"You came through the Fetch, didn't you?"
"Umm… maybe."
Nomura's glowing feline-like eyes narrowed to slits, "Where is it."
"Not now, scary lady! We are on a very important mission. Desist or Gun Robot will have no choice but to dispatch you!"
"Shut up, Heatling, I don't have time for you or your delusions."
NotEnrique's ears flattened as he looked between the two, "Wait, wait." He wiggled and kicked until Nomura was forced to drop him. He held up his hands, "Stand down Gun Robot, an' before you get all stabby on me, just wait a sec and hear me out! I'll take you back to the Fetch if you first come with me to the Nursery. I'm gettin' my familiar out."
The other changeling blinked in surprise.
"Out? Out! We're getting out? Oh yes!" Rob's fire flared brightly in excitement, causing the other two to hiss.
"Hey! Stealth mode, dumbass! You're gonna blow our cover!"
Shouts in the distance prevented further conversation.
Nomura snorted and unsheathed her blades, "Consider it blown."
O-_-o-_-O
"Carry a laser down the road that I must travel!"
"That's- no, those are not the lyrics," Walter interrupted Otto as he sang along to the radio.
"Actually, Stricklander, that's exactly what the song just said," Draal commented in confusion. He wondered if the changeling had grown so bored that he now wanted to argue to break the monotony.
"No, the title of the song is called Kyrie. It's Greek. Kyrie Eleison, meaning 'Lord have mercy.' Which, coincidentally, is a sentiment I can get behind at the moment."
"Huh," Otto nodded, "okay, ja, that makes much more sense than thinking it was about a man in a future war needing his laser gun."
Walter gave a tired exhale through his nose. He took one hand off the wheel to briefly rub his eyes, "Yes."
"How long has your rock been doing that?" Draal asked, now looking at the pulsating hag stone Otto had sat on the dashboard.
"Oooh!" Otto clapped his hands before snatching the string back up and holding the stone out. It immediately veered sharply to the right, the string pulled completely horizontal.
"We're getting close," Walter said with relief.
"Finally."
"But it's pointing into the woods, do you think we'll need to get out and walk soon?"
"More than likely. I'll start looking for a place to park."
Draal watched the two changelings hash out details and looked out the window. From what he could see, the foliage looked thick enough to shade him from the sun and it was still a good bit cloudy outside.
"I will be coming, too," the large troll announced.
"Well, yes, we didn't haul you all this way to wait in the car," Walter replied, "We have no idea what mood Angor will be in, the more able-bodied fighters we have on hand, the better."
"There was no fighting last time."
Walter made a rueful face, "No, but I haven't lived this long relying on an overly generous sense of trust. Better to be ready for the worst."
Draal shrugged. It wasn't a bad point, after all. Then he added, "No instigating."
Otto giggled, "Us? Instigators? Why, I never."
Water snorted, "The first time you faced Angor you nearly shat yourself, don't try and act all nonplussed now."
"The first time and every time following. I am not ashamed to admit that he is a wholly terrifying troll."
Draal grunted, begrudgingly agreeing with the changeling's assessment. Though he felt confident he could beat Angor Rot in a fair fight, there was something deeply unnerving about him. And here they were about to track him down and ask him for his knife.
O-_-o-_-O
Barbara was not prepared for what awaited her in room seven.
"Javier?"
The man looked frazzled and like he had been crying. His hair was a mess, his normally neat shirt was untucked, and he was clutching a pillow tightly to his chest.
She looked back over the notes from her nurse, now viewing them in a new light upon seeing who her patient was. He had been brought in on suspicion of a possible seizure. There was a chance that that's what had happened, but knowing what she did of magic, she didn't think it was the case. Something about the whole thing smelled of shenanigans.
"Javier, can you hear me?"
The man looked up at her, his glassy eyes coming into focus slowly, "Dr. Lake?"
"What seems to be the problem?"
