Unbecoming chp 13

Glow Stick

'I am vengeance, I am the night, I am bat-'

"Jim, stop glowing already!' Strickler hissed in irritation.

The Trollhunter felt a childish pout form on his expression. He was just having a moment posing on the rooftop, before Strickler decided to ruin it for him. He was pulled low to the ground, the older man rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Aww come on, I didn't even call out the catch phrase. I'm being silent," he replied.

"What catchphrase? Never mind- you need to disconnect your magic pathways now. You're using too much of its energy and you'll end up alerting any Trolls in the vicinity," Strickler scolded.

"I don't know how to turn it off. Don't you think I would have by now if I knew?" Jim replied defensively. "Anyway, it's just my face right, the rest of me is covered so it shouldn't be that much of a problem."

"It's glowing through your clothes," the man replied with a deadpan expression.

Jim sighed and looked away. Arguing with Strickler was like arguing with a brick wall, in the end you'd just have to give in and accept you're an idiot for doing so. He scanned the street, seeing no Trolls, before looking back at the setting sun.

"Come on, let's go already. We're wasting time," Jim said impatiently.

"If we get caught trying to get you clothes then I will personally castrate you," Strickler relented.

The Changeling looked to his side to realise that Jim had already disappeared. He gave an annoyed grunt before looking down the side of the building and taking the stairs. He soon reached a rather expensive clothing store.

"This is probably the only good thing about an apocalypse," Jim laughed as he picked up an expensive suit. "I would have never been able to afford this before."

For once Strickler had to agree. He picked up the Burberry suit and traced the fine cloth with an almost wistful expression. He shook his head and sighed. Why was he getting so caught up over this?

"Are you sure you want a suit? They're hard to move in," Strickler pointed out.

"Aww, but it would look cool," Jim whined. "We could be like the Men in Black, except you know… Trollhunters."

"Pick one suit, and then we're out to the fitness section," Strickler relented.

No man could ever say no to a free Burberry suit if they considered themselves sane. Strickler took more than a few, revelling in the fact that he didn't have to worry about mobility when his troll form changed clothes for him. They quickly left to find some more practical clothes when Jim decided the expensive tastes didn't end there. Strickler was a little irritated that they moved so far from base for clothes, but when he saw the glimpse of a smile on Jim's face, he softened his high-strung expression. This trip may have been completely unnecessary, but if it elevated their pain for just a while, then it was worth it.

Jim grabbed a bag and chucked in a whole stack of Nike outfits, from track suit pants, to jackets, shoes, shirts and even water bottles. He relinquished in the fact that he was going to stop Gunmar anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to look good doing so. When he entered the dressing room his good mood dropped. There was a body inside, blood splattered across the wall and mirror. It was a horrid smell and a brutal sight, the way maggots seemed to be crawling out of the stinking corpse. Jim nearly lost his lunch as he quickly stumbled away. He was caught by the worried Changeling, who's confusion turned into disgust when he witnessed he sight too. Their brief moment of escapism had been brutally ripped away.

"Did you pack everything?" Strickler asked, ushering Jim away from the corpse.

"Y-yes," Jim replied shakily.

"Good, let's go back"

The trip back had been unpleasantly silent. For someone who was used to death, seeing another corpse wasn't such a shock, but the sour expression on Jim's face explained everything the Changeling needed to know. They weren't meant to see that. For the few hours they had been there, it should have been the few hours they had to escape their reality. Heavens knew they needed that escapist fantasy, even if it was the falsest lie they could tell themselves. Strickler didn't know what to say or to do in this situation. It had been Blinky's fault to allow him to be the emotional provider. He had hardly the right mindset to provide that kind of support. A Changeling had always been encouraged to keep their feelings hidden, their head down, and the end goal in mind. Anything more was a dangerous folly. Apparently Trollhunters were of the same mindset, if Jim's recent behaviour had been cause for anything.

