Disclaimer: I do not own Trollhunters or any of its characters.

Chapter 10

Unwitting Trollhunters Pt 2

Jim v. Strickler (Jim leads 1-0)

This was it.

Decades of research had led to this very moment.

Yet Merlin didn't know what to expect. Place orange glowy thing on incision, then watch as something happened. Merlin hoped whatever it was would be helpful. It would need to be.

After all, the mage had sensed trouble.

The universe's most powerful wizards were loosely connected to what Merlin dubbed the Homeostasis. It monitored the relative balance of power among the strongest mages. When a being disrupted the balance, the others felt it.

So, what on Akiridion was Val Morando doing?

Merlin walked to the observatory entrance, orange gemstone in hand. The "incision" was in fact a circle indented in the wall on the left as one entered.

The observatory looked like a gray version of the Hero's Forge, and it was massive.

Merlin placed the gemstone in the incision.

A blue wisp of smoke came out of the orange gem and spoke. By all the stars, Merlin did not need another Void.

"We can skip the part where I explain glowing wisps of light can talk. You already know that. Let's also skip the part where I establish whether or not you're a powerful mage. All that's left is one requirement."

The blue wisp cleared its nonexistent throat.

"State your intentions," it boomed.

"In all honesty, I have no idea what this is. All I know is the Homeostasis is unbalanced, and Earth may be in danger." Merlin dispensed with the formalities. This was no time for small talk.

"Are your goals to protect or destroy this planet?" The wisp floated in front of Merlin's head.

"To protect. I find this planet sufficiently tolerable. It falls upon my shoulders to prepare its defenses in the case of attack. Can you help me?"

"Your words ring true, Merlin. Proceed!" The blue wisp returned to the gem, pausing one of the strangest encounters Merlin had ever experienced.

The gemstone glowed with light and heat. Orange light danced along the walls, forming a magnificent spectacle.

The blue wisp was back. "Oh, you again." Merlin tapped his foot impatiently.

"Me again," it agreed. "Which galaxy would you like to see?"

"I have no idea what you're getting at, but. . . the Milky Way."

The rough image of the Milky Way galaxy appeared on the wall of the observatory. It was stunning.

The wisp elaborated. "Each dot represents a significant mage. In order to discern one from another, narrow your focus."

"Fascinating. Show me the Orion Arm." The panorama zoomed in.

"That would still include every listed mage," the wisp informed with a hint of sarcasm.

"The Local Bubble," Merlin challenged.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

Apparently, a distance of 300 light years was small enough to allow Merlin to differentiate between dots.

"Zoom in towards Earth." One by one, the dots popped off the screen until four remained. "Stop!"

The distance was small enough that Merlin could see names start to appear on banners next to each dot.

The banners were too small to read. "Who's that?" Merlin pointed to a dot on Durio.

"Averni," the wisp replied.

Merlin nodded. And Fialkov was still in stasis, which left. . . oh no.

Merlin had to be sure. The mage moved to the other end of the pseudo-Forge and pointed. "Zoom in over there."

The image centered on the Oort Cloud. A red dot appeared inside a blue triangle close to the size of a planet.

Val Morando was coming to Earth.

With an army the size of a planet.

"How long until he gets here," Merlin snapped, resorting to the pronoun game in his haste.

The blue wisp paused in thought. "At his current velocity, Morando will arrive in this Solar System in thirteen days."

Thirteen days.

"Let the fight. . . begin!"

Jim eliminated the threat of Strickler's knife-throwing abilities by engaging in a sword-fight. Walt refused to take a defensive stance, instead matching attack for attack with the Trollhunter.

As soon as it had begun, the fight was almost over.

In a rare lapse, Jim overcommitted to a swing across his body. Strickler leaned backwards to avoid the swing, and shoved Jim's arm further across his torso. The changeling darted forward, moving to place his sword in front of the Trollhunter's neck.

Jim was faster. In a precarious maneuver, the half-troll brought his sword up to shoulder-height and deflected Strickler's sword to the side.

Spinning around, Jim ducked in a hurry as the changeling drew a knife. Strickler had it knocked out of his hand by a well-timed swing of Daylight.

Before Walt could draw another weapon, the Trollhunter pushed forward. The green changeling found himself on the defensive, deflecting attacks to the left and the right.

Jim continued to push the pace, forcing Strickler all the way back to the Forge controls. The latter decided a change of scenery was in order.

The changeling slammed his fist into the controls. As the Forge started up around the fighters, Strickler created the distance he needed to stay out of a sword fight.

As the half-troll avoided a swinging axe, a knife whizzed across the empty space.

Jim caught it.

Strickler jumped out of the path of a blast of fire. It was all the time Jim needed to race into the fray.

Discarding the knife, the half-troll launched into a flurry of offensive maneuvers. His opponent deflected each strike save the last.

Daylight grazed Walt's arm. It was enough to cause visible discomfort, though Walt didn't appear to be slowed by the scratch.

Strickler unfurled his wings and flew to the newest platform at the top of the Forge. Jim was content to follow, curious as to where this would lead.

The occasional serrator whizzed across the platform. Both fighters watched for the would-be death beams.

Jim restarted the action.

Daylight arced towards Strickler's left shoulder. At the last moment, Jim adjusted the sword's path a little higher.

Walt deflected Daylight up in the air. The Trollhunter let the sword rematerialize in his hand. Jim stabbed at the changeling's side.

It was a feint, and Strickler fell for it. Walt had leaned to his left and prepared to deflect a blow that never came.

Jim paused the arc, sweeping Daylight towards Strickler's skull. The sword's side connected with a satisfying thunk.

Walt crashed to the ground, unconscious.

A shocked murmur rose amidst the crowd. The half-troll had won. . . by knockout.

Blinky stood with a proud, completely unbiased grin.

"Advancing to the final of the tournament. . . James Lake Junior!"

Notes

Next up: Claire-Toby III for the right to face Jim in the best-of-five final.

Place orange glowy thing on— "It's a bomb, Ned! The glowy thing's a bomb!"

This chapter's archive of somewhat nerdy space terms some may want to look up: Orion Arm, Local Bubble, Oort Cloud.

Steve Palchuk calls Aja's serrator a death beam in 3Below. ("Turn off, death beam!")

Thanks again to Forever-Foruba for the wonderful assistance in improving this chapter.

Please review! I'd like to know what readers think of the story.