T3ddyBearL0ve-Come on, we all love it when the main character goes bad! It just gets so spicy! Yep, it's pretty safe to say Jim loses it entirely in this chapter! He definitely wants to do some killing…

Merendinoemiliano-Thank you! I love writing dialogue, and I'm trying to do better on the fight scenes, lol. I'm glad you want to see more!

IsabelXSpidey-Aw, thank you! Yeah, I thought, "omg, we need a mommy lake and Toby moment!" so I had to write it lol. I'll make sure to include more details! Oh, and I'm sorry to tell you this is more of a drama-filled fic? I mean, it's not too angsty and dark, but it's definitely gonna lean more that way. I love shenanigans too, but unfortunately, after this chapter, I don't think we'll get any for a while…but in future chapters, I'll definitely try to include some! I'm glad you like it!

Claire huffed as she ran to where the golem and Jim were fighting, Blinky right on her heels. Where were all these things coming from?! And why did the weird white on home in on Jim? Thumping and yelling sounded from afar, so she put on another burst of speed. She could think about that later. All that mattered now was to help Jim any way she can…even if she had no idea what she could do against solid stone.

She could finally see Jim through the line of trees. He had something small in his hands (she guessed it was the totem), and he quickly crushed it. Yes! she crowed. That's my boyfriend! Now they were finally safe-

Jim's face disappeared in an explosion of dark purple dust. Claire's heart stopped. No. "Jim!" she cried, and darted forward. Then a pair of arms pull her back roughly. Claire fought against her attacker, desperate to get to Jim. "Let go of me!"

"Claire! Claire, it's just me!" Blinky's familiar voice reassured her. But Claire didn't stop struggling. "Please calm down!"

"I'll calm down when you let me go! We need to get to Jim! We don't know what that stuff is-"

"Correction. You don't know what that is. I do. It's gravesand. We should stay away from it at all costs."

"Then what about Jim?!" Claire protested. "He's literally breathing in all of it!"

"I know," Blinky whispered, eyes trained on the half-troll coughing on the ground. "And the results are going to be very bad."

Suddenly, Jim's body stilled. He slowly got to his feet. Claire's heart thumped in her chest. Was he okay? What did that 'gravesand' do anyway? She-

Claire gasped as two angry red eyes settled on her. They glowed viciously, and were surrounded by pools of blackness. Those eyes looked like they belonged to a demon in a horror movie.

But it was Jim glaring at her with so much hate. Not a demon. Her sweet, amazing boyfriend would never look at her like that.

Something was horribly wrong.

Blinky's arms trembled around her. "Oh, dear," he said hoarsely. "Oh, dear, oh, dear…this is going to be much worse than the first time." The first time?! Claire wanted to scream. "We need to go. Now."

Claire opened her mouth to protest, but stopped short when Jim's angry growling ripped through the air. He dropped to all fours and started approaching them slowly, looking way too much like a lion tracking its prey. She swallowed. "Okay."

The two turned and sprinted back into the trees. Jim-no that wasn't Jim it was something else-roared and thundered after them. Claire didn't realize she was crying until she felt warmth on her cheeks. She wiped away her tears furiously. Crying won't help anyone, Claire! she mentally scolded herself. But the tears kept coming anyway. It hurt her so much to see Jim like this. But even worse, he scared her, too. She knew it wasn't his fault he was acting so feral, but it was still terrifying.

She couldn't imagine how Jim would feel once this was all over. All his newfound confidence in his troll form would be…gone.

Claire and Blinky finally reached Merlin and Nomura, who were heatedly arguing over something.

"I'm telling you, the Trollhunter is fine, we don't need to go after him-" Merlin stopped short. His gaze analyzed the two, who were sweaty and panting hard. "Oh? Are there still some golems left?"

Claire stuttered, "N-no, but-but Jim, he-something happened, some kind of dust-"

"HE WAS EXPOSED TO GRAVESAND!" Blinky yelled, waving his arms in a panic. "And he's right on our heels!"

Nomura's eyes widened. "Watch out!" she shouted, and leaped over their heads. Claire whipped around just in time to see the changeling bring her scimitars down on Jim. Her boyfriend crashed onto the forest floor, while Nomura landed elegantly besides him. Jim popped up nearly as quickly, growling. His features, once handsome, were contorted by the hideous snarl on his face. Claire's heart squeezed painfully.

"What happened?!" Nomura demanded, watching Jim as he slowly circled her.

