Quiet houses couldn't be trusted anymore.
It had been beyond nerve-wracking lately, the times in which Dictatious couldn't hear anybody else nearby. At the very least, he'd usually be able to hear Nancy puttering about, but even she couldn't be relied on to be around today. They were out of tea. She had to restock. And there was never telling how long she'd take in doing so.
Being alone just felt like another word for being exposed. Vulnerable to an attack, should anybody want to hurt him.
And Dictatious oh so recently had angered someone with extensive knowledge on how to get away with exactly that sort of thing. Someone who, ironically, had conditioned him to be wary of exactly this sort of environment.
The Conundrum tread lightly, his ears perked for any hint of noise as he emerged from his dwelling for food. When all seemed safe, he rummaged through the trash a bit.
It was the one thing Toby liked about having Dictatious around. Kind of like recycling, but way less work, and he almost never had to take the garbage out anymore.
He kept his ears carefully perked for any sign of noise, but Dictatious did allow himself to relax just the tiniest bit. All signs seemed to point that the house was, in fact, truly empty of others.
It was a dangerous game, but he let himself relax just a little bit more when he started to eat. Someone will come back soon, he figured, the house was never empty for long.
~BLINDED BY THE LIGHT~
The sudden blast of music made Dictatious jump so hard, he knocked over the dining room table when he hit it. His heart may as well have broken out of his chest with how hard it'd lurched, its pounding beats filling his ears, along with his own shallowed breath that he tried so desperately to catch. By the time he'd calmed down enough to process what was happening, the first thing his hearing registered was the howling laughter of that infuriating little Changeling he (unfortunately) knew too well.
"Holy smokes, ya jumped higher than a frog on 'roids!" NotEnrique cackled, beside himself with laughter. "Ya expectin' one of them sneak attacks, or have y'always been that spookable?"
His voice seemed to be coming from atop the refrigerator. Dictatious wasn't sure if he just hadn't heard the Changeling come in, or if he had been there the whole time. Either way, he had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping something too nasty NotEnrique's way. He composed himself, then growled, "If the alternative is having to hear that vapid noise one more time, I think I'd prefer a sneak attack."
"Ohh, it'll grow on ya." NotEnrique said with a smirk, jumping down to the counter.
Despite how aggravating Dictatious found the Changeling to be, part of him was relieved that he was nearby. Even if NotEnrique was someone who'd probably cheer on his death, there was a far less likely chance of actually being attacked with a witness around.
With an annoyed but resigned sigh, Dictatious set back up what he had knocked over as best he could. "So. Where has everyone gone today?"
"Meh, y'know, Trollhunter stuff." NotEnrique looked down at his phone, swiping along through messages. "Claire n' Toby are down in Trollmarket, fixin' the place up with Aaarrrgghh and your bro. Jim n' Strickler have been doin' Changeling-y exercises, an' I think Angor's still lurking 'round them, keepin' an eye out." NotEnrique had to laugh at himself. "Ha, get it? 'Eye out'? Good times."
Dictatious didn't show any appreciation for NotEnrique's humour. He was too focused on consciously stopping himself from grimacing at Angor's name.
Despite his irritations with NotEnrique, Dictatious decided it would be best to make an attempt to not bore the Changeling off, entertaining whatever conversations he started until Nancy returned home.
.
.
They'd been a few episodes into their crime show binge by the time any others came around.
First, it was Blinky and Aaarrrgghh. That was fine. They were talking amongst themselves, something about needing a stone the kids had stored away. Dictatious only half-paid attention to their entrance. Another set of footsteps followed them in not long afterwards. That didn't bother him, not until the third party spoke to Aaarrrgghh and his brother. The voice made Dictatious tense up, but he did everything in his power to keep himself looking occupied with the show.
.
"You said it was a Lodestone you needed?"
"Correct." Blinky had confirmed, perusing the kitchen cabinets. "Tobias mentioned keeping some of Master Jim's booby traps, so I believe it should be…"
"Found it!" Aaarrrgghh happily announced, presenting a familiar crossbow with an inactive Lodestone attachment. Angor recognized it as the one Jim had used on him, actually. It was a clever little trick, futile as it may have been at the time.
