They'd been waiting quite some time. Much longer than ten minutes, anyway. It was perfectly understandable that they'd be getting worried. (Aaarrrgghh and Nana at least, Dictatious couldn't care less.)

Aaarrrgghh wanted to go look for them, but there was only so many places he could go with the limited amount of shade available. And what if they just come back while he's out?

A little longer. He'd wait a little longer and hope nothing's gone wrong.

"Don't worry, Arthur," Nana tried to reassure the obviously anxious troll, "I'm sure they'll be along any minute."

Bless her soul, the woman. She may still get his name wrong, but her heart's in the right place. Aaarrrgghh acknowledged her reassurance with a quiet hum, but was still unable to shake the lingering feeling of worry.

"I wait outside." Aaarrrgghh finally said, getting tired of pacing idly.

So he did. He waited just outside the door, beneath the shade of the building's overhang.

He waited, but what he really wanted to do was go looking around.

But he really should stay. And it's a good thing he did, because they didn't leave him waiting much longer.

Off down the street, Aaarrrgghh could see them, and he felt immediate relief and joy. Then… confusion. Because he could see one more person than there should be. Is… is that….?

How quickly one's joy could turn into alarm was not yet known by Aaarrrgghh until that moment of realization.

It was Angor Rot.

"Don't freak out!" was the first thing to come out of Toby's mouth when he saw the look on their friend's face. "We can explain!"

.

Well… They can somewhat explain. They did their best with what limited information they had. Aaarrrgghh took the explanation at face value - he trusted his friends's judgment. For somebody who literally was murdered by Angor Rot, he was surprisingly quick to accept the situation.

Surprising to Angor, at least. Everyone else seems used to this sort of thing. How can you not be with so many enemies-turned-friends?

Angor would simply have to adjust.

That would probably take… ehh… quite a while.

For now, he'd much prefer standing by the door in the background while these friends caught up with each other at the table. The Trollhunter and his mate seemed to be catching up the others on their findings in a place they referred to as 'New Jersey'. Between wondering what must have happened to Old Jersey and picking away at a golem statue nobody noticed him start carving, Angor was at least able to observe this group's relationship with each other up-close, and learn some information on top of that. Was any of this information useful? Well, you never know when you might need to know Aaarrgghh's newest high score in Go-Go Sushi.

….. On the other hand, maybe he just had no idea what they were talking about. Another thing that he will definitely have to adjust to.

"You haven't touched any of the cookies, dear!"

Angor turned his head when he realized it was him who was being spoken to. Why was the elder human speaking to him? "…. What?"

Nana Domzalski, a woman with no fear, was suddenly right beside him with a tray of cookies. "You must be starving! Don't be shy!"

SHY. Is she serious?

"I do not eat…. those." Angor Rot replied, with a pointed gaze to the tray. Judging from what Toby told him, these 'cookies' sound absolutely revolting.

"He's a troll, nan!" Toby called over. With her poor eyesight, she probably didn't even notice. "You know they don't usually eat that stuff."

You'd think that would be the end of it, but oh no, now this human was on a mission of nutrition. She knew NotEnrique liked socks, Jim liked kitchen utensils, trolls like the strangest things, so wouldn't you know it, now she was brainstorming just the strangest things to offer him as nourishment. The five Trollhunters tried their hardest to contain their giggles as they watched the situation unfold.

Any dirty laundry? No. Compost? Expired milk? Yeah, no. Some of Barbara's leftover cooking? Nooope.

Thankfully, Toby intervened after about the tenth thing she offered. "Well, what do you eat, Angor? We'd be bad zombie troll hosts if we let you go hungry." A second of thought cut through the teen's head and he quickly added, "Just don't say brains!"

"I am a hunter." Angor answered, plain and straightforward. "I hunt."

Well that set off some alarms. "WOAH woah woah woah, there! Time out!" Exclaimed Toby, jumping down from his chair, "If you're going to be 'hunting' anything, then we're going to have to set some ground rules here!"

Claire and Jim exchanged a look. Toby started listing things off.

"So, no hunting Trollhunters, no hunting trolls, no hunting people, no hunting people's dogs, no-"

"You should try the cats." Dictatious snickered from the living room. He wasn't even really listening to whatever the heck they're all talking about, but an opportunity to poke fun at Toby was present and he had to take it. "Appetizing little things."

"NO! NO CATS! DON'T MAKE ME GET OUT THE SPRAY BOTTLE!" Toby threw a cookie at the green troll's head, then rolled his eyes and returned his attention to Angor. "How about don't kill anything below the knees, okay."

"What about raccoons?" Blinky added in.

"Okay, raccoons are an exception, raccoons are the spawn of Satan, he can definitely eat raccoons."

"You lost me at 'dogs'."

Oh. Right. He probably has no idea which animal's called what. That kind of thing is so easy to forget.

"Guys, guys," Jim cut in, laughing a bit, "We can just show him things like deer to go for, it'll be fine."

"Is this really where you're letting your priorities lie right now?" Angor mulled, slipping the golem away into the pouch on his belt before it could be noticed. "The way I understand it, you have more pressing matters that need attention."

… Yeah. Can't argue with that.

"He is right," Blinky agreed, tone more serious now. "We shouldn't be putting off our reasons for coming."

Disappointing as it was, it's true they should start getting down to business.

A low grunt came from Angor Rot, satisfied that they were at least getting on track. As they discussed how they would proceed, Angor wandered over to the other room, curious about the strange image box that other troll seemed so fascinated with.

.

"Then it's settled." Claire sat up from her spot, reconfirming their parts. "Toby and Aaargh will take Blinky and I to the Heartstone to see what we're working with, and Jim will take Angor Rot back to his place to update everyone else on the situation, then meet us at Trollmarket later."

They were all in agreement. Jim's friends went to gather their things, and Jim went to gather Angor Rot.

"Hey, you ready to head ou…." Jim held that thought when he noticed the two trolls in the living room were actually… talking. Judging from the conversation, Jim could guess that Angor must have been confused about the TV.

"No no, they're not real scenarios." said Dictatious, "Humans record themselves making up stories and broadcast them on these…. metal box things… what are they called…." He snapped his fingers upon remembering. "Ah, yes, television sets."

"Strange. For what purpose?"

"They use it as a constant form of entertainment for their little, easily-amused minds."

"… Aren't you doing that right now?"

….. Oh. Well. Walked right into that one.

"Well. It's not like I have anything better to do." That was about all Dic could offer as a response to that.

Jim couldn't help but chuckle at their interaction. When he did, Angor looked his way.

"We're all heading out now." Jim said, and he gestured to the door. "You good to go?"

.

Okay. This should be simple enough, right? Just get in there, tell them that the assassin that tried to kill them all multiple times is alive again, but it's fine, he's on our side. Easy.

Yeahhh…. right.

Jim's been staring at his phone on and off on the way to his mom's house, wondering if he should send a text first? Call? But every time he pulls up his messages or reaches for that green button, he knows he's not going to be able to say what he needs to how he needs to. This is an… 'in-person' kind of conversation.

