Chapter 21: The Third Stone Part 3

Arcadia Oaks, January 17th, 2017

Once again, James Lake Jr was looking through a portal at Strickler's home, ready to get the last Triumbic Stone. Later than they had planned, but that was to be expected, what with an attack by Glory on their school.

That they would be recovering the Eye of Gunmar with Strickler himself, he hadn't expected. But he wouldn't complain about that. He had arranged that himself, after all, and Strickler's cooperation would be very helpful. And keep Mom safer.

The cop car in front of the house, on the other hand, was decidedly unhelpful.

"Oh, no! The cops are onto us!" Toby said.

"I doubt that," Strickler remarked. "Seeing as our resident hell-goddess publicly called for my head, and I literally vanished from campus minutes afterwards, and that they have tried to call me half a dozen times according to my phone, I rather think that the police are concerned about my fate and came to check up on my home."

That sounded logical. Jim nodded in agreement, "Well, let's hope that Angor Rot didn't kill them."

"Both police officers are still in the car," Claire pointed out. "

"And if they had sent more than the customary two, they would've called for help, should Angor Rot have attacked them," Strickler added in the same tone he used in class when pointing out that your answer had been correct but not complete.

Jim gritted his teeth. Yes, Strickler's cooperation was helpful but also annoying. "So, how do we do this?"

"Sneak in through the backdoor, get the stone, tell Angor Rot to do nothing or else we kill his soulless butt, and then leave again?" the Slayer suggested.

"You talk as if being soulless is a bad thing," Spike commented.

"That's because it is - not that you'd know that, William," Xander said.

"Quiet, boys!" the Slayer snapped.

"I think that's a good plan. And then Mr Strickler can talk to the police and explain that he fled the school to lure the assailant away," Mr Giles spoke up.

Strickler frowned. "And explain how I escaped, I presume."

"She was distracted by some cheapo high heels in a window," the Slayer said. "Or just say you don't know - you ran, and she stopped coming after you." She shrugged. "Simple lies are the best, trust me." Mr Giles cleared his throat, and she added: "Not that I would actually lie, you know, other than to keep my Slayer-status a secret and all that entails."

"'All that entails'?" Xander shook his head. "Careful, Buffy! Your collegeness is showing! Or you picked up some Brit-speak from Giles."

"We should be so lucky," Mr Giles mumbled with a sigh.

"Anyway, let's go!" the Slayer said.

"Alright," Jim agreed. "Claire?"

The portal vanished, then opened again, and they were looking at the back of the house.

"You first," Jim told Strickler. "We don't want any accidents."

"Indeed."

Strickler stepped through the portal, then opened his backdoor. "I'm back. And I've brought company," Jim heard the changeling call out. "Don't attack them."

"Interesting company."

And there was Angor Rot, standing in the hallway, smiling at them.

Jim raised his chin and stepped up, putting himself between the troll assassin and Claire. "There's been a change in allegiance."

"Obviously."

"But if you want to die, we can still arrange that," the Slayer piped up. "You know, if you'd rather die than betray your evil troll overlord."

The assassin looked actually angry at that. "Gunmar isn't my overlord!" he spat.

"So you're just Strickler's minion, then? Whoever he follows, you follow?" The Slayer cocked her head. "As long as Strickler has your soul, at least."

Angor Rot growled in response - and glared at Strickler. Who seemed unconcerned.

"I told them about our arrangement," the changeling said. "Now, don't attack anyone - I need to retrieve something before I speak to the police."

While Strickler walked past Angor Rot into his living room, Jim stepped up to the troll assassin. "You know," he said, "we don't like anyone holding someone's soul hostage." He licked his lips and hoped he wasn't making a mistake. Enslaving someone by taking their soul was evil. But Angor Rot was one of the most infamous assassins Blinky knew and had taken countless lives. On the other hand, forcing someone like Angor Rot to work for you was a recipe for disaster.

The troll scoffed. "So you say."

"Yes." Jim nodded and swallowed. "So, I've got an offer for you: You give us your word that you won't attack us - including Strickler - or work for Gunmar or Glory, and you get your soul back."

"Really, Young Atlas?" Strickler appeared behind the troll, shaking his head. "You'd trust his word?"

"We trust you, don't we?" Jim replied.

