Finally a new chapter! Writing is hard, man. Still fun, but all the details I added in the previous chapters are currently biting me in the ass, so it takes me alot of time to figure something out that feels like it supports the story. Anyways, thank you for the reviews and enjoy~! tah tah!

Little note for ReptilianSpouse: Thank you so much liking my story and posting so many reviews! I feel honored that you've read the story so many times. Happy reading! :)

The sun was slowly setting, its last warm, orange rays shining through the trees and houses, casting long shadows on the streets, matching the colors of the dying leaves drifting down towards the earth. A particular auburn oak leaf almost twirled down towards the dirt before a chubby hand grabbed it just in time.

'Oooh man, it is finally fall! Almost time for Halloween!' Toby exclaimed, holding the oak leaf in front of his face, admiring the color. 'I gotta work on my costume soon.'

Putting the leaf in the pocket of his red jacket, he jumped back on his bike, quickening his pace to catch up with Claire, who cycled ahead of him. They both had left school a while ago, soaring through the streets of Arcadia. When Toby finally managed to cycle next to Claire, he dreamily looked up towards the red and orange sky, fantasizing about the festive day.

'Maybe I will go as a werewolf. Or as Señor Uhl, he's definitely scary!' he thought out loud, his eyes widening at the thought. 'Oh! What about we both dress as trolls! Jim could join us, and we'll be the trollish trio!'

'I think it will just be a trollish duo this time,' Claire sighed, furrowing her eyes lightly, keeping her eyes on the road. 'Jim barely has any free time lately. I don't think he's up for a Halloween party.'

The smaller trollhunter sadly nodded. Being a trollhunter was a busy job, but after all the trolls of Arcadia got cursed, his best friend had been spending day and night trying to help out where he could. Especially the last few weeks, he seemed kind of stressed, his mind somewhere else whenever they hung out.

Both him and Claire also helped out, of course. Claire had been scouting Merlin's archive for months now, assisting Merlin in finding a solution to the curse and hopefully find Morgana in the process, but until now, she hadn't found anything. Staring into books for months on end got boring, and he counted himself lucky that instead of working together with a grumpy wizard, he mostly helped out Strickler and Blinky in trollmarket. Plenty of trolls came to him for questions, which he mostly could answer; he had been one his whole life.

Toby had never expected that he would become a human counselor, or well, an assistant counselor—Walter did most of the teaching. Still, Toby liked helping the trolls out, showing them around Arcadia, teaching them his awesome dance moves, and training them in the way of the taco. It was fun; it felt like Toby had a lot more friends than he used to. Still, he hoped Jim would join them again soon. It just wasn't the same without him.

Seeing Jim was the very reason Claire and Toby entered the street where he and Jim both lived. They couldn't blame their friend for being busy, so they tried to put more effort into visiting his house, even if it was just to say hello. Hitting their brakes, they came to a screeching stop in front of the Lakehouse before jumping off their bikes. Rolling his bike towards the garage, Toby leaned it against the wall before taking off his helmet. Claire followed, and in silence, they walked towards the door. Before they could ring the doorbell, however, it got yanked open by a tall, blue troll, attempting to run outside. Halting into a stop, the trollhunter looked at his friends with big, bewildered eyes.

'Jim?' Claire asked, already reading on her boyfriend's face that there was trouble. 'What's up?'

Jim blinked for a moment before sighing and rubbing an armored hand through his dark blue hair. 'It's Draal and Angor. Mom told me that they kind of… flew up into the sky and disappeared. The sun's almost down, so I was just heading out to go look for them.'

Both Claire and Toby looked at Jim like he grew two heads, a confused silence filling the porch of the lake house.

'Angor kidnapped Draal?!' Claire yelled, balling her fist in anger. 'I knew this new ring prison was a bad idea. I am going to kill that guy!'

'What? No, no, that's not what happened!' Jim quickly corrected her, holding his hands up. 'It was one of Bagdwella's curses.'

Claire relaxed her hands, but the frown stayed on her face. Bagdwella's curses were a real pain in the butt, she could tell, but she still suspected that damned assassin had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, they'd better get going and go in search of them. The last thing Claire wanted was Draal getting hurt because of the prisoner.

'I'll help you out,' she offered, unzipping her backpack and taking out the pocket version of her shadow staff. She had practiced a lot with its magic; she could search the skies if she made enough portals to go through. Even though she was worried for Draal, she had to admit she felt excited. The only thing Claire had been doing besides school was being cooped up in Merlin's stuffy laboratory. Finally, she could get some action!

'Cool! Claire, you search the skies! Jim, you use your awesome troll powers to search on the ground.' Toby excitedly pointed towards the trollhunter before grabbing his phone out of his pocket and shifting his finger to tap on the screen. 'And I will use the power of popularity! I bet at least someone had spotted two guys floating in the sky.'

Jim gave his friends a relieved smile, nodding in appreciation. 'Thanks for the help, guys.'

