Toby's starting to feel like he's cursed. His parents died. Draal died. Jim and Claire left. And now Krel – Toby doesn't even want to think about Krel, except he can'tstopthinking about him. It's not like Toby hasn't dealt with death before. This isn't – it's notnew. But – it was Krel. Younger than Toby is, murdered in cold blood while Toby stood helplessly feet away. He's been rewatching all his recordings for the DJ Kleb film, as if that would make him feel better, sitting against Aaarrrgghh!!! and trying not to start crying all over again.
"Miss him," Aaarrrgghh!!! rumbles sadly.
"Me too, big guy," Toby mumbles.
"Hero."
"Yeah. He was."
"DJ Kleb is here to party!" Krel exclaims on-screen. Toby shuts the laptop; the resulting snap seems to echo in the silence of his room, and he leans back against Aaarrrgghh!!! and closes his eyes. He should sleep, but he doesn't want to be plagued by more nightmares, visions of the fight he never saw that culminated in his friend dying. Still, he lets his eyes rest. Maybe he should suck it up and see if there's a dream-preventing potion or something. Anything to stop him from seeing Krel die over and over again in his mind.
There's three rapid knocks. Toby's eyes fly open and he hops to his feet, ignoring the way his laptop clatters to the floor, and activates his war-hammer. He edges closer to the window. Aaarrrgghh!!! growls menacingly. Toby thought Mort put a ward or something around the house. How did something get past it? It doesn't matter. They have to be ready for a fight. Toby sure isn't going to die on his friends, especially not so soon after losing Krel.
Jim's face appears behind the glass and screen. He holds up a hand and waves with a dopey grin spreading across his features. Toby stares at him for a second, half-convinced he's hallucinating from a lack of sleep, before he drops his hammer and runs over to pull open the window. Jim clambers in, then sticks a hand out to help Claire in as well. Toby peeks out the open window to see Blinky standing on the grass outside, waving two hands at Toby and also grinning.
"Tobes!" Jim exclaims, grin growing even wider.
"Jimbo!" Toby echoes. He can't muster as much enthusiasm as his best friend, even though he's thrilled to see him. Jim grabs him in a tight hug, lifting him off his feet and laughing. Toby can't help but laugh too. This is real, Jim is finally home. "What are you doing here?"
"Turns out Merlin's info was super out of date," says Claire. Jim puts Toby down, and she goes in for a hug as well, letting Jim greet Aaarrrgghh!!! jovially. "There used to be a Heartstone in New Jersey, but it's not there anymore. So we came back."
"We'll figure something out," Jim says before Toby can ask. "Maybe one of your new wizard friends would know better than Merlin. I guess that's what happens when you're asleep for centuries."
"Always doubted him," Toby grumbles. He bets Mort would know better, and maybe Mort could figure out a way to keep them here, with Toby, home for good. Maybe he's selfish, but Toby wants Jim to stay with him.
"What about you?" Claire asks. "How are you?"
Toby opens his mouth to reply, then realises he doesn't know what to say. Jim and Claire don'tknow. It's not really a conversation to have over the phone, that one of your friends was killed. He doesn't even know where to begin. Jim, always attuned to Toby even after months apart, picks up on his mood and his brow furrows.
"Is everything okay?" he prods. "New developments with the Knight thing?"
Toby sighs. "Yeah. I think this is a conversation for everyone. Head downstairs. I'll call the others and get them to come over."
Jim and Claire exchange worried looks, but they both nod and leave the room. Aaarrrgghh!!! watches Toby curiously, and Toby jerks his head to the door with a weak smile.
"Go say hi to Blinky before everything gets sad again," he says.
Aaarrrgghh!!! offers him a fist-bump, which Toby returns with less gusto than usual, and the troll also leaves the room, ducking and turning awkwardly to get through the door. Toby really needs to invest in a bigger door.
He tugs out his phone and opens it to the group chat he's now glad he insisted on making, what feels like a lifetime ago. The latest text on it is from Krel – something about picking dinner because he was the one Ikram and Nimue were currently tormenting – and it makes Toby's heart hurt. He takes a deep breath and texts the others to come over ASAP to explain things to Jim. Steve gets back almost immediately – Toby knows he wasn't sleeping either, because if anyone else is plagued by nightmares and guilt, it's Steve – to ask if Jim knows about Krel.
not exactly a phone conversation dude no, Toby texts back. He waits for the others to either like his message or reply, trying to figure out what they're going to say. This isn't a conversation he ever imagined having. Maybe he should have, but he just didn't truly entertain the idea that one of them could die until it happened. He pockets his phone and walks downstairs. Blinky greets him with a third hug, somehow comfortable despite his body being entirely made of stone.
