One voice rang out clearer than all the others as Jim approached the cavern of cages, and he had to stop and stare at nothing in particular as he heard Claire yelling quite a string of impolite words at her captors. His supposed actions may have dulled most of the others, but her blood boiled just as hot as ever from the sound of it. He squared himself as he set his face into the emotionless, vacant expression he had used with Gunmar, and he told himself he would have to thank his girlfriend for getting him into acting. With that, he entered the cavern where Otto and his Changelings were standing guard. Draal and Aaarrrgghh were both in individual cages, then Toby and Claire were together in another, Blinky and NotEnrique in yet another, and Walter and James just looked uncomfortable in their shared cell.

"Welcome back, Trollhunter," Otto greeted. "We await your orders from the Underlord."

"Release the humans," Jim said flatly. "Strikler and my father as well." Otto's brow rose.

"The humans, I understand… but why the traitors?" He asked. Jim immediately drew his sword.

"Did you not hear the Underlord?" He demanded. Otto raised his hands and backed up a step.

"Yes, Trollhunter, of course," he replied. "I was just… curious… of your plans for them."

"Strikler is well known in Arcadia," Jim pointed out. "Not that I owe you any explanation. But if he has contacted anyone else during his visit, they may wonder why he suddenly vanished again. As for my father…" He glanced up to the Changelings' cage. "Let him mourn the family he helped destroy. He can wallow in his grief and self pity while he awaits the Underlord's return. Besides… He could make for good target practice if I get bored."

"Jim, listen to yourself!" Toby called from above. "This isn't you, man!"

"Give it up, Toby…" The lack of life in Claire's voice made Jim's heart drop. "That's not Jim. Not anymore." She fell silent for a moment. "Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe he doesn't know what happened to Barbara, or he won't remember. Maybe it's better this way."

"Quiet," Otto hissed, then returned his attention to Jim. "Now, Trollhunter, what about the trolls?"

"As long as they're alive, I don't care," he said. "Let them go or keep them locked up. As long as they live to see the Underlord's return, it doesn't matter."

"What's going on here?!" a new voice demanded, and Jim whirled around to find Queen Usurna approaching with a duo of Krubera guards accompanying her.

"Queen Usurna!" Blinky called from his cell. "Be careful! Gunmar has taken control of the Trollhunter!" Usurna looked from him to Jim, frowning.

"Is this true?" she asked, but he gave her nothing.

"Quite true," Otto said from behind him. "The Trollhunter is now simply a pawn of the Skullcrusher. Lord Gunmar will return in two weeks' time… and then Trollmarket will fall."

"I see…" Usurna looked back up to the captives, and Jim fought hard to remain stoic as she smiled. "Then all is going according to plan." She walked over to Otto while her guards remained behind. "The Underlord will strike, and the Heartstone will be his for the taking. And once he is finished here, he will take the surface lands."

"What are you blabbering on about?!" Blinky snapped. "Usurna!" She looked up at him again.

"I've heard about your conspiracy theories, Blinkous," she said. "The old goat would mention your paranoia from time to time. But you always looked in the wrong places. Six eyes did nothing to help you see clearly."

"Queen Usurna!" Aaarrrgghh bellowed.

"Oh, Arghaumont," she shook her head. "I had truly hoped you would choose to return to us. The Underlord could use your strength. And yet, you threw it all away, and now, when the time comes, you will die. All of you! You will witness the glorious return of Gunmar the Black!" She turned back to Jim. "And the Trollhunter shall be his most powerful servant. No one can resist the Underlord's power." She smiled. "Now. You were going to return to the surface with the fleshlings and the Impure, were you not?"

"Yes." It was all he could say without blowing his cover. She nodded.

"Very well. You'd best move quickly. I shall deal with Vendel and these prisoners."

"Fine." Jim made his way over to the mechanism holding the cages aloft, and he brought Toby, Claire, Walter, and James back to ground level. The Changelings opened the cages and herded them to Jim, who lifted his sword.

"Let's go." He looked back at the Krubera Queen. "I leave Trollmarket under your watch until the Underlord's return." He then turned to Otto. "You and your Impure will go back to Arcadia. You don't want to rouse any further suspicion here, do you?"

