I had this chapter planned since almost day one and I hope it turned out as good as I wanted it to. You'll have to let me know.

Disclaimer, enjoy, and...

Let The Chaos Ensue...

Chapter 13: Gasquet

July 11th, 11:09 pm, Gasquet CA

It was pouring. Jim was absolutely drenched. His cloak was drenched. His thoughts were drenched.

He'd made it to Gasquet, but with so much rain there was no way he'd be able to track Amara's scent.

He'd traveled mostly by foot the past few days and helped several people out of bad crashes, muggings, and robberies. He found it interesting how much trouble found him as he looked for it.

He had just over a month before he had to be back in Arcada, which meant he had just under a month before he had to start heading back.

His ears began twitching, and he picked up the pounding of feet against the pavement of the highway. It blended with the rain, but was still audible to him. He began venturing further off the path, that was until the scent belonging to the steps hit him. It was the girl, the girl from the bus station.

He focused the sound, she was panting hard, and running in his direction on the opposite side of the road.

Jim vanished and ran in her direction, a pair of headlights with the sound of an angry engine following. She tripped, and her sobbing became apparent. He got closer and saw her bruised and fatigued form. Slumped over on her hands and knees, she looked back at the truck and then punched the pavement.

Another car, coming from the other way, and much closer than the truck was near and Jim saw her thought process and took action as she stood and threw herself in front of the black SUV.

Jumping the whole road and grabbing her as he went, they tumbled down the steep side into the drainage ditch, both of them now covered in mud. Above them, on the side of the road, the red dodge parked and an angry man began looking around.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" she screamed, her face and hair becoming clearer of mud by the second. Jim shook himself out and his hood fell. She gasped, covered her mouth and took steps back, trying to distance the small space between them.

Tripping on something in the muddy river, Jim seamlessly caught her by her waist, then once she had her balance, he stepped back.

"There was no way I would let someone like you die," he said simply.

"I'm nothing! I'm useless, and unimportant. And no one cares about me."

Jim shook his head, "No, everyone's important. And if no one else, I care about you."

Real confusion was what Jim saw, genuine confusion on why he found her important.

"Indiana!" Her dad yelled as he stumbled down the steep hill. "This is the last time! I swear on your life if you run away one more time, I'll kill you."

Red seeped into his iris', and his mind blurred with rage.

"Hey you freak, piss off, this is none of your business." He grabbed her upper arm and she took in a sharp breath, bruises could be seen in that same spot under his hands. More bruises littered her skin and face.

"No."

"No? Oh you don't get to tell me no. She's my daughter, I own her."

"You don't own anyone." He growled, punched him and used his tail to pull the girl behind him.

"You're real stupid you know that, right?" the man reached forward to try put a choke hold on Jim.

Rage and pure hate won out over morals and Jim, in a swift motion, bit the man's hand, taking three and a half fingers with it. From the pinky to most of his index finger on his left hand.

The red in his eyes remained as he crunched the bones, tasted the meat, and swallowed.

The man fell and screamed like a banshee. Gripping his hand and rolling in the mud.

"Are you alright?" Jim asked, red still in his eyes.

"Did you just…" her eyes darted to the blood flowing through the murky water. "Eat…?"

Jim shrunk a little. "I know he's your dad, but…"

"But nothing! I… I hate him."

She glared at the man. Jim stepped forward and took the keys from his pockets, the man scrambling back in fear the whole time. He tossed them to her, "Wanna drive me to the police station?"

She nodded and drugged up the hill.

Picking him up by his arm, he dragged him up the hill and jumped in the back of the truck.

…

It took a bit, but upon arrival, Jim's eyes were still burning at full force. And the rain was still coming down.

Literally dragging him, he jumped to the window on the side of the police building and slid inside, wind immediately rushing through the offices, sactering papers and tipping mugs.

Like a jumping spider in the rafters, his obscured form in full view.

"Now normally," he said, grabbing everyone's attention. "I'd just drop the scumbag out front and leave a call."

Whispers of the name Atlas came like a gust of wind from the open window.

"But this piece of shit, has been beating his daughter for who knows how long, and she almost died tonight because of it. If he doesn't end up in prison, we will be having problems. And things won't be pretty." He made no effort to keep the growl out of his voice, and then dropped down from the rafters, holding the man by the scruff of his shirt. Then dropped his body letting him slump to the floor.