"... I don't understand why I'm needed here." Angor bluntly pointed out. He let his eye wander to the living room, where Nancy and Dictatious had been watching another one of those 'fake entertainment' shows.
Though he might've imagined it, he thought he saw Dictatious flinch when he heard him in the room... Angor Rot kept watch of him out of the corner of his eye, but let the majority of his focus stay with the conversation at hand.
Angor had been keeping an eye on Dictatious from afar, these past few days. Something was off about him recently, but he couldn't quite place what it was... not that that was anything new. It was frustrating sometimes, how there would be moments where he was so easy to read, yet other times it could be so difficult to follow his thought process. This is the closest they'd been in proximity for some time, so Angor assumed it might be discomfort over that?
"Oi, Spooks!"
NotEnrique's call for his attention dragged him out of his thoughts, glancing the Changeling's way. "Hm?"
"Blink's been tryna tell ya why they want ya along? Y'know… like ya asked? Aaand ya stopped listening."
"Oh... Apologies." He hadn't even realized Blinky was talking, really. He turned to Blinky and proceeded to ask, "What is it that's wrong?"
Because, to be perfectly honest, he couldn't imagine why Blinky would be initiating any sort of contact with him unless there was an issue. Angor wasn't exactly popular with any Conundrums lately.
"No, it's nothing like that." Blinky assured him. "It was actually Claire and Tobias that asked me to invite you back with us."
That took Angor slightly by surprise. "... Why? You need extra help?"
"I think they're just worried about you, to be honest."
Now Angor Rot was caught off guard. The confusion growing in his face was plain to see, but it wasn't something Blinky had bothered to clarify on. He started to walk back to Aaarrrggh to take hold of the Lodestone, but took pause when Angor stayed where he was, a troubled look on his face as he stared into the living room. "What? You don't want to come?"
"... It's not that." Angor paused. As much as he was confused about the fleshbags' seemingly random worry for him, that was a question better saved for the children themselves. He thought now might be a better time to ask about his other issue. Angor gestured for Blinky to follow him further away from the living room, to which the Conundrum skeptically complied.
"... Has Dictatious been acting... strange to you lately?" He asked, quieting his voice to ensure they stayed out of earshot.
"Any stranger than usual?" Blinky chuckled, shrugging him off. "How should I know?"
Angor could only stare at him for a few seconds. Eventually, he voiced, "You're his brother."
Again, Blinky just shrugged. "You've spent far more time with him than I lately." He pointed out. "I wouldn't know any better than you in that specific department."
That... wasn't the kind of response Angor had been expecting. His brows furrowed slightly at Blinky's uninterested reaction, but he made no further comment on the matter.
He didn't really have the chance to, as Jim had burst into the house only seconds later, demanding everyone's attention.
"HEY, CHECK THIS OUT!" Jim announced with excitement, drawing their eyes towards him.
Holding his arms out, he did a little wiggle of the hands ("jazz hands", as the humans called it), and a blue light enveloped him, revealing his troll form underneath when it faded away. "Eh? Eh?" Grinning wider, the blue glow overtook him again, and he was back to human form. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Excellent!" Blinky praised him. "You have much better control now, it seems!"
While he was also happy for Jim, Angor appeared more skeptical of the sudden improvements. "That was... fast." He commented.
Now, Angor Rot was no expert on Changeling biology or how long it takes troll whelps to adjust to such dark magicks… but it just struck him as odd that Jim was handling such a severe and physically draining change so well.
"I know right? Way beats writhing on the floor in agony, haha." Jim agreed. When he'd noticed the inactive Lodestone in Blinky's hand, he raised an eyebrow. "Got some metal that needs moving?"
"Actually, yes!" Blinky confirmed, tossing the stone up with one hand and catching it in another. "There's a rather stubborn pile of scrap metal in Trollmarket's forgery that even Aaarrrgghh is having trouble budging."
"Huh, must really be jammed in there... Need any help?"
"That won't be necessary." Blinky reassured. "We've got all the extra hands we need, I believe, and you should focus on your training for now. I imagine Strickler isn't quite finished yet, from the way he keeps checking on you from the window."
