There were two things Barbara noticed when she woke the next morning: one, the sun was up which meant trolls couldn't roam about outside – including Jim and Walter; two, Walter wasn't in the house, which meant he wouldn't come back until after sunset, if then.
Barbara groaned as she rubbed her eyes and hauled herself out of bed.
It wasn't unusual for her to wake up to a quiet house. When she had late nights, she slept longer than Jim and he would already be off to school by the time she got out of bed; however, he would always leave breakfast behind for her.
This, of course, was not the case today. There was no cold omelet in the fridge with her name atop it scribbled on a little slip of paper.
Loneliness rolled over her as she wandered down to the kitchen and stared into the refrigerator. Of course, Jim was her son, not her husband, and sons were supposed to leave sooner or later. But he left so suddenly… Everything recently seemed to happen without warning and it was a lot to deal with all at once.
Barbara grabbed the milk, shut the fridge door and pulled a bowl and cereal box out of the cupboard. She wondered if Jim would still be up, or if he was already asleep for the day. She pulled out her phone and brought up the dial pad, hitting the first number on her speed-dial list. She lifted the cell to her ear. A few seconds later she heard the unmistakable click of someone picking up the phone and a familiar voice made her heart catch in her throat.
"Hey, Mom. What's up?" Jim said.
Barbara smiled. His voice wasn't entirely as she remembered it. Instead of the innocent voice of her little boy, this voice was a bit deeper and gruffer but still absolutely him.
"Hey, Jim," she replied. "I'm sorry; I just wanted to hear your voice."
"Heh. That's alright. I should have called sooner," Jim replied. "I just… well, I didn't know if you were at work or sleeping or… you know."
"I know," Barbara assured. "Thank you for all the messages, they really help."
"Your messages… they help me too," Jim admitted, then he asked, "Mom… are you doing okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Barbara replied. "I've mostly just been sleeping and working." She picked up the cereal box and poured some into the bowl.
"Have you remembered to eat probably?" Jim chided. "You can't just live on cereal!"
At that Barbara burst out laughing. "I feel like this should be the other way around. I should be asking you if you've eaten well enough," she pointed out.
"Of course I have, Mom," Jim said. "Both Blinky and Claire are making sure I take care of myself. I can't count the number of times they've asked me when I last ate or slept. They're looking after me fine. Don't worry. You though, you're um..."
"Well, Walt offered to cook for me," Barbara said.
"Strickler is there with you?" Jim asked. "I mean – well..."
"Not right now," Barbara said. "He's – Actually, I'm not sure where he is. He told me about all the stuff he needs to do. It sounds like a lot." The shutters separating the kitchen from the dining room were open and her eyes landed on the cradle stone, still sitting on the table. "He'll be back though, he left some things here."
"What?!" Jim asked, sounding alarmed. "What kinds of things? Nothing dangerous, right?"
"Jim, you hid trolls in my basement and left a century-old wizard in my living room. I don't think you get to judge him too much here," Barbara scolded lightly.
"Sorry, Mom," Jim muttered abashed. "I just – is he treating you okay?"
"Of course he is." Barbara smiled, touched that her son was still looking out for her. "You don't need to be so worried."
"Sorry, Mom. I know he loves you – really, honestly loves you. I've just been through so much with him – I think I can trust him, but it's still hard. There's this part of him – a part that's… If you'd ever seen him fight you'd understand. It's hard to explain. That part of him still scares me – that he can change so fast! I mean, not from human to troll, but his nature. I mean…" Jim's stumbling grew worse as he went on. "Uh – And – Well, knowing you're – alone with him… I just – want you to be safe." He sighed. "But I know you're safe with him. I'm just being stupid."
"I'm glad you worry about me, and that you're being honest," she said. "And… I know, there are sides to him I haven't seen yet. He only shows me his sophisticated side, but I know there's more he's hiding. And yeah, that scares me," she admitted.
She heard Jim swallow hard. "Part of me is like that now too."
"Oh, Jim." Barbara forced down the knot in her throat. "I know. There's this new piece of you – a side that isn't human. But it doesn't matter. I still love you, so very much."
"Thanks, Mom…" Jim replied.
Barbara heard hints of both relief and happiness in his voice.
"You don't need to thank me; I'm your mother. I'll always love you, no matter what." Barbara's heart beat a little harder. "And I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Mom..." Jim hesitated. "I… I want… you to do whatever you need to do to be happy," he said.
Barbara smiled. "Thank you, Jim. And I want you to do the same thing. I know it's only been two days, but… I miss you so much." she gulped down her longing to see her son's face again.
"I miss you too," Jim said, his voice sinking a little bit with the desire to be reunited with her again. "It's okay though, once we get to New Jersey and find a new home for the trolls you can come visit."
"I look forward to it. I'm sure Toby will be thrilled to go see you too."
