Disclaimer: Trollhunters is owned by Guillermo del Toro.
I apologize for the long wait, but reality took precedence for a bit.
The moon was very pretty.
It was something that Jim had noted, just something that he suddenly realized that it seemed that he should have known before. Now though, he had some fascination with it. It was amazingly bright for an over glorified mirror. He could make out everyone of the craters on this side of it due to his enhanced vision. He started counting the craters when he heard rustling in the bushes around him.
The half-troll had gotten tired of doing nothing but sitting around inside and had decided that he would be going out for the night, experiencing the world for a troll. He had realized with a start that not only was it his first time going out in this timeline, it was also the first time that he would be experiencing the world as this amalgamation that he had become. Later, he would be meeting up with his Trollhunter gang; Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!, Claire, and Toby, but for now he just wanted to explore the world with his new view. By now, Jim could safely say that it was infinitely more beautiful than it had been as a human.
He could not appreciate all the smells of the forest, nor the sights of the animals scurrying about. The owls calling to each other, bats flitting throughout the night as the circle of life turned onwards. Winds whistling trough trees, brushing past his hardened skin. Everything was in crystal clarity to his eyes, adapted to this darkened landscape. The moonlight seemed as bright as the sun's rays, filling the forest with a silver light.
The bushes, however, had stayed mostly quiet near him throughout his stroll through the forest. He had gone still upon observing the beauty of the moon, however, and it seemed that the nocturnal denizens of the forest were getting interested in him. Jim stayed where he was, sitting on his calves with his hands supporting his weight. A squirrel appeared before him, crawling out from the bushes.
Next thing he knew, he was sitting against a tree, crunching down on something very hard and tasty. He felt something juicy fill his mouth, and he made a sound of appreciation at its taste. Then he smelled what he was eating.
The scent of iron filled his nostrils and he looked down at his hands where he held the mangled corpse of a squirrel. There was a very large and obvious bite mark in its side. His eyes widened, and he spat out his mouthful in disgust. He threw what was left of the squirrel away from him, ignoring how tantalizing it was in favor of retching in absolute revulsion at his own actions. His hands were covered in blood as well, which inspired both horror and hunger within him.
He jumped into the trees, running away as fast as he could toward where he knew the lake to be. It wasn't very large, but it was large enough to try and wash the blood off of his hands.
In no time, he made it to the edge of the lake. It was in the more wooded area, but there was a dock where people would drive their motorboats from that was father down. He found rocks where could perch over the water and plunged his hands in the water, desperately scrubbing at the troll skin and his armored grooves.
Once Jim felt clean again, he jumped back onto the dirt that dropped off into the water. Laying his back against a tree, he pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his head between his hands. Not for the first time, he wondered just what kind of a monster Merlin had turned him into.
Much later, after the moon rose to its apex, Jim heard steps behind him. Flicking his ears, he determined that they were troll steps, most likely Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! judging from the weight behind them. He didn't know any other trolls with such a large size difference that came above ground often.
They had decided that he would be teaching Claire tonight, as they wanted to avoid the conflict with Draal for a bit longer so that she would be able to put up enough of a fight to be able to gain his respect. However, there was no way they would all be able to fit in his basement and train at the same time, and he wanted to get outside for once. So, they had decided that they would meet at the lake, which had clearing near it and was deep enough in the forest that no one would bother them.
The half-troll hadn't exactly recovered from his earlier experience, but he had loosened up enough to be dangling his feet over the water, resting his elbows on his thighs as he gazed at the moons reflection on the lake. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! trudged into the clearing behind him, and Jim looked to them briefly before returning his gaze to the lake.
Blinky sat on one side of him and AAARRRGGHH! on the other. "Master Jim, what is wrong? I thought getting outside would do you some good. Instead, you look as if you have lost yourself."
A humorless grin flitted across Jim's face. "I did much more than lose myself, Blinky." He didn't elaborate further than that and was happy that Blinky didn't press him for more. Instead, the multi-eyed troll laid a hand on Jim's armor shoulder. Much of the effect was lost to him since he could not feel it, and he was once more struck with an irrational rage.
Growling, he shook off Blinky's arm and stood up. Jim bounded to the center of the clearing, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down. "Master Jim?" Blinky sounded concerned, and when he looked at him, it was obvious upon his face. "Master Jim, what has happened?" AAARRRGGHH! padded closer to him, leaning forward on his knuckles as he sniffed Jim's face. Snarling, Jim shoved his face away. Regret instantly filled him as he saw the hurt look appear on the giant's face.
