Weirder Things in Trolberg

by Cowboy Alchemist

A sequel to Weirder Things, we follow the story of Thomas Pines, son of Patrick and Wendy Pines. After graduating college, Thomas leaves his home of Gravity Falls and moves to Trolberg to begin his exploration into the strange and supernatural. It is here that he'll go on adventures with Hilda, fall in love with Johanna, and make a name for himself in the town. (Rated T to M.)

5. Chapter 5

I'm cowboyalchemist on Discord. Come on over if you want to chat and talk about ideas. If you want an invite to join my discord server, you only have to ask me.

I'm honestly so excited for season three tomorrow. So, without further adieu, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.

---

Chapter Five:

The Troll Rock

Rather than seeing Hilda as a friend, Thomas saw her more as a daughter.

That's the reality of his view on the adventurous blue-haired girl, and it wasn't hard to understand why. He'd spent so much time with her, protected her from monsters in the forest, and was almost always there for her as a patriarchal figure. She was a sweet, kind, and creative girl who opened up a whole new world to him. Hilda had become the daughter he never had—and never knew he wanted. He saw so much of himself in that little girl it was almost scary, and he would go as far as to say he loved her like she was his flesh and blood.

And as of right now, those feelings he felt for the girl were formulating in his mind again as he drove Hilda to her school.

"So, you got the nittens?" Thomas said, looking at the girl from the corner of his eye as he drove his truck.

"Right here, and they're all nice and happy," Hilda said, smiling as she lifted the lid of the box in her lap. Smiling as the purring and sleeping tiny kitties.

"Alright, because we're here," Thomas said, parting the car in the school's parking lot. Together, they exited the vehicle and closed the doors. They were about to start walking toward the building when Thomas's phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw it was Johanna and answered with a big smile. "Hello? Paranormal Investigator Thomas Pines, how may I help you?"

Johanna giggled on the other line and said, "Well, aren't you acting all professional, dear? How's Hilda?"

"Oh, she's right here," Thomas said, looking at Hilda as she stared at him.

"Hi, Mum!" Hilda said to the phone.

"Hi, Hilda! I'll see you after work. Thomas, I can't thank you enough for this. I would have come, but this new project needs to be done by tonight. But when I'm free, I'll come right over."

"No worries, Johanna. You know you can count on me," Thomas said with genuine care, placing a hand over his chest. "We better get going in. See you later."

He ended the call, and together, he and Hilda walked away from the truck and started walking towards the school. It was a quaint-looking school. By 2043, most schools have been trying to modernize, but this school looked as though it was still in the 1990s.

As they approached the school, they saw a short man on a ladder, dusting off the leaves on a banner hanging over the school entrance that said "Welcome Parents." He was a big, balding man with a gray beard and large eyebrows.

As Thomas and Hilda approached the entrance, the man looked down from his ladder and saw the two. "Oh, hello!" The man waved at them before sliding down the ladder. "Ha! Welcome to parent's night! I'm Principal Magnusson. Oh, we welcome you and your daughter!"

"Uh, thanks," Thomas said, looking at Hilda with a raised eyebrow. She just smiled at him and shrugged. He would have said he wasn't her father, but there didn't seem to be any harm in not correcting the man. "Glad to be here."

"As am I to have you here. Make sure to stay for the grand finale," the principal said with giddiness in his voice. He then inhaled and pretended that he was beating a drum set with sticks, even making the sound of a drum.

Thomas and Hilda looked at the man with wide eyes, weirded out by him trying—and failing—to beatbox, then went back to the drum sounds. Thankfully, he started and laughed for a moment.

"A dedication ceremony for our new statue," said the principal, pointing to a brand-new statue in the center of the playground.

The statue was of a man with a mustache, long, curling hair, and prominent eyebrows. He wore old clothes, including a cape, with a sword attached to his hip and a book in his hand, which he was reading. Though, while doing a heroic pose, he had on foot stepped on the head of a troll, who was smiling for some reason.

"He seems…nice," said Hilda, not really sure what to think of the statue or the person the statue was dedicated to.

The principal popped out from behind the statue's troll head and wrapped his arms around the man's leg. "He is! He is!" He said, moving under the man as he began to explain the history behind the man. "He's one of our city's greatest founders, Edmund 'the Troll Slayer' Ahlerg."

The principal jumped down from the statue and approached the two friends/father and daughter.

"Oh, how I do love civic art declarations. Now, I don't want to give too much away, but I may read a poem," said the principal as he walked up the steps and entered the building.

When he closed the door behind him, Thomas snickered. "We'll be long gone before that happens," he said.

"Have you ever heard of Edmund Ahlerg?" Hilda asked, curious about the red-haired man.

The redhead looked back at the statue and said, "No, but I don't think it would be too out of place if he didn't have any dirty little secrets that would ruin his reputation," he said, remembering how Gravity Falls' founder, Nathanial Northwest, wasn't a great leader. In fact, he was nothing but the shit-shoveling village idiot.

"Well, let's get going!" Hilda said, excited to show off her nitten collection.

"Hang on. I want to say something," Thomas said. Turning the girl around to face him, the redhead knelt on one knee and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I, uh, I don't know if it's really my place to make this speech, but I just want you to know that your mom and I are so proud of you, Hilda. I know it's been a difficult transaction for you–starting school and all, but it seems like you're adapting very well. I'm glad that you're feeling better and that you're adjusting well."

Touched by his words, Hilda looked at the man who'd been like a father to her. In many ways, Thomas was the only father figure she had. The blue-haired girl had never gotten to know her birth father. It didn't bother her that much, not when Thomas was around to fill that role.

Hilda smiled and said, "Thanks, Thomas."

Together, they hugged and then walked into the school.

---

As Hilda set up her collection of nittens, Thomas took a moment to look around the classroom. It was a medium-sized room with everything one would expect to find in a school, including chairs and tables for the children to sit and work, counters and drawers to keep the equipment and supplies safe, and a giant chalkboard and a projector.

Around the room, students were talking with their parents and friends, setting up their own projects, and looking at each other's. Parents were talking and chatting with each other about their children, though some were taking glances at Thomas. It wasn't that big of a surprise, being the new face in a crowded classroom of people who had known each other for years. Some have been to school together. So, to see a new person got the community talking.

Especially some of the wives and mothers, who looked at Thomas with interest, seductive looks—when their husbands weren't looking, of course

"All done!"

Thomas was brought back to Hilda and saw she had put out a big glass jar with the tiny kittens inside. For things to climb on and have fun, she threw in a leaf, a nail filler, a rock, and an eraser.

"This is my nature collection, nittens!" Hilda proclaimed.

Bending down, Thomas saw the little baby nittens mewling and having the time of their lives together. "I am so happy we were able to save these little guys," he said, ruffling his friend's hair. Hilda laughed and pushed his hand away. "I'm surprised you went with them."

"Yeah, but no one else around here has ever seen nittens," Hilda explained to her friend. "Besides, I couldn't bring a rock collection because David did one."

Thomas laughed a bit. "Oh, come on, he couldn't have done that," he said, thinking that it was too silly for the kid to bring nothing but rocks to show off.

---

"Oh my Lord, you actually did bring a rock collection," Thomas said after he and Hilda walked over to David's science fair project. In front of his tri-fold display board was a cardboard box that was filled with rocks of all shapes and sizes.

"Isn't it great?" David's father said, looking proud at his son's accomplishment. He was a blond man with short hair and a large beard that extended across his face. He appears to have black eyes like his son. He wore a white shirt with red sleeves, dark blue pants, gray shoes, and a brown jacket.

"Oh, sweetie, this is the best work you've ever done!" said David's mom, hugging her son. She is a very pretty, brown-haired, slender woman with a tied pigtail and black eyes like her son. She usually wears a red blouse, light blue pants, and white shoes. She also usually wears large circular glasses.

Thomas raised an eyebrow at how proud the parents were about their son gathering rocks, but at least they were proud of him.

"What do you think, Thomas," asked the young boy.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, it's great. You've got yourself the making of a geologist," he said with a smile as he grabbed one of the rocks.

"What's a geologist?"

Thomas blinked a bit. "It's…a scientist that studies rocks."

"Really?" David gasped.

"Yep," he said, placing the rock back.

"Hilda! Thomas!" Frida came running over to her friends. She grabbed Hilda's hands and said, "When you were three minutes late, I was afraid you weren't coming. Come on, let me show you my project."

"Uh, you guys go on ahead," the redhead said. "I'll just hang back."

Thomas watched as the black girl pulled the blue-haired girl along, and David followed. It warmed Thomas's heart and made him happy to see Hilda making good friends.

"They grow up so fast, huh," asked David's mom as she turned to Thomas with a smile. "Hello, my name is Erika, and this is my husband, Andy."

"Howdy!" Andy greeted Thomas with a big smile. "You're that new ghost hunter we've heard about, right?"

Thomas laughed a bit. "Uh, ghost hunting is only part of the job," he said, straightening his hat. "I'm a paranormal investigator. If you have something you can't explain, I'm your guy."

"Really? Then why do people say you're a ghost hunter," asked Erika.

"Well…usually it's a ghost problem," Thomas said sheepishly. "Lot of ghosts in this town."

"Right, 'ghost' problem," said a woman. Thomas turned to see two adults approaching him and David's parents. They were Frida's parents.