"You look nervous, Trollhunter."

And…. speaking of in-person conversations….

Jim took a deep breath. "You know, uh, Angor…." He started, rubbing his neck, "You did try to kill my mother, sooo…. you know…. hoping she won't freak out too bad."

That's fair. But it doesn't seem like that's all that's on his mind. "There is something else."

"Welllll…." How should he say this…. "Um, thing is, we kind of have another person in the house now that might make this all even more…. awkward."

Angor was starting to get a little suspicious. Jim could see it in the way he narrowed his eye.

"What is it that you're so hesitant to tell me?"

"Uhhh…. well, it's…." Jim's voice lowered in volume but heightened in pitch as he said the name. "Mr. Strickler?"

Full stop.

There was a twitch, the slightest twitch, when Angor heard that name, but it was enough to make Jim actually feel legitimate worry for the first time since he saw Angor that the troll might actually try to kill somebody. Didn't help put Jim's mind at ease when the troll repeated his name with seeping venom in his voice. "Stricklander."

"Look, I know you hate the guy. I don't blame you." Jim said quickly, not wanting to let Angor's mind wander to too violent thoughts if he could help it, "But he's changed, I promise! He got a second chance just like you're getting, and he's better now. I'm not saying you have to be his friend, just…. don't slaughter him, please?"

It wasn't a lot for him to ask. But to Angor, it sure as hell felt like it.

"… Fine." said the troll finally, Jim sighing in relief. "If it matters that much."

"Thank you…"

.

Here comes the hard part.

Angor was asked to wait on the porch, out of the doorway's line of sight. Something told Jim that his mom opening the door to see Mr. Murder Spree right away with no warning wasn't a great idea. Jim had his hand raised to knock, but he was hesitating.

This is going to be… an awkward reunion…

It took him a long moment of mental preparation, but Jim finally knocked.

Cue Barbara.

Cue instant happiness for Jim at the sight of her. Barbara's eyes lit up too when they saw her son.

"Jim!" First thing she did was hug him tight.

"It's so great to see you, mom!" Jim said, worries temporarily forgotten as he enjoyed her familiar warmth. "How are things going with Strickler and the kids?"

"Oh, busy, of course… But good! You wouldn't believe how many of them we've reunited with their families!" She was absolutely beaming. "We've got so much we need to talk about! How was New Jersey?"

They do have so much to talk about, and Jim wishes he could take more time to catch up right now, but…. "It was great, mom, I wish you could've seen it… but, uh, I actually don't have too much time to catch up right now…"

"Of course, of course, Toby told us yesterday that you had some Trollhunter busines-"

"It's not just that." Jim wasn't usually one for cutting people off, but he wanted to get the hardest part over with. "Is Strickler around?"

"He's upstairs… Why?"

"Okay, just…. don't freak out, alright? I need to show you something - someone - but he's safe, I promise! Just be cool!"

Great. Now Barbara was worried.

She followed Jim further out onto the porch….

…. and made an ungodly strange noise of shock, anger, confusion, and about twenty other different emotions.

Again, Jim rushed to reassure. (Especially when he saw her reach for her pepper spray.) "No no no, it's okay, really!" He held up his hands frantically, praying he wouldn't get sprayed as he stood in front of Angor Rot. "None of us know what's going on, but he's on our side, honest!"

From destroying their house and almost murdering them all to 'on their side' just like that? Barbara's supposed to believe that?

…. Well…. She trusts Jim, at least…..

She still kept eyeing Angor with suspicion, (Angor honestly couldn't care less, he was just going with the flow at this point), but she did put her pepper spray away. That was enough for Jim.

"Thanks, mom…" He sighed. "Can we come in…?"

.

Angor Rot remembers the last time he was here. Seeing this house without it being infested with traps was basically like seeing it for the first time, though. Many details he could see now that he never noticed before.

The older human had gone upstairs to, Angor Rot presumes, talk to Stricklander about all 'this'. In the meantime, Jim was watching Angor as he wandered the living room, perusing the decor.

He had paused to stare at the portrait of a man in strange attire, bearing some resemblance to the Trollhunter. Angor's head leaned to the side as he looked at it, trying to remember if this was a human he had seen with them before. He doesn't remember seeing him, but why would they keep this large image of a random human on the wall if it wasn't someone close to them, or an important figure?

"That's my father." Jim's voice answered Angor's puzzlement.

Oh. Of course. That'd be the obvious answer.

"I don't recall ever seeing him with you the first time."

When Jim's response to that was a quiet laugh more bitter than Cimmerian Fruit, Angor started to catch on that there was a reason for that.

"He's been gone for over ten years, man." He answered.

"Deceased?"

"Left us when I was five."

Hmm. That explains it.

The conversation was interrupted by Barbara, apparently she had come back downstairs some time ago. "Jim? Could we talk to you in the kitchen, please?"

"Sure thing." The half-troll got up from his spot and left Angor to his own devices - he'd be fine, Jim was sure, probably just look at other things and try to figure out what they are.

Strickler, understandably, was a little upset.

"Are you mad, Jim?!" He had exclaimed. Barbara gave him a look.

"Don't call my son mad, Walt."

"Apologies. Oh, and it's good to see you by the way, young Atlas."

"Likewise" Jim replied.

But anyways, back to the freaking out. "But why on Earth would you think bringing him here would be a good idea?!" Strickler kept glancing at the door as if Angor would burst in and knife him at any moment. "He is a deranged psychopath that hates me and you brought him right here?!"

"First of all, he's not deranged." Jim started, crossing his arms. "We've been with him for hours, and he hasn't done a thing wrong."

"Yet." Strickler countered, "And need I remind you that he tried to kill us all!"

"I see your point. Counter point…. Need I remind you who revived the guy in the first place and used him for their evil bidding which is what led to him trying to kill us all?"

Well, can't deny that. Can't deny the fact that he's still dangerous either, though. "Jim, he hates me. He could hurt you or Barbara. We can't just welcome him with open arms."

"Didn't expect you to." Jim said. "Just listen - the guy's been controlled and manipulated by Morgana for, like…. thousands of years, right? That's all he knew for the longest time. It didn't even occur to him that he could ditch her once he had his soul back, you know? But once he realized that, he chose to help us. Doesn't that mean something?" Then, he added, "Besides, you got a second chance. Why can't he have one?"

That's…. actually a fair set of points. Jim thought so too, and he hoped it was enough, because he's going to get awful tired of constantly trying to justify having Angor Rot around if this keeps up.

Still, Strickler was less than convinced. More willing to consider the potential here, maybe, but definitely not convinced. "Somehow I don't think our history will be 'water under the bridge' to him, even if he does seem…. 'peaceful', for now."

"Well, have you considered apologizing?"

"What?" Strickler scoffed, "Apologizing?"

"A foreign concept to you, I know." A half-joking quip on Jim's part. "But seriously. You should probably let him know you're not a complete scumbag anymore."

