Toby trailed sorely up the stairs towards the crystal staircase, an escape to where he could bathe his poor battered body and wish for this fight (if it could even be called that) to have never happened in the first place. Jim trailed behind him, a supporting presence as always (even with how weirdly he'd been acting lately) alongside Blinky and Arrrgh.
"He might be right. What the heck was I thinking?! An amulet can't choose anyone, it's an amulet!" Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jim start to reach a hand out towards him as if to comfort him but stopped at the last second, a haunting look on his face that had been there ever since the fight with Draal had started.
"Wingman?" Toby tried to ignore the slightly hurt tone in Arrrgh's voice as he reached the crystal staircase. He walked on and started up the stairs.
"I understand you're upset, Master Tobias, but you have not a moments training. There's no shame in what just transpired." Toby huffed out a tired, pained laugh which had Jim eyeing him carefully from behind the two trolls. Since they'd started this whole thing not too long after he burst into Jim's kitchen blabbering about trolls, Jim had seemed to try to follow in his mom's footsteps, making sure Toby was healed and well fed.
"Ok, well then you were definitely not paying attention back there. Shame was about the only that transpired. Shame… And realisation." Toby hung his head in shame, pulling out the amulet to look morosely at it, unwilling to meet the eyes of the two trolls who he had befriended so quickly and the eyes of his best friend who had provided so much moral support already. "I don't know if Draal should be the Trollhunter or not and I don't care. I just know that… I am not." He dropped it on the stairs where it clinked to Blinky's feet, bouncing slightly as it hit each step before rolling to a stop.
"Master Tobias," began Blinky, stooping gently to pick up the amulet and cradle it in his hands. "Despite whatever doubts you may have about the amulet's choice, it is now bonded to you. This is a mantle you cannot refuse." He held his hands out, the amulet slowly hovered above them spinning lazily in the air. Toby snorted again, turning away and trying to ignore the burning shame and despair running through his body.
"Watch me." As he made his way up the stairs, he expected to hear either Blinky or Jim call him back to try and take up the amulet again, to fight Draal and defend troll-kind. He was not, however, expecting Blinky's gasp as a new flash of blue-green reflected on the stairs in front of him. He shielded his eyes from the glare, turning around to see what the problem was.
He was certainly not expecting the amulet to be hovering in front of Jim who was backing away from it, his hands held up in defence looking shocked and full or horror as the amulet floated in front of him. An unexpected voice emanated from the amulet as it had done with Toby.
"James Lake Jr." Jim gasped again, and Toby knew from their years of friendship that Jim was trying to hold back tears.
"No, no not me! I had my time, I will not go through it all again!" Jim was starting to yell a little hysterically as he backed further away from the amulet that was hovering closer and closer to him, bumping into the side of the staircase and trying to disappear into the wall to escape the amulet's call.
The voice became more and more insistent, changing tones from when Toby first heard it to a different voice, a more refined old guy English voice that Jim seemed to recognise if the way his eyebrows suddenly disappeared towards his hair line was any indication. Toby glanced over at Blinky and Arrrgh, the former looking shocked and slightly in awe, while Arrrgh simply looked confused. A magical wind was beginning to gale, getting faster and stronger the longer Jim refused to take the amulet as it called to him.
Toby couldn't understand why the amulet was calling to Jim. Was this really all it took to refuse the amulet? Why hadn't he done it sooner?! He could have not fought Bular, Draal, been embarrassed in front of all Trollmarket! He could have – Then he looked at Jim's terrified face. Apparently, instead it would be Jim's duty, Jim's honour – he mentally scoffed at the word – to don the mantle of Trollhunter.
"What's happening?!" Toby called as the wind grew stronger. He saw Jim glance over at him, but quickly returned to the staring match he was having with amulet which instead of its normal blue hue was the same mix of blue and green that had reflected off the stairs a few minutes earlier.
Blinky interrupted his thoughts.
"I don't know, Master Tobias! I have never seen the amulet change hands without the predecessor dying beforehand. This is most unexpected!" Their conversation was interrupted by a bright flash of green light coming from the amulet, forming a detailed sigil circle or something on the ground that immediately started spewing smoke. He covered his eyes and screamed along with Blinky as the light suddenly grew brighter while, somehow Jim only looked annoyed. Annoyed! How could he look annoyed at a time like this when unexpected magical things were happening with no explanation and –
"James Lake Junior. We meet again." The voice that had been saying Jim's name from the amulet suddenly seemed a lot more… Solid? Less ethereal (SAT words, boom!) than before. A gasp from Blinky caused Toby to unshield his eyes where he saw an old dude dressed in armour similar to his (was it really his anymore if the amulet was Jim's?) but with green highlights instead of blue, the detailing on the metal similar in style but different enough to be noticeable.
He was shocked out of his musings as Jim sighed in defeat, peeling himself slowly off the wall, still looking cautious and moving no closer to the amulet but willing to interact with the old guy.