"Yeah, I bet," Jim chuckled. "Poor Tobes, left all alone to handle school." He sighed. "He'll be fine though; Tobes was always way tougher than people gave him credit for, and he has AAARRRGGHH! with him. They'll be okay."
"I'm sure they will." Barbara pried her phone away from her ear long enough to check the time. "Well… I need to go to work soon," she said. "You make sure to rest now, okay."
"Mom! I told you, both Blinky and Claire are after me all the time about that! I've got a few scrapes, but I'm not dying!" Jim countered.
Barbara chuckled at her son's annoyance, but as she prepared to end the conversation, she choked up. "Thanks for talking to me." She bit her trembling lip. "I'll call again soon."
"Call any time you want," Jim invited. "I'll always have my phone on me."
"Good, well… talk to you later." Barbara forced another smile, hoping it would keep her from crying.
"Talk to you later. Love you, Mom." Jim said.
"Love you too, Jim." Barbara stayed on the line until she heard the call disconnect. She slowly put the phone away, thankful beyond words for the invention of telecommunication. Even though it compounded her feelings of loneliness, the fact that she could talk with Jim so easily did set her mind at ease. Waiting for letters to arrive – that would have killed her for sure.
She put the milk back in the fridge, poured the handful of Cheri-O's back into the box and grabbed a granola bar before getting ready for work and heading out.
When she came home again that night Walter was still nowhere to be seen. Barbara pulled out her phone and shot him a quick text, "I'm home from work. Where are you?"
It took a while but finally the reply came, "Janus Order headquarters. I won't be able to come back tonight. Get some rest."
Barbara frowned as she texted back, "How do I get there?"
This time the reply was instantaneous, "Don't you have work tomorrow? You need to get to sleep."
"Tomorrow is my day off. Yes, I have those, believe it or not. How do I get to the Janus headquarters?"
This time it took a while for the reply to pop up, but for good reason. The three-paragraph response detailed specifically where she needed to go and what she needed to do to enter the top-secret underground facility.
Barbara wasn't sure what to expect from a place so ancient as the Janus Order. She knew there were numberless corpses littering the facility, but when she finally arrived and saw the scattered remains herself she nearly wept. The bones of murdered changelings lay everywhere, strewn across the floors of the modern construction.
"Walt…?" she called out as she stepped off the elevator and into the entryway. Her voice echoed down the curved halls. She took a careful step, avoiding a shattered skull. "Walt, where are you?" She picked her way down the hall.
Halfway to the first corridor intersection she looked back and noticed the entire floor was covered in a thick layer of gray dust, so thick she could clearly see the trail of shoeprints she'd left.
"Walt!" she called again.
"In here…" his gruff voice finally replied.
Barbara followed the sound of his voice, trekking a bit farther into the facility and turning into a large room. She stepped inside and was met with a startling sight.
Inside lay lines of ordered bones. Every skeleton was put together meticulously and lined up with care. The last line was incomplete. Walter knelt on the floor, carefully placing another set of bones, recreating one more skeleton.
"Walt..." Barbara breathed, wide-eyed.
"I emptied this room," Walter stated as he carefully placed each bone. "Took out all the electronics, and the furniture. When the remains are in place I'll seal the room."
Barbara's heart ached as she realized what Walter was doing. He was making a tomb...
"When trolls die they turn to stone. It is customary for trolls to keep the remains and put them proudly on display. Trolls believes that in that way the spirit of the deceased troll will remain and protect them," said Walter. "If a troll is smashed apart, other trolls will take great care in collecting all the pieces and reassembling the deceased, so he can stand with honor even as a stone." He continued assembling the skeleton. "But changelings… they don't turn to stone; they turn to dust."
Barbara's eyes widened, and she looked down at the thick layer of grey she stood in.
Walter glanced at her and saw her eye the floor with discomfort. "You are correct in your assumption. What you see is indeed changeling remains."
Barbara sucked in a deep breath and went over to Walter, giving the dusty floor a long look before sitting down beside him, reverently choosing a bone and placing it in its proper location.
Walter looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm a doctor." Barbara shrugged. "What kind of medical professional would I be if I didn't know anatomy or couldn't handle a skeleton?" she asked.
Walter smirked. "My apologies." He looked over his shoulder toward the hallway, and the many remains still lying in it unattended. Even with the several dozen skeletons so carefully remade he hadn't even made a dent in the carnage with his endeavor.
Barbara followed his gaze. "Did you… know some of these people?" she asked.
Walter's eyes shifted to the half-made changeling on the floor in front of him. "Some?" His eyes clouded over with memories of days past. "They were my brothers and sisters – my fellow changelings." He bowed his head, eyes closed. "We were created at Gunmar's demand to serve his every need, and then the moment he had no use for our kind anymore he murdered every last one here," Walter rumbled bitterly. "Changelings who served him faithfully their entire lives were put to death like animals because he commanded it."
Barbara's hand flew over her mouth as she listened.
