Waka Chaka!akahC akaW
"What lady is that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?" Jim recited on stage.
In the evening, Jim rehearsed for the play as everyone present watched his amazing acting skills with Claire by his side. Unknowingly to all of them, Jim had already done the play before and memorized his lines by heart because it meant the world to him, just to be with Claire.
"She doth teach the torches to burn bright!" Jim continued. "It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel. Beauty too rich for use. For earth, too dear, so shows a snowy dove trooping with crows. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight. For I never saw true beauty till this night."
Claire's face lightened as she began her verse, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."
Meanwhile, backstage of the auditorium, Eli Pepperjack was typing on his computer, researching security footage he picked up when he expertly hacked into the school's grid.
During the first day of rehearsal, that was when he noticed something off about Jim. When he accidentally made a prop bag snap, Jim was almost crushed by it, until he was suddenly out of its way, like he teleported. And then, just a few days ago, Eli noticed something inexplicable happened: he watched Jim in the neighborhood, heading to Claire's place… and then vanished without a trace at exactly five thirty in the evening. As Eli looked through the recordings, he found Jim talking with Toby in the foyer. He saw Jim hold out his hand… and the footage itself became glitchy, until Jim was suddenly on the ground.
Eli suddenly stopped typing on his laptop… How was he able to hack into the school's grid itself? It was like one day, all he could do was edit stuff on screen, but out of nowhere, he suddenly knew how the town's systems worked like they were primitive; easy to overcome. What was he thinking? What he was doing was illegal and the school could track his record, but then again…
As scared he was of his newfound hacking abilities, Eli couldn't help but be intrigued by what he could do now. He typed on his laptop, pulling up records of the school's system being hacked. Going through firewalls, he saw teacher's records, could edit student's report cards, erase all his evidence of tampering, and more. This was so amazing! It's like he woke up a tech-wiz nerd who knew the entire planet's system inside and out.
Where did he even learn how to do this?
"Eli?!" Miss Janeth called out, making Eli jump in surprise as he closed his laptop. "Your cue!"
"Oh! Sorry!" Eli replied as he ran to the stage.
After rehearsals, Jim walked with Toby to the Hero's Forge to get started on his training. Jim had asked Blinky if he could give Toby a few pointers, which he agreed to with his supervision.
Toby, donned in armor, dodged incoming spears from training dummies springing from the floor. Jim stood in the center, watching his best friend carefully.
"Remember, Tobes, always be afraid," Jim said as Toby clumsily blocked spears with the sword. "Fear heightens your senses, fear keeps you alive…" As Toby stopped for a breather, a bloudler hit him in the back, sending him to the ground. "...Arrogance gets you killed."
Toby groaned as he weakly looked up to his friend. "I'll remember that, man."
Blinky stared at the boys and couldn't help but notice something vague in Jim's teachings. "Strange…" He said to Aaarrrgghh, rubbing his chin. "This feels rather odd, like I've seen this before."
"Like deja vu?" Jim wondered casually as he helped Toby up. "You taught me that."
"I did? Hmm…" Blink began to think for himself.
Meanwhile, Draal marched to the Forge, seeing the human boys in the center of the chamber.
Toby looked up to Jim. "I gotta be real with you, Jimbo…" He began as he held up the sword. "It feels kinda awkward."
Jim raised an eyebrow. "Awkward? Well, it should've shrunk itself into your weight. You sure?" Toby swung the sword as best he could, which made Jim sigh and hold out his hand. "Here, let me see."
Toby obeyed and handed the Sword of Daylight to Jim, who held up the sword and examined it. To Draal's surprise, it didn't vanish from his hand, even while grasping it for a good few seconds. Jim stared at the sword, feeling the familiar weight of the last time he wielded it back in New Jersey. Jim began to swing the sword around with amazing dexterity and experience; Toby watched in awe at what a pro Jim really was with blades.
Jim stopped and handed it back to his friend. "It shouldn't feel awkward."
"Uh…" Toby said speechless as he downcasted the weapon. "I kinda need more practice."
Toby began to practice sword-swinging on his own while Jim watched. It felt weird holding Daylight again, like literally being hit by nostalgia. Last time he wielded that sword, it was when he was ambushed by the Green Knight… he kinda forgot what it felt like since pulling Excalibur out.
"So…" Jim perked in surprise and turned to see Draal approaching him. "It is true."
"What?" Jim asked.
"Only a Trollhunter can wield Daylight. That proves you're still the Trollhunter, even with the amulet seemingly bonded with your friend and with your… gifts."
Jim sighed as he and Draal walked through the Forge. "You mean my time magic? I never asked for it. I mean, all I did was go back in time with a-"
Draal covered Jim's mouth and spoke more quietly, yet urgently, "We've said it before and I'll repeat it again; for us to know what's to come is to risk dooming it again. Ironically, I find protecting your memories of the future more important than a magic trinket on your friend's chest."
Jim stared at him; this was very unlike Draal to warm up to him this quickly. "You kinda sound like… you really care about my safety."
Draal grunted. "A lingering feeling… I can't shake off."
Before Jim could say anything, his phone beeped with a notification. "I'm really sorry, we have to get to school."
Jim dodged Toby mid-swing and dragged him along.
In the afternoon, Strickler's class took a field trip to the museum, where they were greeted by Ms. Nomura. Jim was also glad that Nomura was alive again, after she lost her life from petrification by Nari, who was brainwashed by Bellroc.
"I know contemporary media might lead you to believe European history is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal." Nomura said to everyone present in front of the building. "I assure you, the truth is far more interesting."
Oh boy, total understatement since the past two years, Jim thought to himself with his arms crossed.
"And there's no better place to start… than Renaissance Era pottery." Nomura finished.
Jim's classmates all groaned in boredom, minus him and Eli, who was interested in the subject.
"Since we have limited time, Ms. Nomura, perhaps it's best if they explore the museum on their own, don't you think?" Strickler proposed.
With no hesitation, all of the students ran off in different directions, leaving the two grown-ups and invading the museum. As Toby braged to Jim about his new Chubby Tracker he just bought to burn calories, Jim absentmindedly gazes upon the displays… until he pauses near the unopened exhibit hidden behind the curtains.
Unknowingly to Jim, Eli was at the top balcony and noticed Jim staring at the new exhibit currently off limits to tourists. After a few seconds, Jim seemingly sped-walked straight towards the men's room at the corner, casually allowing a man exit first before going in himself.
Inside the bathroom, Jim enters a stall, closes the toilet lid down, and sits down as he removes the bracelet from his hand. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and concentrates. He felt chills running throughout his entire body… and then he opened his eyes. Slowly, he opened the stall door and as he turned a corner, he saw Steve frozen in place at the sink, washing his hands.
