Draal shifted slightly and picked a small shard of glass out of his teeth. His attention had drifted away from the conversation around the table. It wasn't that he didn't care but he'd always been more in favor of direct action. The tedium of planning usually gave him a hornache and made him restless. So, he busied himself with the last of the light bulbs Barbara had brought home for him and contented himself to wait.

Jim had called Claire and Toby over shortly after Blinky announced his discovery and from there ideas had been tossed back and forth about how to proceed. Not much had been accomplished yet as Jim kept inadvertently interrupting by returning to the kitchen. He couldn't help but feel compelled to make more food for the unplanned for guests despite the repeated assurances that the current array was enough to go around.

The mild bickering between Blinky and Otto also slowed things down and Draal rolled his eyes when Blinky muttered some four-syllable insult under his breath. He watched Strickler's head fall into his open palm and he gave a small snort in understanding when he saw the changeling mouthing "why" to himself.

Finally, Barbara had enough and smacked her hand against the table to get everyone's attention. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the brief silence.

"Alright," she said, "we have agreed that we're going to do this, no more questioning if it's a good idea or not. It has been established that we'll need something called a Hag Stone. Is there anything else magical that we will need? Are we looking at a shopping list here or is that all?"

"A map would be helpful, but to utilize the Hag Stone we would first need something from the target. Hair is usually used or something that was owned by whoever it is one is trying to find. That's what I've been trying to say, we don't having anything like that," Otto answered in the overly patient tone of one who has been repeating himself far too many times.

"Oh! Actually!" Toby wiped his face with the back of his hand and then scooted out of his chair. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back!" He was out the front door at a bouncy jog before anyone could question him.

Jim added a basket of dinner rolls to the table and finally took a seat. A stilted calm settled over the room as everyone turned back to their plates while they waited for Toby to return. Nearly five minutes passed before the front door opened and closed again. The boy trotted to the table triumphantly holding his school bag then proceeded to dump its contents into his chair.

"Why do you have so many rocks in there?" Claire asked in amusement.

"Side hobby. Besides, we are literally friends with a bunch of rocks, how is it you don't have a rock collection or at least a few geology books?" He shot back as he sorted through the pile. "Ah ha! Here, will this work?"

Walter's eyes widened, clearly impressed, "How did you get one of Angor's carvings?"

"I dug it out of the pile of clay from back when he freaked out all of Trollmarket and gave Jim the Kill Stone." He shrugged, "We destroyed all the other ones we ever came across, I thought it'd be cool to keep this one since it's the only one that didn't have to be smashed."

"Huh," Otto said around a bite of pork, "that will actually work very well."

Blinky's smile was a cross between radiant and smug, "Excellent! I will acquire the Adder Stone tonight and we can set out tomorrow!"

"The what?"

"Adder Stone, Hag Stone, it's the same artifact. Now! Do we have a current map? I have an extensive cartography selection in my library but they may not be helpful in this instance."

"Entschuldigung," Otto laughed. "Tomorrow? Are you going to walk?"

"You both have automobiles," Blinky shot back, "and so does Barbara."

"Ja, but Frau Lake has work, Strickler left his at the apartment complex and it would be a needless risk to go back for it now, and mine is old."

"My knowledge of the human world might be limited but I do not think you need a young car to travel."

"Um, yeah, kinda," Toby said, having eaten his fill and rejoining the conversation in earnest. "It usually depends but typically old cars don't do good on long road trips and from the way you guys were talking earlier, Angor Rot could be halfway across the country by now."

"Doubtful," Blinky muttered more to himself than anyone else. "But I will concede the point for the sake of finding an agreeable alternative. What, then, do you suggest?"

"Uh, Blink? You feeling okay? I know this is important but your eye is really starting to twitch," Jim observed in a concerned voice.

"I'm fiii- ah!" A third eye popped into existence and he gasped in surprise.

"The spell is finally wearing off!"

"Oh my," the troll acknowledged as a stone arm sprouted below his currently human one.

"It looks like you will not be going on a road trip after all," Walter commented from across the table.

"Well someone has got to!"

A captivated hush fell as everyone watched the rapid transformation from human to troll in open curiosity. Awkward though it looked, Blinky never seemed like he was in any pain from the changes. It took less than two minutes before another full troll was standing in the room.

There was a moment of floundering where Blinky attempted to cover himself with the tattered remains of his human garments that had ripped off, but his modesty was spared by Claire's quick thinking. She ran to the living room and pulled the decorative blanket off the back of the sofa and tossed it to him. He tucked it around his waist like a wrap but did not seem interested in excusing himself from the table.

After another moment's pause, once everyone had acclimated to the change, the conversation picked up where it left off.

"Walt, will you go?"

Strickler looked surprised as he turned to Barbara. His mouth opened and closed twice without words, clearly torn between not wanting to do it and not wanting to tell her no.

Otto winked at him as he helped himself to another buttered roll, "One of the many pains of deciding to be one of the good guys, yes?"

Walter looked at his fellow changeling for a long moment before seeming to make up his mind. He nodded, "Alright, but Otto is coming with me."

Otto paused mid bite, considered this, then shrugged and went back to chewing.

"Wait, just the two of you?" Barbara asked with obvious uncertainty.

"Well I'm not leaving him here by himself and besides, this is going to be a two person job."

"But by yourselves?"

"It sounds like you do not trust me," Otto looked nothing but amused as he daintily wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin.

"I'm sorry, and no offense, but I kind of don't. I mean, you've been more than pleasant enough for being an unexpected extended house guest but after being told on multiple occasions not to trust changelings..."

Otto laughed outright, a light and ringing giggle, "Oh do not apologize! I would have been offended if Strickler had not thought of me as enough of a threat to warn against! Though, if you have been so warned how is it you trust him so much?"

