Chapter 22: The Soldiers

Trollmarket, January 18th, 2017

"Hyah!"

Buffy Summers ducked under the swing and dived to the side, her foot lashing out in a quick kick that sent Jim staggering back a few feet.

She wasn't jealous - or envious, as Willow would correct her. She was the Slayer. Supernaturally though, strong, fast and hot. She could wield any weapon and beat any demon. Eventually, at least. She didn't need fancy magical armour. And if a friend or ally had the power to fight better against the skanky hell-bitch, then that was a good thing.

Still, seeing Jim move in that new, black and red armour of his, wielding a sword that practically screamed 'Death to Demons', she was a little bit… not jealous. Not at all. Not even when Jim suddenly could move almost as fast as she could.

There he came at her again, this time with an overhand blow that would have cut her in two if he had connected. And if he hadn't been wielding a training sword instead of Eclipse. She stepped to the side, bent her leg to kick his side - and had to drop to the ground to avoid his backswing.

He was getting sneakier. Time to become serious! She rolled over her shoulder, jumping to her feet, and dashed over to the weapon racks of the Hero's Forge. Of which she totally wasn't envious, either. Jim started charging at her before she reached the rack, but he wasn't quite fast enough to prevent her from grabbing a training sword herself and parrying his next blow.

Well, a troll training sword. Giles would have trouble lifting it, and Buffy was sure a good strike with it would still mulch a normal human. Against Jim in his fancy new armour? He barely felt the blow she managed to land on his thigh, or so it seemed - he stumbled but quickly recovered, not even limping when he came at her once more.

"Get her, Jimbo!"

"You can do it, Jim!"

She rolled her eyes at the cheering gallery - and at her own not-cheering gallery consisting of Giles - and went on the offensive herself. A few quick swings and stabs had Jim on the backfoot, parrying with sword and his buckler thingie until he was where she wanted him to be.

One more swing at his legs, his sword struck downwards - and she jumped, flying over his head, her own blade lashing out - and missing? He had dropped to the floor in a copy of her own move earlier!

She landed in a crouch, sword held two-handed, point towards the ground to shield her body, and grinned at him. "You're learning."

He scoffed and threw his whirling knife things, then charged straight at her.

She batted the blades away and met him head-on, training blade meeting training blade.

Both shattered, and she ducked to avoid the shards this sent flying. Coming up, she had to duck again when his flying blades came back, but then she was on him, fists and feet lashing out against his armour.

He raised his arms to shield his head and body. Perfect.

She grabbed both arms, pulled and sent him flying through the air - into the closest not-moving wall of the training area.

"Jim!" Claire gasped.

Buffy didn't care - she was already pouncing. Before he could recover, she was straddling his prone body, fist an inch from his nose. "I win!"

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "That was close. I almost had you."

"Close only counts when throwing horseshoes and hand grenades," she quoted Xander. But she grinned.

Then she noticed the blood on her tank top. And the cut on her shoulder.

It seemed she hadn't avoided all his blows as well as she had thought.

Well, she had still won!

"Jim! Are you hurt?" Claire came running towards them.

"Only my pride," Jim replied as he got up. "The Eclipse Armour is incredible! I barely felt Buffy's blows."

Claire still gave Buffy the evil eye as she checked him over. Buffy was tempted to make a joke about Claire using the opportunity to feel up her boyfriend but decided against it. Teenagers took such jokes so seriously.

"If I had worn armour, I wouldn't be benched right now," Toby complained.

"Depends on whether or not it slows you down too much," Buffy told him.

"Magic armour wouldn't slow me down - but they don't have any, and not in human sizes, anyway," he replied.

"That sucks." Not that Buffy could patrol in armour, anyway. Girl in chainmail? That tends to stick out on the street. And even dumb fledglings would probably hide rather than try to bite her so she could stake them easily. But Toby wasn't the fastest fighter anyway, and since Jim was walking around like he had just stepped out of Lord of the Rings, another knight in shining armour - or black and red armour - wouldn't make things worse.

"You could ask if they could make armour for you," Claire suggested.

"I asked. They can't make magic armour," Toby replied. "Not in Trollmarket. And in other Troll settlements…" He tried to shrug, then winced and rubbed his collarbone.

