Before the you get to the next chapter, I would just like to thank you for all the positive feedback I've been getting. It really means a lot to me, especially considering I wrote the first one at 12:00 am. I'm planning on making this a longer fic so buckle in, we haven't even gotten started yet. School's just ended for me so I have all the time in the world to work on this! I'll try to upload daily and improve the quality of my writing, but no promises haha. Thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy! I really poured my soul into this one :)

Jim's face contorted in agony as he fell to his knees. He let out a groan and slid to the ground, his eyes closing with the pain. Blinky was the first to turn back, his mouth flying open in shock. The rest of the company immediately copied his movements and let out assorted cries of surprise.

"Master Jim!"

"Jim?"

"JIMBO!"

Aaarrrgghh reached him first, face pressed close to Jim's to check if he was still breathing. Jim was lying face down on the dirt, the gash down his back plain to see. Claire and Toby came next, both white faced and frantic. Claire grabbed Jim's hand, tears coming to her eyes as she took in his condition. Toby's face took on a green hue and he quickly scrambled away while mumbling a short apology to take refuge behind a tall mushroom. Then Blinky rushed up, his short legs had handicapped his dash to reach his favourite apprentice and he looked rather pale for a troll.

Blinky pushed the rest of them out of the way and he bent down to examine the wound. Blood had soaked through Jim's shirt ages ago and it was now spilling onto the ground around him, staining the moss a deep scarlet. The cut was jagged and cruel, splitting the muscle inside revealing several layers of red.

Blinky took one look and motioned for Aaarrrgghh to come closer. He could barely trust his voice right now, but he managed to take charge of the situation in a shaky tone. "Claire help me lift Jim onto Aaarrrgghh's back. We need to get him back to Trollmarket, that's his only hope now." Together they heaved him onto the big troll's back and Aaarrrgghh looked at Blinky with sad eyes. "Hurry, my friend." Blinky urged "You'll be faster without us." With that, Aaarrrgghh galloped off down the tunnels. Beside Blinky, Claire's tears overflowed, and she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Toby stumbled out from behind the mushroom and joined them, ashamed that he couldn't have been there for his friend. Blinky stood stalk still, eyes fixed forward in a state of shock.

Jim couldn't think. He couldn't open his eyes. The pain in his back was an all-consuming fire. Every breath was a struggle against the powerful need to stop, to halt movement and keep the agony from overwhelming him. He could hear his friends calling his name, but it felt like he was underwater. Miles away, yet close enough to touch them. He tried, oh god he tried, but he couldn't move, he couldn't reassure his friends that he was fine. He couldn't even reassure himself that he was fine.

Then Jim heard the firm voice of Blinky and a wave of comfort washed over him. Blinky was here! Everything was going to be fine. He was just starting to calm himself down despite the flame in his back when two pairs of arms wrapped themselves around him and lifted him up. The second he began to move, it was almost like the monster had ripped another gash through his back. He wanted to scream, to thrash and shriek. But a blanket of unconsciousness descended on him before he could, forcing him into submission.

When he woke up next, he recognized the hard surface of a table beneath his stomach, his back facing up. He could hear the familiar deep voice of Vendel talking slowly to Blinky, who sounded panicked and unsteady in comparison. Jim shifted uneasily, releasing a new burst of pain in his wound. That couldn't be right, Blinky was always in control. He knew what to do in the toughest of situations.

"Master Jim!" Blinky called out. And Jim could feel his hands thud down on the table beside him. "He's waking up. The potion must have worked!" Jim groaned in response, trying to recall what happened earlier to cause him such immense pain.

As he shifted and opened his eyes, the memories of earlier came flooding back. He cringed at the stupidity of turning his back on the enemy and sighed in relief when he realized his back didn't hurt as much as it had before.

"Please don't move Master Jim, you'll hurt yourself further." Jim looked up at Blinky who was hovering by his side, all six eyes focussed on him.

"I told you our Trollhunter would be fine, Blinkous." The deep, rumbling voice of Vendel piped up from farther away.

Jim tried to speak but his throat felt rough, incapable of producing anything more than a rasping groan. Eyes widening, Blinky slowly helped Jim sit up, being careful not to jostle his wounds. Unsteadily, Jim hung his legs off the side of the table and looked over to his friend who had left for a moment to fetch a glass of water. When Blinky passed him the glass they shared reassuring smiles, each trying to make sure the other was feeling okay. As Jim downed the water, Claire, Toby and Aaarrrgghh burst in through the door to what Jim now recognized as Blinky's library. The second they saw Jim up and functioning, all three pushed past Vendel and ran to him, laughing with the exhilaration that their friend was going to be fine.

Jim was excited to see them, until he realized he was shirtless. Completely naked from the waist up. Then he awkwardly cringed away from their searching eyes. He usually wasn't comfortable with people seeing his upper body because there really wasn't much to look at. He was skinny and pale, and sported a complete lack of muscle despite all his training. He didn't want to be seen especially now because the gash in his back was a painful reminder of his own stupidity.

He smiled at his friends as they gathered around him, exclaiming how worried they were that he might not make it. He almost thought he would be able to get over his embarrassment, until Claire's eyes met his own. He blushed a deep red and shot Blinky an intense look that clearly said help me. Blinky instantly leapt into action, shooing the concerned friends out of the room.

"I know how you feel, but Master Jim has only just woken up and needs some time to adjust. Claire why don't you and Tobias portal over to Jim's house and quietly grab some new clothes?" Jim blushed deeper at the thought of Claire picking a new outfit for him but quickly decided it was better than having her stare at his half naked body.

Once they were gone Jim sighed gratefully. "Thanks so much Blinky, you're a life saver."

"It was no problem. Now Vendel, is there anything more you can do for Master Jim's injury?" Blinky gestured toward Jim who was sitting straight as a rod to keep from aggravating the tear in his flesh.

Vendel walked forward with a vial in hand. "Why yes. The potion I used before is slowly knitting your muscles back together, but this one should put a protective seal overtop so the wound will be artificially closed until it can close itself. Almost like what you humans call stitches, but less crude. This will also help numb the pain, but you should take some, what are they called, painkillers? That should also help." Jim grinned, happy that everything would turn out fine.

"Sounds great, thank you." Jim said sincerely as Vendel moved behind him and spoke a small incantation. Jim felt a weird sensation, almost as if cold slime was covering his back before the throbbing ache decreased considerably. Jim relaxed the shoulders he hadn't realized had been tensed and let out a gasp of relief. Blinky edged over beside Vendel and stared curiously at Jim's back.

"It looks oddly squishy. And why is it green?" Blinky queried.

Vendel shook his head. "It's probably just adapting to human skin, Blinkous." Blinky hummed in agreement and circled back around to face Jim

"You've lost a lot of blood Master Jim. Be careful standing up." Blinky warned, lending a hand. Jim waved it off, he had already asked too much of his friends. He was supposed to be the Trollhunter for god's sake, and here he was at the mercy of a little bit of pain and a cut down his back. Determined, he hopped down and nearly fainted when the blood failed to reach his head in time. Blinky caught him with his four steady arms and held him in place until he could stand on his own. Reluctantly, Jim clutched onto those four hands and cursed his weakness, but another part of him was glad that he had so many people who cared for him. As he straightened, he could almost feel the souls of those who were concerned for him reach out and comfort his own being, a feeling Jim never thought he would know.