Trigger warnings: Mentions of killing and murder

Drawn From Stone

Chapter 4

He hated having to leave the hotel bed. It had been warm and comfortable and safe. Even through whatever detergent they used to wash the sheets, he could smell her from the little time she'd spent on them. He'd give anything to be able to go back and hold her to him again.

It was everything a nest should be. Wait, nest? He… he was going to have to ask Blinky about that later. That wasn't, uh, something that was normal, right? Right?

Instead of being with her, he was forced to listen to the shrill screams of whelps who didn't want to rest. No amount of bribes for another story or passing around the amulet could get them to sit still for more than a couple of minutes.

They were rowdy, he understood that. He just wished he had a better way to deal with rowdy children.

His hand hovered over his phone in the pocket of the new sweatpants Claire had bought for him — go, whatever high school sports team they supported, go! He didn't want to bother her. She was probably working on her magic lessons.

Besides, he couldn't interrupt that. She was the only one with any real magic. Deya knew Merlin wasn't getting his back any time soon.

His eyes scanned around the cave they had holed up in for the short break. The grown Trolls were actively trying to ignore looking at him and the whelps. This included Blinky.

He'd all but been abandoned by them.

Maybe he could convince the whelps to take a nap. That… didn't seem very likely.

He had no other choice but to let them run amok. No one except him seemed to mind too much anyway. They seemed relieved the whelps were in a playful mood — and he supposed he was, too. The long journey had been trying for them all.

So, he let them run around until they tired themselves out. They created a pile around him, using him and each other as pillows. They were like puppies, twitching and whining in their sleep.

It was… relaxing.

He hadn't realized that he'd been drifting off until he felt the phone in his pocket buzz against his leg. It woke him and the whelp who'd been sleeping there.

The whelp blinked up at him with blurry eyes. She turned over, mumbling incoherent words that were probably a few choice words she'd picked up from NotEnrique — something he had yet to address with the Changeling.

Jim, meanwhile, answered the call.

"Hello?" he said, trying to shake off the sleep.

"Young Atlas." Oh, it was Strickland.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I have… some news. It's about your mother."

That jerked him awake. He tried to keep his voice low, so as not to wake the whelps, but it was difficult. He felt a whine start up in the back of his throat.

"Is, is she, shit, is she okay?"

"She'll be alright. Just a concussion."

"What happened?"

"There was an accident at the hospital."

All he wanted was a day to himself. A day where he didn't have to deal with the hijinks of the new Creepslayerz — or whatever Steve, Krel, and Mary were calling themselves nowadays. Was that too much to ask?

Yes. Yes, apparently, it was.

Thankfully, AAARRRGGHH! had been around and had stopped most of the trouble. But it hadn't been enough.

Once he'd finished with them — really, that was the fourth incident this week and it was only Tuesday — he made his way to the hospital.

He'd gotten a call from Mr. Strickler about Dr. Lake, though he hadn't said what had happened, and then he got a panicked call from Jim. Jim, like any good son, swore that he'd start making his way back to see if she was okay. Like a good best friend, Toby had talked him out of it and promised to check in on her himself.

Mr. Strickler hadn't given many details — mostly because Dr. Lake was still unconscious — but he knew that she was concussed. They were mostly worried because she hadn't woken up after having a seizure. At least, that's what Mr. Strickler had been told.

Toby… He wasn't too sure.

After everything they'd been through, after everything that had happened, a simple seizure didn't seem likely. Not that seizures were simple or anything. He knew they were rather complex, and doctors were still trying to understand them.

So, Dr. Lake having a seizure? Yeah, no. Something else was going on. Something with magic.

Nana had offered to drive him, curious and worried herself about the health of their neighbor, but he'd turned her down. He would give her a call later or give her a rough explanation when he got back home.

He'd have to give Mr. Strickler one, too. It wasn't like he could just go in and visit her as he was. Not many people outside of Arcadia Oaks knew about Trolls, and they planned on keeping it that way. Then there was little Will to think about...

He quickly gathered his things from his locker, stuffing them in his bag. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He brandished a book into the startled face of Darci.

"Sorry," he said, bringing it down to his side. He laughed and shrugged it off. "Just… reactions."

"No, it was my bad," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I should have said something first. Mind telling me what's up? Jim didn't get Claire pregnant, did he? If he did —"

"You would fly out there and help Claire kick his butt, we know."

"No, I'd go out there and watch her kick his butt while eating popcorn. You're more than welcome to come."

He snorted, giving her a smile. It quickly vanished when he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Dr. Lake is in the hospital," he said.

"She's a doctor. Isn't she supposed to be?" She smiled at him. When she saw that he wasn't joking, her face fell and her voice turned soft. "It isn't serious, is it?"

"Don't know yet. I'm about to head up there to go check."

"I'll come with you." She started towards her locker to get her things. He closed his and followed her.