Jim exits the bathroom, finding everything and everyone paused in place like mannequins. Knowing he wouldn't be caught by video cameras like last time, he casually walks up to the new exhibit and pushes the curtains away as they freeze in place. With a frown, he approaches the so-called "exhibit" underneath white cloth. Grasping it, he threw some of the cloth over and gazed upon…
The Killahead Bridge.
Jim's eyebrows narrowed as he recalled every single grief this bridge put him and everyone he knew through. He knew Bular was currently finding every single piece to free his father, Gunmar, from the Darklands, and destroy the world. As long as they don't get Toby's amulet, the portal would remain closed. Plus, they still needed Toby himself to unlock the bridge… and maybe…
You wielded Daylight, Draal's voice rang in his head. You're still the Trollhunter.
This could mean that if anyone learns about his true mantle and his time magic, they could use him for their own benefits as well–
Faint whispering suddenly echoes around Jim, catching his attention. He glanced around the exhibit, but found no one. The voices grew clearer as Jim slowly looked towards the Killahead Bridge.
Great… Gronka… Morka, an elegant male's voice whispered eerily.
It's him… A familiar innocent female's voice.
He's summoned it from… A raspy male-like voice.
Jim squinted at the bridge's markings engraved on the stone as it glows blue. Slowly, he raises his hand and carefully reaches towards the engraving as the voices grow louder.
"THIEF!"
Jim snapped his gaze behind him and gasped, finding Skrael of the North Wind hovering off the ground with his staff, looking peeved.
Right beside Jim was a tall purple figure wearing a cloak made from… strands of kelp, and with a brown/green hood, landed on the ground with a spear-like staff covered in seaweed and had a purple gemstone on top. Without saying a word, he pointed out his staff and blasted a purple water-like stream at the boy. Jim yelped and in instinct, threw his hands up, awaiting the pain…
But it never came.
Jim panted as he opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the exhibit where Killahead was, but it was gone. There were nothing but boxes surrounding him. Come to think of it, it was dark in the room, and the windows showed it was nighttime.
"What the…" Jim said in awe and confusion and checked himself. "What just…"
Jim suddenly heard footsteps, which alarmed himself as he quickly hid behind a pile of crates.
"Here? Are you insane?" Nomura's voice said as it approached the room.
Jim covered his mouth and peeked through in between the wooden boxes, finding Nomura and Strickler walking through the curtains.
"Haven't you ever heard that the best hiding spot is in plain sight?" Strickler said with his hands behind his back, looking poised as always.
"Bular certainly wouldn't think so," Nomura grumbled. "At least Gladysgro made it with ten more pieces from Madagascar. The Gumm-Gumm child was about to throw a tantrum." She rubbed her shoulder, possibly remembering how much Bular used her as a punching bag, just like Gunmar.
Wait, Jim thought to himself. Did I just… Time travel? Again? The Trollhunter looked down at his hand. What kind of power is this suppose to help me wi–
"And recently," Strickler said, grabbing Jim's attention again. "I've heard reports of missing persons this past month. Bular is causing too much scrutiny for not only trolls, but humans as well. It's best we keep the prince in our good graces until the time comes."
Nomura crossed her arms. "And what time will that be? What's this really about?"
"Nomura, you must understand my concerns. As long as we continue serving the Gumm-Gumms, our lack of foresight will lead to doom for all changelings. That is why I'm entrusting you to help me make it believable until Otto retrieves the Eyestone from the mountains of Germany."
"Hopefully," Nomura said. "And it'll be a month until my package arrives. According to Allana back at the base, it'll be delivered in the same truck that'll drop off that Eli Pepperjack's spy gear." Jim's eyes widened. "I'll send Fragwa and his goblin subordinates to retrieve it once it comes."
Jim pinned his back against the wood, still covering his mouth and his heart pounding. He heard a very familiar grumble as he looked and saw a goblin sniffing around. The changelings noticed the goblin and frowned.
"Fragwa, now's not the time." Strickler said sternfully.
Fragwa spoke in his goblin tongue as he pointed to a pile of boxes… where someone was hiding.
This is bad, Jim thought as he began to panic. I gotta go forward!
Jim clenched his hands to fists, shut his eyes tightly, and concentrated on returning to the school field trip. He opened his eyes, but nothing happened. Jim tried again, but nothing.
"Come on, come on…" Jim whispered as he tried to get his power to work.
"Who's there?!" Nomura demanded. Jim could hear footsteps approaching to where he was… and Nomura and Strickler shedding their human skins, drawing their weapons.
Suddenly, Jim felt himself becoming tingly, but it was still dark in the room. He looked over the crates, finding Strickler and Nomura in their true forms and weapons drawn… but frozen in place. Cautiously, he stepped over the time-paused Fragwa and sped-walked out of the exhibit. Hiding behind the wall, Jim shuffled through his pockets. He felt his amulet and… pulled out Merlin's Time Map.
Opening it, it showed Jim the place in time he was currently in… about a month before he found the amulet. He saw a line blinking on the loop as he twisted towards it, showing an image of the school field trip the moment he… 'clonk-donked' himself to the past. Taking a deep breath, he flipped a switch on the side of the artifact.
At first, nothing happened… until there was a bright light and felt the device shake in his hand. Without warning, he felt himself being pulled somewhere…
And he was gone.
Time resumed as Strickler and Nomura looked over the boxes, finding no one there.
The changelings scowled at Fragwa.
"Wha?" The goblin shrugged.
Jim materializes in midair and lands on his feet. He checked over his body, sighing in relief that he was perfectly intact.
The original Trollhunter noticed it was midday and his classmates roamed the museum. He was back.
"Okay," Jim said to himself, staring at the Time Map before stuffing it in his pocket. "Definitely need to be more careful."
Glancing at the "exhibit", Jim walked away, freaked out by the time traveling and wisely slipping the enchanted bracelet on his hand again to suppress his time magic.
In the men's room, Steve Palchuk finished washing his hands… until he noticed a certain stall was oddly quiet. He knew he saw Jim Lake walk inside of it, but he didn't even hear a sound.
"Uh… Lake?" Steve said carefully before knocking on the door.
Jim walked to the second floor and leaned over the railing.
When exactly had he ended up then? Nomura mentioned something about Eli's spy gear and the package being in the same–
"Hey, Jim."
Jim looked up and saw Claire approaching, smiling concerningly.
"Everything alright?" She wondered.
"Yeah, just… got a lot on my mind right now." Jim answered with a sigh, rubbing his bracelet hand.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
Claire looked over the railing next to Jim, taking in the view of the murals on the walls. "Hey, check that out." She pointed at a mural of a knight kneeling down to a woman, holding out a chalice. "That's the depiction of the Holy Grail, said to grant its drinker immortality and founded by Sir Galahad."
