For three years, Jim had made it a habit to watch the news daily, doing his best to keep on track with any troll or trollhunter news he could get, even recording the news anchors just so he could keep an accurate record of everything. It had been difficult, but he managed, telling himself that one day, when he's old enough, when he's strong enough, he would enact the plan he had been brewing for the last three years ever since he first learned the truth about this new reality of his.
That Friday, on his 8th birthday, he would enact his plan. But for it to work he had to talk to his mother, he had to tell her everything. To say he was nervous was the understatement of the century.
From what he had gathered from this new universe, magic and anything related to the art was prohibited unless they were a licenced mage taught in Merlin's school who served under King Arthur. And Jim was anything but a normal human child.
Truthfully, he knew Barbara loved him enough to keep him safe if he ever told her, she was, after all, a very caring and loving mother. Taking deep breaths, Jim sat there by the dinner table, hot chocolate in hand as he waited for his mom to come down the stairs, his gaze often trailing to the wall clock in their kitchen, in his zip up jacket a small container of cinnamon, an item he always carried around with him, and one he would need if things got hairy.
As if summoned, Barbara walked down the stairs, stretching as she tried to rub away the sleep from her eyes still being in her pajamas. It was already late in the morning, but Jim had stayed home, telling Toby that he wasn't feeling too good, making sure that this would have been a yearly habit for him to skip school once a year on his birthday if he had to. It was a habit Barbara didn't quite like but knew that her son needed the day off, so it wasn't a surprise when she saw Jim drinking some hot cacao downstairs.
"Good morning, mom." Jim called out, a small smile on his face as he greeted his mom, who only mumbled a tired good morning back before heading straight for the coffee machine where a ready pot was waiting for her to pour from. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, watching as she came to sit next to her son.
"Better than I had in the last week, kiddo." she said, taking a seat next to him. "When did you wake up?" she asked him.
"Oh… um… about that…" Jim nervously said as he looked at the mug in his hands. "I didn't..?" he offered, earning himself a sharp look from the doctor as she fully woke up and looked around the house properly for the first time since she woke up, taking on the disturbingly clean appearance of the house before her attention once again fell onto her son.
"Jim…" she started firmly, taking hold of her son's hand in her own, making him look up at her. "Jim, I'm not mad… but this isn't like you…" she whispered, concern laced thickly within her voice. "This is the first time you've asked me to take a day off on your birthday… and I know for a fact that it isn't like you to stress clean like this…"
It was true, Jim had forced himself to not stress clean like he used to in the old timeline, only if it was just a small mercy to his body. But it was also unlike him to ask- practically beg- his mother to stay home from work, and that raised the red flags in the mother's mind.
Barbara had trusted her son to tell her anything that he wanted, but she couldn't help herself from wondering what the sudden change in her son's attitude was about. "You know you can tell me anything, kiddo… whatever it is I'm here for you… I'm worried about you, you know…" she said truthfully, placing a gentle hand on his cheek.
Jim practically beamed at the action, his eyes glossing over the moment he caught her gaze. And for a moment, just for a split second, Barbara could see the intensity of emotions that had bottled up within her son. And for a second, she was looking into the eyes of her father once again, all the pain and suffering her father had gone through in the war, as well as the relief that filled them when looking at her.
"You really are the best mother anyone could ask for…" Jim said weakly before wrapping his arms around Barbara, his small form shaking as quiet sobs escaped him.
Barbara bit her lip in concern for her son, her arms cradling him in a tight embrace, her son was currently crying in her arms from something she didn't know, did he get bullied at school? She found herself wondering as worry started to grab hold of her senses. "What's wrong, Jim?" she asked quietly, gently rubbing circles on her son's back.
To her question, Jim sniffled and took a step back as he wiped away his tears. "Everything, mom. Everything is wrong." his voice came out broken, still shaking with sobs and it hurt the mother to see him that way.
"Jim…" she started, only to be cut off by her son taking hold of her hand.
"Mom… there's a lot for me to tell you…" her son admitted, his eyes not meeting her own as he started to lead her towards the backdoor. "Can we take a walk outside?" he asked, still holding onto her hand. Not wanting to distress her son even more, she obliged, going upstairs to change quickly before taking her shoes by the front door and wearing them before stepping outside into the backyard.
Jim stood by the fence that separated their safe house from the wild woods behind their home, but Jim looked out to the vast forest longingly. Barbara walked over to her son and gently touched his shoulder. "Where do you want to go, Jim?" she asked.
Without taking his eyes away from the vast green of the forest, Jim spoke in a soft mumble, Barbara barely catching on. "Not too far…" he said before loosening a few planks from the fence and moving it to reveal a small path into the woods. Barbara made a mental note to find a way to secure the planks just in case, before following after her son who fearlessly walked right through and into the forest.
"Jim…" Barbara called out, walking next to her son as she worriedly glanced back to their home every couple of steps, worried that they might lose the house.
"Don't worry mom, we won't get lost." Jim reassured, grabbing a hold on her hand as he started to lead her further into the forest, his tone filled with the confidence only found in those experienced with a certain field. And in Jim's case, that field was the forest behind their home.
