Author's Note ~
Welcome to the second season of 3Below! We are almost there guys! Almost to wizards, we are going to try to publish as many chapters together as we possibly can!
HOWEVER!
Due to a busy, busy holiday…. There is only going to be one chapter because we all had family time.
This also helps us have the rest of the season of two-chapter updates because it's all 13 episodes!
Moving Day
A large rapidly twisting vortex shot through the darkened space. The blue light violently twisted, growing brighter and seeming to shake as the force was shot through it. It vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced with Earth as its silhouette had been lit with the brightness of the sun.
"Is no one going to talk about how scary but amazing space can be? I mean now we know it's full of life, but it's so big and dangerous, I feel like seeing life would be rare. We didn't know that other planets have lifeforms."
"Trust me, the things I've seen, space is scary."
"You humans are scared of things you don't understand," Krel started. "Look at how some of you treated us."
"He's not wrong."
A beam of gold entered the atmosphere, shooting downward and toward the woods, filling the woods with a bright light. The waves of gold were quick to die down and the spaceship that had landed there revealed a slow-moving bot that stepped from the entrance.
As it stomped through the woods and toward the cliffs, plants were lit a blaze as the enemy peered down at Arcadia. A hologram screen of the royal family was seen as the deep voice of the robot spoke.
"Tonight, Magma-Tron will crush House Tarron."
The group who had been stuck in that situation perked up, knowing full well what was going on and that they were getting closer to their future. Aja knew how excited she felt once everything came to light and people were accepted, she rea
In the streets of Arcadia, Toby raced through on his bike, panting, passing the cafe where Douxie had worked, filled with people. The man spoke on the radio as workers focused on repairing the city, mainly focused on the large gaping hole within the canal, removing the dead Gumm-Gumms that were still intact.
"Good evening, Arcadia Oaks! It's been two weeks since that night. You know the one. The one we never talk about, but I'm talking about it now. Yeah. And everyone has been working hard to finish repairs on our little town. Good job, everybody. Didn't I say Arcadia would never be the same after the Battle of the Bands? Gene, dude, you owe me ten bucks, man! I'm just kidding. But seriously, am I? Ten bucks, please, seriously. Hopefully, that's the last of the weirdness here in Arcadia. Just remember folks, what really happened that night is our town's little secret. Shh!"
Jim turned to Blinky with a smile, they two shared the same emotion once they heard that despite how weird and crazy everything had been, Arcadia was willing to keep it a secret and stayed living in their town.
It felt amazing to be able to see people willing to help one another out after such a stressful time, and Jim was beginning to wish he was there to see it. Thankfully, he was seeing it now, even though it wasn't in person, he was still very grateful.
Eli had been in his room, focused on whatever he placed on his desk as his back was turned toward his window. The focus only lasted a moment as metal crashing on the sidewalk alerted the short boy. He let out a small gasp and turned to face his open window.
He swallowed whatever fear he had and inched toward it, careful of what was waiting on the other side. However, what was waiting was revealed quickly once Eli reached the window. Toby appeared, pushing his phone into Eli's face and startling the boy.
"Ah!"
"A thousand texts! You sent me, like, a thousand texts!" Toby fell into Eli's bedroom, coming to a stand quickly as Eli instantly gripped the stout boy's shoulders.
The team chuckled at the sight of Toby breaking through the window, something he was getting rather good at.
"Do you always go through the windows now?" Steve asked.
"I feel more awesome, it's like I'm in a movie!"
"Steve wasn't answering my calls. I have to tell someone."
Toby pushed Eli off of him, answering with a teasing laugh. "What, that your voice dropped? I'm still waiting for mine to do that, why is it so dark in here?"
"Focus, Toby!"
"Okay, okay! Tell me what?"
"Something that's gonna rock your world, Toby. Things in this town are not what they seem." Eli had to use the dramatic effect of his flashlight, shining it from the bottom of his face.
Mary groaned out, throwing her head back against the seat. "Why are you always so dramatic?"
"It's the needed effect! I cannot break big news without it!"
"You're telling a Trollhunter, someone who helped start all of this, that something is weird. Shut up or tell us what you are going to say!"
"Really? Was the huge ray of light shooting up from the canals your first clue?" Toby answered sarcastically.
"That's just the tip of the iceberg. Check it." Eli pulled down the large tapestry, showing Toby what he had also shown Steve.
"Wow, dude, you've gotta get out more," Toby mumbled.
Everyone laughed as Eli's face flushed in embarrassment. While Aja and Krel sat there, mostly confused about what was funny, even Steve had to chuckle while Eli held his hands up, surprised at his friend's actions.
"I've been putting the pieces together for months," Eli mentioned, shining the light upon the board, Toby reading off every category that Eli let his light glide over.
"Trolls, sure. Wizards? Hmm, I've met a couple, Wait. Aliens? So you think there are, what, aliens in Arcadia?"