"They tried to take my son from me! She left him! In a bin at the store! I found him in a bin in the home goods department! And after all that commotion, he didn't wake up. He hasn't woken up." He held the pillow up to her emphatically.
"It's going to be alright, Mr. Nuñez. Let's call your daughter in, shall we? I feel like she might be able to explain what's going on."
Barbara wasted no time pulling out her phone and scrolling down her contacts list to find Claire's number. The girl answered on the first ring.
"Dr. Lake! Thank goodness! I think we might have a problem!"
"I do believe you're right. Would you mind coming by the clinic for me? I have your dad here and we'd both love to talk to you."
"Umm… I can explain," the girl said in response to the older woman's tone.
"I'm sure you can. If this has anything to do with Jim, tell him we'll be having words later."
O-_-o-_-O
"Blink! We need your help!"
Jim's voice echoed through the underground tunnel to his house before he made it through the opening. He jogged into his basement and nearly crashed into Blinky who was sprawled out on the floor with two books laid out in front of him.
"Master Jim! Why, what on earth is the matter?"
Aaarrrgghh shuffled in after him, and placed a supportive arm on Jim's shoulder, "Pyrobligst. Jim needs you explain."
"Pyro- wha- Great Gronka Morka, who on earth are we playing? When did this happen?"
"I don't know, some queen showed up out of nowhere and Vendel suggested it and apparently they're from Aaarrrgghh's tribe? I think Vendel might have meant it as a distraction but I have no idea what I'm doing and he wants me to play along side Aaarrrgghh!" Jim said all in one go and then inhaled sharply to catch his breath.
"Oh dear. Well, this is a conundrum. But! Nothing our valiant Trollhunter cannot overcome! Sit here and I'll go over the rules."
Twenty minutes later and Jim looked ill and confused, "Sooo… a little like basketball? But with more murder and dismemberment. Great. Awesome. Totally got this."
"That's the spirit! Come, let us get back to Trollmarket to prepare."
Jim looked up at Aaarrrgghh with pleading eyes, "Do we have to do this?"
Aaarrrgghh grimaced and shrugged but Blinky answered for him, "I'm afraid so, Master Jim. One cannot back down from such a high challenge. And, if your suspicion about Vendel's motive is correct, that's even more incentive for us to sally forth and emerge victorious!"
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"Hey Jim! Are you home?"
Toby's voice rang out from upstairs. Relief filled him as Jim called out an answer, "Yeah, Tobes! We're down here!"
The basement door swung open with a bang and Toby trotted down the stairs, "Look what I got at the store today! Oh hey, what's going on?"
"Nuget Nummies?"
"Yes! Nuget Nummies! But, why do you look like you've just been told to eat a barf sandwich? What's up? What did I miss?"
O-_-o-_-O
NotEnrique groaned as he sat up. He looked over the hellscape that surrounded him and the bodies piled up on either side. The air smelled heavy of smoke and there was a ringing in his ears.
Carefully, he picked his way out of the brush he had been thrown into and dusted himself off. It took him longer than it should have to realize that he was now alone. He must have blacked out when that one Gumm Gumm sent him flying.
Hesitant to draw attention to himself, he whispered, "Hey, anyone still alive?"
No one answered. Judging from the tracks leading away from the aftermath of battle, it didn't look like he had been abandoned. One of Nomura's blades was left embedded in the back of an enemy. She wouldn't have left it.
"Feh. Good riddance. I said in-and-out. I'd of already been back if not for that noisy Heatling. Now I can get back to what I set out to do and leave."
Which is exactly what the old him would have done. A few months living on the surface and now he had a conscience. He growled and smacked his forehead, wishing he still had the good sense to leave well enough alone.
Instead, he put his snout to the ground and started sniffing. The Gumm Gumms wouldn't be too hard to track. What he planned to do once he caught up with them… well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
Just as he started to doubt his tracking skills, a pillar of fire shot up in the distance along with maniacal laughter.
NotEnrique broke into a sprint, "Good ol Gun Robot! Way to make a scene!"