(AN: I tend to get a bit too hyped up/ambitious sometimes. Don't mind me…

Also, a quick reminder that Jim is not that close to Claire nor in love with her.)

HEYO! Just sayin' ... this fic just got a tvtropes page:

tvtropes(tochka = . )org("/")pmwiki/ pmwiki(tochka)php/ Fanfic/ SonOfTheBlack

=== Dream? ===

He was running… He was scared… What was that? WhAT wAS ThAT?! What did he just see?! That… that can't be-! F-Father…

This… He couldn't be part of-of-OF THIS! He can't possibly cause something like this to others. Maybe it would be better to…

"JIIIIIM!" – a young voice calls.

"DIE!" – his father roars.

A lustrous shield of magic stops the blade mere inches away from its target.

"You will not hurt them! I won't allow it!" - another voice shouts.

"FOOL! You dare challenge me?!" – his father is furious.

"YES!" magic glowed, encompassing the claws, empowering them "I will protect them, no matter what!"

Magic… protect…

Jim woke up with a gasp. The sound of tearing alerted him that his claws had wound up in one of the mattresses he was using as bedding. He now needed to fix the hole. He looked around and saw his sheet kicked in the other end of the room and he had somehow ended up spinning so much that his head was where his legs were when he went to bed.

'What was that last night?' – his brows furrowed but he couldn't remember what exactly he'd dreamed of.

He slowly rose and headed downstairs.

The play had passed a few days ago but he found himself wondering ever since then – what was he going to do about Claire's brother? With the bridge now sealed inside Trollmarket, he doubted he could ask them to open the bridge and go rescue a baby. Although he felt guilty he could not stop the goblin taking the baby, he was NOT suicidal to go into the Darklands and face a whole army for a single baby.

In the kitchen, his mom was making coffee and humming to herself.

"Good morning!" – she greeted with a wide smile.

"M-Mornin…" he yawned "You seem awfully happy."

"Can't a woman be happy? Not to mention, there is a reason to be~." – she looked at him expectantly.

"W-What?" – he was confused and his brain was not working quite at 100%.

"Tomorrow is you 'birthday'!"

Jim's eyes widened, remembering the day he officially became part of Barbara's family and how it was chosen to be his date of birth on the papers. Trolls had no concept of celebrating someone's birth every year and he had no idea when his should be, he was content with the date.

"Ah! That's right. I completely forgot."

"With how hectic things were recently, I don't blame you. If it wasn't for my phone, I would have forgotten too."

They laughed a bit and Jim started cooking. He hadn't cooked in his real form in a while, so he almost knocked down the pan a few times. Barbara just sat there and watched while Jim cooked. His ear twitched and he turned slightly to the side, looking at something behind her. She turned to only hear the basement door close with a bang.

"Is he still sulking?" – she asked Jim.

"Yeah. I guess it is kind of hard for him to process things." – Jim shrugged and went back to making food.

"Still, he has to get over it soon, right? It has been a few days and I thought he agreed to not tell everybody in Trollmarket about you."

"Yes, but he still insists on checking on me 'in case he is planning something' he said. And he won't even stay to talk with me. He always hurries off somewhere."

"Don't worry. I am sure you'll be able to clear things up a bit more."

"Yeah…"

…..

Draal was conflicted, angry, confused… he felt a bit betrayed. Jim had been a troll this entire time and Gunmar's son on top of it! He had been so blinded with rage that he had almost stormed into Trollmarket, despite his banishment at the time, before Blinky and AARRRGH had stopped him. They had tackled him and insisted to talk it out before doing anything rash that may result in the Trollhunter leaving. He had reluctantly agreed and they met on neutral ground – in the woods.

===Flashback===

A strong punch decked him in the face, making him stumble to the side a bit. Jim could do worse, he knew it and was frustrated to admit he was glad this wasn't a death match.

"Grah!" – Draal tackled Jim, the younger troll falling to the ground with him.

"Cut it out!" – Jim kicked him in the stomach.

