A/N

I could never imagine starting a full story while having another one ongoing, but after watching ROTT... Well, here we are.

Unlike my other story, which has a lot of prewritten drafts, this one is more spontaneous, so I have no idea how often there will be updates.

Krohnisfere will make right.

Nari's mysterious words kept resounding inside Jim's mind. The more time had passed, the more sure the teen became.

He had to travel back, to ensure that events would unfold differently.

To make it right this time.

The taste of Claire's kiss still lingered on his lips when the Trollhunter put the time stone inside the amulet. He could see his friends, his allies standing so close to tell him goodbye. Not everyone had been truly convinced despite his speech, Jim could tell that for sure.

Douxie had told him that it could be worse, and Merlin's successor was slightly reluctant even now. Blinky had also attempted to stop his adopted son from shouldering the burden alone but had given in and now stood with barely hidden sadness in his eyes.

Well, in the end, when it came to sacrifices, Jim had always ended dealing with such decisions alone. Be it his journey to the Darklands, diving into Merlin's elixir and turning into a half-troll, or pushing the obsidian shard inside his heart only to win some time - he had never asked anyone's opinion on those. It wouldn't have been that different with this one - even if everyone tried to stop him, the teen would still try to go back.

Douxie watched his younger friend with mixed feelings. Yes, he could relate to his sense of loss. The wizard also liked Toby, so his death hurt. Not to mention that he had lost Nari already. Archie's fate had also remained unknown.

So many lives had been lost. Was it the price they had to pay? Yet playing with time had never been that safe - Douxie knew that for sure. Hadn't he tried to make things better during their time travel to Camelot? Hadn't his attempt made everything worse, nearly erasing an entire timeline? At least the wizard had an opportunity to fix everything, but what about Jim? Most likely, there wouldn't be any way out if everything spiraled out of control.

For the first time, every happening had been just a cruel twist of Fate, however, no matter what would happen for the second time, all of that would be only the Trollhunter's responsibility. Could someone like him even face that?

Douxie may have not known Jim for that long, but it was obvious that his younger friend was too kind, too earnest. The time manipulations, on the other hand, required someone way more jagged, way more pragmatic, so Merlin's successor couldn't help feeling worried for the Trollhunter's mental state. Jim had somehow become a kind of younger brother to him and if it was possible Douxie wished he could spare him from that kind of hurt.

Maybe, he had to tell his friend to move on, to accept Toby's sacrifice, yet… Somehow, it would feel so hypocritical. Hadn't Douxie himself refused to give up on saving his friends even when the most sound decision was just run and hide together with Genesis seals? No, he had no right to criticize Jim for his decision.

Claire felt her fingernails digging into her palms as she tried to keep the strong facade. She had already told her goodbyes, so what was the point of hesitating right now? Yet, the girl was still scared. What if they wouldn't end together with Jim during this re-try? What if everything they had gone through together would fly out of the window?

Claire had told her boyfriend to never give up on her, but… The truth was that deep inside, she wanted to tell something else.

Let me go with you.

Let me shoulder half of your burden.

Jim wasn't a superhuman, he still needed some moral support. Losing Toby had definitely left the gaping wound inside his soul. Even with the time re-written, that pain would never go away entirely. Claire wished she could have been by his side, however…

That would be unfair to Toby. Once upon a time, the Latina promised the redhead to never break their dynamic duo, to never try to take over his place. Breaking that oath so soon after his demise would be just dirty.

And even if the girl abandoned any honor, Jim would never allow her to share his burden. Not with his wounds being that fresh.

Unbeknownst to any of the guardians, a broken figure was crawling out of the debris. Once an undefeated demigod, Bellroc seemed just a shell of their former glory with magma leaking out of multiple injuries. Yet, they were still alive and craving vengeance.

The millennia-old perfect plans had been ruined, there had been no way to restore the Earth to the perfect clean slate, to start anew without the pesky humanity. Bellroc found themselves seething with an uncontrollable rage. They could see their enemies in the distance, not aware of the fire demigod's survival.

They could get away, try to devise some other plan, and then return stronger than ever and…

No, the fury had been way more powerful, making Bellroc creep their way towards their unsuspecting enemies. It was the same kind of anger that cost them their eyes once, yet the last Arcane Order member couldn't care less. Even if they faced the inevitable death, at least they would take someone else with them. But who?

One of the aliens who had nothing to do with this planet yet still butted when no one asked them?

One of the trolls siding with humans?

No, one of the pesky mortals would be the best.

Which one?

The foolish scaredy-cat? The one in glasses? The girl possessing shadow magic?

Bellroc's gaze fell on Douxie. Merlin's successor could be a good target. Hadn't he been the fist to piss the Arcane Order? Hadn't he tried to delay inevitable? They still hadn't made the cocky wizard pay for all his trickery.

But no, there had been the one who had enraged Bellroc way more. The Trollhunter, that arrogant brat not knowing his place. The demigod had found him as well - actually, he was the closest to their current position, messing with that accursed amulet of his.

He wouldn't even know what had gotten him. Bellroc smirked viciously, getting ready for the attack.

The amulet lifted Jim into the air, summoning the armor, like usual. But this time, there was also some temporal magic involved as well, the one with the ability to send him back.

"Whatever happens next, I'll make sure this isn't goodbye," the Trollhunter looked at his friend with a hopeful smile.

"Jim, behind you!"

"Look out!"

Claire's and Douxie's voices blend together as they both suddenly rushed to him, the fear obvious on their faces.

"Wha…" Jim hadn't even managed to turn back when someone assaulted him, their hot fingers reaching for his throat.

Bellroc.

The teen could feel fury burning inside - Tobes had sacrificed his life to bring this demigod down, yet they still were alive? How could something like that be fair?

Jim wished he could summon Excalibur and impale the ancient wizard, vanquishing it for good, yet they kept strangling him with surprising force.

"Let him go!" Claire's voice sounded right near her boyfriend's ear. The next second, a flickering shadow dagger went for the Bellroc's arm, yet shattered on impact. Her magic was certainly depleted to the extreme.

Douxie's staff landed the hit on the demigod's head next, but they refused to let Jim's neck go.

All four of them had been right inside the weird time magic when the amulet gears moved faster, and darkness came upon everyone…