Jim frowned at the large wolf that had sprawled out in his living room. Marcy and Sarah were sitting next to him, talking quietly to eachother. Archie was sitting on the counter next to Jim, watching the girls with worry.

"So," Jim said, crossing his arms as he leaned on the counter. "What's the story?"

Archie gave him a sideways glance. "With Marcy and Sarah? No clue. I've never met them."

"I meant Carter."

"Ah." Archie looked away, sighing. "That's a story Douxie should tell you."

Jim frowned. "Archie, I'm just trying to understand what's going on. Who is he? Why is he here?"

"Jealous much?" Archie teased.

Jim glared at him. "Arch."

"Okay. I'm sorry." Archie cleared his throat. "Carter is the boyfriend Douxie mentioned earlier."

"I figured that out." Jim said curtly, facing the cat. "But why has Douxie never mentioned him before? I mean, if they've been together for so long, why the secrecy? It's not like we would have judged him for it."

"Douxie wasn't worried about that."

"Then what?"

"Jim…" Archie sighed again. "It's complicated. Carter's safety is Douxie's number one priority. And it's hard enough to protect him without the added danger of him getting involved with all of you."

"What does that mean?" Jim asked, a little hurt.

"Not like that." Archie amended quickly. "It's just… Carter is accident prone. He's a danger magnet. And Douxie wasn't sure if he'd be totally safe in Arcadia. Especially when the Arcane Order became a problem."

Jim pursed his lips. "Why would the Order have been interested in Carter?"

"Because… Carter is… well, was, their nephew."

"What?"

"Lower your voice." Archie hissed. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"How the hell is he related to the Arcane Order!?"

"It's something he should explain." Archie said. "But like I said-"

"Right, right. It's complicated." Jim rolled his eyes.

"Yes."

The door opened and Archie was relieved to get out of that conversation. He turned to see his familiar walk into the house, followed closely by Carter. He looked better already. He wasn't as concerningly pale, and he was barely limping anymore.

"Nice of you to join the party." Archie greeted, hopping onto Douxie's shoulders as he passed through the kitchen. "Jim was getting antsy."

"I can hear you."

"Can you now?" Archie settled on Douxie's shoulder, glancing at Carter. "All better?"

"Mostly." Carter nodded. "Just a few scrapes and bruises."

"Broken ribs, too." Douxie said, shooting his boyfriend a glare. "You're lucky you heal as fast as you do. Otherwise you'd still be in the hospital."

Carter ignored him, looking into the living room. Marcy and Sarah were hovering nearby, watching him worriedly. "You two okay?"

"Yeah." Marcy nodded. "Thanks to you."

Carter smiled at her, then looked at Sarah. "Sarah? Are you okay?"

Sarah nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yes… But it was scary."

"Hey," Carter knelt in front of her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know it was. But you were so brave, Sarah. I'm proud of you."

She smiled thinly and hugged him. "You're awesome."

Carter chuckled and gave her a light squeeze. "Thanks."

Jim cleared his throat and nudged Douxie's arm. "You gonna introduce us to your friend?"

Douxie nodded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Basement." Jim said. "I volunteered to watch them," he inclined his head towards Sarah and Marcy, "until you guys got back."

Douxie pursed his lips. "Alright." He looked at Carter. "Love, you ready?"

"Yep." Carter stood, letting the girls walk ahead of him. "Fenris, you gonna stay up here all day?"

Fenris snorted but got up, trotting past Carter to follow Marcy and Sarah to the basement.

Jim sighed. "First Aarrrgghh, now the wolf?"

"At least Fenris won't eat your cassette tapes." Douxie offered awkwardly.

Jim glared at him and didn't say anything. He walked to the basement without so much as a glance to make sure they were following him.

Douxie sighed. "Shit, he's pissed."

"He'll come around." Carter said. "I assume. From what you've told me."

"I know… I just don't like him to think he can't trust me."

Carter slipped his hand into Douxie's. "Let's go. I'm ready to meet your gaggle of delinquents."

Douxie chuckled. "You're so funny." He pulled Carter towards the basement, steeling his nerves. He was about to get the chewing out of a lifetime.

Carter didn't have the energy to feel embarrassed or awkward as he walked into the basement and everyone was staring at him. Most of their expressions were suspicion, concern, or a mixture of the two. He made eye contact with a few of them, getting that oh-so familiar reaction to his "resting bitch face", as Douxie often so lovingly put it. Most of them quickly looked away with fear flashing in their eyes. All but one. No, she instead directly made eye contact with him and stared him down. Carter vaguely recognized her as the one he'd met earlier that day with the magic portals and the bull.

