Summary: Eli is sick of spotting paranormal activity without catching any evidence to prove it. Even when he warns his classmates about the creatures who roam the night, he is constantly hated and bullied for stating facts. Now, he pulls an all-nighter to capture the creatures but discoveries shock him.

Characters: Jim, Eli, Steve

Rating: K

To Catch A...Trollhunter? Part One

Eli was displeased with the innumerable amount of times that he had actually managed to perceive such images of unimaginable creatures roaming the city streets of Arcadia deep within the silent night, but when he shared such exotic stories of his findings - well, the quick moments of them passing by his bedroom window - he was constantly bullied by the student body.

What even put him more in an invidious condition was when Steve had shoved his way through the crowd of displeased students and made sure the usual locker-shoving task was completed. The blonde would persistently call the poor boy out on his dramatic stories and put on an act that he finally believed each word that Eli spoke before letting out a wounding cackle and explaining that Eli had such an imagination. Other times the sentence: "Wow, are you so desperate for friends that you try and be the hero or one who has a double life that'd you make up such lies!? What a shame!"

The poor boy was harassed by his peers. Well, there is no need for such a word the people of his generation were known as strangers, heck, even further down the line, way past strangers.

However, he was over and done with all the unceasing tyrannizing that an abrupt thought had occurred to him. What if he had captured documentation, or in fact, evidence that was in fact, alive and revealed to Arcadia Oaks High that those "vivid dreams" were a reality?

Who would be the laughing stock then?

Yeah, such an act to twist the hateful fingers back at the tormentors was not how the Pepperjack family was raised and it would be best if Eli had let the situation go. He would have, if it had not been another sighting of large figures running past his window, only to be followed by a smaller, yet bright figure chasing after them.

He had to do it. It wasn't just to show beyond doubt to the school that he was no freak, no, it was also to prove to himself that his thoughts had been right. Luckily he had ordered spy gear and makeshift bear traps earlier on in the month.

They were mostly meant for defense if the monsters had ever found him watching silently through the glass, but now, they were in a dire situation. He was going to capture whatever drifted throughout the streets and show the school that he hadn't lost his mind.

He was going to do it, whether he died or not.

Quickly, no longer occupied with his thoughts, even the ones that had the plan conjured up, Eli took one last glance around his bedroom, silently thanking the simple room for helping him hide from the real world and try to discover the others.

The boy dressed in simple black attire, blending in with the night. He wanted to step up to his lovable mother and wish her a forever goodbye, just in case he didn't return but if she knew what he was up to, he wouldn't even have the chance to risk his life in the first place!

Whispering a gentle apology and a simple I love you too his mother, he grabbed his traps and spy gear before silently pushing his window open and crawling through space.

Finding himself on his empty street, the soft glow of the lights hiding the traps perfectly, Eli didn't waste much time setting the well-hidden traps up before he dove behind a nearby bush, his eyes leaking through the small stems and leaves, watching the net in particular.

Hours went by, his phone had read 9:15, and no sign of any suspicious activity. Of course, when he finally had the chance to prove to his many classmates, nothing showed up.

Eli, however, kept his focus. Too centered on the net, he hadn't heard the sound of feet sneaking up behind him.

"Great, just what I needed to see on my way home," Steve's voice startled Eli, the boy jumping backward, his clothes dirtied as he landed in a mud puddle, his helmet falling over his eyes. "What are you doing Buttsnack, playing with your imaginary monsters again?" As soon as Eli had sat up, Steve pushed him forward, his face nearly burying itself into the bush.

Eli picked himself up, stood, and turned to look at Steve. "No, and I certainly don't need you around at the moment, you'll ruin everything."

Steve nearly choked on his air before glaring, "Do you know who you are talking to Eli? Your alpha and if you want something worse than being shoved in a locker, I suggest that you keep your mouth shut." Eli rolled his eyes and fixed his glasses.

"Steve, I'm trying to mind my own business, I don't quite understand how it is so hard for you to mind yours. Now if you excuse me, I have other things to worry about," Eli hadn't understood what was going through his mind at the moment, possibly the hunt had pumped his adrenaline. Besides, he was finally going to catch a monster and prove to even Steve that he wasn't crazy, or as he liked to word it, imaginative.