"I'm sorry," he said, letting himself sit on the ground. He rubbed his eyes. "It's not your fault. It's just… I don't know how to deal with this." Blinky gently took hold of his wrists, and Jim allowed him to pull them from in front of his face.
His surrogate father frowned at him. "Not sleeping is probably not the best starting point." Jim was surprised at how disappointed his tone was. "I'm surprised you're even able to function without any form of rest for four days! I will tell Toby and Claire that we will have to postpone this until you rest."
"I'm fine!" He knew he wasn't. His mother was a doctor, Jim was fully aware of the effects of not sleeping for three days. Coffee was his main form of sustenance at this point, and he had started having minor hallucinations earlier that day. His fatigue had been replaced by energy with no direction. It was the main reason he wanted to get out of the house.
The microsleeps were the worst parts, though. It was probably the reason he caught and started eating the squirrel. He would randomly drift off, his surrounding changing with a blink with no idea how he got into the new room that he was in.
Blinking, Jim realized that was now sitting against AAARRRGGHH!'s leg. Well, speak of the devil. They were both looking at him very concerned now, and he saw that Toby and Claire had joined them. "Oh, hey guys, when did you get here?"
"About five minutes ago? You seemed kinda spaced out, Jimbo. You doing alright?" Toby fidgeted with his hands, examining his eyes. Claire knelt in front of him.
"We can do this some other time…" She had her amulet in her hand, but all of her focus was on his eyes. He would have been very flattered if they weren't so concerned.
"I'm fine, guys. We should probably get started." He stood up, pushing himself off AAARRRRGGHH!. Dizziness came over him, and he fell right back down.
"AAARRRGGHH!, old chum, do me a favor and keep him down. It's time we spoke about this." Complying with Blinky's command, Jim felt a massive weight press down on his chest. He looked up into AAARRRGGHH!'s face, panic welling up within his chest. Blinky, Toby and Claire crowded around his head. "Master Jim, we have been lenient, but this has reached the point that an intervention is required. You must stop doing this to yourself."
"What's happening?" Claire seemed confused, but she was still concerned for him. Right now, he was barely listening, just trying to breathe beneath the crushing weight of his own instincts, currently telling him to lash out and destroy the cause of his panic.
He briefly tuned back into their conversation, focusing on something other than his own anxiety as he squirmed beneath AAARRRGGHH!'s palm. "Oh my god! Jim, you can't just not sleep for three days and say that you're fine! Most people shut down at that point!" She loomed over him, the shadows on her face briefly mixing with his earlier hallucinations to turn her into something else. At that point, he lost the battle against his instincts.
Jim kicked up with all the exhausted strength he could muster, feeling briefly vindictive when he felt them smash into what was holding him down. The weight on his chest disappeared as it went flying into the trees on the other side of the clearing, and he immediately flipped on to his feet, roaring a challenge while summoning Eclipse to his hand. He observed the three creatures across from him.
All at once, the shadows surrounding them cleared. He realized that he had just been preparing to attack his friends, and they were scared shitless. Claire had summoned Daylight to her shaking hands, grasping it in front of her in a defensive position, and Toby was cowering behind Blinky, who had a grim, distressed look on his face with his lower hands in the pouches at his sides.
He dropped Eclipse on the ground, feeling it disappear as his knees followed it. "I'm sorry," he rasped, feeling nausea rise within him. "I'm sorry," he repeated. He felt Toby hugging him, but it felt so far away, and he could only feel his armor being pressed inwards. Shoving Toby off him, he started scrabbling at the amulet, just wanting the damn thing off. A wave of claustrophobia came over him, and he fell on his side, clawing at grooves around it. He drew himself into a ball, sobbing as he tried to physically pull the amulet off, but he couldn't get a good enough grip. Eventually, he gave up and covered his head with his hands.
Jim felt someone – AAARRRGGHH! – lift him up, and the trees started to move past him. He told AAARRRGGHH! that he was sorry before he started crying again, and then lost consciousness, lulled to sleep by the swaying of the giant's arms.
"You've been avoiding me."
Jim didn't even bother to look up. He wasn't in the mood for Morgana's shit.
"Come now. I've been so lonely. Especially after you severed my magic."
"Go away." Remembering how this dreamscape worked, he imagined rocks encapsulating him. He closed his eyes, deciding to see whether he could sleep in here.
