The moment Jim ran out of the museum with Bular's heavy sword in his hand to face Gunmar the Black, everything flashed into a bright, blinding white that almost made his head hurt.
Then, he was out of the cage.
Wait… what cage?
Jim gasped and looked around hysterically, touching his face and chest as if to feel if he were real or not. His chest heaved up and down with his quickened breath, and his eyes caught the faces of Usurna, Vendel, Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Claire…
They're okay. They're all here. They're…
Toby wasn't there.
At once his heart raced like a soaring rabbit running from a ferocious wolf. He turned his head around wildly to look past Blinky, Claire and Aaarrrgghh, and he could hear himself say in a shaken voice, "W-Where's Toby?"
Claire bit her lip nervously. Her deep brown eyes were troubled, and Jim knew something was wrong. "He didn't show up to school. I went to his house and his Nana said he never came home last night. We thought maybe he stayed with you…"
The world around Jim blurred out. The voices of Usurna, Vendel and his friends were muffled, as if his ears were stuffed cotton.
"No…" He looked up ahead to see Usurna's two guards standing by the door, staring at him untrustingly. "He—he can't—" His throat was closing up with a tight knot that felt as if it were almost choking him. His friend's scream through the phone from his dream still echoed in his head and made his limbs feel like jelly. "We need to find him. Gunmar might—"
"Gunmar must have already devoured the pathetic fleshbag," Usurna's loud and scornful voice made Jim's gut drop. "This is what happens when fools choose to open the Darklands to rescue some worthless human."
"That worthless human is my baby brother!" Claire snapped impatiently. The only reason she didn't lurch forwards was because Blinky had her by the shoulders.
"Fair Claire, please refrain yourself!" urged the six-eyed troll, although he himself sounded unsure. "Perhaps Tobias is on his way…"
Jim couldn't believe him. His hand was despairingly squeezing the Amulet of Daylight so tight the clockwork cut his finger.
Breathe in, breathe out…
He needed to stay calm. If he freaked out or gave into his emotions, it would lead him to no good.
However, what Usurna said next made him snap, and was cruel enough to make even Vendel look taken aback.
"One less human in this world means nothing. We shall procee—"
"Toby means more than anything in this world, woman!"
The whole room went silent at Jim's harsh and sudden snarl.
The Queen of the Kubera looked down at the Trollhunter, astounded. "How dare you raise your voice towards me!"
"How dare you talk shit about Toby when you know nothing of what he's done!" The words spilled out of Jim's mouth so fast and fluidly he couldn't stop himself. "He's ran about and helped fight against evil more than you probably ever have in your entire life! How dare a coward who hides in deep caverns from all dangers of the world like you talk bad about a boy who's done more things than any other kid in this entire freaking planet has?!"
Usurna narrowed her eyes to give Jim a deadly glare that probably would have made him shrink if he weren't blinded by his rage. "You will regret ever using such vulgar language towards me, Trollhunter."
The dark-haired boy was scanning the room thought. He spotted the horngazel in Blinky's hand, and an idea hatched in his head. He wetted his lips and spoke in an uncanny tone, "No, I never will."
Then, he swiped the horngazel out of Blinky's hands, rushed past the Queen of the Kubera and slid out of the chamber so swiftly that no one had time to react.
He ran as fast as his lanky legs could take him. The voices of Usurna cursing at him and Blinky and Claire calling out to him echoed from behind, but he ignored them and dashed past Trollmarket quicker than he ever had.
Find Toby. Find Toby. He has to be okay. He has to. He can't be—
"Guards! Seize him! Don't let him escape!"
Jim cursed under his breath when he saw the Kubera guards that stood here and there in Trollmarket turn their heads directly towards them, their faces in frowns.
He took a turn past Badgewella's place and ran towards the crystal staircase, trying hard not to slip with his sneakers. A spear had shot and stabbed the stairs, and he felt a chilling shiver crawl down his spine. When he finally reached the top of the stairs, the Kubera guards were hot at his heels. He quickly drew the portal, touched the wall and stumbled outside into the securing sunlight, lying on the hard concrete while panting heavily from the run. He saw a glimpse of the portal closing and stayed still for a moment to calm himself.
Find Toby.
He got up, ignoring the ache of his cramped joints and began to make his way to his house.
Oh, shoot. I hope Mom's not home…
It took him nearly twenty minutes to reach his house on foot. He went in through the front door and froze when he heard footsteps coming from upstairs. "Toby?" he asked in hope of hearing his friend's voice.
Alas, who came down from the stairs was not his auburn-headed friend, but rather his recently awakened mother. "Jim?" she asked before yawning. "Is there something wrong?"
Jim opened his mouth, but clamped it shut.
She doesn't know. Does she?
"Uh… y-yeah everything's totally fine…"
Tobes must have acted like me last night before he went missing… That means he must be around here then!
Barbara reached the bottom of the staircase and looked at her son. "Yeah, I'm not falling for that Jim." She took a moment to study her son's features and frowned. "Jim, did you even sleep last night? You look like you've been through hell!"
