The Knights of New Avalon

Mary groaned as she forced herself out of bed. Only a week ago two castles had landed on Arcadia Oaks. Rather than fixing it all over again, everyone had agreed it would be better to just incorporate the castles into the town. It wasn't any less exhausting.

"Still not sleeping well, Princessin?" Otto looked up from the laundry he was folding.

"Nein, Papa."

"VVas it ze nightmares again?"

"No," Mary pressed her forehead against his shoulder, "Not last night."

Otto sighed and stroked her hair.

"Why can't I sleep? Toby and Eli get to sleep."

"I don't know, Mary. But I do know zat if anyvone understands, it's zis family. VVhen you feel ready to talk, you can come to any of us."

Mary nodded mutely.

"Speaking of zis family, I hear Mama made apfel pancakes zis morning."

"With ginger?" She smiled lightly.

"Ja. Mitt ginger. Now, go before your brozers eat zem all."

"Danke, Papa."

She gave him another squeeze before joining the rest of the family in the kitchen. Her brothers were at the sink, washing their plates while their mother made more pancakes.

"Mama! Are you STILL cooking?"

"Last one!" Lenora dished out the pancake, "I, um, kind of forgot to save you any apple ginger ones."

"Yeah, Heads up, Mary," Toby put the plates away, "If it's one of Mama's pregnancy cravings, it's not a normal food."

"Say what you will, I like them," She took her plate, "Now, go sit down, Mama. Tanta Barbara already threatened to put you on bedrest if you don't take it easy."

"I'm going. I'm going." Lenora chuckled.

Mary sighed and sat at the counter, "What are we going to do with her?"

"Same thing we've been doing until Tanta Barbara actually puts her on bedrest," Eli washed the pan, "Or Baby Schwester gets here."

"Papa only let her make breakfast because she threatened to make daisies grow out of his nose."

"Ow."

The back door burst open and Jim strode in.

"Good morning, fellow freaks! Are we ready to go yet?"

Mary shoveled the las t of her breakfast into her mouth, "Just let me wash my plate!"

"That's fine. I just don't want the others waiting on us. Our mission shouldn't take too long today."

"Good," Mary lead the way out the front door, kissing her parents goodbye, "Because I'm exhausted."

"I know what you mean," Jim groaned, "My body's still recovering from five days awake as a troll."

The kids were so busy talking that they didn't notice someone watching them. Watching. And waiting. And COUNTING. The mermaid, the young polymorph, the alien, and...there he was, the fairy. Today was the day.

Eli jogged ahead of the others, skipping down the secret path to the canal.

"How do you have so much energy?" Jim chuckled, "I'm a morning person and I don't have that much energy."

"He put honey on his pancakes while Mama's back was turned."

"Eli!"

"Why do you even have that stuff in the house right now? Mum told Tanta Jay she couldn't have any until after the baby was born."

"It is too early for you guys to be arguing," Darcy rubbed her eyes.

"It is never too early to be arguing with siblings," Aja proclaimed.

"It can be," Krel put his hands on Eli's shoulders to keep him from flying off.

"Alright!" Jim clapped his hands, "We only have two things to get done today. The sooner we finish the first part the more time we have to goof off before the second."

"Just tell us what our job is," Steve yawned.

"We have to check on the mountain trolls and the river trolls on opposite sides of the valley. We just have to make sure the repairs are going smoothly and I'll take the report back to Da at the end of the day. And, since Angor still has Claire on magic restrictions after he learned how far she'd been porting, we get to walk the whole way."

"How was I supposed to know that it could burn me out and make me sick? Douxie didn't really have time to explain the side effects to me."

"Wait. That's all we're doing today?" Darcy deflated.

"We try not to do anything big on someone's first day," Toby took her hand, "On my first day I was checking on the domestic goblins with Papa. Imagine, you just got a new job and the first thing they have you do is feed the stray cats out back."

"I had to round up gnomes in Trollmarket on my first day."

"Bully for the two of you. I had to sit through four hours of Popa Vendal explaining the history of market leaders."

"I get it. First days are boring."