"Well, aren't we mature." Startled, he looked up, seeing a hole in the rock. Frowning, he closed it with a thought, only to see another one open. He closed that one too, so Morgana poked another hole. This went on for several minutes before Jim got tired of it and dispelled the rocks. Morgana grinned victoriously at him. She wasn't in her armor this time, just a dress that one might see in the 1920s. She had a long raven black ponytail trailing behind her, going all the way to the back of her knees.
"What the hell do you want?" She covered her smile with a dainty hand. The one that wasn't made of emerald.
"Just some companionship. A girl gets so lonely, you know. And not talking to me for days? One might think that you didn't like me!"
"I hate you!" Jim roared. "You took everything from me! My mother struggles to talk with me, the girl who loved me is terrified of me, my father and brother are wary of me, and my best friend lost his only friend! I can't even sleep without you fucking with me anymore!"
"Well, that's quite a passionate response. I didn't make you a tark, that was entirely your decision."
"Yeah, I've learned what that means now."
"And doesn't it burn you to know how true it is? To know that you really are an abomination, not worthy of love from anyone? Your family, the girl you courted, your friend? They all recognize what you've become, and they have reacted accordingly."
"Yeah?" Jim felt bitterness surge in him. "Then why haven't they left me?"
"You killed Gunmar while fighting both him and Angor Rot together. They would be idiots to incur your wrath."
It made sense. It shouldn't have, but it made sense. Blinky even told him that he was a tark in a roundabout fashion, and his mother only barely talked to him now. Claire was terrified of him until recently, but there was a good chance she would go back to that now that he nearly killed them. But Toby…
Jim shook his head. He refused to believe her. "I think the only idiot here is you." He summoned Eclipse.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh please. I'm the only one that won't leave you. I'm the only one that knows what you're going through."
"I don't give a shit." Even he could only be pushed so far. His armor brightened in his anger, and Jim decided it was time to test what death in this dreamland meant.
Faster than Morgana could react, he jumped behind her and rove Eclipse through her spine. Confusion filled him when she started laughing.
"Didn't you learn your lesson the last time? That sword can't kill me." That was fine. It wasn't too hard to get around. He wrapped his hands around her head, feeling her pulse quicken. "What are you doing?"
He jerked his hands, feeling her bones snap as she gasped. He let her lifeless body hit the ground. For a while, Jim stared at the corpse, sitting in front of it. Slowly, it started to fade, turning to ash from the feet up. He sighed, hoping that was the end of it. Jim was beyond revulsion at this point.
"That was rude."
He massaged his temples. "Can you just leave me alone?"
Her arms draped over his shoulders. Startled at the contact, he launched up, landing a full ten feet away from her. Morgana laughed, taking pleasure in his misery. "Well, I can't say that killing me is going to inspire me to be nice to you."
"You being a bitch isn't going to get me to not kill you."
She held up her hands. "Now that we've determined that death has no bearing here, can't we be civilized with each other?"
"What do you propose?"
"Neither of us truly knows the other. Let's rectify that, hmm?" She created an elaborate throne behind her, sitting elegantly on it.
He narrowed his eyes, deciding to stand. "And how are we going to do that?"
"Questions of course. Now, I know that the life of a tark such as you may not have too much interest, but for the sake of passing time I'll listen anyways. I'll start: What is your favorite thing to do?"
Sighing, Jim resigned himself to Morgana's little game. He summoned a far less elaborate chair for him to sit on, one that allowed to him to easily move if he needed to. "I enjoy cooking and doing things with my friends. You?" He didn't exactly have anything better to do.
"I make plans to rise from my prison and wipe the insects known as humanity off the planet. IT's also quite amusing to watch my little changelings try to figure out what I'm telling them to do, and then scurry about to make me happy."
"You're disgusting."
"I created them. It's only fair that their lives are dedicated to pleasing me."
He shook his head. "What do you have against humanity? You are human."
A thunderous look appeared on his face. "Do not ever presume to call me such a lesser being again, tark."
"Or what? You'll wear my spine as your crown?" He rolled his eyes. "Any threats you make are as empty as a Gumm-Gumm's head."
She struggled with herself for a bit before allowing only a look of contempt to remain on her face. "I hate humanity because they are all hypocritical cowards who cannot keep their promises. Their morality is a joke; they constantly cross their own lines. They balk at the first sign of change, attempting to stomp it out. Anything that's different is labelled as something to be hated."