"You trust me because you arranged matters so I do not have a viable alternative any more. If I hand over Angor Rot's soul, we have no leverage over him any more," Strickler said. "Would you trust the lives of your friends - especially Miss Nuñez's, who currently holds Angor Rot's prized staff - to an assassin's honour?"

Jim clenched his teeth. No, he couldn't risk Claire like that, could he?

"We can always kill the troll if he betrays us," the Slayer claimed.

"Angor Rot is a Master Assassin. The only warning you'd receive of him breaking his hypothetical word would be his blade entering your heart," Strickler said.

Judging by the smile on Angor Rot's face, Strickler was probably right.


She could so take the troll! Buffy Summers knew it. She had taken on three assassins of the Order of Taraka and won. Granted, with a little help from her friends, but still: Those were the deadliest assassins of the world. Or supposed to be. And they knew all about sneakiness. Posing as a cop? Or a cosmetic salesman? She didn't think the troll would do good as either. He might be tough and quick, but Buffy had faced tough and quick opponents before.

So she smiled, showing her teeth, right at the face of the troll. "Just try it, buster!"

"No!" Jim cut in. "This isn't the time to make more enemies!"

"Technically, he already is an enemy," Buffy protested.

"No, he isn't," Jim retorted. "He is working for Strickler, who is now not an enemy any more. There's no reason for us to fight."

"You took my staff."

Jim looked at a loss for words for a moment, so Buffy replied: "That's your own fault. You bring your best toys to a fight, you risk losing them. You know how many shoes and pants and tops I lost because some stupid bloodsucker didn't die neatly?"

"I doubt that you can compare losing a few pieces of clothing to a unique magical artefact," the changeling commented, looking at Claire.

Buffy frowned. Wasn't he supposed to be on their side now? Oh - he wanted to keep them from making him give the troll's soul back because the assassin probably hated him the most! Well, that would make him their early warning system or something. On the other hand, if the changeling died, Jim's mom would die as well.

And, judging by Jim's grimace, he was very much aware of that.

"In any case: Here is the Eye of Gunmar," the evil principal said, handing over a piece of rock to Jim. Wait - that was a troll's eye. And actual eye, just ston-y. Ew.

"Thank you."

"With our business concluded, we should leave the premises," Mr Evil Teacher went on. "I shall have to deal with the police, and you should hurry to your temporary home."

"And what about me?" the troll assassin asked.

"You can continue to guard this house," the changeling told him. "We'll contact you should we require your services."

"No!" Jim shook his head. "We won't hold your soul hostage to force you to fight for us!"

"Returning his soul will mean he can attack us - and your families - at leisure," the changeling replied. "And he holds a justified grudge towards both Miss Nuñez and me."

Buffy saw Jim scowl before he addressed the assassin again. "We won't force you to fight for us. That wouldn't be right. You aren't a slave. And once this whole thing is over, we'll give you your soul back."

"And if you still want to kill us, we'll slay you," Buffy chimed in. "Angie," she added with a sweet smile.

The assassin scoffed, flashed his teeth, and went downstairs to the cellar. There was probably a secret passage into the sewers down there - evil guys loved those.

"You cannot trust him," the changeling said again. "It's only the threat to his soul that keeps him in check."

Buffy pressed her lips together. This kind of leverage wasn't like Spike, who had a chip in his head that made it impossible for him to attack a human. If the assassin wanted to attack them despite the risk to his soul, he could do it.

Jim glared at the changeling. "And how do you have his soul?"

"I resurrected him - and kept his soul as insurance. Angor Rot has killed trolls and humans alike. He's a monster. He has killed several of your predecessors - and kept their souls."

Buffy clenched her teeth. Capturing souls? That was über-bad. "We should kill him, then."

"No," Jim blurted out. "We can deal with this once the world is safe from Glory."

"And you think he'll forgive you?" The changeling shook his head. "Will you give him the staff back as well in an attempt to placate him? Depriving you of a powerful tool that is right now the only thing keeping your families safe? And which might be the only way to save your brother?" He looked at Claire.

Claire glared at him - but she was clutching the staff tightly.

Buffy nodded in approval. "Claire won the staff fair and square." Like Buffy had won her hammer.

"Yes," Jim said. "We won't hand him the staff. But we won't enslave him either."