"Do you think Claire would appreciate that I got her things too?" Jim asked, a weak attempt to take his mind off events.

"What do women appreciate? That my boy, is a mystery man has yet to uncover," Strickler replied.

"That's a good point, but really, what do you think? Is it too much? What if I got the wrong size?"

Strickler raised an amused brow. "It would be rather disturbing if you did get the right size."

Jim blushed and groaned into his hands. Watching an adolescent moan and wail in his romantic misery was amusing, but beyond the entertainment, Strickler knew there was genuine fear. Hidden behind placid words and fake smiles, the teen was slowly breaking down, bit by bit.

The whole world was.

"Hold your arms straight- no not like that"

Smack

"Ouch what was that for?"

"For not doing it right. Stop complaining and continue."

Nomura let out a small groan, shaking her head as she wondered why exactly she decided to train a flesh-bag in the first place. There were more important things to worry about than a little girl with heroic delusions. She grimaced as she watched the girl clumsily swing a sword over her head. The stance was weak, her body was weak, and there was nothing practically fun to do here. In the large expanse of the school gym, movements like that could be passable, but it required skill and finesse to work the environment alongside your enemy. Her little student was too early-in to even consider making her breathe hard, let alone to work the environment during a real battle. Her attention was caught by the opening door, only to see both Jim and Strickler walking in. The teen looked oddly contemplative while her old colleague seemed disgruntled and mortified.

"By the Pale Lady, what are you doing practising with that sword?!" Strickler cried out mortified. "It's a 16th Century relic!"

Nomura could sympathise but was now really the time to fret over relics? Hadn't she given up her precious pottery to bring Gunmar back? What an ill investment that was…

"Calm down Strickler. It is being used for its purpose. How went your little vacation?" she replied bitterly.

"We were doing a supply run," the man bit back angrily, before pulling back, letting out a deep sigh and completely resigning himself. "This is clearly the least of my worries currently," he amended, sending one last forlorn look at his expensive collection piece in the hands of a 16-year-old girl.

"I won't waste this opportunity," Claire said with a serious nod.

"Who said you could stop? Continue swinging that over your head until I say otherwise."

Claire looked like she wanted to protest, but it wasn't like she had the option. Nomura would drop her in an instant if she complained. Despite trembling hands, she continued those grievous motions. Strickler looked completely resigned for the fate of his prized possessions. Heaving a sigh he threw his arms up in exasperation, grumbling some profanities before leaving the room. Nomura watched in silent satisfaction, feeling a little petty for getting her revenge on him like this. Her attention then turned back to Claire.

"Back straight, feet apart. Remember-!" Nomura kicked the back of Claire's knee, dropping the girl on the ground. "A larger troll would fell you in one swoop. Again! Feet apart, knees bent, stance wide."

The girl let out an annoyed groan before standing back up and repeating her motions. Growing bored of watching, Nomura went to the gym seats and sat down. She would have continued watching but she noticed a presence she had ignored before.

"Trollhunter," she acknowledged. "Did you have something to add about my training," she said with a challenging look.

She expected a protest of some sort, but the way the teen looked at Claire like he was seeing a memory caught her off guard. She had heard his whimsical story of travelling back in time. She remembered back to when they first met in battle. Clearly, he knew her in some way before they met, or it would be rather creepy that he knew her by name. What came out of his lips next shocked her.

"Draal trained me in the same way…"

"You knew him?" she asked, her curiosity peaked as an oddly painful feeling constricted her chest.

"Not the Draal you knew, but he was a good friend either way."

"Yeah he was…"

"What was he like?" Jim asked, face scrunched in an indiscernible emotion.

"Loud, obnoxious and largely childish, but he had his moments."

Nomura's face scrunched up in a grimace, her thoughts wandering to Draal. She had fought him, loved him and killed him, and for that she could not forgive herself. In the end what was it worth… not more than his life, she realised. Her ears perked up to a sound of a familiar whistle cutting through the silence.