They rolled a bit in the dirt before they separated, he glared as Jim scowled at him. Pieces of grass and dirt clung to them. Blinky, AARRRGH and Toby stood further away, watching them brawling.

"Grr!" Jim growled, reminding Draal of his confrontation with Bular a bit "How many times do I have to repeat it?! I DON'T like fighting! Calm the fuck down, will you?!"

Draal just charged, Jim blocking the punch and swinging a fist himself, but Draal ducked. Jim seemed to read his mind and lowered himself, their horns clashed.

"You LIED! Why won't I be angry?!" – Draal pushed.

"Like a had a choice! I don't plan to be torn to pieces by an angry mob!" – Jim stood his ground.

"Damn you- How can I just accept it? Your brother killed by father!"

"And I had to kill my brother! So suck it up and finally deal with your daddy issues!"

"Wha- You- Piece of soggy cloth!" – Draal punched Jim.

"Thick-headed mule!" – Jim grappled him and threw him at a nearby tree.

"Raah!" – Draal quickly shook himself and jumped at Jim, again.

That had continued until both of them were exhausted and sore. It was a bit of an eye-opener. Sometimes, the best way to solve a dispute between trolls was to let them fight it out.

Draal had still been somewhat reluctant to just let Jim be without supervision, so he decided to check on him. Today, however, he had heard the unusually heavy steps from upstairs, so he had peeked through the door to see what was happening. He saw Jim, in his real, troll form, cooking and wearing a large for human but quite small for a troll apron with hearts on it. He had quickly retreated down and into the tunnel before what he had just seen caught up to him. He blankly stared at the floor before he bent down and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

=== With Toby ===

"Hey, Jimbo! How's it going? Excited for the big day tomorrow?"

"Oh, great. Was I the only one to forget about the birthday?"

"Chill, dude. It is not a big deal, I forget things a lot of the time. Wait! Is this like your real birthday or-?"

"Tobes, trolls don't really have a concept for birthdays, especially where I lived. For this, I am sure."

"Seriously?" – Toby was appalled at the idea of no birthdays and no birthday cake.

"Yeah, so when mom officially made me part of the family and put me in the system, we decided to mark that day as my birthday. Oh, here's today's lunch." – he passed Toby a paper bag.

"Thanks!"

"Oh, also, Draal came just now, while I was making breakfast." – Jim mentioned, almost making Toby drop his backpack.

"He came- Wait! Were you with the apron?!"

"Yes… Why?"

"DUDE! You were with that apron! No one, even Draal would take you seriously after seeing you in it! This is your chance to smoothen things out!"

"Hey! It's not that bad!"

"Jim, you look ridiculous in it, especially in your big form."

=== Flashback ===

It had been a bit hard to process everything. His best friend since childhood had been a troll, not to mention a magician. His almost brother was a magical troll! How much cooler could that be?! Apparently much cooler!

Jim had brought him to the basement and showed him his work station, potions cabinet and books of freakin' magic! Jim had even demonstrated a few spells and although Toby didn't have much of an affinity for the mystic art, Jim promised to at least try and teach him the shoelace-tying magic. He was SO tying coach Lawrence's shoes next time he gave him extra laps!

The next day he had decided to surprise Jim by coming early to his house and help him if he needed. What Toby wasn't prepared for was seeing Jim in the kitchen – a big, black troll in the now tiny-looking kitchen, delicately whisking a bowl of eggs while wearing a heart-printed apron.

had stopped working for a good minute before he processed the sight in front of him. The burst of laughter was so strong he couldn't stop for almost half an hour. He was rolling on the floor, gasping for air, tears streaming down his face and stomach muscles starting to hurt from it all. Even Jim removing the apron hadn't helped.

Toby still snickered a bit, even as they rode their bikes to school.

…..

"C-bomb! How's the stalking going?"

"Wha- Mary! It's not like that!"

"Yeah, don't think I haven't seen you giving the look to Jim over there. You have to act, girl! Boys won't know you have a crush on them until you slap them in the face with it!"