Claire playfully winked at her boyfriend before unfolding her shadow staff with a quick swing of her hand. The staff lengthened, and she turned around, pointing it towards the street. She tried to call up her power but stopped when she felt a different magic starting to appear in front of them. Lowering her staff, she widened her eyes in amazement when the dark mass of a portal presented itself on the street.

'What are you waiting for, Claire? Go hop portals out there! The sooner we find Draal, the better.' Toby pushed her, rapidly tapping his screen to text his contacts.

'This… is not my portal!' Claire uttered, taking a step back from the dark, swirling entrance.

Jim immediately called upon daylight, his sword appearing in a flash of blue light. Holding up his weapon, he readied himself. 'Get behind me,' he ordered his friends. They both quickly scurried behind the hybrid troll, Toby summoning his war hammer and Claire readying her staff. In tense silence, the trio waited for whatever would enter through the portal.

All of the sudden, before the heroes could react, two men shot through the entrance. Their heavy bodies collided with Jim, throwing him backward. Toby and Claire jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the impact, but the trollhunter wasn't that lucky. With heavy grunts and surprised yelps, the three of them fell on the ground, daylight fading into nothing. Metal scraped the porch as all of them rolled to a stop a good few feet away from Claire and Toby.

'What the…' Jim coughed, pushing the bodies off him with ease. The bigger man rolled on his back, revealing his face. The boy's eyes widened when he realized who it was. 'Draal!'

The heavy impact and the loud voices were enough for Draal to wake up. With a groan, he slowly sat up, massaging his temples with a pained expression. 'Ugh, what happened?'

'What do you mean, what happened?!' Toby uttered with a baffled expression, shrinking his warhammer and putting it back into his backpack. 'You just popped out of the shadow realm!'

Draal looked at the small boy with surprise, indicating he had no clue what Toby was talking about, until the memories of falling through the sky entered his mind once more. With widened eyes, he looked down at Angor, lying on his stomach next to him on the grass, still unresponsive. Worry immediately filled his eyes, grabbing the assassin's sweater, turning him around on his back. Angor's eyes were closed, but Draal's attention was more focused on the blood trickling down his nose, his entire mouth and chin covered in crimson.

'Crap!' Draal jumped into a crouched position, grabbing both sides of the prisoner's face, checking for any injuries. 'Angor, can you hear me? Wake up!'

The trollhunter stood up as well, quickly walking over towards the other side with a concerned expression. Toby wanted to walk over as well, but Claire stopped him, holding her arm out in front of him before placing both hands firmly on her staff, pointing it towards Angor, keeping him in her sight. She had no idea what was going on, but the moment the portal appeared, she felt an ominous energy surround the assassin. The man always had a dangerous aura around him back in the day, but this new energy she felt, it was different. It was familiar, but it wasn't his. It was from someone else she knew.

Claire felt her body run cold, tightening the grip around her shadow staff. With a trembling but stern voice, she spoke. 'Jim. Draal. Get away from him.'

Both her boyfriend and the guard turned their heads to look at her, a concerned look on their faces. The seriousness in Claire's voice told them that she did not warn the men simply because she did not trust the assassin. Something was going on.

For a few seconds, the three of them shared a tense look in silence, but it got interrupted when a low, spine-thrilling chuckle came from behind the men. The trollhunter took a few steps back, summoning his sword once more, readying himself for the danger. Draal stood up as well, taking his distance, his posture a bit unsure but cautious all the same. He had left his sword in Barbara's car, he realized, scolding himself for listening to the woman's 'no weapons allowed inside the thrift store' rule.

'Angor?' Draal carefully asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

Slowly, the assassin's chest rose up, like an invisible force pulled him up, his head dangling in the air as his body moved into a sitting position. The trollhunters flinched, Toby summoning his warhammer as well, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Angor's upper body leaned forward, his head rolling with it until his face was hidden behind strands of white hair. Blood dripped down on the ground, his arms laying useless next to his sides, like a puppet on strings. The sun had completely set by now, the creature before them hidden in the shadows of the darkening sky. The only light that surrounded him was the faint glowing red line drawn around his neck.

Claire held in her breath, silently waiting for the monstrosity to make its next move, trying to hide the gut-wrenching fear she felt looking at him. They had the right to fear Angor, but this was different. Since when did he become so immensely terrifying?

Another, low gurgling laugh came from the assassin before his head suddenly shot up, looking straight at Claire. Before she could stop herself, she flinched, her knuckles turning white as she clung on her staff, looking back at Angor with fearful eyes.

Two black voids stared back at her, a wicked wide grin plastered on his face, blood smeared on his teeth. It was like a demon tried to look right into her soul. It was an ice-cold stare, filled with insanity. She knew this look he was giving him. This wasn't Angor.

'So good to see you, little lamb.' Angor mused, his voice twisted, replaced by a wicked, feminine voice. His head twitched to the right, the wide grin staying unnaturally on his face. 'I can not wait to catch up with you.'