Jim chuckled. "Wouldn't be surprised if we'll be lucky enough to actually meet him. Certainly wish history was more accurate, though."
"I know, right? And check out the wardrobe. With our school budget, I'll end up doing the balcony scene in my bathrobe."
"Hey, if anyone could pull it off, it'd be you. You're the only one on stage who looks like they know what they're doing."
"Tell that to my parents. The one time I get a B, what's their advice? Drop the play."
"Are they crazy?" Jim noticed Toby standing a few feet away, looking proud of him. "You were born for this. You could say it's like your calling. My mom would be stoked that I finally found something to be so passionate about, besides just taking care of her."
"Wow! You're pretty passionate yourself, Mr. Guru. What about you? What's calling you, Jim Lake Jr.?"
A few feet away, Toby watched from the sidelines, feeling really proud of Jim's confidence around Claire. Although he got the feeling he won her heart before, so who is he to judge? However, someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around and found Eli.
"Toby, can I talk to you?" Eli asked with urgency.
"Is it about your "monster discoveries"?" Toby wondered, making a skeptical face.
"Not just that…" He glanced around to make sure no one was looking, and whispered, "It's about Jim." Toby's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Eli dragged him to the side and showed him his phone. "This was from the other day."
Eli showed Toby a footage of the school security system in the courtyard. He saw Jim walking, until in a split second… he was gone.
"No tampering, no glitches. Jim just vanished without a trace." Eli explained. "I think your friend's a creeper."
Toby gave him a look of disbelief and said, "Seriously? Jim, my best friend, a creeper? Jumping to conclusions too quickly again, Eli?"
"But I–"
"Look, if you're gonna accuse my own best friend that he's an abomination wanting to end the world, you're way off, man."
"But you've seen what I saw on this video tape! Jim's not who he says he is!"
Toby quickly snatched Eli's phone. "Let me take a closer look." As he played around, pretending to look closer look at the footage… and deleted the video. "Oh no!"
"What the heck?!" Eli took his phone. "Why did you do that?"
Toby laughed nervously. "Dare these stubborn little fingers."
Eli frowned and began messing with his phone. Toby watched as numbers and letters appeared on screen and Eli typed and typed, until… the deleted footage returned. "Yes!"
Toby was dumbstruck by his classmate's surprising technical knowledge. "Whoa! Wha… ah ba–uh-uh… How did you do that? Where did you even get that tape?!"
"From the school's security…" Eli trailed off when he noticed Toby's look of awe and shock. "...N-Nevermind."
Toby watched as Pepperjack left in awkward silence, curious and worried if Eli was now onto him and Jim. If he was able to get a videotape off of the school's security servers and restore a deleted video he wanted no one to see… The Trollhunter turned to where Jim was still talking to Claire and walked up to him, giving him a worried smile.
Jim cleared his throat. "I really hate it when you do that, Tobes." He said, giving back a tense smile.
"We… have a bit of a problem." Toby said worriedly.
"And what problem would that be?"
Later at night, Jim and Toby rode their bikes to Eli's house. As Jim and Toby took their helmets off, the former noticed the same roadkill goblin body splattered in the middle of the street, which made him forget that this was the night they originally spied on Eli's house to protect a delivery man. Of course, they ended up leading the goblins right to them and were chased by a horde of them. Jim nearly got himself eaten alive, if Aaarrrgghh hadn't saved him and took refuge in Toby's house.
Of course, the goblins were only out for the truck's destruction, so Jim had nothing to worry about, as long as they remained calm once they came.
"Jimbo," Toby said, snapping Jim out of his memory.
"What?"
"You coming?"
"Oh, right, sorry."
The two Trollhunters walked up to the Pepperjack house and Toby approached the front door and rang the bell.
From inside, he heard footsteps until the door opened, revealing Eli.
"Yes, my spy gea–!" Eli exclaimed, but froze when he saw not the mailman, but Toby and Jim at his house. "Jim! Toby!" He began to stammer nervously at their presence. "I-I-I was just… I thought–"
"It's alright, Eli," Jim interjected calmly. "We just wanna talk to you." Eli just stared at the two friends, reluctant to trust one of them. "And I'm not what you think I am, if you'll just hear us out instead of jumping to your insane conclusions like last time."
Eli cocked an eyebrow. "Last time?" He asked.
Jim groaned as he and Toby walked through the front door, surprising Eli. The boys walked up to Eli's bedroom to talk more privately.
"Are your parents still asleep?" Jim wondered.
"Long day from work," Eli responded, rubbing his hand awkwardly before he sat on his bed. "So, what are you guys doing here? You're not gonna… kill me, right?"
Jim rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, why would we do that?"
"Then… why are you–?"
"Allow me," Toby said, placing a hand on Jim before facing Eli, taking a deep breath. "So, there's a whole other world beneath our feet, where creatures called trolls live in this super awesome sauce underground city called Heartstone Trollmarket, and I was chosen by a magic amulet to protect them and Arcadia." He pulled out his amulet. "Of course, Jim has one, too, but he's been through this kind of life before because he's seen the future, and something bad must've happened that made him travel back to the past."
Jim grimaced at the awful memory of the Titans and the destruction they've caused.
"Of course, he also has these awesome magic tricks that lets him control time and space, but gets spent from overuse. So now, we're Trollhunters, kinda like these armor-wearing heroes whose sacred duties are to protect the universe from evildoers, and so now Jim thinks that to prevent that future from happening again, things in this new timeline need to happen differently. And since Jim's the only one who remembers, we basically have to follow his instincts, but mostly everyone's skeptical about it. So now, we need you to join our team and help us protect Arcadia from the future that's to come."
Silence.
Eli sat there, staring at Toby with wide eyes and jaw dropped.
Toby looked right into his eyes with a stern frown until… "OOooooohhhhh…!" Toby wiggled his fingers in an eerie way.
Jim stood there with his hand on his hip, giving his best friend a look.
"...Ooooooohhhhhh…"
"...In other words, the supernatural's real, Eli." Jim sighed with his arms crossed.
"YES!" Eli exclaimed unexpectedly, making Jim and Toby perk in surprise. "I KNEW IT!"
"So… you're okay with this? There's no going back if you wanna help us."
"Are you kidding? Fighting creeps, unraveling mysteries, and discovering this mysterious future you've experienced. I want in!"
"He can't exactly tell everyone what happens," Toby pointed out. "We'll risk dooming the future again if we knew what Jim knows."
"Exactly," Jim agreed. "Eli–"
The doorbell rang.
