," Emma said, and an image flashed into Sunny's mind. Emma had mentally transmitted an image to her. "Wait," Emma said, and suddenly Sunny could see. But she wasn't seeing through her own eyes. She stared through the eyes as they looked at Lilly, her, and the boy/shade/whatever he was. Sunny realized she was looking through Emma's eyes.

"What is going on?" she asked.

Emma sighed, and immediately Sunny was hit by a flood of memories, and she remembered everything. Sunny froze for a second. "Okay, so Emma's abilities have grown a lot."

"I've been practicing." Emma said.

"Guys, focus!" Lilly said, facing the shade boy.

Sunny frowned. Even with her memories restored, she didn't know where she got the name Noah from.

 The shade lunged at Lilly, and she swung her sword, catching him in the hand. He tossed his sword to the other hand and swung at Lilly's head. Sunny raised a hand, and he was blown to the side by a gust of wind.

"Take out the wind, girl! Now!" the shade's father yelled at him.

"I can't," he replied. "I just... can't."

"Do as I tell you!" the shade king shouted, and the boy felt his mind being taken control of. He shook off his father's grip.

"I can't! I know her from somewhere."

"You don't know anyone." the shade king replied. "You've been in my house forever. Do the job, or I'll end you myself. Either kill them or use your orb to take their abilities."

The boy gently touched the orb that dangled from around his neck. A gift from his father. He sighed and rose to his feet slowly.

Sunny looked at the shade boy through Emma's eyes. He crumbled against the wall, tears running down his face. As she watched, he rose to his feet. Dark fire erupted from his shoulders and covered his arms and sword.

"Oh, I wish Stella was here." Emma murmured as she summoned her magic. All the miscellaneous objects in the hallway began to float, and Emma sent them flying toward the boy. Sunny summoned her staff and spun it around in her left hand. Emma continued to allow Sunny to use her sight as Sunny and Lilly lunged for the shade boy.

The boy swung his sword, hitting Sunny's staff, but her magic stopped the staff from shattering. Lilly swung her glowing blue blade, and the shade boy narrowly dodged it. Emma used her abilities to create a rope from the objects and threw it around the shade's arms. The fire immediately scorched the rope to ash, and he rose to his feet, his fire glowing even more. He threw a ball of fire at Lilly, and the girl was thrown to the side. Emma lunged for her, barely catching her, and both girls collapsed to the ground.

Sunny's eyesight immediately went black as Emma collapsed to the ground. She blindly fell to her knees, her staff slipping from her hands. She felt a hand on her shoulder and fought, but the shade boy was much stronger than her. She felt him lift her up and again smelled an oddly familiar scent. She recognized that scent. And the feel of his hand on her shoulder... it was much harder than before, but she recognized it. She tried to remember but couldn't.

The shade boy lifted Sunny up, studying her face. Where did he remember her from? And why couldn't he bring himself to hurt her?

"What is your name?" he asked her.

"Sunny." the girl murmured and then went limp in his grasp, collapsing.