Right, because that would go swimmingly. "Oh sure, I'll just say 'Hello Angor Rot, I'm sorry for enslaving you and punching you and calling you a dog, but I hope we can still be friends'! How well do you think that will go?!"

"Oh, I don't know, about as well as 'Hey Barbara, I tried to murder your son numerous times and helped in the escape of a psychopathic warlord that wanted to wipe out your kind, but I hope we can still date'! How well did that go?"

"Not well! She was furious with me!"

"That's true, I did get some very strong urges to punch him in the face for a while there." Barbara added in.

"Not to mention your mother's not a crazed assassin!"

"Again, not crazed - Look, just trust me, you'll be fine!" To prove his point, Jim looked into the other room and called over to Angor, "Hey Angor, you're not going to kill Strickler, right?"

The troll's golden eye flicked to Jim, contemplating his options. "How badly do you need him alive?"

"Wh-?! Dude!" Jim exclaimed, almost sounding like he was personally offended. "We talked about this!"

Before the half-troll got too worked up over that offhand comment, Angor snorted. "I will keep my word, Trollhunter." He went back to examining some books on the shelves, and rumbled under his breath, "Even if the temptation not to is strong…."

Not very confidence-inspiring so far to Barbara and Strickler. But it's better than nothing.

It is better than nothing…

And an apology was still in order. Jim probably won't let that go anytime soon. And Angor probably deserved to hear it.

No…. he did deserve to hear it. Strickler couldn't deny that.

"Well come on then." Persisting, Jim started towards the living room where Angor was, gesturing for Strickler to follow suit. If things did go sour, Jim could be the backup plan, but he was…. well, 99% sure this won't be violent.

Maybe 98%. Which is still more sure that Strickler could say he was. He had about a million scenarios of ways in which this could go terribly wrong running through his head, but…

Well, looks like this is happening anyway. Okay, this will be fine, just take a deep breath, and…. and get out there.

.

In the living room, Angor had found a pile of strange-looking books in stiff, light covers. How are these supposed to be read? They don't open like regular books, the cover seems almost stuck together - no, wait, he got it open-

Wait, there are no pages? Just a circle inside with the same picture on the cover? What? What use even is this? Human objects are so peculiar.

"Angor?"

Angor Rot put the DVD case back, turning to the Trollhunter after being addressed by him.

He wasted no time in laying everything out plain and simple. "You don't have to have anything to do with Strickler after this, but before you spend the rest of your time here tuning him out, he has something to say to you." Then, Jim stepped out of the doorway so Strickler could come in and take it away.

… Any minute now.

….. ….. …..

"… This is not very informative." Angor said dryly after some time.

Jim glared at the doorway, clearing his throat loudly. "Ah-HEM."

Finally Strickler's avocado of a head showed itself to peek around the corner, and he stepped out into the living room. Under Angor Rot's menacing glare, how his face contorted merely at the sight of him, it was almost enough to make Strickler shudder. But he pushed away that urge, instead making himself stand (somewhat) tall and face his former prisoner. Whether he could find the right words to express this sentiment, he wasn't sure, but he'd be damned if he didn't try.

"Angor Rot… When we first met, it was under circumstances of anger and conflict. I had no regrets using you for my own gain - that is, only until I had actual consequences to deal with."

A soft growl rumbled within Angor Rot, riled at simply the memory of having to answer this Impure's every beck and call, putting up with that utter arrogance so constantly… But the troll kept quiet, despite how much he wanted to snap at this thing (or just snap his neck, really), because he had to admit he was somewhat curious to see what Strickler had to say.

"I treated you as nothing more than a tool. Sometimes even lesser than." Strickler admitted, and he looked away. Angor was surprised to actually be seeing some semblance of shame on his face. "I had no right to treat you like that. If I could make it up to you, I would."

"You say that." Angor Rot said, not convinced by the words of a Changeling so silver-tongued, "But is that not only because it's what the son of your mate expects from you?"

"No. Not just that. Young Atlas is what convinced me to face you, yes, but I am speaking the truth." Locking eyes with Angor again, he spoke with as much sincerity as he could muster. "I expect no forgiveness, but I hope you at least believe me when I say that I am sorry, Angor Rot."

… Is he now….

"I am far from accepting any sort of apology from you." Angor growled at him, voice and glare both harsh at first… though both did mellow out, even if only barely, just a moment later. "… But, I will keep it… in mind."

You know what, Strickler will take that. This outcome is way better than the disastrous 50+ scenarios he imagined in his head.

Jim gave himself a satisfied nod. It wasn't perfect, but could have gone way worse. Hopefully now, tensions won't be running too high between these two.

"Jim?" Enter Barbara, holding a house phone against her ear. "Apparently Toby's been trying to reach you for ages."

"Aw, jeez!" Jim slapped his own head. "I think I forgot my phone at his place! Tell him we'll be right there!" Making haste, he headed out the door. "C'mon, Angor!"

Hm. Never a dull moment around this group, is it.

He gave Strickler and Barbara one last look, then donned his umbrella and followed Jim out the door. Instant sighs of relief from the both of them.

.

The sun was starting to set. Soon Angor Rot wouldn't even need the umbrella. The canal was shady enough as is, under the bridge's shadow.

"Okay, Toby should be up any minute to let us in." Jim said, clicking the communication device, the one they had stopped by said human's house to get, off and watching the wall, waiting for an opening.

Strange. It seemed only so recently to Angor that he was attacking this place, and now here he is, being let right inside. Who would've thought.

The stone wall began to crumble, glowing blue cracks splintering the stone in the shape of a doorway. At that cue, the pair of trolls walked inside.

"You gotta see this, Jimbo!" was the first thing out of Toby's mouth. "The Heartstone's being super weird!"

"Weird, like, how?" Asked Jim, the crystal stairs lighting up for them to walk down.

"Well, Aaarrrgghh and I were just here yesterday to check on it, right? But it was hardly even glowing then. Now, it… it's all woah! You know?"

"All… 'woah'."

"Yeah! Like, it's waaay more glowy! Still not like, 'oooh, the Hearstone's back to normal' glowy, but glowy!" Toby was bouncing down the stairs ahead of them, eager for Jim to just see for himself. "Just come on!"

"I simply can't explain it!"

Blinky had skimmed through every book in the library he could find on Heartstones. They were all in a disorderly pile next to one of its large red chunks of crystal. He paced back and forth as if he were on fire, flipping through one of the books again hoping some sort of miraculous explanation would appear.

"It just doesn't make sense! How can a Heartstone come back to life?"

"Well if something like this has never happened before, the answer probably won't be in those books." Claire pointed out, testily running her fingers along a Heartstone piece. "We need to think outside the box for this."

"Heyyyy!"

They both turned at the sound of Toby's voice, seeing him with Jim and Angor Rot. With any luck, the two extra set of heads will help shed some light on this situation. (Well… more light. In a non-literal sense.)