Frida's mom was a pretty black woman who looked the same age as Johanna, with short black hair and a brown highlight worn in a ponytail. Her attire was a white vest, light crimson dress, and black heels.

Frida's father is a middle-aged, dark-skinned man with black hair turning gray at the temples.

"Excuse me?" Thomas questioned the mother.

"Uh, honey, let's not start anything," Frida's father said, patting his wife's shoulder. The woman stepped back, still giving Thomas a judgemental look. "I'm sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Depends on if you're trying to step on my foot," Thomas said.

"...Right," said Frida's dad, clearing his throat as his wife crossed her arms and gave Thomas a suspicious look. "Anyways, we're Frida's parents, and you must be Thomas Pines, correct?"

"Yep, that's me." Thomas nodded. "What can I help you folks with?"

Frida's father shrugged his shoulders. "Just wanted to get to know the parents of our daughter's new friend," he said.

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not her dad," the redhead said, waving his hand.

"You're not? But you two act so much like a father and a daughter," said David's mom.

"Really? Thanks, but I'm not her father," Thomas said, smiling at Hilda and her friends. Frida was presenting her project to her friends, which Hilda didn't seem to understand but listened to nonetheless. "I…uh, I'm just here because her mother had to stay late for work, so I'm filling in for her."

"So, was it you or her mother that was helping our daughter at the park?" Frida's mother asked.

"It was me," Thomas said. "Would have been able to finish if the Vittra hadn't complicated things."

"Right, the 'little plant' people," Frida's mom said, rolling her eyes. She then started walking around Thomas, examining the young man, much to his confusion. "So, you're Hilda's friend, right? The Falcon Scout that became a…Paranormal Investigator?"

"Uh, yeah," Thomas said, watching the woman walk back around to face him. "Is there a problem with that?"

Frida's mom scoffed a little with a smug expression. "Forgive me, I'm just not as willing to believe in…unnatural things," she said.

"Said the woman who lives in a town with a wall to keep trolls out."

The woman's smugness was replaced with a shocked expression. "He's got you there, dear," her husband said.

The conversation was cut short by the sound of smacking. This was produced by the teacher hitting her hand with a wooden ruler. This was Hilda's teacher, Ms. Hallgrim, a short, elderly woman with dark skin and white hair wearing glasses.

Placing the ruler on the table after getting the attention of the crowd, Ms. Hallgrim cleared her throat and said, "Welcome, class of 2043. We'd like to begin with a short film about the history of our school." She then pointed to one of her students. "Trevor, if you would?"

"Yes, Ms. Hallgrim," said the same boy whom Hilda disliked. This time around, he was smiling and acting politely as he closed the shades.

The room darkens as the sunlight shining on David's rocks disappears. Then, the room was plunged into darkness by the lights turning off.

The only light that was on was coming from the film projector after Ms. Hallgrim flipped the switch on the machine. Thomas, the other parents, and the kids stood and watched as the film started the classic clock down. Then, the film began with the title screen.

The Trolberg Board of

Education and Domestication

Presents

THE AHLBERG SCHOOL

300 years and counting.

As distorted music began playing in the film, Thomas pulled out his journal and opened it to a new page. With a pen ready, he started writing down what information there could be learned from the film.

The first scene of the film was a scrapbook opening to show a photo of Edmund Ahlberg himself standing tall and proud as kids looked at him with awe in their eyes. Oh, and he had a random dead troll head under his arm.

The narrator of the film starts by saying, "Over 300 years ago, Edmund Ahlberg founded a school based on the proven values of structure, discipline, and treating every student exactly the same."

It was boring.

Thomas wasn't the only one who had been bored by the film, as he looked around to see many of the parents watching the movie with bored expressions or looking down at their phones. David's mom was so bored she fell asleep on her husband's shoulder.

"His vision still guides us today—"

Smash!

Everyone gasped in surprise when the projector and the stand it was on were suddenly hit, leading to the device landing on the ground with a hard thud. Damaged, the projector turned off as someone quickly pulled the window shutters up and turned on the lights. Bringing back light into the room as everyone saw what had just happened.

"Oh no! My nature collection!" David said as he rushed over to his project, which was on the floor. The rocks he had collected were scattered on the floor, with a large one sitting near the projector.

Hilda walked over to help her friend. However, Ms. Hallgrim stepped in front of Hilda, looking at her with great suspicion and mistrust. "What happened here," she asked.

"Looks like someone threw David's rocks at the projector," the girl told the teacher.

"'Someone'?" Ms. Hallgrim, however, looked at the blue-haired girl with even more suspicion.

"Why are you saying it like that," asked Hilda as she picked up the largest of the rocks.

"You were the one who was standing the closest to the rocks, Hilda," Ms. Hallgrim told her.

Thomas, overhearing the conversation, walked over with a look of disapproval on his face. "Now, hold on there, Ms. Hallgrim. You can't be seriously blaming Hilda for something she didn't do," he said, standing next to Hilda. "She wasn't even near the rocks."

Ms. Hallgrim looked up at the young man with a look of suspicion. "And who are you supposed to be?" She asked rather rudely. "If you are not a parent or a guardian, then you are not allowed to attend this event."

Thomas' eyes widened in shock, and he nervously tried to come up with an answer. He'd just told everyone he'd met that he was not Hilda's father. What was he supposed to say now? "Uh…"

"He's my new dad!" Hilda suddenly said, popping in front of Thomas and pointing at the ceiling.

"What?!" Thomas said in total shock.

Ms. Hallgrim raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Hilda, while nervous, continued the act with a smile as she held her hand out to Thomas. "Y-Yeah, this is my new dad, Thomas!"

Thomas looked at the blue-haired girl in shock and with a blush on his cheeks. Ms. Hallgrim glanced back and forth between the two of them, noting the age Thomas was and questioning if such a thing was possible. "Is this true?" She questioned the paranormal investigator.

"Uuuuuuuuh, yeah! Yeah, that's right! Technically, Johanna is my fiancée, but that still means I am responsible for Hilda just as much as her mother," Thomas said, placing his hands on his hip and Hilda's head. "And as her soon-to-be stepfather, I would like to know what this is about, blaming Hilda for something she didn't do?"

Ms. Hallgrim continued to look at Thomas skeptically. "Well, as the person standing next to the rocks, Hilda could have been the only person who threw it," she said, pointing to the rocks on the ground.

"What? No way, she was standing next to me," Thomas said.

"Besides, I love rocks," Hilda said, holding up the big rock. However, she took a closer look at the rock and saw a small nose-like protrusion. "This is an odd-looking rock!"

Ms. Hallgrim, however, took the rock from Hilda. "This looks like it's capable of taking someone's eye out. I'm locking this up, in case someone feels the need to throw it," she said, giving Hilda a stern warning glance. Making the blue-haired girl feel incredibly uncomfortable for being singled out. The teacher then looked at Thomas. "Forgive me. Perhaps it's inappropriate to jump to conclusions."

"Was that before or after that look you gave Hilda," Thomas remarked.

"However, when your fiancée arrives, I would like to have a discussion with you about her daughter," Ms. Hallgrim said.

She then turned around and walked away. Opening the drawer of her desk, she placed the rock inside, then locked it inside. Placing the key in her pocket, the teacher walked off.

"Geez, who put the stick up her—" Thomas stopped when he saw Hilda looking up at him. "…nose. I was going to say nose." Thomas then crossed his arms and looked at Hilda with a smirk. "So, new dad, huh?"

Hilda's eyes widened as she blushed. "I-I-I panicked, and she was going to kick you out," Hilda said, looking away with an embarrassed smile. Making Thomas chuckle and ruffle her hair.

---

"Alright, thank you so much," Johanna said to the customer to whom she had just sold her latest project. As the customer walked out of the apartment, she closed the door with a smile on her face. The sale went wonderfully, and the buyer was happy with the end product. "Alright, time to get ready to go."

And with that, Johanna walked over to the living room and began gathering her purse. The mother was eager to see her daughter and learn about how well her time at school had been. Obviously, Hilda would tell her about her days at school whenever she came home, but Johanna wanted to see it in person. Thanks to Thomas, she was not only about to get her project done in time, but also be able to make it in time for Hilda's meeting.

However, the thought of Thomas had taken Johanna's train of thought. She was thinking back to what happened last week with Vittra. The things Thomas said to her made her heart warm and fuzzy in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"And w-well…it's because I like you, Johanna," he confessed. "You're my friend, and I—I like being around you and Hilda… a lot."

After replaying that in her mind, Johanna smiled. After that day, she didn't know why, but her feelings for the paranormal investigator had intensified. And she had a feeling it went the other way.

The issue that was facing her was whether she should tell him or not. Would he reject her? It was a thought Johanna didn't like. She had already suffered being alone for so many years after her ex-husband left her and Hilda to go on his next big adventure. A fact that Johanna held resentment towards him for. And living in the woods with a child to take care of killed her dating life.

But yet, this strange young man brought warmth to her in a way she hadn't experienced before.

"Is everything alright here, Johanna?"

The young mother jumped out of her thoughts, but calmed down when she saw that it was Alfor standing on the tea table. "Huh? Yeah… just getting ready to leave," she said, grabbing her purse.

The young mother walked around the sofa and was on her way to the door when Alfor jumped onto the couch. "Actually, Johanna, I was hoping that I could talk to you about something," he announced.

