Author's Note ~

Welcome to the second book of the React Series! By Deya's Grace, a react fic where it continues?

Yes, because we love all of you and promise big time!

So, as we start a new book of the series, we have a couple of minor changes.

1 - The author's notes are more organized, we had to go through all of Trollhunters due to them being inconsistent.

2 - Characters do follow the line of what happened in the show, meaning there will be no Vendel, Draal. Barbara and Strickler will return, and Merlin and Douxie will be there including the Aliens.

3 - Reactions! Now that we have experience with getting into character and writing, we will no longer be "lazy" with them!

4 - Updates will still consist of a month, however, if able to, we might post multiple chapters at once.

5 - The group being returned to the theater has now become its own chapter!

6 - And the written-out assigned seats (more descriptive than simply laid out):

|Stairs| Krel - Aja - Steve - Eli - Toby - Jim - Claire - Darci - Mary |Stairs|

|Stairs| Aaarrrgghh - Blinky - Merlin - Barbara - Varvatos |Stairs|

|Stairs| Student Body |Stairs|

|Stairs| Student Body |Stairs|

Side Notes ~

Normally, please expect chapters to be published at the end of the month, usually around the 28th-31st

Also, do you guys want more Trollhunter One-shots?

The Return of the Theater

Steve felt the adrenaline pump through him, heart beating frantically as he fled from the massive enemy that spewed threats and fired at will. He had met up with Aja and Krel, only after finding out the strange fact about them.

They were Aliens.

Not like it was anything strange, especially witnessing Trolls and his own classmate changing his appearance due to a wizard, but he was getting off-topic. Through the dark night and empty streets, the golden light that seemed to follow them was followed by a dark mass of evil, and while Steve was used to the idea of something so dangerous, the fear that still crept in him flooded through his veins.

He slightly dwelled on the fact of showing off to Aja, all he knew was that whoever chased the group, had it out for the Alien siblings and while he couldn't fight the massive creature on his own, he would make sure that Aja would be safe.

But how could he keep her safe when she was currently covering him?

The experience wasn't new, facing and running from danger, the only issue was how to appropriately react to such a crisis. He was rather sloppy in the Eternal Night with Eli by his side and granted, he had changed after the theater experience, regaining his full memories of the situations, and learning to survive.

But here he sat, watching as Krel leaped backward, avoiding the harsh blow, while the one Steve cared about was currently standing in front of him, glaring harshly as she balled each one of her fists.

Steve was unimpressed with himself, not being able to push her behind him and stare down the enemy. Yet, she was powerful and a sight as she stood tall in her natural form. And that same burst of happiness, even longing for a chance had drowned him, it was a bad time, but that moment they shared in the tree had come rushing back, even for a split second.

Her voice and the look of bewildered when she had noticed the fireflies, hearing her tell the stories of her home and making him chuckle. Even at the moment, the words that slipped from him came out so easily, something he would rarely share.

He was not losing someone he wanted to have a chance with and actually wanted to be around him. His reputation hadn't been the best when he witnessed how many people had stood up for Jim and was angered by Steve's actions.

But he was so worked up on being the hero for Aja, thinking about how he'd do anything, even drowning out the voice of the monster, that he couldn't save her, she had saved him.

His body moved on auto-pilot, ducking behind Aja as a pixelated blue shield ripped open and surrounded the group. The hammer of the beast collided with the shield, ricocheting off of it and decapitating a fire hydrant. The water sprayed from its hold, shortening out the robot and letting the steam rise from its cracks.

"Yeah, bath time!" Toby chuckled as Steve watched their protection fall back into Aja's weapon. Steve glanced toward his Alien crush, watching her face fill with worry and the moment of realization had struck him.

She was afraid, he couldn't be the hero and leap after such a creature, no, he had to help her get away, perhaps he could do that. He shrunk away with the group while Toby had stepped forward, confident and hammer out.

"Alright you guys, we got this! You know what time it is?" Toby asked the vast robot, a grin on his face while his friends backed away.

"It's hammer time!"

"Hey, that was my line!"

Behind him, the group fled, leaving Toby as the Robot prepared its own hammer. "Quick, behind Stuart Electronics!" Aja yelled out, Toby still unaware of his group.

"Alright guys, let's show him who's…" He looked around, realizing he had been alone, "Guys? Guys? Oh no…"

Magma-Tron spun his hammer into the air as Eli called out, "Tobias!" He waved to his stout friend, the group already disappearing into the cracks between the buildings.

"I love to crush!" The bot yelled, releasing his weapon and letting the massive hammer crush the nearby truck, nearly taking Toby in the process. Toby let out a squeak, running towards the alleyway, this time moving sideways but still swearing at the unfortunate route.