"Tobias! Good to see you!" he exclaims.
"Hey, Blinky," says Toby as the troll releases him. "It's good to have you guys back."
He glances around unsurely. No wrinkly old wizard pops out from behind the couch or anything, but with wizards you can never be so sure. Toby's been on both sides of spells that hide people in some way, shape, or form. He's not sure why Merlin would be hanging around invisible, but he couldn't really know for sure.
"Merlin's not here?" he prompts.
"Nope," says Jim, nose crinkling. "Wasn't planning to ruin the reunion with him, don't worry."
"Good," says Toby. Unless Merlin followed them of his own volition, they're safe. Toby doesn't really trust him, still, and isn't sure he ever will.
It takes several minutes for everyone to arrive. Seamus walks in first, yawning and still in pyjamas, dark bruises and a still-healing cut peeking out from under his messy hair. He rubs his eyes and blinks at Jim, then his brow furrows and he shakes his head.
"Oh, you weren't kidding about the troll thing," he says.
"Seamus?" says Jim in surprise.
"Oh, right, surprise," says Toby. "Seamus is a wizard now."
"Always been a wizard," Seamus reminds him.
"Huh," says Jim. "That's… unexpected."
Steve and Eli arrive with Mort and Douxie. Claire and Jim both wince at the sight of Steve on crutches and the blue cast around his lower leg. Mort waves a hand in greeting, careful not to dislodge Archie, perched on his shoulder. Douxie still looks half-asleep, to the point that he tries to wave his right arm – the one in the sling – and fails miserably. Eli gapes at Jim – right, because this would be the first time Eli had ever seen Jim as a troll. Ikram and Nimue trail in after them. Ikram scans the room with a scowl, but she doesn't say anything so Toby can only assume she doesn't disapprove too much.
"Guess that's everyone," mumbles Toby. He sits on the couch next to Jim and Claire. Aaarrrgghh!!! rests a hand on the couch arm and smiles sadly at him, reassuring as much as he can. Jim frowns and looks around.
"We're missing Krel," he says. Toby was expecting that, but he flinches anyway. Steve's hands tighten into fists on his thighs. Seamus looks away. Eli sniffles pitifully. Jim's eyes widen and he shakes his head. "Guys, where's Krel?"
Toby should explain, but he – can't. His words catch in his throat and he moves his mouth soundlessly. Mort takes over yet again, gentle and quiet. "Krel was killed a few days ago."
The room falls silent. Claire sucks in a breath and covers her mouth in horror. Jim, in contrast, lets out a slow, shaky breath, then raises a hand to his face and drags it downward. Blinky bows his head.
"No," says Jim weakly. "That – that can't be right."
"What happened?" asks Claire.
"We got attacked. Magic was out. Krel tried to fight, but I guess he lost." Seamus tugs his knees up to his chest. "He shouldn't have tried to fight."
Jim buries his face in his hands for a moment, then slams a fist down on the arm of the couch. "I should havebeen here!"
"Jim," says Claire hesitantly.
"I should have come back when you first told me about the Knights," Jim cries, lips pulled back in an angry snarl. It looks scary on his face, now that he's a troll, with his sharp canines bared and his nose scrunched. "I could have saved him! I'm the Trollhunter, I'm supposed to protect people."
"Maybe you could have saved him," says Mort. "Or maybe you would have gotten killed, too. There's no use in what ifs and could haves. Blaming yourself does no one any good."
"Our new wizard friend is right," says Blinky. "It does not do to dwell on what might have been. We are here now."
"Now is too late," mutters Jim. He shakes his head. "Alright. What's the plan with the Knights, then?"
"There's only one Knight left," says Ikram. "The Red Knight. The most dangerous of us all, and almost certainly to one that organised the attack on the shop. We must not be caught off guard. We also have his master to worry about."
"Mordred," Seamus supplies. Mort glares at him. "Okay, fine, we don't know it's Mordred, but all evidence points to Mordred."
"The Mordred I met was not an unkind soul," says Blinky.
"Wait," says Toby. Mort, too, looks at him in alarm. "YouknewMordred?"
"Briefly, very briefly." Blinky crosses all four arms. "He didn't seem the type to want to destroy the world."