"I brought the othe- Woahhh….." Toby gaped in awe at the Heartstone, the giant pulsing hunk of rock that,in the mere moments Toby was gone, has gone to shining almost as brightly as it once always did, even if it was still flickering now. "Did it do that in the time I was gone?!"

"Yeah, but we can't figure out why!" Claire looked to Jim. "It hadn't changed one bit while we've been with it until just now. It's weird."

That is weird….

Jim went to take a closer look. Angor, for now, kept his distance and watched from afar.

It was like Jim could almost feel the Heartstone breathing its essence into his very core as he brushed his fingers along its sleek surface. It certainly gave Jim the impression that there's a possibility of thriving troll life here again. But there's got to be a reason.

"And there's nothing in the library on this?" Jim wanted to confirm.

Blinky answered, disappointment in his voice, "Not a thing."

Other possibilities, any other possibilities… The group brainstormed like there was no tomorrow, bouncing all sorts of crazy ideas off of each other. Could it be some kind of undiscovered species symbiotically exchanging energy with it? No, they'd have seen something like that by now, unless it was tiny… Or, what if some magical artifact was brought down here, tampering with the Heartstone, or…

Maybe Angor should have been paying attention. Normally he would be, but his attention was… preoccupied.

Something about the Heartstone was… strange to him… He couldn't bring himself to look away.

Most of him felt terribly uneasy. He didn't know why.

But part of him… part of him was drawn to it.

He didn't know why.

But that one small part of him, it managed to override the rest of his body's protests to get closer. While the others talked, Angor slowly edged nearer to Arcadia's Heartstone.

It got brighter.

Not just brighter - When Angor Rot was only inches from the stone, it flashed a blinding glare of a light, and everyone jumped back in surprise.

And when everyone, including Angor Rot, had jumped back… it calmed down again.

Blinky looked from the Heartstone to Angor Rot a few times. You could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he started to figure it out. "It… It's reacting to you."

"What." Angor's expression shifted to one of confusion, not sure how to make sense of the other troll's observation. "That makes no sense."

"Tobias!" All sorts of possibilities now going through his head, Blinky needed more information. "This 'glowing' business started happening the same day you called us, yes? Not many days ago?"

"I mean, yeah," Toby confirmed, then looked at Aaarrrgghh. "Me and Aaarrrgghh've also been checking on it every day up until now, and it hadn't changed a bit till today."

"Light weak. Not like this." Aaarrrgghh spoke up in support.

"And you." Now Blinky's focus was back on Angor Rot. "How long have you been out of the Shadow Realm?"

"I wouldn't know." Honestly, does he not remember the whole unconscious thing?

"Oh! Wait wait wait!" All eyes now on him, Toby waved his arms frantically around in search of his phone and dialed up Steve, praying he'd answer.

Thankfully, after a few rings, he did. Toby put him on speaker first thing. "Whaddaya want, Dumbzalski? I'm in the middle of-"

"Yeah yeah, not important right now - Hey listen, you know when we were talking about that troll in the woods?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You said that Eli saw a… a light there before, right? When was that?"

"I don't know, three… maybe four days ago? Why?"

"Kay thanks bye!"

"Wait, wh-?"

Explaining things to Steve wasn't priority right now anyway, so Toby hung up. "If that was the same time Angor appeared here, then the timing would be, like, exactly right!"

"It was faint while Angor Rot was in the woods… then we brought him back to Arcadia, and it got stronger." Claire added on to that. "Now he's right here, and it's…"

They all looked to the Heartstone. Now they were actually getting somewhere with figuring out why it's acting up. One step closer, at least - there are still many unanswered questions…

… and Angor couldn't answer any of them. How in Deya's name does any of this make sense?

"But why, though?" Jim asked, thinking the same thing. "What connection does Angor Rot have with the Heartstone? He's barely even been around it that much. Maybe once during that attack on Trollmarket, and also when he was…. Well…."

They all knew he was probably around it with Gunmar.

But still, why would any of that result in something like… this?

"…. What if….." It was a stretch. But still, an idea… There was no harm in Claire voicing it. "… What if it's not exactly the Hearstone and Angor that have a connection, but something they share a connection with?"

….. No.

"What do you mean, Claire?" Jim asked.

"Well, if you think about it, I mean…. Morgana was trapped in there for a long time, right?" She shrugged a little, unsure. "Maybe there's, like… some of 'Her' in there? That can… 'sense' him or something?"

No.

"That… might actually be possible." Blinky furrowed his brow, one hand rubbing his chin in thought. "A magic user of Her strength being trapped there for so long, still awake, even… Some essence of Her could have been left behind here."

"I mean, it's the best explanation we got so far." Toby pointed out.

No.

"Okay, well… it's better than nothing. A starting point, right?" Jim looked at Blinky. "Maybe we should start looking into–"

Wait. Something else was catching Jim's attention.

The tint of a vicious glowing green out of the corner of his eye. The cold sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath.

Creeper's Sun.

What happened next was a blur. Weapons were drawn. Panicked words were spoken by everyone around, save for Angor and Jim.

Jim saw the blade, and he reacted. The others, they saw the Creeper's Sun and their first thought was to prepare for an attack. But Jim, he was the first to see Angor had turned the blade towards himself.

He forgot he could move that fast until he made the leap to Angor's side, Eclipse Blade appearing in hand, and knocked the poison-coated dagger out of Angor's grip mere milliseconds before he had the chance to plunge it into his own body. Jim also forgot how fast Angor could move - the troll had him thrown to the ground in almost as many milliseconds. He went for his weapon again.

Both Toby and Claire drew their weapons, Blinky beginning to curse himself for letting such an enemy so close, and they all started to move in.

But, to everyone's surprise, Aaarrrgghh moved an arm in their way. "Wait."

Aaarrrgghh caught on, as the others soon would, that this wasn't meant to be a fight. Not like they think.

The first thing Jim did when he got himself up was jump to the Creeper's Sun, careful not to touch it, but standing over it just in time to block Angor from it, even grabbing his arm to keep him from reaching for it. "What the hell do you think you're doing, man?!"

"Don't you get it, Trollhunter?!" Angor shouted back, a flare of violet magic firing up in his free hand. "For as long as I am alive, a part of Her lives within me! A fragment of Her soul!"

"So what, you're going to kill yourself?! That won't fix anything!"

The magic in his hand got brighter, near threatening to burst as some sort of attack attempt. Jim had been keeping his eye on it, but in this moment, was more focused on the distraught troll holding it.

"I won't be used by Her again! I can't-!" Angor shook his head, breaking eye contact with Jim. The anguish in his voice was very nearly camouflaged by all the anger. Nearly. "I am not Hers any longer..!"

"Angor, listen…" It was a softer voice Jim used this time. No less firm, but with sympathy. "We don't know what any of this means. We can't just go around making rash decisions like…" Well… He looked at the Creeper's Sun.