"Merlin." Wait this was Merlin? As in creator of the amulet Merlin?! Toby's mouth dropped open. "What do you want. And… How much do you know –"
"About you? And the timeline you are attempting to overwrite? A fair chunk of it, young Trollhunter. My strongest, proficiency I suppose you'd call it, is in time magic."
"Hence why both your magic and the magic of all the time related magical items I've dealt with before have been green," said Jim appearing to realise what Merlin was talking about (what the hell did Jim mean by time related items? Had he done time travel or something equally ridiculous?). Toby opened his mouth to interrupt but was interrupted himself by the form of Merlin flickering violently. Jim's hand shot out as if to steady the man, but it seemed he was just made out of the same smoke that was pouring out of the magic floor picture (he didn't know what to call it. An expert at SAT words he may be, but magic? Not his strength). "What can I do to help?" Jim asked quietly as the three others looked on in confusion.
"There is nothing you can do, Trollhunter," Merlin coughed tiredly, eyelids drooping. "What you did with the amulet, allowing another to wield it was clever I'll admit. From what I've been able to see" – here Jim rolled his eyes, muttering to himself – "Hush you, that would certainly change the timeline, but I fear only for worse. Your friend is not the true wielder." Here, Merlin gestured weakly behind him towards Toby who gulped and took a step closer to Blinky and Arrrgh, hoping their stone bodies would cover his own. "You know who is. The old incantation will work, but I do not know about the one you and your friends from the stars created. You are welcome to try." He laughed slightly as he started to fade, the smoke growing lighter and the odd green overcast on the stairs fading as he did. "Of all the things I expected of Hisirdoux, reimagining my amulet was not one of them."
His image was almost gone as he looked Jim in the eyes, who himself was looking… Tired. Maybe resolute? Toby couldn't quite tell. Since when was it so hard to read his best friend?
"Would you… Tell Hisirdoux how much I appreciate him? I presume the timeline will follow roughly the same outline unless you see fit to release me earlier, and Morgana shouldn't be affected by this little visit utu keep an eye out anyway. I would recommend sticking to the timeline as closely –"
"I'll tell him, Merlin." Jim smiled slightly and nodded as Merlin's image faded until it looked like a shadow of itself.
"And one last thing, Trollhunter." Jim raised a questioning eyebrow. "Daylight is yours to command." Merlin smirked as Jim looked down, dropping the amulet that had magically appeared in his hands like it burned. "Always has been…" The image of the old man faded completely, the smoke slowly dissipating along with the light, fading back into the amulet. "Always will."
The air around them suddenly became lighter although Toby hadn't noticed it getting heavier in the first place – creepy ghost dudes who are apparently Merlin and the freaking creator of the amulet are the perfect distraction – but the difference once the magic storm died down was significant. Toby stared at Jim in disbelief and confusion, Blinky and Arrrgh out of the corner of his eye doing the same.
"Uh, Jimbo?" Toby asked quietly, taking a careful step towards his friend like one would when trying not to scare off a frightened animal. Jim, Toby noticed, didn't seem to be all there, staring at the amulet on the ground with unseeing eyes, mouth moving but no sound coming out. It had happened a few times, once when they'd entered Strickler's classroom on the day Jim had tackled Toby to the floor outside his house (nice but definitely unexpected, Jim treated him like glass for the rest of the day, almost like he was afraid Toby would disappear if he had to guess. But Toby would never leave Jim's side) and again the next day when they'd had Spanish. Jim had stared oddly at his desk and spent the rest of the lesson tracing something out on the surface, quietly muttering to himself. Toby later realised he was writing his own name out repeatedly.
Toby slowly reached an arm out to gently shake Jim out of his head, talking as he did so, both trying not to sound too freaked out by the whole experience and trying to ignore Blinky's furious whispers from behind him.
"Hey Jim, do you maybe want to explain what's going on? Because as much as I love being the Trollhunter and all if Merlin himself came and told you to be the Trollhunter, well I mean, who am I to argue with the creator of the amulet –" He was cut off by Jim taking a sudden deep breath and looking at Toby like he was seeing him for the first time, terror in his eyes. "Hey what's up? I mean, come on dude, it's not like this will kill you or anything!" Toby tried joking, if only half-heartedly.
A cough came from behind them causing the both of them to glance back at Blinky who had three eyes focused on them and the other three regularly glancing down towards the amulet that was now, apparently Jim's. Don't get Toby wrong, he loved the idea of being the Trollhunter and being the hero but considering his experiences of the past few days? He was happy enough to hand the 'honour' over to someone else. The idea of being the hero who saved the day was great and he excelled at the role in video games, but in real life? Yeah, he could see Jim fulfilling that role more than he ever could. To be honest he was happy to play back-up, be the moral support.
"Jim, I find myself extremely perplexed at these sudden occurrences, particularly the presence of Merlin of all people-"
"Wizard never show himself unless big problem."