Trusting in her son's words she followed after him in silence, wanting to ask the burning question in her mind. She wanted to know what was happening with her son, if he was okay. With one final glance back home, Barbara determined that they were far, far away from their neighbourhood by now.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, deeper and deeper into the forest, never once making a turn. And soon enough, they stood in a small clearing between tall trees that shaded the ground below, a log was placed in front of a small patch of grassless dirt.
Barbara took a moment to examine the surroundings, at first, everything seemed to be normal. Just a normal clearing in the middle of the forest. That was what she thought until her eyes landed on the large gashes in one of the trees, ranging in heights. Then her eyes fell onto the small first aid kit next to the log where her son sat. Fear and panic rose within herself, fearing the worst in this place.
"Mom?" Jim called out to her before motioning to the empty space on the log next to him, an invitation for her to sit with him. One she took with a lot of hesitation.
Jim smiled weakly at his mom as she took small steady breaths to keep herself calm. "Jim… what is this place?" she asked after swallowing the growing lump in her throat.
"It's a training field." he said calmly, an answer that Barbara wished she hadn't received.
"How do you know about this place, kiddo?" she asked, hoping that her son would say he had just accidentally stumbled into the place and thought that it was just really cool. Oh, how she desperately wished that was the case.
"I made it." was all Jim said after catching hold of his mother's gaze. Barbara knew Jim well enough to know when he was lying, even if he was really good at it. But the look in Jim's eyes wasn't that of a liar, and that was when she knew that it was true.
"Mom…" Jim started, holding onto her hands. "I'm going to come clean. I don't want to keep lying to you- especially to you…" he said, his tone too mature for the 8 year old that Barbara had raised.
"What do you mean, kiddo..?" she asked weakly. "Is someone bullying you? Or Toby?"
"No mom." he said sternly, getting up from his seat before pulling out a knife embedded into one of the trees hidden from view. "This is something much bigger than school bullies…" he said before he turned to look at her again, easily flipping the knife in his hand like it wasn't a sharp object.
In that moment, Barbara looked, and truly saw her son. He held her gaze, unwavering, as his eyes gleamed in the shadows cast by the trees, taking her breath away as the hair at the back of her neck rose. "What do you mean, Jim..?"
"Mom… I want you to know. No matter what happens I will always be your son." he started, before swiftly throwing the knife right past Barbara's face, a loud 'thunk' sounding behind her. Eyes wide and full of fear, she turned to look behind her, only to find a small, round, green creature with spindly legs, holding up a target with the knife embedded into the wooden target, a low cackle escaping the creature.
Quickly she stood up and stumbled backwards a scream rising from within her, but the small hands that held onto her's, brought her back. And once again her eyes were captured by her son's own bright blue as he gave her hand a small squeeze. "Sorry about that, mom…" Jim said weakly before letting go and going over to the goblin who quickly scurried down and offered the knife back to the boy.
"Thanks, Gale." the 8 year old said, giving the goblin a scratch behind the ear. Barbara watched in both horror and amazement at their interaction, but also shock and fear at almost getting a face full of knife from her son. She stared for a moment, her mouth opening and closing trying to find her words while also fighting down the panic attack that was slowly bubbling up to the surface.
"Mom…" Jim said, not looking at Barbara, his gaze distant as he looked at the knife in his hand. "I'm going to protect the trolls," he said sternly. It wasn't a question. It wasn't a suggestion. It was a statement. "But I need your help." he finished, turning slightly to look up to his mom.
Barbara was rightfully in shock. She knew her son didn't like what the trollhunter does, but for him to make himself a training area in the forest and trust goblins? She couldn't allow him to go down this path, he was still so young! And what could he do? He's only one child.
"No, Jim. You-"
"And don't say I can't because I'm an eight year old, mom." Jim shot back before Barbara could finish. "And before you say anything else, please, mom. I'm begging you to listen to me, to my whole tale. Alright?" he pleaded. There was no anger, no hate in his voice, instead, there was a deep sadness that coursed through his entire being.
Taking a deep breath, Barbara nodded, getting back onto the log with shaky legs, ready to listen to anything her son had to say. A small smile appeared on Jim's face, his shoulders loosening the smallest bit as he got closer to Barbara and put one of his hands on hers. "I need you to fully listen, mom. This is important." he reminded, earning himself a small nod from his mom.
Jim found a spot for him to sit in front of Barbara on the ground, Gale- the goblin- sitting comfortably on Jim's lap, with the child gently petting the creature, like a cat, as he started to tell his story. Starting from the fact that he was actually from an alternate future and that he had 26 years worth of memories, that he was once the trollhunter, destined to protect both the humans and magical worlds, about his adventures, the trolls, the adversaries he had faced, and the losses he had endured. And Barbara listened, her expression a mix of reactions, both positive and negative.
By the end of it, Jim had started to cry as he retold the events of his final battle, of his loss and the reason for his time travel, when suddenly a pair of arms came around him in a tight hug, forcing out the remaining tears as he sobbed on his mother once again.