Jim's insides squeezed with anxiety. Wouldn't you like to know… "I… didn't really slept well last night… the bed felt kind of… stiff."
Did he even sleep last night? Did dreaming of living a second life that ended in burning heck while locked in a cold cage even count as sleep?
"I was… just about to get ready for school," He collected himself and cleared his stuffy throat, trying to get his screaming 'Find Toby!' senses to calm down. Gotta act normal. Toby's not missing. Act normal. "D-Do you want me to make something for you? Omelet? Pancakes? Anything?" He scolded himself for his anxious stutter.
"Um…" Barbara pursed her lips together and squinted her eyes a little. "Thank you, but I'm not exactly hungry right now…" She placed a hand on her son's shoulder and looked deep into his startled gaze. "Jim, can you tell me what's going on? You're scared. Your eyes are dilated and you're as pale as if you've seen a ghost. And don't tell me it's just school; I've been through high school as well, and as much as it's a pain and pressure, I've never seen nor experienced any students get as messed up as you are right now."
"Mom I—"
"Please Jim. I need to know. I don't want to see you get in more trouble." Barbara's brows were furrowed with worry, and her voice was full of urgency. "It's not like you to be acting out and… stealing cars just to show off. You and Toby are better than that. You two are good kids, I should know. I'm your mother, and I've helped take care of Toby long enough to know when something's wrong with him. With both of you.
Jim felt his heart rate speed up at the mention of his best friend. Toby. We need to find him, Mom. Gunmar's roaming around. He's in danger.
"Mom, I… I-I can't—"
A cellphone suddenly began to ring. Both knew it was Barbara's phone that was on the living room table.
The redheaded mother sighed and walked over to answer, and Jim saw that her shoulders slumped with defeat when a voice at the other line started speaking.
"Yes… I'll be there in twenty. Goodbye."
He didn't meet her gaze when she turned back to give him a hard look.
"The hospital needs me. I need to get going." She left up the stairs to change into her work attire, and Jim found himself anxiously pondering around and looking at the time on the microwave clock.
7:14am.
When Barbara came down from upstairs in her hospital clothes, she only gave a brief goodbye before exiting the house with her phone and pursue in hand.
Jim sighed upon hearing the car of his mother's go off and ride away. "No time for lollygagging," he muttered to himself. He made his way towards the front door and grabbed his satchel that was hanging on the baluster of the stairs to strap it over his shoulders, about to walk out of the house and head over to check the Domzalski residence.
Then there was a thumping noise coming from the basement.
He tensed and turned his head around, his skin crawling with goosebumps. "Toby?" was what he automatically asked. He let go of the doorknob, took off his satchel and began to run towards the basement. He quickly padded down the stairs and switched on the light, glancing around for any signs of his stout friend. "Tobes? Are you in here?"
There was a rustling noise coming from the tunnel that led to the sewers, and Jim peered a little closer and grabbed the unused canvas to uncover the entrance.
He did not expect to see a familiar redheaded boy standing on the other side.
He couldn't even register when Toby's stubby fist met with his bottom lip in a powerful punch. In shock, Jim let go of the canvas and stumbled back with a yelp, awkwardly tripping on his feet and landing on his bottom. He groaned a little and covered his mouth, licking the warm and metallic fluid that streamed out of his now busted bottom lip. "T-Toby-?"
He got up and looked at his friend's face, his stomach dropping.
Toby, looking as pale as a ghost, had a nasty slash across his face starting from his forehead just above his left eye, going all the way down to his right cheek. His clothes were tattered and torn, his yellow button-up t-shirt and red sweater vest stained with dark blood; his arms were covered in scratches and bruises, and his hair was messy and dirty. There was a bruise from the top of his head that was bleeding, and there was blood streaming from it and staining his auburn hair and face.
What horrified Jim the most were Toby's eyes—there weren't the brilliant, fun-loving electric green anymore. They were a cold, ghostly light blue that seemed to stare at his soul.
Just like Draal's.
"T-Toby?"
An unnatural, crooked grin twitched Toby's lips upwards, and Jim could see that his friend's front left tooth had a small part chipped off, probably from a bad fall or punch.
"You've lost yet another ally, Trollhunter."
Jim wanted to scream when Gunmar's hoarse and raspy voice uttered from Toby's mouth.
"He was a good fighter—for a puny human."
"N-No," Jim's voice came out high-pitched. "T-Toby, no…"
How? This couldn't be. What happened? How did Gunmar ever manage to do this—to do this to Toby?
The stout possessed boy stepped into the basement, and it was seen that his left shoe had been missing, the only thing covering his stubby, innocent little foot being a dirty, ragged sock.
"If the broken husk will not break you," Toby took a few steps closer towards Jim, his eyes gleaming abnormally. "Perhaps your human friend will."
Tears welled up in Jim's eyes. He stepped back away from his dear chubby friend, his legs weakening and his heart thumping hysterically in his chest. "No, Toby. Please!"