"Peer Gynt, where have you heard that?"

"From a friend. She told me once that she heard it when she was all alone. As the curtains rose and the orchestra swelled, she heard the story of Peer Gynt; a little boy who stumbles into a mountain of trolls. There he faces a troll king, who tells him, 'To thy self be true, and who cares what the world thinks?'"

Nomura watched on, her eyes wide with confusion before realisation sunk in. She wouldn't just tell anyone something like that, for who else could it be? The last person she had opened up to like that had been Draal. The melancholic expression on the boy's face, turned somewhat hopeful as he looked into her eyes. She recognised the emotion.

"I told her she was never going to be alone… but it's been a while and she might have forgotten."

She opened her mouth slightly only for the gym door to slam open. Blinky walked through the door, holding what looked to be a scroll.

"Master Jim, we have much to discuss!"

Jim whined… "Really?"

"Sorry am I interrupting something?" Blinky asked.

Claire raised up her hand, catching the attention of the others. "Umm… can I take a break now?"

Nomura smirked, a sadistic smile on drawing up her lips. "Of course... not."

The office was filled with contemplative silence. The lights were almost always turned off, so as to not alert any roaming Gumm-Gumms of their location, but the small privilege was allowed in the windowless secret office. A small lamp dimly lit the room, barely illuminating the faces of its occupants. Jim thought it made it look like an exclusive cult gathering, but he had hardly any humour left in him to voice his musings.

"We need to discuss future plans," Blinky finally said, breaking the silence.

The group nodded, in agreement, their movements still and pensive. Jim found himself tense, and he could see Claire from the corner of his eye, also conflicted on whether or not to say anything. He decided to take the lead. They had waited enough. Each day that went by had Gunmar amassing more and more soldiers for his army. Even he could tell the number of patrols increased greatly.

"I suggest we have Angor Rot portal all of us straight in Gunmar's HQ and ambush him. The quicker we act the less time he has to prepare," Jim finally said.

"Foolish plan Trollhunter," Angor Rot replied, arms crossed with a cocky smile adorning his face.

"Of course you would think so," Jim replied with a frown. He looked expectantly at the rest of the group, hoping that someone would back him up. Much to his displeasure both Aarrgh and Blinky seemed unwilling to help, and Nomura simply looked impassively at the table. In a final ditch effort, Jim turned to Strickler who sighed and shook his head.

"Charging Gunmar without a plan is what got the previous Trollhunter killed," Strickler replied with a frown.

Apparently Strickler's choice of words seemed to sour multiple individual's expressions. No one wanted a reminder of Draal's loss. Strickler shrugged it off. What was done, was done, and there was nothing to do about it now.

"If we can even hope to have a chance, we need a plan, and allies. I propose we ally ourselves with the Changelings. Right now they lay hidden, waiting restlessly, and it would be beneficial for both parties to get involved."

"More Changelings?" Blinky exclaimed in shock. "Preposterous! We'd much rather follow Master Jim's plan and just offer ourselves up. Your kind has not had a good reputation of keeping loyalty."

Jim hated to admit it but Strickler did have a point. As much as he didn't trust half the Changelings out there, what other ally did they have? For what it was worth, he did have some trust in Strickler... well at least this version of Strickler.

"Blinky… maybe Strickler has a point. They were your enemies before, but Gunmar's out trying to kill them. We can count on self-preservation instincts at worst," Jim offered. "But they aren't going to listen to me. You should go instead."

"You would be right, but…" Strickler began, voice uneasy, "I was the figure head of the Janus Order. I was the one who lead my people to their doom. They would not be so easy to trust me anymore. I suggest we send Nomura in."

Nomura sent Strickler a nod, her eyes glinting with a sort of respect for his reasoning. Not everyone was happy with the plan however. Blinky crossed all four of his arms, brows knitted with worry.

