Danny and Jazz tromped through the woods alone. Jim and his friends had disappeared again, much to Dr. Lake's disappointment, and Dr. Lake had to return to work while the Fenton parents were visiting a nearby company that made specialized components to see about a new part they needed and didn't have the equipment to make themselves. Which left Danny and Jazz alone in a strange town with nothing to do. Danny still didn't know why Jazz wanted to go hang out in the forest, but here they were.

"Why are we out here?" Danny asked for the fiftieth time as he jumped down from the log he'd been balancing on.

Jazz sighed but answered again anyway. "You need some fresh air. And not the fresh air you get while flying," she cut him off when she saw him open his mouth to argue. "You need to spend more time enjoying nature with your feet on the ground."

Danny rolled his eyes but let it go. "So," he said, "is there anything else you want me to do the normal human way while we're here?"

Jazz gave him a disappointed look. "We should see if we can find the local hangouts. Make some new friends here."

"Jazz, we have friends back home. I don't need more friends here. I especially don't need friends I can't actually talk to about my problems."

"Fine, what do you suggest we do?"

Danny thought for a moment. "We'll find something to do in town." He shrugged. "We could also do some training out here. It's secluded enough, and I doubt anyone's going to notice some scorched trees."

"I suppose we are going to be here for a while. I have no doubt Mom and Dad have their own plans as well."

"The real question is whether or not they remembered to include us in those plans or if they're all business."

Jazz didn't respond to that. As much as she hoped they did and didn't like Danny's pessimistic way of thinking, that didn't change the fact that he had a point. Their parents could forget the most obvious and important things if it didn't have to do with ghosts.

They walked in silence for several minutes, birds chirping and wind blowing through their hair in a way that Danny found profoundly unsatisfying. It was like the wind was teasing him, reminding him of what it felt like to be free and move quickly through the air and the trees while he wasn't allowed to. "So are we just supposed to wander around like this, or are we actually going to do something?"

Jazz rolled her eyes again. "This is why you need to be down on the ground, little brother. You have no patience or appreciation for nature."

Danny pouted. "I appreciate nature."

Jazz snorted. "Yeah right. Danny, you can barely go five minutes without saying something about how you're bored, don't want to be here, don't understand why we're out here, don't know what you're supposed to do, or something else to that effect."

Danny continued pouting as he wandered farther ahead. He could go more than five minutes without saying anything derogatory about Jazz's chosen activity. He could, and he would.

They kept walking.

"Isn't this so much fun, Jazz," Danny said, plastering a massive grin across his face.

Jazz didn't even stop to look at him. "Sarcasm counts, Danny. Two and a half."

Danny scowled at her but shut up again.

He paused, looking up at a tree appraisingly. Jazz didn't want him to fly, but that didn't mean he couldn't climb. Latching onto a low hanging branch, Danny levered himself up. He pulled his feet under him and picked his next branch.

"Danny, what are you doing?"

"Climbing," he said, wrapping his hands around his target and pulling himself up again. The next ones probably wouldn't be able to withstand all of his weight as he pulled himself up.

"If you fall-"

"One," Danny said as he chose a pair of branches to support him as he continued upwards, "I can fly. Two," he picked the branch he would stand on and moved to climb up to it, "I can turn intangible. I'm not going to get hurt."

Jazz sighed and shook her head but let the subject drop. Danny kept climbing. And climbing. And-

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we're alone out here."

What could-? "Stay there. I'm on my way down."

Danny began climbing back down, a tad bit slower than he had gone up as he tried to map out a human way down.

Jazz shrieked.

Danny stared down through the branches, horrified and frozen as he saw Jazz backing up against the trunk of the tree. "Jazz, run!" he yelled as he pushed himself back into motion. He was significantly less cautious now, moving faster as he tapped into his ghostly flight to make himself lighter as hopped from branch to branch. Jazz turned and ran.

A dark arm made of stone and covered in strange armor with glowing green markings and green claws on the tips of the fingers came into view, swinging a spear that struck the trunk where Jazz had been standing. Danny dropped through the last branches and landed on the arm. Maybe he should have transformed. Too late now. He grabbed the spear's shafted and used it and his arms to get leverage as he drove his feet into the creature's helmeted face. It stumbled backwards and released its weapon in surprise.

