Disclaimer: Trollhunters is owned by Guillermo del Toro.

Well, I did say that I would be updating more quickly this time. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up over the break.

The Forge was currently inactive, though Jim's entire pack minus Blinky was standing at the sideline, watching him and Claire. Vendel was watching from the stands, but Jim was able to mostly disregard his presence. Blinky was off getting something for Jim to put Nightfall in when he wasn't using it.

"The most important thing that you can learn about the armor right now is how to make it listen to you." Jim was circling Claire, who had Daylight out and in the opening stance he had taught her. "There isn't some sensation or special way to do this, you need to just force it to listen to you."

Without warning Jim swept out with Nightfall. He still marveled at its novelty, the beautiful grooves and shape. Claire ducked under it, and if he had time, he would've nodded approvingly. She learned that he was too strong to simply block.

Claire jumped away from him and rolled, throwing Daylight at him end over end. He simply allowed it to hit him, as the spin only drove its hilt into his shoulder before it bounced off. Claire had the grace to look sheepish before Jim lunged at her. Claire sprang to the side, managing to summon Daylight back to her hand and take a swing at him. Jim took a small step to the side, putting a foot on Daylight when it swung past him and pressing down to lodge it in the ground. He casually raised Nightfall to point at her neck.

Claire stilled, then sighed. Jim stepped off Daylight, spinning Nightfall so he was holding it in an icepick grip, pressing it against the back of his arm. "Not really what I meant, but the re-summoning was good. We'll work on your throws later, but for now, try and stick with what you know."

"What did you mean then?" Claire blew a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Try forcing Daylight into your other hand without dismissing it first." Claire got a frown on her face before she held both her arms out straight. She glared down at her amulet, screwing up her face as she tried to do as he instructed.

Jim looked over to the other humans standing to the side and beckoned to them. Nervously, his eyes flicked to the stands, where he saw Vendel tilt his head curiously. When Darci, Mary, and Toby were in front of him, he frowned. "So, the first thing that we need with the three of you is weapons of your own. It's the only way that you'll be helpful in the midst of action. Any preferences?"

"I'd totally take a pair of daggers!" Mary seemed excited for once. She actually put away her phone.

Jim winced. Dual-wielding was something he had little experience with, preferring instead to use his daggers as throwing weapons while Daylight was his main weapon. Well, Eclipse now. "Alright, I'll try to work something out there." He looked to Darci.

She seemed to be considering something. "What weapons use your opponent's weight against them?"

Oh. That was smart. Jim thought for a moment, before nodding. "A spear. Not the throwing kind, but you could certainly do that with it. Wouldn't be the best thing to do in the midst of combat, though. It won't come back to you like hers."

Darci nodded. Toby stepped forward next, and Jim redirected his attention on him. "And Toby what do you want?"

"What do you mean? You already know what I want, J-" Darci elbowed him. "I mean, Tarmek." Saying Jim's new name made him realize something else. "Oh, right, it's not like you and I have met before, you're only just now meeting me, heh heh, yeah, well, uh, I want a warhammer."

Jim covered his face with the hand not occupied by Nightfall and sighed. He thought that the only one he would have to worry about blowing his cover was him, not the other humans too. "Alright, Toby, I'll get something for you too."

"I got it!" Claire's shout would have startled him if he hadn't felt her triumph through their soul bond a second ago. Turning around, he watched her pleased smirk as light traveled through her armor from hand to hand, Daylight appearing, disappearing, and reappearing. Jim grinned back at her, happy that she had gotten it so quickly. It hadn't taken him long either, but you tended to speed things up when pinned to a wall by a troll.

"Very good. Since strength is not something that you can compete with, you will have to rely on strategy and surprise. Catching your opponent off guard is the only way that you'll win." Jim got down into a different ready stance than he had taught Claire, one foot slightly forward, bent down, and with his sword diagonally across his chest. "Surprise me."