"Then Master Jim should go along… as a show of power of course," Blinky added, unsure of whether to trust their fate in the hands of old enemies. Having Jim travel with the Changelings would no doubt be enough to make sure they couldn't be double crossed.

Nomura and Strickler seemed to grow tense, and the mood followed soon. No doubt the meagre remnants of trust the group had was falling apart. Angor Rot watched on in irritation. As far as he was concerned, their little party was only formed out of necessity. There was no reason to require any level of trust in their mutually beneficial relationships. Was he to be the only one to point out the obvious.

"You are all forgetting, that our mighty Trollhunter has been reduced to a mere flesh-ling. We cannot simply bring in an army of Changelings and fight Gunmar. We will have to wait for his magic reserves to accommodate his body."

"And not to mention, we have a bunch of angry humans in a Fallout Shelter!" Claire finally added, a frown on her face. "I know the situation there. Everyone is grieving, angry and restless. No doubt their supplies will run out sooner rather than later, and none of you decided to give them any useful instructions to survive. I won't be the only one to bail"

She didn't mean to sound accusatory, but weren't these the people- er well trolls- that was meant to protect others? She didn't know much of the situation, but she was assuming so. It was the human world that suffered from not being informed of giant freaking rock monsters living underneath them! She thought, as far as things were considered, the humans deserved to the situation.

"Claire, I've already tried to explain things to them," Jim began, his face scrunched in a worried frown. "Every time I went, it seemed they hardly listened."

"But they would listen to a member of the community," Strickler began, gears turning in his head. "We need to bridge our relations. If we can get the Changelings to help the humans, we could help them escape."

"There are forests surrounding Arcadia," Blinky added. "Gunmar's soldiers would no doubt be patrolling shaded forest without worry, even if it was the morning."

"All the more reasons for the Changelings to come along," Jim said, perking up turning to Strickler.

"Then it's settled. Here's the plan-"

Jim let out a frustrated sigh. Angor Rot refused to shadow-walk them to the Changelings hide-out. He understood that the troll felt like he was being used as a vehicle, but was now really the time to complain about something like that? Despite this, Jim understood- well to some extent. He did have the Ring of Copernicus, but he wasn't about to turn Angor Rot into his slave. It was just there so the assassin didn't- well assassinate him before they could really fight.

"I will go in first. Follow behind me," Nomura ordered, voice oddly authoritative.

There was no reason to disagree, so he followed suite, taking precaution to not cause much noise. The trip to the library had been rather uneventful. It was just down the street from the school anyway. It was entering the library that they had to be cautious about. Nomura whistled twice before entering the room. Dozens of fluorescent eyes glistened from the darkness, a sight that promised death. Thankfully death didn't ensue, instead bodies, both human and troll alike stepped out of the shadows, a myriad of frustrated and cautious expressions adorning their face. Jim didn't blame them. He felt like a candlestick in the darkness of the room, and he technically was a Trollhunter- someone who was tasked to kill people like Changelings.

"At ease, we have come to bring news of a plan," Nomura said, placating the crowd of thirty or so.

"Is the Trollhunter on our side?" a Changeling asked.

"He is, and we have come to propose a plan. There are humans within Arcadia that need our help. We may have been enemies in the past, but it is time for us to push Gunmar back and fight for ourselves."

"You want us to help humans?!" a Changeling asked from the crowd. The rest began to murmur in agreement. Why should they help a human anyway?

"Like it or not Gunmar is not your ally anymore," Jim cut in, eyes glowing an unearthly blue. His magic silenced the Changelings instantly. "The humans in Arcadia have vital knowledge they can spread to troll settlements outside of this town. With their help we can change the tide of war."

"We have been disassociated from society for too long. It's time for us to take our place in this world again," Nomura said, bringing the discussion to a close.