Steve raged, grabbing Eli's collar and pulling him close to his snarling face. Eli simply got out of his grip with a stern glare. "Just because you are in black clothes and hiding behind a bush means you are not tough. If anything, you are a child."

"Listen, Steve, I have no time for -" A snap echoed against his ears causing his voice to trail off, only to hear a gasp before a thud rang through the formerly silent night. He was so caught up with Steve and his antics that he and Steve had missed the blur of monsters cascading the streets.

"What was that!?" Steve mumbled before looking at Eli who was letting off a small - yet, not very pleasing - celebration dance.

"I caught one!" So lost in the moment, his small hand pressed against Steve's face and shoved the blonde back before he hopped over the bush and ran right to his netter trap.

However, his excitement had died when he saw a simple blur of a human outline. What had shocked him further was the fact that the captured human - oh, how he wished it was the creatures he had seen previously through his windows rather than this human - was wearing armor.

The armor was easily recognized as Jim's who had worn the same attire during his tryouts for the play. The worst part, it was Jim who had been tackled by Eli's simple traps.

He captured the only person who respected him.

He had hurt the only person who respected him.

"Oh, my gosh! Jim!" Eli yelled, dropping to the concrete and his hands instantly fiddling with the net, mumbling insults at the stones that kept the rope on the floor.

Jim groaned, his blue eyes searching the area frantically as his body lay still, sprawled out on the cement. However, in his frantic search, he had caught sight of Eli and Steve who looked at him with their jaws dropped and trying to detangle the Lake child from the net. Jim let his mouth open, the only noise that came through was a pitiful attempt to speak.

Eli noted that his forehead was caked in blood - most likely from either the net or Jim had been in a small accident before he was captured -, and his eyes were wide and he tried to mumble a simple: "Stop."

"Steve, instead of standing there, help me get him out of here!" Eli ordered, glancing up at the blonde brute who had been still, mouth wide open. Eli couldn't find any courage to do what he had just done, but the blood and the injured life in front of him had pumped something in him.

He never knew how he would act in a situation like this, realizing he had to be in it to understand. However, what shocked him was the fact the Steve dropped to his knees and freed Jim's head from the rope contraption.

Eli was shaking as he moved, removing the net from Jim's armored feet. The boy pinned by the heavy net was breathing harshly, his eyes kept on Steve who seemed to have a bit of worry cascading over his features. The blood from Jim's hairline was seeping onto the concrete, the puddle growing slowly but it still frightened them.

Finally, after agonizing minutes, they managed to get Jim out of Eli's trap. In a blink of an eye, Jim stood and began to run in the direction that an escape troll had taken off in. The Trollhunter didn't get far, the chase had been exhausting and his head was pounding. He heaved, ignoring the yells from Eli as he fell to the ground, his hands and knees supporting him as the world spun.

In a panic, Eli ran to Jim's side, his hands reaching for the boy and gripping his arms. He didn't know if it was worrisome that Jim hadn't fought the boy as Eli pulled him into a sitting position, using his body to balance the boy against him.

"Sorry, Jim. Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" He freaked as the Trollhunter grunted, head leaning back on command, resting against Eli. Eli couldn't stand the sight of Jim's state. Because of his desire to prove everyone wrong, he had taken Jim out in the process. Yet, who would even guess that Jim had been trailing creatures, that the young Lake boy would even know about such animals roaming the night?

"Uh," Steve started, pulling Eli from his frantic mind and making him turn to look at the blonde bully that had moved closer, crouching to get a view of Jim, whose eyes had closed as his breath grew uneven. "What do we do?"

Eli glanced at Jim, before combing the street, no one else was around, strangely enough, not even Toby. His eyes then locked onto his house, an idea forming in his head and his eyes going wide.

"We need to get him inside and get the gash on his head taken care of. He could have a concussion. Then, we need to find a way to contact Toby. Knowing the two, they're close friends, there's no way that Jim wouldn't involve him in whatever is going on here."

"So, what exactly is going on here?" Steve asked.

"I don't know," Eli started. "I know you don't believe this, but I was trying to catch one of those creepers I saw to prove you wrong, I was about to but I caught Jim who had been chasing one."