"I hate this shortcut."

The robot reached as much as it could but could barely touch Toby who was pulled through the other end. "Hammer to your face! The bot threatened, its weapon cascading over the building and toward the awaiting group.

However, Aja didn't let it travel far, using her Serator as a bat and smacking away the vast weapon, watching it fly back to where it came from. It spiraled in the air and back towards its master who caught it with ease.

"You cannot escape Magma-Tron, you.." The robot's voice grew quiet as the group had disappeared from sight, leaving nothing but a paper. They retreated into the dark woods, nothing but the soft hooting of an owl had been heard, leaving the teens to pop out from their hiding spots while Krel panted as the adrenaline died out.

The sight before the humans had instantly become the focus, Toby gasping out as he stared down the house that was now perched on top of a rather sleek ship.

"Whoa! There's a spaceship growing out of your house! You have a space house?"

"Shh!" Krel started, "that Bounty Hunter could have followed us!" The group pressed themselves against the side of the ship, "Also our spaceship prefers to be called Mother."

"Let's hope she knows how to stop whatever that life form was," Aja mentioned as she stared down the ship. The group leaped into the window, the dark house was eerie as Steve glanced around, watching as the Aliens had grown rather tense, looking around.

"Hello?" Aja yelled out, standing up straight as her eyes flicked around the room, "Coast is clear, no Bounty Hunter."

"Okay, that's great but there is one problem," Steve mentioned as the Aliens, Toby, and Eli had turned to face him with a questioning look. "This house has no lights, no living things in it, correct?"

"Yes, why?" Krel asked.

"Then what is that?" Steve pointed across the room, the gaze of the group following the direction of his finger and growing rigid when a soft light sparkled in the center of the room. It seemed small, only a glimmer that reflected from the moon, but what had been concerning was that it was moving, spinning as it slowly grew more prominent.

"You don't think it's another Bounty Hunter? Or is this some weird Alien tech?" Toby asked as he glanced at Aja.

"I don't know what that is," Steve listened to her panicked voice, realizing that his moment was once again, he stepped forward, hand reaching for the strange light as Aja reached out to him. "Steve, don't!"

"It's a light, we might as well figure it out just in case." Steve snorted lightly. As his hand grew closer, he could feel the energy within it, almost as if it was trying to pull him closer. "It's not so bad."

Right as he spoke, the teens gasped as it had instantly grown in size, Steve trying to move away from the now immense light. He began to regret trying to impress Aja as this had been a big mistake. The light swallowed him, and the cries of his friends echoed around him as if it moved to consume them as well.

He could have fallen into a trap.

He turned, seeing a glance of blue, knowing that someone had been nearby, he tried to put his full attention on the remaining spot of the room, but as his friends fill his vision, so did an unwelcoming sight of white.

It flooded over him, sucking him into a strange abyss. His senses dulled, his body growing weightless as the world around him had been sucked away. The soft ringing in his ears grew loud against the silence, everything seeming to feel as if he had completely left his body.

He could barely process his question before it seemed his body was now laid against a soft carpet, his eyes squeezed shut as he was expecting to feel his back collide with it painfully, but it never came.

Only the soft echo of voices seemed to dance around him. He furrowed his eyebrows, listening to voices he hadn't even been around moments ago.

He nervously cracked open his eyes, a ceiling full of brown, layered with big, bare, and beautiful exposed beams lined in a pattern as soft cones of light hung between them. His eyes lowered down to the much darker walls, soft and inviting. The height of the walls was impressive, not even decorated with windows but the light within the room was inviting.

It was almost as if he was in the theater.

Steve's eyes opened instantly as the idea finally processed in his head. His body launched into a sitting position. Around him, had been the student body once more, all of them seeming to get over their initial shock and rather happy with the idea.

However, he was not. He had believed to have fallen his friends into a trap and had worked to impress a girl and the timing was upsetting. He remembered that Douxie warned them of returning, but did it have to be now?

"Good to see you're alive," a familiar voice spoke to him, Steve's head turning to face Toby who stood there with his arms crossed, Aaarrrgghh standing tall behind him while Mary, Darci, and Eli had waited nearby.

"Yeah, we thought you wouldn't get off the floor," Mary joked with a laugh.

"You are still with us? Because you are wearing the most clueless face I have ever seen." Darci started as she bent to his level, waving her hand in front of his face. Steve grumbled, coming to a stand with the help of Eli and glancing around.

"Ugh! Are we really back in the theater?" Steve cried out.

"Looks like it. Guess Douxie meant it," Darci answered as Mary giggled playfully.

"Oh, yes. That cute wizard boy, I am looking forward to this."