"He was attacked by a golem of white marble," Blinky explained, gazing at Jim worriedly. "Some kind of contraption was attached to the totem, for when he destroyed it, gravesand exploded everywhere."

Without warning, Jim roared and leapt at Nomura. She was knocked to the ground, and the fight quickly dissolved into a brawl. The two rolled around on the ground, baring their teeth and scratching at each other. Jim suddenly lifted his head and howled in pain, fresh, bleeding scratches on his face. Nomura took the opportunity to kick Jim off of her. The Trollhunter was sent flying through the air and crashed into a tree. He slumped to the ground, stunned.

Nomura stalked up to Merlin and grabbed his neck, lifting him into the air. "What have you done to him, old man?!" she cried. "Gravesand doesn't even affect pure-bred trolls like that! This reaction, it's-it's unnatural!"

"It would be much easier to explain," he choked out, "if you put me down."

Nomura snorted in disgust and dropped the wizard. "Talk."

"For the record, I did nothing remotely harmful to the boy," Merlin grunted, nursing his bruised neck. "I just turned him into half-berserker troll."

"WHAT?!" Blinky roared. "A berserker troll? Are you mad?!"

"Hang on, what's a berserker troll?" Claire asked, watching Jim's chest steadily move up and down.

"Berserker trolls are trolls who are notoriously adept fighters," Blinky explained, glaring at Merlin. "Long ago, the best warriors of trollkind mated with one another. Their offspring did the same, and so on, and so on. As such, a new breed of troll was created: the berserker troll.

"The results were excellent. Berserkers were the best fighters in war. They were incredibly strong and fast. They were even extremely agile, a rare trait among trolls. However, there were severe drawbacks. Berserker trolls would get-hm, what's the best way to put it for you-'high,' off the bloodlust of battle. Even after they had won, they wouldn't stop fighting. They didn't want to, even going so far as to attack their own comrades. They were an unstoppable force of bloodshed." Blinky sighed heavily. "Twenty-some years before we decided to journey to America, the berserker trolls swore to never fight, and thus, never hurt, anyone ever again. The whole population went into hiding. No trolls have seen, or heard from them, since."

"As if that wasn't bad enough, gravesand already makes one extremely aggressive," Nomura rasped. "Even full trolls don't take it; it's so potent. I can't imagine the effects it would have on a berserker troll! Jim could be in a state like that for who knows how long."

"So, why would you turn him into one?!" Blinky demanded.

Merlin brushed off his armor. "Are you quite finished? Good," he said, not waiting for a reply. "The answer is simple. I needed James to be the best of the best. Anything less than that wouldn't have been able to defeat Gunmar. That's all there is to it."

Anger bubbled in Claire's chest, and she grit her teeth. "So, what?" she hissed. "Yeah, we definitely needed 'berserker Jim' for battle, but did you even think about what life would be like for him after that?"

Merlin, for once, looked at a loss for words. "I-"

"Ugh," a voice grunted from behind them.

They gasped and turned to Jim, who was slowly rising to his feet, a hand braced on the tree trunk. He held his other hand to his head. But Claire couldn't tell if he was back to normal or not.

"Jim?" she asked, and took a cautious step forward.

Jim's eyes snapped open, and Claire's heart sank. They were still red and black. Still so full of hate. His face curled into a sneer. "Fleshbag," he snarled. His voice sent a chill down her spine. It was deeper, raspier…

Less human.

Claire swallowed hard. "J-jim. You're not a-acting like yourself. Please, you've got to snap out of it." Her confidence grew as she spoke, and she took another step forward. "This isn't you, Jim, I know it isn't! Somewhere, you know it too! Please-"

"Shut up," Jim growled, red eyes flashing. But deep within his eyes, she saw a flicker of blue-her Jim was there, trying to break free.

Emboldened by that, Claire stepped closer. "You may be a troll now, but you're only half troll. You still have your humanity-your human heart." She smiled. "And I know it cares for me."

Jim squeezed his eyes shut and grasped his horns tightly. "Shut up!"

"You're stronger than this gravesand, Jim. You can beat it. We've done the impossible before, together. And we can do it again." Claire held out her hand. "Just you and me."

Jim stared at Claire, sweetly looking up at him. He growled in disgust. This was just a dumb fleshbag. It was weak, soft, so easy to kill. How had he ever fallen for her?!

Because you were like her once, a strange, but oddly familiar voice rang from the back of his head. You were a human, too. Remember?

