A/N: Just something I wrote a while back. Found it and decided to put it up. Will reread later to edit when it's not 2am. Characters belong to Guillermo del Toro and DreamWorks.
Jim and Toby were the dynamic duo. Jim was the tactical team leader, and Toby was the spirit-lifting sidekick. They were the definition of best friends. Toby was Jim's anchor, and Jim was Toby's anchor. They kept each other from being swept away by any rough tide, wind or storm.
The stout boy, no matter how dark the hour was, would always be standing proudly besides his tall, lanky Trollhunter friend with a confident grin that flashed with his glorious braces, and Jim would oftentimes have that timid yet bright glow in his merry blue eyes. The two were inseparable.
Even when Claire came into the whole Trollhunting situation, it wasn't like Jim and Toby drifted apart because of her. They were always besides each other, no matter what. Not even their love interests could get in the way of their bond.
The same could be said with Aaarrrgghh. He and Toby were wingmen, partners in crime—family. Just like Jim and Toby. Sometimes, Claire thought the Kubera troll was like a father figure to Toby, much like Jim and Blinky.
She knew that when Aaarrrgghh died, Toby's heart split in two. One of the most important people in his life was killed before his eyes. Gone forever. She knew his heart was already bursting with rage, hatred, and sadness.
Then Jim left.
He shut the vault, turned his back on them—left to the Darklands by himself.
Poor Toby was a wreck.
The moment his friend disappeared into the place that could be called hell, he broke down. Tears streamed down his red, bruised face. His fists pounded the ground where his dear friend stood just a few moments ago, so hard they started to bleed. He screamed, he sobbed, he wept.
His childhood friend—the one he knew since he was just a little child—had left them behind, sentencing himself to death.
To save Claire's brother.
Her heart lurched when he set his enraged, glaring eyes straight onto hers, his hand reaching for his Warhammer that sat beside him on the stony ground.
"You."
Her blood ran cold at the sound of his hoarse, stone-cold voice. He stood up and faced her with his hands gripping tightly on his activated weapon. His auburn locks fell over his right eye that pierced through her soul, and his lip was curled back to reveal his braced teeth that glinted with the light coming from the entrance of the vault.
"This is all your fault."
Claire blinked. "What?"
Toby's eye pupils were constricted. "If you wouldn't have kept pushing him to get Enrique back, he wouldn't have gone in there without us! You nagged him into getting Enrique. You kept picking his ribs even when we told you we'd be risking the entire world of possibly releasing Gunmar and his freaking army. Is this what you wanted? To have him go into the Darklands alone? Are you happy he's getting your baby brother back, and probably getting himself killed out there without anyone to help him?!"
His blaring eyes welled up with unshed tears that reflected the orange glare of his weapon, and his brows were raised in a deadly frown that sent shivers down Claire's spine.
His words stung her like a spear to her heart. She could only stare back at him with an agape expression. Her eyes were burning with hot tears of her own that slid down her cheeks, and she could barely utter a word past the choking tight knot on her throat.
Besides her, Blinky snapped out of his shocked trance and focused his six eyes on the stout boy with the weapon. "Tobias!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Do not blame fair Claire for Master Jim's decision. He chose to go into the Darklands, she did not force him—"
"Yeah, she did!" Toby jerked his head over to look at the four-armed troll. "This is all her fault! He went because of her! If she wouldn't have repeatedly drilled a hole through his skull with the whole 'We'll get Enrique back' thing, none of this would have been happening! This is her fault! It's… this is… this…" His breath had increased, his chest was going up and down. "This is everyone's fault! Your fault, Claire's fault, Angor's fault, Strickler's fault, the stupid ghost council's fault, my fault!"
Out of anger, he threw the Warhammer onto the floor. The hammer narrowly missed smashing Claire or Blinky's toes if it hadn't had deactivated the moment it fell to the ground with several clanks.
Any words both Blinky and Claire tried to say turned to dust on their tongues when their eyes laid upon the stout lad.
Oh, Jim, thought the gal sorrowfully. Why did you have to leave? You said we'd do together.
Why had he thought going in by himself was a good idea? Why did he choose to push them away? They were supposed to go together.
She just couldn't get what was going through his head.
No one's getting hurt. No one's getting hurt again. No one will get hurt anymore. No one. No one will get hurt.
N̷̬̘̝̼̭͕̯͗̓͂̚͘ö̴̻̞̜͎́͝ͅ ̸̧̨͖̥͍̈́͂̈͘ợ̶̭̞̹̜͊́̐̆̚̕͝ṋ̷̼̦͗͋̀͝͝e̵̢̲̞̘͍͂̑̈́́̊͝ ̴̞̺̏͋̐̚͜į̷̼̘̮͇̟̱̐̏̔̏̾s̵̘̿̃̑͝ ̸̨̠̹͎̜̣͚̬̔̌̃̂g̴̡͙̝̼̻̫̙̬̔̀ŏ̸̗͉̟̿̃̀͑̈́̓͘͘i̵͗͋͌͋͜n̷̤̫̭̾̽͂̂ğ̴̡͓̠̹͔̰͎̾̆́̓͌̏͜͝͠ ̷͓͕̋́͆͑̊ͅț̴̖̼̣̿̃̅͂͜͝o̷͉̩̙͈̞͂͂ ̴̡̖͙͚̥͑̋͌̄̿̕͘͜͠g̶̤̳̻̙͎̭̫͈̈̆̾̽͗̔͗̃͊͘ë̷͎͎̩̹͚̍́̾̀̈́̌̽̕͠t̶͚̯̯̲͋́̀͆͊̔̂͝ͅ ̷͚̳̘͙̔͘h̴̡̧͚̠͓͍̮̻́̾̓̅͜u̸̡̙̟̰͐͝ṙ̴̡͈̮͚͈̩̆̇̈̐̒͛͝t̷͍̺̹̭̖͔͕͎̄̐̓͐̆.̷̢͈̲͔̺̜̺͖̝͔̀
She could help but agree with Toby. This was her fault. She pushed him the moment they let her in on the troll secret.