"Why would Lake be chasing your imagination?"

"It's true! Look, he's wearing armor, the same one from the play! I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"Okay, so I what, maybe it's a little hard to believe, but right now, I don't want Lake dying on my watch, so, instead of arguing, let's get him inside and get this over with."

Eli nodded and sucked in a breath. "You're right, I am going to need your help, he can't walk." The boy gestured to Jim who seemed to be conscious, struggling to hang on.

Steve moved his arms under Jim's form, the cold metal pressing against his skin as he gently plucked the boy from Eli, letting the said boy come to a stand and retrieve the discarded rope, throwing it off to the side.

Steve glanced down at Jim, a small bubble of concern growing inside him. He usually never worried about people he had issues with, however, in the moment, it seemed like those issues were small, simple bruised pride that Steve was afraid of receiving.

Perhaps it was seeing the blood that made Steve worry more than usual, but he wasn't a complete jerk. If someone was at risk that Steve wasn't the cause of, letting them suffer as he became a simple bystander was not the right thing to do.

And besides, he could use this against Jim later.

That also made him think about how Jim got here in the first place. He didn't believe Eli when the small nerd mentioned he was chasing after strange creatures, only the net catching Jim instead of whatever Eli had been going after.

Was Eli right? Were there strange creatures roaming Arcadia? It was to the point that Eli must have snapped, willing to capture one in hopes to prove everyone wrong. As much as he wanted to label the boy as a freak if Eli was going through all this trouble just to show him, maybe Steve should hear him out. Especially if Jim was somehow involved.

The strange sudden concern didn't worry Steve as much, he wasn't mean as everyone thought he was, it was just his life was troubled.

Swallowing the thoughts, Steve readjusted his grip on Jim, the boy groaning in protest as his metal hand went to move over the gash, finding it a struggle as his arm could barely lift as it was.

That was what made Steve grow more concerned, pushing his pride and ego to the side.

He watched as Eli slowly opened the door, wincing as it creaked and sticking his head into the doorway, the lights off and his mother fast asleep. Eli let out a breath of relief before opening the door fully and waving Steve in.

The brute angled himself and scooted in the door as Jim let out another groan, the two boys tensing as the noise echoed in the room. His eyes blinked frantically as the room was spinning.

"We need to get him in my room before he gets us caught," Eli mentioned and Steve nodded, looking around the house. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness, letting the moonlight that cascaded through the windows, light his way.

The only issue was finding Eli's room. He turned to glance at the short boy, only to notice his tense gaze as he held his head, flinching every time Jim sucked in a harsh breath.

"Eli?"

"This is all my fault, if I wasn't so caught up trying to prove to everyone that monsters are real, then maybe we wouldn't be here and Jim wouldn't be hurt."

"Hey, listen. I know I wasn't the best at school, and maybe you were right. Maybe I should give it a chance instead of being a jerk all the time, but right now, we can do this, we can help Jim. You need to focus."

Eli nodded, licking his dry lips, "I will look for a medical kit. My room is to the left, first door on the right." Steve nodded, adjusting Jim gently. However, Eli noticed Jim's lack of consciousness, "we should probably try to keep him awake, we don't know the severity of his head wound."

Steve didn't bother to fight, which Eli was going to question later on the sudden change of heart, but instead, he waited as Steve gently shook the limp boy, earning a jagged breath with an incoherent mumble. His eyes shot open, as if he had not realized he dozed off and Eli let out a breath of relief.

As Eli sauntered off, heading in the direction of the bathroom, Steve swallowed and trudged toward the room he was directed to, his gaze flickering from the dark hallway to Jim's face.

"Looks like things are going to change tonight," Steve muttered, careful not to wake wherever Eli's sleeping mother had been and faced Jim, knowing full well a reply would not be given. Thankfully, the boy was trying to stay awake but struggling.

Steve realized the urgency, especially if Jim had been struggling just to keep his eyes cracked open, and pushed himself further down the hallway as his arms grew heavy under the weight.

He sighed in relief as the door came into view, his hand reaching for the handle which had been rather hard without jolting Jim around, yet, he managed to creak the door open, wincing slightly as it squealed.