"He ruined my moment!" Steve bit back, glancing at Toby and Eli who seemed rather perplexed for going into such detail. He was surprised they hadn't blamed him for getting sucked into the mess, and their eyes kept darting back to Mary and Darci.

That was right, they didn't know much about Aja and Krel.

Speaking of them, he couldn't help but voice out his worry, "Where are Aja and Krel?" The answer came quickly as the familiar accent of Douxie had called out to them, his lean frame stepping up beside the group.

"Yeah, my timing was for a reason, also they are safe. Good thing you went toward it, otherwise I'd be trying to figure out how to do it in the first place. You know, smooth transition and all."

The group of teens turned to face the source of the voice, finding Douxie wearing a proud smile, leaving Steve to question if Douxie was truly proud of making Steve worried, only for some lame excuse of the future, he was still seeing red.

"Oh, hey, Douxie. Let me guess, we're seeing another part of our future?" Toby asked, ignoring Mary's loving gaze she had been trying to send the wizard's way.

"Well, this one is kind of complicated. You see, what you're seeing is part of the past and the future."

"I think you might be in my future," Mary giggled, sending a wink toward Douxie who kindly smiled in return.

"So, what does that mean?" Darci questioned.

"One part happened before Jim turned into a troll and the Eternal Night. However, the second part continues after the Eternal Night. Perhaps I should explain this in front of everyone, but Merlin is not here yet."

"You mean, are Jim and Claire coming?" Toby said suddenly, Aaarrrgghh grinning behind him.

"Blinky too?"

"Yeah, all of them will be here, just when the old wizard decides to finally show up," Douxie muttered but his calm posture turned more tense when Merlin's grumbling voice had suddenly appeared beside him.

"I heard that Hisirdoux."

"Merlin!" Douxie cried out, smiling as if he hadn't said anything. "You made it, I was getting worried."

"Yeah, sure you were," Merlin responded dryly.

Toby turned to face Aaarrrgghh, his excitement barely contained as he noticed Merlin's presence, knowing that either Jim and Claire had already been here, or they would be arriving soon. So excited to see his friends, the question slipped from him before he had even noticed he opened his mouth.

"Where's Jimbo, Claire, and Blinky?"

"Ah, yes. They will be here, first, we need to introduce our new guests before they have the chance to panic, if they even react in such a way." Merlin stated, waving his hand to the seats, Toby's eyes following the gesture.

The students had been packed around the area, conversing as if nothing was wrong. They seemed unaware of the vast seating chart that glowed against the screen, lighting up the room in a burning light.

"Everyone!" Merlin called, easily catching every student's attention, smiling as the task was less difficult than he had planned it to be. "Please, look to the strange panel, called a screen and find your proper seat so we can get this started."

Steve eagerly glanced at the first row, finding his name, however, the two seats before him had been blurred, giving him a strong wave of confusion. He wanted to question Merlin why it had been that way, but he didn't bother, only praying it was Aja.

He was worried they hadn't been here, but now that he had connected the dots, he was excited to see her.

The students had placed themselves in the back two rows, which had been massive as before, the group splitting to flow easily on both staircases placed to the sides of the group of seats. The two front rows had been reserved, and Steve realized that it was characters who played an important row.

Just like last time, the focus on who's future would be playing out would be sat in the front, and if Steve was no longer in the second row then it meant he was for sure a major character. Which, he wasn't going to lie, excited him. It also meant that Aja and Krel were a part of their future and they were important.

Steve just wondered how important. Maybe he could understand Aja better. He smiled slightly before studying the rest of the seating chart.

He noted how Eli was to his right, followed by Toby, Jim, Claire, Darci, and Mary before it ended at the stairs. So, Jim and Claire were about to return, and he could barely tell if it was nervousness or perhaps excitement.

He had grown fond and rather protective of Jim and had gained respect for Claire, after all, who could defeat such a powerful wizard. His bond with Toby was decent, now that they no longer jumped at one another, but he had seen Toby daily, especially since Toby was always around Aaarrrgghh when he could be and Eli's fascinations had always caused them to see one another.

He glanced at the second row, which lacked a lot more. He understood why, Vendel and Draal were no longer with them, Strickler and Nomura hadn't arrived with the rest, only Barbara, Blinky, and Merlin were perched in the back, along with Varvatos. That was a name he had to question, however, he knew he would get the answers he needed.

Steve moved to his seat, nervousness filling him as he realized that at any given moment, he would see Aja, and he hated but loved the strange sensation he got around her. He could barely focus on the thought of her as Merlin stepped to the front of the room, Douxie close behind.

"Alright, Arcadia High, listen up. You remember from last time, simple stuff, watching the future and all." Douxie started as everyone perked up. "Well, we have two new guests that are the focus, and before we start, we need to slowly introduce them."