Curious, Johanna stopped and turned her gaze to him. "Is there something wrong?"

"It involves your… relationship with Thomas." He spoke, getting to the point.

Her eyes widened a bit. "W-what do you mean? We're friends, nothing more," Johanna answered, trying to hide the blushing on her cheeks.

"Right… but I feel it is much more than that," the elf said with a teasing smile.

"Well… it's not," Johanna said, narrowing her eyes and growing more impatient to leave the apartment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to my daughter's school."

"Johanna, I know your feelings for Thomas have gone beyond that of friendship," Alfor said, making the woman stop. He continued to talk as she listened. "I've noticed ever since we went off to go see the Prime Minister. Heck, everyone in my county could feel the attraction the two of you have. We even had bidding parties to see if you two would get together."

"You bet on my love life?" Johanna asked with a harsh glare.

"And sex life," Alfor commented before realizing that wasn't the right thing to say. "I-I didn't! I just heard of them! And, well, Hilda also thinks you two should get together. She thinks it would make him her new dad. Uh, I-I-I learned that when she talked to Twig about it! I wasn't eavesdropping…that much."

Letting out a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, the woman tried not to let herself get too upset over the fact that little people were wagering on whether or not she and a handsome younger man would have gotten together, either as a couple or just having a fun night in her bed. The thought of either made her blush brightly. One more than the other.

Johanna looked to the floor and turned her body sideways, her arms folded across her ample chest. She didn't speak a word, lost in thought of Hilda having somehow figured out her mom's deep secret. She should've known Hilda would've figured it out, especially when her daughter was so observant. But her new dad? Johanna didn't know whether she should find that adorable or be embarrassed by the whole thing.

"Johanna, if I'm telling the truth, please let me know. As your friendly elf, I swear that your secret will stay safe with me," Alfor said. He then pulled out a tiny form. "Sign here to make it legally binding."

The woman deadpanned and signed the paper.

Stepping back, Johanna locked her fingers together, contemplating hard on whether or not she should tell him. After a moment, she finally sighed. "Alfor… I don't know. Maybe? Yes," Johanna said, admitting to what she's been holding in for months. "I like Thomas Pines."

Alfor's eyes widened. "Johanna, you two aren't even the same age."

The older woman glared at him, causing him to take a step back. "Of course, I know, Alfor!" She yelled. Johanna sighed once more and turned away before she continued. "I know I'm ten years older than him, and he's my daughter's best friend, but… I feel… so connected to him in a way that's different from when I was with Hilda's father. Thomas just makes my heart feel so warm and good… and I feel like… I have another reason to push forward. For a long time, Hilda was that reason, but now I want to start doing things I never thought I'd be able to. All because of him. And I'm not a fool. I see the way Hilda is around him. In these past few months, he's been the father I wanted Hilda to have. I…I want to be in his life, and I want him to be in mine and Hilda's lives. So, yes, I'm in love with Thomas."

Johanna was expecting Alfor to give her the speech about how she's in over her head and what she's feeling is nothing more than a crush. It's how she expected anyone else to react. However, it never came. She turned around to see Alfor giving her a big smile on his little simple white face.

"Why are you smiling?" implored Johanna. "Aren't you going to tell me how it'll never work and that we can never be together?"

"Nope. If Thomas is the one that truly makes you happy… then it is not my place to tell you that you can't be with each other," said the little elf with sincerity. "Besides, I totally want to see the two of you get together."

"Really?" Johanna raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well, back then, I didn't buy into the hype, but seeing you now makes me a…how do you say…shipper!"

Giggling, Johanna smiled warmly in appreciation at Alfor. "Thank you, Alfor."

Johanna smiled more as she left the apartment and walked out of the main entrance. Climbing into her car, the woman felt a massive weight lifted off her shoulders. It wasn't a mystery anymore. Thanks to Alfor, she was forced to say it out loud. She was in love with Thomas. Deep down, she was excited. She felt like a schoolgirl again. She wanted to squeal, get out of the car, and cheer around in the street. The only problem now is how to tell him.

With this school event going on right now, she deemed it necessary to tell him later. There was no need to rush things.

---

" I can't believe Ms. Hallgrim thinks that I did it," Hilda said as her group of friends and Thomas gathered around for complimentary tea. "I thought she liked me."

Frida looked a bit uncomfortable as she said, "Hilda…um, how do we say this in the nicest way possible? You see…"

"Ms. Hallgrim doesn't like you," David said, eating a bag of chips called Jorts.

"…yes."

Hilda gasped and looked hurt that her first teacher didn't like her. "What? Why not?"

"You see, Hilda, you can be a bit distracting," Frida said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "and a teacher like Ms. Hallgrim doesn't like it when kids are distracted. And you're not the best at following the rules.

"Name one time," Hilda said, holding up a finger and raising an eyebrow.

Flashback #1: "But how could King Olaf Tryggvason have lost the Battle of Svolder if he had the superior fleet? It doesn't make any sense!" Hilda exclaimed in the middle of class. Frida was trying to get her to stop and calm down, and David was hiding himself under his textbook.

"Hilda, please raise your hand," Ms. Hallgrim said, having to pause her writing on the chalkboard. "And this is science class."

Flashback #2: "Hilda! This is a Troll drill. Follow the procedure," Ms. Hallgrim said to her student as she hid under her desk. All her other students were doing the same thing, ducking under their desks like one does during a tornado or earthquake drill. Hilda, however, was leaning back in her chair with a bored expression.

"Trust me, if this were a real troll attack, this would not have saved us at all."

Flashback #3: "What's the point of asking if Johnny has three apples and Davy has two apples? The better question is, why don't they just shut up and eat them?" Hilda yelled, throwing her hands up.

"Hilda! School's over!" Ms. Hallgrim said to the girl, who was standing on her desk in an empty classroom.

"Number one: the enemy fleet won by using superior tactics. Number two: You are right about the troll drill being a waste of time. Number three: I…I don't really have an answer for that," Thomas said.

"But that's not how school works," Frida said to her friend. "We answer the questions we're given—we don't think up new questions."

"But that's the fun part," Hilda argued. "Why would they even ask us questions they already know the answers to?"

"Because they're the teachers. They know the answers, and as their students, you have to understand and learn the answers they know. To do that, they ask you questions," Thomas explained to his 'step-daughter.'

"Hilda, this is serious," Frida said to her friend, looking at her with a deeply concerned expression. "I think Ms. Hallgrim might want to transfer you to the class of students with behavioral difficulties."

"I don't have behavioral difficulties," Hilda protested. She then turned to David, closed her eyes, and crossed her arms. "David, would you say that I'm disruptive in class?"

David paused eating his Jorts and said, "No, I wouldn't say that in class. What if the teacher were talking? It might be disruptive."

"Uh, kid, I think Hilda is asking if she's disruptive when she's in class," Thomas said.

"Oh, then yes."

"What?! Really?" Hilda said in shock.

"I don't mind," David said with a smile. "That way, Ms. Hallgrim is too busy to call on me."

"I can't believe Ms. Hallgrim thinks that I'm a problem student. I'm so sorry, Thomas. You and Mum were so happy for me for adapting to this school," Hilda said sadly.

"Oh, don't worry about it, kiddo," Thomas said, kneeling down and rubbing her head. "We'll get your teacher to…"

Thomas trailed off when he heard something beeping in his pocket. Reaching into his pocket, Thomas pulled out a small device that had the appearance of a cell phone with an antenna that extended. On the screen, there was a sonar system that was like the one on submarines. And just like on submarines, the sonar was picking up a single signal, indicated by the blip on the radar.

"What's that?" Hilda asked her 'new dad' with curious eyes.

"It's an anomaly detector. My cousin Sherman made it so that it could detect any weird activity," Thomas said, turning his device in the direction it was detecting the blip.

And it was coming in the direction of Ms. Hallgrim's deck.

Thomas raised his eyebrows and looked at the kids, who were as confused as he was. Suddenly, the desk started making a rattling sound. But there wasn't any movement to the furniture. The noise was, instead, coming from one of the drawers of the desk.

"Uh, Frida, does your teacher have any pets that she leaves inside her desk?" Thomas asked the young girl warily.

"Not that I know of," Frida replied, looking at the desk nervously. "The last thing I saw her put inside was David's rock collection."

It was at that moment that Hilda gasped in horror, and her eyes widened in shock. "The rock!" Hilda exclaimed, now knowing the culprit that broke the protector. She grabbed David as he was drinking some tea, spilling it all over his face. "David! You have a troll rock in your collection!"

"A troll rock!?" David exclaimed in shock and fear before Thomas quickly covered his mouth with his hand and silenced him.

"Are you trying to cause a panic?" Thomas whispered harshly. He then looked around to make sure no one had heard the boy's yelling. Thankfully, everyone wasn't paying attention to them. "Quickly, behind the desk."

The four of them quickly crawled behind the desk, hiding from the rest of the room. Thomas pecked his head out to make sure they were safe.

Afterward, he ducked back down and looked at David. "Kid, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I-I didn't know that I had one," David said nervously.

"You didn't know that you had a troll rock," Frida asked.

"I don't even know what one looks like."

"It has to be the big one with the nose," Hilda said.

"What? That's what a troll rock looks like? I just thought that it was a weird-looking rock!" David said. He then pondered on the rock for a minute. "Come to think of it, it is much bigger than the first time I picked it up."