"What?" Jim turned his head to the kitchen window, where sure enough, Strickler had been keeping an eye on him. Jim gave him a slow wave, he gave one back. "... Yeah, okay, that's fair. I guess I don't have it completely down yet…"
"So long as he's not giving you Gravesand anymore…" Blinky commented with a suspicious side glance to the window, "... I trust that he's been teaching you well?"
"Yeah, I'd like to think so!"
It pleased the trolls to hear that. Blinky gave an ambient nod. "In that case, we should let you get back to it."
"And we go to Trollmarket." Aaarrrgghh added in too. "Keeping wingman waiting."
"Ah, right you are." Blinky agreed, packing up the Lodestone and its counterpart.
With all said and done, the group parted ways to go back to their responsibilities. Angor slowed as he reached the door, casting one last glance Dictatious's way, but he didn't say anything more before following the others out.
.
Only when he heard all footsteps leave the house did Dictatious feel like he could relax again. He let out a long breath, though quietly as to not alert Nancy with it.
Still, he jumped slightly when she spoke.
"Silly writers," She chuckled, commenting on their crime show. "Don't they realize arsenic poisoning doesn't take effect that fast?"
It took him a second to remember what was going on in that show... Someone had just poisoned the mistress's coffee, if he recalled correctly- Ah, so she must've drank it and keeled over immediately. Nancy was right, of course. Even in a high dosage, arsenic would take at least a few hours to fully kick in on a fleshbag. "Somebody skimped out on their fact-checking, it would seem." Dictatious agreed, slowly releasing the deathgrip he had on his armrest.
She knew he was on edge. She's sharper than most give her credit for, and Dictatious wasn't exactly good at subtlety right now. But he appreciated that she chose to keep offering a distraction rather than bring it up directly.
Nancy is a very easygoing human. Dictatious knew her kindness was a courtesy she extended to everyone, but he still took comfort in knowing he could rely on at least one person to tolerate his presence for extended periods of time. Over the time he'd lived at the Domzalski house, he found himself making more and more conscious efforts to stay on her good side. That urge has escalated over these past days.
Maybe it was because of the calming effect she had on him. Maybe it was to try and refill that tiny little void he'd been feeling lately. Maybe it was so that she wouldn't eventually turn on him, too.
But even though he usually found her company calming, Dictatious still only found himself on edge.
All his thoughts kept falling back to Angor.
Earlier, he didn't sound angry. But there had been others around to keep his focus occupied.
Gunmar was easy to predict. Dictatious knew how to adjust his behaviour to curb the Skullcrusher's anger as much as possible. He had years of practice, and even if it didn't always work... he could at least predict when something was going to happen. He could brace himself for whatever was to come.
Angor Rot was not so predictable. The Conundrum didn't know him as well, hasn't had enough time to learn how to navigate his negative emotions. He didn't get angry at Dictatious in the same way that Gunmar had, and Dictatious had no idea how to compensate for it. It didn't help that he was several months out of practice for this sort of thing. He couldn't even tell for sure just how angry Angor was with him.
It didn't matter how well they'd started getting along beforehand. They could've had a good relationship that lasted a thousand years, and it still wouldn't matter. Something like that can change in an instant. Dictatious knows that all too well.
He knew that he no longer had a use in Angor's eyes. And if he was no longer of use, then the most logical next step to benefiting the Trollhunters would be to... cut their losses, so to speak.
The safest option, Dictatious had deduced, was to never let Angor Rot catch him alone. He knew enough that Angor wouldn't try to kill him in front of the others. Even if it was likely they wouldn't care, Angor still had somewhat of a reputation to uphold now. The most likely course of action the assassin would take in getting rid of him would be if there were no witnesses.
If Angor Rot did want him dead, chances are very high that he'll end up dead, one way or another. But Dictatious will do whatever he can to put that off for as long as possible.
.
.
All was said and done on the surface, so all Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Angor had to do was make their way back to Trollmarket.
But mere moments after the troll trio left the Domzalski household, they saw a concerning sight. Who was to approach the house across the street but James Lake Sr.?
