merendinoemiliano-Thank you!
T3ddyBearL0ve-Haha, thank you! The tests went surprisingly well, and as for the rott rewrite…let's just say I have no idea what to do after a certain point lol. Oh yes, berserkers galore! And Carbak gets his time to shine of course. Yep, Blinky's no master archer, but he can hold his own, methinks. Haha, that would be funny to have Toby interrupt! Unfortunately Jim's lost his phone a while back. But you'll get some Toby moments soon(ish)!
The berserker trolls unleashed a chorus of roars before charging the changelings. Dozens of them, wielding their weapons with deadly precision. They fought unlike any troll Jim had ever seen-with grace. Most forms of trollish fighting were very rough and inelegant, opting for fists more than swords. But the berserkers, with their more lithe bodies…they almost battled like changelings.
They just might stand a chance.
Jim gasped as the changeling behind him poofed into dust. The garrote fell from his body and he bent over, wheezing. He raised his gaze to see his savior and laughed.
"I didn't think you'd come," he said with a grin, his voice raspy.
"Yeah, well," Carbak chuckled, slamming his mace down on the head of a changeling, "I thought about what you said. Us berserkers…we can't live in isolation anymore. It's not good for us. And if I can pulverize some changelings while I'm at it, all the better."
He held out his hand and winked. "Come on, Trollhunter. Let me see what you can do."
Jim grinned and allowed Carbak to pull himself to his feet. "Just you wait."
He summoned Daylight in a blaze of light, his willpower reinvigorated. Carbak grabbed a changeling and threw her into the deadly end of Jim's blade. Jim thrust his sword into a changeling's stomach before slicing off the head of another. He sidestepped a punch and delivered his own uppercut before stabbing the changeling. He risked a glance at Carbak, curious to see how his new friend fought.
Carbak was definitely more of a heavy hitter than the other berserkers. He punched with the force of an elephant, despite being smaller in size than someone like Argh. He swung the heavy mace around with ease, smashing changelings left and right. Even though he wasn't as small as Jim, he was surprisingly agile. He could dodge blows with a strange kind of grace.
Jim's eyes widened as a changeling snuck up on Carbak, dagger in hand. He quickly summoned his glaives and hurled them at him. The glaives struck his heart and he exploded.
Carbak finished off his changeling before turning to Jim. "Not bad. Thanks, kid."
"No problem," Jim said as he caught his glaives. "How does it feel? I mean, to be back in battle after all these years?"
Carbak threw back his head and let out a booming laugh. "This is the best I've felt in years! There's nothing else like mowing down your enemies. I've missed it."
Jim's enthusiasm faltered. If it had been that long since the berserkers had been in a fight, how long would they last before they lost control? Before he lost control?
He kicked back a changeling as he struggled for the right words to say. "Carbak…how are you really feeling, though? You know, with the…bloodlust, and everything." Wow, real subtle, Jim.
Carbak let out a bark, startling Jim. "Kid, this is mere child's play compared to the battles of old. Trust me, if this doesn't last too long, we'll be fine. But in order to do that…"
He pointed his mace up to the balcony. Jim followed his line of sight and growled. Helgar was leaning on the railing, completely at ease despite the raging battle below her.
"We need to take her out," Carbak finished.
"With pleasure," Jim said with a hiss.
He made to leave, but stopped, a horrifying revelation settling in. "Carbak, I know you and the others are under control, but what if…what if I lose control? What if, after I'm done with her, I don't stop? What if I hurt my friends?" his voice cracked.
Carbak knocked back several changelings before turning to Jim. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Jim, you're the one I'm least worried about. You've got a good heart. No amount of fighting is going to change that, half-berserker or not. If you do lose control…you'll snap out of it before hurting anyone else. I know you will."
Jim could scarcely believe what he was hearing. "Y-you really think that?"
"'Course I do. Now kick that changeling's ass, Trollhunter." He clapped him on the back before charging back into battle with a yell.
Jim stared after Carbak disbelievingly before shaking his head with a chuckle. He was right. There was no more gravesand to worry about. He had trained with Nomura to learn to accept who he was, berserker troll or not.
He was going to finish this fight once and for all.
Jim launched himself at Helgar with a snarl. She had just enough time to look surprised before Jim crashed into her. He pinned her down with one arm and held his glaives in another. He plunged them down into her head, but she moved too fast. He missed and his glaives got embedded in the floor. She sneered and kicked him in the chest with her hooves.
Jim was sent flying back, but he quickly recovered. He held out his hand. His glaives disappeared and reappeared in his hands before morphing into Daylight. He got into a defensive position, a growl building in the back of his throat.