Jim froze. Oh boy. It's time.
Eli rushed out of his room past Jim and Toby, down the stairs, and answered the door, finding the delivery man with his package.
"Yes, my spy gear has arrived!" Eli exclaimed happily as he took his package and shook it, hearing glass clattering inside. "...Unassembled!"
"Hey, mind if I use your can? Rad, thanks." The man said as he waltzed into the house without letting Eli give an answer.
Jim watched the delivery man disappear into a bathroom before he peek through the door and surveyed the outside. As his memory proved correct, he saw street lights going out one at a time, seeing goblins destroying them to keep their pack in the dark. Jim gasped and quickly closed the door.
"What is it?" Eli asked in confusion.
"Okay, I need you to see something." Jim said as he dragged Eli and Toby to a nearby window.
The two clueless boys saw nothing out in the street; just a thick layer of night fog. However, as they squinted harder, they saw… glowing red eyes piercing through the mist, eerily approaching the delivery truck parked outside. Eli yelped, until Jim quickly covered his mouth.
"Oh my, gosh!" Toby gasped. "What are those?"
"Goblins," Jim answered. "Be quiet and don't make a sound."
"Are they here to kill us?" Eli asked fearfully.
"No. Just wait."
After the last light was taken out, the goblins screeched from their hiding spots and stampeded towards their intended target. Eli and Toby watch with wide eyes as the pack and angry, vindictive goblins hoard the truck, nibbling the metal.
"Waka chaka! Waka chaka wa!" The goblins yelled and growled simultaneously.
"Oh, my goblins!" Toby gasped.
"Weird, right?" Jim chuckled. "We once thought these guys were after the driver, but they were actually after the truck itself which killed one of theirs."
"So, you mean they can't link cause and effect of who kills their own?" Eli clarified nervously.
"Okay, that's a lot of goblins!" Toby whimpered.
Jim noticed how scared Toby was. "Tobes, relax!" He lectured as he rubbed his shoulders to remove the tension. "You're gonna draw them to us."
"What?!"
Jim anxiously looked outside the window, seeing a few goblins rise from the eaten truck. They sniffed the air, tracing the scent of terror pheremones… until they snapped their gazes at the Pepperjack house, snarling at the three boys spying on them.
"AAAHHHH!" Eli and Toby screamed as Jim quickly closed the blinds.
"Waka chaka!" Several goblins stampede towards the house, messing with the doorknob.
The boys rush into the living room, Jim remaining calmly tense while his friends shook in fear. "What do we do? What do we do?" Toby asked frantically.
"Just trust me!" Jim said as he pulled them behind him and pulled out his amulet. "Okay, I can do this." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
From the hallway, the same delivery man absentmindedly walked out of a door, bogging with his headphones on and totally unaware of the commotion.
The goblins pounded on the door harder.
Jim's amulet began to glow in response.
The delivery man walked up to the door, placing his hand on the knob.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Toby and Eli exclaimed.
The man opened the door.
A horde of goblins flooded into the house shouting, "Waka chaka! Waka chaka!"
Everyone screamed as the man toppled over.
In a bright glow, Jim (now armored) snapped his hand outward as a blue/green shockwave emitted throughout the house. Everyone froze in time; the goblins paused mid-attack on the terrified delivery man who just fell onto the floor. Toby averted his gaze to not watch the poor man get eaten alive while Eli's screaming was silenced.
Twisting his hand upward into a fist, Jim began to rewind time as he watched everything–
[Everything shone green and blue in Jim's perspective as everything went in reverse.]
.revo delppot nam eht sa demaercs enoyrevE
"!akahc akaW !akahc akaW" ,gnituohs esuoh eht otni dedoolf snilbog fo edroh A
.rood eht denepo nam ehT
.demialcxe ilE dna yboT "!on ,on ,on ,on ,oN"
.bonk eht no dnah sih gnicalp ,rood eht ot pu deklaw nam yreviled ehT
.esnopser ni wolg ot nageb teluma s'miJ
.redrah rood eht no dednuop snilbog ehT
.noitommoc eht fo erawanu yllatot dna no senohpdaeh sih htiw gniggob ,rood a fo tuo deklaw yldednimtnesba nam yreviled emas eht ,yawllah eht morF
.detartnecnoc dna ,seye sih desolc ,htaerb peed a koot eH ".siht od nac I ,yakO" .teluma sih tuo dellup dna mih dniheb meht dellup eh sa dias miJ "!em tsurt tsuJ"
.yllacitnarf deksa yboT "?od ew od tahW ?od ew od tahW" .raef ni koohs sdneirf sih elihw esnet ylmlac gniniamer miJ ,moor gnivil eht otni hsur syob ehT
.bonkrood eht htiw gnissem ,esuoh eht sdrawot edepmats snilbog lareveS "!akahc akaW"
[Jim could feel his head hurting from concentrating so hard, but kept his hand up and focused.]
.sdnilb eht desolc ylkciuq miJ sa demaercs yboT dna ilE "!HHHHAAA"
.meht no gniyps syob eerht eht ta gnilrans ,esuoh kcajreppeP eht ta sezag rieht deppans yeht litnu …senomerehp rorret fo tnecs eht gnicart ,ria eht deffins yehT .kcurt netae eht morf esir snilbog wef a gniees ,wodniw eht edistuo dekool ylsuoixna miJ
"!?tahW"
".su ot meht ward annog er'uoY" .noisnet eht evomer ot sredluohs sih debbur eh sa derutcel eH "!xaler ,seboT" .saw yboT deracs woh deciton miJ
.derepmihw yboT "!snilbog fo tol a s'taht ,yakO"
Jim relaxed his hand, feeling a little lightheaded from the usage.
"Okay, that's a lot of goblins!" Toby whimpered, until he glanced at where Jim was supposed to be and noticed he was gone. "What the–? Jim?" He glanced around, until he found him in the middle of the living room and chuckled, "Oh, there you are. I'll never get used to you doing that."
"Whoa…" Eli said, marveling over Jim's armor.
"Wait. Did something happen, Jim?"
"Yeah, well," Jim panted, rubbing his head. "Maybe you guys shouldn't freak out around goblins when they're in a frenzy. That guy almost became a buffet."
"Wait, what now?"
"We need to get out of here. Now! Is there a backdoor, Eli?"
Outside, the gobins were just about finished gobbling the truck, until once again a few rose from the horde, smelling pheromones of terror. The mustache goblin snarled in the direction of three boys sprinting down the street. The horde of goblins galloped after the boys, leaving behind a few remaining pieces of the truck. Luckily, the innocent but incompetent delivery man was still alive when he exited the house and noticed his vehicle missing.