As the officers came forward for questions, he dashed for the window, leaving the building in two clean jumps. He went back to the truck, glad to find the girl still waiting.

His eyes were still fading from his anger, but his blue soon replaced the red.

"Hey, I'm Jim."

She slid out of the truck, leaving the keys inside and shut the door. "Indi."

Jim tilted his head and smiled at her.

"What are you doing?"

Jim pulled his hood down, showing his smile.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing. I've got a question."

She began walking and motioned for him to ask.

"You live here right?" she nodded. "So do you know a little girl named Amara? Parents Kristie and Brian?"

"Yeah, but how do you know them?"

"I helped them when their car crashed," Jim shrugged.

"That's right," she said.

"If you know where they live, would you take me there?"

She gave a sly smile and nodded. "Only because I know Amara made you promise," then walked ahead. Indi hugged herself and silently cursed the rain.

Jim removed his cloak and placed it around her shoulders and she gratefully took it.

July 9th, 12:16 am

Jim knocked briskly on the door, almost immediately he heard the quick pit pat of small bare feet on hardwood. The door flung open and Amara stood with a huge wide smile, then launched herself toward the troll. "Jim!" He caught her with his tail and gave her a soft hug.

"Hey cutie pie."

"You took a long time to get here," she said with a pout.

"Well I was walking, what did you expect," he smiled.

"That's what we tried to tell her." Brian said as he came into view. "Indi…"

The girl held up her hand and glared daggers.

Kristie stood at her husband's side. "Come inside, I'll grab some towels."

"Jim!" Ben yelled.

The two stepped inside and Jim saw Jack-Jack in the living room on the floor.

"My my Jim, you sure have been busy!" Brian said. "Did you really get shot?"

Jim laughed. "Yeah, and I'll tell you it hurts a lot." He set Amara down and took a towel from Kristie.

"Does it hurt worse than a shot?" Ben asked.

"It's like ten shots," Jim smiled.

"Does it hurt more than a broken leg?" Amara asked, a frown on her face. She looked down at her cast.

"You know," Jim said. "I don't think it does. I think you're really brave. 'Cus I've never broken any bones… somehow."

"Indi… are you alright?" Krisite asked.

She smiled and nodded. "My dad just got dragged to the police station sans his hand."

"Hey," Jim said. "It was only like three fingers."

She pressed her lips and nodded. "Shame," then went to sit with Jack-Jack.

"What happened?" Brian asked, clearly confused.

"Things got a little red," he said, the color flashing across his iris'. "It happens when I lose my temper."

"Cool!" Amara shouted. "Do they change any other colors?"

"I don't know, they've only ever been blue and red," Jim said.

"Well, why don't you come in and sit down," Kristie said.

Jim followed them into the living room and sat criss cross on the floor, teasing Jack with his tail.

"So… is no one questioning why he looks like this?" Indi asked.

"Because we know why," Brian said.

Jim nodded. "It's because I'm half troll."

Indi's face screwed up and she stared at him for a second before blinking. "Alrighty then," she said.

Jim turned to Brian and gave a half hearted laugh, "people are a lot more accepting of me then I ever thought possible."

"You just have a really magnetic personality," Kristie said.

"And he's super nice," Amara said.

"Blue!" Jack-Jack declared.

The troll grinned and moved to his stomach and sat in front of the baby. "That's right, I am blue." He picked him up with his tail and swung the child like a swing. The child began giggling uncontrollably.

He set the child down as he noticed most of the family beginning to yawn.

"You should all be in bed," he said to the kids. "Why don't you guys go to sleep and we'll play in the morning, m'kay."

Amara nodded and dashed down the hall with Ben close behind her.

Kristie laughed. "I wish you were here more, it's a pain in the neck to get her to bed."

"Well, it's not every day a magical half troll comes to play."

"No, I think you're just really good with kids," Brian said.

"And there's that too," he said.

"Hey, could I talk to Jim alone?" Indi asked.

The parents eyes widened slightly before they nodded and left, taking Jack with them.

"What's up?" Jim asked, moving to a crouch, his tail coiling at his feet.

"I… I wanted to say thanks."

"For taking a bite out of your fathers' hand?" he almost laughed.

"For helping me, back at the bus station. And when I…" she gripped her stomach as she choked on her tears. Jim swiftly crawled forward and sat next to her, pulling her into a side hug.

"Shhh, we don't have to talk about that. It's okay."

