Notes: Here is where we start getting into the multiple POVs.
chapter 2
[Anita's Pov]
They had found a sign. Not too far from where they had almost been run over earlier that morning, they had spotted it as they had started off to see how true the mysterious ghost man had been.
It was in front of them, a clear large sign saying "Arcadia". It was blue, white and even had a bridge on it! This had to prove they were actually here, impossibly and yet actually in a children's cartoon.
As Anita looks over the sign, the wheels in her head grind to a stop by the backlog of questions with no answers. Her new… companion, Hannah, stands off to her side.
"Are we really in Trollhunters?" Hannah questions quietly in the new morning air.
Arcadia is definitely the name of the town from the show, so it has to be! Anita says as much to her companion as well, though admitably in a quieter tone than the voice inside her head.
Were they really in another world, another dimension?! A different plane of existence from their own? Anita almost feels like Captain Kirk thinking about it all. A world where magical beings live, where trolls and gnomes and monsters are real!
…that is assuming her own world doesn't have them….
How was teleportation possible, magic? All she had done was blink and then she was here. One moment in her bedroom sitting with her many stuffed toys and her laptop, the next on a road at with a complete stranger. Nothing had touched her that she was aware of, she didn't feel anything , how could this-
"This might be the real Arcadia though."
Her thoughts screech to a halt. Peering over at Hannah, who appears unconvinced by the sign, she asks, "What?" Turning to her properly, her hands fidget with the bottom of her hoodie as she asks.
Hannah looks apologetic as she glances back at Anita. Hannah then looks down at her arms that have stayed across her chest, "Arcadia is a town in California, not just in the show."
Anita deflates, "Oh… So its not proof… We still don't know.."
Only a moment had passed when a panicked thought occurs to her… If Arcadia was a real place, could seeing anything short of a real troll or the trollhunter actually prove where they were? If Arcadia is real, so could be the museum of Arcadia, or the school. Those places could have been created in the show from real world inspiration. What would they do then….
Hannah starts off down the street, walking slowly so Anita can catch up, "We should look around some more. Maybe we will recognize something."
"Okay.." is her soft reply, catching up and walking just behind the other. She could voice her thoughts, her doubts on being able to tell what is real and what is not, but she doesn't. She doesn't know Hannah really, and doesn't feel comfortable enough to mention it yet.. Maybe when they actually see something from the show.
The two walk together in the slowly warming air of Arcadia, watching the town wake up as more traffic fills the streets and they pass small shops.
However, they don't go deeper into town quite yet. Both searching for a different landmark that they would know well… The bridge.
It took longer than it probably should have to find it, and the sun had long since peeked above the horizon by the time they had. But together they walked, skirting round the town as they searched, until they had spotted it in the distance.
Now, standing on it, above the dry canal, looking over the edge… Anita had not expected it to be so normal.
She knew that there would of course be some difference between real life and the animations on the screen, but the differences were still jarring. And while it was a familiar canal, and might even have a trail leading to it over there that could be the one Jim uses, it's very hard to tell.
Leaning over the safety of the bridge's banister, peering into the shadows of the bridge itself, Anita chances a look at Hannah. Unfortunately she seems to be thinking something similar. Not leaning over the edge like she is, Hannah is still looking, and seems very unsure. That's slightly disappointing and reassuring at the same time. At least she isn't the only one.
[Hannah's pov]
This had to be a dream… it just had to.
In no reality would anyone find her to be "champion" material, especially not some armor clad specter insisting she save a cartoon character. Hell, she'd been laying in bed with the lights out in attempt to sooth a migraine…. Maybe Hannah had managed to fall asleep and now she was simply stuck in a vivid dream.
…too vivid.
As she peered over the edge, she was baffled to find the canal empty. Other than the ghost and two items from the street, nothing screamed imaginary. Hannah had been expecting to see something down there. Kanjigar's shattered body, maybe? Or perhaps a character from some other tv show she's watched? Just not some realistic, empty, cement canal.
"We should keep looking." Hannah suggests to the other woman.
Now that had to be the strangest bit of this whole illusion. Hannah's dreams were always filled with people and things she knows well…. And yet (no matter how hard she tries) she does not recognize Anita.