Barbara's cheeks warmed to pink and she looked quickly to Walter before turning back to answer, "He's proven himself more than once. We've had several long heart-to-hearts and there was the whole truth serum incident to prove that he's honestly switched sides."

"Ach, there's no question about who's side he's on but that doesn't mean he is no longer a changeling."

"Enough trying to make trouble," Walter said, swatting the other man in the back of the head and knocking his glasses askew. "Blinkous, if you will find us a Hag Stone, we will find you Angor Rot."

"I wish someone else could go with you, and not just because of the changeling thing, either. Only two people?"

"I could still go," Blinky said, sounding hopeful. "Maybe just cover the windows during the day?"

"Why not just rent a van? One with either tinted windows or none at all in back," Toby suggested.

Walter pulled a face at the mere idea of being trapped on a road trip with both Blinky and Otto. He tried for subtle, "Shouldn't you stay here for your Trollhunter? You are his acting liaison, are you not?"

"Then what about Draal?"

Draal, having been reenacting training regiments in his mind, tuned back into the conversation at the mention of his name, "Huh?"

O-_-o-_-O

Otto gave a cheerful beep of the horn as he pulled into the driveway in a large gray van. The sides were covered in splotches of color from where an old logo had not been successfully removed but it otherwise looked to be sturdy and in good condition. Walter frowned at it and then up to the cloudy pre-dawn sky. It looked like rain.

He leaned down and picked up his suitcase. He didn't know how long this was going to take and felt the need to be prepared. He would have brought the case with him, anyway, even if he knew he would only be gone a day. It was an uncomfortable weight in his hand as he transferred it into the floorboard.

His phone chimed.

Good luck and please be careful.

Barbara had left for work against her will. She had wanted to see them off but had been called in for an emergency. He smiled fondly at her message before sending a reassuring answer. He had just pressed 'send' when he was startled by Freddy Mercury's voice loudly cutting through the early morning quiet.

"Too much love can kill you, just as sure as none at all..."

"Turn that down! We still have to smuggle Draal out here, we don't need to wake the neighbors."

The other changeling laughed, "Tut mir leid, it was too perfect. You looked so sickeningly sentimental, I couldn't help it." He grinned and pointed at the radio, "Someone left a CD in here! Who knows what it was before Queen but this is a good start for a trip, ja?"

Strickler rolled his eyes at the joke then turned on his heel to go and retrieve Draal before the sun or any of the neighbors decided to rise.

A minute later and the large blue troll was hesitantly looking into the empty back of the van. He seemed even less enthusiastic than Strickler. Finally, he sighed then clamored up into the vehicle. Walter eyed the tires in some concern as the entire van shifted lower under the troll's bulk. After a few seconds it became apparent that the van could manage the load and Walter shut the doors.

Climbing in himself, he pulled a map out of his jacket pocket along with a small green rock with a hole in its center. He made quick work of tying it to a string and muttering the needed incantation. In a flash the stone turned a glowing purple and swung out over the paper to hover unassisted. It positioned itself over the bottom corner of Oregon. He folded the map back up and the stone switched directions, pointing north in a way that defied gravity.

"We now have a general direction. To the interstate."

An hour into the trip and Strickler had forcibly changed the channel to an instrumental station after getting tired of Otto commenting "this is a song for you and Barbara" after every song remotely about love. He was just beginning to settle in when a groan from behind him caught his attention.

"Are you alright back there?"

"This box is making me nauseous. Human transportation moves too slow, my stomach heaves at every bump."

Otto snorted, "Do not throw up, I will lose the deposit."

Strickler frowned and looked in the rear-view mirror. Draal appeared as miserable as he had ever seen him and certainly looked close to puking despite Otto's half joke of a warning.

"I might be able to help," Strickler said after a few moments of silent consideration. Draal met his gaze through the mirror and seemed ready to beg. "If you trust me to do it, I can put you to sleep. It may not be a long nap, but you can't have motion sickness if you aren't conscious."

The other troll's frown deepened, "How?"

"Like the ability to shift forms and an immunity to sun, we changelings have a specific magic that allows us to induce sleep. It's a very nifty trick and I'm offering it to you now."

With a grunt, Draal nodded and leaned forward. Walter turned completely around in his seat and reached back, placing his fingers against the side of the other troll's head. With a small flash of green light Draal sank blissfully into sleep. The van gave a small jerk as his weight redistributed and Walter turned back around.

Otto was giving him a thoughtful look out of the corner of his eye.

"What," he asked flatly.

The changeling smirked and shrugged, "Nothing."

O-_-o-_-O

"Ha! Yeah right," NotEnrique said to his phone as he flicked his thumb across the screen. He had been having a good time until the door to his nursery opened unexpectedly. He turned around to find Claire's father staring at him in horror, a stuffed dog dropped in surprise lying at his feet.

He hadn't had time to shift.

"Pops, wait," he tried, extending a hand in what he hoped looked reassuring.

The man yelled and charged him, "Where is my son!"

NotEnrique dodged to the other side of his bed to evade capture, then he jumped up onto the railing and touched his hand to the man's dark hair.

He slumped forward immediately and draped awkwardly over the edge of the crib.

The changeling cringed and gently tried to move him to the floor by lowering the guard rail and cushioning his head. He sat for a moment with the man's head against him and ran his claws through the short fringe of black bangs.

"Aw, pops. You really deserve better. You and mum both." In that moment he wanted nothing more than to let them know the truth.

He blinked, bulbous eyes widening at the sudden emotion. They deserved to know the truth. He would tell them.

His fingers stopped their petting.

He would tell them the truth.

"But first," he said out loud as he looked down at the sleeping man, "I need ta get your real rugrat back to soften the blow."