"Yep." Buffy nodded. "Slavery is bad. Best kill him."

Why was everyone frowning at her? She had agreed with Jim!


James Lake Jr sighed. This whole situation was a mess. They couldn't give Angor Rot his soul back because he would either go after Strickler - which meant Mom would be in mortal danger - or go after Claire for the staff. And they needed the staff to keep their families safe. But to hold someone's very soul hostage… He shuddered. And the Slayer wasn't making things any easier. Just kill Angor Rot? While he was basically their slave? No!

But he couldn't see any way out of this that didn't involve trusting Angor Rot to let bygones be bygones. And Jim really didn't see the assassin as being so forgiving. Hell, Jim hadn't forgiven Strickler!

"Let's go home," he said, sighing again.

"Once you're done with the police, give us a call, and we'll pick you up," Claire told Strickler.

"I should answer their calls, then." The changeling nodded and went towards the front door.

Jim shook his head and then followed the rest of the group back through the portal.

"This sucks," he said as soon as the portal closed behind them - and was replaced by a small one.

"It's not your fault," Claire told him as she turned around, shrinking the staff. "You didn't enslave Angor Rot."

"But I didn't free him either," Jim replied with a sigh. "Even if he's evil, It's not right."

"What are the alternatives?" the Slayer cut in, walking up to them. Jim was starting to really hate her supernatural hearing. "Would you lock him up if you could?"

Well, Angor Rot was an assassin and, according to Blinky, an infamous one who had killed more than one Trollhunter. So he should deserve prison. And yet… "It would be better than holding his soul hostage and making him work and fight for us."

"I guess you don't like work release programs, huh?" The Slayer grinned - for a moment. "Sorry, bad joke." She shrugged. "Sometimes, there's nothing you can do, and it's not your fault."

"I could make Strickler free Angor Rot," Jim corrected him. "I chose not to."

"Because that would put your mom in danger," Claire said.

And you, Jim didn't say as he nodded. "It still feels… I still feel like a hypocrite."

"Hey, I would do anything for my mom," the Slayer said. "Well, almost anything. But keeping a bad guy under control so they don't attack my family? I'll do it in a heartbeat."

"This is about keeping his soul hostage," Jim told her with a frown.

"And that's bad, yes. But you didn't do that. And you stopped your principal from forcing Angie to fight for him. So, you did good." The Slayer flashed her teeth. "We can always kill Angie to keep everyone else safe."

'Angie'? Jim stared at her. She called Angor Rot 'Angie'? Then the rest of her sentence caught up with him. "What?"

"Well, the problem is the slavery - which we stopped - and the whole taking your soul stuff, yes? Once he's dead, we can release the soul to whatever afterlife trolls get, and we're fine. No more soul taking, no more slavery." The Slayer beamed at him.

Jim opened his mouth, then closed it and looked at Claire.

Claire frowned at the Slayer in that pouty way of hers, then met Jim's eyes. "It's… we've killed evil trolls before. And goblins."

"Yes," Jim agreed. "It's just… killing him while we hold his soul hostage?"

"Fair fights are for idiots," the Slayer stated. "And he's not exactly an 'honourable warrior', is he?" She made air quotes as she spoke.

"No, he isn't. He's an assassin who almost killed us before," Claire told her.

"But 'we don't want to keep him enslaved so we kill him' just doesn't sound very nice," Jim said.

The Slayer blinked. "Well, no, it doesn't. But what are the alternatives? Keep his soul until the whole deal with Glory is done, and your mom isn't cursed any more, then give the soul back and watch him go after Mr evil changeling?"

That was what they were doing. Jim glared at her, but she grinned in return, waved and walked away.

"She isn't stupid as she acts," Jim said.

"Hey!" The Slayer glared over her shoulder at him.

"Sometimes," Claire agreed.

"Again with the 'Hey!'" The Slayer pouted at Claire, then huffed and continued walking away.

Sometimes, Jim liked the Slayer's super hearing.


Shadow Realm, January 17th, 2017

"What was that?" Willow asked when Buffy Summers reached their little camp.

"Just putting things into perspective for Jim and Claire," Buffy told her. " You know, sharing my wisdom as a college girl with the kids. They were worried about us holding Angie's soul hostage."