Dozens and dozens of memories rushed through his mind. Scenes of him cooking, kissing his mom lightly on the head, biking with Toby, dancing with Claire, training with Draal, and-and it was too much. Too many memories reminding him painfully of what he used to do…what he used to be. It was all taken away from him, and he could never do those things again…because of what I am now, he thought bitterly, glaring at his hands before clenching them.

The voice said frantically, Wait, no, that's not the point, you've got it all wrong-

Well, so what if he was like this? It was a lot better than his former, weak, human form. He liked being this way, he liked being stronger and faster than everyone else, and nothing was going to get in his way. He just wanted to keep fighting and never stop. He didn't care who he hurt in the process, because who would care for him after what he's done today?

No one.

Stop, the voice begged, That's not true, you've got to stop-

And he didn't want to think about his old life anymore, either. It was too painful. He just wanted to slip into the delirious joy of fighting. Fighting took the pain away. Fighting released him from his insecurities about being a troll. Fighting let him really be a troll. And if that's what it took, he was more than okay with it.

STOP, the voice screamed. STOP STOP STOP-

"SHUT UP!" Jim roared, backhanding the fleshbag. She flew into the air and crashed to the ground. She didn't move. The tangy scent of blood filled the air, and he grinned.

It smelled good.

A streak of purple moved from the corner of his eye, and Jim just barely managed to dodge the impure's kick. He quickly threw a punch, smashing his fist into her stomach, and the impure skidded back. "Ha!" he boomed, cracking his knuckles. "Is that all you've got, impure?"

The impure's eyes flashed an angry green, and she roared as she descended upon him.

.

.

.

Pain. Claire's whole body wracked with it, but the pain was most concentrated on her cheek. It felt like her heart had transferred to it. She groaned. She just wanted to lay here, in the darkness, and never move again.

A warbled voice cut through her tiredness. "Claire! Claire, please wake up!" Her arm was gently poked. "Please be alright!"

She cracked an eye open, and winced at the bright sunlight. "I'm okay," she whispered hoarsely.

The shape before her sighed in relief. As her eyes adjusted, she realized it was Blinky. "Thank goodness," the six-eyed troll said. "You had me worried."

Claire slowly pushed herself up, Blinky propping her up. "W-what happened? Did Jim-did he really-"

"I'm afraid so," Blinky answered. "And it's only gotten worse."

Claire followed Blinky's gaze, and she covered her mouth in horror.

The fight before her was much more savage than earlier. Nomura's scimitars lay forgotten behind her, as she and Jim exchanged blows. Jim grabbed her by the hair and flipped her onto the ground. Nomura dug her claws into his hands and he released her, yipping in pain. She sprang up and raked her claws across his armor to little effect. Jim snatched her wrist and flung her into the air. He then leaped after her and pounded her stomach. She crashed into the ground with enough force to make a small crater. She struggled to get up, but failed and collapsed.

Jim grinned, and Claire nearly sobbed at the maniacal look in his eyes. He approached Nomura, oozing confidence.

Then Nomura shot up and punched Jim under his jaw. Wasting no time, she delivered a series of punches and kicks, Jim crying out in pain with each hit. Finally, he fell to the ground, defeated. He made no move to get up. Nomura looked down at him suspiciously and poked him with her foot.

Jim's head snapped up and he glared at her, growling. He then rammed his horns into her stomach. Nomura let out an oof and stumbled back. Jim bared his teeth in triumph and did something that would give Claire nightmares for the rest of her life.

He bit her. Her amazing boyfriend, the sweetest guy she knew, just bit Nomura. The changeling screamed in pain and thrashed to get free, but Jim's fangs were firmly latched into her shoulder. Purple blood gushed from her shoulder and ran down her arms in thick streams. Was-was this how Nomura would die?

"Alright, that's quite enough," a voice said irritably.

Glowing green chains wrapped around Jim and lifted him into the air. Jim roared in anger and gnashed his teeth in fury, but he couldn't break free. Merlin had his staff raised, a bored look on his face. However, Claire thought she noticed something else underneath that look. Was it concern? Guilt? She couldn't tell.

"Release me, old man," Jim growled. Claire stared at the purple blood surrounding his mouth and nearly threw up. She looked away, unable to meet her boyfriend in the eyes. "If you do, I won't kill you."

"Loads of people have tried to kill me, boy, I doubt someone of your caliber, albeit very impressive, could kill me."