Indi leaned into his arms and let her tears flow, not saying anything when his tail pulled her waist closer. Jim simply stroked her hair and purred for her. After a while, she fell asleep.

After checking that all the windows in sight were covered, he carefully laid her down, letting himself be a pillow and laid still, falling into a light sleep.

July 9th, 9:37 am

Indidana woke, finding the blue half troll curled up around her, her head resting on his forearm, his tail around her ankle. Her movement caused Jim to wake.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Naw, it's fine." Jim said, slowly opening his eyes she found his Iris' purple, then faded to blue as soon as she noticed it. "Did you sleep well?" he smiled.

She returned the smile softly, and spoke. "Yeah, better than I have in a long time, thanks." Indi paused, simply staring at his features. "Ca… can I?" She gestured to his horns.

Jim sat up and lowered his head, her fingers brushed the keratin softly with fascination and awe. She turned his face and gently ran her fingers along his ears, then felt the skin of his face.

"You are…"

"A monster?" Jim said, ears lowering.

"Magnificent."

Jim's head picked up, and the violet color returned.

"Where are you going, when you leave here?" She asked.

"Nowhere yet, but home soon."

She gave a short laugh, nodding. Then looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm coming with you."

The silver of her eyes held an earnest determination, raw and kind, and Jim couldn't refuse it.

He laughed and nodded. "You're going to love Arcadia."

"Arcadia!?" Amara's voice yelled. "That's where aunt Mindy and Steve live!"

"Wait… Steve?" Jim gaped. "Steve Palchuk?"

"Yeah," Brian said, following his daughter down the hall, the rest of the family following. "He's my nephew. Mindy is my sister. We were gonna visit them when we were heading back and our car wrecked."

"Yeah, Steve said we couldn't stay because… well he didn't have a reason. He said that there was a big town thing that didn't allow outsiders. For some reason Mindy agreed, so did her boyfriend."

Jim gave a quiet laugh, then burst into hysterics.

"I… I am so sorry," he laughed. "That was me."

"What?" they asked.

"Tourism isn't allowed anymore, because I'm there. I walk around with my other troll friend, Arg. No one outside Arcadia is supposed to know about trolls."

The parents started laughing as well. "So we drove eight hours to get kicked out so we wouldn't find out about trolls, just to find out about trolls."

"I'll tell you, in my time as the trollhunter, coincidence and fate often meet in the center. But man, Steve Palchuk."

"Why are you talking about weird things?" Amara asked, "Can we play?"

"Sure thing cutie pie, just give me a minute." He looked at Brain. "Does your back yard meet the forest?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

Jim shook his head. "You don't wanna know. Amara I'll play with you when I get back. Indi, can I have my…" He turned to have the leather tossed in his face. "Thanks."

Jim opened the door and turned to the family.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Jim dashed out the door and disappeared into the woods. The kids went out back to play under the thick clouds and the back door shut.

Without missing a beat, Kristie turned to Indi with anger on her face. "Young lady you are covered in bruises! What did your father do to you this time?!" She pulled out a very used first aid and had the brunette sit at the table. "You're lucky that Atlas saved you back at the bus station. Or from your father this time… how did he lose half his fingers?"

Indi couldn't help but snicker. "He, he um… ate them."

Brian's head turned slowly. "Are you serious."

"I mean Jim was freaking terrifying. Eyes red, growling and snarling, my dad tried to strangle Jim, and he kinda just…" She chomped her teeth together for show.

"The man had it coming." Kristie bit. She carefully wrapped the girls bloodied knuckles and put ice on bruises.

"Bet the cops wet their pants when he went in there. I swear with that rage he was scarier than Batman."

"I mean, he's only ever helped people," Brian said.

"And the kids love him too," Kristie said, she smiled out the window.

Jim had returned, and was playing tag with Ben and Amara, bouncing around like a playful cat, his tail whipping around like a kite ribbon. Indi grinned and dashed out, joining in the game.

"She said she was going to go with him," Kristie said. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"You've been caring for her for a long time," Brian said. "Since the first court case. But if she goes with Jim, I think she'll be a lot better than okay."

"I just worry about her. Her mom left, gave up custody in court. The cops haven't ever gained enough evidence to convict him, and there's never been whitesses, and I've never been able to send that scum bag to jail."

"Well, thanks to Atlas, he'll rot for a long long time." Brian said, hugging his wife from behind and looking at their kids play with their other guests.

…

"Tag! I finally got you Jim!" Amara grinned.