"And more. People aren't who they seem, Tobes. Look." Eli said, pulling a picture from his pocket of two familiar blue figures standing on a roof. He moved the photo over the human forms of Aja and Krel, flashing it between Alien and Human, a bit too much.
"Okay, I get it! You think Aja and Krel are aliens?"
"Aja and Krel are aliens! And if I've learned anything after six seasons of Earth Invaders, they're not here to make friends." Eli hissed, turning on the lights and moving toward his window. "I'm going to need you and your war hammer. We're gonna set traps all around Arcadia. We'll use my phone to notify us. I just downloaded an app called "Trap My Friends."
"Hold on, hold on. Why the HELL is there an app for that?!"
"We really need to stop questioning things, I should not be surprised."
"Hold on! Traps? You're not planning on killing them?"
"No, no. My traps are inescapable but very humane. Or should I say... alien-ane?"
"Yeah, you really shouldn't."
Eli opened his chest, revealing all the supplies he had to be prepared. "We'll use candy as bait, just like in Earth Invaders. Aliens can't resist Nougat Nummies." He pulled out a Nougat Nummy, instantly hypnotizing Toby
"That's true. No sentient being can resist the crunchy, chocolatey goodness of a Nougat Nummy."
Jim instantly straightened, eyes widening as he turned slowly to face Toby. Toby blinked at his friend while Claire raised an eyebrow, confused. However, her confusion turned to shock as her boyfriend threw himself back, looking as if he just realized something insanely crazy.
"Are you from out of this world…." Jim asked, letting out a gasp.
Toby instantly grinned, "it was only a matter of time before you found out my secret." As the two tried to keep a straight face, failing miserably, both Aja and Krel looked to one another and then to Toby.
"I do not understand this joke."
"Stay focused. The fate of Arcadia rests in our hands." Toby didn't seem to care anymore, only focused on the waving candy bar in front of his face. He nearly drooled as he licked his lips. "We're gonna catch those aliens." That was until Toby tackled Eli, wrestling for the candy. "Ow! Toby, stop it!"
Jim crossed his arms, shaking his head at Eli. "You really should have been more careful. Tobes will go after any Noguat Nummy."
"I forgot! It was scary for me!"
In the woods, as the morning sun shined down on Arcadia, the mothership sticking out like a sore thumb as their house was titled on the top. Both Aja and Krel had worked to wrap a thick metal chain around the ship as Krel complained, unhappy about the situation.
"Not only are we stuck on Earth, we're stuck in the middle of a stupid forest!"
"We only need to move the mothership a few blocks. Then you can fix her. Then we can go home to Akiridion-Five." Aja answered as they turned to Stuart who had been in his taco truck, giving them a thumbs up before dipping behind the steering wheel and hitting the gas.
The chains were pulled tight, and the truck's tires squealed as it struggled to move forward. The ship struggled to pull free from the dirt, but it began to move, giving Aja some hope.
"More liquid propellant!" She yelled, which Stuart followed trying to put as much pressure as possible. However, it did now work as the bumper ripped right off the truck. Aja ducked, yet, Krel had no time to, the bumper smacking right into him and throwing him to the floor, Luug barked and instantly caught it with his teeth but was thrown back by the force.
Krel didn't seem hurt by the beating as he quickly lifted his head to look at what happened. "Welp, you're gonna need more horsepower than my taco truck," Stuart said as he appeared from the driver's side door.
The crowd looked at the screen in shock, staring at Krel as well as they witnessed the hit to his head.
"And you just stand right up?"
"Yeah, you humans have very weak protection."
Krel groaned, sitting on the ground, glaring at the unfortunate circumstances. "Every bounty hunter in the galaxy knows where we are. We're too exposed like this."
"Well, think of it like camping. It's a summer tradition here on Earth," Stuart mentioned as he joined their sides.
"Well, I have my own tradition. It's called "Fixing the Mothership," and it's starting to get old." Krel said as he looked at his pet in shock, Luug had carried the bumper over as if it was a simple stick and dropped it.
In the Mothership, Zadra was furiously typing on the system, speaking to no one in particular as no one seemed to answer, which was not good for her. "Commander Zadra to Akiridion-Five do you copy? Izita, can you…"
"System rebooting. Re…" Mother said, sparking electricity from the console and shocking Zadra. She slammed his fists down as the system seemed to load.
"Blasted reboot!"
"Ree-boot. Red boot. Searching the web for red boots."
"No! Ugh!" Zadra groaned, slamming her fist again just as the kids ran in, Krel moved quickly as he spoke, standing in front of Zadra.
"Hey, hey, hey! Be gentle! That's not gonna work."
"Nothing works in this ship since that blasted Omen tore through it. I've been trying to contact the Resistance, but Mother is…"
"Rebooting...teb-reb-reb-reb-reb…"
"...that," Zadra finished defeated. After recovering from the shock, Krel began to work on the console, a video of Varvatos appearing as he talked in his logs.
