Sorry for the shorter chapter. I needed to get some story stuff sorted in my head before continuing.


15 Years Ago

It was a calm night in Arcadia Oaks. The house that would later become known as the Lake's House was quiet, except for the occasional light clatter of keystrokes or the soft sound of a page being turned. Cardboard moving boxes littered the floor in various stages of being unpacked.

In one corner a woman sat on a couch, surrounded on either side by a large stack of textbooks. Her legs were spread across one of the boxes, using it as a temporary footstool. She chewed on the end of a pen as her eyes traced the text of a volume spread across her lap, pausing once in a while to make a note.

In another corner of the room was a newly constructed desk still smelling of wood shavings. It seemed to have been put to work right away. Most of its surface was already consumed by two bulky computer monitors and a mess of tangles hung underneath. A man sat in front of the screens, his long face lit in an eerie glow as line upon line of the green text flitted across the dark screens.

The couple continued on like this, their silence somehow congenial. Every once in a while the woman would stretch her shoulders and lean back on the couch, resting her eyes for a moment and enjoying the reassuring clitter-clack of the keyboard. The man would stop now and again and glance at the woman, a smile flitting across his face as he observed her push her glasses up her nose only to have them slide down again.

The quiet was broken by the sound of a small child fussing, then crying. Both the man and the woman looked up towards the ceiling, then at each other. The woman started to remove the book from her lap, but the man rose from his desk and made a motion to stop her.

"Don't get up Barbara. I'll go check on him and see what the trouble is."

Barbara yawned. "He's been sleeping through the night lately, and we didn't put him down that long ago."

The man shrugged. "It's a new house, maybe he's not yet used to it." He crossed the room and began climbing the stairs.

Barbara called after him, "After you check on him maybe you should head off to bed, James,"

James learned over the railing and smiled. "I could say the same to you."

Barbara reopened the book on her lap. "I'm not going to get a good MCAT score without some sleepless nights." She grumbled before placing the end of her already mutilated pen back in her mouth.

James climbed the remaining stairs. As he entered the darkened hallway he reached for a light switch. Nothing happened. He glanced upward towards the lamp to see an empty socket where the bulb should be. Grumbling some insult towards the previous owners he hung his head and closed his eyes. When looked up again his eyes glowed a bright gold, the pupils forming inhuman slits that contracted, then dilated. He continued forward, picking his way carefully towards the child's room. Stepping inside, he blinked rapidly a few times, his eyes returning to their previous blue. Extending a hand out, he flipped the switch on the wall and the room was filled with light.

A small child with dark hair and wide blue eyes stood inside a crib, balancing himself against the bars. His face was tear streaked and his mouth was set in a frown so serious as to be appear almost comical.

"What seems to be the problem, little troll?"

The boy made a fussing noise and reached downward, his hands clasping and unclasping into tiny fists.

James' eyes followed the child's gesturing hands to a spot under the crib where a ragged bunny toy lay dejectedly on the floor.

"Oooopsie! Opppsie!" the child pouted, his hands reaching.

James leaned down to collect the toy from the floor. He then remained below the crib. Slowly, he lifted the bunny so that its head peaked over the floor of the crib.

"Junior," James said in a high pitched voice, twisting the toy so that its arms flopped this way and that. "I seemed to have fallen from my bed! Could you please help me?"

The child gave a gleeful laugh and reached between the bars, pulling the toy into a hug. He then leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of his father.

James popped up from hiding. "Boo!" he shouted. The child sat back gigging. He squeezed the rabbit into his chest.

James knelt into hiding again. "Peeeeeek-aaaaaaaaaaaah..." he said drawing out the word. The boy hung back, a smile on his face, knowing what was coming, but seemingly filled with anticipation nonetheless.

"Boo!" James jumped up again, and the child laughed louder than before.

James crouched once more. He hung back longer this time, letting the suspense build. A curious look came into his eye, the ghost of an idea.

The child began to grow restless, fidgeting.

"Peeeeeeek-aaaaaaaaaaaah…."

There was a flash of blue light and a crackle of electricity. The boy held his rabbit a little tighter.

"Boo!"

The man popped to his feet once more, except he was no longer a man. His skin was an aquamarine, his nose pink, and his eyes glowed yellow. Two large horns curled back through a mess of dark hair.

It was quiet for a moment. The child's eyes widened, the whites showing on all sides. His little mouth hung agape. The troll shifted nervously, seemingly ussure whether or not he had made an awful mistake.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a peel of laughter. The child fell backward rolling around and giggling. Clutching his blankets, he laughed and screeched with glee, a large smile plastered on his face.

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs. The troll's eyes widened. There was another flash and a man stood in his place. The child gave another scream of delight. James placed a finger to his lips and smiled conspiratorially.

Barbara rushed into the room, camera in hand.

"Is Junior being cute? I've got the camera!" But Jim's laughter had begun to subside. A goofy grin remained on his face as he began to hiccup.

"Awwww, I missed it! What did you do to get him to laugh so hard?"

"Ah, I was just playing peek-a-boo with him. You know he loves that game. He gets a real kick out of it"

"He's never laughed like that for me before. Ugh, and I missed the perfect photoopportunity again! You'll have to do it again tomorrow. I'll have the camera ready this time."

"With all the pictures you take we'll be out of film again soon!" James laughed, "Do you really need a picture of his every move?"

"I don't take a picture of his every move." Barbara's voice took on a defensive edge. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm already so busy studying for the MCATs and my schedule will only get worse if and when I get into medical school. I just, I don't want to miss anything." She stepped towards the crib, straightening out the blankets and tucking them around the boy who was now yawning contently.

James stood next to Barbara and wrapped an arm around her. "You won't," he said kissing her on the cheek. Her face brightened a little, but a crease still hung on her brows as she watched her son's breathing relax and his eyes droop.

"C'mon," James gave her a tug. "You've been studying all night, maybe it's time we all went bed."

They walked out of the room together. Then, James broke from the embrace, leaning across the doorway to turn off the light. There was a yellow glow as his eyes flitted across the room once more time before shutting the door.


A slight change of pace this chapter. I'm sort of interested to know what you all think. We'll be back to the normal present timeline next chapter. There might be a slightly longer wait this time (maybe two weeks?) The visual arts is my bread and butter and there is a portfolio piece/contest that I really should be working on. I promise that I am not dead and will be back soon!

What ever happened to The Hero's Forge and the souls that reside there? Is Jim's connection to the past avatars *ahem* I mean vampire hunters *ahem* I mean trollhunters still intact? What is the name of baby Jim's toy rabbit? Find out next time!