"Well, it's not a good thing. Not good at all. Ungood," Willow said. "Dealing with souls is prime bad stuff."

"Technically, we're not dealing with any soul. That's all Mr Principal's doing," Buffy replied.

"But we could stop him," Willow retorted.

"We kinda stopped him halfway. Doesn't that count?" Buffy grinned.

"Well… as long as we don't take souls or do stuff with them, we should be fine with regards to the consequences of working dark magic effects," Willow said. "You know, since we're not doing magic. But morally, it's not as simple. We do tolerate an evil act of dark magic."

"We tolerate Spike, too," Buffy said. "And he's a walking talking act of evil magic."

Willow frowned at her. "It's not the same."

"Yeah, he doesn't have a soul, and the evil changeling has two souls. Technically."

Willow giggled, then frowned some more. "It's not funny:"

"That was totally funny!" Buffy protested.

"OK, it was funny. But Strickler holding a soul hostage is still a problem."

"As is having an ancient troll assassin around with a grudge against us," Buffy pointed out. "Killing him would solve all problems."

Willow blinked. "That's… true, actually. Weird, but true. As long as we don't use evil magic or his soul to kill him. But he's not a demon, so killing him isn't good either."

"Really? I thought he was resurrected without a soul. Doesn't that make him like a vampire or zombie?" Buffy half-joked.

"He has a soul. He just hasn't possession of his soul," Willow retorted. "That's not like a vampire, who is a demon possessing someone's corpse. He's more like… an evil witch or warlock who cheated death."

Buffy shrugged. "I'll have to ask Giles if evil troll assassins are on the approved killing list for Slayers, then."

"There's such a list?" Willow gasped, then pouted as Buffy laughed.

"There probably is one," Buffy told her as she walked towards Gile's camper - or caravan, as he called it.

"Giles! Do we have an approved slaying list? And are resurrected troll assassins on it?" she called out as she entered the camper.

"Buffy?" Giles looked at her, phone squeezed between his ear and shoulder as he poured tea into a cup.

Buffy's ears picked up a 'Mr Giles?' from the phone. She recognised the voice - that was the Fed. Agent Moore. "Hi, Agent!" she called out.

Giles sighed. "One Moment, Agent Moore." He looked at Buffy. "I don't believe the Council had had to deal with resurrection so far. Trolls aren't classified as demons, though, possessing souls. Which, I am certain, I've told you before."

He probably had. Buffy shrugged. "So, that's a no, then? No, as in we don't have a list with them on it, not a 'no, you can't kill it', right?"

Giles rolled his eyes, and she knew he'd be polishing his glasses if he had both hands free. "Can we discuss this later? Agent Moore has had some important and potentially distressing news."

She blinked. That did sound important. "What's up? Someone stole his dark suit and sunglasses?"

Giles frowned at her. "No. The recent attack on the school prompted a response by the federal government. They are sending the military to Arcadia Oaks."

"Oh." That would complicate things. Like it had in Sunnydale. Soldiers just didn't get demons. She frowned. "Didn't the Council talk to the government to prevent exactly that?"

Giles sighed and looked at his phone.

"I can hear him just fine," Buffy said. If she waited until Giles managed to turn the speaker on, they'd be here all day.

"Ah, right." Giles nodded. "Go ahead, Agent Moore."

"The hell-goddess attacked a school. The government has to do something," Moore told them. "Sending in special forces means the state government won't be flooding the town with the National Guard and every guy carrying a badge from here to San Diego."

Ah. She should've thought of that. "Won't they come anyway?"

"Probably. But they will be subordinate to the Army," Moore replied.

"Who have much bigger guns and are more trigger-happy. Joy." Buffy sighed.

"They will send Special Forces with experience in those matters," Moore told her.

'Special Forces with experience'? Buffy groaned - she knew what that meant. "Riley." Her Ex was coming to town. Great. Not.

"What?"

Buffy mouthed 'No Riley talk' to him, and Giles, fortunately, seemed to understand. "We are familiar with those forces," he explained. "We had to save them before."

"Oh. Well, they will take some time to reach the town, so the closest army base is sending troops to protect the town until the arrival of the Special Forces," Moore went on.

"And the good news never stops coming," Buffy muttered. "Why don't they just evacuate the town?"