He snorted to himself. "And yet you call me tark for the same reasons. I am different, and therefore hated. Remind me how humans and trolls are different?"
"Trolls are honest about their nature. They don't hide behind a mask of compassion and empathy before stabbing you in the back. Trolls will stab you in the front, but they do recognize and respect power rather than fear it."
"Who betrayed you?" Jim asked quietly. She froze, looking at him wide-eyed before she clamped down on herself and glared at him again.
"This is over." Her throne rose from the ground, a tower of stone and iron forming around it. Before long, Jim was looking at a much darker version of a tower that he would expect to find Rapunzel in.
"Hey, you started it!" He yelled at the top of it, standing. There was no reply. Jim snorted to himself. "Drama queen."
A blinding white covered the dreamland, and he prepared himself for the waking world.
Toby's snoring face was the first thing he saw as he sat up. Then he smelled Claire's distinct scent somewhere near him, indication that she was recently there. Jim sat up, realizing that he was in his bed. He heard clanging coming from down the stairs, so he sat up, intending to go find out who it was.
Walking down the stairs, he noted that it was dark outside. That either meant he hadn't slept long at all or he'd been sleeping for the better part of a day. He sniffed, picking up his mother's scent in the kitchen. "Mom?" he called.
"Good night, honey. We need to have a chat." He winced. That was not a good tone of voice. He vaulted over the stairs, landing on the hardwood. Striding over to the kitchen, he stood in the doorway and noticed that Claire was helping his mother with something. Jim cocked his head to the side, wondering what they were carrying. Barbara followed his line of sight and sighed. She handed him a bag that was full of raw steak.
"Blinky said that the best thing for you to eat at your age was raw meat. Apparently, the iron in the blood is good for you, and your digestive acids can kill the diseases. You can't eat cooked food because most of the nutrients and taste have been burned out of it according to him." He accepted it warily, thinking back to the squirrel. He was filled with the same mix of hunger and disgust. Making a decision, he put the steak down on the counter. Looking up, he met an intense glare from his mother.
"Oh no, mister. We'll talk about your sleeping in a second, but right now I'm not going to let you hurt yourself further by not getting the proper nutrients."
"It's just…" He grabbed his horns nervously. "I figured out that I could eat raw meat last night. In the forest. There was a squirrel, and it…" Jim looked down, his voice becoming much quieter. "I don't want to do that again."
He felt his armor pushing into his waist. Claire was hugging him. "It's okay, Jim. We're all fine. AAARRRGGHH! is okay too."
Jim sat down heavily on the floor, his back against the counter. Claire followed him, moving her arms to his neck and sitting in his lap as he hugged her back. Tears burned in the corners of his eyes. "I won't ever do that again. I'm so sorry."
"I know." She squeezed, letting him bury his face into her shoulder, as much as he could with the massive difference in size. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Jim trying to regain his composure as his breath shuddered and his mother looked on sympathetically. Eventually, he pulled back.
"Why do you care about me?" he whispered to Claire. "I'm nothing to you. I'm just some random tark that happened to be sent back in time."
"Because I want to be like you." That threw him for a loop. Whatever he was expecting, which was something more along the lines of what Morgana told him, that definitely wasn't it.
"Why the hell would you want to be like me?"
"Language, Jim." His mother piped up. He heard her turn on the microwave.
"I've watched you for a long time now, even before all of this. I knew you had a crush on me, you weren't exactly subtle with it. But I had one on you, too. You always came in every day with a smile on your face and you would always try your hardest in class, despite everything I heard about you. You've never gotten angry at anyone, and you always helped out everyone around you without expecting anything in return, whether it was homework, someone's boyfriend cheating, or they just needed to talk. You were a hero before you ever got the amulet, Jim. You were a hero to us." She held his face in her palms and smiled at him. "Just because you got a new body doesn't mean you stopped being you."
Jim looked down. He didn't feel like he deserved the amount of compassion on her face. Not when she was completely and utterly wrong. His mother cleared her throat. "Jim, you need to eat, and we need to talk to you. Preferably with Toby here."
As if on cue, they heard thumping coming from upstairs with a muffled oof. Toby came running down the stairs. "Jim's dissa – oh, hey Jim." He visibly tried to collect himself, before examining the position that Jim and Claire were in. "Well, well, well, look at this. Good going, my man." Rolling his eyes, Jim waited for Claire to stand. She tightened her grip before letting go.