Jim, Toby, and Eli ran for their lives from the goblin pack behind their tail.
"Can't you slice them or something, Jim?!" Toby exclaimed urgently.
"I don't have Daylight! You do!" Jim pointed out.
Panting heavily, Toby pulled his amulet out of his pocket. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Jim glanced back and watched his best friend armor up and summoned the sword. Surprisingly, he held it out to Jim. "Take it! Take it now!"
"But Tobes–!"
"Please! I trust you, Jimbo!"
Jim snatched the sword as it glowed in blue mist, responding to its original master. Jim sharply turned around and charged at the goblin pack with a battle cry. With a swing, he sliced several goblins and imploded them into green goop as more kept coming as many ran past him and continued chasing Toby and Eli.
"Keep going!" Jim yelled, dodging a goblin that leapt for his head and sliced another.
Toby and Eli continued to sprint up the street for safety, until Toby's heavy massed armor began to slow him down. "Armor… so heavy…" Toby panted as Eli looked back and saw him becoming an easier target. "Can't… keep…" Toby yelped as goblins latched onto his body and he screamed.
"Toby!" Eli cried as Toby dragged further away.
Out of nowhere, a large hand grabbed Toby's arm, throwing him out of the ground and away from the goblins as he clinged onto Aaarrrgghh's hairy back, punching the goblins away. Eli yelped as the lovable giant grabbed onto him and Toby pulled him up, dematerializing his armor.
"Master Jim! We must leave at once!" Blinky shouted down to Jim several feet away.
As Jim sliced his last goblin, he noticed several more stampeding down the street. "Oh, come on! How many of you guys are there?" Jim exasperated before he sheathed the Sword of Daylight on his back and tried to catch up with his friends. Thanks to months of practice, Jim is able to continue running without his armor weighing him down, not to mention this new armor felt lighter than his old one which Toby now donned.
Toby's Chubby Tracker beeped. "Oh, my gosh! I just got a free T-shirt!" He said to Eli. "This is so much cardio!" The mustache goblin suddenly caught Toby's outstretched arm as Eli quickly grabbed onto the Trollhunter's foot to keep him from scraping the pavement. "AHH! Get it off, get it off, get it off!" Toby pounded the goblin's body on the street until it finally released him, taking his Tracker with him. "No! My points!"
"Your life, Toby!" Eli shouted as he helped him back up Aaarrrgghh's back.
As Jim tried to catch up to his friends, his amulet glowed green, sensing Jim's distress.
"What the–?" Jim said as he glanced at his amulet, then in a sudden flash, a blue ionic-like board flashed in Jim's feet, making him trip with a start. "Whoa!" He quickly grasped onto the board as it sped down the street. "Whoa, whoa! Incoming!" Blinky looked back and shouted as he quickly dodged Jim barrel-rolling uncontrollably past him in his hoverboard, flying down the street while screaming until he was out of sight.
"Jim!" Toby exclaimed.
"I'm sure he'll handle himself, Tobias!" Blinky assured him. "But we need to find refuge! Trollmarket's too far!"
"Cut through these backyards, we'll get to my house." Aaarrrgghh galloped into the trees as Blinky followed suit with the goblins still tailing them.
Meanwhile, Jim continued clanging himself onto the hoverboard for dear life, speeding down his neighborhood upside down and screaming.
"Come on! Stop! Stop! Stop!" Jim pleaded, but headed straight towards another part of the woods. Once he was above the grass, he released the hoverboard and tumbled across the trees until he collided with a tree, grunting.
Jim was laying upside down with his legs hanging in front of his head.
"...Okay, that hurt." Jim groaned to himself.
As the original Trollhunter rolled off his back, the hoverboard slowed down and stopped near Jim. He shook the concussion from his head, grabbed the board that just sent him on an unexpected joyride, and examined it closely. It looked familiar to the hoverboard his Akiridion friend, Aja, possesses. Of course, he remembered that his amulet was rebuilt and improved by Krel and Stuart, so it was likely they've given his armor new upgrades, with some Akiridion tech and some magic.
"Gee, thanks, Krel. Though it would've been nice if you told me sooner this came with a hoverboard." Jim grumbled bitterly as his hoverboard displated, donned off his Magiktech Armor, and walked away to find his friends.
In Toby's bedroom, Toby sat on his bed and gobbled up his bowl full of Nougat Nummies and apples, stressed out from fleeing a whole pack of ravage goblins.
"An–Anyone else want a snack?" Toby offered. "I find stress eating calms me down." There was suddenly a knock on the bedroom door as Toby, Eli, and the trolls panicked, thinking it was Toby's nana. Luckily, it was just Jim walking in his normal clothes.
"Relax, it's just me." Jim said. "Sorry, got a little sidetracked."
Everyone relaxed, but Blinky sternly grabbed Jim and shook him.
"What in Gorgus name were you thinking, Master Jim?" Blinky demanded.
"What?" Jim asked.
The six-eyed troll gestured to Eli sitting next to Toby on the bedside. "Telling another human of our existence – and a conspiracy theorist who's been trying to track us for some time!"
"Stalker." Aaarrrgghh grumbled as he took Toby's bowl and ate the whole thing.
"I prefer someone who keeps an eye out on creepers and helps warn everyone." Eli said.
"Eli's a friend, and besides, we had no choice." Jim insisted and grimaced. "He… kinda spied on me and put two-and-two together."
Blinky's eyes widened. "What? By how means?"
"That's a funny story." Eli interjected. He pulled out his phone and showed him the video of Jim at school, vanishing without a trace. "I saw Jim do something in the auditorium after that bag incident."
Oh, duh! Jim thought as he facepalmed himself, realizing that Eli was there and must've seen him pull off that magic stunt.
"So, when I saw Jim disappear, I hacked into our school's security system, overrode its singal and firewalls, and bam! Complete control over their security cameras. Thus, the Jim vanishing video."
Everyone stared at him, blown away by his abilities.
"...I know you like computers, Eli," Jim began. "But where exactly did you learn how to do this?"
Eli scratched his head. "I… don't know. Just came naturally to me out of nowhere."
"When?"
"About a week ago when Steve shoved me into a locker for the fortieth time this year. Just this vague instinct, like I somehow… I learned this before."
Jim stared at him.
"Quite some natural talent, um…" Blinky said.
"Pepperjack. Eli Pepperjack."
"Look, the point is," Toby said. "I tried to delete the video, until Eli got it back up, so Jim and I had to go to his house and explain everything, and that he couldn't tell anyone–" He sharply turned his head to Eli's direction. "–Right?"
Eli nodded obediently, but then glanced at Aaarrrgghh, intimidated by his size.