All ten teens made their way through the forest and up the mountain. The Arcadia mountain trolls lived in a village towards the top of the mountains. Living in constructed dwellings rather than dug out keeps, they also boasted a large statue of Daya the Deliverer. Trolls left glowing crystals, candles, and even small carvings at the feet of the statue. Jim, Eli, and Seamus each took a moment to leave a crystal and say hello to their friend.

"Is Daya a deity for the trolls?" Darcy asked, watching the three boys.

"Yes and No. She's their hero. Kinda like Joan of Arc. Daya the Deliverer was a real person who has kinda been deitified. She was the first Trollhunter and banished Gunmar to the darklands," Mary explained, "The boys got to spend a lot of time with her while we were in the past. One minute."

She darted forward and bowed beside Jim. The young polymorph had the tip of his sword planted in the ground and had dropped to one knee.

"Doesn't it feel kind of weird since you've met the REAL Daya the Deliverer?"

"Not really," Jim shrugged, "Actually, after meeting her, I think I understand why so many cultures honor their ancestors."

Darcy thought for a moment and followed the rest of the team. Jim greeted the village leader with the same bow he used to honor Daya.

"Evlas, Atlas."

"Evlas, Leader Atrea. My team and I just wanted to check on you and your village. How are the repairs going?"

Atrea led them through her village, displaying the repairs being done and how the trolls were utilizing the castle pieces the same way the Arcadians were. Jim did most of the talking, having done this before and knowing what questions to ask. However, he wasn't the only one asking. At Claire and Mary's request, she also showed them all their infirmary and how their few injured were being treated by the healers. As they made their way back to Atrea's dwelling, Jim scribbled a few notes onto a notepad.

"I'm glad everything is going well," He told the older leader, "But, if you do need help, more man power, or healing supplies; do not hesitate to send a messenger down to Heartstone Trollmarket."

"We shall remember that," Atrea smiled and bowed, left hand over her chest and staff clutched in her right hand, "Elav, Atlas."

"Elav, Atrea," Jim returned her bow and led his team out of the village.

"Jim?" Darcy jogged to his side, "I'm still kind of new here. Um. Could I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure. We're actually a bit ahead of schedule so we have plenty of time."

"Cool. Why did Atrea call you 'Atlas'? I've heard the others call you that before and your dad calls you that all the time. I just thought it was a family nickname or something."

"Atlas is my troll name. The name I use for official Trollmarket business or when I'm going things for the Trollhunter. Once I become Market Leader, it'll be the name I always use in Trollmarket. Kind of like how nuns change their name when they enter the convent."

"Ok. And, what about the bowing? You did two different bows. Why?"

"The first bow was because both Atrea and Daya are my superiors. Atrea is a village leader and Daya is a Trollhunter. Since I'm only an apprentice market leader AND I'm a visitor in her village, I show her a higher level of honor. However, when we were leaving, she gave me a more informal bow, allowing me to do the same. If she were to visit Trollmarket, she would show Vendal the higher honor. Does that make any sense?"

"It was kinda long winded but yes. I understand. Ok. Last question. Is this what a normal day is like for you guys?"

"Only after a huge battle like last week," Toby shrugged.

"We visit the nearby villages in the valley, sometimes assist in the repairs, then update and file the paperwork for the Trollhunter and Trollmarket," Mary explained, "Being a superhero isn't all battles and cool weapons."

"Da says, 'A Trollhunter answers every call'," Seamus added, transforming and letting Mary ride on his back.

"But are we Trollhunters?" Aja asked, "I know the omelet was destroyed but…"

"I can see what she's saying," Eli agreed, "I mean, Steve and I go by Creepslayerz."

"Maybe they're right, Jim," Claire bit her lip, "We're not exactly YOUNG Trollhunters anymore, either."

"If we're changing the team name, can I change mine too? I think I've kinda outgrown 'Ariel'. And the others all need codenames, too."

"We get codenames!?"

Jim laughed, "Ok! Ok! We'll talk when we get to the cafe. Everyone think of something on the way."