Moore snorted. "Evacuate a town because of a 'gang problem'? Neither the state nor the federal government can afford to lose so much face."

Buffy really hated politics. "Let's hope whoever is in command of the troops until Riley and his 'Special Forces' arrive isn't Walsh 2.0," she said.

"I don't get the reference," the Fed replied.

"Think Dr Frankenstein," Buffy told him.

"Oh."

"Well, we can but hope that the US government has learned from their previous mistakes," Giles commented.

Buffy laughed even though it wasn't funny.

Giles frowned at her, then told Moore: "Please keep in touch with us. We'll inform the rest of our group about the new development."

"I will do so," Moore replied. "Good night."

"Good night."

"Patrolling at night will be harder," Buffy commented after Giles had ended the call.

"You want to patrol in Arcadia Oaks?"

She shrugged. "We're here, so… why not? I could use the exercise." She pulled at the waistband of her pants. "Mrs Domzalski's cooking is very good."

Giles actually peered at her stomach. "Did you really gain weight?"

She glared at him. "I was joking!"

"Ah!" He nodded. "I didn't expect you to gain weight - Slayers rarely do. Of course, historically, it was frequently hard to feed them enough calories to maintain their physique while they were in the field, but that ceased to be a problem in the last century. Yet I do not remember a Slayer who actually became overweight."

Probably because they died before growing out of their teenage years, Buffy thought. On the other hand, she'd rather die than grow fat herself. Well, not literally. You could lose weight, but coming back from death was something else. And speaking - or thinking of that... "So, about resurrected troll assassins who lack their souls: Demony like a vampire or not?"

Giles blinked, then smiled. "I have never contemplated this. A fascinating point of view! Technically, I guess you could consider them the same as vampires, although the exact circumstances of how they lost their soul would be decisive, I believe."

"Willow said the same. So… if they sold their soul, it's slaying time, if they were robbed, no-slay?" Buffy cocked her head and beamed at her Watcher.

"Ah… I wouldn't go as far. In any case, killing Angor Rot, should he attack us, would be entirely appropriate according to the Council."

Screw the Council. "And what do you think?"

Giles's expression hardened for a moment. "Even if Angor Rot hadn't been returned from death through dark means, I do not think tolerating those who attack us and our families is a good idea."

And there was Ripper. Buffy nodded with a toothy smile. If Angie wanted to become a problem, she had the solution.


Trollmarket, January 17th, 2017

"The human military is moving into Arcadia Oaks?" Vendel didn't sound happy. Not at all. He was pacing in his home, actually, and glaring at everyone present.

James Lake Jr nodded. "Yes. They're moving in troops from the closest base, but they'll be replaced soon with Special Forces - soldiers with experience fighting demons," he explained.

"And how do you know this?" Vendel asked.

"We heard it from the Slayer," Claire replied. "Who heard it from their contact in the police."

Vendel scowled. "I see."

Jim frowned. Vendel seemed to be taking this news far worse than he had expected. "Is there something I'm missing?" He asked. "Didn't you seal off Trollmarket from the surface already to protect the settlement against Gloy?"

Vendel turned and frowned at him. "Yes. But I'm not worried about the immediate consequences. We can live without fresh cats and scavenged human devices. Some might grumble, but they are hardly relevant or influential." He shook his head again.

"I wouldn't go that far," Blinky spoke up. "Human products, especially socks, are quite popular in Trollmarket. And I would dearly miss the human newspapers - they offer a fascinating insight into modern human society."

"As I said: Hardly relevant or influential," Vendel growled. Blinky gasped, but Vendel went on: "But if I've learned anything in my long life about humans, then that their soldiers rarely leave territory they have claimed. We will have to deal with those soldiers for a lengthy time, even after the threat from Glorificus is dealt with."

Jim shook his head. "I don't think so. They are sent here because Glory attacked our school, and the government had to do something or lose the people's trust. But the soldiers moving into town will be replaced by Special Forces, and those will leave once Glory has been defeated. We don't have a military base in town, and without Glory, there's no reason to keep soldiers stationed here anyway."

"Really?" Vendel scoffed once more. "You said those 'Special Forces' have experience fighting demons, didn't you?"