"You don't have to —"

"I'll get Mary to drive us. She doesn't have anything else going on today. I think she was just planning on going to the mall and hanging out there."

"You don't have to come. And I'm pretty sure Mary would rather be doing anything else."

"Hey, your BFF is dating our BFF, and they happen to be on a cross country roadtrip with a bunch of Trolls and a freakishly old wizard. Things are weird, and weird things keep happening. So, we got to help each other out. Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't force a friend to take us to visit our favorite doctor?"

"You're the best, Darci," he said, pulling her into a hug — by Deya, he'd missed hugging people. Without Jim around… Yeah, he didn't hug many people anymore. Human contact was nice. Especially when it was with your girlfriend you didn't get to see very often because of Trollhunter duties…

"So, what's been going on with the Creepslayerz?"

"Trust me when I say this, you don't want to know."

"Do you really think this plan will work?" Eli said, stuffing the last of his things that he deemed important into his backpack. It wouldn't fit everything, sadly.

"It is a rushed plan," Aja said, bouncing on the soft mattress of his bed. They'd brought one over for him shortly after arriving. "And we have no other choice."

"There is always a choice, Aja. We could stay here and try to get them to understand —"

"No, they won't understand. If they get rid of Krel, then they could just as easily get rid of me."

"But with the both of you on the same planet…"

Aja sighed.

"They could kill us both, I know. But they won't."

"How do you know they won't?"

"Because they won't murder their Queen just yet."

"That's a pretty big risk, if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't."

"Aja."

"What?" she said, groaning and flopping back on the bed.

"They have technology that can destroy a whole planet. Can you guarantee that they won't use it against us? Against you?"

She sat up, the frown pulling at her lips while her brow furrowed. For a moment, while he finished packing, she remained quiet. When he looked up, he saw a fire burning in her eyes.

"We will go to Earth," she said. "We won't tell them until we are there. When they call for us, we will tell them that we are on a mission to find out what is causing… whatever readings they are picking up."

"That still sounds like a terrible plan," Eli said slowly, looking her up and down. He adjusted his glasses as he stood up and slipped his bag over one shoulder. "It still sounds better than before."

"Good. Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, I think so."

"Lively!"

It took some maneuvering, but the pair managed to slip down to the laboratory. Still, Aja knew the easiest route for the both of them. Although, sliding on an outside pipe wasn't exactly what Eli signed up for.

"That's worse than gym class," Eli said, attempting to balance on rubbery legs that refused to work the way he needed them to.

"Not really," Aja said, peeking around a corner. "Coach would go easier on you than I do."

"That's true." Eli carefully picked his way over to her, hugging closely to the wall as he walked on the tips of his toes. He was so glad he bought sneakers the last time they visited Earth.

Aja waited a moment, ducking behind the corner and barely breathing, while two guards shuffled past. Their lumbering strides and raucous laughter drowning out the sound of the vents near the hiding pair.

When they were out of sight, Aja grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. Together, they darted around the corner down another hall. Aja shifted a panel and gestured for him to slip inside.

"Umm," Eli said, eyeing the space. There was really nothing there except a metal pole.

"Slide down it," Aja said. "We only have to go down a little more."

'A little more' ended up being three stories. Eli had to attempt to create friction with his shoes against the pole to slow himself down. Although, in the end, it was much quicker than if they had taken the regular halls and elevators.

The laboratory had very few people in it. Really, just two others, Zadra, Izita, and Davaros. Izita was hovering near Davaros, who was chatting amicably with one of the Akaridians Eli didn't recognize. Zadra was talking things over with the other.

"Your Highness," Zadra said, straightening as they approached.

"Sorry we took so long," Aja said. "We had to take an extra short cut."

Zadra nodded, her face remaining placid.

"Right," she said. "Are we all ready to go?"

"I can't wait to see Earth," Davaros said, beaming up at all of them. Giddily, she bounced on the tips of her toes, babbling about something or another. Eli tuned her out.

The wormhole generator hummed to life, the swirling mass of blue energy. Eli could see a bedroom beyond it — most likely Krel's. He must have been working on it at his end, which meant their portal wouldn't last long.

Zadra seemed to realize this, too, and ushered them all to the other side as she brought up the rear. She just made it through when on the Akadridian side of the portal they could hear pounding on the laboratory doors.

Eli turned to see what would happen when it fizzled out of existence. He stood by Aja, looking around the cramped room.

"This is Earth?" Davaros said, still grinning. She clambered over to the window and looked out, gasping at whatever she saw — the quiet little cul de sac, if Eli recalled correctly.

Izita smiled, walking over and placing a hand on Davaros's shoulder. She opened her mouth to say something when the door opened.

Krel stood in the doorway, his serrator at the ready. He dropped his protective stance when he saw who it was.

"Little brother!" Aja said, running over and tackling him into a hug.

"What," Krel said, "what are you doing in my room?"