"What about them?" Buffy asked.

"They don't like us very much," Jim said. "I'm the first human Trollhunter, and not every troll has accepted that yet."

"They're stupid," Claire said. "Jim's done so much, and they still grumble and distrust him."

"Well, that's the same with humans," Buffy said, shrugging. "The trouble I got into at school because of Slaying… and because the principal was an evil minion." She blinked. "Well, the school didn't know I was the Slayer, so it's not quite the same, but the principal knew, so that still counts, right?"

Judging by the glances from the three kids, they didn't agree.


Shadow Realm, January 18th, 2017

James Lake Jr sighed as they returned to camp.

"You almost had her, Jimbo," Toby said.

Jim rolled his eyes at him. Even with the Eclipse Armour, the Slayer had been a little bit faster. And plain better. Granted, Jim hadn't used the Eclipse Sword in their morning spar, but still… "I expected more."

"She couldn't hurt you; once you know her tricks, you can beat her," Claire said.

"Well, we need to beat Glory, not each other," Jim reminded them.

"Well, the Eclipse Blade should be able to hurt Glory," Toby pointed out. "And the Eclipse Armor is tougher than the Armour of Daylight."

But Jim knew it wasn't tough enough. Even accounting for the weakness of Glory that they had deducted, he needed to become better to have a chance. "I need more training," he muttered.

"Well, we don't have anything else to do, right?" Toby said. "We're just sitting around waiting for Glory to appear."

"And looking for divine and magical weapons," Claire added. "And information about Glory."

But none of that was something Jim could get involved in. He wasn't a researcher. And he wasn't a spy. He sighed again.

"Hey!" Claire softly said. He turned towards her, and she put her hand on his arm. "We're doing good. "We just need a bit more patience."

"And luck!" Toby grinned. "Give me a week or two, and I'll be back in fighting shape."

Jim pressed his lips together. Toby was his best friend and very brave. But if Glory landed a single hit on him, he'd be dead. Unlike Claire, he couldn't fight from afar, either. "You need some armour," he said. It wouldn't stop a blow from Glory, but it might keep a glancing blow from killing him.

"No magic armour around," Toby replied. "I asked around, remember?"

"Normal armour, then," Jim went on. "For both of you." Anything to keep them safer.

"Are you sure?" Toby patted his belly. "I'm not the fastest without armour weighing me down.

"It's better overall," Jim said. His two friends didn't seem to be convinced, though.

"None of the Slayer's friends wears armour," Toby pointed out.

"They probably have no access to armour smiths," Jim replied.

"But can troll smiths make armour light enough for us to move in?" Claire asked.

"We best find out," Jim said. "It's not as if we have anything better to do - other than training."

"Right. Let's go back to Trollmarket. And hope Dawn doesn't attack us for blocking the Internet again." Toby chuckled.

"Oh, right." Jim sighed once more. "Let's check with the rest of the camp first." He would prefer not to deal with an angry Dawn. Or an angry Willow, now that he thought of it.

They walked over to the campers. "Willow first," Jim said, knocking on her door.

"Who's it?" he heard Willow yell.

A moment later, Tara opened the door. "Hello!" She turned her head. "It's the Trollhunters!" She smiled at them. "How c-c-can w-we help you?"

"We wanted to know how long Willow needs the internet," Jim said. "We want to head to Trollmarket later and get sized for armour. That'll probably take a while, so…"

"Ah… b-b-best t-t-talk to W-Willow. She's on t-the c-computer."

Jim suppressed a wince. "OK."

Tara moved to the side, letting them enter without inviting them in. Something they had to teach their families, too, Jim reminded himself.

Willow was typing frantically on the laptop in the back of the camper - Jim could hear the fans of the machine whirl from the entrance. "Hi guys!" she said, without turning to face them. "Little busy here."

Jim explained their plan again.

"Oh." She turned to look at them. "I'll need a few hours - I'm hacking the Pentagon to find out more about the army base."

"You're hacking the Pentagon? Awesomesauce!" Toby cheered.

"Is that safe?" Claire asked.