"There, you see?" says Mort. "On the bright side – if we can even call it that – this mystery wizard has no easy way of finding and accessing the formstone."
"Sorry, the what?" asks Claire.
"Long story," says Toby. "Basically, if the wizard gets his hands on the formstone and absorbs its power, boom, game over, so long, planet Earth."
"Krel could have found it because of his connection to Gaylen's core, which was made from the formstone," says Mort softly. "Without Krel – well, it would take ancient magicks even I don't know, but to assume it's safe would be folly. We must be on guard."
"And so we will, Master Wizard," says Blinky. "Forgive me. I do not know your name."
"Introductions, yes." Mort manages a weak smile and nods. "Mort Penn, at your service. Beside me is my nephew, Douxie. Pretending to be asleep on Douxie's lap is his familiar, Archie. Over there you have Ikram and Nimue, and beside Steve is Seamus. I presume you know Toby and Steve both, and perhaps the small one whose name I don't yet know."
Eli raises a hand awkwardly. "Uh, I'm Eli. But Blinky knows me too."
"I am not pretending, I am sleeping," Archie adds, which just proves that he was pretending.
"Indeed I do know young master Eli," agrees Blinky. "Blinkous Galadrigal. A true pleasure, despite the grim circumstances."
"The pleasure is mine," says Mort. Toby decides they're going to get along well, especially because they seem to have equal disdain for Merlin. He expects their friendship will result in a level of unparalleled dadding that he isn't sure will be a good thing.
Steve tries and fails to hide a yawn. Seamus, beside him, is already starting to nod off. He jerks upwards and rubs his eyes.
"It's late," says Ikram. "We can discuss this more tomorrow. For now, I think we all need rest."
Douxie doesn't even try to hide his yawn. "Yep. Sleep is good."
"We'll be on our way for now," says Mort. He focuses his eyes on Toby. "Get some rest, as well."
"I will," Toby says.
He watches as the others leave. Steve meets his eyes with a silent question – if Toby asked him to stay, to help explain things, to be moral support, he would. It's almost weird. Even a couple of months ago, if anyone had told Toby that Steve would be one of his staunchest allies and closest friends, Toby would have laughed in their faces. Now he knows better. He shakes his head, and Steve nods and crutches out the front door. Jim rests a hand on his shoulder.
"How are you holding up?" he asks, once the room is cleared and the sound of Mort's truck is gone.
"I'm… fine," says Toby. He is, really, or at least as fine as he can be. He's not falling apart like Steve is after losing Krel and Aja the same day, at least. He's dealt with death before. He's fine. "It's just – hard. You don't ever think one of your friends is gonna die."
"No, you don't," Jim murmurs. He pulls Toby into another hug; the armour isn't exactly comfortable but Toby's just happy to have his best friend there with him again. "It shouldn't have happened."
"I thought he was safe," Toby admits. "He – we thought they wanted him alive, to find the formstone, but we were wrong. And I thought – Morando was almost impossible to kill when he had Gaylen's core, I thought it'd be the same thing with Krel. I wasso sure. I should have known better."
"You couldn't have known, Tobes." Jim's grip on him adjusts and tightens. "It's not your fault."
It sure feels like it. Toby hadn't been that injured. Sure, his weapon didn't work, but he could have found something. Krel's serrator, maybe, or – or something. He could have fought with Krel, he could have protected him. If he'd just been there – he could have gotten Krel out. He could have donesomething. Instead, Krel died, alone, and if the Knight was to be trusted in his gloating, begging for someone to save him.
Claire joins the hug, then Blinky's four arms wrap around all three of them. Aaarrrgghh!!! is the last to join the hug, enveloping the entire group and holding them close. Toby relishes in the moment, his Trollhunting friends all back together at last, all safe and here and alive.
"We're here now," Jim says. "We won't let this happen again."
Toby swallows and closes his eyes. "I hope you're right."
Jim and the others end up staying at Toby's house, if only because Jim's house is packed with babies and there's not really room for them there. Toby has no doubt they could have made it work – Dr. L would have ensured it – but it's easiest for them to just sleepover. It's good for Toby's nerves, too, to be able to glance over and see Jim sleeping on the floor next to him. Toby gets caught up on what all happened during their – surprisingly short – trip to New Jersey. Apparently they didn't face too much trouble, beyond that one weird armoured guy Toby saw them fighting a few weeks ago, or maybe a lifetime ago with all that's happened in Arcadia since. Toby's glad his friends had it easier than he has.