"Oh dear…" Blinky sighed upon seeing him. Angor Rot's eye narrowed immediately with an annoyed growl, but when he started towards James, Blinky quickly stood in front of him. "Wait! Wait… Let Aaarrrgghh and I handle this, please." He requested. "If you go scaring him off now, he'll probably just try again when we're not around."
Angor's eye only narrowed further, but he didn't fight Blinky on it. "... Fine." He eventually agreed. "But if he steps out of line…"
"Just wait here." Blinky requested, though it maybe came out slightly harsher than intended. He cleared his throat and more calmly added. "Please."
Blinky exchanged a concerned look with Aaarrrgghh. The pair crossed the street to intercept James, while Angor kept a firm eye on them all from afar.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Lake!" Blinky called over to him when it looked like James may try to ignore them. "Fine day, isn't it?"
James internally groaned, but didn't let his frustration show on his face. "Uh... yeah, guess so."
Blinky wasn't about to beat around the bush. Getting right to the point, he politely asked, "May I inquire as to where you're going today?"
No answer, but the subtle glance towards the Lake household was enough to make a safe bet. Blinky decided it would be best not to mention that Jim isn't home, not yet. He wanted to gauge James' intentions before anything else.
"And... does Jim know you planned on dropping by?"
"I'm just worried about my kid!" James exasperatedly declared to them. "Is it a crime to want to check on him?"
"Bad move." Aaarrrgghh said, a look of doubt being sent James' way. "No warning. Will upset Jim."
Neither troll was expecting the man to scoff right in Aaarrrgghh's face. When he spoke again, it was still only to Blinky. "So you speak for him now, is that it?"
James' blatant disregard of Aaarrrgghh threw Blinky off, a look of astoundment crossing his face first, then followed by annoyance on his friend's behalf. "Aaarrrgghh is right, actually." Blinky agreed, placing special emphasis on Aaarrrgghh's observation. "What are you thinking, showing up here unannounced?"
There was no winning answer for that. Feebly, James muttered, "Well... he wasn't answering my calls or texts…"
Blinky closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it there for a few seconds. "... I know that you are coming from a place of… 'concern'…" Blinky said slowly, unsure of how much he actually believed those words… "... but if you want any chance of remaining in Master Jim's life, you must respect the boundaries he's laid out for you. This is not optional."
"I just… want to see my son…"
"Not your choice." Aaarrrgghh said. "Jim choose when. Only Jim."
James wanted to further fight them on it. He wanted to just act on his impulses and go right up to his old house anyway. He wanted to ignore that suspicious stare he was getting from a familiar troll across the street… But his shoulders eventually slumped, and he sighed in defeat. "... You're right… You're right. I have no idea what came over me."
Upon hearing him concede to their concerns, Blinky had somewhat relaxed. "You're worried for your child. You said it yourself." He said calmly. "But if you continue to react without taking into account how he feels, I have no doubt that he will cut you out of his life completely. You're already on very thin ice with him, and you've had this explained to you more than once. You should know better by now"
It might've been a little harsh, but James didn't really deserve to have his feelings spared if he won't extend that courtesy to his own son. He couldn't say much to defend himself. They were probably right on the money with that prediction...
James sighed again, said nothing more, and headed back the way he'd came.
"... Think he'll learn?" Aaarrrgghh asked Blinky, keeping a wary eye on James as he left.
"I certainly hope so." Blinky huffed, crossing his arms. "He's, to put it bluntly, denser than a rock. And that's coming from one!"
"Hrrm…" Aaarrrgghh nodded in agreement, but also added, "Blinky not dense."
With a soft chuckle, he gave Aaarrrgghh a pat on the arm. "Thank you, dear friend." He said. Subtly, he took a glance over at Angor, whose eye had been remaining on James like a hawk even as the human slipped out of sight. "... Let's just be on our way. It seems he won't be causing any more problems for now…"
.
.
Jim had been improving, alright.
"Eclipse Armour."
Blue light swallowed the metal pieces that drifted from Jim's body, the glow changing to red as it replaced those pieces with red-and-black ones.