Jim slowed and stretched, letting his tongue out with his yawn.

"Why are you sleepy, it's morning," Ben said.

"Because," he yawned again. "I sleep during the day. And I didn't sleep much last night."

"You need a nap," Amara declared.

With heavy lids, Jim nodded.

The group ventured back inside, the parents being… parents, immediately saw Jim's fatigue and took action.

"Hey kids, why don't we go to Denny's for breakfast."

The kids squealed, and Amara jumped up and down. "Can Jim come?"

The one in question crouched down and shook his head. "No, I can't go in public. Because people would think I look funny."

Her face turned to a childish scowl. "That's not nice to do. I'll fight anyone who looks at you funny."

Her dad lifted her up and held her on his hip, "Sorry sweety, it's just gonna be us. Indi, would you like to come?"

"No, I think I could use a nap too," she smiled.

Kristie grabbed Jack-Jack from the crib and the family left, and Jim did his flip onto the archway between the kitchen and living room, and got a scoff from Indiana.

"Are you mocking how I sleep?"

"You're a bat," she teased.

"I'm a troll."

"You're nocturnal and sleeping upside down, you're a bat."

"I have a six foot tail that can hold my own body weight, and I'm a troll."

"Whatever Chameleon." She said as she laid down on the couch, her back to him.

"Chameleon?"

"Your eyes change colors," she said.

"They glow in the dark too, that doesn't make me a jellyfish."

She laughed and rolled over settling on the couch.

Jim smiled at her as he closed the cloak around himself and fell to sleep.

July 9th, 2:04 pm.

Jim woke when the family of five came back in the front door. "Jim what are you doing?" Amara asked.

He poked his head slowly out of his cloak, "I was sleeping," he gave her a half awake smile. In smooth motion, he crawled forward from the arch, making his way over to Indiana.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"Waking sleeping beauty," he said. He nudged her face with his horns, and she rolled over and slapped him harshly in the face. He shook his head like a dog then grinned, he grabbed the hood of her jacket with his teeth and pulled her off the couch.

"Aye!" She glared at Jim from the floor, his head hovering above hers.

"Hi"

"Chimera."

He rolled his eyes and backed off, moving to a crouch. "Is this gonna be a thing with you?"

She sat up, her grin making her grey eyes sparkle. "Maybe."

"Hello," Brain said. "We're here."

"Oh!" Kristie said. "Jim, I've got to show you something."

She walked over to the book shelf and pulled out a binder. "Amara wanted to save all the stories about you helping people, so we started a scrapbook." She crouched down next to him and opened the book.

A few pages with stories from each of the news crews on every case mentioning Atlas, or 'mysterious young man'. Jim took the book with a massive grin.

"You guys are amazing," he said, his voice trembling. "Can… Can I have… Next time you come down to Arcadia could you bring this?"

"Of course, we made two that way you could have one."

"But you have to let me come add to it every once and awhile!" Amara said.

"Of course cutie pie, I'd love…"

Jim paused when his phone began to ring. He gave a snarl and pulled it out of his pocket then calmed when he saw Strickler on the Caller ID. He smiled and nodded to the family before answering. "Strickler!"

"Jim," he could hear the man's smile. "You sound in a good mood, how are you?"

"I'm…" He looked at the family and Indiana. "I'm fantastic."

"That is good to hear, I'm currently registering you for school and your mother and I were having a debate. I think you should be teaching a class about trolls and other such things…"

"He's 16, he shouldn't be teaching!"

"School? Strickler," he whined.

"Just because you're a troll now, it's no excuse for you to shirk your education."

"Shirk my education," he sighed. "Strickler, I'm seven feet, nocturnal, and can't be in the sun."

"While you've been busy saving lives, I've been busy saving your education."

"Please don't tell me you sun proffed the school, because that would be just embarrassing."

"No, I got the Sunwalkers stone from Trollmarket."

The half troll's ears perked up and his eyes brightened. "Fine, I'll go to school. And I'll do an after school group, but no class."

"Hmm, I suppose that will do. Also, your mother, however still close minded, is now willing to try. As well as that worked last time she is helping you get registered for school. If that says anything."

Silent tears spilled slowly down his skin. "I've made a friend, she'll be coming with me. Also... expect me back fairly soon. I think I'm ready to face them," he said. "Ah, but don't tell anyone."

"Understood, have a good day, Young Atlas."

Jim hung up and couldn't help but grin.

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