Thomas, Hilda, and Frida looked at one another in confusion. Then the three looked at David again. "It was smaller?" Thomas said.

"Yeah, but every morning I wake up, the rock would be bigger than the day before," David said, holding his hands out.

Hilda looked at her friend with wide eyes. "It grew?!"

"Yes…don't all rocks grow?"

Frida stared at her best friend. "No, David. Rocks do not grow."

"…..are you sure?"

"Oh my God." Thomas face-palmed as he groaned. Taking a deep breath, Thomas said, "Okay, so the troll is likely only a baby. We've got to get Ms. Hallgrim to open the drawer and get it out of here."

"No, please! Don't tell anyone!" David pleaded with the paranormal investigator. "If people knew that I brought a troll into the walls, I'd be in big trouble. They'll throw me in jail for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, come on, I don't think they'll do that to you," Hilda said, waving her hand dismissively, only for David to grab her shoulders and shake her a bit.

"Yes, they will!"

"Hands off her," Thomas ordered the boy with a glare.

David quickly did as he was told. He pulled his hands away from Hilda and held them up in a surrendering position.

"Okay, so we'll need to get the troll out of the room without letting anyone else know," Frida said, thinking about how the team was going to do that. With everyone in the classroom, it was going to be difficult.

"With the sun still shining, the troll wouldn't be able to move," Thomas said, peeking his head over the desk and examining the room. Looking for the perfect way to get the rock out of the room without alerting anyone or the teacher. "So long as nothing happens to…"

The redhead suddenly gasped in shock when he saw Johanna walking into the room. She smiled as she looked around the room, trying to figure out where her daughter and Thomas were.

"Shoot!" Thomas hid back behind the desk in a panic. "Okay, change of plans. You guys wait for me, and I'll get back to you to get the rock out of here," he said.

"But what about David's troll?" Hilda said.

"Hilda, your mom's here. Remember, the woman who's supposed to be my 'fiancée'?" Thomas said, using air quotes.

Hilda's eyes widened as she realized why Thomas was getting so worried. "Oh…"

"Right, I'll tell her what's going on. Just act normal and wait for me," Thomas said, standing up and walking out from behind the table. Leaving the kids as he walked away to the woman he was secretly in love with.

"What's this about Thomas and your mum?" Frida looked at Hilda with a raised eyebrow, making the young girl laugh nervously.

---

Johanna picked up one of the complimentary tea cups from the tray and took a sip of it. She looked around again, becoming concerned when she didn't see her daughter and Thomas.

"Hey." Johanna yelped when Thomas came up behind her and hugged her from behind.

"Oh!" She laughed with embarrassment and blushed brightly as Thomas held her in her arms as if he were her boyfriend. "T-Thomas! Don't sneak up on me."

"Sorry, but listen, we've got a situation," Thomas said, pulling away from Johanna as she turned around to look at him.

"Why? What's going on? Where's Hilda?" Johanna looked behind Thomas and saw her daughter and her friends acting as casually as possible by the window. "Oh! There she is. I'm going to go say hi."

Thomas, however, quickly blocked her path and said, "Wait, listen. I know that this is a bizarre thing to ask you, but I need you to play along with me."

Johanna, now very much concerned and confused, said, "What do you mean?"

"Ah! There you are." Thomas tightened up when he heard Ms. Hallgirm approaching. The two adults turned around to see the teacher smirking when she saw Hilda's mother and the man claiming to be her fiancé.

"Oh! Hello, Ms. Hallgrim," Johanna said happily with a smile as Thomas nervously smiled. "It's so good to see you again."

"Likewise. I was just having a conversation with this man, who and your daughter claims to be your new fiancé," said the teacher with a raised eyebrow. Thinking that Johanna would say something to discredit them.

"Oh?" Johanna turned her head towards her friend, looking at him with a slight blush and a raised eyebrow, very interested in why they would say something like that about her and Thomas.

"This is your so-to-be husband, right? If not, I'll have him removed from the property," Ms. Hallgrim said with a smile. This quickly had Johanna playing along with the act.

"Oh, yes! This is my fiancé," Johanna said, smiling lovingly at Thomas and warping her arms around her best friend's arms. Making Thomas blush when he felt his arm between her breasts. "The man who I chose to be with forever and love with all my heart. Right, dear?"

To sell the act—and because she secretly wanted to—Johanna lovingly kissed Thomas on the cheek.

"Definitely!" Thomas said a little too loudly. Some of the adults and kids looked at the two, making Thomas and Johanna feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. Luckily, they looked away and went back to their business. "I…sorry, I just…I really love this woman!"

Ms. Hallgrim looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow at the supposed couple. Looking down at their hands, she saw that they didn't even have engagement rings. However, wanting to remain professional, Ms. Hallgrim sighed and said, "I see. Then, I was hoping that I could talk to you both about your daughter."

"Oh, that's right! Please excuse me, but I want to see my daughter's collection," Johanna said with a smile. She grabbed Thomas' hand in a death grip and pulled him away from the teacher. "Let's go, dear."

The two of them walked over to the kids, getting Hilda's attention. Seeing her mom again, she smiled and waved at her. "Mum!"

"Both of you, explain," Johanna firmly said to her daughter and Thomas. "Now."

Seeing the look in Johanna's eyes that told her not to lie, Hilda gave up quickly. "I…I didn't want Thomas to leave, Mum. Ms. Hallgrim was going to kick him out. So, I…kind of told her that he was my new dad," Hilda said.

At first, Johanna blushed at the thought of Thomas being her husband. Shaking off the idea, she said in a disapproving voice, "Hilda, you shouldn't have lied to your teachers."

"I know, but we've got a big problem," Hilda said with urgency. "David brought a baby troll rock to school."

Johanna, with wide eyes and a panicked look on her face, covered Hilda's mouth. Unknowingly mimicking what Thomas did a few minutes ago. She looked around the room, thankful that no one heard her daughter. "Are you sure," she asked, pulling her hand away.

"It can't be anything else," Hilda said.

"Oh, this is bad. This is bad," Johanna said with a hand on her forehead. "If they find out that David brought a troll into the city, we're all in trouble."

"Wait, how will all of us get in trouble," Thomas asked. "It was David who brought it to class."

"Thomas, dear, a troll in Trolberg is kind of a big deal," Johanna told him. She had her hands on his shoulders, making the younger man blush. "That's why we have a huge wall around the city. If it's discovered that we knew about it, then we'd get the same punishment."

"I heard about a kid who got caught with a troll rock and went to jail for 50 years," David said with fear in his eyes.

"What if it's an accident," Thomas asked.

"Then you get a hundred years!"

"They really, really don't want anyone doing it by accident," Frida said.

"Which is why we need to get rid of it before the sun sets. And we don't have much time to do that," Hilda said, pointing to the window with wide eyes. Thomas turned around, and his eyes widened, too, when he saw the sun starting to settle on the city's horizon.

"Okay, then we're going to have to get it back over the wall before the sunset," Thomas said.

The door opened behind the group, and Ms. Hallgrim entered with a janitor. They walked over to the broken projector on the floor. "What are we going to do about Ms. Hallgrim," David asked. "We can't get into her desk without her noticing."

Just as the group was about to start thinking up plans, the draw of the deck rattled. What was bad was that the teacher was standing right next to it and heard it. Ms. Hallgrim pulled out her ring of keys and unlocked the drawer.

"Shit," Thomas whispered.

"Language," Johanna said.

"Sorry."

Ms. Hallgrim opened the drawer, and the small group prepared for the worst possible scenario. However, the troll didn't jump out, run around, and terrorize the room and the people. It was still only a rock. The teacher rummaged around the box of David's rock. But she saw nothing.

Thinking that she was losing her mind, Ms. Hallgrim closed the drawer and walked away. Seeing her walking away allowed the small family and Hilda's friends to sigh in relief.

However, their sense of relief was shattered when the teacher walked up to the same group.

Then, out of pure luck, Frida's parents interrupted Ms. Hallgrim.

"Oh! Ms. Hallgrim, I'm glad we caught you." Blocking her path, Frida's mother said, "As you're aware, Frida's math score slipped from a hundred to 99%."

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "What's the big deal about that," he asked Frida, who sighed in embarrassment.

"They want to raise my grades back to a hundred," she said.

"Seriously?"

"Focus." Johanna nudged her 'fiancé' with her arm. "How do we get the rock out of the room?"

The drawer rattled again, getting the attention of both the teacher and Frida's parents. "Hey, Pines, think we've got a ghost in there." Frida's dad joked with a chuckle afterward.

Frida groaned in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

However, Thomas had an idea. Reaching into his pocket, he secretly flipped on the anomaly detector. The device started making the same sonar sound after Thomas pulled it out, getting the teacher's attention and some of the other students and parents.

"I don't know about ghosts, but there's something in here," he said, acting like this was the first time the device turned on.

"Thomas, what are you doing," Johanna said, looking at the others in the room with a panicked expression.

"What I'm good at," he said.

"Sir, what are you doing?" Ms. Hallgrim questioned as she pushed past Frida's parents and stared at the redhead with a glare.