"But maybe Eli's skills may come in handy." Jim admitted. "And out of curiosity, what were you guys doing spying on us near Eli's house?"
"One of our scouts detected a smooshed gobin body nearby," Blinky explained. "So we tracked you boys down to help us investigate, but we found you entering that house. We feared you'd become goblin chow."
"Until these goblins came and began chowing down on some guy's delivery truck, which Jim explained has happened before when…" Toby added, but trailed off when he saw Jim glaring at him. "And they also stole my Chubby Tracker. As long as they've got it, they're just gonna get stronger and faster."
There was a chattering sound from Toby's dollhouse, which caught Blinky's attention. He peeked inside and found Gnome Chompsky inside with his Sall-Go-Back doll.
"Great Gronka Morka!" Blinky exclaimed in shock. "What is the gnome doing in this dollhouse?!"
"Toby-Pie!" Nancy called from downstairs. "I don't recognize that voice. Who is that?"
"It's a friend, Nana! I do have more than one." Toby called back.
"No, you don't." Toby and Eli became dumbfounded.
Blinky sternly turned back to Jim. "So, you've failed to forewarn our Trollhunter of the danger of goblins and indirectly violate rule number two?"
Jim frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, excuse me, Blink. I may be able to control time now – which, by the way, I never considered I'd possess – but don't always expect me to have everything under control. And FYI, there's always a chance for all of us to succeed. I've seen it for myself, you know."
Eli raised his hand, like he was still in class.
Jim gave him a blank face. "There's no need to raise your hand, Eli."
"So, if you've seen Toby succeed before, you mean like you're from the future?" Eli implied.
"That's what I told you earlier," Toby pointed out.
"And whatever happened with finishing the fight?" Blinky lectured.
"ONLY if absolutely necessary and ONLY as a line of duty." Jim interjected, looking a little hurt. "You may not understand it now, but eventually you will. Toby and I may be Trollhunters, but we're still human. We're just… learning the rules in our own way. You told me that."
Blinky stared at him mournfully, as if he wished he could remember, but shook his head. "I am sorry, Master Jim. I'm not the exact same Blinky you've seemingly bonded with, but I am still Blinky." He placed his hands on Jim's shoulders. "That doesn't mean we can't develop ourselves again, like you will. You've begun this new timestream with knowledge of what's to come, but if you weren't expecting time magic or still possessing your amulet, there must be a reason other than a threat so dire you had to begin this timeline anew with your memories intact."
Jim stared at his mentor and down casted, accepting Blinky's point and remembering his bizarre vision back at the museum and made him time-jump by accident.
"And you're right, you are human, as is Tobias," Blinky gestured to Toby, who smiled warmly on behalf of Jim. "It is only fair we now have two first human Trollhunters to learn from, one original and one current. And…" Blink gazed at Eli. "Perhaps some moral support. For now, all you can do is guide us, but let us follow our own paths."
Jim grinned at Blinky.
"Now then," Blinky said. "Aaarrrgghh and I must seek out the goblin den and eradicate them before they seek their revenge on you three. You just… catch this stalker up on the dangers he'll be facing, and focus on your studies. It seems life has thrown enough at you for one day." Blinky suddenly frowned, unimpressed at Jim. "But a gnome in a dollhouse?"
Jim smiled sheepishly.
The next day during gym class, Jim and Toby competed in dodgeball against Steve Palchuk's team. While Jim dodged, rolled, and caught balls and threw them back, Eli just kept asking questions.
"So, are the armors made of metal or actual daylight?" Eli asked enthusiastically.
"Daylight for Tobes," Jim answered without missing a beat. "Magic and tech for me."
"Magic and tech?" A dodgeball barely missed Eli's head. "Like Magiktech Armor?"
Jim leaned his head, avoiding a headshot. "Something like that."
"Magiktech and time magic? Lucky."
Unaware of Eli, a dodgeball hurled straight towards his face, until Toby launched himself and caught the ball before it could hit the nerd. "Come on, Eli, get your head in the game." Toby grunted as he stood back up and threw the ball.
Steve threw two balls at Jim, who easily jumped, slid, twisted, and flipped easily from two years of experience, making the coach raise his eyebrow in shock. Steve groaned in frustration and threw more in a fit of rage.
"You must've had a lot of training to pull stunts like that," Eli observed.
"Technically, I have, too," Toby said, holding a ball. "I just can't recall them." A couple of balls suddenly collided with his stomach and jaw. "Hunter down!" The last one hit his gronk-nuks, making him whimper high-pitched and fall down to the floor. "My gronk-nuks!"
Jim sighed at his best friend in pity and glanced at the bracelet on his arm, deciding not to mess with his power for a very minor event, like last time with Mary and her Spanish exam.
"In your face! You're out, Domzalski!" Steve celebrated in triumph before he caught a flying ball and chucked at Jim.
"Also, can you actually–" Eli began to ask Jim while holding two balls, just as Jim dodged the ball and it smacked Eli instead, sending him to the floor and knocking his glasses off his face.
Jim quickly rolled to Eli's balls to grab them, flipped himself forward, and tossed them at Steve's lackeys. Steve frowned as he picked another ball while Jim threw one up the room, distracting the school bully, and chucked another straight at Steve, right into his gronk-nuks. Steve let out his own high-pitched squeal and his eye twitched.
Coach Lawrence blew his whistle. "Palchuk, you're out!" He announced.
"I'll get you for this, Lake…" Steve stammered highly before he collapsed onto the floor in defeat.
Jim helped Toby and Eli to their feet before they cheered and high-fived Jim for their victory.
Jim noticed Claire entering the gym with her books and she waved at him in greeting, which he returned with a warm smile.
In the boy's locker room after gym class…
"If Jim can control time, why didn't he just help us avoid those balls?" Eli asked Toby as they changed into their regular clothes. Jim listened in on their conversation on the other side.
"His time magic is dangerous," Toby explained. "At least, that's what Blinky and Aaarrrgghh said. He never even had magic before doing the whole reset thing."
"He must've used something to do that."
"I try not to think about it too much. Like Blinky said, all he can do is guide us, not cheat for us. You know all of those time-travel movies, like Future Warrior III? You mess with time, time tends to mess you back. Should depend on how many fates Jim changes from here on out."
"I should ask him what happens to me. Or even Steve."
"Trust me, I'm just as tempted to ask him what happened to me in the future–"
Jim froze while tying his shoes, getting a flashback of Toby sacrificing himself to help him stop Bellroc. He felt another anxiety attack coming and quickly took very deep breaths to calm himself before it happened.
"–But I don't wanna worry about that. The less we know, the better."
Jim pulled out the Time Map and saw an image of him, Toby, and Eli on their bikes near the museum.