The next morning, the others come back over to Toby's house to try to hash out a more certain plan. Much to both Blinky and Mort's chagrin, they decide they have to bring Merlin into this. Toby doesn't trust the old wizard in the least, but he'll probably be a valuable ally. Probably.
It's immediately evident just how much Mort hates Merlin. His face falls into an instantaneous scowl as soon as the other wizard walks in. Blinky's does, too, which is more proof that maybe they should start a club about how much they don't like Merlin. Toby doesn't even know where Mort's hatred of him has come from, but he can't exactly disagree with it. Merlin is kind of a huge jerk.
"Tobias," Merlin greets. "Aaarrrgghh!!!, isn't it? Good to see you both again."
"Merlin," Toby says back. Archie glowers at Merlin and leaps onto Toby's legs, curling up to either sleep or just be more comfortable.
"You're taller than I imagined," says Steve suspiciously. "And your beard is a lot shorter. And I thought you'd be wearing, like, robes and stuff."
"Definitely old enough, though," mutters Seamus; he fiddles awkwardly with the amulet Mort made him a few days ago. They all have one now – armour stored in an amulet, activated by bringing it to their chests and pressing down. Mort said it was so they would always be protected, even when they weren't expecting an attack. None of them mention that Krel was in armour when he died.
"So cool," whispers Eli, who Toby hasn't gotten around to giving the full story to so can be forgiven for thinking Merlin is cool.
They all make themselves at home in the living room. Nana cheerfully brings them cookies. Toby's told her everything that's been going on – she'd even offered to help, but Toby doubts his super old grandmother would be much help in this whole thing.
"Alright," says Mort. "Very, very quick recap. A very powerful wizard has been sending knights after Toby, Krel, and Steve for the past several weeks, and we've figured out that he's almost certainly after the Earth's formstone. I presume you know what that is."
"I do," confirms Merlin. "This is not good news. We mustn't let this wizard access the formstone, or certain doom will ensue."
"Tell us something we don't know," says Toby.
"Do you have any ideas how to stop him?" Jim prompts.
Merlin leans back and crosses his arms. "Ideally, we would get to the formstone before him."
"That won't be possible," says Mort, eyes narrowing. "Not without Krel."
Merlin harrumphs. "Well, that is a pesky situation indeed. Perhaps we can find another way."
"There are almost certainly no safe ways to find the formstone," says Mort. "Perhaps it is better left unfound, regardless. The less people have that information – in this case, zero people – the less likely our enemy can get it."
"At least there's only one Knight left," Seamus offers. "Since Ikram's on our side and Aja decapitated the other."
"Sorry, Ajawhat?" says Jim, eyebrows shooting up.
Steve's lips twist into a frown. "He killed Krel. He deserved worse."
"I will be more than happy to lend my help in protecting you from the remaining Knight," Merlin says.
Seamus leans forward. "Do you have any idea who their master could be?"
Merlin shakes his head. "I'm afraid I don't know many modern wizards. If it's not a modern wizard… well, Morgana is sealed away. Perhaps Mordred?"
"Mordred is long dead," Mort cuts in with a scowl.
Merlin makes eye-contact with him and raises an eyebrow. "You can never be so sure about that."
"We need a plan," cuts in Ikram. "The Red Knight will be back, and we must be ready."
"We should find the Red Knight before he finds us," says Steve. He punches one fist into the palm of his other hand. "If we work together like we did with the Black Knight, we can definitely beat him."
"We need to plan first," Jim says. "We have to make sure no one will get hurt."
"The sooner we strike, the sooner we don't have to worry about the Knights anymore," Steve shoots back.
"Rushing into things is just going to get another one of us killed," Jim snaps.
Steve glowers. "Fine. Whatever."
"Whatever happens," Seamus says quietly, "we have to avenge Krel."
"I… kind of thought you didn't like him," Claire admits hesitantly.
Seamus flinches and shakes his head. "I – he was my friend. One of my best friends. I – should have befriended him sooner, but I was an idiot and I didn't and now he's gone. I won't let his death be in vain."
"We won't," agrees Jim solemnly.
"Perhaps I can whip up a few elixirs–"
"No!" Toby exclaims, lurching forward until Archie digs his claws in and glares. He leans back against the couch again. "No more elixirs."
"Who calls them elixirs anymore?" Mort grumbles.