"Alright, big guy," Danny said as he dropped to the ground and pulled the spear out of the tree, "let's see how you do without your nice glowy spear." He leveled the tip at him and waited. The spear was way too big for him, but he didn't really care. He would make it work, one way or another.

The creature grunted, but said nothing as it charged forward, reaching a hand out to grab Danny. Danny slashed its arm, the blow glancing off its armor, and skipped backwards out of reach and darted behind some trees. The creature growled and followed. Despite its oddly short legs for its height and broad shoulders, it was quite fast. Danny ducked under another reaching arm, this time jabbing the spear into a gap in the armor under its arm. It bellowed and swatted Danny aside. Danny rolled with it, turning it from something that would have broken ribs and sent him flying into something that only stung a little.

"Really?" he taunted. "That's all you've got? I fought worse when I was ten." Not anywhere close to true, but what did it know?

It charged forward, and Danny dodged, quickly weaving through the trees. It didn't stop for the trees. At all. Danny was forced to leap out of the way and dive to the ground to avoid being crushed.

Another scream pierced the air. Dammit, it was on the other side of the creature. Danny snarled and rushed forward, reading the spear. He ducked under its arms again and slashed at it when it tried to correct itself. Once on the other side, Danny took off sprinting. He allowed his ghostly flight to seep into his steps, making him lighter and faster as his feet only barely touched the ground. To an outsider he would look unusually fast and graceful as he bounded over obstacles that should have at least slowed him down without even breaking his stride. He could hear the thing following him and falling further and further behind.

Danny skidded to a stop when he came to where Jazz was. The creature that was standing a careful distance away looked… familiar and decidedly not threatening. As a matter of fact, the expression on its face made it seem like it was hurt that Jazz was afraid of it. Danny glanced between the two as they finally noticed him, and Jazz relaxed slightly.

"Danny!" Jazz shouted. "What the heck is going on!?"

Danny just shrugged and turned to the creature again, looking it over and trying to place where he'd seen it before. "Who are you?"

"Danny!?"

It smiled at him. "Aaarrrgghh," it said in a deep rumbling voice that was reminiscent of rocks rolling across the ground. Given it looked like it was made of rock, Danny figure he probably wasn't too far off. "Three Rs."

Jazz stared at it, looking extremely surprised it could speak. It smiled down at her. "Sorry for scaring."

"Um, it's alright. You just… surprised me, I guess."

Its… Danny mentally amended himself and moved the creature into the "his" category… smile grew even wider. "So, uhm," Danny spoke up, "what, exactly, are you?"

"Danny!" Jazz hissed. "You can't just-"

"Troll," Aaarrrgghh answered. Then he noticed the spear Danny was still carrying and his smile melted into a concerned frown. "Gumm-Gumm spear," he said as he moved forward, walking with his fists on the ground for support like a gorilla.

Danny frowned, glancing down at the spear. Another look at Aaarrrgghh and Danny held the spear out for him to look closer.

"Where?" Aaarrrgghh asked.

Danny gestured over his shoulder. "I took it from a… Gumm-Gumm back there?"

Aaarrrgghh started looking Danny over, seemingly checking for injuries. "Where now?"

"Still back there somewhere?"

Aaarrrgghh looked surprised. "Killed Gumm-Gumm?"

"What!? No!"

Aaarrrgghh turned his attention to the woods, scanning the trees. He snorted and turned back to the teens. "Gone now." He looked them over again. "Who?"

"I'm Jazz," Jazz spoke, finally getting her wits back, "and this is my brother, Danny."

Aaarrrgghh smiled at them again, relaxing slightly. "Nice to meet you." He glanced around again. "This way," he gestured for them to follow him as he started walking. At this point, neither teen actually knew where they were or where to go next, so they simply shrugged at each other and followed. Both Aaarrrgghh and Danny kept their guard up and scanned the trees for other Gumm-Gumms as the traveled slowly and quietly through the woods.

"Still happy we came out here?" Danny whispered to Jazz.

Jazz glared at him and opened her mouth to retort when Aaarrrgghh cut their conversation short. "Quiet," he said, not turning back to look at them. They kept walking.