"Sorry, ma'am, I'm just doing my job. Your principal called me a few minutes ago, asking if I could come in and see about disturbances in the school." Thomas lied to Ms. Hallgrim. It wasn't the best lie, but the only lie he could think of, and it was based on the reality of his profession. Being called around town for jobs allowed him to be known as the best person to solve unnatural problems. "And by the looks of my anomaly detector, there's something in here. Tell me, has anyone died in this room?"

"W-What?!" Ms. Hallgrim exclaimed as parents and students started looking afraid and muttering to each other. Realizing the panic that was about to unfold, she tried to calm everyone down. "No! No, of course not; no one died at this school."

"I bet she's doing this," Trevor said as he pointed accusingly at Hilda. "She's a witch!"

"Back off, kid!" Thomas snapped.

"Okay, that's it!" Ms. Hallgrim had enough of the curate going on in her classroom. "I don't care if you're the girl's new father. You're leaving at once."

"Ms. Hallgrim, you don't get it. If this isn't a ghost, then it's something else," Thomas told the teacher with urgency in his voice. "Something capable of hurting people."

Ms. Hallgrim rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Like what?" Her words tempted fate as her desk drawer rattled again.

"We're about to find out," Thomas said. "Give me the keys."

"What? I will not!"

"Ms. Hallgrim, please." Johanna approached the smaller woman and said, "I've been around my fiancé long enough to know that when he's serious about the paranormal, it's for a good reason. Please, trust him. It could be something serious."

"M-Mrs. Lindquist, you can stop pretending this man is your—" Ms. Hallgrim was cut off when Johanna leaned over her.

"No one is pretending."

Ms. Hallgrim was a little surprised by Johanna's attitude, beginning to doubt herself if she was right. However, something was going on with her desk, and even she wanted to know what it was. "Fine," she said, begrudgingly handing over the keys to Thomas.

"Alright, stand back," Thomas said, waving his arms at her and the others.

Walking behind the desk, Thomas crouched down in front of the desk and stared at the rattling drawer. Thomas glanced up at Hilda and Johanna. The young girl gave Thomas a big smile to show her support. Her mother was more concerned with the younger man's health but smiled and nodded.

Turning back to the drawer and pulling off his jacket, Thomas then placed the key into the lock. With a turn, he unlocked it and pulled the drawer open.

"HAHA!" Thomas yelled, startling everyone in the room as he drove into the drawer, making it look like he jumped at whatever was inside. However, he simply grabbed the rock and warped his jacket around it.

Standing, he held up his jacket as if it were a sack with the troll safely inside. "Gotcha! No worries, everyone. It was a gnome," Thomas said, walking around the desk.

Ms. Hallgrim looked just as surprised as the others in the room. "Wha…I…"

"Must have teleported in the drawer. I'll take care of him," Thomas said, walking toward the door. Could gnomes teleport? Maybe. Shmebulock Jr. did say that the gnomes had a few tricks up their sleeves.

Hilda sighed in relief when Thomas got the troll. She was going to offer to help him and bring Mom along. That way, they could get away from her teacher and prevent Johanna from knowing how badly she was doing.

However, the blue-haired girl stopped when she looked back at the window. Her heart sank when she saw the sun setting on the horizon.

"Oh no."

Thomas was just a few feet away from the door when the troll woke up. Suddenly, the troll started moving around in the jacket, making Thomas stop.

"Oh, that ain't good," Thomas said, already predicting what was about to happen. And he was right when the troll swung around in the jacket, sending Thomas falling down on the ground. "WHOA!"

Landing on the ground, the troll in the jacket suddenly started pulling Thomas around with surprisingly strong force, dragging him all around the floor as parents and their children tried getting out of the way.

"Hilda!" Johanna screamed, picking up her daughter before the troll and Thomas took her out. She watched with growing concern as Thomas slid past her and across the room. The troll ran underneath a chair and table, which led to him getting slammed into them.

"Thomas!" Hilda screamed.

"I'm okay!" Thomas yelled. He pulled hard on his jacket, making the little creature stop. Acting quickly, Thomas picked up the troll, keeping him hidden in his jacket. "See, everything is under control," he said, standing up and presenting his jacket.

The troll suddenly jumped at his face, head butting.

"OW! Son of a bitch!" Thomas yelled before the troll started jumping around in his jacket, pulling Thomas around in the direction it went as he stomped on his feet. "Whoa, look out!"

David's parents, in front of Thomas, ducked back as the jacket was swung at them. "Are you alright," asked Andy.

"Yep, AH!" Thomas yelled when the troll in the jacket jumped up, yanking Thomas' arm up and off his feet before coming back down. "Totally under control."

As the adults and children watched the fiasco, Ms. Hallgrim looked none too pleased with what the P.I. was doing in her classroom in front of her students and their parents. And Hilda saw this. She became increasingly concerned about what her teacher was going to do or say when this was over, and she could tell the talk with her mum was going to be very much worse than it would have been if they didn't get the troll out of the school now.

"I've got to help him!" Hild jumped out of her mom's arms.

"Hilda, wait!" Johanna cried out, but her daughter was already running to Thomas.

The blue-haired girl jumped at the out-of-control jacket and grabbed it. "Got it!" She exclaimed, holding the troll inside. However, this did not stop the little creature, who used its strength to pull her in between Thomas' legs. "Whoa!"

"AH!" Thomas yelled as he was flipping on his back and slammed into the floor.

Together, he and Hilda—laying on her stomach—groaned in pain together as Johanna rushed over and checked on her daughter. Luckily for her, Hilda sat up without much help. Leaving Thomas the mother's next big concern. "Thomas!" Johanna moved over to his side and helped him sit up.

"I'm okay…" Thomas groaned as he held up his jacket, only to panic when he saw that it was empty. "Where'd it go?!" Thomas looked around fanatically. Johanna, seeing just how bad the situation was going to get, looked around with her crush as well.

Hilda heard something behind the desk and went to investigate. Peaking around the corner, she saw the troll running away behind the other side. "Thomas!" Hilda shouted, pointing at the troll as the tiny creature began running under desks and chairs. Staying out of sight of most people while causing as much damage and panic as possible.

"What is going on?!" Ms. Hallgrim yelled at Thomas and Hilda.

"A very angry gnome?" Thomas said as he ran over to where the troll was last seen: a table with a white sheet on it.

Getting down on his hands and knees, Thomas lifted the sheet and looked around in the darkness. At first, he saw nothing. That was until a small shadow ran out the side. Thomas quickly got up from under the table and looked at the counter across the table. But all he saw while scanning the supplies was nothing.

That was until he spotted the glowing eyes of the troll before it quickly ducked behind a stack of paper.

Thomas moved to grab him. However, the troll knocked the paper down on him, covering its escape.

Brushing the paper away from his face, Thomas saw what appeared to be small muddy footprints on the wall that led up to a hole in the overhead cabinets.

"Okay, that wasn't there before. Probably," Thomas said as he stood up and looked at the cabinets. "This is a really old school."

Thudding and clattering could be heard in the cabinets as the troll made a mess of the interior. As it did, Thomas followed the noise until it came to a stop at a slightly open door. Then, suddenly, it swung open as multiple books were thrown out.

"Get down!" Thomas yelled, ducking down to avoid getting hit. At the same, Johanna quickly took her daughter and hid behind the teacher's desk. Some people, however, didn't have the same kind of reflexes. One mom was hit in the legs, which took her off her feet before hitting the ground. One dad was knocked out by a book to the face.

Soon, everyone was rushing to the other side of the room to get away from the 'gnome.' Hiding behind whatever cover they could find. However, some were still hit by books or pencils.

One man even got hit in the butt by a pencil.

The third cabinet door opened, and the troll started throwing the buckets of paint stored inside. One of them landed in front of Ms. Hallgrim and splattered yellow paint on her clothes. An act that she wasn't happy about. However, it wasn't directed that anger at the troll.

When the throwing stopped, Thomas stood up and looked into the cabinets. However, he saw that the troll was gone.

"Thomas!" Hilda yelled as she peeked out from behind the desk. "There it is! I've got him!" She quickly ran at the troll as it ran under the student desks.

"Hilda, wait!" Johanna called out. However, she was too slow to stop her daughter from diving under the desks. And she was too late to tell her not to bump her head.

Thomas ran over to Hilda and helped her crawl out from under the desks. "Where'd it go?"

Hilda groaned as she looked around the room. She then saw a glimpse of the troll as it dashed under the cover of the table her nittens were on. "There!" Hilda pointed.

"Alright, say back," Thomas ordered as he rushed to the table.

Getting down on his stomach, Thomas crawled his way under the sheet and saw the troll baby growling and tearing up a book. Sensing the human, the little troll turned around to snarl at Thomas.

"Easy, little guy," Thomas said, moving in closer to the troll. The last thing he wanted to do was spook the tiny beast. "No one wants to hurt you."

However, the troll wasn't scared. He was angry. And so, he angrily jumped on Thomas' face and started scratching and hitting him. Outside the table, everyone watching gasped in startled fear when it began shaking. Underneath it, Thomas was doing everything to keep the troll away from him. However, the baby was matching him in his strength.

"Agh! I just…wanted Hilda…to have a good parent's night!" Thomas yelled at the troll as he wrestled it.

Hilda watched as the table shook violently with growing concern. However, the blue-haired girl saw her nature project was about to fall off the edge. Acting quickly, she drove in and caught the jar before it hit the ground.