The crowd burst into chatters as they stepped out of the forest. They tried to leave plenty of room for other walkers but, considering there was ten of them, it was easier said than done. Mary leaned forward and buried her face in Seamus' fur. Eli carried Krel piggy back as he flew. The new waitress at the cafe staired as they sat together in her section.

"Don't worry," The manager whispered, "They tip well and don't usually cause trouble. We see them here a lot."

Once everyone's orders had been taken, Jim turned and pulled out his notepad again.

"Alright, let's start with a new team name. Who wants to go first?"

"The Knights of Avalon?"

"Round Table Rebuilt?"

"New Knights?"

"Knights of New Avalon?"

"Wait. Ok, is everyone's a variation of 'Knights of Avalon' or 'Round Table'?"

Everyone nodded and shrugged, avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah. Ok. All in favor of 'Knights of New Avalon'? Hands up."

Almost unanimous.

"Sorry, Steve."

The blond shrugged and crossed his arms.

"So, that's out of the way for now. Now, who wants to pick a codename first?"

Darcy practically shot out of her seat, "Dutchess!"

"You've been thinking about this for a long time, haven't you?" Toby teased.

Darcy blushed and ducked her head, "It was Mom's nickname. I have her old leather jacket at home."

"Dutchess it is," Jim grinned and wrote it down, "Who's next?"

"DJ Kleb!"

"Xena!" Aja bounced in her seat and clapped her hands together. (1)

Steve smiled and sat up, "I'll be Lancelot."

Jim rolled his eyes but smiled as he wrote it down.

"Do you think I can be 'The Lady of the Lake'?" Mary tugged at her neon blue hair, "I don't want to offend her but...I almost feel like she gave me persimmon."

"I think it's fine, Mary," Claire said, "I haven't had time to research it yet but I think she did a little more than give you persimmon."

"Mary's The Lady of the Lake," Jim wrote it in his book, "And that leaves Eli. What are you thinkin', Mate?"

"B-Bog King?"

"Like...the guy in your mom's favorite musical?"

Toby lit up, "Yeah! The opposite of Roland who showed Marianne real love! That's GENIUS, Eli!"

The young fairy blushed.

"I'm with Warhammer," Jim scribbled the name down, "And we can call you 'King' for short."

"As long as no one calls me 'Boggy' everyone will live."

"Mama will and you know it."

"Mama gets a free pass for bringing me into this world and putting up with real Roland."

Seamus laughed and shook his head, "This family is a dumpster fire."

"A BEAUTIFUL dumpster fire," Darcy agreed, "Wait. Seamus, don't you still need a code name?"

"I'll accept anything but 'Wolfman'."

"Be 'Inuyasha'!" Steve grinned.

"Anything but Wolfman or Anime…"

"How about Remus or Romulus?"

They stared at Eli.

"The supposed first werewolves? The founders of Rome?"

They were silent for a moment.

"That would be a good name, Sea."

"And Remus is also a name in Ireland. I know that's where your grandma is from."

"Yeah...Let's do that. I'll be Remus."

"And that's all of us," Jim wrote the last name in his notepad and slammed it shut, "I'll update the file when I get home tonight. It's all on paper so no one can hack us."

"And together we make the Knights of New Avalon!"

LLB

Walt groaned and rubbed his eyes. There was no way the house was always this dark.

„Daah!"

He jumped and looked down. Wally clung to his leg, grinning up at him. Walt smiled back and picked the growing baby up.

„We'll, at least I can still see you, Cucclo."(2)

„AAHH!" Xena screeched up at him.

She pushed herself up and crused her way over. Walt laughed and scooped her into his other arm.

„Oh, I'm sorry. Was I giving to much attention to your brother and not enough to you?"

Xena pout up at him before burying her face into his shoulder. Walt sighed and sat back in his chair. He really needed to finish his paperwork. And not all of it was Trollhunters Business. He had to finish up the last of his lesson plans before the repairs on the school finished.

„Da. Fash," Xena smiled up at him, „Fash."

He smiled sadly at her, „No, Baby Girl. No more flash."

She frowned, „Faaash."

„I'm sorry. I can't anymore."