He gently nudged the door with his foot and stumbled into the room, using his nose to flick on the light. He sighed in relief at the sight of the bed and gently dropped Jim against the surface, only to earn a pained grunt as the Trollhunter covered his ribs.

"What am I doing? What is happening?" Steve hissed out, holding his head as he left Jim's side, erasing the face of worry that he wore, and paced the room. "This is insane, I'm supposed to be pummeling you right now Lake! Not saving your butt after you got caught chasing something strange."

Jim huffed, trying to catch his breath as it seemed painful, his eyes resting on Steve's form.

"Don't give me that look, you already know this is not normal," he scolded lightly as Jim bit his lip in agony. The annoyed face that Steve tried to muster had instantly disappeared, changing into worry.

As he silently begged for Eli to hurry, the smaller boy stepped into the room, softly closing the door behind him and hurrying to the curtains, sliding them closed as he set the first aid kit on the nightstand,

"Alright, the first thing it says is to check for injuries," Eli mentioned, fixing his glasses as he looked at a small medical book.

"How can we check for injuries with this armor on? He seems like he can't breathe and there's a giant gash on his forehead." Steve mentioned. Eli glanced at Jim, trying to talk in the softest voice possible.

"Jim, we want to help, is there a way to remove this armor?" Jim shakily raised his hand, moving it to the glowing amulet, and wrapping his fingers around the object, pulling it out with ease and the armor vanishing in blue smoke.

"Okay, how on earth is that possible?" Steve quietly yelled as the Trollhunter gently tossed the amulet to the side.

"Steve, focus, we need to keep him quiet or he will wake my mom. If we are going to check for injuries, this is going to hurt."

Steve grumbled it was easier for Eli to stay focused since he had been more exposed to the strange things that occurred in Arcadia. Of course, Steve hated to agree, saying that Eli was right, however, seeing armor fade into an amulet, he could not conjure up an excuse on how that was possible.

Deciding it was best to ask questions later, Steve bit his tongue, moving over to Jim's side and making eye contact with him. The worry and confusion had been written all over Jim's face, the boy trying to move and free himself from whatever was about to transpire, but he let out a big hiss, hands instantly flying to his ribs.

A yelp escaped Jim's lips, only to be quickly muffled by Steve's hand in a panic. Jim's eyes flew open, his hands moving from the bruised ribs to Steve's wrist, staring at the blonde boy as he tried to pry the strong grip away from him.

"Listen, Lake. You can't make a noise, you'll get us caught." Steve said, turning to face Eli who had been dumping water on a cloth and moving to the bedside.

Eli sucked in a shaky breath before pressing the towel against Jim's forehead. Eli tried not to focus on Jim's tensing form or how heavily Jim tried to breathe in his panicked state. The whimpers and pained moans vibrated against Steve's hand as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Sorry, Jim. I'm so sorry." Eli mumbled and gently dragged the towel against the cut and around the area, the fresh and dried blood, along with grime slowly came off until the vast gash had been noticeable.

Steve wasn't sure if he was wincing from Jim's strong grasp that nearly cut off the circulation or the sight of the wound. His eyes trailed over Eli's slacked form as he wiped the wound down, and Steve wasn't sure if it was his mental state changing with the world around him, or him trying to prove Eli wrong that he was nice but the words that left him, had been out of his control.

"Hey, don't worry, man, there was dried blood. He must have got hit in the head so this wasn't you."

"Yeah, but I could have made it bigger and bruised his ribs! I did this, and possibly stopped him from completing something important, why did I do this? I must have messed it up," Eli mumbled, lowering his head.

Steve stared at him with wide eyes, unsure what to do. That was until a shaky hand came into view, lowering itself onto Eli's wrist. Both Steve and Eli glanced at Jim who had been mustering up the softest look possible, staring Eli down.

Jim gently shook Steve's slacked hand away from his mouth and swallowed, speaking with a hoarse, quiet voice. "I-it's...okay."

"But...I hurt you, I-"

"Okay," Jim repeated, trying to keep a serious gaze on the boy. "You..you need t-to help," Jim grunted as he held his ribs, speaking beginning to become a big issue.

