merendinoemiliano-Thank you so much!
XxShadowluvxX-Unfortunately, Rise of the Titans didn't turn out the way I thought it would…but let me know what you thought of it!
I'M A BANANA-Oh my gosh, thank you so much! It really makes me so happy you love this fic so much. It's people like you that keep it going! I hope you like what comes next :)
T3ddyBearL0ve-Haha, thank you! And you can bet that Jim is going to do some violent acts of wrath to those nasty changelings hehe.
Nomura's ears twitched, and her eyes widened. "He's coming." She shot to her feet, her hooves making loud clacking sounds on the floor.
Blinky groaned. "Apologies, Ms. Nomura, but you've tried this several days already without yielding any results. In fact, I would say you're just pushing the boy away."
"I have to try," she growled. She turned to Claire, who was standing in the corner, bored out of her mind. "How do I look? Welcoming? Friendly?"
She forced a smile, her fangs glinting in the bright light.
Claire grimaced. "To be honest…it just looks like you're in pain and you have to be happy about it."
Nomura scowled.
"Food for the prisoners!" a squeaky voice announced.
Nomura whirled around to face Vardan, who was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with her. He placed the trays into the food slot and hurriedly started to leave.
"Vardan, wait!" Nomura said. "We need to talk!"
He flinched but didn't slow down. "T-there's nothing to talk about! Just leave me alone!"
"W-wait!" Nomura shouted, an edge of desperation in her voice. "There are things you don't know, things you should know about Gunmar! About everything going on here!"
"Stop it!" Vardan yelled, refusing to look back. "I'm not listening to you anymore! A-after today, I'm going to get someone else to give you your food. Yeah, h-how do you feel about tha-"
"Why are you still here?" Claire demanded, her voice stopping Vardan in his tracks.
He slowly pivoted to face her, shock on his face. Honestly, she was surprised too. She rarely talked to him; she usually left that to Nomura, who at least vaguely knew him. But after watching her fail over and over trying to get him to their side, maybe it was time Claire took matters into her own hands.
"W-what?" Vardan spluttered.
"You heard me," Claire said, walking to the glass. "From what I've seen and heard, you're treated like trash here. Why stay with the Janus Order if they're so cruel to you?"
He swallowed. "I…" he cleared his throat and straightened. "Because the Janus Order has an important mission from the Pale Lady to bring the Eternal Night, and I am part of that mission-"
"Come on, Vardan," Claire snapped. "We both know you don't believe that."
He angrily approached the glass and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You don't tell me what I believe!"
"I'm not; I'm just stating a fact," she said coolly, leaning against the glass. "It's pretty damn obvious you don't believe in the Janus Order's 'mission.'"
"Yes, I do!"
"Don't lie to yourself."
"I'm not!"
"Yes, you are. Why can't you just tell me the real reason-"
"Because I'm nothing without the Order!" Vardan screamed. Claire and the others stared at him, shocked into silence.
He took a deep breath and shakily ran his fingers through his mousy brown hair. "I'm…not like normal changelings. The Order took one look at me when I was born and dubbed me 'too weak' for the human world. My familiar was left to live his life normally, and I…I've been living here with the Order my whole life.
"Great, isn't it? A changeling's purpose is to spy on the world above, and I can't even do that. Playing errand boy isn't a great life, but it's better than no life at all. If I were to ever-ever leave the Order, I don't know what I'd do with myself." He chuckled bitterly. "I mean, it's not like I have a human life to go to either."
Claire felt a surge of pity. No one deserved to think of themselves like that.
It was Nomura who spoke first. "Vardan…I had no idea," she said, sounding more gentle than Claire had ever heard her. "You were always on the base, but I never thought…"
"Why would you? I'm just the changeling who brings the coffee, right?"
Nomura looked away in shame.
"You know…" Claire said slowly, "there could be a life for you. Outside of the Order, I mean."
Vardan gazed at her, raising an eyebrow. "What, a life with you? If I remember right, trolls aren't exactly the biggest fans of us 'impures.'"
She bit her lip. "I know, but…at least you'd be free to do what you want. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life living for others, or for yourself?"
Vardan grew quite as he contemplated her words. Finally, he looked up at her, his expression unreadable. "I don't know."
He turned his back on them and walked out of sight.
Nomura whistled in awe. "Wow, Claire. Where did that come from? I should've let you talk to him in the first place."
"Thanks, I guess?"
Blinky rubbed his chin in thought. "The query is, will he really heed your words?"
Claire gazed at where Vardan had stood mere seconds ago. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
.
.
.
Jim stumbled out of the gyre with a groan. Ugh…he had forgotten how much he hated gyres. This one was even worse than the one in Trollmarket; it rattled constantly, and he thought for sure it was going to fall apart once or twice.
He scanned the tunnel for anything that stuck out. His gaze landed on rungs leading up to a roughly carved hole above.