Suddenly, Aaarrrgghh stopped and looked at their surroundings more closely. Danny and Jazz didn't notice anything at first but crouched lower and went as still and silent as they could for the hulking troll that had become their escort/bodyguard. A branch snapped to their left and a little behind them. Aaarrrgghh moved slowly and more quietly than Danny would have thought possible as he placed himself between the humans and the noise, eyes locked in the direction the noise had been coming from. Aaarrrgghh took several deep breaths in through his nose and lifted his head higher in the air, eyes beginning to slide closed, like a dog searching for a scent. All the tension drained from his body and the two small humans behind him relaxed as well.

Aaarrrgghh smiled at his charges and opened his mouth to say something before he stopped and frowned. He took another breath in through his nose. He sniffed again, and again. Moving closer to Danny each time. Danny took a hesitant and uncomfortable step back as Aaarrrgghh started getting a bit to close. Aaarrrgghh took one last sniff from Danny's clothes and then stepped back, frowning at him. More branches snapped nearby. "Smell familiar," he said, squinting.

"Aaarrrgghh?" a young, human, and probably male voice came from the trees. Jim stepped out of the undergrowth and began pulling leaves and sticks from his clothes. "There you are. We heard the scream, but there wasn't…" he trailed off as he noticed Danny and Jazz standing with Aaarrrgghh. Then he noticed the spear. "Um, hi, guys. What are you doing out here?"

Jazz glanced at Danny who was looking between Aaarrrgghh and Jim as though he'd just realized something then said, "I figured we should go for a walk and then we came across a Dumm-Dumm?"

"Gumm-Gumm," Aaarrrgghh and Jim corrected simultaneously.

"That. Then Aaarrrgghh found us and we've been with him since," Jazz finished.

Jim looked over at Aaarrrgghh. "What happened to the Gumm-Gumm?"

Aaarrrgghh shrugged. "Never saw. Danny fought it, not killed."

Jim nodded. "So, uh, that happened."

Danny and Jazz nodded.

"Danny smell familiar."

Jim frowned at Aaarrrgghh. "You might be recognizing him from me. His family had been living with me for the past few days."

Aaarrrgghh shook his head. "Too distinct."

Jim frowned at Danny. "Why would-" his eyes lit up as he thought of something. "Are you sure it's Danny?"

Aaarrrgghh thought for a second, then shrugged, sniffing the air. Danny forced himself to stay still as Aaarrrgghh followed his nose straight back to Danny. He turned back to Jim and nodded.

Jim sighed. "Well, that's a problem for another day. We should get you guys out of here. I'll take that." He gestured to the spear.

Jazz crossed her arms and said, "Not until we get some answers."

Danny nodded along, pulling the spear closer. "I'll keep this for now."

"Seriously?"

Danny shrugged. "Clearly these woods aren't safe. I'd rather be ready."

Aaarrrgghh looked down at him. "Safe now."

"Because of you?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow. "No offense, but you don't look like much."

"Really, Danny?" Jazz scolded.

"He looked about as afraid of you as you were of him. Probably a little less, but the point stands."

"Aaarrrgghh's a General," Jim interrupted. "A seasoned veteran. He just doesn't like fighting. He'd be a pacifist if that were an option right now."

"And you?"

"We've all got our secrets."

"And you just let your mom go on worrying like that? What have you got to worry about? Why not tell her?"

"I don't want to worry her."

Both Danny and Jazz snorted. "You're already worrying her," Jazz said. "Just talk to her, it can't get any worse."

Jim didn't respond for a moment. "What about you?" he asked, turning to Jim. "You're hiding something from your parents as well."

Danny shrugged. "I'm worried they'll take it badly. It's nothing for you to worry about. Now, if I remember correctly, Jazz wanted some answers."

Jim glanced between the two. Jazz began tapping her foot impatiently with her arms crossed over her chest. Danny gave him a vicious grin. Jim sighed and turned to face Aaarrrgghh. "You're call."

Aaarrrgghh thought for a moment. "Good fighter," he muttered, watching Danny. "You trust them?"

Jim shrugged. "I haven't really had the chance to get to know them."

Aaarrrgghh nodded. "Could be worse. Tell them."

Jim nodded. "Alright," he turned back to them, "you don't tell this to anyone. And I mean anyone, not your parents, not your friends back home, no one." He waited for them to nod their understanding, once they did, he continued. "Aaarrrgghh is a troll. Trolls live underground. Beneath Arcadia is Heartstone Trollmarket, a massive trading hub and political center. Right now, one group of trolls, the Gumm-Gumms, led by Gunmar is attempting to take over the surface world. My friends and I, along with the other trolls, are trying to stop them. That's all you need to know."