She sighed in relief. However, that relief was short-lived when Ms. Hallgrim walked in and towered over the young girl. "Hilda," the teacher said sternly.

"Uh…hi," Hilda said with a nervous smile.

However, the troll, having escaped Thomas, ran out from under the table and bolted to the door, laughing as it fled the room. A second later, Thomas crawled his way out with scratches and bruises of his own.

"Come on!" Thomas told his friend as he got up and ran to the door. Hilda, determined to get the troll, placed her project on the table and ran behind the young man. Frida and David joined them, and together, the four of them cased after the troll.

"Hilda! Hilda, get back here!" Ms. Hallgrim shouted after her troublesome student.

"Thomas, be careful," Johanna called out.

She was about to chase after them to help before Trevor and his mom blocked her. Neither of them looked happy. "So, you're Hilda's mother," she said with a glare. "What did your little monster and your husband do to my angel?"

"Whoa! Hold it right there," Johanna said, already not liking the way the other mother was acting and talking to her. "What are you going on about?"

"Oh, I'll tell you! Your daughter scared Trevor so badly he wouldn't even go near birds," the woman replied with a harsh tone.

"Wait, aren't you the boy that hurt the Great Raven?" Johanna pointed to Trevor.

"Don't you point at my son!" Trevor's mom slapped her hand away from him.

"Hold it," Ms. Hallgrim said, "What seems to be the problem?"

"I'll tell you, Ms. Hallgrim!" Trevor's mom proudly proclaimed. "I want that woman's feral little monster out of this school immediately, and I want that American inbred hillbilly banned from coming on school property! They scared my little angel! Just because that woman spread her legs to breed his basta—!"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, you bitch!" Johanna snapped when she got in the other woman's face and glared at her with daggers in her eyes. The aggression she was met with stunned Trevor's mom, much to the surprise and even delight of some of the parents. Even Ms. Hallgrim, who wasn't the biggest fan of the school's Karen, was shocked by the kind and loving mother's anger. "I don't know if you bothered to notice, but your son was harassing birds, as well as the Great Raven. If it weren't for Thomas and Hilda, he wouldn't have flown over the city. Oh, and if I hear you say those words about my daughter and best friend, I will make you regret it!"

The room was silent for a moment.

"Wait. I thought you said Mr. Pines was your husband," Ms. Hallgrim said with a suspicious look.

Johanna, realizing how much she screwed up, froze in place. "Uh…yes, I did…but, really, isn't that how all marriages start out?" Johanna said with a nervous laugh. "After all…they…they say…"

"I knew it! He's not related to you or your daughter. And after this fiasco, I'm having security remove him from the school," Hallgrim exclaimed as she rushed out of the room.

"What?! No, Ms. Hallgrim!" Johanna yelled as she ran after the shorter woman.

---

The troll baby ran down the hallways of the school. Thomas, Hilda, Frida, and David chased him in hot pursuit. However, it made a turn at one corner and disappeared. The group of four friends turned the same corner only to see an empty hallway.

One of the lockers suddenly made a rattling sound, alerting them to the possibility of the troll being in one of the lockers.

Frida checked one locker but saw nothing inside and closed it.

David checked one that was filled with balls. The troll was inside that locker and jumped out, scaring David and making the balls inside spill out onto the floor.

The group continued running down the hallway. However, when they passed by a water fountain, David stopped and walked up to it. Taking a moment to quench his thirst. The others turned back and saw this. With annoyed looks on their faces, they walked back to David and impatiently waited for him to finish.

However, the troll ran across them, and they had to give chase again. Frida pulled David away from the fountain, and the four resumed their mission.

The troll then broke into one of the teacher's offices, and the four of them looked all over the place. Luckily, the search wasn't too long, as the troll baby popped out of one of the filing cabinets. It ran out of the office, and Thomas and the kids chased after it again down the hallway.

Thomas was easily able to keep up with the troll. However, when he looked back, he saw that Hilda and her friends slowed down. They had come to a stop a few feet behind him and were entirely out of breath.

"Hilda, are you guys okay," Thomas asked, running back over to them.

"Don't….worry…" Hilda said between breaths. "Go! Don't lose it."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yes, don't let it escape. We'll…We'll join you in a moment," Hilda said, still trying to catch her breath. "Go!"

"Right, right!" Thomas quickly turned and began running away.

He turned around one corner and nearly ran into Principal Magnusson. "Oh! Whoops! Hope you're not leaving yet," he said with a jolly smile under his mustache. "You wouldn't want to miss the statue unveiling."

"Oh, you mean the statue that everyone saw outside the school when they came to the school? Yeah, can't wait to see it again," Thomas said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. He panted a bit as he continued. "I'm just…uh, running to the little boys' room. You know, to do big adult stuff like, uh, number two."

The teacher chuckled and said, "Good, good. You know what they say about sculpture. Ahem." As Magnusson cleared his throat and prepared his speech, the ceiling air duct behind him suddenly opened. The troll baby crawled down the wall. Thomas' eyes widened when he saw it. The principal didn't hear the vent and started his speech. "'The chisel is the lightning that brings life to the clay of the stone.'"

Thomas nodded, pretending to listen to the fat man as he kept his eyes on the troll. The little guy violently tore up a poster that said to watch out for trolls.

"You know what? That would go well in my speech. I better go rehearse again! Oooooh!" Magnusson gushed over his speech as the troll ran away again.

"Oh, yeah! Can't wait to see it. Woo!" Thomas said as he ran past Magnusson and chased after the troll.

Turning down an L-shaped hallway, Thomas paused his chase to get a moment to breathe. Nothing happened the way it was supposed to have gone tonight. He was supposed to be bonding with Hilda, meeting other adults to talk and make friends, and spending time with Johanna. But now he was lying to teachers, chasing down trolls, and Hilda was in trouble with Ms. Hallgrim.

Determined to make a change to his luck, get back to the, and salvage the night, Thomas opened his eyes to get back to searching. However, that's when he saw an air duct vent on the wall near the floor. The only thing was that it had a hole in it. One that could only have been made from a small creature with freakish strength.

"Oh God, please give me a break," Thomas groaned, and he walked toward the vent.

Kneeling down, Thomas looked into the ventilation system and pulled out his anomaly detector. Turning it on, Thomas saw the blip on the screen, indicating that the troll baby was inside the ventilation system. What's worse was that the vent was too small for Thomas and even Hilda. If Alfur was there, he could ask him. But without the little elf, he was limited by what he could do to catch the troll.

"Oh, please don't let this nightmare get any worse," Thomas said. However, the universe must have really wanted him to suffer because the next thing he heard was a roar from the distance.

Feeling his heart thumping in his chest, Thomas stood up and slowly walked over to the window.

And that's when he saw her: the mother troll. She was easily the size of a 1,000 lb polar bear with glowing eyes shining in the rain as it glared at the school.

A few days ago, this troll woke up outside the walls of the city, only to discover that her child was gone. Then she saw the hole the vittra dug outside the walls. Realizing what happened, the troll became determined to get back her baby. And so, she dug into the underground tunnels, destroying the system and killing any vittra that got in her way. Their lives mattered little to her.

And now here she was. Her instincts guided her to this human building, where her baby was being held. With a mighty roar, she started walking towards the school.

"Oh, come on," Thomas groaned.

"There he is!"

"Huh?" Thomas turned his head just in time to see one of the school's security guards tackle him to the ground. "Ow!"

"Thomas!" yelled Hilda as Thomas was grabbed by another guard and pulled to his feet. With the young girl were Johanna and Ms. Hallgrim.

"Ms. Hallgrim, please, my daughter and Thomas lying to you was wrong, but there's no reason to treat him like a criminal," Johanna said to the small woman. Thomas, however, tried to get out of the guard's hold of him. "Please, just let him stay."

"After the incident in my classroom, I don't think so," the teacher said harshly. "I want you to take Mr. Pines out of the building. I'm going to talk to the principal about banning him from school grounds."

"Wait! Ms. Hallgrim, you don't understand!" Thomas said with a panicked expression, showing the terror he felt at the situation that was about to happen. "I get it. You don't like me, but you've got to let me get the creature that attacked your class. It's not a gnome. I lied about that, but it was only to protect you and everyone else. It's…It's a baby troll, and its mother is coming this way."

Ms. Hallgrim looked at Thomas for a moment. Then she burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one."

"It's not a lie. It's real!"

"I've had enough of this." Ms. Hallgrim said with a glare. The teacher then pointed down the hallway. "Get Mr. Pines off of these premises immediately."

"Wait, Ms. Hallgrim! You've got to listen to me!" Thomas pleaded with the teacher, but the two guards pulled him away.

Hilda and Johanna could only watch in a mixture of sadness and guilt as Thomas was dragged away. The young girl was about to call out to him when she was grabbed by her shoulder.

"Hilda, it's time to talk," Ms. Hallgrim told her. Causing the blue-haired girl to look down in defeat.

---

The guards stopped dragging Thomas down the hallway and allowed him to walk in front of them on his own. "Okay, you guys don't have to be walking behind me," he said to the two security guards. "I learned my lesson and will never do it again."

"Sorry, sir, we're just doing our job," the guard on the right said. "You pretended to be another girl's father."

"In a way, I get it," said the other one on the left.

"You do?"

"When my stepdad came into my life, I didn't really care about him," he said. "But that man never gave up on me. He was there for me when I needed a dad, and to this day, I love him like he was my own."