"They can't find us here, and I've been hiding my location beyond that," Willow replied. "And I wouldn't have to do that if the Military wouldn't keep so many secrets." She frowned. "We hope it isn't another Initiative."

Tara nodded. "T-That w-would b-be v-very b-bad."

Her stutter was worse than before. Not a good sign, Jim thought.

"You mean we'll have to deal with another Terminator Demon?" Toby asked. He almost sounded eager.

"I hope not," Willow said with a scowl. "Adam was bad enough. You'd think the government would learn!" She shook her head. "Anyway, I'm still hacking, so… I'll tell you when I'm done?"

Jim nodded. A few hours wouldn't hurt much - forging armour for humans would take time, anyway. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks. And if they do have a secret demon base, we'll take it out," Toby said. "Claire can probably open a portal to the ocean and just flood it."

"That would be as tiring as opening a portal to Sunnydale or Los Angeles," Claire said. "But… a lake or river should be possible."

"Oh, good idea!" Willow beamed at them. "Though we'll need to ensure that we won't drown the good guys. Or the easily manipulated ignorant guys."

"Of course." Claire nodded, but Jim had seen her eyes widen at the possible consequences.

Well, the base might turn out to be a boring storage facility or something. Jim would prefer that to another problem.


Arcadia Oaks, January 18th, 2017

"I shouldn't be meeting with you."

Buffy Summers rolled her eyes at the 'special agent's' comment. He was here to help them - and he couldn't do that if he wasn't meeting with them. "We can't be sure your phone's not under surveillance," she told him. "Because those soldiers are suspicious. Both suspect and suspicious, I mean."

"What?" Moore looked around as if anyone would be watching him in the evacuated school's gym. They had lookouts for that! Jim and the others knew this school better than any soldier, and Moore investigating the site wouldn't be suspicious. Less suspicious, at least, than his cell phone teleporting all over the place.

"The base from which the soldiers have been sent to Arcadia Oaks has particularly extensive computer security, or so I was informed by an expert," Giles told him. "Better than the Pentagon's. And the soldiers conduct their patrols in a skilled and experienced manner that doesn't fit mere guard troops of a supply base, which is the official purpose of said base."

Buffy nodded. Willow was still trying to crack the computers. Something about 'unorthodox architecture' and 'proprietary software'.

"They're supposed to be replaced by special forces soon," the agent retorted.

"In a few days, at best. And while I'm no expert on military matters, the soldiers still commute back and forth from the base - even though this means the troops available to the town at a moment's notice will be limited to those on patrol and in immediate reserve. It seems as if the base is considered more important than an entire town under threat by either gangs or supernatural forces."

"And they're packing anti-troll - or anti-demon - weapons," Buffy added.

"I see." The agent's almost permanent frown deepened further. If he didn't smile someday, he would get wrinkles that way. "Colonel Kubritz was quite accommodating when I talked to her."

"That's the commanding officer?" Giles asked.

"Yes. She didn't seem put off by the assignment," Moore went on. "She mentioned it would be good training for her troops."

Buffy groaned. That did sound like another initiative.

"You know something," Moore said, staring at her.

"We suspect that the soldiers might have been placed at the base in case a conflict between humans and trolls breaks out," Giles explained.

"You think they're hunting?" Moore asked.

"They aren't checking under the bridges," Buffy replied. "But they aren't patrolling as if they fear ambushes by armed gangs - they are patrolling like they're expecting demons." Though they weren't carrying tasers to capture them. Which was a bad thing for trolls, but a good thing when you were afraid that the military was going to try and repeat Maggie Walsh's experiments.

Damn. If Willow didn't manage to crack the stupid computer in the stupid base, Buffy would have to ask Riley if he knew anything about the base.

"I see." Moore shook his head and looked around in the gym. "They left the school alone after searching it yesterday, but they've been asking questions about the principal."

"We've evacuated the individual," Giles told him.

"That'll make him look like a suspect," the agent replied. "They've also been asking after the other evacuated people. So far, I've been able to stall them with 'need to know', but they might try to go through my superiors."

"At which point they'll have to deal with our contacts in the government," Giles told him. "I presume the outcome might allow us to discern whether or not the soldiers present are another special force dealing with demons with the backing of the US Military."