"Master Jim is right," Blinky added in. He may not trust Angor Rot, but this is not an outcome anyone needs right now. "For all we know, our hypothesis could be completely erroneous. Your connection to Morgana could be harmless in this context."

"And if it isn't?" Angor looked from Blinky to Jim, only appearing more frustrated, and that magic in his hand burning brighter in preparation to fight for his knife if he had to. "You would be fools to even consider taking the risk."

"If it isn't," Jim went on, demanding his attention once again, "We'll deal with it another way."

He had Angor listening to him, at least. But convinced? That was another story. He's still eyeing the Creeper's Sun as if it could be a good idea.

Jim decided to try taking a practical route, one more attempt to reason with the troll.

"What if this is what She wants you to do? What if She only needed to get you out of the Shadow Realm to get killed, and let that piece of Herself loose in our realm? I mean think about it, it was only pure luck that sunlight didn't get to you before we did, and heck, She knows you have lots of enemies around here. I've seen souls escape your body when you died before. Do you really think that's worth the risk?" Jim's grip on Angor's arm loosened, just a touch, as he spoke. "There are way too many 'what if's, too many possibilities. We don't know what Her thought process is with all this. What if we end up playing right into Her hands?"

Seems that Jim Lake Jr. is on a roll with good points today. Angor Rot actually looked like he was deliberating those words pretty carefully now.

"Look, it's been a long day, a lot's happened, we're all confused and tired… Why don't we sleep on this for now and tackle everything in the morning, huh?"

Unanimous agreement came from his friends at that suggestion. It has been an unforgivably long day. They are all confused and tired. Sleep probably sounds like an absolute blessing to them right now.

… The flare of magic Angor was holding slowly started to fade, before fizzling out completely. He took a step back. Jim felt such a rush of relief, as did the others.

Nice and slow, he picked up the knife, keeping an eye on Angor all the while. Just to be safe, he wouldn't return it quite yet. Angor was unsurprised - he'd deal without it for now.

"Let's get out of here, okay?"

.

You'd think these kids hadn't seen a bed in years with how quickly they passed out into them.

Toby and Claire were the first to go, Aaarrrgghh snuggling up next to them on of mattresses and bedding Nana Domzalski let them lay down in the living room. Jim smiled as he looked at them all from the stairway where he sat, just seeing them again filling him with a familial feeling of comfort. Normally Jim would be sleeping at his own place, but right now, he feels more at ease being closer to everyone.

Especially considering…

He looked over at the troll sitting in the corner furthest away from everyone else. Jim couldn't tell if he was sleeping, but if he had to take a guess he'd say that Angor was. It's not like people stay perfectly still with their eyes (eye?) closed for many other reasons.

"Can't sleep, Master Jim?"

His ears twitched at the sound of another voice, and he looked to his left to see Blinky coming up next to him. "Nah, guess not." He replied, voice matching Blinky's whisper to not wake anyone. "It's a lot to think about, you know?"

"All too well." Jim's trainer followed his stare to their friends, chuckling at the cute sight before sighing. "It was a nice time of peace while it lasted."

"Yeah. Guess it was too good to be true, that it'd be that easy to deal with someone like Morgana."

"Mm," Blinky sighed in agreement, the hand holding his staff making wringing motions around it. "But at least, this time, she is alone." His six eyes glanced across the room to Angor. "… Mostly alone." He added quietly.

It was Jim's turn to follow Blinky's stare.

"… Hey, Blinky, I was thinking…" This isn't going to be taken well, Jim was sure of it, but… "I think it might be a good idea to have someone stay with Angor Rot, in case all of us ever have to go somewhere suddenly and can't take him, or… well, just someone to… to help him adjust to living here and… stuff…"

"Ah, and someone to keep him out of trouble as well! Grand idea! Whom do you suggest?"

"Welllll… I did have someone specific in mind…" There was a moment's hesitation, but Jim brought himself to speak his… strange suggestion. "…. Dictatious, actually."

"WHAT-" One of his many hands clapped over his mouth, peeking at their friends in hopes he hadn't woken them - when he was assured they didn't wake, Blinky turned back to Jim, astonished. "Why him of all people?! I hardly trust either of those two simply on their own!"

"Just hear me out, Blinky. Angor's going to have to do a lot of adapting." Jim had been racking his brain all night about this, and it showed a little. "Strickler taught him a few things about modern civilization when he summoned him - very few things - but that was back when Angor was staying out of everyone's sight most of the time, doing his own thing-"

"Hunting you?" Blinky brusquely added.

"That too - but my point is, the situation's different now. He's going to need toknow more stuff,someone to, like… show him the ropes, you know? It's a lot to take in, and Angor's probably under enough stress as is, and yeah, maybe having someone to keep him out of trouble would be good too, and-"

"Master Jim, I understand where you're coming from." Blinky interrupted his rambling, a perplexed look on his face. "But why Dictatious? Wouldn't a better choice be…." … Pause. "…. literally anyone else?"

"Well, if you think about it… Dictatious was kind of in a similar situation. Being thrown into our world, having to get used to everything different, being our enemy and then being on our side so suddenly… but he actually adapted pretty fast, right?" Jim thought so. Sure, maybe it was only because he had to, but still. "Maybe having someone who understands the kinds of things he's going through will make the transition easier on Angor Rot. Plus, I heard Dictatious say himself that he doesn't really have much on his plate anyway. He'd have the most time out of all of us to do it." Jim looked in Angor's direction. "… And…"

Now Blinky had a feeling he knew where Jim's mind went next. "… and you're worried Angor Rot may make an attempt on his own life again, if left unchecked."

Bingo. Jim sighed. "We might have the antidote to Creeper's Sun, but what's to stop him from just waltzing into the regular sun if he wants to?"

Blinky looked skeptical. "You think my brother would?"

"Maybe not directly, but… I don't know. Maybe if Angor Rot just had somebody there, to… to feel responsible for, or something?" Jim sighed. plopping his head in his hands. "I don't know, Blink. I just want to try something. I don't… I don't want him to be alone."

Being alone is a terrible feeling.

Blinky put a hand on Jim's shoulder. "I will talk to Dictatious about it." He said quietly, a reassuring look upon his face.

"Thanks, Blink." Jim smiled, grateful. Then, a yawn came about.

"Well!" At this rate, Blinky and his pupil wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, so! "Now that we've got that sorted out, perhaps a sleeping aid is in order! To the kitchen, some tea for you, some whipped cream for me!"

Jim quietly laughed. "I thought you didn't like whipped cream when you have troll tastebuds."

"It's an acquired taste!" Blinky chirped with a jaunty (what Jim assumed to be a) wink. He and his pupil joked amongst themselves as they went to raid the kitchen.

They didn't notice that Angor's one golden eye make itself visible in the darkness as they passed.

That's fine. The assassin didn't particularly want to be noticed.

He didn't make a sound as he pulled the little totem figure he'd been working on out of his pouch, along with a spare knife. The soft grind of blade against rock was quiet enough as to not wake the other two human adolescents.