On cue, there was a vibrating sound from Toby's phone as he pulled it out and saw his screen light up. "Whoa, I earned a wind-breaker!"
Eli looked at the screen. "Toby, you know what this means?"
"Yeah. If it's not too warm and not too cold, I have the perfect cover-up!"
"Wait, what? No, I mean remember what you said that a goblin took your Chubby Tracker. It must still have it on him. I can track where their den is!"
This was it: time to lead his friends to the Killahead Bridge and deal with Bular… again.
Jim came around the corner. "So what are we waiting for?"
That night, the three boys rode their bikes down the street, following the Chubby Tracker's location on Toby's phone.
"Should we really be out this late past curfew?" Eli asked concerningly.
"My mom knows about me and Toby's nana is… Nana." Jim explained. "Unless you wanna bail now."
"I don't. My mom just says sleeping is healthy."
"Just think of this like a spy movie." Toby said optimistically.
The three stopped in front of the museum… and Eli spotted something. "Look!"
They found goblins climbing into the small entryway in the circular roof of the building.
"The museum. Should've known." Toby said, until he noticed Jim snickering. "...You knew the den was here all along, didn't you? Anything else we should know?"
Jim shrugged innocently.
Toby rolled his eyes amusingly. "Alright, let's go warn the others."
Eli gasped and tackled the two into a bush. "Get down!"
The boys peeked over the leaves, seeing Ms. Nomura walking into the museum. Toby gasped, "The museum lady! She has no idea it's infested."
Oh, she knows… Jim thought to himself.
"At any moment they could strike, or worse… lay eggs in her ears."
Jim chuckled again. "Goblins don't do that, Tobes."
Toby uncovered his ears. "Well, either way, we need to get her out of there now!" He and Eli were about to bolt to the doors, until Jim stopped them.
"Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses! What do you think happens when teenagers get busted inside a museum in the middle of the night?"
"Get arrested for breaking and entering and hope the curator doesn't press charges?" Eli said with a hand raised.
"Exactly. And how do we prevent that from happening, Eli?" Eli studied Jim's face as he asked that question… and a lightbulb shined in his head.
"Oh! Security feeds!" Eli pulled his laptop from his backpack, pulled it open, and began typing, pulling up the museum's servers. In just a few minutes, Eli muttered, "Just a little more… Got it! Camera's frozen."
And that means Jim and the others wouldn't be caught sneaking into the museum and get arrested like last time.
"Eli, you rock!" Toby said proudly before they ran out of their hiding spot and to the front doors. Toby pulled on the doors, but they were locked tight. "Come on! Almost…"
Jim sighed and removed the bracelet from his hand. "Stand back." Jim said before he held out his hand and concentrated… and the doors unlocked on their own.
"Sweet," Eli said as he opened the doors and the three walked in.
Jim, Toby, and Eli snuck through the darkened hallways of the museum in search of the curator and the goblins… and for Jim, help them discover the truth. Eli whimpered, feeling like he was in a horror film as they turned down a large hallway. Seeing Ms. Nomura in a light-up room, Jim and the others hid behind a couple of pedestals, listening to her favorite classical music.
"Okay, so what do we say?" Eli muttered to himself and Toby while Jim hid across from them.
As Eli began to list off cover names, Toby looked over to Jim, who sternly placed a finger to his lips, glanced his eyeballs and nodded his head towards Ms. Nomura's location. Toby was confused at first, until he peeked through his hiding spot and saw the curator holding a dark circular object with green spiky crystals. She hums a tune as she disappears from view, but her shadow shows everything. Toby watched the shadow deform into another creature as Nomura revealed her true form, making the Trollhunter let out a soft wail in shock.
Panicked, Toby pressed his back against the stone stand, staring at Jim, who made a I know kind of face.
"The face…" Toby stammered.
"What's wrong?" Eli wondered, oblivious to Toby's fear.
"The face…"
"Tobes, relax!" Jim whispered urgently. "You're gonna wake the goblins!"
"Her fa– The face… it's so ugly!"
"What?" Eli asked in confusion, until he noticed a goblin crawling in the hallway, smelling the fresh scent of fear.
Toby's eyes widened and turned to Jim's hiding spot… only to find he wasn't there. "Jim…?" He whimpered before he and Eli crawled to Jim's hiding spot to hide from the goblin.
"Toby, calm down!"
"She's a monster, Eli!" Toby said urgently. "That's why Jim led us here. The curator is like… some sort of troll, but one of us, like a weird half-breed thing."
"Like a shapeshifter?"
Toby nodded.
"I'll explain later." Toby and Eli found Jim hiding in their old spot with his amulet in hand. He closed his eyes and a blue ball flew straight into Toby's amulet, likely giving him the sword back. "Right now, just trust me." He suddenly disappeared without a trace.
"Jim, wai–" Eli began, until Toby covered his mouth.
The goblin sniffed around the floor, cutting closer and closer to Toby and Eli's hiding spot. The little fellow took a few deep breaths before he ran into the opposite direction.
Toby sighed in relief and tried to reach for his phone. "Wait… where's my phone?" He asked quietly.
On the balcony of the museum, Jim (in his armor) put Toby's phone on silent. Stopping time, he leapt over the railing, landing on the floor without a scratch, hopped over the goblin, and placed the phone onto his best friend's hand. As he ran off, the time resumed and Toby suddenly found his device in his hand, and he pouted.
"I'm never gonna get used to that, Jim," Toby mumbled, as Eli's eyes widened.
The conspiracy theorist stammered fearfully as he shakily pointed his finger behind Toby. He heard cackling as he looked over his shoulder, finding Nomura looming over him.
"I knew I detected the stink of teenage flesh," Nomura rasped, making the two boys scream at her appearance. They jumped to their feet and rushed into the 'unopen exhibit'.
"Yes!" Jim said quietly from the balcony, hoping they'll notice the bridge.
Nomura smoothly walked in. "But a human Trollhunter, that I've never tasted."
Toby panted before he quickly pulled out his amulet. "Alright, lady. You wanna taste of Daylight?" He summoned his armor and brought out the sword as he swung at the changeling, but she caught the blade between her palms and let out a cackle. "What exactly are you?"
"I'm what kills you." Nomura flicked her wrists as she threw Toby to the floor.
Jim grimaced. "Oooohhh…"
Eli gasped and shouted as he launched himself onto Nomura's back. With a snarl, she easily throws him off and approaches Toby. The current Trollhunter let out a battle cry as he swung the sword in each direction clumsily while Nomura avoided each blow. The changeling sliced her hand at Toby's cheek as he twisted from the force and placed his hand over his burning cheek. Toby tried to at least get a good hit at Nomura, but she jumped and flipped as she toyed with him. Not to mention the sword felt very wrong for Toby.