A chill went through Claire, her lungs tightening as she looked at the possessed man. The same insane eyes had stared back at her in the mirror a year ago. Quickly, she closed her eyes, not wanting the fear to take her over. She knew that was exactly what the woman wanted. Whatever was going on, she had to keep her cool. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, glaring back at the Pale lady. 'What do you want, Morgana?'

'You will find out soon enough,' the Pale lady replied with an ominous sweetness, lifting up his chin, giving her a playful look. 'So much to do, so little ti- hnng!'

All of a sudden, Angor jerked his head to the right, the wicked smile replaced by a painful grimace. His puppet-like posture faded, like all of his muscles suddenly remembered they could move as he lifted his arms, holding his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. For a moment, he kept silent, his face once again hidden by strands of white hair.

The trollhunters tensely waited, not uttering a word as they kept themselves ready, not knowing what was coming next. Was she going to attack them? Was she going to escape through a portal? They couldn't tell.

Toby let out a little yelp when Angor's head jerked up again. The golden irises had returned in his eyes, his expression a bit dazed as he looked at the trollhunters with confusion. Letting his hands drop from his head, he blinked a couple of times, like it took some time for him to figure out where he was. When he finally seemed to see them clearly, the confusion only grew when he noticed their shocked expressions. He was used to their distrust, but when he saw the cautious look in the guard's amber eyes, he knew it was bad business. The lingering dread started to grow, trying to creep up to the surface when Angor started to realize what had happened, but the assassin pushed it down, not wanting anything to do with it. Tearing his eyes away from the guard, trying to ignore the growing dread in his chest and the taste of iron in his mouth, he glanced down at the ground.

'What happened?' he lowly asked, despite already knowing the answer.

A high-pitched sound emanated from the tea kettle, alarming Barbara that the water had reached its boiling point. With a distracted sigh, she took the kettle off the stove, pouring the steaming water into cups she had readied on the counter. It was already dark out, but it seemed she had received some unexpected guests in her house. Normally, Barbara enjoyed the visits; all of Jim's friends were a lively group to be with. However, this time, the atmosphere was tense.

With the help of Walter, she brought the cups of tea and handed them over to the group. The living room was now filled with the heroes of Arcadia, humanized trolls, and the teenage trio sitting on the couch and on the floor, surrounding the salon table.

'Why did you keep this from us?!' Claire yelled at her boyfriend, sitting next to him on the couch, balling her fists as she angrily stared at him. Jim's ears sunk, guilt written in his blue eyes, keeping silent while Claire ranted at him. 'We are a team, and you shut us out again! You're a real butt sometimes!'

'I knew you guys were hiding something.' Toby grumbled, sitting on the floor next to his wingman, Aaargh, who gave Barbara a thankful smile as she handed him a hot cup of tea.

'Your hurt feelings are noted, Claire,' Blinkious tried to explain in a professional but awkward manner, putting his hands together as he looked at her, sitting on the other sofa placed before the window. 'But this was not entirely Master Jim's decision. We had our reasons to keep you and Tobias out of danger.'

'We're always facing dangerous stuff!' Toby objected, flaying a hand in the air in frustration, forcing Aaargh to quickly move his cup of tea before the boy could slap it out of his big hand. 'Why is this any different? Morgana tried to possess the scary assassin. We've dealt with something like this before!'

'Yeah! I can even say I have the most experience on the subject!' Claire supported Toby's argument, crossing her arms with a frown.

With a deep sigh, Jim ran a hand through his hair, casting his eyes down at the salon table with a heavy expression. 'I am really sorry, guys. What I saw, I wanted to keep you as far away from it as possible.'

Claire's anger calmed down a bit when she saw the pain in her boyfriend's eyes. It was true that she felt hurt because he had kept secrets from her, but the way he looked made her heart tighten. He looked drained, a heavy burden weighing him down. Being the Trollhunter was hard, and difficult choices had to be made, in which he would be held responsible.

The others, besides Toby, seemed to share a similar look in their eyes. Morgana had been one of their greatest enemies, and the Trollhunters always had a healthy amount of fear and disdain for her. But Claire had never seen her friends look so serious before. From the summary that she had received, the Pale Lady had gone too far this time, and now they were fearing for what more the witch had in store for them. Even Angor Rot, who stubbornly refused to join them in the living room, looked a bit lost. With a drained look, like he was recovering from a hangover, he sat on the edge of the dining table, leaning back in his chair, numbly staring at the ceiling in silence.

She had to admit that, aside from when her baby brother went missing, the scariest thing she had experienced was Morgana possessing her body. She kept up a big performance, and she was proud of herself for fighting back and actually managing to kick the witch out. But the road she had to walk to reach that goal had been terrifying. Finding out that her body freely roamed around when she was asleep was already a scary thing, but the witch did more than that. Morgana had a way of creeping into your head, manipulating your worst fears and insecurities to the point you had no idea what to think anymore. It was awful to go through, and even though she never had told any of her friends, it had taken a long time before she actually felt safe to fall asleep again. And now, from the looks of it, she got off lucky.