"That was the extent of the Slayer's information, yes," Blinky confirmed. "She was less than, ah, complimentary about their skills, but that seemed to be based on personal bias, as far as I could tell."

"And you think they will not realise that there is more to Arcadia Oaks than the current crisis?" Vendel shook his head. "I am very well aware that, despite my best efforts, our fellow trolls haven't always been as discreet as they should've been, and Gunmar's recent actions haven't helped the situation either. Quite the contrary. And I doubt that the human government will trust you to keep handling the situation, Trollhunter."

Jim clenched his teeth. He was the Trollhunter - handling conflicts between trolls and humans was his responsibility.

"They will; we have contacts in the government," Claire protested before he could say anything.

"And they'll trust teenagers to handle such a situation?" Vendel sounded as if the question was rhetoric.

"The Trollhunters have proven their worth multiple times," Blinky told him. "Even the human government has to acknowledge that. And the Slayer is barely older than them and wields influence amongst the human government."

Well, the Council did, as far as Jim understood the situation. And the Slayer was an adult, unlike Jim, Claire and Toby. But Vendel was correct - the government wouldn't leave a town to three teenagers. And yet… "We won't stay teenagers forever," he said. Unless he was killed, of course.

"We have weathered more dangerous situations," Blinky pointed out. "Further, now that we might - albeit indirectly - have a channel to the human government, we might be able to settle this with negotiations and diplomacy. We are a different country, after all. And an older one than the human country, at that."

Jim wasn't sure whether the government would agree to that view, but he nodded anyway. "The Council has an agreement with the government," he said. "Trollkind should be able to achieve the same."

"We do have a historical precedent, after all," Blinky said, smiling, "We managed to come to an understanding and make a treaty with King Arthur. You were present for that, as were Aarghaumont and myself. I am certain that we can solve this situation in a similar way - after all, we didn't spend a few decades fighting the humans of this country, did we?" He beamed.

"That was a long time ago, and most humans consider the events a myth," Vendel retorted. "And, in light of how the local humans were treated by the ancestors of the current government, I am not very optimistic of them accepting our claims."

"We won't know that until we try to negotiate," Jim said. "We might have to ask the Slayer for help, though," he added. "At least for advice."

Vendel scoffed again. "Asking the Slayer for help!"

"It would be unwise, given our current troubles, to scorn possible support and aid," Blinky said. "Leaving the initial misunderstanding aside, the Slayer and her friends have proven most helpful - we recovered the third Triumbic Stone thanks to them!"

Vendel turned. "You did? You didn't mention that!"

"It slipped my mind," Blinky said, smiling a little weakly. "There's so much happening at the moment - our agreement with Strickler, the situation with Angor Rot, the danger of Glorificus ending the world and, of course, Gunmar's continuing threat to all trollkind and humanity."

"What agreement with Strickler are you talking about?" Vendel asked with narrowed eyes. "And what is the 'situation' with Angor Rot?"

"Err…" Blinky's smile grew even more forced. "It's complicated?"


Arcadia Oaks, January 17th, 2017

"That was fast," Buffy Summers commented, looking through a set of binoculars at a bunch of soldiers climbing out of a truck. "From what I remember Riley complaining about, it takes ages to get the army moving."

"A proper deployment does take a lot of planning. But driving a bunch of boots from a base to a nearby town doesn't take nearly as much preparation," Xander told her. "If you have enough soldiers, you can just have them patrol for their shift and then have them drive back to base when they are relieved by the next shift. You don't really need much logistics for that. Now, heavy weapons and vehicles, on the other hand, or quartering your troops in a town, that takes some time if you can't just requisition what you need."

"The constitution forbids forcing people to house soldiers," Willow remarked.

"Can't they just sleep in hotels?" Claire asked.

"That costs money - and the unit might not have the budget for that. Well, they might house the officers in hotels," Xander said. "But the rank and file? Too expensive for the army."

"And the hotel manager might not want soldiers in their hotel - that might drive away other guests," Willow added. "Uh, if they weren't already leaving because of Glory's attack, that is."

"So, they'll put up a camp?" Jim asked.

"Even putting up a bunch of tents will require some scouting ahead and some infrastructure. More if you want a decent camp," Xander shared more of his Halloween soldier experiences.