"I really hate government conspiracies," Buffy muttered.

"You prefer the private sector when it comes to conspiracies?"

She chuckled - the agent had a sense of humour. Of sorts. "I didn't start the Council. I inherited this."

"Quite," Giles cut in. "In any case, we're currently holding back from any overt action until the situation with the soldiers has been cleared."

"And you expect me to keep them off your backs."

That was his job, wasn't it? But Buffy didn't say that out loud. She merely smiled at the agent and nodded.

"Yes," Giles agreed. "And we're grateful for your efforts, Agent Moore."

"Just doing my job."

Hah! Buffy knew it! Wait! She turned her head. "Someone's coming. It's Jim. And the others."

Moore cursed under his breath.

"Soldiers!" Jim whispered when he appeared at the gym's doors. "They've entered the campus."

A regular patrol? Or were they following Moore? Either way, they had to leave. "Let's get Claire and get home!" Buffy snapped.

"And I'll have to get a good excuse for hanging out in a gym." Moore sighed.

Buffy snorted - that was his job.

And there was Claire! Half a minute later, everyone but the special agent was back in the shadow dimension, and Buffy was listening in to the Agent's conversation through a teeny-tiny portal left in the rafters of the gym.

"Special Agent Moore."

"Yes?"

"Just checking, sir. We're conducting a search of the area."

"Didn't you search it yesterday?"

"We might have missed something, sir."

"If you did, I didn't find it either," Moore said.

"We have our orders, sir."

And what were those orders? Buffy wondered.


Trollmarket, January 18th, 2017

"Armour for you?" The troll - Urgurao - scratched his head. "For such a scrawny kid like you?"

James Lake Jr suppressed a grin - that was probably the first time anyone called Toby 'scrawny'.

"Yes," Toby replied. "Not a full suit. Just a breastplate, helmet, and protections for the arms and legs, and gauntlets and boots."

"That would be a full suit," Urgurao countered, his massive head slowly shaking.

"No, I mean… Jim! Come over here!" Toby waved, and Jim obligingly left the weapons rack he had been studying and joined his friend. "Look! Jim's got the joints all covered. Everything!"

"Of course! This is Merlin's masterwork." The smith nodded.

Jim wanted to object - Merlin had created the Armour of Daylight, not Eclipse. Although the basic design hadn't changed, and the armour had been ready to receive the three Triumbic stones, so that had probably been part of the design as well. So he nodded.

"But it's a little heavy. OK, a lot. I can't… I don't need that kind of armour. Just some plates strapped to me, and a helmet. And gauntlets and boots."

"You need chainmail then. That's heavy. Heavier than a full suit."

"No, no, no!" Toby shook his head. "No chainmail. I don't need that. I just need some plates to protect my chest and limbs."

"That's still going to be heavy. And the plates need to be anchored to something."

"No chainmail. Just… some padded suit? Like a… Jumbo! What do you call the padded undersuit?"

"A… gambeson?" Jim guessed. He wasn't quite sure if the term was correct, but a few games used it.

"Yes! A gambeson!" Toby nodded several times. "So… I'll be wearing a gambeson, and we can strap the plates on that."

The troll smith rubbed his chin. "Still gonna be heavy."

"Well, yes, it'll be somewhat heavy. But not as heavy as a full suit. And… fit for a human. Not a troll, OK?"

"I know human armour. Never made them, but I studied them. Back during the war. Helped fix some, too."

Jim blinked. The war? The war in the Old World? He reminded himself that trolls lived for a long time. If they weren't killed by Gunmar's forces. Or by humans

"Good! I need human-sized armour," Toby said.

"They had full suits. And chainmail."

Jim suppressed a chuckle as Toby sighed. "No full suit. I couldn't move in it. Just some plates. Not too thick, just thick enough so a hit doesn't, uh, pulp my chest or rip my arm off."

"Without the joints, that might happen. The arm ripped off." Urgurao smiled, showing uneven but massive teeth. "But the arm itself would be fine."

"Uh… I hadn't considered that."

"Perhaps just a breastplate, then?" Jim suggested. "And a helmet?"