"Very well." Otto dipped his head. "As you command, Trollhunter." The Changelings began to escort their prisoners out of the cavern with Jim in the lead.

"Claire, Tobias!" Blinky called after them. "Do not give up hope!" Neither had a chance to answer as they left the cavern.

With Usurna drawing Trollmarket's attention, the Changelings and Jim were able to leave and reach Arcadia and the canal with little issue. They resumed human form while Jim dismissed his armor, but his stern gaze let the captives know he would not hesitate to call it again. They were silent as the Changelings escorted them back to their home and sent them inside.

"We will be in touch," Otto said once their task was complete. He dipped his hat, then joined his companions and departed from the neighborhood. Jim took a breath, then turned and shut the front door behind him.

"Hyaaaaaaah!" Toby cried as he came barreling at Jim with a knife in his hand ready to strike. Jim yelped and ducked, grabbing Toby's arm and wresting the knife from his grip.

"Come on, Tobes!" he said as he dodged a punch from his friend. "That's one of my good knives!"

"Who cares?!" Toby looked near tears. "The real Jim would want us to free him from Gunmar no matter what. And you took my hammer. So I had to get creative! So give me the knife back!"

"Toby, Toby!" Jim tossed the knife aside and grabbed his friend by the wrists. "Calm down! It's me! Really me!" Toby didn't look convinced, but Jim released him and scanned the others. "Look, I know I scared you, and I'm sorry. But I needed Gunmar and the Changelings to trust me."

"How dumb do you think we are?" Claire inquired as she scowled at him. "Jim would never hurt his own mother no matter what. And you killed her!" She started to charge at him, but he caught her in his arms and lifted her off her feet. "Put me down, you no-good, lying…" She called him something rather inappropriate, and he set her down.

"Please, just listen to me for a second," he pleaded, then raised his voice. "Coast is clear! You can come up now!"

"Quit trying to confuse us," Claire snapped. Toby had retrieved the knife and came running at him again.

"Toby! Toby, stop!" a voice said, and Toby stumbled to a halt as four shocked pairs of eyes turned to stare at Barbara as she came out from the basement steps. "He's telling the truth. All of that was just an act to get Gunmar to trust him."

"Barbara!" Walter immediately ran to her, but she ducked under his attempt to embrace her and shoved him back.

"Don't think you and I are friends again," she told him, and looked up as James approached her.

"Oh, Barb…" he breathed. "You're alive. I was so scared that… when…"

"Stop," she held her hand up. "Look, I'm thankful you decided we were more important than your evil troll of a boss. But that doesn't mean I've forgiven you." She shoved past both of them and joined Jim, Toby, and Claire.

"I don't get it," Toby said. "I mean… your shirt is soaked in blood! How are you alive?! Jim stabbed you!" Barbara reached under the hem of her shirt and pulled out a plastic package with a hole in it from Jim's dagger.

"Pack of donated blood," she said. "Not its intended use, I suppose, but it worked. Jim came to me this morning and told me about the Eye in the Amulet and how he figured Gunmar would want some proof of loyalty. A life for a life, like he said."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you," Jim added. "But I needed it to be as believable as possible." He returned the Shadowstaff to Claire and the warhammer to Toby. "But I bought us two weeks to plan on how we're going to take out Gunmar. The only problem is… well, I didn't know about Usurna."

"There's a Changeling in Trollmarket," James spoke up. "A spy. He was responsible for stealing the Eye from the Heartstone. He's been following orders from Usurna. She has been Gunmar's ally since before the Battle of Killahead. Can't believe she's kept it secret for so long."

"What about the rest of the Krubera?" Jim asked.

"If they're loyal to their Queen, then they'll be loyal to Gunmar," Walter said. "Meanwhile, I don't trust Usurna to keep her word that your friends down there will remain unharmed. Do you have a plan on rescuing them?"

"That's why I bought a house with a big basement," Jim replied with a smirk. "Right now, we need to plan how to get them out without Usurna or the Changelings realizing I'm not really under Gunmar's control." He shuddered at the thought.