That was easy enough. He was a master of stealth, after all.

His gaze would sometimes shift to the direction of the kitchen. He was… intrigued.

The Trollhunter is so… sentimental. The idea of losing one troll, a former enemy no less, shouldn't bother him so. How did someone with such a weak heart become such a formidable adversary?

.

Ah, the morning. Well…. more like noon for the teenagers, anyway. They were tired, okay?

The humans were downstairs, just where Angor Rot was headed after being (properly) introduced to Dictatious. It was a quick ordeal - Neither of them had much to say to each other. Blinky must have felt awkward in the silence, because he was pretty quick in suggesting he speak to his brother alone for a moment. Who was Angor to stick around where he didn't have to?

The children have proven to be more interesting to observe so far, anyway.

"… no, but hear me out! The Heartstone is totally a Horcrux, and that makes Angor Rot Harry Potter!"

… Wait, what are they talking about?

"Hoor-crucks?" Aaarrrgghh repeated, confused. "Harry? Potter?"

"Harry Potter!" Toby shouted back, reaching for another pancake of the stack Nana made for everyone. "Have you never seen Harry Potter? You are missing out!"

"Cinematic masterpieces," Jim chuckled in agreement.

"Literature masterpieces, you mean?" Sliding her knife through the butter, Claire smirked. "The books are waaay better."

"Neeerrrd! Movies all the way!"

A glob of butter was promptly flicked Toby's way. He deserved it.

They all laughed as Toby wiped the butter off his face, then the redhead caught sight of the confused troll lingering in the doorway. "Oh, look look!" With no hesitation, he leapt out of his seat and held his arms out towards Angor, making a display of him. "Look! Tell me he's not a taller, edgier, knifier Harry Potter! He totally is!"

It would be an understatement to say Angor was confused at this point. "I'm a… what?"

The way Toby's face just shifted at those words, eyes sparkling with joy and disbelief like he might cry tears of happiness, now had Angor almost concerned: "Dude…" He squeaked, "Say that again."

"Erhm…." His eye flicked to Claire, Jim, and Aaarrrgghh to gauge reactions. Jim and Claire looked to be expecting something, and like they were… holding back laughter. Aaarrrgghh looked almost as confused as Angor felt. "… I'm a what?"

More eye sparkles. Toby was giddy as he whispered, "You're a wizard, Harry."

"…. What."

In perfect timing, all three of them exclaimed in unison, "A wizard!"

Then they all burst out into hysterical giggles.

Soooooo confused right now.

When Blinky came down the stairs with Dictatious, in time to hear their corny movie references, Angor gave him a curious look. "You understand this jargon they speak?"

"Haven't the foggiest idea." Blinky said, accompanied with a four-armed shrug.

"You get used to it eventually." added Dictatious, rolling his eyes at their dumb references.

"Now then!" He followed up, changing the subject, "I'll be borrowing my brother for just a little while longer, but Master Jim, you and Angor can meet us in the library later, yes?"

"Sure thing!" Jim gave a thumbs up. "We'll be down after breakfast!"

"Splendid!" With everything in order, the brothers were on their way, Blinky waving as they walked out. "Until then!"

"Hmm." Angor looked at the children. "I was under the impression those books held nothing of value for this."

"Well, Blinky figured it wouldn't hurt to brush up on any Heartstone anomalies that have been recorded over the years, to get a sense of how ours might act under these new conditions." Claire explained, starting to gather the dishes. "Also, looking for any useful info they can about Morgana."

Well, that's probably a decent enough idea. Better than doing nothing, anyway.

"And that… 'Dictatious'." He pulled out a spare knife, cryptic expression on his face as he started to sharpen it on his own body. "You mean for him to be some sort of 'guide' to me?"

"I thought it might be good for you to have him around, yeah." As he and Toby helped Claire clean up, Jim looked at Angor, both a little worried about how he'd take that, and also about that strange look in his eye. "I hope that's… okay?"

Angor held Jim's stare for a moment, then shrugged and went back to minding his knife. "I have no objections." Quieter, he added, "Though from the looks of him, it seems I'll be doing most of the literal guiding."

"Don't let Dic hear you say that." Toby laughed awkwardly.

"You know, speaking of Dictatious," Jim spoke up, "I should probably bring you up to speed on his, um… 'history' with us."

.

"Gunmar was born from a rotten Heartstone."

Dictatious looked bored out of his mind, sitting at the table holding his head up with one arm, as Blinky sped-read like there was no tomorrow.

"This one had not even begun to rot." He continued, "It was merely dead."

"Still, it too was surrounded by a violent war." Blinky countered, flipping through pages at the speed of light, "If it was harboring some of Morgana's essence this whole time-"

"It had not had to deal with the violence for nearly as long. The Battle of Eternal Night was remarkably short in comparison. It'd be quite the leap to assume the Pale Lady's magic was what was preserving it."

"You may be right," Blinky admitted, closing the book he had and putting it down in exchange for another, "but it's too soon to disregard any possibilities." After another minute's page-flipping, he looked to his brother, noticing how bored he looked. "… Do you have any other books with information on Morgana that I'm missing?"

"You should know, Blinkous, you've been here more often than I have these years." Still, he got up from his seat and started to feel around.

It almost surprised Blinky how much Dictatious still remembered the layout of this library and its contents. Dic was right, Blinky's been around the library a lot longer in recent times, but Dictatious has still been surprisingly helpful in finding and suggesting reading material that could be useful to their research.

As Dictatious perused the shelves, Blinky went back to what he was reading.

"What happened to my books?"

"What?" Dictatious's voice caught Blinky's attention again. He looked over, seeing Dic feel around multiple shelves, moving books around and seeming disturbed - but nothing seemed out of order with the books themselves. "What do you mean?"

"These shelves should not be this empty…" There was an air of suspicion in his tone, his eyes squinting as they hopelessly strained to make out the covers. Dictatious moved to another set of shelves, feeling around and coming up with similar results. Even without working eyes, he could tell something was amiss. "So many of them are missing. Blinkous, why are so many of my books missing?"

Oh, that - ohh. Ooohhh

Well, to be fair, Blinky didn't think his memory of the library would be that good…. Or at least he had hoped it wouldn't be…

Very awkwardly, Blinky cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, about that… erm… Well, it's a funny story, actually…"

Now Dictatious knew something was being kept from him. He sent a harsh stare Blinky's way. "What do you mean, funny story?"

"First of all, you must understand that I was still very mad at you…" Still kind of am, but Blinky had been trying to improve their relationship since then. This might damage that goal, though. "At the time, it seemed like a good venting idea…"

When Dictatious's eyes went wide, then narrowed with more intensity than before, Blinky knew he was fucked. "Blinkous…" He growled, "What did you do?"

.

"….. and after all was said and done with those goblins, he's been living at Toby's place ever since."

That about wrapped up everything Angor should need to know about Dictatious. Good timing, too - he and Jim were getting pretty close to the library now.