She pouted up at him before curling back into him. Wally yawned in his sleep. Walt sighed and rubbed his eyes again. He felt someone wrap their arms around him. Barbara kissed his cheek.

„I guess Xee gets her taste in men from her mummy."

He tilted his head back to look up at her, „Really? Even if I'm not the man you married anymore?"

She kissed his nose, „I already told you. I don't care what you look like. I love you no matter what."

He smiled wryly at her.

„Do you want me to take the twins so you can get some work done?"

„Not yet. Maybe once they fall asleep. Shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

Barbara nodded and kissed him once more before going off to get her own laptop. Walt's phone began to ring.

„Nomura, what can I do for you?"

„Um, my baby found something interesting in our apartment."

„I know I told you you could call me for anything, Nono but please tell me this isn't just a weird parenting story…"

„No! He found a compartment behind the bathroom sink. This is an old Janis Order building so that doesn't surprise me but what he pulled out is just too weird. It doesn't make any sense!"

„Something weird for a changling to own? Like what? A birth certificate or something?"

„No. Weirder. It's…you need to come and see. I tried to call Otto but he didn't answer."

„That doesn't surprise me. He probably doesn't want to leave Lenora right now," he motioned for Barbara to take their sleeping babies, „I'm on my way."

„Thank you!"

LLB

Once all the teens finished eating, left a generous tip, and said goodbye to their waitress, they all started the march across town. They were so busy dodging the construction that none of them noticed anything was wrong.

The river trolls were closer to the school and where Excalibur was still stuck in it's stone. Even though the river was well shaded, they typically stayed under the water or in their mud burrows until well after nightfall. The past week, however, had been an exemption. They were out and working on the repairs to their grotto.

Mary parted the river just enough for the team to cross to the small island that housed the river troll leader, Gulap. Darcy's jaw dropped as Jim and Mary began to speak in Trollish.

„What the heck is THAT?"

„Trollish," Toby explained, „The majority of river trolls don't speak a whole lot of English."

„It's not super hard to learn," Claire assured her, „Human mouths aren't the best for all the sounds needed but it usually just gives us a really shitty accent. You know French and it's easier than that."

„…If you say so…"

They followed Gulap back into the river, Mary parting it once more. Most of the river village was untouched by the battle though there were plenty of trolls fishing rubble out of the river. Mary gurgled a question to the leader and Jim wrote the reply on his little notepad. While they did see the infirmary, none of the river trolls had actually been hurt the week before. It wasn't long before Jim and Mary bowed like before and bid Gulap and his trolls farewell.

„How can the river trolls swim?" Darcy didn't bother to wait before her question, „Aren't they made from stone, too?"

„Well, yeah. But it's a more porous stone. And they can't exactly swim for very long. They usually just walk along the bottom of the river," Mary explained.

„And, since Mary's the Mermaid Queen of Arcadia, that means that the rivers are part of her job," Eli noted.

„What?"

„It doesn't actually mean anything, Darc. It's mostly just because I'm the ONLY mermaid in Arcadia. Most mermaid duties Fall to me. Aja and Krel, on the other hand, are actually royalty. And Toby's a duke."

„What!?"

„It's a recent development, Darcy!"

She rubbed her eyes tiredly, „Why does this even surprise me? This family should stop being surprising at this Point…"

„I promise we'll explain all the titles in this Family once we get home. Onkel O is making Bratwursts and Da is making his special mashed potatoes. Oh. And Mum is making Tanta Jay take it easy."

LLB

Walt walked slowly into his sister's flat. He still hadn't ruled out this being her idea of a good prank.

„Nomura?"

„In here!"

Walt followed her voice down the hall and into the bathroom.

„Alright. What did you need me to see?"

She handed him a small round case.

„Contact lenses? This is what frightened you so much?"

"They're not just contacts, Strickler. COSTUME contacts."

"Costume contacts? The kind that change the whole eye?"

"Yes! That's what's so weird! This place used to belong to that polymorph girl. Elizabeth? Why would a polymorph need costume contacts?"

Walt opened the case and inspected the lenses, "I have no idea. We still don't know a lot about polymorphs since her, Otto, and Jim are are the only ones on record. That's part of why Barbara is paying such close attention to Lenora's pregnancy. No polymorph has ever had a child."