Claire sputtered. She did NOT have a crush! In fact, she was still not even planning on getting one. Maybe in college of after that but she was not looking for a high-school relationship. It was just… there was something with Jim and Toby. They were very secretive, disappearing off to places, hiding something… She was curious and wanted to find out what it was. They weren't even surprised when Mr. Strickler had suddenly quit and disappeared – she saw them exchanging KNOWING looks!

=== Janus Order ===

[Attention, everybody!] – Otto's voice sounded through the base, it was even broadcasted through their secret radio transmission.

Everybody listening stopped working and listened to the message.

[As of today, I was appointed the new head of the Janus Order, after Stricklander ran off and betrayed the Lady. His current location is unknown and any member is to report and preferably capture him on sight. That will be all for now.]

Otto sat in his new office and stared into a map. He was planning his next move – to bring them closer to their goal. The question was- was he willing to take this risk or play it safe?

Well… he could still try that before deciding if he should take the trip or not.

=== Shocking birthday ===

Something was there!

Jim jumped out of bed and scanned the area around him and outside the window. He realized what he had done after he stuck his head out of the window. Thankfully, he had been in his human form, not having bothered to remove the spell before getting in bed, so he wasn't sun-stained.

'There's nothing… Was I imagining it or…' – he pulled his head inside the room when a knocking came from his door.

"Yes?"

"Happy birthday, Jim!" – Barbara entered the room with a gift bag.

He quirked his brow but received the present. Inside it was a large sketchbook and a few of those giant gag pens, there was also a gift card worth 50 bucks for the local mall.

"Well, do you like it?"

"I love it! I needed a new book to write notes in and you never know when you'd need a giant pen!" – he smiled a bit cheekily and she ruffled his hair.

"I am glad, now, wash up and get down. I made pancakes."

Jim sniffed the air and since he didn't smell anything burning, it must have been better than the last time she made pancakes.

[Warhammer to Trollhunter, do you copy, Jimbo?]

"Yeah, I hear you, Tobes."

[Look out of the window.]

Jim poked his head out again and saw Toby waving a cake cutout that looked as if someone had taken a huge bite out of it.

"Do you like it?!" – Toby shouted, waving it.

"It's nice!"

"AARRRGH took a bite of it! I think he doesn't quite understand what it is for!"

"Told you! Wanna come over?"

"NAH! Nana made eggs and ham! Do you want it?!" – Toby pointed at the cutout.

"No! Give it to AARRRGH. I don't like glitter!"

Toby struggled a bit to get the cutout in, making Jim laugh, but managed to get it in after a while. Jim still couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.

…..

Still in school, Jim couldn't get the tingling feeling on the back of his neck to go away. He got antsy, constantly scanning the surrounding area, almost jumping at sudden loud noises… there might have been one extra hole in one of the lockers' doors. ("Holy shit!" – you could hear the janitor shout when he saw the hole punched through the door.)

This had not gone unnoticed by Claire. It was even stranger than usual, after all. She tailed them for a while, watching what they did, even after school.

"Come on, Jimbo! I know you always wanted to ride one of those!" – Toby gestured at a brand new Vespa on display.

"Yes, but I would prefer to be mine instead of borrowing one. I got a few parts as you know, all I need to do is find a few more and put them together."

"Yeah, yeah. And after I went through the trouble of gathering the documents…"

"Hey, don't feel down. We'll go back home and I promise to treat you a special birthday dish! Mom should come with the cake a bit later."

"You are right-OH! Can you wait here a bit? I have to go!" – Toby hurried to a nearby gas station, leaving Jim alone, well… not completely alone.

A screech from the skies and a shadow descended upon him. Jim rolled to the side, the Stalkling's claws scraping the nearby wall.

'A Stalkling! What is one doing here?!'

…..

Claire had missed them, not having bike while following two boys with bikes proved to be more of a challenge than she expected. Then, she heard it, a monstrous screech! She ran towards it, keeping close to walls but when she reached the place, she saw Jim and Toby biking away as fast as they could. What was in there?