"Hrm…" Gunmar's right hand, turned traitor just like that? Odd that the Skullcrusher never mentioned such a thing. Then again, he surely had other things on his mind…

Still. A lot to consider about this brother of Blinky's…

"You Trollhunters seem to have a bad habit of turning enemies to allies." Angor Rot observed aloud. At least it was starting to make more sense now, why they were so quick to offer him another chance. "One day, that may be your downfall."

"Well, it hasn't done us wrong yet." Jim grinned, seeming pretty confident with his choices so far. "I'll take my chances."

"Even with one so quick to betray his own kind for Gunmar?"

"Dictatious may have his… many faults… It took a while for Blink to give him a chance, and I can't say any of us had much belief in him either," Jim admitted as they approached the library's entrance, "but he's been a lot better behaved lately. Even Blinky thinks so. According to Tobes, he's been more mellow over the months - I mean, he has his moments, but for the most part he's been pretty chill-"

"YOU BURNED MY BOOKS?!"

The loud shout from inside left Jim blank-faced staring at the library.

Blinky's voice could be heard too. "Look on the bright side! You won't be reading them anymore!"

"'LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE', BLINKOUS?! 'LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE'?!"

"… Maybe not the best choice of words - Hey!"

That was followed with the sounds of things crashing around inside, as if things were being thrown. Angor Rot looked at Jim, skeptical of this 'he's been pretty chill' claim.

"… Uhh…" Jim drawled, "Maybe we should… wait out here for a sec."

Inside, the library was chaos. Dictatious had arms full of books and artifacts, ready to start chucking them in his brother's direction. "Why would you do such a thing, you absolute IMBECILE?!"

At this point, Blinky was starting to get pretty riled up too. "You BETRAYED me! I was furious! All I could think was how these were the books of a liar!"

"YEARS of research down the drain! You BRAT!" Dictatious started throwing. What he lacked in aim he made up for in volume, grabbing anything near him and just chucking it in his rage. "It wasn't enough that you left me blind, you had to destroy so much of my life's work too?!"

"Need I remind you," Blinky snapped back, blocking what he could of the wildly thrown objects, "that you TRIED TO KILL ME?!" He started picking up the books and things landing around him and throwing them back. "So much for all that talk from before-" He started quoting Dictatious in a mocking tone, "'I forgive you for blinding me, brother! Hug me, brother!' BALDERDASH!"

"THAT WAS BEFORE YOU BURNED MY BOOKS!" He was almost too mad to even notice Blinky hitting him back (he was used to bumping into everything anyway, this isn't much worse) "YOU DEFILED MY LIBRARY!"

"Well you can stay in your stupid library!" He threw his hands up in anger, done dealing with this right now. "I'm not going to sit here and take this drivel!"

As he was leaving, Dictatious threw one last book at his brother, hitting a wall instead.

"YOU MISSED!"

"I KNOW!"

That was the last of it, as Blinky stormed out before any more could be said or done. Then he saw Angor and Jim.

"Don't even start." Blinky huffed, holding up a hand to halt either of them from saying anything, "I am not in the mood."

The two of them just watched as he stomped away. "Ah, geez…" Jim whispered. He looked at Angor with an apology in his eyes. "I should really go talk to him… Are you okay staying with…?" He gestured to the library.

Angor raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem bothered. "… Alright."

"Thank you, sorry, thanks so much-" Jim didn't stay long, not wanting to lose sight of Blinky. Angor was… surprised it'd be that easy to be rid of him. The distraction of an upset friend worked in his favour, he supposed.

Now, to go into the library as the Trollhunter wished… or to take this rare opportunity to roam alone.

Hmm…

.

That vile little bratburning his work

Dictatious was still fuming as he clumsily fumbled around to collect the books strewn about, his irritation only aiding the lack of coordination, making him even more irritated - what a vicious cycle.

He was struggling to get the armful he had back on their shelves when he heard someone come in. He didn't know who it was. He didn't care. He just glared in their direction and snapped, "What do you want?"

"At this moment? Nothing you can give me."

Oh. Oh bushigal, that's- Ohh.

Maybe snapping at vicious assassins wasn't the greatest idea in the world. Angor could tell that was the thought going through Dictatious's head - a small smirk tugged at his lips as he saw the smaller one's ears dip down, a sign of submission and the slightest bit of fear.

Not afraid enough to retract his current sour mood, of course. He turned away and went back to putting books away, finishing with the stack he had and going off to get more. "Let me guess. The Trollhunter went after Blinkous."

"The scholar in you is showing." Angor replied with the smallest hint of sarcasm. Leaning against the wall, arms folded, his gold eye studied Dictatious carefully as he tried to restore his library to some form of tidiness. "Not very careful with the work you value so much, are you?"

As if Dictatious needed his buttons pushed any more. This was one troll he wasn't quite willing to tell off though, so he just gritted his teeth and kept working. Until he tripped over a used Kairosect he couldn't see. "Curse these blasted eyes-" He hissed quietly, knocking it away.

Then he saw the blur that was (probably) Angor get closer. From the sounds of it, he started to pick up some books too. When he got a strange look from Dictatious for that, he just said, "You are painful to watch. It will be faster this way."

Oh. That's… surprisingly helpful of him….

.

And, well, he was obviously right. The job went by much faster with someone there that could actually see. When they finished up, it's not like there was much more to do down in Trollmarket, so they made their way back to the surface.

It was strange though… There was the smallest of moments as they were walking through Trollmarket where Angor felt a strong sense of foreboding deep in his core. He stopped immediately.

Dictatious had to stop too, as he was using the other to judge where to go. "… Is something wrong, or are we just enjoying the scenery now?"

Was something wrong?

Angor looked around slowly. Quickly as the feeling had come, it disappeared. "… No." He said, continuing to lead Dictatious out.

He wouldn't say it was his imagination. But right now, honestly nothing seemed wrong. He had no reason to say otherwise.

.

Whatever happened between Blinky and Jim, Angor wasn't sure. It had been a few days, and Dictatious still wouldn't even acknowledge Blinky's presence. Blinky still seemed angry too, but there was something new there when he looked at his brother. Something almost akin to… regret.

It had been a few days. For now, Angor had been staying with the teens - they hadn't needed him to stay with Dictatious yet, they had all been available to keep an eye on him so far, and Jim knew that 'situation' in the library had made things a little sensitive right now. Maybe it had been too soon yet to leave those two together.

It had been a few days, with periodic checks to that one spot where Angor Rot appeared. Every check, nothing was out of place. A good thing.

It had been a few days, and Angor still had that strange feeling in Trollmarket in the back of his mind. He wasn't near the Heartstone at the time. He wouldn't call it nothing. What had been wrong?

.

"You ready to go, Angor?"

Jim, Claire, and Toby had been waiting by the door, ready to make their way to the Lake household. (Well, wasn't much to get ready for, it was just a walk across the street, but it was still good for Angor to have his umbrella on him just in case)

And umbrella he had, just in case. "What is it we're doing?"