"Losing an arm would still kill me," Toby replied. "I might not have thought this through."

The troll smith nodded. "Armour's a complicated business."

"We should discuss this with Claire," Jim said.

"She'll open a portal to Blinky's home in…" Toby looked at his watch. "...forty minutes."

And they had no cellphone reception in Trollmarket. "We can go to Arcadia Oaks and call her," Jim said.

"Alright." Toby turned to Urgurao. "We will be back once we know our armour design!"

The troll nodded with a grunt.

"This would be so much easier if they had magic armour," Toby complained when they left the smithy.

Jim nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should skip the whole armour thing," Toby went on. "We've been doing fine so far."

"Except for getting almost killed by Dawn," Jim pointed out.

"That's true," his friend replied with a wince. "But we were in disguise, so I probably wouldn't have been wearing armour anyway."

And what a disguise it had been! Claire had looked very sexy in hers. Jim shook his head. This wasn't the time for fantasies. "I wore my armour in disguise. You'd have done the same."

"Good point," his friend agreed.

They reached the stairs leading up to the gate to Arcadia Oaks. Toby rubbed his belly. "I shouldn't have eaten so much dinner, I guess. But I wanted the armour to fit me even after a hearty meal."

Jim didn't comment on that. "What time is it?"

"Half-past nine."

That meant the sun was down. Good. Toby opened the gate, and both of them stepped through. The canal under the bridge was still almost empty of water. It was winter, after all. At least in the mountains. Jim pulled his cellphone out while Toby closed the gate behind them.

Need to talk about armour, he texted Claire.

Her response came almost at once: Where are you?

Jim started to type: Outside Trollmarket.

Just before he hit 'send', Toby said: "Uh, Jim."

"What?" Jim clicked 'send'.

"There's a Hummer up there," Toby said, pointing at the road above. "And I think they've seen us."

Oh, no! "We need to go!" Jim snapped and hastily texted: Soldiers here!

"Go where?"

"Away from them!" Jim said. They couldn't lead the soldiers to Trollmarket - or let them see Claire's portals. "Let's move!"

They ran away from the soldiers, towards the woods, using the bridge to hide them from sight for at least a little.

"Do… huff… you… huff… think… huff… we… huff… can… outrun… a Hummer?" Toby asked, panting after the first hundred yards.

"We don't have to outrun them - we just have to find cover, so Claire can get us," Jim replied. He glanced over his shoulder. The soldiers' Hummer would have reached the bridge by now. "This way!" He dived through a small side alley. The woods were not too far away. They just had to cut through a yard or two, and they would be clear!

The sound of a car engine approaching them from the woods made Jim stop. That wasn't a… "This way!" he yelled, changing course and running down the next road.

"How… did… they… get… ahead…?" Toby asked.

Jim frowned. The soldiers who had spotted them shouldn't have been able to… "It's a different Hummer!" he blurted out. "They've called for help!"

"Oh, no!"

"We can still make it!" Jim snapped. "We know the town much better than them!" This was on the route to the school, after all. If only they had their bikes, or Jim's Vespa, then no one would catch them!

"Are… you… sure…?" Toby huffed. "Cause… I… am…"

Another Hummer stopped at the t-junction ahead of them. Jim pulled Toby with him into the next drive, then through their yard. "We have to go off-road!"

"The… Hummer… is… for… off-road!" Toby protested.

Jim knew that. But this was their only chance to lose the soldiers. They couldn't afford to be caught out of curfew. At least the house they were passing on the way into the backyard was empty - the lights weren't on.

He heard screeching tyres behind them as the Hummer stopped. "This way!" someone yelled. "Mark, John - take the other side!"

The soldiers were trying to flank them. Jim clenched his teeth. They had to keep going straight - no chance to double back with their pursuers fanning out.

"Stop! This town is under curfew!"

"Fat chance!" Toby muttered. "Oh, no!"

Jim helped him over the fence into the next yard. But the soldiers were closing in, and… "The bikes!" he snapped.

Three BMX bikes were parked behind this house.

"Jimbo?"

"Grab one!" Jim grinned. They could escape with those!

"Who rides a BMX in town?" Toby asked, still huffing and panting.