"But that just makes it more confusing," Nomura insisted, "Hell, I can't remember ever hearing about her before she arrived with the eye stone. Didn't she say she was from the London base?"

"Yes…But, now that you mention it, that doesn't make much sense. The London base was destroyed in the forties. Remember? The survivors moved down and built a new base in South Croydon."

"I knew it was destroyed but I didn't know where they moved to. So, are you saying that girl was an imposter?"

Walt shook his head and lead her back into the living room, "No. She was definitely a changling. But she was definitely hiding something."

"Where are you going? There is clearly something wrong with this. We never found her body with the others. We have no proof that she's dead."

"Exactly. That's why I'm going down into the Janis Order base to see if there's any records for her. Otto and Lenora said it was all still working the last time they were down there."

Nomura grumbled under her breath for a moment before rolling her neck and following her older brother, "Fine. But I'm coming with you. You can't exactly fight off a changling right now."

Walt sighed and looked down at his hands, "Right…"

It took a bit of manipulation to get around the construction to Omni Reach and the elevator shuttered and lurched as it descended. The halls were unnervingly empty. The Young Trollhunters and Blinky and Arrrgh had moved all the bodies into a closed off room and relayed the fallen changling to Rest there. Now, the base was deserted.

"Can we just make this fast," Nomura hissed, "I don't want to be here any longer than we have to."

"Agreed," he whispered back.

They crept down the hall and into one of the monitor rooms. It was just a matter of Turing it all back on and typing in their querie I to the file search.

"That's just what she told us. There should be a lot more information there."

"I know. Give me a second."

Walt typed in the word 'polymorph' and shuffled through Otto's files for a moment.

"What the heck is the 'Polymorph Project'?" Nomura squinted up at the screen.

"I-I don't know. I've never heard of it."

"How is that possible? You were running the joint!"

"I don't know!" He opened the file and froze, "Oh my God."

Pictures, documents, files of the experiments performed. All on a polymorph held in the London base and compared to Otto, raised outside in rural Germany.

"They…they were experimenting on her. Torture testing to see how far they could push the polymorphs and using the results on Otto."

"That's sick," Nomura pushed one of the pictures out of sight, "Even for changlings. Killing each other for power or feeding each other to the boss is one thing. At least that was over fast. This was torture that went on for years!"

"The experiments go on until the base was destroyed but Elizabeth's files don't pick back up until about eighteen years ago," Walt continued to read.

"That's about how old she looked. Clever Where was she during all that time though?"

Walt bit his lip and scrolled through, "Tr-Trapped inside the old base. She must have made the new files after she escaped."

"Are you saying she was trapped down there for SIXTY YEARS?"

"Yes. That would explain the sunglasses she occasionally wore and maybe even the contacts of her eyes were damaged by the experiments or the darkness."

Nomura didn't get to say anything more before Walt's phone began to ring.

"Young Atlas? What's going on? What do you mean their house was broken into?!"

"The door was broken and part of the living room was on FIRE, Da! Mary put out the fire but-"

"Where are your aunt and uncle?"

"They were kidnapped! We don't know where they are. Da, the burns on the floor? It looks like a kind of grid. Like the bottom of a cage and it has traces of iron in it. Claire says that it looks like an artifact was used to port them all out of the house. That's why it was on fire."

"All right! All right! Stay calm. Call your grandmother and keep your cousins there. Aunt Nono and I are on our way."

"Wait! Aja just found something. What does it say? What? She says Onkel O must have carved it into the floor from inside the cage. Da? It says ‚Beginnt'."

LLB

Italian Translation:

Cuccilo- pup/cub

AN: Ta Da! The first chapter of what will likely be the final book of Changling Families! I know this chapter is a little exposition heavy but only in certain scenes.

1) Because she's a warrior princess! I swear this is all that went through my head when she referred to herself as 'Aja Tarron, Warrior Princess' in the show.

2) I always talk about Walt being Italian but have never once actually made him do anything Italian other than make pasta from scratch...So I think it's high time he speaks a little Italian.