They all congregated around the kitchen table, with Jim's mom passing around re-heated portions of the meal that Jim made last night. Jim himself just had a plate with a raw, bloody steak in front of him. Hesitantly, he took a bite out of it, and noted that it was similar to cold pizza. It wasn't bad, it just would've been better if it was warm. Then he forced the thought out of his head in disgust. "What is it that you want to talk about, Mom?"
"It's eight forty-five at night. You passed out just after midnight. You've been pushing off sleep enough that you slept for twenty hours, Jim. Last night, you were hallucinating and extremely aggressive. That's not healthy. So, we want to know why so that we can avoid it next time."
Glancing at Toby, Jim was once again struck with appreciation for the godsend that was his best friend. Toby knew exactly what the problem, but still followed through on his promise to Jim. Once again, Jim felt guilt rise up within him, knowing that he had never been as great of a friend as Toby was to him.
"It's… not something that's fixable. I tried it this time." Toby choked on his food, wildly coughing before Jim slammed his back hard enough that food went flying into the wall opposite Toby.
"You killed her?!" Toby stared at him with a dumbfounded look. He looked slightly green.
"She took everything from me, Toby. I almost attacked you guys because I was too afraid to face her. Yeah, I killed her. It didn't work."
"What are you two talking about?" His mom was looking between them, a disturbed look on her face. "You killed someone? In your sleep?"
"Remember when I told you about Morgana?" At Claire and his mother's nods, he took a deep breath. "The magic she hit me wit that sent me back connected us somehow. Every time I sleep, I go to this dreamland with just me and her. She's lost all her power though, and I thought that maybe if I killed her, she'd stop."
Claire gaped at him. "You… what? You killed someone?"
He smiled grimly. "Rule two, Claire."
His mother shook her head. "Ignoring the traumatizing effects of killing someone for now, what happened after that?"
"Her body took a couple of minutes to turn to some sort of dust. She just reformed out of that."
His mother let a relieved smile spread across her face. "She didn't die. Jim, killing a human being isn't something that you can just ignore."
"I can when it's the woman who tried to end the human race multiple times and essentially ended my own life." Anger simmered within him as it always did, but it was becoming more prevalent now. He finished his first steak and started on the second one. Now that he was actually eating, he realized that he was famished. He had been ignoring his hunger for a while, only eating pencils and the occasional plastic implement that he put in his mouth without realizing. Everything else, his mom needed, so he wasn't going to eat it.
Then a thought occurred to him. Swallowing his mouthful, he tilted his head while looking at Claire. "Are you going to Trollmarket tonight?"
"Yeah. I'm probably ready to at least give Draal's pride a beating."
Anxiety surged through him. "What? But you haven't gone through nearly the amount of training that we wanted you to!"
"It's not like he'll kill me, Jim. He just wants to make himself feel good by beating the Trollhunter." Seemingly unconcerned, Claire took a bite from her food. Jim wasn't fooled, though. He could hear how fast her heart was beating.
"Back to the original topic, are you going to sleep from now on, Jim?" his mother interjected.
He nodded reluctantly. This time, he actually would. Attacking his friends was something he would never repeat if he could help it.
"One thing about that whole fiasco last night…" Jim met Toby's eyes, which were unnaturally serious. "Jim, you are actually the swolest troll in existence."
He grinned, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"What he means to say is that Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! were impressed by, and I quote, 'your otherworldly amount of strength.' And I've gotta admit, seeing you launch something as big as AAARRRGGHH! was pretty awe-inspiring." Claire shook her head, an impressed smile on her face. "We were all freaked out at the time, but thinking back on it, launching what has to be a two-tonne troll was awe-inspiring. Plus, the look on AAARRRGGHH!'s face was priceless. I don't think he's used to being tossed around like that."
"But yeah, Blinky said that at your body size, you should only be marginally stronger than a regular human. Apparently, you are the strongest troll in history," said Toby, crossing his arms.
"I did chuck Gunmar a good fifty feet in our fight." Toby shook his head in amazement.
"What the hell are your muscles even made of, Jim?" They all laughed, and Jim was infinitely grateful for his friends and family.
When Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! came to escort Claire to Trollmarket, Jim was waiting for them outside her house. "Hey, guys. Sorry about last night."
Blinky put a hand on his shoulder. "You have the proper rest now, Master Jim. The lesson has been learned, and I assume the mistake will not be repeated." He gave him a look, and Jim nodded eagerly. AAARRRGGHH! bent down, sniffing him before knocking his horns to Jim's. They smiled at each other before Jim got serious.