Claire knew that, in the big picture, she understood why Jim wanted to protect her. She didn't want a second possession either. Especially when Morgana just announced that she had plans for Claire. Taking an anxious breath, hoping the Pale Lady just tried to scare her, her expression softened, leaning back into the sofa.

'So with this soul search, we can locate her?' the girl asked, trying to move the conversation forward. It was better to let it go for now.

'Yes,' Strickler grumbled, his brow furrowed, now sitting next to Blinky on the sofa, holding his own cup of tea. 'But we are still waiting on Angor Rot's permission to do a second search. Which will probably happen after Morgana already burned the whole world down.'

'If you want to take his place, you are free to do so,' Draal lowly growled at him, finally joining the conversation. With an annoyed glare towards the changeling, he sat next to Jim, leaning forward, his head resting in his hand. The guard had bags under his eyes, drained as well after missing a full night of sleep and almost facing his death all in one day. He was a bit irritable, to say the least.

Walter scoffed in frustration, putting his mug on the table before straightening his back, fully facing the guard. 'Protecting him is not getting us anywhere, Draal! We need to take action!'

'Easy for you to say, innit?' Draal grunted with a clenched jaw, narrowing his eyes as he angrily glared at the changeling. 'Telling me what to do on the front lines while you cowardly hide away in the new trollmarket.'

Strickler opened his mouth to throw back an angry remark, but Barbara cut him off, putting her hands on her hips as she angrily stopped their fight. 'Enough! Both of you! Pointing fingers is not getting us anywhere!'

Strickler and Draal stopped their fight with an angry snarl, but the main conversation continued as the Trollhunters tried to think of what to do next. The painful truth was that Strickler had a point. They had no clue on what to do without harming Angor Rot. They couldn't even tell Merlin, as he promised he would take Angor's soul away if there were any more signs of possession after the last time in the prison house. The soul search almost looked like the only option they had, but obviously, they couldn't force him to do it. Well, they could, but what would that make of them? They wouldn't be any better than the Pale Lady. It looked like they were heading towards a dead end.

'I'll do it.'

The living room fell silent as all eyes fell on Angor, standing in the entrance between the dining and living room. He had cleaned off the blood from his face, the bloodstained sweater replaced by his usual forest green hoodie. Hands hidden inside the front pocket, he numbly stared at the floor with dimmed eyes, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

'What?' Jim uttered, not believing his ears as he sat up straight, looking at the assassin with a baffled expression.

A scowl appeared on Angor's face, already regretting his decision, letting out a soft sigh as the others waited for him to continue. 'I'll do the blasted soul search.'

'Are you sure about this?' Draal asked with a serious tone, standing up to fully face the prisoner. 'If you do not want to do this, we can find another way.'

'It does not matter what I want, Draal.' Angor protested, finally looking the bigger man in the eye. 'It is either this or hand my soul over to Morgana, Merlin, or death. There are no other options left.'

The guard stayed silent for a moment, his lips a thin line as he looked at the assassin with a pained expression. He didn't want this for the assassin, but he knew that the man was right. Draal could try to hope for something else all he wanted, but in the end, it seemed to be the only step forward.

'Maybe there is,' Claire jumped in, breaking the tense silence in the room. Draal and Angor shifted their attention towards the girl as she grabbed the pocket version of her shadow staff out of her backpack once more. Claire wasn't that keen on casually talking with the assassin, but the current circumstances didn't make space for past grudges. Giving the staff a thoughtful look, Claire continued. 'With this, we managed to get my soul back and throw Morgana out. What if we used it on you?'

The assassin numbly stared at the Skath Rühn, which used to be one of his most powerful weapons. Obviously, he wanted to reclaim the staff, but considering the circumstances, if Angor used the shadow staff, he might as well just hand over his soul to Morgana with a ribbon on top. The girl had a point, he thought. The Pale Lady snatched away the souls of the bodies she possessed and locked them up in the shadow realm. If you were lucky enough to enter the shadow realm and find the missing soul, you could go back to your body. Unfortunately for Angor, this time the witch didn't need to dispose of his soul, as a part of her was already within him and he had allowed her to take access. She simply had to become strong enough to take the wheel.

'What is he doing?' Claire asked a bit confused. The assassin had fallen silent for a while now, his eyes suddenly shifting left to right while he stared at the shadow staff, deep in thought, the scowl fading from his face.

'Analyzing. Give him a second; this can take a while.' Draal casually explained with a sigh, folding his arms as he started to lean against the wall.

'Oh, okay… I'll give this to you then.' Claire said in discomfort, handing over the staff to the guard, before reclaiming her spot on the sofa. She did not entirely understanding the situation, but she did not feel that comfortable to hold the staff up like a museum exhibition.

'I'll make more tea.' Strickler announced, standing up with the same expression as Draal, well aware of this asocial trait of the assassin. As the changeling walked to the kitchen, Angor kept his gaze tightly locked with the shadow staff, thinking of his next move, paying no mind to the others.