Jim quickly climbed the rungs, his heart pounding in his chest. Okay, he had to brace himself for whatever enemies were up there. He had no idea where the hole opened up to-for all he knew, it could be smack dab in a lunch hall. He had to be ready for anything.
He sprung out of the hole, Eclipse flaring to life in his hands. Instead of his sword connecting with a changeling, it struck against a…filing cabinet?
Jim blinked. What?
Eclipse's red flames flickered in the darkness, lighting up his surroundings. He saw a few more filing cabinets, a mop, and cleaning supplies. This wasn't a meeting hall or anything sinister. It was a stupid storage closet.
Jim smacked his palm against his forehead. Of course. Why would the berserker trolls build a secret entrance in a public space? A rarely used closet was perfect. He was just anxious, expecting the worst. He needed to calm himself down.
He called off Eclipse. He reached for the door handle and cracked the door open ever so slightly.
Light, bright and intense, filtered in and he hissed, covering his eyes. He waited for his eyes to adjust, his whole body trembling. It…it had been a while since he had been in light like this. How long had it been since he had seen the sun and bathed in its light? Too long, and it was just the beginning-
He shook his head. Focus, Jim! he chided. You can have a mental breakdown later!
He peeked out the door. It looked pretty much the same as the Janus Order headquarters back home-stark white hallways with curved arches.
Footsteps alerted him to another presence. He swiveled his head in their direction and grinned. He cocked his head. Huh.
It was a changeling, and a young one at that. Jim would place him to only a couple years older than him-though it was always hard to tell with trolls. He could be a few hundred years old for all he knew. But the point was, he currently wasn't in troll form, and he was scrawny. He had something clutched in one hand, and he kept looking around nervously. Which meant he was off guard.
Jim grinned. Oh, yeah. This could work.
The changeling approached his door. Jim's hands shot out and dragged him into the closet faster than he could blink. He slammed the changeling against the wall and slapped his hand over his mouth.
He leaned in close and hissed, "You try to call for help, do anything to draw attention to us…" he summoned a glaive and held it poised over the changeling's eye. "And you're dead. Got it?"
The changeling shook his head frantically, staring at the glaive with wide, frightened eyes.
"Good." Jim slowly lowered his hand from his mouth.
The changeling gasped for air. Once he got his break back, he shakily whispered, "You…you're the Trollhunter…"
"Great observation. Now, you're going to show me where my friends are, and you're going to help me break them out."
"I-I was just about to do that myself!" the changeling exclaimed.
Jim rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're going to have to come up with a better lie than that-"
"But it's true!" the changeling thrust his hand forward. In his open palm lay a plastic key card. "See?"
Jim raised an eyebrow. "Really? You could just be a guard for all I know."
The changeling huffed. "Fine, don't believe me! I'll have your friends tell you themselves." He scanned Jim over with a disapproving look. "Can you take off the armor? You'd look way less obvious with it off."
"Uh…sure?" Jim was utterly confused, but he did as the changeling said.
"And here." The changeling brought out a black mask with eyeholes. "Put this on."
He numbly took the mask and put it on.
The changeling studied him for a second before nodding in approval. "It would be better if you were wearing different clothes, but it'll do. Now come on!"
He swung the door open and gestured for Jim to follow. Feeling very exposed without his armor, Jim stepped into the hallway. The changeling quickly set off in one direction, Jim stumbling after him.
"Do you guys really wear these stupid masks?" Jim whispered.
"I don't make the rules!" the changeling shot back.
They passed through a door and entered a hallway full of changelings. Jim froze in his tracks. Oh God, there were so many of them. Some were in troll form, but most were human. And yes, a few here and there were wearing the same mask he had on his own face. They paid him no mind, too absorbed in their own business, but that could all change in a second. If anyone took a really good look at him, they would surely recognize him and he would be caught-
The changeling grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the hallway. He shut the door behind them and whispered furiously, "What was that? You're lucky someone didn't yell at you for staring!"
"I'm sorry, okay? I panicked! What would you have done-"
A voice cut through their arguing, a voice that Jim felt like he hadn't heard in a lifetime. "J-Jim? Is that really you?"
Claire.
A/N: HAHA, I told you I wasn't going to be the kind of author that announces a hiatus and never returns! It took a few months, but Journey to the Heartstone is back!
Sorry Jlaire fans, but it looks like you're going to have to wait a littleee bit longer for the Jlaire reunion! But at least Vardan's a good boy now! All it took was a good talk from Claire lol.
So, little side note. Even though my Wizards rewrite is done, I am planning on rewriting Rise of the Titans as well. (You all know why). The point is, I'll keep updating this (no more hiatus) but I am going to be writing that other fic at the same time, so the updates will probably come every few weeks. Thank you guys for sticking with this fic, and see you in the next update :)