"Yes, thankyou Arrrgh." Blinky sighed at the interruption, causing a small smile to erupt on Toby's face at the familiarity of it. "My point being, we are happy for Toby to continue the role of Trollhunter if that is what you wish as he is the one the amulet originally chose. But I find it hard to not see devastating consequences if we do not follow Merlin's, if that is indeed who he was, advice. Particularly," here Blinky's eyes narrowed as he took in Jim's nervous posture, his apparent readiness to make an escape up the stairs ad away from Trollmarket. "If time travel is apparently involved.
"In any case I believe that you should accept the amulet. Merlin himself has chosen you! It should be an honour." Toby jumped slightly at the unexpected dry laugh that came out of Jim's mouth. He turned to him, a questioning eyebrow raised. Jim had gone back to staring at the amulet before sighing and bending down to scoop it up under the watchful eye of the two trolls and his best friend. He grasped it lightly in his hand.
"My amulet does not make mistakes," he said to himself quietly. Before Toby could make heads or tails of the statement Jim lifted his head up and spoke to the two trolls directly. "I – I'm sorry but I can't take it. Even if Merlin said I should, I can't," he stressed turning to Toby and trying to press the amulet into his hands, forcefully closing Toby's hands around the amulet. But as Toby stared at the amulet glowing softly in his hands, he knew it already wasn't his. The energy that it gave off was… Colder somehow compared to a few short minutes ago (had so much really happened in such a short period of time?) and he knew in his heart that he had officially been promoted to side-kick with moral support powers. He sighed softly to himself but accepted the role with grace. While being the hero was fun this was the role that suited him best, that he could really get behind. He could see it now! Trollhunter Jim and Toby the… Hmm he'd have to come up with a cool nickname. Jim had been refusing any sort of cool sidekick name, the spoilsport, but now Toby could pick one for himself! This was going to be awesome sauce.
"Look Jimbo, I appreciate you trying to give me the opportunity to be the hero. But I don't think I'm cut out for this role. Think I'm better suited to the sidekick role, you know? Moral support and all that." He smiled sadly as he felt the amulet start vibrating against his hands trying to escape their grasp. "Besides," he began, releasing the amulet and watching it fly back into Jim's slightly shaking hands. "I think it's already changed it's allegiances." Jim was pale and looked like he was going to be sick.
"Tobes, I can't – You have to take it. I can't watch – I can't make the same decisions again."
"Come on man, I know this like dramatically increases your chances of death but at least mine have just gone down dramatically since about 30 seconds ago!" The clattering of the amulet was loud in his ears as it dropped once again to the floor.
"Your chances of death have just risen to one hundred percent Tobes!" Toby jumped in surprise at the very loud admission, glancing at Jim whose eyes were almost fever bright as they started darting around the staircase entryway frantically before settling on Toby once again. Blinky and Arrrgh were distant figures in the background.
"Oh, come on Jimbo, it's not that bad surely! I mean it's not like I die or anything, surely your exaggerating… Right?" The hysterical laugh that came out of Jim's mouth was nothing like he had ever heard before. The next words shocked Toby to his core and echoed as Jim ran up the staircase with both Blinky and Arrrgh's cries haunting him on his way to the one place where the trolls could not follow. His feet were glued to the ground, hand still hovering in mid-air where he'd tried to comfort Jim and pull him into a hug before he ran.
"You don't get it Tobes!"
The amulet, no longer his but instead his friends. Time travel had to be involved from what Merlin said although Toby couldn't work out how, especially with his brain just repeating Jim's words on loop while Blinky and Arrrgh started arguing faintly behind him.
"It really is that bad, in fact. In fact, it's so, so much worse."
He just never realised exactly what his friend might have gone through to know Merlin and have experience with time travel. But it must have been bad.
"I've already watched you die. I've lost too many people and it hurts to see them again. But seeing you die…"
The amulet, when Toby glanced down, disappeared in a puff of blue-green smoke, following it's new (old?) bearer. He had more questions than answers right now and he wouldn't stop until Jim answered all of them.
"I can't watch it again."
A/N: Guess who's back, back again. I'm thinking of making this a series of oneshots? I dunno I have several ideas for oneshots of stuff that happens once Jim travels back to the past. Maybe the next one can be Jim taking on the amulet in the final fight against Bular or Angor Rot or something, or the time travel magic going wrong and we have the chaos of two Jim's in one timeline because you know that would be kind of awesome. Maybe something with Douxie because that boy is amazing.
Anyway the beginning dialogue is from Part 1 Ep 3, just changed a bit for Toby instead of Jim, and the title is from the the Battlecry Album by Two Steps from Hell, the same guys who did None Shall Live. So, I guess welcome to part 2 of the Battlecry series? Let's see where it takes us. Let me know what you think of this one, I'm not all that happy with the ending but I have to get up for work tomorrow and just wanted to get something out there. Next one should be out in a few days as long as I stay motivated! (reviews help ;) )
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