"Who cares!" Jim pulled the bikes out of the sledge there. "You can drive one-handed, yes?"

"Uh… yes?"

Jim got onto his bike. "Let's move!"

They rode off, past this house, and then onto the drive. Another Hummer was closing in from the side, but they crossed the road before the soldiers could stop them and tore down a small path leading up into the woods.

"Stop! US Army!" Stop! Stop, or we'll shoot!"

Jim bent low over the bike and pedalled as fast as he could. They wouldn't shoot, would they? They couldn't shoot!

Shots rang out.

"Jimbo!" Toby screamed. "They're shooting at us!"

"Warning shots!" Jim snapped. He hoped he was correct. This slope was steeper than he remembered. He looked back. Toby was struggling. With his shoulder, he couldn't drive well. He was still faster than the soldiers on foot, though.

Another engine roared to their right - a Hummer was making its way up the slope there. Moving to cut them off.

But they'd already reached the top of the slope and were racing downwards into a small creek. Too narrow for a car, much less that monster the soldiers drove.

"They'll cut us off on the other side," Toby yelled as they broke through the underbrush. "Ow!"

He was right, Jim realised, avoiding a toppled tree trunk almost blocking the creek. They would be going around the forest in their cars. Damn. "We have to hide!" he yelled. "Over here!"

"Lover's Patch?" Toby asked as Jim led them up another slope.

"Yes." The small hilltop was hidden from view by dense trees and bushes. The soldiers wouldn't be able to spot them from below.

"They'll find us by process of elimination!"

"We just need to hide long enough for Claire to get us!" Jim shot back, his legs pumping for all they were worth. Another few yards… He broke through a bush and brought the bike to a stop in the small clearing on top of the hill, ripping his cell phone out of his pocket.

Lover's Patch. Hurry!

He could hear the soldiers now. Behind them.

Toby arrived. "They saw me, Jimbo! I wasn't fast enough!"

"Claire's coming!" Jim said. "Just hide."

"They're right behind me!"

Jim could hear the Hummer's engine now. "They're tearing through the woods in the Hummer?" That would rip up all the paths!

A portal appeared in front of them, Claire standing in the middle of it. "Jim!"

"Claire!" Jim grabbed the bike and carried it through the portal.

"Just in time!" Toby followed them, panting and huffing. He collapsed while Claire closed the portal.

"Thanks!" Jim told Claire. "The soldiers were closing in."

"What happened?" she asked.

"We were seen by them - and they chased us. They shot, too," he told her.

She gasped, putting her hands in front of her mouth. "They shot at you?"

"Or they fired warning shots," Jim replied. "They didn't hit us, though."

"Uh, guys?"

Jim turned to his friend. "Tobes?"

Toby was pale. "I think I tore something in my wound."

Damn! "Mom!" Jim yelled.


Shadow Realm, January 18th, 2017

"...so, he's out of danger, but he'll need more rest," Mrs Lake told them as she pulled off her surgical mask. "No more running around until he's healed up. And no more riding bikes!" She added with a glare at Jim. "You can visit him once he wakes up."

Buffy Summers winced in sympathy even though this was totally not her fault. Maybe Dawn's, but not hers.

"I'm sorry, Mom - we didn't want to lead the soldiers to Trollmarket," Jim said. "We didn't expect them to chase us like that."

"They shot at you!" Claire blurted out.

"I think those were warning shots," Jim said. "I didn't think they were shooting at us - I didn't notice any shots near us."

"It's not a movie," Xander told him. "You can easily miss shots. And Glory looks like a normal human, too, so they will likely not be looking for obvious demons."

"But why would they shoot at all?" Jim shook his head. "We weren't armed or looking suspicious."

"You were out after curfew," Xander said. "That's suspicious enough. They're like truancy officers from Hell."

No one laughed at his joke. "Well, they're not acting like the Initiative," Buffy said. "They didn't shoot at people."

"That we know of," Willow added. "They might have tasered a few humans by mistake."

"Walsh probably wouldn't have baulked at using humans as test subjects - she used her own soldiers as test subjects, after all," Xander said.