"Come on, Tobes…" Jim pleaded.
Recovering from the toss, Eli got up to his feet and tried to get to Toby, but was blocked off by the mustache goblin with a Chubby Tracker. "Uh… I don't suppose you wanna talk this over." He said nervously, until the vermin tackled him as he shouted and tumbled across the floor.
Jim just watched the whole thing in worry; despite the training he put Toby through, he couldn't get a feel of the sword. With ease, Nomura swept Toby off his feet, but he got back up and slashed his sword one more time. Nomura, paughed, thinking the chubby kid missed her again, until she felt a burn on her finger and saw that he managed to scratch her.
"Ah! You'll die for that!" Nomura threatened as she drew out her scimitars.
Jim's eyes widened. "Oh, boy."
Nomura slashed her weapons against Toby's, and having the upper hand, she shoved the boy across the room. He slammed against the wall as his armor disappeared, but Daylight clattered on the floor. Jim glanced anxiously between Nomura, Toby, and the sword, wondering if he should intervene. As the changeling advanced to Toby, Eli grabbed her hair with the goblin on his head. Like a whip, she swung the nerd into a pillar as he grunted from the impact.
Jim narrowed his eyes. The Sword of Daylight vanished into a misty blue ball.
Toby shook his head and noticed Nomura looming over him. Before she could strike him down, the Sword of Daylight blocked her attack.
Nomura's eyes widened in surprise.
Another human boy wearing armor similar to the Trollhunter's, only with key differences, parred her scimitar with the sword. Nomura stared at the boy with wide eyes as he got into a ready position and pointed the tip of his sword toward the changeling, frowning determinedly.
Toby glanced and found Eli struggling with the goblin… and noticed the Chubby Tracker still on him. "You…" Toby growled as he charged at the goblin, tackling it. "Give it! These points are mine!"
Jim let out a battle cry as he charged at Nomura, blocking and counteracting her strikes. The changeling was clearly taken aback by how this boy was an experienced swordfighter compared to the chubbier one. As Nomura swung her scimitars, Jim dodged as he backed away, until he got to the walls and ran on it as he flipped over. He swung his sword as she blocked and threw one of them. Jim ducked as the scimitar sliced a banner to the floor. Their blades collided as they pressed against each other, until Jim let her fall and he rolled away to get some distance.
Toby managed to grab hold on his Chubby Tracker, while Eli used a Viking helmet to bat the little vermin off of Toby and behind Nomura. "Hey, look at that." Toby said proudly as he strapped the watch back onto his wrist.
"You wield Daylight?" Nomura asked, flabbergasted. "Another human Trollhunter?!"
Jim remained silent, frowning at her pityingly that they were still enemies at this point. He noticed the goblin behind her and the banner she was standing on, exactly like before.
Fear heightens your senses, fear keeps you alive, arrogance gets you killed, Blinky's voice rang into his head again.
"Sorry about this, Nomura," Jim muttered before he suddenly disappeared, surprising Nomura even more. Suddenly, the banner underneath her was tugged, tripping her as she flipped and landed on top of the goblin, squashing it into goop.
"Ugh!" Eli groaned in disgust as Toby grimaced.
Jim held the edge of the banner, showing that he was the one who tripped Nomura… and his nose began to bleed and felt really woozy as he fell onto his knees.
Nomura sat up with her purple body covered in green goop from the puddle. The marker rolled from the crushed goblin's hand into another. Its eyes widened in realization and glared at the changeling.
"No, no!" Nomura scurried to her feet, realizing what was coming.
"Waka chaka…" The goblin growled as he drew a mustache across his face. "Waka chaka!" The rest of his brethren snarled along with him as they gathered around Nomura for 'killing' one of theirs.
"No, it wasn't me! No, NO!" Nomura screamed as the goblins raided her in vengeance.
"Come on, Toby!" Eli shouted as the current Trollhunter snapped a picture of the 'exhibit' and dragged him along.
Jim shook his head and wiped the blood off his face as he donned his armor off and followed his friends. He felt a sharp pain in his guts, but shook it off as he ran out of the museum. The boys got on their bikes and rode down the street. The pain grew stronger as the street lights flickered.
"What was that?!" Eli exclaimed, oblivious to what was going on.
"Guys…" Jim said.
"I don't know, but that bridge, did you see it?" Toby said.
"Guys."
"What about the bridge, there's a shapeshifting creeper among us! I was right!" Eli said as they stopped in the middle of the street.
Jim dropped his bike and grasped his head. The lights flickered again as the boys looked up… then noticed Jim acting weird.
The world isn't ours anymore! An ancient-sounding male voice rang in Jim's head.
I'll never yield! A female voice said.
Nari, Trollhunter… now you're mine! A familiar dark voice said…
The Green Knight.
"NOOOOOO!"
Jim's scream began to mess with reality.
Toby quickly pulled out the bracelet Vendel had lent them and quickly attached it back to Jim's hand, suppressing the raw time magics inside his best friend… and he passed out.
"JIM!"
"What was that?" Eli asked, glancing around after witnessing that phenomenon.
Toby glanced down at his best friend, passed out in his arms. He needed to get him to a hospital or maybe... Trollmarket.
A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait. I promise, I'm devoted to finish this series to keep the fandom from dying. Just harder than it looks, ya know? I usually don't know if these are good, but positive feedback makes me feel good. And I'm sorry for the middle align: I usually prefer to read fics like this, but I'll change them eventually if you all want.
I know the section that spelled backwards is really jarring, but I assure you, that'll be one of the ONLY times it'll happen. And yes, Eli Pepperjack is Toby's new moral support... and there will be more new to come, but not until later, like after the Bular arc.
It may be a little weird that Jim hung out in the sidelines while Toby was fighting Nomura, but the significance is that Jim is now realizing how BAD Toby is with a sword; it may've shrunken to his preferred weight per say, but he's just not cut out to wield it. Kind of like symbolizing that Jim was basically trying to make Toby like him without meaning to.
Anyway, I finish completing this, I have concept plans to make a prequel "movie" (which takes place LONG before Camelot and introduces some more familiar Arthurian characters, but different, and an OC) and basically an epic-er Rise of the Titans (and don't worry, I'm NOT using that title). The titles will be revealed once I'm finished completing the Trollhunters segment of Arcadian Legends.
Next chapter, Toby and Eli decide to unmask changelings lurking in Arcadia and prove to the trolls that Jim is telling the truth. Meanwhile, Jim decides to make Toby a weapon so can truly be his own Trollhunter and continues to re-amend his bond with Claire.