"General Morando has employed…"
"Ugh! Why do you keep looking at Vex's logs?" Krel groaned out, turning to his sister who seemed saddened.
"I... miss him."
"Well, I don't."
"Varvatos saved our lives more than once! You should watch…" Aja tried to reason.
"No! I don't ever want to see that traitorous face again."
Varvatos knew they were unaware of what happened to him, however, the two in the crowd were sure that he hadn't willingly left. He knew how badly he hurt the family due to his greed and would wait for the moment to speak to them again.
Angering them when he could be possibly forgiven was not what he intended to do. Yet, staying silent when he felt the need to fix the issue between him and the kids was hard.
"Nor do I," Zadra added.
"I have to work on the repairs," Krel said, face full of hurt and anger as he worked on the console once again.
"Excellent. I'll patrol the perimeter. You and your sister stay aboard the vessel," Zadra replied, grabbing her weapon and moving the entrance.
"What? We need to see our friends!" Aja complained.
"Friends? Your human friends can't help protect you. I can. You two must stay put."
"Kleb!" The two siblings answered in unison, Krel's seeming a lot more sarcastic than Aja's.
"Besides from what I've observed, the local life-forms are rude and lack basic hygiene. I caught a furry one with a mask going through our garbage."
"Okay, besides the furry one, she isn't wrong."
"No, no. Some of us are furry, aka, lacking basic hygiene can get you extremely furry."
"I do not want to think about that."
"Is it sad that other planets think this way of us? That's bad and we know it."
"Wait! Do you mean raccoons?" Krel said, turning to face her as she walked away, the door sealing shut.
As the night stretched over Arcadia, Zadra stayed perched on the roof of the house, watching the tree lines. A light appeared through the trees, whatever caused it was not able to be seen and it instantly perked Zadra. Her eyes narrowed as she leaped onto the ground, moving quickly into the woods to see whatever it was.
Back at the house, Aja opened the door, dressed in her human attire as she watched her new guardian focus on something, leaving Aja to take the moment and hop down from her house. When she landed, a softer, duller light flickered in a pattern behind the trees, Aja quickly ran toward it where Steve waited with his Vespa.
Zadra looked at Aja in surprise. She wasn't sure what she was chasing exactly, however, the fact that Aja had been watching and took her moment the instant she knew it was available, she was beginning to think that the blonde had helped distract.
"I see how you escaped from the safety of the ship, I must now keep a closer eye."
Aja simply chuckled, finding no words to be able to answer her.
"Aja, Aja! Wherefore art thou, Aja?" He quoted the moment he saw her come closer.
"Stop! Do you want me to get caught?" She giggled.
"Oh, I don't know. Do you want me to want you to get caught?"
"Seeing as this is a stealth mission, not really. Here, hold this." She handed the strange device to Steve as she perched herself on the back of the Vespa, sliding on the helmet while Steve inspected the device.
"What is this?"
"Core scanner," Aja answered simply.
"So, where are we going?"
"To find an old friend," At that, Steve drove off, moving through the woods and onto the street as Aja watched everything in fascination until Steve began to speak.
A student groaned, "Really? That is like that one scene in a dramatic movie where some woman gets in the back of a taxi and the driver asks where she is headed and she answers with home. Like that does not answer his question! Maybe why but not where! Please, don't say that!"
"What are you talking about?" Aja asked.
"Never mind!"
"Uh, isn't this tech stuff more Krel's wheelhouse? Not that I'm looking to bring a third wheel on our date or something. My Vespa has two wheels, you know? Enough about wheels. Why am I talking about wheels?"
He grew silent as he realized how awkward he was being and arrived at where Aja was leading him to go. She leaped off the Vespa and inspected the area, holding out her phone. "This is where Varvatos crashed. No cores detected. But he's gotta be out there somewhere. I'll find you, Varvatos."
She hopped on the Vespa somberly as he saluted her, driving off. "The Palchuk is at your service."
Varvatos smiled, glad that Aja didn't look his way to see, but he couldn't hold in the emotion of seeing her search for him during the night, still believing he was a good guy. He was thankful she still thought of him, and he was hoping he would soon earn Krel's respect, despite him believing he didn't deserve it.
As they combed the city, moving through the empty streets, they passed by Eli and Toby, unaware. Yet, the two boys had instantly noticed them as they were busy making safe traps.
"That was Steve!"
"And isn't that Aja?"
"That alien has Steve! She kidnapped him! I bet she brainwashed him!"
Aja turned to face Eli, looking offended and narrowing her eyes at him. The smaller boy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck while Steve also stared him down. "Sorry, now that I know you guys aren't so bad."
"I get it, I lied to you, but come on Eli."
"My bad. Do you guys forgive me?" Eli mumbled, ignoring Steve and staring down both Aja and Krel. The moment was quiet for a moment before the siblings smiled at him, giving him a slight nod.
"Just no more offensive stereotypes!" Krel stated.
"Deal!"