Buffy blinked. Another question she could - should - ask Riley. Although… "I don't think the soldiers would've gone along with that," she said. She had met a few of them, after all, while she was dating Riley.

"If she told them that they were demons?" Xander scoffed. "And soldiers do a lot if you tell them it's an order."

Not for the first time, Buffy was tempted to ask what exactly the soldier memories he had received on that Halloween evening years ago covered. Her own were rather faded by now, but then, she hadn't tried to hold on to them. Her French grades showed that. She didn't ask, though. What if it was some war crime in Vietnam or such? She cleared her throat. "Anyway, we need to do something about the soldiers. We can't patrol the town if they shoot at anything that moves."

"Can't we just wait until Riley's unit arrives?" Willow asked. "We know them - well, we know Riley."

"And he isn't in charge," Buffy pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs Lake asked.

Oops. They weren't supposed to talk about the Initiative. Well, they also weren't supposed to be shot at by the Army.

"A secret US Army project that involved demons," Claire said.

"And which ended with us having to save a secret Army base," Buffy added. And her boyfriend going off to hunt weak demons in some jungle.

"And we aren't allowed to tell you anything about it," Willow said. "Officially."

"Said the girl who just hacked the Pentagon," Xander replied.

"Why do you need to patrol the town, anyway?" Mr Evil Changeling spoke up. "Do you think your enhanced sword will be able to hurt a hell-goddess now, Young Atlas?"

Buffy glared at him - it was the principle of the thing! A slayer patrolled for demons!

"We won't know that until we try it," Jim said.

"Jim!" His mom hissed. "You're not going to 'try out' a sword against that monster! What if it doesn't work?"

"Then we flee?" Jim asked with a weak and forced smile.

"If you are able to," the changeling said. "Glory is faster and much stronger than you are."

"We know her weakness now," Claire retorted. "We can plan our attacks!"

"Which will take time." The changeling shook his head. "Rushing into danger is not the smartest course of action. If those soldiers are so eager to shoot at children, they shouldn't be much of a loss if they encounter our common enemy."

"They're still humans," Buffy told him. "We don't leave humans to demons!"

Xander, Willow and Giles nodded. Jim and Claire nodded too.

"How commendable. Truly, you are noble souls, risking your lives for those who would kill you. However, should you risk the world for those soldiers?" The changeling sneered. "If you rush into a confrontation without a plan, you will only end up defeated - and if you should lose your life, you might doom the world."

"While cold and callous, Mr Strickler has a point," Giles said. "We shouldn't rush into this. The Council is still researching the entire matter - and the whereabouts of potential weapons against Glorificus. As are we, of course."

"Though we didn't make much progress," Willow said with a pout. "If those foggy old guys would've digitalised their library, I could create a search algorithm and sift through the entire library in minutes."

And Giles looked like he had bitten into a cartload of lemons. "Well, that is… most of the information is in priceless tomes which need special care."

"Which is another reason they should be scanned! So we can seal them up safely without risking them being damaged!" Willow retorted.

"I doubt you'll be able to convince the Council," Xander said. "They still have yet to enter the 20th century; the 21st will have to wait even longer."

"I assume they are still testing telephones," Buffy added, "to see if they offer advantages over the telegraph."

Giles frowned, but the others laughed. He cleared his throat again. "In any case, we should focus on planning and research, not patrolling."

Buffy sighed. No patrolling. Perhaps she could spar against the big troll instead.


Shadow Realms, January 19th, 2017

"Sorry, Jimbo. I guess I overdid it. Screwed up again."

James Lake Jr shook his head. "No, no - we shouldn't have gone out. That was my mistake." If only they had waited a little for Claire to open a portal at the scheduled time! As Blinky had said - although in other circumstances - patience was a virtue. And impatience was a danger.

"I shouldn't have gone out at all," Toby mumbled, looking down - presumably at the new bandages on his shoulder. At least he looked better after a full night's rest. "I'm useless again." He scoffed. "I was useless the whole time." He was quite pale, too.

"No!" Jim snapped. "You held up - you escaped the soldiers. You outran Hummers!"

"And almost killed myself."

"It's not quite that bad," Claire said. "You tore your wound, yes - but there wasn't much bleeding, according to Dr Lake."