Claire needed no further prompting before she launched herself at him. Jim narrowed his eyes before raising his sword to block Daylight arcing down at him, only for it to disappear just before it hit his sword. The half-troll grinned to himself, leaping back and giving a subtle nod to Blinky to start up the Forge. As he landed, the gears beneath the arena started grinding, making Claire groan. "Really?"

"You need to make sure that your opponent doesn't catch you off guard!" He shouted down at her as a platform lifted him from the floor. Claire glared at him, and he could feel the annoyance through the bond. As the floor beneath her began to move, she rocked on her feet for a bit before regaining her balance. Jim grinned before he used the turning motion of his own platform to propel him on to hers.

Her eyes widened, and her panic lanced through him, making him falter long enough for her to throw herself to the side. Jim frowned to himself, before slapping the airborne Daylight to the side before it could hit him. An instant later, Claire was leaping at him, but he was able to simply duck under her slash before slamming a fist into her stomach, throwing her back onto unmoving ground. Before she could move, Jim jumped on top of her pinning her to the ground.

He stared into Claire's eyes, doing his best to ignore her discomfort through the bond. Sighing, he stood up, offering a hand to help her up too. She groaned, flopping her arms to the sides. "No thanks," she panted. "I'll just lay here for a second."

Jim snorted before handing her Nightfall, making sure she was holding it away from him and then scooping her into his arms. The Forge's gears stopped turning, and everything folded back into the walls and ground. Looking up, Jim met Blinky's eyes as he walked in and did his best to convey that they needed to talk. He made his way over to them, seeing Vendel nod to himself in the stands before disappearing.

"Well, we have a slight problem." He started with, laying Claire down gently on AAARRRGGHH!'s hand. Blinky handed him something that he recognized as a hip sheath that was little more than a leather loop.

"And what would that be? She did gloriously for her first time against someone such as you!"

"I can't fight her."

Everyone gave him a look. Darci cleared her throat. "Uh, you kinda just did."

"Yeah, and you kicked my butt," Claire piped up.

"And it was beyond uncomfortable for me. I can feel your pain, remember? It's not fun for me, especially when I know I'm causing it."

Blinky nodded. "Understandable. Unfortunately, we don't have an alternative. For now, though, we can be finished with physical training, if you so wish it Lady Claire."

"I definitely wish it."

"Then we will make our egress to my library, and Tarmek will go to the Heartstone for his first etiquette lesson with Vendel."

AAARRRGGHH! cocked his head. "Egress?"

"It means to exit, my giant compatriot. Come, and let Lady Claire stand on her own. It would not do to pamper her."

Claire groaned, but got on her feet anyways. When the group split in the market, they all waved goodbye to Jim for the day.

Jim, on the other hand, made his way inside the Heartstone. Upon seeing him, the guards in front of the entrance crossed their halberds, motioning for him to put his sword on a nearby table. Once he complied, they nodded to him, raising their halberds and allowing him to enter. Once safely inside, Jim simply looked around and smiled.

Everything had happened so fast in his timeline; Gunmar's takeover of Trollmarket, the death of the Heartstone, the Eternal Night. He had nearly forgotten what it was like to be in here, listening to Vendel about his performance every once in a while. While he and the cantankerous elder were never close, he still missed him when he was gone. Especially when it came to controlling the troll refugees.

"Ah, Tarmek. Welcome to the Heartstone." Vendel, hunched over his desk, greeted Jim in trollish. His gigantic hands were spread out across its surface, and he was focused on something between them. "Come, stand before me."

Complying, Jim reflected over how different this Vendel already was to him. He actually had a chance here, or so it seemed. He was determined not to screw this up. "Thank you for agreeing to teach me, elder."

Vendel was silent for a moment, regarding a half-cut geode on his desk before he pushed himself up. Grabbing his staff from where it was leaning against the desk, he used it to help him move around the stone furniture, so he could examine the half-troll's face. His foggy eyes narrowed briefly before he leaned back. "You know, when Blinkous said that he had brought in someone closer to a human shape to train the Trollhunter, I was afraid that one of those wretched Huldufólk had finally wormed their way into our hallowed cavern. Imagine my surprise when I beheld an adolescent half-Jotun instead."