"That wouldn't be hard," Toby muttered, however, Eli heard and elbowed the boy. Toby hunched over as determination crossed Eli's face.
Steve turned to Toby, staring him down in shock while the crowd roared in laughter. "That is not cool, man!"
"What, they think I'm funny," Toby stated in a joking manner.
"New plan. We have to save Steve."
"Do we, though?" Toby's voice was high-pitched as he asked, despite having received a hard jab at his stomach, the sass he held was still very much evident. Speaking of Steve, he and Aja had been circling Arcadia as Aja stared at her phone, a detection appearing and instantly causing her to alert Steve.
"It's a core! It might be Varvatos! Go back!" Steve smiled, doing as told and quickly turning around. As he sped down the road, Krel had been coming in from the other side, standing tall on a hoverboard in his human form.
He screeched out when the headlight shined on his face, the three crashing into one another. The Vespa skidded out from beneath Aja and Steve, and while Aja landed in a warrior position, both Krel and Steve hit the ground.
"Ah, kleb!"
"My tooth!"
Aja listened to the two exclaim in pain as they hit the ground before she ran to her brother. "Krel? You snuck out of the house?"
"Honestly, Aja, it's not that hard. I just copied you."
The crowd chuckled lightly as Krle felt victorious. After all, he was learning a lot from his sister and he wasn't sure if he was terrified for himself or proud that he was able to pull things like this off.
Steve laughed as he tried to pick up his Vespa, "Like sister like brother, huh?" Krel said nothing besides swiping the phone from Aja's hand and inspecting it.
"I see. Looking for the traitor?"
"What are you... Are you following me?"
"Yes! Because you know who's in trouble? Our entire planet! We need to focus on contacting the Resistance and getting back to Akiridion," Krel hissed.
"Whoa-ho-ho! A resistance. That sounds so cool," Steve said, pointing finger guns.
The crowd groaned out, staring at Steve with slight annoyance. "What, just trying to keep it positive."
"That's one way to do it."
"Varvatos saved our lives. He stopped Omen from taking Mama and Papa!"
"Enough! As the human girls say, speak to my fingers," Krel groaned, holding up his digitalizing hand toward his sister, wiggling the fingers, completely unaware. However, Aja and Steve both caught the instantaneous action.
Despite how serious the situation was, the crowd couldn't help but laugh at Krel's sassy comeback. "He is too funny, I swear."
"I love how we see everything, it's nice to know what we are missing out on someone if we don't get a chance to know them." Behind the students, Varvatos listened to the conversation, smiling proudly that they were beginning to understand how much happiness and joy Krel held.
"Kleb! Our transductions are fading."
"Good! Then we have to go home," Krel stated, the trio beginning to walk as their hands and eyes began to show their true forms. It wasn't far before they stopped in a panic, hearing the sound of a stomach gurgling. "Did you hear that?"
"It's probably just raccoons," Steve replied in a calm tone.
"Raccoons! Right," Krel said, easing his worry and suspicion.
Behind the statue, Toby and Eli were pressed against it, worried they were caught until they heard the voices fade. Eli quickly turned to peak at their fleeing targets as Toby also appeared. "They can hear your stomach!"
"I told you I needed those Nummies," Toby whispered back, rubbing Eli's head. "Now shush!"
"You shush!"
The two began to catfight, whacking one another as they continued to silence one another. "Shush, shush, shush…" However, Eli regained his composure, taking off toward his creep-slaying buddy.
Jim and Claire laughed at Toby's antics, beginning to miss him as they weren't there.
"Come on, we have to help Steve." Behind them, they were completely unaware of the massive robot armed with a vast hammer perched on the roof of a business.
"Steve!" Eli cried, running toward his friend who stopped when he heard his smaller friend's voice.
"Oh, hey, guys!" He replied before he was tackled to the ground by Eli as Aja and Krel watched in shock.
"Yeah!" Toby cried, joining in on the pile. They lay on the ground, Steve pinned beneath the two boys as Eli nervously stared up at Aja and Krel.
"Get off of me, buttsnacks!"
"You're safe now, bro."
"Pepperjack, don't use "bro." You're not cool enough, bro."
"Sorry, bro. I mean, Steve."
"Steve!" Aja called out as Eli quickly pushed himself to a stand, blocking the blonde from the two Akiridions who looked rather perplexed at his attitude.
"Stay away from our friend you darn, dirty aliens!"
"What?" Krel exclamined, now angered by the insult. "We're not dirty." The siblings hid their changing hands behind their backs once they realized they were holding them out for the whole world to see.
"And we're definitely not aliens!" Aja's remark was quickly proven wrong when their forms changed into Akiridions. "Okay, yes, we're aliens."
"There really are aliens in Arcadia!" Toby yelled before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell backward.
"That shocked you that much when you saw Trolls and Wizards, especially an entire war."
"What, sometimes you think you are prepared to know certain things but then it just takes it a whole other way."