"Last time you made an elixir, you turned Jim into a troll," Toby says. Eli's eyebrows shoot up.
"A necessary evil," says Merlin, "for Jim to defeat Gunmar and Morgana. He was injured enough as is. Imagine if he'd been merely human."
"Heis right here," Jim cuts in.
"Turning someone into a troll is kind of messed up, man," says Seamus.
"Kind of?" Douxie mutters dubiously.
"Elixir bad," Aaarrrgghh!!! rumbles helpfully.
"Can we not be discussing this?" says Jim. "We should be making a plan. The Red Knight. Could be here any day."
"Jim's right," Toby says. "Every time we don't have a plan, things go really badly, but every time we've actually made a plan, it's succeeded."
"Knock on wood," grumbles Seamus.
"What can we do that we haven't been doing already?" Steve shoots to his feet with his exclamation. He shouldn't be putting weight on his leg yet, but he doesn't sit back down. Toby should have been paying more attention to him throughout the conversation – a blow-up like this is probably a long time coming. "Wehada plan! Stick together. Stay at Mort's or at least behind a ward. Guess what? We stuck together. We were in the shop. Krel still got killed. We did everything right, andKrel still got killed!"
Toby swallows. Jim shakes his head. "Then we make a better plan, no one will die–"
"Krel's already dead!" Steve's shout almost echoes in the ensuing silence; he doesn't even put up a pretence of stopping the tears that drip down his cheeks. Jim shrinks back, mouth moving like he might apologise. Toby knows his best friend means well – is right, even – but some part of him sees Steve's point too.
"I know how you feel," starts Jim, which is the exact wrong thing to say to Steve right now. His eyes and hands light up golden, but Toby doesn't think he even means to do it. Jim and Claire both flinch back – the resemblance to Morgana in Steve's magic is starkly evident.
"How could you possibly know how I feel!?" Steve roars. There's something intimidating about the way gold flares in arcs from his clenched hands, something – not like Steve, or maybe like the Steve they once knew, before the Creepslayerz and Aja and everything that's happened. "He was my little brother! Don't tell me you understand, because youdon't!"
Jim raises his hands in surrender. "Steve, I didn't mean – I've lost people too, Draal was like a big brother to me, so I – I get it. It hurts."
Steve's chin trembles and he continues to glare. His fists are clenched so tightly Toby wonders if his nails are drawing blood. Seamus grabs Steve's elbow and tugs him gently. "Sit down. You'll mess up your leg."
The gold fades. Steve sits and angrily wipes his cheeks. Seamus wraps an arm around him and Steve leans into him, eye closed. Part of Toby almost wants to walk over and join them, help comfort his friend after all they've been through together. Archie leaps down and makes his way over to sit on Steve instead, purring comfortingly.
"We can't change what happened," says Mort softly. "If I could invent time-travel today and change things I would. But Jim is correct. We need a plan, something better than before."
Blinky links his hands together in front of them. "All enemies have weaknesses, and so must this Knight of ours. If we can figure it out and use it against him, we may be able to win."
Steve crosses his arms, finally opening his eyes again and still glaring, still angry. "I say we do the same thing we did with the Black Knight. Lure him out and let Aja decapitate him."
Mort rubs his forehead. "We need information, Steve, unless you have a spell to get information out of a dead man, we need the Red Knight alive."
"If wecanlure him out and capture him, that would be our best bet," Jim says.
"The Red Knight is not stupid," says Ikram. "He will have heard what happened to his compatriot. He won't be lured out so easily. I wouldn't be shocked if the next time we see him is when his master finally makes his first attack."
"So, what, we wait till the wizard starts his evil plan?" Toby demands. "That went kindareally badwith Morgana!"
"We still won," Merlin offers. "Sometimes it is best to be able to see an enemy's plan before you counter-attack."
"That is terrible advice," says Mort.
"This is going nowhere," Nimue groans. She leans forward, arms on her knees. "The Trollhunter is right that we can't rush into things. Steve and Toby are right that we can't wait."
"By the time our mystery wizard makes his first move, it may very well be too late," says Blinky. "We have powerful wizards on our side, and many of them. Is there not a spell the six of you can create to locate the Red Knight?"
Mort furrows his eyebrows. "Hm."
"Advanced magicks, perhaps," says Merlin carefully. "It will take some time. Perhaps too much time."
"Not with all of you working together!" Toby points out. "You're Merlin, Mort is – Mort, that also speaks for itself. Nimue's super strong, and Douxie and Steve both trained under Mort. And I'm sure Seamus is just as good."