Ah, right. Vendel the Observant, they should have called him. Jim sucked in a breath before replying, "You know what I am?"

"Unlike most trolls, I have actually met your people. Well, I find it doubtful that you have ever met them, given your lack of markings. But I digress. Now, imagine how much more surprised I was that not only was a child of the rarest kind of troll was in front of me, but he holds an amulet of Merlin. Typically, I would say 'the,' but your existence seems to make the use of it inaccurate."

Jim blinked. "How did you-"

The elder snorted. "You don't live as long as I do around as many Trollhunters as I have without getting to know that magic signature. It is unique. Now, please do enlighten me as to how this is possible."

Jim sighed, bringing a hand up to cover his face. "Shit."

Vendel thumped his staff against the ground, an amused glint in his eyes. "Indeed."

Jim let his hand fall and after a brief contemplation of what he should do, he decided to just tell him the truth. "Time travel."

Vendel raised one of his hands to stroke his goatee. "Possible, but unlikely. Recorded time travel only overrides your younger soul, it doesn't bring back items. However, magic, especially that which deals with time, is capricious at best. What is your proof?"

Jim pulled up his shirt until the amulet embedded in his chest was exposed.

Vendel seemed taken aback. "The amulet is fused to you?"

He nodded. "It's my Heartstone."

Vendel's eyebrows raised. "And why would you need the amulet to act as your Heartstone? Did something happen to yours?"

"Uh… I kind of didn't have one?" Jim nervously gripped a horn.

"Put your hand down. How would a troll function without a Heartstone?"

"Because I wasn't originally a troll? And I'm technically still not entirely one?"

"Stop phrasing your answers as questions." At Jim's incredulous look, the elder thumped his staff against the ground again. "You came to me to learn troll etiquette. I will teach you it, and you will learn. Do you understand?"

Jim sighed, but nodded his assent. "Yes, elder."

"If you were not originally a troll, then what were you?"

Jim almost answered with another questioning lilt but managed to keep himself from it. In English, he said, "The first human Trollhunter."

Vendel blinked at him. Then sighed. Moving back behind his desk, he pulled out a box full of differently colored and shaped crystals. "This is far more complicated than I originally imagined. Perhaps you should simply tell your story from the beginning, and I will listen. If I do not understand something, I will ask you to clarify. Other than that, I will not interrupt. Now come, whelp, and tell me your tale." He pulled out a pink-gray crystal, setting it on the table and letting his hand lay upon it for a moment to make it glow.

Interestingly enough, Vendel did not ask him to clarify anything throughout his tale. His expression gave nothing away, and the only way Jim could tell that he was even listening was when his hands would clench around his staff at particularly surprising events. When he was finally done, he looked up to Vendel, carefully gauging the situation.

His eyes narrowed at Jim. "Angor Rot came to your aid?"

He nodded. "Yes, elder."

"Intriguing. I had marked him down as a lost cause long ago. It is too bad that I do not know the location of the Inferna Copula any longer, I would get it back to him if I thought that he could be redeemed." The old troll quieted for a moment before he laid a hand on top of the crystal that he had pulled out, ceasing its glow. "Another mistake for the list. I will learn."

All his attention refocused on Jim. "This is an interesting turn of events. Never had we even contemplated the existence of multiple Trollhunters, or even a hybrid of human and troll. Changelings, certainly, but they switch between forms. You, on the other hand…"

He turned around, contemplating something. "Human biology powered by troll animation magic. No wonder you were able to kill Gunmar. I hesitate to think of anything short of other Jotuns or Krubera than can physically match you, and you are but a child. Merlin's return, on the other hand, is utterly unsurprising. The wizard always did have a contingency plan. Morgana being imprisoned under our feet the entire time, though, is fascinating indeed."

After another moment, Vendel turned back to Jim. "You have given me much to think about. I will need some time to sort out everything you've told me; in the meantime, please don't tell your adopted family about this. Watching them scramble to cover up things they think I do not already know has become a favorite pastime of mine." He made a shooing motion towards the door. "When I am ready to speak to you again, I will summon you."