"For Arcadia!" Eli cried out, charging at the two, yet, Steve had interjected. He held his hand out, pushing it against Eli's forehead, and kept the swinging boy at a distance while he held his ground in front of Aja and Krel.
"Pepperjack, stop! They're good aliens! I mean Akiridions." Aja smiled in awe at her boyfriend as Eli swatted his hand away, looking shocked at what he just heard.
"Steve, you knew it?"
"Uh... well, yeah."
"And you didn't tell me? But we're Creepslayerz... with a Z," Eli said with a defeated tone. Before Steve could explain, a noise had caused their heads to whip in the direction of where the robot had been.
Steve sighed lightly before looking at his smaller friend. He never thought he would feel bad for the look Eli was wearing, if anyone had told him that last year, he would have told them they were crazy. Yet, seeing the look of betrayal from Eli, knowing that he was the one to cause it, the guilt ate at him.
"Look, Pepperjack, I'm sorry for not saying anything. Someone I have feelings for told me a secret that she was afraid of doing. Something that I knew she was uncomfortable sharing with just anyone. I want her to be able to trust me with these things."
"I get it, Aja is a cool girl, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions with those guys, but you understand my side too."
"I think you both seem like good friends, sorry for putting something like that between you too," Aja stated.
"No, you don't have to apologize, I understand all of it, I'm serious." Eli finished, and the three were sharing a smile.
"Incoming!" Krel cried as the two-sided hammer came swinging at them. The group ducked in a hurry as the hammer took out a streetlight.
"What was that?" Toby cried out as they all regained themselves. His question was soon answered when the hammer swung back at its wielder, the bot standing tall on a building and spewing a threat.
"Hand over the royal cores before I break your bones!"
"Run!" Krel yelled, which the group didn't objectify, taking off as the robot prepared its attack, spinning rapidly and tossing its hammer. The weapon crashed into the concrete where the group stood, everyone diving out of its path as the ground cracked.
Steve yelped as Aja made sure he was not in the path of the weapon and once clear, the group took off once again. "Running will only make your death more fun," the robot threatened as it gave chase.
"Who the heck is this guy?" Toby asked, not able to run as fast as the group as he panted heavily.
"No idea!" Aja replied.
"How do you not know him? All aliens know each other!" Eli exclaimed as they made it beside a building, using the wall as cover while the Robot followed.
"That is completely offensive, and complimentary, that you think we would know all 50 trillion life forms in the universe," Krel hissed as he gently helped move Toby behind the wall, leaving Eli out in the open and full of shock.
"I love how Krel just finds it offensive and a compliment," Claire comments.
"As humans who supposedly study the world beyond your own, you think you guys would know," Krel responded.
"Nah, we don't know what we are doing compared to the other life forms on other planets."
"Fifty trillion?" Eli held his head right as Krel pulled him behind the wall, the hammer smacking off the building and missing Eli completely.
They continued to flee as Krel took up the back of the group, waving Toby toward safety as Krel readied himself. "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! I thought my running days were over!"
Krel pulled out his blade, prepared to defend himself as the massive robot slammed down in front of him. Reacting quickly, Krel flipped backward, perched by his sister but they could not act as the enemy took the moment to throw the hammer once again.
"I will crush you!"
The group moved on auto-pilot, ducking behind Aja as a pixelated blue shield ripped open and surrounded the group. The hammer of the beast collided with the shield, ricocheting off of it and decapitating a fire hydrant. The water sprayed from its hold, shortening out the robot and letting the steam rise from its cracks.
"Yeah, bath time!" Toby chuckled as Steve watched their protection fall back into Aja's weapon. "Alright you guys, we got this! You know what time it is?" Toby asked the vast robot, a grin on his face while his friends backed away.
"It's hammer time!"
"Hey, that was my line!"
Behind him, the group fled, leaving Toby as the Robot prepared its hammer. "Quick, behind Stuart Electronics!" Aja yelled out, Toby still unaware of his group.
"Alright guys, let's show him who's…" He looked around, realizing he had been alone, "Guys? Guys? Oh no…"
Toby cleared his throat, trying to regain his confidence. "See, a Trollhunter never runs from a fight."
"Ah, yes. I am proud of your confidence, Tobias. However, remember, always to be afraid."
"Come on, Blinky!"
Magma-Tron spun his hammer into the air as Eli called out, "Tobias!" He waved to his stout friend, the group already disappearing into the cracks between the buildings.
"I love to crush!" The bot yelled, releasing his weapon and letting the massive hammer crush the nearby truck, nearly taking Toby in the process. Toby let out a squeak, running towards the alleyway, this time moving sideways but still swearing at the unfortunate route.
"I hate this shortcut."
The robot reached as much as it could but could barely touch Toby who was pulled through the other end. "Hammer to your face! The bot threatened, its weapon cascading over the building and toward the awaiting group.