Steve and Eli glanced at one another, knowing exactly who they had been talking about as they listened to the confused murmurs.

"Now, what about my son?" Barbara asked, "his name is on the board, when will he be coming?"

"I was just about to bring them in," Merlin answered and gently tapped the end of his staff against the floor, green magic flowing through the soft fabric of the carpet and forming a rising funnel.

The students gasped in awe as they watched the magic form three outlines of different-sized bodies, fading and replacing the magic with Jim, Claire, and Blinky who seemed rather bothered by the magic that flowed through them.

"I have a strong dislike for that!" Blinky scolded as he held his head.

"Quit your whining, you are here," Merlin grumbled and gestured to the shocked crowd as they stared down the group, especially Jim as he shrunk under the gaze.

"Jimbo!" Toby suddenly yelled, leaping from his chair and sprinting to his friend who suddenly perked, arms out wide as his face lit up in wonder.

"Tobes!" The stout boy ran for a hug, not expecting to be easily lifted off the floor as Jim squeezed his friend tightly, not realizing he had pulled Toby from the floor. "It's so good to see you, again!"

"Look at you, looking epic as ever! And strong!" Toby glanced at the floor, laughing as Jim set him back down, apologizing profusely.

Toby grinned before glancing at Claire and Blinky, smiling as he stared down at his smiling friends. "It is so nice to see you again, T.P." Claire mentioned, pulling him into a gentle hug as Blinky stared down his troll companion.

"Aaarrrgghh, my friend."

"Blinky!" Aaarrrgghh stomped up, grinning as he greeted the smaller troll. As their greeting was tender and sweet, Darci, Mary, Eli, and Steve rounded the group, smiling.

"Looking awesome, Jim!" Eli stated as he studied the boy. Jim chuckled, glad that he wasn't scaring anyone away. Granted, the constant staring was a little bothersome, but he knew they weren't doing it in a harmful way.

"I probably can still take you, but it's nice to see you," Steve mentioned, smiling and nudging Jim playfully.

"You too, Steve," Jim stated before his eyes caught a moving figure behind his former bully. His heart nearly leaped into his throat as he gently pushed passed his crowd of friends, his mother staring at him with teary eyes and a kind smile.

"Jim," Barbara breathed out, arms open and inviting.

"Mom!" He quickly rushed her, pulling her into a deep hug as her arms wrapped around him, soft and gentle, making his heart thump in his chest. He missed this and thanked Merlin for giving him the chance to see his missing family members.

"Oh, my boy. It is so nice to see you again, everything going okay, you never got hurt?"

"I'm okay, mom. Are Strickler and the babies treating you nice?"

"Troublesome at times, but it's wonderful," Barbara answered, hands cupping her son's jaw.

"So, we're back here?"

"Yeah, but Douxie said we are seeing part of our past in a new way, then the future," Toby replied, stepping up to the family.

"And we should probably get to that, we don't want to waste any more time," Douxie mentioned, the group nodding in understanding and moving to their seats, Claire smiling as she watched Jim settle into his much deeper seat.

"You comfy?" She mumbled, hand gently gripping Jim's frantic hair.

"Yeah, are you?" He asked, smiling. She let out a tiny giggle and took his hand in hers as Merlin mumbled a small spell, two more figures joining the group. Steve's heart soared as he stared at Aja, who had been dressed in her humanoid figure, her brother standing beside her as they stared around the room in confusion.

"What is this?" Krel asked, "Why are so many people looking at us?"

"Because you are now a part of the theater experience and will be watching the future with us. It is about you," Douxie started, making the Aline siblings jump in surprise, staring at the wizard with shock.

"This is never happened to us before, and what are those?" Aja asked, pointing to the Trolls that stared at them.

"Trolls, they're nice creatures. Everything will be explained as you watch the screen. It's simple, you sit and relax as we play the future, and react but the purpose of this is to continue where we had left off, meaning, the reason we are doing this, is to show Jim that everything will happen for a reason."

"Exactly," Merlin replied, "the future mustn't be changed but the real reason as to why, will be revealed soon."

"I hate when they speak in riddles," Toby mumbled as Douxie showed both Aja and Krel their seats, Aja placing herself next to Steve with an unsure glance, making him lose his smile. He knew she was unsure, especially about the whole scenario, and she didn't deserve to be frighted.

So, he did what he did best.

"Don't worry, I've been through this before, I'll help you, it isn't so bad."

"Thank you, Steve." She mumbled and gave him a tender smile as Merlin took his seat, Douxie still sitting up front but away from the screen, a computer system set up once again as he grinned.

The students readied themselves, excited as they watched Douxie smile at the crowd and pushed play.