"So… those are just for show?" Buffy asked. A bunch of soldiers with rifles wouldn't be able to hurt Glory.

"If there actually were a gang war going on, they would be enough," Xander said. "Probably. I don't really know what kind of base they're from, but…"

"But?" Buffy asked.

"Look at them. They're much too fit for some REMFs who guard and service some vehicle pool or radar station. And they wouldn't strip a missile silo of its guards," Xander said. "None of them is overweight."

"The officer leading them looks a little, ah, hefty," Willow pointed out.

Buffy took a closer look. "No. She's not fat. That's just how she's built. Pure muscle. Look how she moves." The woman jumped out of her Hummer with ease, and the way she marched over to the first truck… "She's fit as well." She frowned. "But the troops… They look nervous."

"Yes," Xander agreed. "They are nervous but professional. Well-trained. Look at how they cover all angles and the way they move. And… all of them are carrying LAWs! That's not standard issue! Did they tell them what this is really about?"

"Maybe." Buffy wrinkled her nose. Something was off with the soldiers. "Willow. Can you find out what exactly is going on at that base?"

"Oh, sure!" Willow nodded. "I just need my laptop."

Wait!" Jim spoke up for the first time. "They all carry rocket launchers? The things made to kill tanks?"

"Light vehicles in this case," Xander corrected him. "It's an old design used as far back as Vietnam. It won't really scratch a modern tank, but it'll cook off light vehicles just fine."

"Or trolls," Jim said.

"Probably," Xander agreed. "They can also take out small bunkers and buildings, and they…"

"Wait! You think those soldiers were trained to take on trolls?" Claire interrupted him.

"It could be," Jim said. "A rocket launcher would be a good weapon against a troll. Bullets won't hurt them much."

"Don't underestimate modern full metal jacket bullets," Xander said. "Heavy machine guns would hurt Trolls just fine, but they are a little unwieldy."

"It seems a little far-fetched, doesn't it?" Willow asked. "Just because they have a base near troll town. Trollmarket," she corrected herself.

"But those soldiers are much better trained than the guys at the base near Sunnydale," Xander said. "See how they move to the school? Perfect patrol formation."

"Like the Initiative soldiers," Buffy agreed.

"So, the government was training soldiers to fight trolls." Jim didn't sound happy.

"And stationed them next to Trollmarket." Claire didn't sound happy either.

"Well, it's just speculation so far," Willow objected. "We don't know the purpose of the base. If it's to train special forces or houses something very important that needs to be guarded by good soldiers, and they were told that normal bullets didn't stop Glory, then that would explain the rocket launchers."

"That's a lot of 'ifs', Will, "Xander told her.

Buffy nodded. It would make sense that the government wanted to have troops ready to fight the trolls, just in case. They insisted on having Riley's 'Special Forces' fight demons, too, didn't they? "I really think you need to hack into that base and find out what they are doing, Will."

"Yes. Well, not into the base, but the Pentagon's database. That's usually easier, anyway - you wouldn't believe how sloppy some officers are with IT security."

"Or we could ask Riley once he arrives," Xander suggested.

Buffy pressed her lips together. She didn't want to ask her ex anything. And she didn't trust the government, either. If this was a second Initiative...


Shadow Realm, January 17th, 2017

"Barbara…"

"Don't call me that!"

James Lake Jr almost winced at the tone of his mother. Almost - Strickler deserved this. Instead, Jim leaned against the wall of their camper and crossed his arms while inside, Mom rounded on the changeling.

"You lied to me! You hurt my son! You tried to get my child killed!" she spat.

"We were on different sides of a war!" Strickler tried to defend himself. "He tried to kill me as well - or would have, had I not taken steps to counter that."

"You took me hostage against him!"

Strickler opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"And you set an undead assassin on my son!"

"We were at war. We aren't any more."

"You only switched sides because you had no choice. And who were you fighting for? A monster who enslaves his own people and wants to murder and eat humans!" Mom scoffed.

Jim nodded in agreement. Telling his mom everything about the trolls and Gunmar had been the right decision.

"It's not as if I had a choice," Strickler retorted. "The trolls won't have anything to do with us - in the best case - and Gunmar controls my familiar. Our familiars."