However, Aja didn't let it travel far, using her Serator as a bat and smacking away the vast weapon, watching it fly back to where it came from. It spiraled in the air and back towards its master who caught it with ease.
"You cannot escape Magma-Tron, you.." The robot's voice grew quiet as the group disappeared, leaving nothing but a paper. They retreated into the dark woods, nothing but the soft hooting of an owl had been heard, leaving the teens to pop out from their hiding spots while Krel panted as the adrenaline died out.
The sight before the humans had instantly become the focus, Toby gasping out as he stared down the house that was now perched on top of a rather sleek ship.
"Whoa! There's a spaceship growing out of your house! You have a space house?"
The group perked, realizing they were coming close to the moment they were taken from their mission and teleported to the theater.
"This is where we finally made it safe, then ended here!" Aja mentioned.
"Yes. This is where the future will soon begin. It is a rather awkward part to transfer from past to future. Now that I am watching, I realize we could have brought you here at a better time," Merlin mumbled.
"Shh!" Krel started, "that Bounty Hunter could have followed us!" The group pressed themselves against the side of the ship, "Also our spaceship prefers to be called Mother."
"Let's hope she knows how to stop whatever that life form was," Aja mentioned as she stared down the ship. The group leaped into the window, the dark house was eerie as Steve glanced around, watching as the Aliens had grown rather tense, looking around.
"Hello?" Aja yelled out, standing up straight as her eyes flicked around the room, "Coast is clear, no Bounty Hunter."
"Even better, Zadra doesn't know we're back," Krel replied as they turned toward the door that opened to the mothership. The group waited as another door opened, both Eli and Toby were excited as they watched and Krel found it rather enjoyable.
Zadra shook her head in disapproval, the kids would be the death of her. The fact that they were running from a dangerous bounty hunter and managed to survive, made Zadra question if leading a resistance was easier than raising teenagers.
"Whoa!" Toby breathed out as the commanding part of the ship was seen, two chairs hovered in front of the grand window.
"Whoa!" Eli gasped before they took off running.
"So cool, so cool! So cool, so cool, so cool!"
"Is it cool? I mean, guess I'm just used to it. You know, been here a million times now." That phrase backfired instantly when Steve tripped, tumbling nearly over the side if it wasn't Aja who caught his ankle.
"Whoa!" Eli exclaimed as Toby climbed onto the strange device, staring at a screen that appeared. The giggle he let out was nothing short of a small kid exploring such a big toy store.
"Awesome-sauce! This is so cool!" The mothership controls appeared from the floor, shocking Toby who was more focused on what just happened. Eli, however, turned to his friend whom he was still very much betrayed by. "Whoa!"
Everyone laughed as they listened to Toby laugh like an excited child as he explored the spaceship. Jim turned to face his friend with a smile, "you are getting the most awesome missions, Tobes."
"I know! I wish they were with you though, you know how awesome it would be if you and I were exploring that spaceship together!"
"Steve, how could you not tell me?"
"I just told you!"
"But what about our Creepslayerz oath?"
"What Creepslayerz oath? What are you talking about?"
"Exactly! We were supposed to write one." Eli jumped onto the floating chair and it spun in a rapid circle. "Whee!"
Eli blushed as everyone chuckled at how easily he got distracted from the spinning chair when something was bothering him. "How else would you react to a chair like that?"
By Toby, the boy was curious, pushing numerous buttons, "Ooh!" However, when he pushed a button, the console lit with a deep red, a buzzer emitting from the ship.
"Self-destruct activated." Mother replied, reacting to Toby's touch.
"Oh, no," whatever joy was on Toby's face, it was long gone. Thankfully, a rather calm Krel had been behind Toby, pushing the boy gently away and waving him off before working on Mother with no signs of panic.
"You will all die in five sectons. Four, three, two, one... Deactivated." Toby moved to the open chair, gasping in relief as he sat down.
"I can manually access Mother's database here. Just takes a couple of sectons to unlock," Krel stated, pushing random controls on the hologram command center as Aja and Steve moved closer.
"Okay, I feel like Mother was just messing with them and Krel wants to look epic and collected."
"That is quite possible," Krel answered, smiling proudly at himself.
"Log. Pulling up Commander Vex's logs."
"No, not logs," Krel hissed but Mother didn't listen, instead continuing to play the video of Varvatos who was staring down the screen.
"Delson one. Commander Vex reporting. Or should Varvatos say "Nanny Vex"?
"Mother, get him off the screen!" Krel said angrily, pressing his hand against the control.
"Next screen."
"No!"
"Delson 17. Varvatos met Nancy Domzalski…" If Toby wasn't paying attention, he was now. As the video spoke of his nana, he perked up at her name looking perplexed.
"My nana?"
"She captured my rook, my queen, and my core. She is how the hoomans would say, hot," Varvatos said dreamily, forgetting about dusting whatever he was, lost in a trance of the woman he loved.
Toby held his chest, seeming to react to the frantic beating of his heart as Jim and Claire laughed. "It's not funny!"