"So, when are we saving my brother?"
"Claire, we can't just waltz into the Darklands."
"We just saved trolls by keeping Killahead Bridge closed. Imagine what they'll do to us if they find out we want to open it."
"Guys, this is my baby brother, and NotEnrique is driving me nuts. You know how many times I have to change him? He knows how to use a toilet. He chooses the diaper."
"I get it. We'll get him back. We just can't risk releasing Gunmar."
"Admit it, you're going back on your word."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not."
"Are."
Her gut twisted with shame at the conversation she had with him and Toby the day she went to visit Trollmarket before starting class at school. She was being arrogant, wasn't she? They told her the Darklands were dangerous, that they were giving Gunmar a huge chance of escaping. Yet her only concern was Enrique.
Jim certainly didn't go back on his word now, did he?
A choked sob snapped her out of her thoughts. She stared lamentably at Toby as the Warhammer wielder rested his forehead on his hands, his fingers digging into his messy hair.
Claire loved Jim. She really did. He was a good person. He wasn't like other boys at school who tried to woo her or acted all 'I'm-the-boss-here,' or even bullied other boys younger than him. He took care of his mother and did all his chores around the house, made lunches for Toby, and unfortunately endured through his duty as Trollhunter during his free time. His handsome blue eyes, his charming smile, his strong will, his courage, his need to care for, and his overall heart and soul was what stole Claire's heart the way she stole his.
She loved Jim.
But her love was different compared to the strong bond he and Toby had formed throughout their years growing up together.
Her pain was different compared to Toby's. The pain of losing the person you met when you were five, the pain of losing the person you played hide and seek with when you were six, or playing tag when you were seven, or falling on the floor leaning on the backside of couch when you were eight—the pain of losing the one person you considered your brother who lived just across the street; it was different.
It was harder to endure.
It hurt.
Claire wasn't Toby, and it hurt her to think of his pain.
It was like when she realized her brother was taken to the Darklands. But this was far worse. Nothing in the Darklands could hurt Enrique because he was being taken care of so that NotEnrique could take his place in the overworld. Jim, however, was not being taken care of. He would be found. He would be hunted by whatever lurks in the Darklands. By Gunmar.
She took a few cautious steps forwards towards her friend to kneel in front of him. She reached a hand to place it over his shoulder, but he flinched away before she even touched him.
"Don't touch me!" he hissed without even looking at her. "Just leave me alone…"
She froze, retracting her hand. It was as if her chest held the ocean within. An ocean of tears. The sniffling and hiccups Toby let out made her want to hug him badly. She wanted to show how sorry she was, to let him know that she was guilty and that she wanted nothing more than to bring Jim back as much as he did.
But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare ahead hollowly.
A comforting, stony hand was placed on her own shoulder. She looked up to see Blinky sadly shaking his head and gesturing for them to leave the weeping boy alone until he calmed down.
There was no dragging Toby out of the vault. And if either troll or girl tried to, they were sure to end up with some nasty bruises.
Silently, she got up to her feet and walked out of the vault with one last glance at Toby. Her stomach swirled and her legs shook. She found herself leaning against Blinky for support as they walked across Trollmarket. She tried to dismiss the odd looks they earned by some by passers, but when a certain bright blue troll showed up, she knew she wouldn't be able to.
They met with Draal and Vendel near Aaarrrgghh's lifeless body that stood near the center of Trollmarket. Claire's heart ached whenever she laid eyes on the gentle, long-gone troll she grew to love. She stood quietly besides Aaarrrgghh her hand placed on his outstretched arm while Blinky explained the situation to the leader of Trollmarket and the son of Kanjigar.
She blinked rapidly in effort to dry the forming tears, but alas they slid down her cheeks anyways.
Aaarrrgghh is gone forever. Jim may never come back.
She should have fought harder. She shouldn't have let Jim walk away alone. She should have tried harder.
This is all your fault.
Toby's harsh and stinging words echoed in her head. His electric green eyes that seemed to flare with emotion flashed before her own whenever she closed them. The image of Jim's tearfully locking the vault replayed in her head, as well as AAARRRGGHH! slowly turning into stone…
She didn't register when Blinky wrapped his four arms around her and brought her into a tight hug. She pressed her forehead against his upper shoulder and wept into it, the only sounds coming from her being her whimpers and sniffles.