Nomura shakily got to her feet. Bruises and scratches covered her entire body, and her hand covered her wound. "Why didn't you do that earlier?! Could've really used the help," she snapped.

"You two were moving too fast; there was no way I could've gotten him without ensnaring you as well," Merlin answered, eyes roving over her shoulder. "But I am…sorry about your injury. I can fix that later, I suppose."

Nomura raised her eyebrow. "You will?"

Laughter that made Claire's hair stand on end interrupted them. It sounded like something that would come from an insane asylum, not from Jim's mouth. Yet it was.

"You really think this can hold me?" Jim chuckled, red eyes glowing hungrily. "I thought you'd be smarter than that, old man."

"Whatever do you mean? Nothing short of another wizard could get out of those chains."

Jim smirked. "But you showed me something pretty cool about the amulet, didn't you?"

Merlin's eyes widened. "No-"

Jim roared, and a beam of red energy shot from the amulet. It collided with Merlin's armor, and the wizard dropped to the ground, unconscious. The chains flickered briefly before disappearing altogether, and Jim dropped to the ground on all fours.

His eyes roamed over the group before settling on Claire. Her heart thumped painfully at the look she saw in them: pure hatred. All traces of Jim were-were gone. A feral monster stood in his place.

He huffed in disgust. "If you want to live, I suggest you don't follow me. Your pathetic Jim is gone, fleshbag. And he's never coming back." With a snarl, he turned away and sprinted into the forest.

"Jim!" Claire cried, and stood up to race after him. But the world spun around her and she stumbled. She would've fallen if Blinky hadn't caught her. She gazed helplessly at his retreating form. "Jim," she sobbed, and burrowed her face in Blinky's chest.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Blinky sniffed, squeezing her tightly. "I-I don't know what to do…" the troll trailed off; for once, at a loss for words.

"I would go after him," Nomura said, voice thick. "But I-I can't. Not like this. I'm afraid he really would-would kill me."

That only prompted Claire to cry even harder, because she knew it was true, too. Her boyfriend was gone, and she wasn't sure she would ever see him again. Oh, God, what would she tell his mom? Or Toby? Any of them? She had failed them all.

She had failed herself.

.

.

.

"Excellent," Eunice Helgar grinned, gazing at the broken group. "The results far exceeded my expectations." And indeed they had. She had had no idea the boy was a berserker troll...in fact, she thought that kind only existed in legends. A normal troll under the influence of gravesand was catastrophic in of itself, but a berserker troll on it? Well, as the boy clearly demonstrated, they would be unstoppable.

"How long do you think the effects will last, Helgar?" a man with black hair asked.

Eunice turned around to face the dozens of people standing before her. She had called them all here to observe the proceedings; so they could finally see the results of weeks and weeks of labor. That it had all been worth it in the end. That they weren't a lost cause, and that they could still stand up to the Trollhunter.

She shrugged. "Who knows, and who cares? It'll wear off eventually, I suppose, but let's not worry about that for right now." She pointed at Vardan. "You."

The young man jumped. "M-me, Ms. Helgar?"

Eunice rolled her eyes. "Yes, you. Get the force together and retrieve the party. Track down every last troll that scattered during the fight. The wizard and human girl too." Her eyes flashed an angry blue. "Even that traitorous changeling."

"But Helgar, we should just kill her on the spot!" a woman called. "She left us-"

"No!" Eunice snarled. "She deals with the consequences! We're going to make sure she wished Gunmar had killed her!" She exhaled and smoothed her shirt. "It's our duty as fellow changelings, is it not?"

With a flash, she transformed into her troll form. Her skin turned stark white, her nails lengthened into claws, and her hair changed to a platinum blonde. Her startlingly-blue eyes gazed over the crowd as they all, in a series of blinding flashes, morphed into trolls.

"It's time for the Janus Order to welcome Ms. Nomura home."

A/N: OHMYGOSH I'M SO SORRY. I am not dead, and this fic isn't dead either, I swear! Life has just been getting pretty busy lately. I know that's the most overused excuse ever, but it's true. I promise this fic will never be abandoned! The updates will just be more spaced out, that's all. This chapter also ended up being WAY longer than I thought it would, lol. And once again, I was distracted because I was writing another fic, which would be posted later this week! So you got that to look forward too!

Anyway, I'm really sorry I left you guys waiting! But I just thought I had to update today, because it's Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving, by the way! I hope you all had a good one!

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review, I really appreciate it!