Angor had taken plenty of souls, claiming them as his own after defeating the Trollhunters they originally belonged to. This proved that his body, or anyone's really, could hold more souls if needed. Absorbing a soul meant that there was a gateway into the body that didn't involve tearing it open like Merlin did with the green emerald. So with these known facts, if another soul could enter Angor's body, would that person be able to navigate through the memories and locate the Pale Lady? Possibly kick her out?

'Should we start dinner?' Strickler called from the kitchen, putting the kettle on the stove and turning on the heat.

'We could order pizza? I don't think we have enough groceries.' Barbara answered back from the living room, placing her already finished cup of tea on the coffee table.

' Hmmm, Pepperoni!' Aaargh grunted with a content smile on his face, dreaming of the delicious pizza pie Toby's nanna occasionally made for him.

The assassin drowned all the voices out, not aware of what they were saying, still deep in thought as he stared at the staff in Draal's hand. The guard just let it, patiently waiting for Angor to come out of his thought bubble. He didn't mind. The assassin was cunning, so seeing him like this gave Draal hope for a better solution. That and well… the guard liked it when Angor didn't have a scowl on his face. It suited the man better, Draal had to admit.

Angor moved his hands out of his front pocket, absentmindedly picking on the fabric of his sleeve, his mind fully focused on finding a solution. The Skath Rühn could create portals to the shadow realm. The green emerald a window to the soul. If he could combine the two of them, would it create a portal into a soul? Towards his own, personal shadow realm, if that's what he could call it. Someone could go in, trap the witch and get out, without Angor having to relive anything or get his soul ripped apart. He only needed to somehow get possession of the staff, the emerald and someone who would go in. If the plan succeeded, Morgana's piece of the soul could be destroyed, and Angor would be set free. If Draal kept his promise, that is. This opened up another problem. This whole plan involved a huge amount of trust…

The assassin's eyes shifted towards the guard, who still kept his amber gaze on him. Draal gave him a curious look as to why Angor suddenly changed his direction of focus, but the assassin stayed silent, contemplating on what to do.

'Are you back?' Draal asked him with a tired smile, tilting his head a bit. The assassin stayed silent, observing the man. The guard looked weary, but did his best to keep his mood up, despite the dire circumstances.

Angor had to select someone who wouldn't betray him, which was an impossible decision to make. Anyone was capable of treachery under the right circumstances, himself included. The only person he could possibly think of was Draal, but the bigger man had the perfect motive to betray him; Angor had killed him, after all. Draal had told him that he did not hate him for it, but if those words were lies… Still, what if Draal spoke the truth? His kindness had been consistent. It even convinced the assassin to save his life. See the bigger man as an equal. Draal wasn't that clever, but he was strong. Determined. Kind. Was Angor going to risk it?

The ringing sound of the doorbell made Angor snap out of it, his gaze shifting towards the entrance, suddenly realizing he was standing in a room full of noisy people. The Trollhunters seemed to be doing their own thing now, scattered around the main floor, not focused on the problem at all.

'Food!' Toby cheered, scrambling up from the ground and scurrying towards the door. After a short and thankful exchange, Toby closed the door, hidden behind a tower of flat, white boxes. Placing it on the salon table, the boxes got opened, presenting round, bread-like dishes covered in various ingredients Angor could not decipher. Smelled pretty good though.

In a short amount of time, the whole group gathered in the living room once more, happily sharing slices of pizza and chatting away. Their weird little meeting seemed to be over, so Angor took that as his cue to go back to the dinner room. However, as he turned to walk away, Draal stopped him.

'Where are you going?' the guard chuckled, placing a hand on the assassin's shoulder to refrain him from leaving. 'Grab some food and tell us that plan of yours.'

Angor stared at the guard for a second. Tell them his idea? That sounded like the most foolish thing he could do. He hadn't made up his mind yet if he would tell Draal, let alone his other captors.

'Yeah!' Jim added with a smile, not joining in on the food but staying on his spot on the sofa all the same. 'I bet there is something we can help you with.'

The assassin shifted his gaze towards the trollhunter, a bit of confusion in his eyes. The boy offered him help? The trollhunters did not trust him, so Angor did not understand why the kid wanted to assist him. Get rid of Morgana, sure, but why would his enemy be interested in what he had to say on the matter?

The guard noticed Angor's hesitation, so he took the initiative to sit down on the ground close to the salon table, pulling on the assassin's arm to sit with him. For a moment, Angor felt himself fight it, not wanting to join in and actually talk to the group out of his own free will. But when Draal looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile, he wavered. There was no fear to be found in his amber eyes. Angor was sure of it that Draal had been scared of him not an hour ago, but now, the bigger man was telling a different story. The guard's eyes told him it was okay and for some reason it made the assassin feel relieved, even though he knew that he shouldn't. Angor didn't trust the others, but maybe… just maybe… he could trust Draal. He had to if he wanted this plan to succeed. If the guard thought it was safe to do so, should he too? He could at least try.