Jim inclined his head in a respectful bow before making an egress of his own.

He was only slightly surprised to find the library empty upon finding it. Seeing a note out of the corner of his eye, Jim picked it up. Apparently Blinky had taken the others to Nuri for weapons. That was fine, he had some reading to do.

The half-troll knew the library well. Other than the Hero's Forge, he spent almost all his time in Trollmarket there back when he was human. As such, he knew where the history section was. It was about time he got around to what he never did last time.

He grabbed the first three volumes of A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore and settled in one of the alcoves in the wall to read.

"Well, you haven't been here for a while."

Jim blinked and looked up. Morgana floated above him, floating above him in the 'draw me like one of your French girls' position. "Wait, when did I fall asleep?" he realized that he was laying flat on the ground, but he was in no hurry to get up.

"What were you doing that you wouldn't have even noticed yourself drifting off?"

"Reading A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore." He thought for a second. "I think I was halfway through volume three."

Morgana huffed. "No wonder. Bedehilde was quite the magnificent storyteller, but there were many things even he could not make exciting." She lifted her chin, regarding him with slight disdain. "A more pressing matter, though: why haven't you been here? Have you been avoiding me again?"

"What? No, I'm in Trollmarket now. I don't have to sleep as often because of the Heartstone." Jim stretched out his arms above his head before leaning back on them.

"Hmph. I thought so. I haven't been able to see anything in a while."

"What do you mean?"

"If I concentrate hard enough, I can see out of the amulet when the armor is activated. I imagine it will be my only source of amusement when you are not here for quite some time; at least, until you decide to release me."

"If I decide to release you. You tried to kill us all, remember?" Jim sat up and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Yes, and look where that got me. Imprisoned back in a crystal, fully aware of everything that happens around me but powerless to affect any of it. It's a nightmare. At this point, I do not care for power; I only want freedom." She dropped down next to him as she finished talking. After a moment of regarding him, she leaned into him.

Jim looked down at her questioningly. "What are you doing?"

"It's been so long since I've felt the heat of another living person. It's more comfortable than I remember." She poked a finger into his arm. "Even if their skin is more stone than flesh."

"I thought I was just a filthy tark."

She waved her hand around. "Heat of the moment. Being trapped once more in your prison for centuries does quite a bit for your temper."

The half-troll shrugged mentally. As long as she wasn't trying to seduce him or anything weird, he didn't care. While she was a seemingly immortal evil witch, Morgana was human too. Treating her like a decent human being would probably do wonders for reforming her. Talking to her like a normal human would probably be good too.

"What do you know of the Old World?"

"Plenty. The most important thing to know is to avoid the Ettins. They're less of cannibals as the trolls believe, and more of arcanovores." At Jim's questioning look, she rolled her eyes. "They eat anything magic they can get their hands on. The amulet would probably be enough of a meal to keep Glorrk fed for years."

"Glorrk?"

"Their leader." Jim could've sworn that Morgana shivered. "The eldest of them and by far the most disgusting. Nine heads, until Gunmar cut off three of them in his escape. Odd, spider-like appendages coated in slime coming from his back as well. His whole body was covered in fur, and he smelled terrible even by Gumm-Gumm standards. Don't underestimate him, though. He killed seven Gumm-Gumms with one blow and drank their essence from the air."

"He did what?"

"The Ettins are interesting creatures. Not entirely trolls after the magic they eat warps them. Some, like Glorrk, are fortunate enough to gain special abilities and beneficial mutations. Others die horribly. Which is good, as it keeps them in check."

"Ah." They both stayed silent for a moment longer, Jim thinking and Morgana nestling further into him. Jim drew in a breath before he asked the question truly on his mind. "What about the Jotuns?"

Morgana drew away from him, propping herself up on her own arm. She contemplated his question for a moment, looking off into the gray expanse before them. "I haven't the foggiest."

"Really?" He couldn't hide the disappointment in his tone.