"Something I wish we could put off, buuut…" Toby rolled his eyes.

"It's important, Tobes. He knows the most about magic and Morgana." Jim looked to Angor Rot. "We asked Merlin to meet us at my house."

"Merlin?"

Angor Rot had been surprisingly compliant the whole time he'd been with them so far, so much so that Jim had already started growing used to it - but this time, he looked… particularly reluctant. Not a usual look on him. "Do you really think it wise that I be there?"

If you think about it, Morgana's Trollhunter-killing soul-bearing assassin sorcerer might not be the best audience to… well… Merlin.

"I know, I know, it's… weird." Jim admitted.

"But we think it's important for you to be there." Claire added too, "He might have some insight about all this."

Still, Angor Rot was hesitant. But they did have a point. Why must they alwayshave a point?

Of course, he came along.

"And hey, if he's a jerk to you, don't worry about it." Jim made sure to say on the walk there. "He's a jerk to pretty much everybody."

"Is he?" That was surprising. This is the great wizard Merlin, loved and respected by trolls everywhere… right? 'Jerk' wasn't the first word to come to Angor's mind.

Toby and Claire were very quick to voice their agreement. "Big-time jerk. Just look at what he did to Jim!"

Angor looked at Jim, still confused. "… Was this not for the sake of winning a war?"

"Well yeah, but come on, irreversible species change? Something tells me you wouldn't appreciate being permanently turned human." Toby persisted. "He turned Jim's world upside down and didn't even care!"

"Not to mention he's just, in general, an all-around jerk." Claire agreed.

Still, it was… hard for Angor to wrap his head around. He knows the Pale Lady despised him, but… how can someone so adored in troll history be so detested by his own Trollhunters?

Looks like he'd find out.

Jim opened the door to Blinky and Merlin already going at it from inside. Aaarrrgghh, Strickler and Barbara were there too, Barbara looking about ready to fight Merlin too, and Aaarrrgghh and Strickler clearly just wanting the fight to blow over with no injured loved ones, thank you very much.

"The nerve of you!" Blinky snarled, all his hands curled into fists that looked ready to deck the wizard in the face. "How dare you blame this on Master Jim! It's not like you were much help against Morgana!"

"I'm just saying," Merlin's nonchalant voice replied, "If he had killed Morgana the first time, we wouldn't have this current problem on our hands."

"Why you-!"

"Jim back!" Aaarrrgghh interrupted very purposefully. Everyone turned to the door.

"Heyy…" Jim greeted awkwardly, walking inside with the others. This was already a bad start to things…

When Merlin saw Angor Rot, his back straightened even more to look down his nose at the troll. "If it isn't Angor Rot," He said with a dry tone, "Slayer of Trollhunters."

If the way Merlin said that bothered Angor, he was pretty good at hiding it. His expression remained fairly apathetic, aside from maybe one minor twitch that'd have given away his annoyance.

"Anyways…" Jim cut in, stepping in front of Angor, "You've been filled in on what's going on, yeah?"

"Oh, yes." In a manner that appeared both curious and perturbed, Merlin circled around them, specifically eyeing Angor Rot and looking him up and down. "And it's this soul business I'm particularly interested in." Cutting right to the chase, Merlin said, "I'm going to need some more privacy with this troll. Upstairs?" He gestured to the staircase.

Angor Rot's eye narrowed at that, mistrustful. Jim's face took on a look of unsureness too, not moving from his position in front of Angor. "You're not going to do anything weird to him, are you?"

Merlin shrugged. "I don't have anything much in the way for that sort of thing at the moment… so, probably not."

"I'm coming too." Jim asserted. It wasn't up for debate. He did not trust the idea of these two alone.

It was pointless to argue - or, too bothersome to. Merlin just rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Fine, fine. Come along, then."

Jim and Angor traded skeptical looks, but still, followed him up the stairs. They were there for his insight, after all.

"… Sssooo…" Toby looked around at the others. "I guess we just… wait?"

.

Sure, wait for like two hours. There were multiple times where Toby wanted to go up and check on everything, Barbara too at least once, but if there's anything Claire's learned about things regarding magic, it's that you probably shouldn't mess with proceedings like this, lest you make a mess. Nobody knew what they were doing up there, but if Merlin needed privacy, then it was best to just wait it out. Right?

Finally, they came back downstairs. The first thing Strickler and Barbara noticed was the grim look on Jim's face, and the fury Angor was trying very hard to conceal. Toby was the first to jump up, quickly followed by Claire and Blinky. "Well? What was that about?"

"It's worse than expected." Merlin said, shaking off his hands of green-gold remnants of glowing magic. "I couldn't do much, but I did manage to look into the piece of Her soul within this troll."

Jim looked away. "We knew She had to be stronger than before to do all this, but…"

"Her magic has evolved to new levels." Merlin was blunt about it, but even he had the faintest hint of worry in his tone. "The Shadow Realm may be a cage of nothingness, one that at first seems like a perfect solution, but it hasn't stopped Her from practicing and enhancing Her abilities. From the looks of it, that's all She's been doing." He wore a frown almost as dark as Jim's. "This is only a fraction of Her soul, and it's only going to get stronger as She does."

Angor shook his head, seething with anger. He should be dead, he should be-

"And, might I add, troll…" Merlin said, as if he could read the other's mind, "It's in everyone's best interests that you stay alive. At least like this, we have this piece of Morgana under control, to some extent, and we can monitor it… Even if it's just a piece of Her soul, letting it loose could bring us that much closer to our doom."

"Doom?" Toby squeaked, "Well, She-She's still not invincible, right? Right?"

"Yeah! There's got to still be a way to defeat Her!" Claire went to Jim as she spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "And besides, this time, She doesn't have Gunmar and his army to help Her!"

"At the rate She's going, She won't need an army." said Merlin. But, he had to give her credit. "Though, you're right. This time, we'll only have one target to worry about."

"And our numbers continue to grow." Strickler added too, with a look to Angor.

Blinky looked away, sighing under his breath, "'Even the word hopeless isn't void of hope'…"

Now then, Merlin started to say something else, but was interrupted by the CRASH of NotEnrique bursting through the window.

He shook off the broken glass, looking around wildly for Claire, and when his eyes fell on her, words fell out of his mouth in a scramble. "Claire you gotta get home now it's so messed upthere's all this crazy-"

Merlin interrupted NotEnrique back, obnoxiously clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Impure, I was in the middle of-"

"Can it, old man!" NotEnrique returned his attention to what was important, talking to Claire. "We got a huuuge problem at home, sis! And by huge problem, I mean a huge flippin' portal in the middle o' the living room!"

"What?!" Claire exclaimed. "What do you mean huge portal?!"

"WHAD'YA THINK 'HUGE PORTAL' MEANS, KID?!"

As if they needed another huge magic mess to deal with right now. While the kids started freaking out, Barbara stood up. Her time has come.

"Kids," She said forcefully, "Get in the car!"