Slowly, he sat down next to Draal, uncomfortably crossing his arms and legs, scowling at the floor once more, trying to avoid all the expecting eyes that suddenly stared at him, waiting for him to begin. Now that he sat there, he suddenly realized it was a lot harder to attempt communicating than he originally thought. He always kept his strategics to himself, so having to discuss them publicly was not part of his skill set. Damn it, how was he supposed to start?

All of a sudden, Draal burst out in laughter, a deep, thundering laugh filling up the place. Shaking his head, the guard nudged the assassin's shoulder with his own, a big grin on his face as he playfully looked at the man. 'No need to get shy!'

Angor immediately tore his gaze off the floor, sending a murderous look towards the bigger man as his pride got kicked in the shin. Apparently the guard looked right through him, calling him out right on the spot. 'Shut up! I don't get shy, guard!' he dangerously growled.

'Sure! You don't, tough guy.' Draal chuckled, taking a slice off one of the boxes. The assassin kept glaring at the snickering bigger man taking a bite of his food.

Barbara tried to keep in her own laughter, putting a hand in front of her mouth to cover a smile. She shared a look with her son, biting his lip to keep himself from cracking a smile as well. Even though the day turned out to be a rough one, she liked the fact that the assassin started to warm up to them. It even seemed that he and Draal started to become friends, despite the circumstances. It looked like they where bickering, but Barbara knew better. They enjoyed each others company and it gave her some relieve. Her home wasn't a prison after all.

Despite the fact that everyone except Jim and Barbara were astonished by the fact that Draal played with fire and still got to keep his head, the heavy tension that Angor felt a moment ago had vanished once more. It felt a bit easier to look at the others now, Angor realized, so with a deep breath, he ignored Draal's remark. Looking up, the scowl left his face as he decided to just jump in and take the risk. What did he have to lose anyway?

'So, here's the plan.'

It was almost midnight when the meeting finally ended and all the visitors went home, tired but content with the new plan. The Lake house residents went their own ways, deciding to wrap it up for the night. Draal and Angor had gone to the basement, readying themselves for the night in silence. The guard was surprisingly quiet from his usual chatty personality. The assassin assumed he was exhausted after staying awake for so long, he didn't blame the bigger man. It wasn't like Angor felt like talking himself.

Angor couldn't remember the last time he had talked that much, explaining and brainstorming with the trollhunters about the best way to approach his idea. He still had to decide who would be the one to enter his soul, but further more, everything seemed to be set and done. It surprised him that most of the help they offered was actually supporting the results, if they kept their word, that is. The assassin was well aware that a team could make things run smoothly, but if even one decided to go against the others, the group would split and the whole system came falling down. Working alone gave him certain results, even if it took him more effort. Still, he guessed he had to wait it out and see. Secretly he hoped that the trollhunters wouldn't betray him. It meant the one thing he wanted the most; getting out of this damned prison.

'About today...'

The assassin pulled a loose shirt over his head, adjusting it before turning around to look at the guard, wondering why the man broke the silence. Draal stood with his back to the assassin at the opposite side of the basement, already wearing his casual night wear in front of his bed. The luminous stones on the shelves shined they soft light on the bigger man, casting a dark shadow on the wall behind him.

'I am sorry I opened the box.' Draal muttered, his voice filled with guilt as he turned his head a bit, not fully facing the assassin as he spoke. 'You are right, I shouldn't have trusted Bagdwella.'

Angor gave him a confused look as he sat down on his own bed, pulling off his socks. He wondered why the guard brought up the previous fight they had. They bickered all the time, he didn't understand why this one was any different. 'Why are you sulking all of the sudden?'

Draal fully turned around, a regretful look in his eyes. Placing his hands on his sides, he looked up at the assassin. 'If I had not opened it, you would not have gotten possessed. I am supposed to keep you safe and yet again, I failed.'

The assassin huffed, not liking the look the guard gave him. Being reminded that Morgana had once more taken over his body was one thing, he didn't want to dwell on it too much, because that was safely hidden in his famous box marked 'useless'. He'd rather think what he could do to stop this once and for all. The second thing was that the assassin really disliked the feeling he got when Draal acted like this. It made Angor's chest feel heavy and it started to annoy him that whenever Draal felt bad, he started to feel it too. He rather wanted the bigger man to stay his cheery self, even it it annoyed him sometimes. It was better then feeling this… stupid thing that Draal did to him whenever the guard acted whiny. Now he had to find a way to stop it again. With a scowl, Angor carelessly dropped the socks on the floor before placing his hands on his knees, giving the guard a stern look. 'Stop this kindness of yours, guard.'

The guard his sad expression got replaced by confusion, not following on Angor's remark. 'What?'

'You can not keep holding yourself responsible for everything that happens to me.' The assassin exclaimed with a bit of irritation. ' You are not my elder.'