She looked around, realizing she had no chance at catching up to them, so she investigated the area. She saw them- the claw marks. They covered parts of an alley's walls and even the concrete below AND a large trash can had been split in half!

'What exactly is happening here and what do these two have to do with it?'

…

Later that day, closer to evening than afternoon, Jim HAD to do something! He couldn't live is whole centuries-long life constantly clinging to people and living in Trollmarket was out of the question! No matter how nice it felt to be truly close to the Heartstone rather than just feeling it from afar… He shook his head and focused. If everything went as planned, he'd be able to deal with the Stalkling once and for all.

…..

Claire had been looking around for Jim and Toby but couldn't find the duo anywhere. Just as she was about to give up and go home for the day, she spotted the two go into the park, thick roped loaded on their bikes. She spun around and quickly ran towards the park. Even as they went deeper, eventually entering the woods, she secretly followed from behind. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, almost getting a miniature heart attack when she lost them. She looked around, frantically, the fact that she could still see parts of the city and her phone being with her calmed her a little. She wasn't lost and even if she got lost, she'd be able to call for help.

Claire looked around but could find no trace of the boys yet again! She wasn't going to give up. She had found him earlier, she was going to find them now.

There it was! The screech, breaking branches… (she dearly hoped it was NOT trees) shouting voices!

"Jimbo…!"

"Hold it tighter!"

"Master Jim!"

She crouched and approached cautiously.

…

The Stalkling had partially broken free from the trap they had laid out. AARRRGH and Blinky were holding a few of the last remaining ropes, the others having been torn by the beast's sharp claws.

It flung its head, attacking everything in a blind rage as it had been ambushed at trapped. The ropes in Blinky's hands were pulled and the troll's shorter legs didn't help him. He was pulled forward and the Stalkling's tail was freed. It whipped it around, smacking both Jim and AARRRGH, also taking down a few smaller, younger trees. They had chosen this place for a reason – it was far away from people, was perfect to set traps and provided a lot of shade for the trolls.

"I really need a weapon!" – Toby shouted as the rope he was holding got lifted up and spun in the air.

The Stalkling cared no more for stealth or who it was after. It somehow grabbed Toby's collar.

"No, Tobes!" – Jim transformed and with a great leap landed on the Stalkling's neck.

It screeched and let Toby go – the boy fell for a terrifying second before Jim's large stony hand snatched him from the air. The Stalking, now free and completely berserk, flapped its wings, quickly separating itself from the forest floor.

"AARRRGH! Catch!" – Jim shouted.

"WAAAAAAIT!" – Toby shouted as he was tossed.

AARRRGH had leaped up, still not far enough to reach the Stalkling but close enough to catch Toby. The beast flapped its wings, quickly increasing the distance between itself and the other 3, despite Jim clinging to it.

"Wingman OK?" – AARRRGH rumbled as he set Toby down and patted him.

"I am OK, big guy but we have to save Jim!"

"Let's go! Where in Deya's name is Draal though?! This would have been much easier with him!" – Blinky grumbled as they ran in the direction the Stalkling had flown.

None of them were aware that someone HAD seen them and ran away as soon as they were far enough from her hiding spot.

…..

"Eat this!"

Jim embedded Daylight's blade in the Stalkling's back and channeled lightning magic through it. Sunlight, ice and fire hadn't done much, if any, damage but lightning seemed to do the fob. It slowly started turning to stone. It started falling, forcing jim to let go of the sword and in a few quick motions he had conjured a protective sphere of magic around himself.

The fall was HARD but at least he hadn't been shattered on impact. The Stalkling took down the tips of a few trees but the trunks broke it to pieces as it crashed through the foliage and eventually shattered on a few mossy rocks down below.

Jim lowered his shield and panted. This whole ordeal had been nerve-wrecking and he shuddered. The broken pieces of stone that once were a mighty beast could have also been him.