Helgar had gotten to her own feet as well. She unsheathed a pair of wickedly sharp sais and smirked. "Sure you want to risk losing your temper to battle me, Trollhunter?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Jim retorted. "Now shut up and fight!"
He sprinted towards Helgar and swiped Daylight across her chest. She blocked the sword milliseconds before it hit her. She glared at Jim before pushing him back. She twirled her sais and launched into the offensive. She brought both sais down on Jim's head, but he parried them away. She changed tactics and targeted her sais at different parts of his body. It was a good thing he had combated with Strickler so many times-he doubt he would've kept up with the two-weapon fighting style otherwise.
Their blades became a blur as they kept deflecting and striking. Jim fended off one sai only to block one aiming for his side. Before she could attack again, he slashed his sword at her arm. She diverted Daylight away and made to stab him in the stomach. His eyes widened and he leapt back with a hiss.
That had been close. Way too close. Even with his heightened agility, he was barely keeping up with her. He couldn't fight fire with fire. He had to become something more.
He knew what he had to do.
Wordlessly, Jim dropped his sword. It disappeared in a whoosh of blue flames. He crouched low to the ground, waiting for Helgar to make the first move.
She stared at him in disbelief before letting out a high-pitched laugh. "Are you mad? You're going to fight with your bare hands?" She flashed him a fanged smile. "Fine by me."
She dashed towards him, her sais a silver blur. Jim took a deep breath before leaping over her. Before she could process what he had just done, he raked his claws across her back. Bright blue blood seeped from the scratches.
Helgar screeched in pain and whirled around, eyes blazing with fury. She lunged at him, sais flashing.
But Jim was ready for her. Allowing his troll instincts to take over, he dodged the sais and grabbed her wrist. Without hesitation, he threw her into the wall. She slammed into the hard concrete and slumped to the ground. She shook her head and opened her eyes just in time to see his fist aiming for her face. Helgar cried out and darted to her feet. Jim's fist missed her by inches and pounded into the wall, leaving a small crater. A glance down at the floor revealed Helgar had forgotten her sais in her haste to get away.
Jim bared his fangs in a ferocious grin. She was as good as dead now.
He turned and started stalking her, allowing a threatening growl to escape from his throat. For the first time, he could smell fear emanating from her. And didn't it smell amazing.
"Come on, Helgar," he purred. "Don't you still want to fight?"
Helgar took one look at his face and bolted in the other direction.
Jim grinned. "Oh, I don't think so."
In a flash, he was on top of her. She shrieked in surprise and retaliated by scratching him across the face. He roared in pain and fell back. Helgar took her chance and started to run-
Jim's hand shot out and wrapped around Helgar's ankle. She stared down at him in horror. He gave her a cheeky smile, ignoring how it stung his face to do so. "I didn't say you could leave."
With a flick of his wrist, he flung her into the air. Jim got to his feet as she soared up, up, until she smacked into the ceiling. As she plummeted to the ground, he jumped up and kicked her right in the stomach. She collided with the opposite wall, cracking the concrete. She slumped to the ground and didn't get up.
He strode towards her limp form. He opened his hand and Daylight appeared in a flicker of blue flames. Yes, his instincts screamed. Yes, yes, YES-
Helgar's eyes fluttered open. She gasped at the blade hovering inches before her face and flicked her gaze up to meet Jim's.
"W-wait," she pleaded, "if you kill me now, you might never stop! Are you sure you really want to do this-"
He didn't let her finish as he thrust his sword through her heart. She gasped as blood poured from her chest in rivers.
Jim leaned in close. "Yes," he hissed, "I'm sure."
To his utter surprise, Helgar smiled. "A poor choice."
Her fumbling hands pulled out a small remote with a large red button on it. Jim instantly knew what it was meant to do. "Don't-"
Helgar pressed the button with a cold laugh. "See you on the other side."
Then the building exploded.
A/N: Please, no more fight scenes. Two chapters in a row of this stuff is way too intense for my brain. And then it had to be extra special because it's freaking EUNICE like she deserves a good fight you know ahhhhhhh
Also, I've been writing this fic for over a year? It feels like forever and not long at all. It's blowing my mind that some of you guys have stuck with this since the beginning. Many thanks for the support :)
And that concludes the Janus Order arc! Well, almost. Jim and the others now have to escape from the exploding complex lol. But otherwise, there won't really be any more fighting or other external conflict. Sure, Jim still has plentiful issues to work out, but the fic is going to be winding down from here. The main conflict is over, now we just focus on the characters. Probably less than ten chapters left, which is crazy to think about.
And boy oh boy, is Jim in for one heck of a phone call with Barbara.