Draal blinked, taken aback by Angor's rough approach. Casting his eyes on the floor, the guard crossed his arms, pushing his lips into a thin line. 'I know that.' he muttered, the assassin's words not making him feel better in the slightest. 'I just want things to turn out differently for you, is all.'

The heavy feeling grew even bigger when Angor noticed he worsened the guard's mood. His scowl faded when he stared at the saddened amber eyes, his mind rapidly thinking on what to do. The assassin had told the man to stop caring about his safety, that is what Draal wanted right? His face told the assassin differently. Normally Draal did not get that effected by Angor's behavior, why was this different? The assassin uncomfortably shifted a bit on the mattress, tapping his finger on his knee as he cracked his brain on what to do.

'Stop wanting that. They are not going to happen.' Angor eventually said, pointing at Draal like he had found the perfect answer. This should work. It worked for himself, so maybe Draal had to follow up on that.

The assassin immediately regretted his answer when the guard looked up at him, a hurtful expression in his amber eyes. Letting his arms drop to his sides, the guard lightly shook his head before turning around, giving up on the conversation. 'Never mind what I said. I forgot who I was talking to.'

Pulling the sheets back, the guard flopped down on his mattress, turning his back to the assassin as he rolled on to his side. 'Wake me up in a few hours.'

Well that did not look like he said the right thing, Angor tensely thought, staring with big eyes at the back of the guard. Trying to ignore the heavy feeling grabbing his chest and tightening his lungs, he picked on the fabric of the edge of his shirt, trying to figure out what the guard meant by 'who he was talking to'. Obviously it was Angor Rot, who else would it be? Apparently it wasn't what Draal needed, but the assassin did not know what else to do. Damn it, why did this effect him so much? He needed to get rid of this… thing!

Before the assassin realized it himself, he stood up from his bed and stomped over towards the other side of the basement, ignoring the chill he felt walking over the cold floor with bare feet. When he reached Draal's bed, he grabbed the bigger man's shoulder and pulled him on his back. With a loud 'oof', Draal looked up with a baffled expression at two golden eyes glaring down at him, tensing up a bit at Angor's rough approach.

'What do I do?' Angor bluntly asked, letting go of the guard's shoulder as he stood up straight, putting his hands on his sides.

Draal was lost for words with this vague question, his eyes avoiding the assassin for a second before looking back at the man looming over him in the dimmed light. 'What?' he stammered.

The assassin opened his mouth to continue, but halted, realizing what he was doing. Looking away, he crossed his arms, the tension returning as it became a lot harder to talk again. 'Well you-… I…'

Cursing the day that he started to act this foolish, the assassin let his arms drop with a frustrated sigh, looking straight back at the confused guard again with unsure eyes. Screw it, he already messed up anyway. ' You told me that I could ask you for help, right? You are in pain, so what do I do?'

Draal stared at the assassin with big eyes. He had never expected this words to come out of Angor's mouth, but here he was, actually trying to help the guard. Was that what he was trying to do a minute ago? If he was, that was the worst help Draal had ever received, but still, it was a start. The guard did not know if he should scold or laugh at the assassin, but it was probably best to just explain it to him. The bigger man assumed that Angor had zero experience in comforting someone. That probably explained why the assassin first chose such cold words to throw at him and now stood in front of him like a lost kid.

Putting his hands on the mattress, Draal pushed himself into a sitting position, adjusting his blanket before looking up at the assassin again. He motioned the man to sit next to him. Surprisingly, the assassin sat down without hesitation, putting his hands on his knees, more focused on what Draal was going to say then scanning if the situation was safe or not. The guard knew he was supposed to be angry with him, but seeing the assassin show an interest in his well being made his anger melt away like snow in the sunlight. He could see that the care came from behind the assassin's wall, even if Angor tried to hide it. A small smile grew on Draal's face, giving in to Angor's request.

Draal began in a low voice, keeping his amber eyes locked with the man. ' With everything going on, I am simply worried for you and I feel a bit helpless on what to do. Telling me to stop caring is not going to work.'

'Why?' the assassin asked. There was no frustration or anger in his eyes, Draal noticed. The man really did not understand why it would not be helpful, there was only confusion. Draal had no clue why Angor thought that way, it seemed almost impossible for himself to just stop caring for his friends. It came naturally. It also looked like Angor showed his own version of care, so why would he suggest to simply shut it off?

'Look, whatever made you think that it would, it won't. We are friends. I-' Draal explained, feeling himself get a bit hesitant on finished his sentence. Suddenly he felt a bit awkward, having to be so open about it, but he didn't know how else to get his point across. It was a bit mushy to say it, but- ' I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt.'

Angor stared at him with surprisingly astonished eyes before he quickly looked away to hide his expression, clenching his fists on his knees, his shoulders tense as he kept silent. Draal felt himself grow anxious when he saw the assassin react so intensely. Holding in his breath, he uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down towards the sheets. Was it too much what he said? Damn it, he should've kept his mouth shut!