"Right, right. I will go get some ice, Steve, put some peroxide on his cut, and bandage it. I'll be right back." Steve watched as Eli moved through his room and out the door, tiptoeing down the hallway before going out of sight.

The former bully glanced at Jim who had been staring back at him. Steve sighed, pushing himself from the bed and over to where Eli left the supplies. He grabbed the bottle of peroxide and dumped it over a clean cloth before turning back to Jim who still kept his eyes on him.

"I know why you're looking at me, I know, this is weird for me too. I was just walking home, saw perfect bait, and made fun of him. Then, you came along and made me question everything, so if anything, this change is your fault."

Jim narrowed his gaze as Steve sat on the bed and pressed the towel to Jim's head, the boy hissing in agony. It was only a second when Jim's expression relaxed slightly, eyes still locked on Steve.

"Y-you better...better not blackmail m-me."

"I'm still thinking about that," Steve answered, receiving a soft glare. "Alright, alright. I won't, but you are for sure explaining what the heck is going on here."

"I-I'll think about i-it," Jim mumbled as Steve looked mildly unimpressed.

"Oh, ha, ha. You still have the sass." He removed the towel and nodded at his work before ripping open a bandage, Eli entering with a small towel and an ice pack.

"Alright, it looks good. We will monitor you, but I am pretty sure you can fall asleep, at least that's what the medical book says." Eli mentioned as he pressed the icepack against Jim's chest.

The boy instantly relaxed at the cold feeling but fought to keep his eyes open. "C-call Claire. I-I need, need to t-tell them."

"We got that handled, just get some rest," Eli mentioned, noting how fast Jim's eyes slid shut, his body going completely limp and leaving the room in silence, besides the wheezing breath that escaped Jim.

"I can't believe this is happening," Steve mentioned.

"Me neither, but whatever we just saw, we can't back out now. Someone must have hurt Jim or something and we got in the middle of it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, whatever is out there, you need to believe me because you've already seen too much. We can't sit on the sidelines anymore. We should help Jim and the others with whatever he is going against."

"It would be nice knowing what exactly we are going against," Steve added. He watched as Eli instantly perked up, his eyes moving on the amulet that Jim had let free only moments before.

"That's it! I recognize that armor and that device." Eli hurriedly moved to his large poster, ripping it from the wall and revealing a vast board filled with numerous pictures and lines, seeming to connect each object to another.

Steve's jaw dropped as he studied the pictures and notes, gaping. "Wizards, Trolls, Aliens?! No, there's no way."

"Yes. Remember when I said there were creatures with stone for skin in the canals and you shoved me in a locker? Well, I should have seen this earlier, but look, the same armor, the amulet. It's a little blurry because I was running, but it is the same thing Jim was wearing."

Eli tossed the photo to the blonde boy who tried to find an excuse for why it wouldn't add up, perhaps he was still in denial, but he couldn't find a single excuse. Also, the fact he witnessed it magically disappearing and the strange attitudes of both Toby and Claire as well, made much more sense.

"This is what I'm saying. Jim, Toby, and Claire, they're involved with something that we know nothing about, now that we know, we can't sit back and do nothing."

"Well, okay. Fine, if we are doing this, how are we doing it? We aren't experienced or armed like Jim is."

Eli grinned, moving to a chest placed under his window, "Oh, trust me, yes we are." He lifted open the lid, a vast stash of weapons beneath a layer of blanket had met Steve's eyes, the boy breathing out in shock.

It seemed Steve was at a loss for words as he looked between Eli and the weapons. "You?"

"Yep, I was already trying to discover them, you think I would go unarmed?"

"This night keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"Well, get ready for an even weirder night, because once Jim wakes up, we are going to slay some creeps," Eli mentioned, pulling out a bike helmet with the letter Z nicely painted on the front.

"Z?"

"For Creepslayerz, we can't do this without a cool name." Steve stared at the helmet, then Eli who was smiling proudly before glancing at the sleeping Jim.

"Alright, Pepperbuddy. Let's kick some creep butt." Steve said, grabbing the helmet and placing it on his head.

"Yay! But we still have to call Claire."

"Oh, crap."