Harmony Chronicles: Scared Stealthless
Stealth Elf tossed and turned in her bed, trying to get comfortable. The girls' branch of Skylander Academy's sleeping dormitory was silent. Too silent for the Life Skylander's liking.
With a soft sigh, the elf sat up and clicked on the bedside lamp, surveying the empty beds around her, arranged in a circular layout to match the room itself. The other female Skylanders with whom Stealth Elf shared this dormitory were all out on night patrols.
All except one.
Stealth narrowed her eyes at Roller Brawl's empty bed, furrowing her brow in suspicion. The derby vampire was usually right there, snoring up a storm. The Life Skylander's pointed right ear then twitched at a sound near the doorway and she whipped her head around, seeing nothing, but she knew better than to believe that no one was there.
"Roller Brawl?" she called, pulling down her leather mouth guard to make her soft voice carry more clearly across the room. "I know you're there, and I know you. It'll take more than you jumping out of the shadows and pulling a silly face to scare me."
Eerie, incoherent whispering was the only response Stealth Elf got. She rolled her glowing white eyes (despite lacking visible pupils) and slowly, silently pulled out one of her Dragonfang Daggers, holding it behind her back at the ready.
"If that's the way you want it..." She trailed off, listening intently. The whispering was getting closer. It seemed to be all around her, growing closer, growing more sinister...
Stealth Elf bit her lip. Was it getting cold in here? No. No, of course it wasn't. That was all part of Roller Brawl's mind game, and Stealth wasn't falling for it. She wouldn't, because she wasn't scared. She wasn't.
She wasn't.
She... wasn't...?
A low hiss to her left. Stealth whipped her head around, again seeing nothing, but now she could clearly hear something moving. She waited, choosing her moment carefully, and then, when her target was in position, she pounced.
Crunch.
Instead of striking the chest-plate of Roller Brawl's derby armour as she had expected, Stealth Elf's dagger pierced a small toy robot with a wind-up key in its back, causing the toy to crackle faintly with magical electricity and fall onto its side, powering down. Stealth was flabbergasted. She had been so sure that it had been Roller Brawl crouched down there, lying in wait to scare her. Her ninja instincts were almost never wrong, and now she was taken aback.
The bedside lamp suddenly fizzled out, leaving Stealth Elf in darkness, and that was the final straw. Stealth's entire body tensed, the blue hair on the back of her green neck standing on end. She had thought she'd had a grasp on the situation, but now she didn't know what was what. She stood up slowly, swallowing nervously.
The Life Skylander's eyes then widened as she realised her mistake, realising it too late. She was showing fear.
She was showing that she was vulnerable.
And the wise enemy always struck when their prey was vulnerable.
Roller Brawl rose up behind Stealth Elf and grabbed her shoulders in an iron grip very suddenly, causing Stealth to let out an uncharacteristically shrill shriek of panic, followed almost immediately by a frustrated groan as Roller Brawl cracked up laughing. The lights in the room magically came on and Stealth turned to scowl at the Undead Skylander.
No longer clad in her signature derby gear, Roller Brawl was dressed in a black pyjama shirt with the Undead Element symbol emblazoned proudly in the centre, a pair of dark purple pyjama shorts and fluffy black slippers with a red spiderweb pattern. She grinned at the look on Stealth's face, her bubblegum pink hair no longer braided, now hanging loose around her shoulders.
"Gotcha, Stealthie!" she teased, pulling Stealth into a playful headlock, which the Life Skylander immediately wrenched herself out of.
"How?" Stealth demanded, her tone icy, a hint of fear still present in her voice and on her face.
"Decoy," Roller Brawl said, bending down to pick up the broken robot toy. "You know how you're always creating those illusory copies of yourself that turn into straw scarecrows after a bit to distract your enemies? Well, I just used your own strategy against you and totally pulled the wool over your eyes!" she exclaimed, breaking into a fit of laughter again.
"Funny," Stealth Elf said dully, snatching the toy robot out of Roller Brawl's hand and prising her dagger from its chest. She turned away, refusing to look at her fellow Skylander. Roller Brawl's face fell when she saw how cold her peer was being.
"Hey, c'mon, Stealthie, it was just a gag," the vampire said, placing a hand on Stealth's shoulder, causing the Life Skylander to tense up again, letting out a small gasp. Roller Brawl's eyes widened. "You're actually still scared!" she realised, a huge fanged grin forming on her pale face. "Priceless!"
"Yes! I'm scared!" Stealth snapped, whirling around to face the Undead Skylander once more. "I'm scared because I let some kook catch me with my guard down! What if this had been an actual life or death situation? Where would I be right now, Roller Brawl?" she demanded.
Roller Brawl was taken aback by Stealth's words. "Hey, look, I... I'm sorry, okay?" she said. "I only wanted to play a joke on you, not... not get you all riled up like this. Stealthie, c'mon," she pleaded as Stealth turned away again, the elf folding her arms. "You know I wouldn't put you in any real danger, right? I mean, yeah, I'm a vampire, but..." She sighed heavily. "Look, how about I let you get me back? C'mon, I'm sure you could really wipe the smile off my-"
Stealth Elf suddenly spun around and tackled Roller Brawl to the floor, holding her dagger but a millimetre from the vampire's throat. Roller Brawl's eyes went wide, alarmed. Stealth Elf then smirked, lowering her weapon.
"You're lucky I know you," she said slyly, standing up and holding out a gloved hand to help Roller Brawl to her feet. The Undead Skylander took it and soon stood upright. She still looked a little shocked from what had just happened, but then she chuckled and playfully punched Stealth in the arm.
"There you go. Knew you had some moxie in there somewhere," the derby vampire said, grinning knowingly.
"Oh, I'll show you moxie," Stealth said quietly before suddenly casting her dagger aside and making a grab for Roller Brawl's sides, startling to tickle her ribs with gusto.
"H-Hey! What the...?!" Roller Brawl spluttered in bewilderment as Stealth managed to get her comrade down on the floor again, pinning her in place before starting to tickle her all over. "Stealthie! What gives?!" she exclaimed between barely suppressed giggles.
"Is this enough moxie for you? Huh?! Is it?!" Stealth Elf demanded playfully, being relentless with her tickle assault, with Roller Brawl only able to laugh helplessly.
"C'mon, Stealthie, knock it off! You know how ticklish I am! Oh, no, not there! NOT THERE! Aah ha ha haaaaaa…!"
End