"Unfortunately. Jotunheim is warded against magic users like me. The only thing I ever learned from it was that there is a source of power somewhere in it larger than anything I have ever seen or even imagined possible before. Neither I nor Merlin ever learned what it was."

Jim remained silent for a moment before he cast his attention to the gray nothing around them. After a brief moment of concentration, he was able to transform it into the night sky.

Morgana gazed at it, frowning. "Where are all the stars?"

"Oh, right. Pollution. Lighting up cities with electricity all the time kind of stopped us from being able to see the dimmer stars."

"Only the dimmer stars? Practically all of them are gone!" Morgana concentrated for a moment before the sky that he had created changed drastically. It became awash with red, blue, and green light, millions of stars filling the expanses between. "There. That is the proper night sky."

The half-troll didn't respond. He simply stared into the beauty that he had never known existed.

After a moment, Jim sighed. The current night sky was actually more advantageous for trolls; less light that the humans can see them in. Still, though, he would have much preferred the night that Morgana knew to the night that he knew.

Before he could give Morgana his gratitude, though, everything disappeared in a white light.

"-m? You awake br-" In a brief moment of panic Jim accidentally launched his best friend into the air.

Thankfully, AAARRRGGHH! caught him, but that didn't stop him apologizing profusely. "Toby, I'm so sorry-"

"Nah, dude, it's cool!" Toby put up a thumb from his position in AAARRRGGH!'s hand. "Probably should've been more careful waking you up. Let sleeping trolls lie, huh?"

Jim snorted at his attempt at a joke, while the other three humans groaned. "When did you guys get back?"

"Mere moments ago, Master Jim. I am surprised that you required rest so soon after coming into contact with the Heartstone. Are you not correctly absorbing its energy? I will have to take you to a healer. Come now, we can postpone the lesson until after you get treatment." Blinky seemed worried, picking up Jim's arms and examining him as he spoke.

"No, Blinky, I'm fine, I probably just need more rest because I'm not entirely a troll."

"You should have been able to go more time without needing rest!"

AAARRRGGH! rumbled with amusement as he walked up behind him. "Jim young, Blinky. Needs sleep." He affectionately rubbed his cheek against Jim's, which the half-troll happily reciprocated, crooning. Blinky sighed, but butted his horns against Jim's, conceding the point.

"Well, we know who the mom friend of the group is now," Mary said. "I always thought that was you, Darci."

"Oh no. I am not being out-mommed by a troll!"

Then Toby piped up. "You guys know that in troll terms, he literally is Jim's dad, right?"

The other three spun to him. "What?" Claire's voice was incredulous.

AAARRRGGHH! ambled over behind Mary. "We are family," he said. "Jim is part of that."

"What about us?" asked Mary. Darci elbowed her, and Mary scowled at her. "What? I want to be able to threaten boyfriends with a troll family ready to pummel them if they break my heart!"

"I'm afraid troll family units are a bit more complicated than that. If a troll has no family, many others will line up to take care of the child, both out of a sense of honor and knowing that more heirs means more glory. But, ah, no offense intended for you four, but AAARRRGGHH! and I have not shared enough time or experience with you to consider that at this point." Blinky and Jim walked up to all of them, joining in now that Jim was really awake. Jim jumped onto the table next to Claire that Toby was leaning on, landing in a deep crouch and remaining in the position.

"But you only learned about Jim's existence a few days ago." Claire was confused, as Jim could feel across the bond.

"That is different. Not only is he a troll lacking a family unit, he already has a profound connection to me, even if I do not have one with him yet. While I was not ready for a son, I am not against finally having an heir of my own."

Darci raised her hand. The six-eyed troll blinked at her for a moment. She put her hand down and cleared her throat, a tinge of red crossing her cheeks. "What does that make AAARRRGGHH!?"

"AAARRRGGHH! and I are partners. You may translate that however you will, it is most likely correct. To Jim, he is a combination of a brother and what you would call an uncle."