The other guard was tearing up. "That's so beautiful."

"Yeah, that's amazing," Thomas said, feeling a sense of hope in his heart. "I don't know if Hilda would have seen me that way. I mean, I'm in love with her mom."

"You mean the MILF in the sweater with the killer body," the left guard asked.

"The very one."

"Luckily bastard."

Thomas was about to talk more about the two when his device went off again. Gasping, he pulled it out and saw the blip on the screen again. He stopped and watched as it came down straight towards him and the two guards.

"Uh, sir, we're not at the entrance," the right guard said.

"It's coming this way," Thomas said, looking at the ceiling.

"What is?" The left guard looked scared as he and his partner pulled out their taser.

The three men stood together and stared up at the ceiling. Soon, they heard the troll running down the ventilation system. As the two guards shook in fear, Thomas followed the sound as it passed over him and went down the hall in the direction he came from.

As the troll left, the guards stopped being cowardly. "Uh, should we tell Ms. Hallgrim that there's a raccoon in the ventilation system again, and it's heading to her office?"

"What?!" Thomas grabbed the man by his shoulder and looked at him with panic in his eyes. "Is it going to her office?!"

"Yeah, why?" The man's eyes widened when he realized why he was panicking. "Oh, wait, the woman you love and her daughter are there too!"

"Oh my God, Johanna!" Thomas yelled as he ran down the hallway, determined to save the woman and her daughter from being killed by a mother troll.

---

As for the woman he loved, Johanna sat next to her daughter, wondering why her teacher was so insistent on talking to her. It must have been something serious, but with a troll still in the building and Thomas no longer there to help take care of it, the mother hoped for a speedy conclusion to the meeting.

Sitting behind her desk, the teacher began the meeting by saying, "Mrs. Lindquist, I've called you to this meeting because I've been very concerned about Hilda's behavior for a while. But, tonight, Hilda has proven she simply cannot fit the mold of a proper student. And she's dragging Frida and David down with her," said the teacher. "However, I suppose it's not entry her fault. It's clear to me now that it's this Pines character that's the core of Hilda's behavior problems."

"Excuse me?" Johanna looked offended by the woman's words.

"Mrs. Lindquist, please. You don't have to continue the lie about Mr Pines being your husband," Ms. Hallgrim said. "I recommend that, for the sake of your children's future, you keep her away from that man and that Hilda be moved to a smaller transitional class that can offer more…personal attention."

Thoroughly defended and discouraged by the teacher, Hilda sighed in sadness. "I'm sorry, mum. I guess I haven't adapted as well as you and Thomas thought," she said. Becoming desperate, she grabbed Johanna's arm. "B-But, you're not going to ban me from seeing Thomas anymore, right?"

Johanna would say that she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. That she was being forced to choose between the man she loved and her daughter. To choose between her daughter's happiness and her education.

However, she'd be lying if she said that.

"Like hell I'm keeping Thomas away from you," Johanna declared, surprising both Hilda and Ms. Hallgrim. "And you're not going anywhere, Hilda. You're staying right where you are."

"M-Mrs. Lindquist. I don't think you understand—"

Ms. Hallgrim was cut off when Johanna said, "I'm afraid that I do, Ms. Hallgrim. Now, you're going to let me talk. First of all, I just want to say that I'm sorry about what happened in your room. Normally, Thomas is quite professional and capable of handling trolls."

"Uh, ma'am, you can't possibly believe that was a troll," Ms. Hallgrim said, still trying to dismiss the notion that there was one.

"Oh, I do. I've seen them with Hilda and Thomas," Johanna told the teacher. "First, Hilda's behavior. The way I see it, Hilda saw a potential threat to the school and tried not to cause a panic. Also, the fact that she had dragged her friends into this is an excellent sign. Hilda needs her friends to grow. Ever since they met, she's learned so much from them about how to be a normal kid. If you pull Hilda out of their class, you'll be setting her back."

"And when I mean friends, I mean all of her friends. Thomas may be a bit odd and out there, but he is a great man and, most importantly, a great father-figure to my daughter," Johanna said with confidence as her daughter looked at her in stunned silence. "Of all the people who came into my daughter's life, Thomas is the one who has made the greatest impact. He's been the father-figure I wished Hilda had growing up, and I want him to continue to be in her life. No matter how crazy his profession can be—"

Suddenly, the ceiling over the desk cracked and collapsed, with Thomas falling down and screaming before landing on the desk. "Ow! Dammit!"

"Thomas!" Johanna and Hilda exclaimed as the paranormal investigator lifted himself up on his elbows, groaning in pain.

Thomas groaned as his eyes swirled. "Found a vent that fits my size."

"What on earth is going on—AH!" Hallgrim screamed when she looked up and saw the troll jumping down towards her.

The troll kicked her in the face, knocking her out of her chair. It then landed on Thomas' back and started jumping around the room on furniture. On one shelf, it started throwing framed pictures and pictures, forcing Johanna and Hilda to duck for cover.

"That's it!" Thomas yelled as he jumped off the desk and started trying, once again, to catch the troll. This time, however, he didn't have the luxury of having it hidden.

"What on earth? Ow!" Hallgrim got her head jumped on by the troll again.

The troll landed on the top shelf of the bookshelf. He grabbed a book and took a bite out of it, then started throwing more down on the floor toward Thomas. The young man had to hold up his hands to shield himself as he slowly walked toward it.

"Come here, you little troll!" Thomas yelled at the troll.

The little creature, however, hopped on his head and landed on the desk. Thomas turned around, and the troll turned to face him. The two stood in a Mexican showdown. Thomas narrowed his eyes at the troll, and the troll narrowed his eyes at the human man while growing. Both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move.

However, it was Hilda who acted first. She jumped onto the desk, landed on her stomach, and grabbed the troll. "Got you!" Hilda said, holding it up as the baby struggled to get free of her grip.

Thomas sighed a breath of relief.

Ms. Hallgrim, however, looked at the troll in dread and shock. "Is that…a troll?" Gasped the teacher.

Johanna popped out from behind the desk and pointed to the window behind the teacher. "Yep, but I'd be more worried about that one," she said, bringing everyone's attention to the window.

Behind the window, standing in the rain and with the "Welcome Parents" banner hanging on her, was the mother troll. She glared at the humans in the office with rage as lightning flashed behind her. Hearing the sound of her child, she scanned the room for him.

"Okay, this is bad," Thomas said, grabbing the teacher and pulling her away from the window. "Johanna, get Ms. Hallgrim away from the window." He pointed to the wall with the bookshelf. "Hilda, stay behind me, and don't let go of that baby."

"What is he doing?!" Ms. Hallgrim exclaimed as Johanna pulled her to the bookshelf. Both women sat on the ground, watching as Hilda got off the desk and hid behind Thomas.

"I-I don't know. Thomas, what's the plan," Johanna asked.

"Giving her back her baby," Thomas said. "She doesn't want to cause trouble."

"This isn't a game! We have a troll inside the city," shouted Ms. Hallgrim. "We've got to sound the alarm."

"No, don't!" Thomas said, holding up his hand. "Ms. Hallgrim, if you sound that alarm, we're going to have a crisis on our hands."

"This is a crisis!"

Hilda turned around to her teacher and said, "Wait, he's right! It'll cause panic and fighting, and David will go to jail for a hundred years."

The troll baby, seeing his mother between Thomas's legs, began crying loudly. Hearing her baby's cries, the mother's eyes widened as she placed her giant hands on the glass. Wanting to get in, she began putting pressure on the window. Causing a crack to spiderweb out.

"He's lost his mind!" Ms. Hallgrim pulled out her phone. On her screen, she opened Trolberg's emergency app and scrolled down to the last tab. It was a red button for a troll attack.

However, before she could do so, Johanna grabbed her phone and took it out of her hands.

"What are you doing?!"

"I…I don't know if Thomas is right or not, but I trust him," Johanna told the teacher.

"You're all crazy!"

The troll's mother roared and slammed her hand into the window, smashing it and throwing glass into the room. Thomas, using his body to protect Hilda, covered his face with his arms as glass fell on him. It cut him on his exposed arms, but the young man held firm.

The troll then put one leg in the room and then smashed her way inside, creating a massive hole in the wall. The light went out, and she let out a roar that echoed in the darkness.

Johanna and Ms. Hallgrim gasped in horror at the sight of the troll, but Thomas still stood there and lowered his arms. Even as the monster looked down at him, the redhead looked her up in the eyes.

"Hilda, give her the baby," he said cautiously.

Nodding, Hilda walked in front of Thomas and held up the baby troll, who reached out for his mother, gibbering and saying 'mama.' Johanna placed her hands over her mouth to hold in her gasp.

The troll looked down at Hilda and roared at her. In the end, however, she gently reached out and took back her baby. The moment the baby was out of Hilda's hands, Thomas pulled his daughter-figure away and held her close to his right leg.

Luckily for the two of them, the danger was over. The troll smothered her cooing baby by holding her child to her face, with their noses crossing. The mother then turned to Thomas and Hilda. She opened her mouth and let out a rhythmic combination of growls and gaggles.

That might have been what Hilda, Johanna, and Ms. Hallgrim heard. But Thomas, it was as clear as someone speaking English.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Thomas gasped and said, "You…you can talk?"