"You have to sleep sometime," Claire pointed out. "I can use my staff to get us down to the cages, then we'll sneak them back out. And if we have to smack around a few guards, so be it."

"No, because then Usurna and the Changelings will wonder why Jim didn't punish you for that," Walter said. "Even if he didn't kill you, they would expect him to take action."

"We could tell Vendel," Barbara suggested. "If he sees Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Draal locked up, he'll want to know why. And I'm sure Usurna wants to keep a low profile for the moment."

"That could work," Jim nodded. "I hate to make them wait, but right now, we need to lay low. And… Mom, maybe go change." She snorted and nodded.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea. This shirt is done for anyway. Excuse me." She pecked Jim's forehead before heading upstairs. He turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"Well, Dad, Strikler, this will be your home for the next two weeks," he said. "Make yourselves comfortable." His gaze fell on his father. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Of course," James replied. Jim gestured for him to follow and they made their way to the family room. Jim took a breath and looked over the photos on the walls.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"Why'd I do what?" James wondered, and Jim turned back to him.

"You tried to stop me from hurting Mom and you went after Gunmar. You betrayed him. Why?" James looked hurt at the question.

"Because I love you, Jim," he replied. "You and your mother. I never stopped loving you. You're much more important to me than following Gunmar."

"Doesn't change that you left us," Jim mumbled as he leaned against a chair.

"I told you," James said. "I left because I wanted to keep you safe. I had no idea what Gunmar would have done to you and your mother if I had stuck around. I hoped I could take the danger away with me. But…" He shook his head. "Then the Amulet chose you." Jim looked down. "… If and when I ever met you again, I thought it would be as a troll, not as a human. You didn't have to know who I was, you could just… strike me down." Neither said anything for a while as Jim took out his Amulet and gazed absentmindedly into its glow.

"If we had met in battle… would you have tried to kill me?" He finally asked. James took a moment to ponder the question.

"No," he admitted. "If it came to us crossing blades, I would have thrown the fight. I would try to make it look believable… but like I said, Jim, I love you. Nothing has ever changed the fact that you are my son. And if it meant facing judgment from Gunmar or his followers, I would have gladly taken it. As long as I didn't have to hurt you any more than I already had." Once again, he fell silent for a time.

"I didn't want you to live with the pain of hurting your mother," he went on, now more thinking out loud. "When I thought Gunmar had truly taken control of you to that degree… All I could think about was saving you. Finding a way to free you from him. And even if I couldn't save Barbara, I could save your friends. I could try to keep you from hurting them. I could spare you all from that pain. Even if it meant I would take it myself." Jim looked up at him and returned the Amulet to his back pocket.

"Dad, I can't say I forgive you for abandoning us." James nodded. "But…" he paused as he collected himself. "I'm glad we've gotten a chance to talk about it. It hurt to know that we were on two sides of a war. And while I don't know if I'll ever really be able to get over why you left… I get it." James's brow rose. "And I believe you when you say that you were just trying to protect us. I've seen what Gunmar does to people and I understand why it would be hard to even think about disobeying him. So… it means a lot to me that you tried to stand up to him for me." James smiled, though his eyes watered.

"I'll say it again, son. I love you." Jim shifted his weight a bit awkwardly, then let out a breath and approached his father. He opened his arms, and James stared for a moment before quickly embracing him.

"I'm so sorry, Jim…" he mumbled. "I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I've hurt you so much."

"I know, Dad," Jim replied, patting his father's back. "But you're here now. Better late than never. And right now, I need your help in this war." James nodded vigorously and backed up, wiping his eyes.

"I'm yours to command, Trollhunter," he said as he dipped his head. "And right now, I look forward to the day you slay Gunmar and set us free. Maybe then, we can finally see peace." Jim nodded.

"I hope so, Dad. Now, go get some rest. I'm tired and I need a chance to clear my head. We'll all talk strategy later."

"Right," James agreed. "You've earned some down time. I'll…" he scratched his head. "Maybe I'll ask your friend Toby to show me around the house a little." Jim snorted and nodded.

"Sounds good. Make yourself at home." With that, he placed his hand on his father's shoulder for a moment, then left the family room to head upstairs.