"Blinky." When the troll made an affirmative sound, he continued. "I want to go to Trollmarket tonight."
The two troll's eyes widened. "Not a good idea. Vendel smart. See through lies."
"I don't plan on meeting Vendel. I plan on covering up the amulet and not being seen with any of you guys."
"Even so, Master Jim, you will instantly be pegged as different by everyone who sees you. Your coloration and proportions are completely unique, even in Trollmarket. This can only end in disaster."
Jim thought about it. He had mostly assumed that since Trollmarket was so free, they'd be fine with him. Apparently not. He had another thought, though. "Hey Blinky, you know those stones that the other Trollhunters used?"
"Yes?"
"There's one that allows a troll to walk in daylight, right?"
Blinky grinned. "There is indeed. I will see what I can do to get it away from Vendel." He nuzzled Jim's head. "I will be back later tonight to teach you more of the Old World." He spoke a goodbye in trollish, which Jim somehow understood.
"Could you also explain to me how I understood what you just said?" His surrogate father smiled and nodded.
Feeling assured that it wasn't a total loss, Jim jumped into the trees, intent on exploring more of the forest and experiencing its beauty for the night.
The Hero's Forge was awe-inspiring. The high ceiling, the various death implements, the lava moat. All watched over by the remains of the greatest heroes in troll history.
And yet Claire was getting rocks chucked at her by a certifiably insane troll.
Bringing her sword up, she stepped to the side of some of the rocks and blocked the rest with Daylight, feeling her forearms jar with the effort. Stepping back so that she could keep her balance, Claire forced the sword to stay away from her face as each rock hit it. Finally, the barrage stopped. "You know, I was already told about the rules." A rock slammed into her from behind.
Rubbing her head, she shot a glare at a sheepish AAARRRGGHH!. Blinky gaped for a moment. "He what? But that is my sacred duty!"
"He did fondly reminisce over the rocks while he was talking about it."
Blinky brightened instantly. Darci and Mary, resting next to AAARRRGGHH!, exchanged glances. Toby simply threw another rock into the giant's mouth.
"Did he also explain Rule Three?"
Darci tilted her head. "Rule Three?"
"When in doubt, kick them in the gronk-nuks."
Mary looked up from her new phone. "Gronk-nus?"
Blinky tapped his foot twice on the ground. A massive scythe came up, slamming its point directly between Claire's legs. Both her and Darci's eyes widened, Mary mouthing a small oh. Claire glared at Blinky, stepping away from the blade. AAARRRGGHH! covered his groin, muttering about the horror. Darci asked, "You're saying that one third of being the Trollhunter is kicking someone's genitals?"
"Precisely."
"Ah, so the Trollhunter's training begins?" Draal's deep voice came from the entrance to the Hero's forge, where he was walking down the steps. They all looked to him, wary of what someone so eager to beat down Claire would be doing. "I thought the great Trollhunter might accept my services as a sparring partner." The disingenuousness voice that he used left no doubt in their minds as to what he really meant. "Part of your training regiment, isn't it?" he put his fist into his other hand as he towered over Claire.
"This would be more useful farther down the line, Draal. You-" He was cut off by Vendel.
"Why wait?" Vendel strode into the stands above the Forge, his hands behind his back. "I am eager to see your charge demonstrate her mettle."
Claire's eyes tightened, but she doubted he could see it from up there. "If you want to see me beaten so bad, why don't you come down here and do it yourself, you old goat!"
Draal and Blinky gasped. Vendel merely cocked his head to the side before chuckling to himself. "Let them spar."
"No harm in it," said Draal, walking away. Except there was. There was a lot of harm potentially involved in it. Nonetheless, she followed Blinky to the side of coliseum.
"And advice?" she whispered to him. He glanced back at her.
"Hit him. Do it hard, too. But don't kill him. And please don't let him kill you, my son appears to be rather attached to you." Claire smiled, happy that Jim had people beyond her, Dr. Lake, and Toby that cared about him. She quickly sobered when she turned to face Draal, though. She got in a defensive stance that Jim taught her during her one afternoon of training.