Strickler slowly nodded, keeping careful watch of Jim's facial expressions and any involuntary body movements during the shifts. He saw nothing troubling this time around. "Good… Go back to the Daylight Armour now."
Same results, no complications as the pieces changed.
Keeping control of his armour as well as both his physical forms would be vital, as the last thing anybody would want is for something unexpected to happen in the sunlight with no protection for Jim's troll form.
"Throwing glaives."
Jim summoned his boomerang blades from his legs, giving them a throw and catch for good measure before putting them away again.
"Helmet."
Again, the armour extension was summoned with no visible issues.
Strickler slowly circled him, nodding again. Just this morning, Jim had been struggling to keep a stable form while also summoning his armour. Now, with their further practicing, it appeared that Jim's body and armour were getting used to the quick adjustments they needed.
"Change your form."
A blue glow trickled out from beneath Jim's armour, him and the outfit shifting back down to his human self.
Strickler nodded one final time, pleased. "Good. I can see you're having much less difficulty with this. How do you feel?"
Jim took a deep breath, giving his arms a good stretch. "A little tired, but nothing I can't handle."
"Perhaps we should take a break." Strickler suggested, frowning slightly. "Your body's been going through very sudden, drastic changes, I know that can be difficult-"
"Oh trust me, I'm kinda used to sudden bodily changes at this point." Jim reassured him, a mild jest to his tone.
The pair were interrupted by the ringing of Jim's cell.
"Oh, one sec…" Jim said, fishing the phone out of his pocket, checking the I.D., and promptly answering. "Hey, Nomura. What's up?"
"Are you alone right now?"
"Uh… no…?" He glanced at Strickler before looking away again. "I'm with Strickler. We were practici-"
"Get out of his earshot." Nomura requested - or, more like demanded. "I need to tell you something that we can't risk being overheard."
"Um... okay…" Holding his hand over the phone for a moment, he turned back to Strickler. "Sorry, could you give me a minute?"
Strickler didn't think much of it. If anything, he was relieved that the phone call gave him an excuse to take it easy for a bit. "Call me if you need anything." He said before going inside to give Jim some privacy. Jim distanced himself further from the house too, just to be safe.
"Alright, I'm alone." Jim informed her. "What's up?"
"I've been looking into possible explanations for that… 'Draal' duplicate you saw in the woods." Nomura explained, her tone wavering a bit on that name. "Our documents from the Janus Order show no potential Polymorph activity. We believe Scaarbach was the last one. But I checked in with my old coworkers at the museum, had them take inventory and report back to me." There was an audible clack as she frustratedly clenched her teeth. "One of the Glamour Masks that had been stashed there is missing."
The second he heard the words 'Glamour Mask', Jim cursed under his breath. He rubbed his temple, kicking himself for not considering that possibility before. "How often does the museum take inventory?"
"Once every month. Nothing was missing last time."
"So this was a recent robbery…" Jim cursed again out of frustration, but followed it up with a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Okay... okay. We can... we can figure this out. Thank you for the warning."
"Be careful, little Gynt." Nomura advised, her voice grim. "Make sure you know those around you are really who they appear to be."
Jim nodded to himself, thanked her again, then hung up the phone, grabbing at his hair with his free hand and cursing one last time. Loudly.
They were going to have to take safety precautions. Way more than before. Jim would have to consult the others on possible code phrases or questions they could use… Strickler or NotEnrique might be good at that, considering their previous sneaky work.
He'd have to verify people's identities before passing along the warning, though.
He saw the fake Draal spinning around, though. Would someone in a Glamour Mask really be able to mimic that movement? Maybe they're looking for another troll of his species, or just one that follows the same fighting style-
As he was stressing over what to do next, he felt the familiar sensation of pain starting to creep through his body, and he quickly summoned his Daylight Armour. Not a moment too soon, as his body made a sudden lurch, the Trollhunter stumbling to the ground with a pained groan. Waves of energy surged over his body, forcing him into troll form. Had he been a second later donning his armour, he could've been sunned to death.
Great, Jim grumbled to himself. Not as 'under control' as we thought...
Peaceful days never lasted for too long. He knew this by now.