"A baby, taken from his family and kept imprisoned so you can impersonate him and infiltrate human society! What life is this? Stuck forever as a baby in a prison? Never growing up? Never having a family? Finding Love? Your entire life was stolen from him!"

"I, too, was taken as a child from my family - and altered into a changeling," Strickler shot back. "Forever an outsider from both troll- and humankind."

Jim pressed his lips together. Neither Strickler nor any other changeling had deserved that.

"And yet you have a choice! You could choose not to work for Gunmar! Your 'familiar' doesn't have any choice. Or any life!"

Jim winced this time - Mom was really mad.

"If I don't work for Gunmar, not only will I end up an outcast, unable to change form and fit into human society, but my familiar will be killed and eaten. Or eaten."

Mom looked taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered. "You could've switched sides like not-Enrique did. Spied for the Trolls."

"That's far easier said than done. I narrowly escaped getting killed by Bular several times. You have no idea about a changeling's life!"

"I don't. But I know that this isn't an excuse when it comes to doing the right thing!" Mom shook her head. "You only think about yourself, not about anyone else." She scoffed and turned away, entering the camper. "Stay away from my son and me!" she yelled before slamming the door behind her.

Jim tilted his head and shrugged at Strickler. He didn't manage to hide his grin, but he didn't try too hard, either.

Strickler glared at him, then turned away and slowly walked towards the tent they had put up for him.

Jim took a deep breath and entered the camper himself. "Mom? Are you OK?"

The sobbing he heard told him she wasn't.

Jim winced again.


Trollmarket, January 17th, 2017

"Ah. The Eye of Gunmar! A truly historic item - lost in his battle against the Gumm-Gumm Warlord Orlagk the Oppressor, it has been thought, well, lost for a long time. The Krubera had it before it vanished. To gaze upon it like this…" Blinky sighed. "What a time to be alive!"

"Yeah, and if we want to stay alive, we should better get this stone into the amulet," James Lake Jr told him, putting it on the table in Blinky's home.

"Yes," Toby agreed. "I don't want to end up in hell. Or get killed. Or get killed and end up in hell."

Claire nodded but kept her eyes on the stone. "How do we put the stone into the amulet? Same as the others?"

"Essentially, yes," Blinky replied. "The stone has to be purified, which will reduce its measurements to a size that will fit into the amulet and also distil its essence."

Jim nodded - they had gone through this before, after all. "Let's get on with it!"

Blinky sighed."Of course, of course. I merely wanted to bask in the monumental moment, so to speak. We are making history here! In the centuries to come, trollkind will talk about this moment. The moment the Trollhunter unleashed the true power of his weapons!"

"It's more unlocked, I think," Toby commented. "Like in a game."

"It's not a game!" Claire spat. "It's our best chance to defeat Glory and save the world!"

"And our best chance to defeat Gunmar," Blinky added. "Anyway - shall we proceed?"

Jim nodded.

Blinky took the stone and placed it into a stone vessel. He filled it with several powders and some liquids which stank terribly and then set it over a glowing crystal. "Now, all we have to do is wait until the purification process has run its course."

Jim nodded, as did Claire.

Toby held up a Mars bar. "Anyone got the munchies?" Before Jim could answer, the vessel emitted a blueish cloud, and Jim started to retch.

"Ah, I forgot to mention that the purification process can be challenging for sensitive noses. It's usually not a problem, given that trolls don't really suffer such adversity, but…"

Jim was already on the way out of the room.


About an hour later, the stench was gone. And the eye had been condensed into a tiny stone - with the same shape. Jim held it up. It looked like a tiny copy of the stone. Small enough to fit into his amulet.

He looked around. Everyone was smiling at him. "Do it, Jimbo!" Toby told him.

Claire and Blinky nodded.

Jim took a deep breath and placed the stone into the open amulet. He heard it click into place, then saw it briefly glow before becoming inert again.

"Did it work?" Toby asked.

"Only by testing it shall we know the answer to that question, Tobias."

Jim knew that. He raised the amulet. "For the Doom of Gunmar, Eclipse is mine to command!"

A moment later, his armour appeared, floating around him before encasing him in solid plate. Then a sword appeared in his right hand. A really wicked sword. Jim could feel it vibrating with power.

"Awesomesauce!" Toby whispered.

Jim nodded in agreement. This was great! The power… he could take on anyone!