Jim sat back, letting his legs slip out from under him and hang over the edge of the table. "Huh." They all gave him a questioning glance. The half-troll shrugged, swinging his legs. "Just didn't know what to call him until now. It does kind of fit the relationship."

"Speaking of relationships, how was your lesson with Vendel?" asked Blinky.

"Uh…" Jim struggled for a moment to come up with a believable lie. "It went fine. He told me that he would call me back soon to get a lesson schedule going."

Claire narrowed her eyes at him, but Blinky clapped his hands. "Splendid! Perhaps Vendel has finally let down his walls. What did you learn from this particular experience with our elder?"

"Uh, nothing really groundbreaking. Just don't touch your hands and don't phrase your answers as questions."

"You actually went through with the lessons? I thought that was a courtesy offer. Why would you even need troll etiquette lessons?" Claire raised her eyebrows at him. Guilt welled up within him, as he realized he still hadn't told her why he needed etiquette lessons. He could tell the exact moment when she felt it, because she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms at him. "What? What did you do?"

"Less what I've done and more what I will do." The annoyance flaring across their bond wasn't making it any easier for him.

"What will you do, then?"

Jim sighed and turned to the other occupants. "Can you guys give us a couple minutes alone?" Only once they had left the room with weird looks from Darci and Mary did he continue. "I'm not staying in Arcadia."

"What?"

"After you beat Draal, I'm going to Europe."

"What? But why? We need you here, there's so much you have to do, and we still need your help!" Claire was getting angry with him, but she was also getting scared. Jim understood completely, but he still had to go through with his plan.

"I can do so much more if I go out into the world and try to bring all trolls back together. Plus, I can grab Angor Rot in the process, and build us up a sizeable military if we ever need it. I won't be gone forever, and I'll have my phone with me at all times."

"What about the changelings? And Bular? And the bridge? You can't just leave us to deal with everything!" She was yelling now, getting in his face. Jim was doing the best he could to repress his own anger, and the only reason he succeeded was because of the Heartstone's influence.

"But this way, you'll get the trolls to respect you. I've already got an idea about the changelings, and I have complete confidence in your abilities to take on Bular. You are no damsel, Claire."

Claire glared at him for a moment before turning away from him, crossing her arms and muttering something so lowly that even he couldn't hear it. "What was that? I couldn't hear you, Claire."

"You'd just leave me here? After we just started… something?" The half-troll sighed again before he got down a knee behind Claire so he could be level with her.

"Look at me." For a moment, she refused to comply, her arms tensing. "Please?"

She turned to him, exposing her eyes, glistening with unshed tears. Jim swiftly pulled her into a hug, his body enveloping her own. She wrapped her own arms around his neck, burying her face in the junction between his shoulder and neck. "I will never leave you, Claire. Not unless you want me to. And even then, there's a pretty good chance I still won't. We don't have to break up, because I will becoming back hopefully as soon as you have the bridge. Then we'll all go into the Darklands together, kick Gunmar's ass, and we'll all live happily ever after. Alright?"

He felt her nod into his shoulder, but she only tightened her grip on him. "I don't want to lose you. I just found you."

Jim pulled away from her so he could look her in the eyes. "You won't. I promise I will come back to you. Okay?"

She nodded, then looked down shyly. When she looked back into his eyes, she hesitated for a brief moment before situating her hands in his hair and pulling him into a tender kiss. Jim did his best to reciprocate without hurting her. When they pulled away, Claire was a little breathless and leaned into him. "You better," she said. "Or else you won't get any more of that."

Jim laughed, standing up again. "I'll keep that in mind." He wasn't lying. About most things. He'd do his best to hurry back to her as soon as they had the bridge. And he most definitely wanted to continue his relationship with her.

The Darklands; well, Jim had killed a fully-powered Gunmar. No reason to drag his friends into that hellhole for a half-powered one that would take minimal effort to finish off. There was also no reason to let his friends know about that particular plan, though. Or say it out loud so that the Council of Elder Trollhunters could tell Claire when they finally talked to her.

He snorted when everyone else walked back in, but it was more over a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead. He had obviously never been to the void.