"Guys, this is Carter." Douxie said, introducing him with an awkward hitch in his voice. "He's my-"

"Boyfriend?" A tall blond said, arms crossed. "Yeah, we kinda figured."

Douxie cleared his throat. "Right, so… you need to probably introduce yourselves and then, um…-"

"Oh for the love of Solaris, you're making me cry." Carter interrupted with a sigh. He looked at the Trollhunters. "Names, why you're pissed at Douxie, go." He pointed at the blond who had spoken earlier.

He blinked, confused at first, but then cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Steve and uh… well, it's pretty simple. He lied to us about you."

Carter nodded. "Hi Steve. Get over it." He looked at the girl standing next to him and gestured for her to speak.

She frowned at him. "Aja. And I'm not mad at Douxie, I just don't trust you."

Carter gave her impish smile. "You shouldn't."

They went through, everyone giving their names and reasons as to why they were upset. They ended with Jim who was scowling at the table.

"Douxie," he said, looking at his friend with a glare. "Why did you never mention him before now? And Archie, what was all that about Carter being related to the Arcane freaking Order!?"

Everyone blanched and stared at Carter, hands subtly going to their weapons. Fenris growled at them.

Carter face-palmed, sighing loudly. "Wow. Okay. Getting straight to the point there." He looked up at them. "Chill. I'm not going to murder you or something."

"How can you be related to the Order?" Toby asked, eyes wide. "Are you like… some sort of wizard or something?"

"No. I'm a half-blood."

"A what?"

"A half-blood." Carter said again. "One of my parents is a mortal, and the other one is a god."

"Another term for it would be demigod." Douxie put in. "And his father is the Arcane Order's brother, making Carter their nephew."

Carter nodded. "In technical terms, at least. But, seeing as how they're dead, we don't really have to worry about that."

"Wait, I'm sorry. Who's your dad?" Krel asked.

"Arcanum god of war." Carter pursed his lips. "It's a really long and complicated story that we don't really have time for. Marcy and Sarah are my half-sisters, and I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on because after the Order tried to destroy the planet, dozens of half-bloods from my side of the cosmic shit-show that is the rulers of the universe disappeared."

Everyone was silent, taking in what he'd said. Then, Steve slowly raised his hand.

"What do you mean by your side?" He asked cautiously.

"Steve, I just-" he ran a hand over his face and growled a curse. "I don't have time to explain, okay? I need your guys' help."

"Why?" Claire asked curtly. "Why all of a sudden did you decide to come to us when you've apparently never let Douxie talk about you."

Carter's left eye twitched. "Are you serious? We're talking about a potentially world-ending threat, and you've picked now to make a catty remark?"

"We don't know you." Aja pointed out, glaring. "How can we trust anything you're saying?"

"You trust Douxie, don't you?" Carter challenged, looking from person to person. "You trust him to be a good judge of character, right? You can see that he trusts me."

There was silence for a while, before Douxie spoke. "Carter's right. I don't even really know what's happening, but if he says this is something you guys need to be in on, then I trust him."

"All of you," Carter said slowly. "Have saved the planet way too many times to count. That's the reason I'm coming to you. In any other circumstance, I'd handle it myself. But this isn't something I can do alone." He pursed his lips, looking down at the table. "I'm not good with people. I don't have friends. I don't trust easily. But Douxie's faith in all of you is something that I do trust because I trust him." He looked up at them. "So I'm asking you to please help me."

The Trollhunters glanced at eachother, seeming to have a conversation with just their eyes. Then, they all looked to Jim. After a moment, he gave Carter his full attention.

"Alright. Tell us what we're up against."

Carter let out a heavy breath. "I have reason to believe that my father is going to make a move soon. With the Arcane Order out of the way, there's nothing stopping him and other rogue gods from doing whatever they want." He pursed his lips, looking down at the wooden table. "He's never been… completely sane, to put it lightly. At the very least that's how Nari described him to me."

"Wait, so you never met him?" Toby asked, looking worried.

"I did once. Briefly. When he made me immortal." Carter glanced at Douxie, the two having a silent conversation with their eyes. "When I talked to him he seemed… normal? Happy to see me for the first time in the twenty years I'd been alive. But looking back on that day," he sighed and closed his eyes. "There was something off about him. I didn't really know what it was until recently. Until a woman, who I'm fairly certain is my sister, attacked me."