"Oh, um..." the darker haired brunette mumbles, settling for a polite nod instead of a verbal reply. Anita hasn't spoken much, neither of the pair have, but Hannah can tell the other woman has a foreign accent.
Hannah then begins to walk across the bridge, listening to the other's steps as they continue on.
They finally stroll into the center of town, where the little mom and pop shops give way to grocery stores and fast-food restaurants (hmm… she was beginning to feel a bit hungry). And further down leads to things like banks and…. Is that the-
"The museum." Anita confirms.
Hannah's chest tightens…. This can't be real. It can't, and she will prove it.
She fumbles a little pulling her cellphone from her jean pocket and going straight to Google. "The school! If any of this is real, Jim and Toby and Claire would be at the high school right now." Turning to face her companion, who is now hovering at her side, curious what she was doing, she continues. "And it's only 10:53, so we have plenty if time to find it…."
Her Google search proves useful when she manages to find the address of the only high school said to be located in Arcadia, California. Unfortunately said high school is named Arcadia Oaks High, and their mascot just happens to be a bright purple mole.
With a deep breath, Hannah tries to think logically. It could just be a coincidence, or this still might be nothing more than a dream.
Her train of thought is derailed by a soft grumble to her left. Seems she wasn't the only one getting hungry. "…And enough time to get something to eat." Hannah adds, checking her pockets for any loose cash. She comes up with a little more than 2 dollars.
Anita's expression instantly drops when she catches sight of the currency, twisting her fingers in the hem of her shirt.
"I don't have any money.." She says apologetically, "Not that it would be of any use here anyway."
So, Hannah had been right about the accent, but her spare change couldn't buy more than a cheap appetizer or a single item off a dollar menu.
"Th-that's okay…" Hannah tries to sound positive. "Maybe we can share something-"
The undeniable ring of a school bell pierces the air just then, derailing any thoughts she had about food. The school was close. Real close. In fact, why wait? "-After we check the school." She finishes, carefully eyeing Anita to gage her reaction on the suggested change of plan.
Hannah doesn't know how to go about explaining her desire to hurry (and she's also not quite comfortable telling a stranger what they should do)…. But she also doesn't want to go it alone.
"Just a quick peak? It's so close." She adds tentatively.
To her surprise (and relief) Anita agrees, looking in the direction of the bell. "It would be nice to know where we are." Where they really are.
And so the pair resume their walk in a relative silence, sticking close to each other the entire way. They don't end up having to go very far before the school was in plain view…. And maybe their curiosity got the better of them, but neither stop to think of the possible ramifications of two adults just walking onto school property.
Instead they glance through windows they pass by. Only, the difference between real life and animation becomes more prevalent than the rest of this entire experience. However well animated Trollhunters may be, it's not this detailed with people. Small things suddenly pop out, further deterring Hannah's confidence in recognizing one of the kids or even Strickler.
Five minutes of glancing through windows has her heavily focusing on one teacher that may or may not be that one math teacher from the show when a firm hand grips Hannah's shoulder. It's the first time Anita has intentionally touched her, and in response Hannah turns to ask what's wrong or if she spotted one of the kids. Anita's eyes are wide behind her glasses, and she's pointing behind-
"Hey! You two!" a deep yet vaguely familiar voice calls out. "Where's your visitors' passes?"
There's only so many thoughts that come to mind when a top heavy, muscular, glaring man is marching towards them, and their folly of a choice suddenly comes to light…. Run.
"Left them in the car!" is Hannah's sad excuse of a reply, before she and Anita bolt down the hallway for the exit. The sound of the man's heavy footsteps and demands to "stop right there" only serve to encourage their sprint. Slamming against the doors and bursting outside, they find the closest thing to duck behind, the school sign.
The women just barely manage to hide when the man follows through those same doors. The next minute or so is tense, and the pair do their best to quiet their breathing. Only after they hear the doors open and close once again, do they relax.
Still breathing fairly hard and knees burning from their escape, Hannah whispers to Anita. "So… What now?"
Notes: It's a day late, but whatever. We try to post a new chapter every other week.