The troll, however, didn't wait to answer him. She turned around, walked out of the office, and began walking away in the rain.

Hilda looked up at Thomas in wonder. "Did…did you say she talked?"

"Yeah. You didn't hear her?" Thomas looked at Hilda with wide eyes.

"No." Hilda shook her head. "What did she say?" She asked with her big, curious eyes.

Thomas and ruffed her hair. "She said thank you, blueberry," he said, bringing her into a side hug as they watched the mother and baby walk away.

Behind the two of them, Johanna and Ms. Hallgrim stared at the duo in stunned silence. The teacher had taken back her phone, her figure poised to press the button. However, after seeing what she saw and seeing the trolls leaving, she turned off the app. "I…I don't understand," she said to Johanna. "How…How did he know?"

"I'm afraid that's the sort of thing he excels at," Johanna said, staring at Thomas and Hilda with a big smile. Her admiration grew exponentially as a result of her crush's bravery and dedication.

---

Then Thomas found his jacket on the floor. He picked it up, only to see it was torn up on the inside. "Ah crap," the redhead sighed. Tying it around his waist, he took a moment to look around the classroom as both parents and students helped each other clean up the mess. He then spotted Hilda and smiled at her as she talked with her friends.

When the four of them walked back into the classroom, everyone wanted answers. What was that roar? Was it really a gnome? Luckily for the makeshift family of three, Ms. Hallgrim had stuck to the story of the troll being a gnome.

She'll have to do some more explaining as for the hole in her office, but Thomas said he'd vouch for her.

Afterwards, everyone, with the exception of Trevor and his family, volunteered to help clean the room.

"She really is a remarkable girl," Ms. Hallgrim said as she walked over to stand beside Thomas. Her hands were behind her back, and she had a smile on her face.

"Yeah. She's one of a kind," he said. "Oh, and, uh, thanks for letting Hilda stay in your class. And, you know, for not telling anyone about the troll. I doubt David would last long in prison."

"You're quite welcome. Thank you for dealing with our little 'gnome' problem," Ms. Hallgrim said with a smirk. She then looked a bit ashamed. "And…forgive me for misjudging you. A stranger coming to school with no kids and claiming to be another student's step-parent—it's not a good look for you, you know?"

"Totally get it," Thomas said. "I'm just glad you don't hate Hilda anymore."

Ms. Hallgrim's eyes widened a bit at the thought of hating one of her students. "Mr. Pines, I can assure you that I never once hated Hilda. I just hate some of the things she does…okay, I really hate some of the things she does," she said. "For example, tonight."

"Valid."

"But do know that I'm only hard on her because I know she has what it takes to be greater than what she is. That, and I was just afraid that she'll be isolated from the rest of her peers because of her…oddities."

"And your solution was to put her in an isolated environment," Thomas asked.

"Yes, looking back now, I can see where I was wrong in that regard," Hallgrim said. "But I only did it for her good. The world is an unforgiving place, and as a teacher, it's my duty to prepare my students for a world that would shun anything that fits outside the norm."

As he thought about what the small teacher said, the more Thomas began to understand her point of view. In Gravity Falls, he was viewed as normal due to the fact that the town was so odd that it became normalized. However, if he were to have been in Hilda's shoes and had to move and go to a school with ordinary people, he would have been isolated because of the weirdness that had been a part of his life since birth.

"Guess people aren't ready to know about the weird world we live in," he commented.

"Indeed," said Ms. Hallgrim. However, after she said that, an idea began to emerge in her head. "But, perhaps we could prepare the children for that weirdness."

Thomas blinked and looked at her strangely. "What do you mean?"

"I'm thinking that maybe you could visit the school once a week and teach my students about the…unnatural things around town. So that they may be better prepared for them," Ms. Hallgrim told the young man with a smile.

Needless to say, Thomas was surprised by the offer, but he was also happy to receive such an offer. "I would be honored," he said.

The two adults shook hands, and Ms. Hallgrim turned and walked away.

"So, which one of you came up with the new dad idea," asked Johanna as she walked up to Thomas with a teasing smile.

Blushing brightly, Thomas stuttered a little bit as he said, "O-Oh, it was Hilda's idea."

Johanna raised her eyebrow. "And you went along with it?"

"I-I had to. You weren't here, and I would have been sent home…" The young man stopped when Johanna started giggling.

"Relax, dear. I'm not mad," Johanna said with her breathtaking smile. "If anything, I think it's cute."

"Really? To be honest, I'm not really sure why she went with that idea," Thomas said, crossing his arms and turning to watch Hilda.

"Well, maybe she sees you as a dad."

The moment he heard the mother say that, Thomas's eyes widened as he turned around and looked at the woman he was in love with. "R-Really? She really thought of me like that?" He asked with a smile growing.

"I've seen the way the two of you are around each other," Johanna told her best friend, bumping his hip with hers. "I know how much she craves to have that connection. For a long time, since her father left us, Hilda's been wanting to have a father in her life. It makes me happy to see she has a wonderful role model in her life to be that father-figure. And I know that you see her as a daughter figure."

Thomas blushed brightly as he looked away in embarrassment. "So…where do we go from here?" He asked the older woman.

The world around the two seemed to fade as both man and woman stared at one another. Smiling, Johanna placed a hand on his cheek and stroked it softly. Thomas stared into her eyes as the beautiful older woman moved closer to him. Johanna looked up at the taller young man. She then did something that surprised them both.

She kissed him.

It was a simple peck on the lips, though Johanna held it for a moment longer before pulling away. Thomas stared at her with wide eyes, as both of them were a blushing mess. The feeling of her soft, warm lips on his still lingered as sparkles appeared around the two of them.

"Whoa…sparkles…"

"Yeah…"

The romantic and magical moment was cut short by Magnusson bursting into the room, shouting and yelling in agony. "I have terrible news! Horrible news! It's a catastrophe!" The principal sobbed as he fell on his knees. Everyone in the room looked at him with wide eyes and confused expressions. "Oh, my heart hurts! Oh, please, no! Why?!"

"What happened?" Ms. Hallgrim asked, alarmed, thinking that something truly terrible had happened.

"The statue dedication is canceled!" The principal cried before going back to sobbing. The teacher just sighed exasperatedly.

---

As Thomas, Hilda, and Johanna came walking out of the school, they saw that the troll had smashed the statue of Edmund 'the Troll Slayer' Ahlerg.

As Hilda walked ahead of the two adults with her jar of nittens, Thomas and Johanna walked together. Smiling and blushing as they stole glances from each other. It was going to be a long walk to their cars.

So, until they would have to be separated and drive home in their own vehicle, Thomas secretly reached out and gently held Johanna's hand. Their fingers intertwine as the start of a new relationship begins.

---

AN: WOO! Made it! With season three coming out tomorrow, I had to work quickly to get this chapter done, and I've got to say, I really like how it came out. We had action, comedy, family bonding, and a high level of romance from Thomas and Johanna.

The first act of this chapter was all about Thomas and Hilda being an adorable father/daughter duo. Our hero has had a positive impact on Hilda's life, and that girl's been the best daughter-figure Thomas could ask for. And just like father/daughter duos, they get into trouble and shenanigans.

We also got to meet some of the parents at the school. Fun fact: the character models for David's parents were based on the show's director, Andy Coyle, and his wife, Erika. And because they haven't been named yet and likely will not be, I decided to give them names based on their real-life inspirations.

And then we have Johanna coming to terms with her feelings for Thomas, with the help of Alfur. We all knew it was going to happen soon. And at the end of the chapter, we finally have the two of them kissing. However, it doesn't mean that they're officially dating. That comes in the next chapter, and it will get very spicy at the end.

So, to address the elephant in the room. Anders. Unlike the smut story I wrote before this one (where the husband was a dick who left Johanna and cheated on her because she wasn't fulfilling his needs), I left the circumstances of Johanna and Anders' divorce/separation up in the air, with only the first chapter having hints of Johanna's bitterness towards Anders. This was done because when I was writing the smut story, it was before the new books came out, and I was free to write about the dad however I wanted. But now, with season three coming, I can see what this guy is like. Meaning that the backstory of the first story would be retconned. However, I'll still leave it up for anyone to "enjoy."

I haven't read the new books. I've only ever seen the show. The only information I do have is from Wiki, and it doesn't really paint the best picture of the guy.

"Anders always disappears suddenly and without warning to his next adventure whenever he feels overwhelmed."

"However, Anders did not stick around to help raise Hilda but instead only dropped by occasionally for brief visits, the last one being back when Hilda still lived in her old house."

Why do I get the feeling Hilda and Soos would have a lot to relate to? It might not be as bad in the series, but it definitely leaves me with a negative impression of the man. Now, the show could prove me wrong, but the point still stands that he left Johanna to raise his daughter while he had the time of his life going on adventure. I'll likely have Thomas call him out on that fact.

So, we'll have to see what happens in season three.

The next chapter is going to be The Lost Clan. Long-time readers of mine will know that the episode The Nightmare Spirit was already a chapter in my Gravity Falls story, "Weird Things." It has David's Marra and Kelly in the chapter, with the Marra getting killed in a brutal way and Kelly getting the shit beaten out of her by a little old lady.

So, with both of them dead or not really old, there's no point in doing the chapter all over again. So, we move on to The Lost Clan in the next chapter.

Until then, farewell.