"There there, kiddo… I've got you now…" Barbara whispered, gently rocking the boy back and forth in an attempt to calm down her son.
"Sorry…" Jim suddenly said after a while, managing to calm down enough to talk again.
"What are you apologising for?" his mom asked, a brow raised as she looked down to her son who didn't meet her gaze.
"For not being the son you wanted…" he whispered.
"Oh, Jim…" Barbara said, a small sigh escaping her as she held him close. "You were more than what I could have ever wished for, kiddo…" she said, taking hold of his shoulders, making the boy look up at her. "I may not have been your… original mother… but I am still your biological one, and I don't know if this was the case then, but when I had you… we weren't sure you were going to make it, even the doctors didn't have much faith in your survival… but you know what?"
"What..?" Jim asked, curious as to why she was telling him this.
"You held strong, and fought your way into this world. Jim, you have and always will be a warrior. My warrior." she said, gently cupping her son's cheek and wiping away any stray tears. "And this whole "I'm from an alternate future, here to protect the innocent" just makes you an even greater warrior… and the fact that you held strong for eight years while taking care of me and the house, baring this burden proves to me that you can do anything if it means you can save those you care about. But most importantly, you trusted me enough to share this burden. What better son could I have asked for?"
Tears once again welled up in Jim's eyes but willed them away, making way for a smile instead as he hugged his mom tightly.
After a while, Barbara let go of her son before looking him in the eyes. "I love you, kiddo."
"I love you too, mom…"
"But you are so grounded for the next week!" the doctor said, crossing her arms across her chest, giving Jim a stern look, before it quickly melted into a fit of snorts and giggles seeing her son's confused face. Her giggles were soon being followed by her son's quieter chuckles, accidentally waking up the sleeping goblin in the boy's lap who sleepily looked around.
Hesitantly, Barbara reached over and started to scratch the creature under the chin, earning her a content purr as it leaned forward to her touch. "Hey, would you look at that… Gale doesn't let me scratch under the chin…" Jim chuckled as he watched Gale wake up more before abruptly getting up and shaking off the rest of its sleep, quickly heading out into the forest.
"Oh… and they're gone…" Barbra sighed before looking at her son, eyebrows furrowed. "Did I scare them away?"
"They probably just went to hunt, I didn't bring any trash for them today…" Jim smiled, slowly getting up, his knife catching Barbara's gaze as a spark of curiosity flowed through her.
"Could you… show me that trick you did with the knife?" Barbara asked, pointing at the sharp object left discarded on the ground. Jim looked over to think it through before nodding with a smile.
"Sure!" he exclaimed as he quickly picked up the object and twirling it in his hand as Barbara watched and tried to make herself remember that, even if Jim was physically eight, he had the experience and was, therefore, relatively safe. Though that didn't stop her worrying.
Jim smiled as he swiftly moved the knife around, just like how strickler had once taught him to distract the enemy before stopping with a firm hold on the knife and quickly swinging with one clean arch letting go at the angle he wanted the knife to go to, sending the metal object flying towards the trees, a smirk plastered on his face at the awed expression his mother wore. "What do you think, mom?"
"That was both really cool, and really dangerous, Jim! " she exclaimed, running over to her son to take a look at his hands to make sure he wasn't injured. "Where did you learn that?" she asked after a while, a small smile on her face after making sure her son wasn't injured.
"I had a really good teacher." Jim said with a chuckle, allowing his mom to inspect his hand. The next couple of hours was spent with Jim going through his training, going through the motions of his sword stances and showing his mom basic self defence techniques after she insisted that he teach her some moves. Only ever stopping to go grab something to eat from home before they were once again in the clearing training together,
Soon, the sun fell past the horizon, and by then, both mother and son were exhausted as they watched the last rays of light disappear from view and they started to pack up for the night, Barbara adding mental notes to add some lights there if Jim was going to be using the place at night.
Shuffling from the bushes caught their attention just before Gale appeared, running over to Jim in a panicked state, tugging and pulling at the hem of his pants, practically dragging him deeper into the forest, Barbara not far behind as they crossed through thick bushes and low hanging branches.
"Jim? What's going on?" she asked worriedly, right behind her son.
"I don't know, mom, But Gale seems spooked." Jim said, pushing away a branch before his eyes spotted two figures of stone within the shadows, one blue and the other green. Jim's eyes widened seeing the two figures, a sense of happiness bubbling up deep inside before being crushed by the desperate voice of the troll he saw as his father figure.
"Hang on, Dictatious! Don't you crumble on me!" the blue troll desperately pleaded as he attempted to help his brother through the forest, before the familiar call of a Goblin called his attention.
And there they stood, two humans face to face with two trolls, one being injured while a Goblin rested on the human boy's shoulder. Blue eyes meeting brown.
"Great grumbling gruesome…!"
A/N: and we have revealed Blinky and Dictatious! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, Barbara and Blinky's parental relationship with Jim is just second only to Jim and Douxie being surrogate brothers.