The Changelings murmured in agreement, others simply silent in their disagreement. Allying with Gunmar was a mistake they wouldn't make again. The crowd nodded their agreement, dispersing to their solitude. Jim would have left too, feeling rather uncomfortable in their midst, had he not spotted a familiar face. His heart stopped, a twisting rage gripping him. He did not even realise as his body sparked with energy, his markings glowing a blinding blue, as his magic enhanced his speed.

The Changelings moved out of the way as he pushed through them, body tensed and eyes wide. He knew her, but from where? His heart dropped as she turned to face him.

It was her…

Toby!

His muscles uncoiled, springing with surprising speed, a blur of blue shooting through the crowd. In an instant he had grabbed the Changeling by her neck, slamming her hard into the wall behind her.

"What did you do to Toby!" he growled. "What did you do?"

"I didn't d-do anything! Spare me Trollhunter!" Gladys cried.

"Don't fucking lie to me! He was with his dentist when I called," Jim cried, eyes glowing brighter.

Nomura watched as suddenly Jim turned violent. The whole room fell silent, the Changelings all stepping back in fear. The magic of daylight was shining through his body, and the Changelings could feel the ripple of its power. No one dared to stop the Trollhunter in his rage, as he threw the Changeling in his grasp into another wall. He screamed with rage and sadness as he stalked towards her, drawing his sword.

"You killed him!"

"N-no I didn't!" she cried.

"Don't fucking lie to me!" he screamed, stabbing his sword into her shoulder.

Magic channelled through the blade, turning her shoulder a pasty grey, breaking her skin and destroying her arm. Her screams rattled through the library, and Nomura rushed to stop the madness. They didn't need the Gumm-Gumms to hear this noise, and no doubt this sort of behaviour would have dire effects on the Changeling's opinion of the Trollhunter.

"You idiot stop this," she hissed, pulling him away by the shoulder.

Nomura expected pure anger, maybe even for the boy to swat her away with his out of control magic, but he just looked at her with desperate sadness, as if someone had broken a part of him. Tears glistened in his glowing eyes, and he was biting his lips until it bled.

"Don't stop me! She killed Toby! She fucking killed him!" he screamed, drawing his sword out, ready to stab her somewhere more definite.

Despite her self-preservation instincts Nomura grabbed the teen by his shoulders and pulled him away. Her hands burnt but she held him tight, until his magic receded, and his anger turned into sorrowful hiccups.

"You're better than this," she said, not glancing at the panting figure of the wounded Changeling in front of him. "Don't kill her, it will ruin everything we have worked for."

His body trembled, ready to strike, eyes darting from Gladys to Nomura, his lips drawn in a thin line. He wanted to kill her, no needed to, but he finally saw past his anger. The look of fear in the Changelings eyes stopped him in his tracks. He wasn't a tyrant… he was a Trollhunter.

Nomura watched as the teen wiped away his tears. He sheathed his sword, but his muscles were tensed, coiled as if it could spring any moment in an unexpected attack. Nomura watched as his look of sorrow turned into bitter anger once more. The room fell into a thick silence, the ragged breathing of the Trollhunter reverberating heavily through the room. The Changeling's moved away slowly, eyes trained on him cautiously. Jim noticed a small figure in the crowd and frowned. The small Changeling seemed to scramble back in surprise, eyes wide with nervousness.

"And you, don't you ever go near Claire again"

Notenrique looked quizzically at the Trollhunter but put his hands up in surrender. "You got it boss." There was no way he was going to disobey something from an enraged kid who literally could summon daylight. Even if he had a loud-mouth, he still cared for his life.

Nomura sighed, noticing that instead of good-will, Jim struck them with the impression of a tyrant. She was going to hand it to him when they got back to base. She waited, following silently behind him, not saying a word as her attention was elsewhere. Gumm-Gumm's roamed the streets at this time of night, and it paid to be cautious. It wasn't until they entered the school that she put a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. She expected to give a long lecture followed by a small beat down for his insolent attitude, but the sheer rage in his eyes stopped her.

"What is it?" he whispered harshly.