"She had claimed to be sent by her father, but the way she spoke implied it was Vameus." Fenris said, voice ringing in everyone's minds, making all but Carter and Douxie jump. "Which brings me to the conclusion that he's gathering his children for something. I knew him before I was imprisoned. He's always been obsessed with power, with winning. And I also know that Vameus had a certain knack for getting his children to do what he wants."

"What does that mean, Mr. Talking Wolf Man?" Steve asked uneasily.

Douxie put a hand on Carter's shoulder, looking at Steve. "Gods possess the ability to… control their children. It's rare and extremely difficult to be able to enthrall one's influence on even a single person. But somehow…" he trailed off, squeezing Carter's shoulder subtly.

"I think he somehow managed to do it to hundreds of his children at once." Carter pursed his lips. "It's easier to do it to them… to their kids." His jaw clenched. "To us."

Jim gave him a sympathetic look. "I know a thing or two about being controlled."

Claire nodded. "Me too."

Carter glanced up at them, a mixture of anger and weariness in his gaze. "She wasn't trying to kill me."

Douxie raised a brow questioningly. "What?"

"The woman? My sister?" Carter shook his head. "I don't think she was trying to kill me. She was trying to bring me in."

Fear flashed in Douxie's eyes. If that were true, then that meant Vameus wanted Carter specifically. And that thought alone made Douxie's heart pound in his chest with panic and fear. That also meant that the bull probably wasn't random. It had been sent. And Douxie was fairly sure he knew exactly by who.

"Douxie?" Krel asked cautiously. Worriedly. "What are you thinking?"

"That this just got a whole lot more complicated." Douxie murmured. He looked up at his friends. "And a lot more dangerous."

Archie seemed puzzled, like he was thinking. Then his eyes got wide. "Douxie, do you recall what Nari told Carter? About a destiny?"

"To either save the world or destroy it? Yes, I remember-" he cut himself off, eyes going wide when he realized what his familiar was saying. "Holy fucking shit."

"Douxie!" Toby yelled indignantly. "Language!"

Douxie ignored him, panic welling in his chest. "Oh gods."

Carter was looking at him with concern, hand moving to rest on his waist gently. "Baby?"

Douxie looked at him, and he could think about was how much he didn't want to lose Carter to this. How horribly wrong all of this could go. How easily and suddenly he could lose the love of his life again, and this time never get him back. "I think I know what she meant, love."

"About what?" Carter asked, voice soft like he was trying to comfort a small child.

"Douxie?" Jim's voice was anxious and worried. "What is it?"

"When Nari told you about your destiny, she wasn't trying to be weird or cryptic." Douxie explained slowly. "The- the reason your father is looking for you is because of what you are. It's because he knows."

"Knows what?" Carter asked a little sharper than he intended.

"I used to think that these kinds of half-bloods didn't exist…" Douxie murmured, glancing off to the side as he gathered his thoughts. He ignored Carter's hand squeezing his waist. "Or maybe… It was the reason the gods stopped having kids."

"Douxie, what?" Carter tried to make Douxie look at him.

"The God-killers." Douxie said, still distracted by his thoughts. "Very rare half-blood children who were born to be their parents' greatest champions or their downfall. That was what Nari meant. That's what you are. Your father's champion or his downfall. That's why he wants you."

Carter stared at him. So did everyone else.

"Did you know?" Carter asked him quietly, hand leaving his waist.

Douxie shook his head. "No. I truly didn't. If I had, I would have told you."

Carter nodded slowly. "What are we going to do about it?"

Douxie took in a shaky breath, mind still spiraling into a tornado of anxieties. "Figure out a way to stop your dad, and make sure he stays far away from you."

"What happens if his father gets him?" Claire asked.

Douxie looked at Archie, then his friends. "We lose."

"That's dramatic, Douxie." Archie rolled his eyes. "Even if Vameus somehow managed to get Carter, that doesn't necessarily mean it's over."

"We'd stand a pretty slim chance of beating him if he did."

"Well, that's what we said about the Arcane Order." Jim put in. "And we managed to beat them even after they got Nari and raised the Titans."

"That was different." Douxie argued.

"How?" Claire crossed her arms. "Because it sounds to me like this Vameus guy is nowhere near as powerful as Bellroc or Skrael."

"I-"

"Douxie." Carter put a hand on his chest, looking him in the eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "What are you really scared of?"

Douxie looked at him for a while, hazel eyes reflecting so much fear, doubt, and worry. "I'm scared of losing you, Carter. I've seen what can happen to a demigod who's been under the strain of their parent's control. And if Vameus gets you? He'll have exactly what he wants. And he won't give up until he's dead. And the only person who can kill him is you." He gently took Carter's hand, thumb rubbing his knuckles. "So you can see the problem there."