"It is funny, he just called your nana hot!" Jim said between laughter as Claire tried to act as if she was serious.
"Hot? Ew! No, no, no!" Toby panicked, moving toward the command center and frantically pressing everything he could to not hear it anymore. "She's not hot, she's Nana!" The video switched to Varvatos training by himself, pulling off epic moves.
"Oh, man, he's a really good fighter," Eli commented while Krel crossed his arms, glaring. "Who is that?"
"Nobody," Krel said in response, clearly angry at the sight of Varvatos.
As the screen shut off, Aja answered, crossing her arms and looking saddened. "It's a long story." Steve, who noticed her posture, placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to smile and focus on the task at hand. "Mother, any information on a bounty hunter with a giant hammer thing?"
"Searching, searching, searching, searching…"
"She's still rebooting," Krel groaned holding his forehead.
"Your order for red boots has been shipped and will arrive in two to five business delsons."
"No!" Krel tried to stop her frantically, and thankfully it worked as a screen of numerous villains appeared until it stopped on the unidentified robot, explaining each part and known facts.
"Bounty hunter identified. Magma-Tron hails from the planet Cindor. Cindorites are an almost indestructible violent race of mechanized beings known for their wanton disregard for life. They are prone to quips, ruthless cruelty, and what humans refer to as trash-talking."
"Mother, any information on how to defeat this guy?" Aja asked, stepping up beside her brother.
"Searching my database. The only known weakness is… wa... wa... wa… System rebooting." Whatever Mother was going to say had died down quickly, frustrating Aja who let out an angry groan
"This is going to take forever!"
The silence was quickly broken by Eli's phone which dinged, catching everyone's attention. When Eli pulled it up, he smiled, reading out loud what alerted him. "One of the alien traps went off! It caught something in the sewers!"
"It could be Magma-Tron!" Krel said excitedly before he realized what Eli said. "Wait! Were you trying to trap us?"
"Yeah, but only because someone never told me you guys were cool," Eli said, moving his levitating chair toward Steve to glare at him. However, the blonde simply laughed before spinning the chair and causing Eli to go flying away.
"Hey, at least the traps came in handy, right?" Eli said, trying to justify his actions. He wasn't sure it worked as the silence grew awkward. Maybe they were just focused on the show now, especially because they were seeing the future.
Yeah, that was it.
"Ah, Steve!"
"We must stop Magma-Tron before he hurts someone," Aja said, catching Eli's phone that flew out of his hand.
"Or us," Krel finished.
"Still, happy Vex is gone?" Aja scolded. "Eli the Pepperjack, take us to the sewers."
From then on, the group stalked their way through the sewers, all dressed in their warrior attire. While Toby rocked his Trollhunting costume, both Eli and Steve wore their creepslaying outfits.
The group moved silently and quickly, that was until Steve smacked his head against a low-hanging pipe and cradled his sore spot. "Ow!" Eli held up his phone screen, staring at the map that led them closer to the spot before he turned to face Aja and Krel.
"The trap is just around this corner."
"We'll take it from here," Aja mentioned before she and Krel donned their blades, even Toby letting his Warhammer grow in size and Eli couldn't help but stare in fascination.
"Whoa!"
"Ha," Toby simply said before Aja counted on her fingers right before they charged, Steve and Eli following with their bat and ninja stars. When they arrived at the netting, Zadra was stuck inside, trying to reach for the candy down below.
"Zadra?" Krel asked. "What are you doing here?"
"You know her?" Toby asked as they all relaxed.
"None of my battlefield training prepared me for the temptations of these delicious confections." She said, devouring the candy and tossing the wrapper while Eli celebrated.
Aja and Krel turned to look at her in shock, not believing she fell for a piece of candy that was believed to work, especially when the information came from a movie or television show.
"Are they really that savory?"
"I'm surprised that actually worked," Mary mumbled. "Darc, I think your boyfriend is an alien."
Darci smiled and turned to face Toby who awkwardly rubbed his head, "This is going to be a rumor that spreads, isn't it?"
"Yep."
"Yeah! The Nougat Nummies, they worked!"
"I ordered you not to leave the ship for your own protection."
"Is there some cheat sheet we could get? Like, how do we tell who's a good alien or a bad alien?" Toby asked right before a hammer thudded against the walls, swinging toward them. Thankfully everyone moved out of the way, even Zadra who used her body weight to throw her net to the side. The hammer swung passed their heads as they ducked and Toby looked back before warning them. "Coming back!"
"Toby, if you can figure it out with Trolls, maybe you can figure out what are bad aliens, especially if they keep spewing threats of tearing your limbs." Claire stated, turning to him with a disapproving look.
"You never know…."
"Give up your cores, Tarrons, before I rip them from your bodies," Magma-Tron hissed, catching his hammer.
"That is clearly a bad alien," Eli mumbled before Zadra looked shocked, she hadn't known something like that had landed and attacked until now.