"And what do you suppose we do when we find him?" prompts Ikram.
"Go in guns blazing and capture him," says Seamus. "We'll have the advantage of numbers and surprise."
"We can plan in more detail when we know where to find him," Jim cuts in. "For now… I think we've got a start. We can do this."
"For Krel," Steve says, voice hoarse.
Toby and Seamus exchange looks and nod. Eli sniffles and adjusts his glasses. Mort presses his lips into a grim line.
"For Krel," he echoes.
With Mort's somewhat reluctant permission, the group of teenagers goes out for milkshakes after their somewhat successful planning session. Jim is content under an extra-large umbrella that protects him from the sun. He looks incredibly pleased to be walking around in the daytime at all – Toby guesses they tried to avoid aboveground during the day on their trip to and from New Jersey. It helps that it's a cloudy day – it looks like it might start raining later, which isn't uncommon for Arcadia in the summertime. Part of Toby hopes it does. It's been cheerfully sunny for the past few days, and honestly, Toby kind of wishes the weather would get with the program and realise now isn't the time for sunshine and days at the pool.
They crowd around the largest table at Benoit's. Despite the sugar, they're all still in a melancholy mood. Toby feels almost guilty enjoying milkshakes at a time like this. Seamus stirs his with his straw, morosely taking sips every few moments.
"Krel always liked their cappuccino milkshakes for some reason," Steve mumbles.
"They're awful," says Seamus. "He had terrible taste."
Eli frowns. "Uh, Seamus, you're drinking a cappuccino shake."
"It's for Krel, okay?" Seamus retorts, tugging his milkshake closer. "Don't judge me."
There's something almost sweet about that. Toby knows the two of them had gotten close before Krel's death, closer than Toby had ever expected them to, what with their initial impressions going… not so smoothly.
"I feel like we've missed so much," says Claire. "I mean, we've heard about a lot of it from Toby, but – how did we manage to miss aliens?"
"Akiridions," Steve corrects scathingly. "The term alien is rude."
Claire winces. "Sorry. Akiridions."
"You left, like, right before I found out," Toby says. "Eli wanted to trap them."
"What?" Steve splutters.
Eli laughs awkwardly. "Look, all I had to go off of when it came to extra-terrestrial life forms wasEarth Invaders, which isn't a very positive depiction."
"Point," concedes Steve, leaning back in his seat and taking a long sip of his chocolate milkshake.
"I still can't believe I didn't notice anything," says Jim. "I mean, it's kind of obvious in retrospect."
"Yeah, kinda," agrees Toby.
"Nothing this exciting happened on our trip to New Jersey and back," says Claire.
"Be glad," mutters Steve.
Toby has to agree. He tries to tell himself that Krel would rather he remember the good times than dwell on his death, and there have been good times in this whole adventure. Krel would want them to look back on him and smile. Toby wishes he could summon the ability to actually smile. He takes another sip of his milkshake. The chocolate peanut butter tastes far too happy for his mood. Maybe that's part of why Seamus got a flavour he hates. Why did they even go out for milkshakes? In some ways, it's only making Toby's mood worse.
He glances up briefly in time to see Claire's jaw drop. Jim gasps and rubs his eyes and does a wide-eyed double-take. Toby follows their gaze and his breath catches in his throat. Surely he's hallucinating. Someone slipped alcohol in his milkshake, or maybe it's his restless sleep catching up with him at last. How else would he see Krel – human-looking, wrapped in bandages, very, very alive – running towards them from across the street? But the apparition grows closer, and Toby knows when Douxie makes a soft, shocked sound that he's not the only one who sees Krel stumbling up to them. So either they're all hallucinating, or it's really Krel.
Seamus stands, eyes wide, one hand clutching the edge of the table. Eli's lower lip trembles like he might start crying. Krel – can it really be Krel? – skids to a stop in front of them and waves his hands wildly, as if trying to convey something without words until he finally finds his voice.
"Krel?" Steve says faintly, already starting to push himself to his feet as well.
"I know who it is," Krel blurts. Toby's heart lurches at the sound of his friend's voice, familiar and so breathtakingly relieving to hear, standing in front of them injured but alive. Then Krel's actual sentence catches up with him.
"What?" he says. He's still trying to process and convince himself that Krel's standing there. "Krel – how are you – you're not dead?"
Krel shakes his head. "No time to explain. I know who the Knights' master is!"