=== Time skip, night ===

Jim, Toby, AARRRGH and Blinky were finally returning back to Jim's home.

"Maybe you could stay for the party! You helped us a lot after all!" – Toby suggested.

"Party? What for?" – Blinky was curious.

"It's my birthday." – Jim adjusted the bag swung over his shoulder.

Turns out certain remains from a Stalkling could be used in potions, so Jim had taken some broken pieces with him.

"Hmm… I fear I am not familiar with the concept."

"It's a celebration we humans do, celebrating on the day someone has been born." – Toby was a bit too eager to explain.

"Cutout tasty." – AARRRGH chimed in and licked his lips.

"So, you celebrate the birth of someone every year? How curious. We have no such traditions."

Toby continued to explain what exactly is usually done on a birthday, Blinky lamenting his lack of gift, despite being invited. They approached the house but the lights were off. They cautiously approached the house, Jim leading them. He opened the door and the lights turned on.

"SURPRISE!" – Barbara said.

It certainly was a surprise. Jim had almost jumped into the ceiling! The living room had been decorated with banners and colorful balloons, a cake sat on the coffee table but the biggest surprise, for the group of four, was Draal.

"What do you think? Draal helped me decorate the place. He was a big help for the higher places! We also got to know each other better."

Blinky made his way into the room and AARRRGH awkwardly shuffled through the door.

"Here." – Draal pushed a messily wrapped cardboard box toward Jim.

Jim cautiously opened it and gasped.

"A Steering wheel, a seat, a set of taillights… These are all parts of a Vspa!" – Jim was excited.

"Look… I am sorry for acting like that. It seems that I have judged you wrongly."

"See! I told you Jimbo. NO ONE can resist the blow of the apron!" – Toby snickered.

Draal burst laughing and had to catch himself before he accidentally made a hole through the wall. AARRRGH and Blinky looked with confusion.

"Later." –Barbara whispered to them, giving a knowing look.

=== With Claire ===

Claire couldn't sleep. What she had seen in the woods replayed itself over and over again. She was expecting something strange, maybe role-playing, maybe something a bit illegal with how much rope they had, something a bit dangerous but not this! She was not prepared to see two of her classmates and two rock monsters trying to wrestle with a giant dragon thingy, NOR did she expect one of her classmates to turn into a stone monster!

'I need some water.'

It was way past midnight, she felt drained and very thirsty, a bit puckish too, having barely touched any of the food or water at dinner. She had been too shocked, maybe freaked out would be more appropriate to even eat.

She didn't turn on the lights, not wanting to bother her parents or wake her brother up. He slept well through the night these days but cried like crazy if he was woken up late at night.

Claire quenched her thirst and ate a single slice of bread with a bit leftover guac from her lunch. It wasn't much but it would hopefully help her throughout the night.

She was sluggish and tired but it was unlikely to fall asleep with her brain buzzing so much. She went up the stairs and-

"…yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I've got it. No need to repeat yourself so much, sheesh." – an unfamiliar, deep, manly voice came from her brother's room.

She froze. Who was there?! A kidnapper?! A burglar?! She looked around but only saw a few pictures hanging from the walls. She swallowed and unhooked one with a metal rim – she could manage a few good hits on the intruder and wake her parents up.

"OK. I will call tomorrow…" – the voice was talking again.

She crept to the slightly opened door (was left in case she or her parents had to quickly reach Enrique). She peered in but didn't see a man, she saw a green thing with cat-like eyes standing on her baby brother's crib and talking on a cellphone.

"Fine! See ya." – it ended the call.

Creaaak~

She had leaned forward and pushed the door, making it creak. Their eyes met as the creature suddenly flashed and turned in her brother.

"Aa… Goo-goo, ga-ga?"

"KYAAAAAAAAA!" – she screamed and stumbled back.

Claire's arms flailed as she tripped on her own legs and hit her head on a doorframe. Before everything went black, she saw her parents' worried faces and that thing looking at her, glowing cat-like eyes and her baby brother's face.