Draal started roaring, pounding the ground like an angry gorilla before barreling towards her. She tensed her muscles, ready to dodge. The troll suddenly curled in on himself, rolling at her. "Oh my god, he really is Sonic the hedgehog," she muttered to herself as she jumped out of the way. Draal rolled up the wall of the stadium, defying physics as he curled back into the stadium. Quickly figuring out that he was coming down right on to of her, she dived, hitting the ground and rolling as the troll slammed into the ground behind her.
Dust obscured her vision, so she picked a direction and ran. She only barely managed to dodge a fist, and then realized that she had a slight advantage. She jumped back into the dust cloud, listening for Draal. Figuring out where he was, she silently got behind him and kicked between his legs.
Draal roared in pain, falling on his knees as he cradled the area. She quickly got to his side, slashing at his arm. A gash appeared, blue fire outlining it. Draal roared again and lashed out with his arm, and Claire wasn't able to move in time.
The arm slammed into a shield that appeared just before her, and her form was briefly outlined in blue fire as the amulet protected her from the worst damage. It did not protect her from hitting the ground and tumbling across it, though. She winced, trying to get herself up as fast as she could. She pushed on Daylight, which was wedged into the ground. As she looked up, though, her vision was filled with a blue fist. She went flying again, and Daylight dispelled itself.
"Claire!" shouted Darci and Mary. She spared them a quick glance. Mary was covering her mouth and AAARRRGGHH! was holding Darci back.
Draal picked her up before she could get off the ground again. He threw her up in the air and smashed another fist into her body as it fell, and she could feel the bruise already forming from that as she rolled across the ground. Her adversary grabbed her by the torso, his massive fingers wrapping around her whole ribcage. He made one mistake, though. Her arms were still free.
As he carried her to the side of the coliseum and dangled her over the lava, she summoned Daylight and pressed it into his neck.
Surprise covered Draal's face. Blinky laughed and started clapping, AAARRRGGHH! and her friends joining him. She looked into the stands where Vendel was, and though she couldn't quite make out his face, she swore that it was filled with disbelief. Her friends started running to her, and she tapped Draal's hand to put her down. She did not dispel Daylight.
Draal's hand tightened briefly, and in response the arms of her amulet spun, forcing it to remain rigid. A glare filled the blue troll's face, and he threw her onto the coliseum floor.
AAARRRGGHH! quickly scooped her up, keeping her from rolling again. Blinky stomped up to Draal.
"Draal, I was present at your birth and I have known you your entire life. I have never been so ashamed of that! Where has your honor gone? You would beat an adolescent human female with no training because you didn't get what you wanted? You are no better than a newborn whelp, an infantile gragk!" Blinky was in Draal's face, pointing a finger and yelling at his full volume. Draal looked utterly confused and downtrodden before he grew angry once more.
"I don't answer to you, feeble historian! What respect of mine do you deserve?" He shoved Blinky aside before storming to the entrance of the Hero's Forge. "And you, fleshbag! If you have any honor at all, you will meet me here again at the zenith of the moon in seven days' time. There, we will settle this once and for all!"
Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! gasped. Claire realized that he just challenged her to the duel that they were trying so hard to avoid. She glared at him and said, "I'll be there."
Vendel left the Forge as Draal did. Blinky huffed to himself. "I practically raised the boy, giving him advice when his father was chosen. What do I get? This!" AAARRRGGHH! rumbled something in trollish, coming up next to him. Blinky sighed and patted his friend's arm. "I know, AAARRRGGHH!. Perhaps this can be a good thing. We will be able to introduce him to our other friend after you win without him telling the entirety of Trollmarket after you win." He directly the last part of the statement to Claire.
Claire nodded, but felt a heavy feeling press down on her. He was strong, fast, and most importantly, he had experience. She had no idea how she was going to beat him.
Blinky seemed to notice this. "Do not worry, Fair Claire. We will give you the best training that you could possibly have! You will annihilate him as if he were nothing more than an insect in your path!"
"Yeah, C-Bomb. Don't you worry, you'll definitely beat him!" Mary hugged her side.
"You already had him on the ropes this time, and I don't think he really appreciated Rule Three! You go, girl." Darci high-fived her.
"Besides, you know the greatest guy to learn all of this stuff from!" Toby elbowed her. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! grinned behind her. They had a tiny conversation in trollish, both smiling happily. The Krubera encircled the group in his arms, hugging them all to his body. Blinky stood on the other side, smiling at them all as they laughed in AAARRRGGHH!'s arms.
"I do believe that this is the beginnings of a truly immortal legend." Claire thought of Jim, and then silently agreed to herself that it definitely was.