"I know the risks." Carter said, squeezing his hand. "I understand what's at stake. But we can't sit here twiddling our thumbs. He's had years to prepare for this. If we're lucky we have maybe a few weeks. So just trust me, okay? I can handle myself."

"I know you can." Douxie's voice was a strained whisper. "I just… I can't lose anyone else. I refuse to."

Carter gave him a thin smile. "You won't." He glanced at the Trollhunters who'd been watching that exchange with a mixture of awkwardness and warmth. "We cool?"

He got nods and a few hums of affirmation. Jim, however, was looking at him oddly. Carter couldn't quite place the expression.

"What do you need us to do?"

Carter blinked with surprise. He hadn't been expecting that from Jim. Especially so quickly. "Well, first someplace safe for Marcy and Sarah."

"What?" Marcy protested. "Why?"

"Because you're extremely unprepared for something like this, that's why." Carter crossed his arms.

Marcy grumbled but didn't say anything back. Sarah didn't seem to be much in the mood to argue either.

Jim nodded. "Okay. They can stay in the castle while we plan how to take your dad out."

"Castle?" Carter inquired curiously.

"Camelot Castle, love." Douxie said. "It's sort of become our base of operations."

"Then why are we having a meeting in the Trollhunter's basement?"

"Uh…"

"Good point." Steve mumbled.

Carter rolled his eyes and turned to Douxie. "If we get into touch with Tori and Pan, things might go smoother." He signed.

"You said you haven't seen or heard from them in almost two years." Douxie's brows furrowed with worry.

Carter's hands hovered as he thought. Then, "I'm worried about them. With everything going on… anything could have happened to them."

Douxie pursed his lips. "What about the other demigod? Nari's kid?"

"Her too." Carter nodded. "As many as we can find."

"It's kind of rude to talk in another language in front of other people." Toby interrupted, crossing his arms. "If we're gonna work together, we need to know everything."

Carter looked at them, seeing annoyance on most everyone's face except for Steve's.

"You're deaf?" He blurted out.

Carter chuckled, gesturing to his hearing aids. "Yeah."

"Force of habit," Douxie held his hands up. "Sorry."

"Wait, but you were talking to us when we were fighting the giant metal cow." Claire said, brows furrowed with confusion.

"Archie was translating for me." He explained. "My hearing aids broke when my crazy sister attacked me in Arizona."

"Oh." Claire nodded. "Okay." She looked like she was making a mental note.

"Anway," Jim clasped his hands together. "We'll need to get to the castle before we do anything else. Blinky and Aarrrgghh have been holding down the fort. And," he gave Carter a pointed look. "You look like you're going to pass out at any second."

"Good call, Jim." Douxie said, hand tight on Carter's arm to keep him from arguing. "We all should rest up before we do anything else."

Jim nodded. "Alright. Doux, you can take our new friends up there first. The rest of us will join you once we've gathered some supplies."

Marcy and Sarah followed Douxie back up the stairs as he pushed Carter to move. Fenris and Archie followed closely.

Jim glanced at Claire, who seemed worried and lost in thought. "Claire?"

She looked at him. "Yeah?"

"What's going through your head?"

Claire sighed. "Carter seems…"

"Weird?" Toby offered.

"Suspicious?" Aja said.

"Sad." Claire pursed her lips. "Worried, even."

"Well who wouldn't with what he's going through." Steve said.

"No, I mean, because of something else." Claire shook her head. "I know a bit of sign language, and they were saying something about finding others."

"What does that mean?" Krel asked.

"No idea."

"More demigods, maybe?" Jim suggested. "Carter sounded more somber than strictly angry when he was talking about the sister that attacked him."

"Maybe."

Aja's brows furrowed. "I don't know. I don't trust him."

Claire frowned at her. "It's not fair to judge someone we don't know. Besides, Douxie-"

"Douxie trusts too much too often." Aja said. "And I love him, but I'm not sure he can be completely unbiased about Carter. And there's just something about Carter that doesn't sit right with me."

"Again, we know nothing about him." Jim said. "I mean, that's how I felt about Douxie when I first met him. Carter just… He just seems like he's going through a lot. And maybe we should be the ones to hold out the olive branch of friendship. It's not like he's actually done anything to make us not trust him."

"That's my point." Aja grumbled under her breath.

"And not everything is a conspiracy, Aja." Jim chided. "Jesus Christ you've been spending too much time with Blinky."