Toby gave a gruff and bitter laugh that made Jim's heart twist painfully. "I told your gnome friend your loved ones will not prevail. They will suffer, and they will die. Just as I plan for all the creatures in this infested earth."
"Let him go! He has nothing to do with you! Your fight is with me! Not Draal, or Toby—" Jim gasped when Toby nearly punched his face again. He leaned back and felt the woosh of a fist fly past his mouth.
"End this pitiful human's misery, Trollhunter! Why let him suffer more when you can finally be rid of his anguish?" Toby began to rapidly aim for Jim with both his hands. By now he was forcing the Trollhunter back onto the stairs.
"Come one, Tobes! Don't let him win! You can fight him!" Jim looked back and quickly rushed up the stairs and into the dining room. He heard the heavy footsteps of his friend chasing him from behind, and he turned around just in time to see Toby throwing the canvas at him. He yelped and dodged it by ducking just in time before it met with his head, wincing at the crashing noise of the canvas wiping the stuff on the dining table off clean.
"Kill this human, Trollhunter! Kill him, or watch as he kills millions of other humans, including your mother!" Toby grabbed a photo frame that was placed on a small table by the basement door and threw it at Jim, the quick-reflexed boy narrowly dodging it and having it crash against the floor with a shatter.
"No! I'm not killing Toby! You're not taking him!" Jim looked around the house desperately, his eyes landing on Toby's cold, possessed ones. "Fight him, Toby!"
"Your friend is too weak to fight me, boy," Toby reached for a chair, and he charged at Jim with the legs facing the Trollhunter. "just like every other being in this fleshbag-infested world."
The skinny lad stretched his arms out and grasped onto the feet of the chair, trying to keep Toby from pushing him back. "Toby, listen to me! I know you're in there, and I know you're strong enough. You can fight him. Fight Gunmar! Don't let him control you!"
For a moment, Toby's face looked confused—the confusion that briefly reminded Jim of his five-year-old friend who didn't know what was happening at kindergarten when he first stepped into the building—but it quickly reverted back to that scorning anger.
"Your friend is gone, Trollhunter. Kill him, or let his body bring devastation, and aid me in war."
Confusion arose from Jim when Toby let go of the chair. He stumbled forwards and yelped when cold hands clasped around his neck tightly and abruptly. He was suddenly pushed back against the wall roughly between the dining and living room near a desk, and he could only stare back into the unfamiliar hollow eyes, his vision blurring with tears. "N-No—"
The hands around his neck grew tighter, and Jim could barely gasp for air. He had no idea Toby could be so strong. "T-Tob—"
"You should have killed the boy," Toby grinned, showing off his chipped-off front tooth. "Now, he will help bring the Eternal Night."
Jim grasped onto his friend's arm tightly, his legs trying to kick the stouter lad away. But with his strength ebbing away and Toby's sturdy and strangely strong body not budging, he could barely do anything. "P-Please—" A tear had slid down his cheek and handed on Toby's hands. "Fight him, Tobes…"
Toby began to chuckle darkly, but his face went blank at the feeling of the warm tear splatter on his hand. His loud breathing had stopped, and his hands started to loosen his grip on Jim's neck. "What…"
Jim felt the hand around his neck finally let go, and he slid down to the floor and began to cough harshly. He rubbed his bruised neck and looked up at Toby, who was gripping on his head with his hands.
"T-Toby?" rasped the Trollhunter throat his aching throat.
Toby fell to his knees. His back heaved up and down with heavy breaths, and Jim could hear that he was letting out soft whimpers.
The dark-haired boy crawled over to his friend, cautiously reaching a hand out to touch his shoulder. "Toby?"
His auburn-headed friend turned his head up to look at Jim, and his eyes were finally green. "…Jimbo?" he whispered sadly and fearfully.
A shaky laugh came from Jim's mouth. "Oh, Tobes—it's you! I knew you could do it!" He lurched forwards and embraced the redhead tightly, his chuckling breaking into crying. "You're okay…"
Toby hesitated to return the hug, his own eyes watering with tears. He hid his dirty and bloodied face in Jim's shoulder and cried into it. "J-Jimbo, I'm so sorry…"
"No, Tobes, no. It's not your fault."
"I… I-I was just going home last night, a-and I heard a noise from your yard, and he was… he was… he was right t-there."
Jim tilted his head a little and felt strands of auburn hair tickle his nose. He inhaled the scent of old people, cat mixed with dirt and exhaled shakily. "You're okay, Tobes. You're save now. He's not getting you ever again."
He planted a kiss on his friend's head, and he heard a sob escape from Toby. He rubbed the stouter boy's back and squeezed his eyes shut.
They sat there on the floor for what felt like hours, crying softly and hugging each other as if fearing they would be torn apart. They were later found by Claire, who came in hysterically telling her that Usurna was on the warpath with Jim.
He didn't care though. He was just glad Toby was safe.