Jim nodded. "Yes. You weren't in danger of dying." Not for some time, at least.

Toby looked as if he'd disagree, but he slowly nodded. "I'm still out for a longer time. And just when things are turning bad."

"We're not doing anything," Jim told him. "Just holing up, as Xander calls it, until we get more information."

"And until the soldiers are replaced by others," Claire added. "Who, or so we've been told, won't shoot at people so quickly."

Jim was tempted to mention again that he didn't think they had been shot at but held his tongue. It didn't matter, anyway. They wouldn't be dealing with the soldiers any more.

Not unless Glory showed up, he added to himself. Then Jim would have to go out again - he was the only one able to hurt her. Not even the Slayer had a weapon that could hurt the hell-goddess.

Well, Jim was pretty sure that he could hurt her. Daylight had managed to leave a mark on Glory, and Eclipse was far more powerful. But he didn't know if the sword could hurt Glory enough to make a difference.

"That's good to know. It was pretty scary, getting shot at," Toby said. "So… how long are we going to stay put here?" His smile was weak and forced, of course.

"That depends on how quickly the Council and the Slayer's friends work," Jim told him. "And how quickly the other soldiers arrive."

"So we don't know."

"No, we don't," Claire confirmed.

"Well, I'll be doing my duty and staying in bed, then," Toby said. "It's a tough job, but someone has to do it."

Jim laughed at his friend's joke, as did Claire, but he stopped smiling as soon as they had left the Domzalskis' camper. "This sucks."

"Yes." Claire turned towards him. "But it could've been much worse. You both lived, the soldiers didn't catch you - and we are safe here.

Thanks to her, of course. Jim nodded anyway. "I just… I hate listening to Strickler."

"Who doesn't?" She sniffed. "He and his 'tough decisions'!"

"'Tough decisions'?" Jim asked.

"Willow told me that. Strickler acts like those 'hard men making hard decisions' in some stories. Sacrificing the few for the many, the greater good, that sort of thing." She scowled.

Jim shook his head. "That fits him. He thinks every human is disposable." He was evil, anyway.

"They aren't."

"Of course not. No one is disposable" And as Trollhunter, Jim would do all he could to protect everyone, trolls and humans alike. He checked his watch. It was a little past nine in the morning. He wouldn't have been able to tell - there was no daylight here. Which, of course, was a good thing for their troll friends, but it was confusing. Jim had started to lose his rhythm. Nowadays, he needed his alarm clock every morning to get up in time to make breakfast.

Claire nodded. "Let's check up on Willow and see how the research goes."

Jim nodded, and they walked over to Willow and Tara's camper. Claire knocked, and - for a change - Willow opened. "Ah, you're here! Great! Just in time, we're planning!"

"Oh?" Jim asked as he stepped inside and saw that almost all of the 'Scoobies' were present - except for the Slayer.

"Yes!" Willow beamed at them. "We're planning a surprise birthday party for Buffy!"

Jim blinked. "A surprise party?"

"Yes! Today's her birthday!" Willow beamed at them. "Just the opportunity we need to cheer up everyone!"

Partying while their town was occupied by trigger-happy soldiers and a bloodthirsty hell-goddess? People had died already, and Jim feared more would die!

"How much of a surprise is it when Buffy can hear us whispering from the other side of the camp?" Claire asked.

"Oh, I've cast a spell to give us a little privacy," Willow told them. She blushed a little. "It was necessary anyway."

And Tara was blushing as well. Oh. Now Jim was blushing, too. Of course, they wouldn't want… Not going there, he reminded himself.

"Anyway - we're thinking cake and a buffet," Willow went on. "Do you think you can make a cake without her noticing?"

"Not when she can smell it across the entire area," Jim said.

"Good point. So, we need to be sneakier than planned."

"We need to get her some gifts anyway," Dawn said. "Shopping trip!"

Jim had the suspicion that Dawn wasn't just going to buy gifts for her sister. And they really should be researching Glory and ways to kill her.

But everyone else seemed to be looking forward to this.

So he glanced at Claire, nodded, and smiled. "Alright. I'll need access to a decent oven."