"What you did there, isn't going to help us," Nomura said, not backing down despite her companion's sour mood.

"Don't… just don't okay. I've never wanted to kill someone so badly," he hissed, hands gripped tightly into a painful fist, blood dripping down. "Can't you see I'm keeping it in? I wanted to snap her neck—no I wanted her to die a far more painful death for what she had done. I didn't do it because I know what's at stake, but I can't promise the next time I see her that I can hold back. She killed Toby…"

Nomura didn't push, especially not when the boy was so clearly seething. His eyes glowed an unmerciful blue, his body coiled and shivering with controlled rage. She didn't see the pain, just the anger, but she knew deep down inside he was hurting—just like her. They could never have the people they cared most for back, and the thought itself was maddening.

"I'm going to sleep," he said, turning his back to her.

Sleep… she doubted he would find it tonight.

Her body hurt. Her arm had fallen off into a crumbling pile of stone. Gladys knew she was screwed. There was no way she would survive the next time she met the Trollhunter. While the Changelings were her people, not a single one of them had moved to help after her ordeal. She was marked as dead, and therefore not useful. She grunted in pain, hand moving to stroke her tender shoulder. She cursed the boy for doing this to her, although a more rational part of her screamed that she was lucky to even be alive.

There were not many options left. She needed to escape Arcadia, but Gumm-Gumm soldiers littered the streets, scouring for the Trollhunter and missing Changelings. She stumbled across the suburban streets, crossing an intersection lined with small businesses. Her breath caught when she saw two Gumm-Gumm soldiers come from across the road. Quickly she ducked under a car, closing her eyes with pain, as the agony in her shoulder flared.

Thump Thump

Their footsteps grew in sound as they came closer- closer… until they slowly receded into background noise. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in, before proceeding to move. She didn't deserve this! Other Changelings had eaten human flesh too! What difference did it make if she ate one boy? Why was that fat child so important to the Trollhunter anyway—a friend maybe? Still, she regretted having targeted Domzalski now.

She noticed the fence, right outside stretched the forest where she could escape. No doubt another group of Changelings would welcome her in! Aha, there was freedom!

Snap

"Aaaarrrrgh!" she screamed, her body slammed hard onto the ground.

She looked up, breath hard even to her ears, to see two glowing eyes, laughing at her. Oh screw her luck, she had been caught, and not by any Gumm-Gumm, but by Bular himself!

"Changeling, your life is forfeit," he growled, a sickly smile on his face.

"No, please stop! I have information! Vital information," she pleaded through pained sobs.

A scream ripped her throat as the Troll simply ground her shoulder with his foot. The pain, the pain, the pain!

"What do you have?" he said with interest.

"T-the T-Trollhunter plans!" she cried. "I-I know where the Changeling's are h-hiding!"

"Interesting, I'm sure my father would want to hear of this. Tell me now and I will give you a swift death."

"N-No!" she cried, eyes hardening. "Spare my life and this information is yours! Torture me and I won't say a word!"

"Pesky Impures," Bular growled. "No matter, it will be more interesting for my father to hear of this in person. Come… for now."

Gladys let out a gasp of relief as the Troll moved his foot off her torn arm. She struggled to stand up, her body quickly pushed by a Gumm-Gumm behind her. She stumbled forward, the only thought in her mind…

Survival

Ok guys, Curry-llama here! Finally got this chapter out! It only took me an eternity to write! The reason why it took so long as because me and my friend sat down for a whole day and just jotted down all the plot points and gave the story and arc basically. Yup so we have the plot down, so all I need to do is follow it!

Future chapters won't take this long- promise! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it! Season 3 was just… wow. I mean I predicted a few things, and got some predictions wrong. This story will try to stay canonically accurate mostly but there will be some aspects of this AU that won't follow canon lore. Morgana is a good example- I didn't plan to involve her as much in this story but now I'm revising her role.

Please read and review!