'Do you mean it? That you care for me?'

Draal looked up in surprise, not uttering a word as his eyes fell on the assassin, turning his head back a bit. Angor looked down towards the ground as well, a sudden painful expression in his eyes, the wall completely vanished from sight. The anxious feeling faded away as Draal let go of his breath. Seeing the assassin look so… hurt by his words, it made him question why it would. It should make someone happy or relieved to get confirmation, but instead, the assassin acted like Draal told him something awful.

'Because if you are lying, I do not want it.' the assassin mumbled, trying his very best to keep his walls up, but miserably failing.

With a sad smile, Draal moved his hand, cupping the man's cheek, lifting his face up to look at him. Heavy, golden eyes, filled with agony looked up at him. Draal's heart tightened with sorrow, seeing the true pain coming to the surface. The guard already knew it was there, receiving occasional glimpses in the time they spend together, but to see it in true light made him feel the agony himself. Whoever lied to Angor in the past, although Draal already had his suspicions on who is was, he wanted the assassin to know there where people out there who meant it.

'You have my word.' He softly assured the man, smiling warmly through the pain that he felt. How he wished he could take the torment away from what the assassin kept inside.

The golden eyes of Angor lit up ever so slightly, like they've had the night after the soul search, Draal words sinking in. Damn it, the guard truly meant, didn't he? Angor did not want to believe it, but he did. The assassin didn't want to show this side to anyone, but Draal's kindness kept breaking his walls down, getting to see more and more what was hiding behind. He didn't even want to think or feel it himself. Feeling this damned weakness, but for some reason, Draal didn't mind. The assassin couldn't understand why the guard just let it, not using it against him or force him to stop. The big hand on his cheek felt warm, soft and inviting, not anything cold, sharp and threatening like the Pale lady. The assassin started to realize that there was no danger around Draal. He felt his shoulders relax when he stared at the kind, amber eyes looking at him. Somewhere it still hurt, but it was differently. Secure. The guard's eyes where safe-

Wait.

With a pang, Angor suddenly snapped out of it, immediately pulling his head away from the guard. His shoulders tensed up again, yanking his eyes off the guard, looking the other way. Clenching his fists, he tried get himself together. What the hell was his doing?! ' Alright, uhm… Good to know.' he mumbled, refusing to look the guard in the eye again. He didn't understand why he was acting so damn foolish.

Draal stared at the assassin in surprise, his hand still in the air by the sudden distance Angor took. He didn't feel rejected by the assassin. Draal was used by now that Angor ran away when the situation became to sensitive. The assassin pulled away but his face told the guard otherwise. The embarrassed scowl on the mans face was actually pretty endearing, Draal thought, cracking a smile as he lowered his arm. 'Come here, you idiot.' Draal told him with a low chuckle, grabbing the man's shoulders and pulling him in. Wrapping his arms around the assassin, Draal leaned his chin on the white locks. He could feel the assassin freeze up, not knowing what he was supposed to do.

Angor his eyes where widened in surprise, the unexpected warmth crashing on him like a comet. He understood what Draal was doing from last time, but now that he wasn't completely dead set on getting air into his lungs, it hit differently. It felt warm. Just… pleasant. Slowly, he felt himself relax, the gently touch calming him down as he stayed put in the bigger man's arms.

'It's okay.' Draal softly murmured, keeping still, giving Angor time to get used to it. The guards words made the assassin's last resistance crumble as he took a deep breath in, cursing the deepest of himself on why he was doing this. He wasn't supposed to give in to weaknesses like this, knowing damn well what the consequences are, but despite all that, he tightly wrapped his own arms around the bigger man's waist. With a pained scowl on his face, he shut his eyes, burying himself inside Draal's chest like he finally found water in an endless desert. The guard tightened his embrace as well, inviting the assassin in.

'I don't want you dead either.' the assassin murmured in the guards chest after a short moment of silence, taking in the warmth around him.

Draal closed his eyes with a content smile, enjoying holding the man close. Secretly he was a little proud of himself that he entered the fortress at this moment. Getting trusted by the assassin and letting him hold the man. Behind the wall, he found a man who was softer and more kind, even if Angor was awful in communicating it. Draal couldn't help but think that Angor acted adorable at times like this. A bit broken, but the guard didn't mind, he had his own scars as well. Taking in a deep breath, he put his cheek on Angor's head, nuzzling his hair, taking in the scent. Damn, he did not want to let go, he thought as he breathed out, feeling his own heart slow down to a peaceful rhythm.

'Good to know, tough guy.' Draal softly breathed.

'Shut up.'

*stares at the slowcooker* Aaah yes, this is coming along nicely. Give me that slow burn!

I know this new plan is a bit over detailed and almost feels like a conspiracy theory, but I needed to bind some ropes together with the information I already had. Ah well, as long as it supports the plot, I guess.

Here you go, I hope you liked it! I am going to continue wrecking my brain for the next one.