"But-"

"That's all we need to know, Jazz," Danny interrupted.

Jazz gave Danny an odd look, which Danny returned with a level one, and then shrugged and accepted Danny's decision. Danny turned his attention back to Jim. "So you're fighting a secret war and I'm gonna take a guess and say you're somewhat important."

Jim and Jazz both gave Danny a confused look. "Yeah…" Jim said slowly, "how did you know that?"

Danny grinned. "You don't want word getting out and no one lets teenagers fight in a war if there's any helping it, which means there is no keeping you out of it no matter what anyone wants. Therefore, you must be important somehow. I just don't know how."

"And you don't need to know how. You're going home in a few weeks anyway. It's not like it matters."

Danny shrugged. "I'm curious, but you're right, I don't need to know."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Danny grinned even wider. "Satisfaction brought it back."

"Danny, what happened to not our business?" Jazz asked, getting mildly frustrated with how her little brother was antagonizing Jim.

Danny sent her another Cheshire grin. "But one, it's fun, and two, we both know annoying people is the only way I get them to tell me anything."

"No, that's how you get Vlad to tell you things. Everyone else you can just ask them. You annoy people when you want to fight them."

Danny thought for a second. "Huh, yeah, I guess that's true, but I don't want to fight Jim."

Jim just stared at the siblings, unsure of what was even going on anymore. Sure, he hadn't exactly spent much time around them, but this was completely out of character from what he'd seen so far. Then again, his mom didn't know he was leading a war effort, so maybe there was something to be said about parental influences.

"Whatever," Jim interrupted. "Regardless of what you want, I'm not fighting you. You know what's going on now, so can we please get you to safety and out of the forest?" The siblings exchanged a glance and shrugged at each other.

"Sure," Danny said.

Jim nodded and took the lead to take them to the edge of the forest. Danny and Jazz followed obediently with Aaarrrgghh bringing up the rear to keep an eye out for any Gumm-Gumms, Krubera, or changelings. They traveled in silence, with Jazz only breaking it every once in a while, to point out some cool plant to Danny. Once they reached the edge, Jim turned back to face them. "The spear," he said, holding out a hand to take it.

Danny hesitated but nodded and handed the weapon over. He and Jazz both stepped out of the forest and began making their way through the suburban streets to return to the safety of sunlit civilization. "Hey," Danny called turning back, "see you at dinner, Jim!" Danny waved and turned around again, following his sister.

Jim smiled slightly and quickly turned back into the woods to continue searching for any enemy soldiers looking for their camp.

"Telling you," Aaarrrgghh said quietly. "Smells familiar."

"I know," Jim said as he kept his eyes open. "I just don't know why. If you were getting the scent off me or maybe smelling Phantom on him, that would one thing. Are you sure that's not what you're smelling?"

Aaarrrgghh gave a firm nod. "Definitely Danny."

"Then I don't know what it could be." Jim shrugged and glanced around with a sigh. "C'mon, we've been out here for hours and Danny and Jazz were the only interesting thing all day. Let's head back and tell Blinky."

Aaarrrgghh hesitated but nodded. "Had spear," he said as he followed Jim.

"Huh, yeah," Jim said glancing at the spear he'd confiscated from Danny. "Wonder how he managed that." Aaarrrgghh hummed in agreement. "Well, either way," Jim continued after a moment, turning his attention back to his surroundings, "Danny and Jazz are safely out of the way and hopefully will listen to me about not telling anyone."

Aaarrrgghh nodded again. "Talk to Blinky."

"I know, we need to keep everyone up to date. I should probably spend some more time with them to make sure they don't say anything."

"How long?"

Jim shrugged. "I'll probably just spend the next couple of days hanging out with them or something, shouldn't be too long and I'll still be able to slip away at night."

Aaarrrgghh nodded. "Good plan." After that they walked in silence, the animals going silent as they passed, unsure of how to react to the massive creature of stone walking with its knuckles on the ground. It was calm and quiet and peaceful. All they had to do was get through these two weeks and everything would be fine again. Hopefully.