Walter went on, "He promised us freedom, but he only gave us misery and then death. We were created to be used." Walter snorted in disgust, "And use us he most assuredly did – to the bitter end." He opened his red-tinged eyes, staring at the corpses with a look of savage wrath. He blinked and shook off the hot rage, his eyes glowing golden again. "Ah… I'm sorry, Barbara. Forgive me." He reached for another whitened bone.
Barbara let out a slow breath. He had nearly given in to his anger and showed her the side of him he didn't want her to see.
"It's okay," Barbara assured him, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder. Just before she touched him, she hesitated, letting her hand drop again. "Gunmar… He's the one you served, the one who had us kidnapped and wanted to kill Jim, right?" she asked.
Walter nodded without meeting her gaze. "You are correct. He ordered me to kill Jim. I had to at least give the appearance of following orders."
"So, you tried to kill him," Barbara whispered.
"Actually, no," Walter said, as he settled down on the floor next to Barbara and turned to face her, legs folded. "In fact, I did everything in my power so I wouldn't have to. No offence to Jim, but he was rather new to the mantle of Trollhunter at the time. If I had truly tried to kill him he would not have stood a chance. When I fought him in your dining room, there were several openings in his defense. I deliberately missed him. Quite frankly, it would have been easier to attack him at school instead of in his own home. There were so many times I could have killed him, but I chose not to."
Barbara's face paled as she wondered exactly how often her son had been in danger and she hadn't known about it.
Walter continued, "I had to make it look like I was loyal to Gunmar. If he had the tiniest suspicion that I'd grown weak, he would kill me. Gunmar never tolerated weak servants. If I didn't make it look like I was using Jim for the glory of Gunmar, someone else would have been sent to finish the job in my place. I know this sounds strange… after all that's happened, but even back then I tried to protect him…" Walter sighed and let his eyes drift to the finished lines of bones. "And I tried to protect the Janus Order. I even dragged you into it to try to accomplish my goals."
"I was just a tool to you back then, wasn't I?" she asked.
"Yes." Walter stiffened with shame and stared at the grey floor. "Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would actually develop feelings for you. You're just a human."
Barbara lifted an eyebrow.
Walter caught the movement out of the corner his vision. "I'm sorry," he quickly interjected. "That isn't what I meant."
She gently shook her head. "No, it's alright," she assured. "So… back then… you really…"
Walter sighed deeply, sending up a small puff of dust from the floor in front of him. "Everything was a death game. If I made one wrong move I would lose everything I had ever worked for. My life was a small price to pay… If I failed, the changelings in the Janus Order would never be free. I couldn't allow that to happen. I had to always be vigilant, never able to trust anyone. I needed to be ready to do whatever I had to do – Fight, or kill, or whatever other despicable thing was needed. I hadn't a moment's rest. There wasn't ever a time I could afford not to look over my shoulder, weapons ready. Personal feelings came at too high a price. Survival was the business I dedicated myself to. Yet… when I spent time with you it was so easy to forget all of that. Everything was so much… better." He kept his eyes on the unfinished remains. "I don't think I had ever tried to be truly happy before," he admitted.
"So… you were happy when we were together?" Barbara ventured.
"I do believe so, yes." Walter nodded. "And I wanted more of it; I wanted to keep feeling that – that little light you offered me. It felt... bigger than mere survival after spending time in your presence. Being with you was more precious to me than holding back the rage of Gunmar; it felt warm and good and I wanted more of it, so I tried to keep up pretenses for as long as possible just to feel that happiness a little bit more. I'm sorry, Barbara..."
"Good. You should be sorry," Barbara scolded, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry with him. "Still… if it had been anyone else in your position, Jim would be dead, wouldn't he?"
This elicited a reluctant nod from Walter.
Barbara went on, "Then, in a strange way, I owe you his life." She let a sad smile spread over her face. "In that case, I suppose I can forgive you."
Walter's stunned eyes snapped back to her, their thin, black slits eclipsing half of each yellow eye.
"What made me so special?" Barbara asked. "If, like you said, I'm just a mere human."
"I don't know," Walter admitted. "You're just… you."
Barbara smiled. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Her smile faltered. "Thank you for telling me all this, Walt."
"Heh." Walter smiled. "You're welcome," he replied in that gruff voice of his as he looked up into Barbara's face.
Walter's eyes shone brightly as Barbara returned his gaze. She leaned forward, inching closer to Walter's face. She closed her eyes and leaned in just a bit more, ready to feel the touch of warm stone on her lips. Nothing.
Barbara opened her eyes, feeling foolish when she realized Walter's attention had already turned back to the changeling remains. She felt an instant of annoyance, but compassion squelched it and her face softened. Walter was caring for all that was left of his dead brethren. Guilt gripped her as realized how disrespectful – even rude – her action was.
Without another word, she scooted closer to Walter and offered him as much help as she could. She hoped once this tomb was finished and sealed that he would be able to bury some of his burden along with his dead past.
This chapter has been editted by dtill359