"A Cindorite? My royals, run!"
"With Varvatos Vex off-planet, no one can save you now."
"Off-planet? You know where Varvatos is. Where is he?" Aja asked, raising her sword.
"Not here to protect you."
Varvatos grew hopeful, that maybe they would figure out where he was and that he didn't leave them intentionally. He tried to return to them, he hated seeing the two believe that he would just leave them, even after everything.
"We don't need that traitor to protect us," Krel hissed before Toby let out a battle cry, charging at the robot and smacking his hammer against the surface. The only damage it had done was send a shock wave through Toby whose armor rattled in effect.
"Eeh, everything hurts."
"Say goodbye to your teeth,' Magma-Tron threatened before knocking Toby back who bounced and rolled back to Aja and Krel.
"Toby!" Aja yelled.
"A little rusty since Jimbo left, huh?"
"Get me down, now!" Zadra yelled, plucking Eli up from the floor and scolding him.
"Yes, ma'am!" Eli answered shakily.
"You cannot outrun my wrath!" Magma-Tron said, throwing his hammer and causing the siblings to cover themselves with the shield, letting the weapon bounce off. "Making me work for my nine billion crestons? Good thing you're wanted alive... or dead!"
While the enemy advanced, Eli was busy crawling up the rope while Steve was giving him extra support. "A little bit higher, Steve. A little... Ah!" Eli stated when he finally managed to undo the trap, falling with the net.
Zadra landed gracefully, staring at the trap before looking at Eli. "I have a plan. Reset the trap." While they focused on their plan, Aja and Krel kept Magma-Tron back, charging with fierce battle cries and striking blows. Yet, their offensive moves quickly became defense when the bot rapidly struck.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion when the hammer hit the floor, Aja's blade swiping through it and cutting the two-headed hammer apart, each piece sliding in different directions.
"You've seen Varvatos. Where is he?" Aja asked, only receiving a laugh from the enemy before his weapon returned together as if they had never split and slammed it down where Aja had been standing only moments ago. "Our serrators have no effect on him!" Aja said as the siblings moved from the numerous blows struck, the robot spinning rapidly in circles.
The bot slammed both his hammers down simultaneously, causing a massive cloud of dust as Zadra lifted her arm, turning to the boys. "Because Cindorites are indestructible! Ready?"
The trio got prepared before Toby gave a nod of approval as Zadra turned back to the battle watching as they continued to flank Magma-Tron but it hadn't worked as the boy managed to knock Krel away. "Krel!" Aja yelled before she braced a hit with her shield, keeping it away.
"Say your final goodbyes, Princess." As Aja's shield glitched and threatened to fade, Zadra threw a stone at the bot, catching his attention.
"I'm starting to feel left out that no one is threatening me," Krel mumbled, crossing his arms as Aja let out a laugh.
"Cindorite! That's right, over here, you craz-nut soolian."
"What did you dare call me? I will knock the skulls from your bodies." He charged at Zadra, forgetting about Aja and stepping right into the net.
"Now!" Zadra commanded and the boys shouted as they pulled the trap closed, suspending Magma-Tron above the ground.
"Creep…" Steve started.
"Slayerz!" Eli finished
"And a Trollhunter!" Toby added, straining.
The trollhunting team cheered, supporting their friend who proudly kept his title. It was like watching a sports team and the fans were excited at a simple mention.
Aja slalked up toward the net, pointing her blade toward the bot's face with an angry look. "I'll ask you one more time. Where is Varvatos?"
Magma-Tron laughed, "He's on Earth's moon, rotting away in some prison cell."
"Varvatos was captured?"
"He didn't leave us. He was taken," Krel stated, looking shocked.
"By whom?" Aja hissed.
"Zeron Alpha. Commander Vex is heading home to Akiridion-Five for his execution."
"Execution?" Krel repeated as Aja gasped.
"You'll be reunited with Varvatos in death," Magma-Tron said as his hammers connected and he spun wildly, breaking free from the hold and knocking everyone back. Krel bounced down the sewers, causing Aja to charge to protect her brother.
Krel glanced at his sister, the emotions he felt now were seemingly matching the ones he held in the future. It was clear his sister knew how she felt about Varvatos, however, seeing himself forgive and worry for the mentor now knowing that he didn't leave willingly, changed everything.
They glanced at Varvatos who seemed to be looking back at them. The three couldn't read the other's emotions, but once they all glanced at one another, their facial expressions softened.
"Krel!" She tried to attack, however, the most she could do was block the numerous blows right before her shield was knocked from her hands and her weapon clattered behind Krel who looked shocked at the sight.
"It will all be over soon, Princess," Magma-Tron hissed as he raised his arms, ready to grab his hammers again, yet, this time Zadra had a different idea.
"I'm there too!" Krel whined.
"Grab the hammer! Don't let him get his weapon!" While Zadra strained to keep the hammer back, both Steve and Eli latching on to help, Krel and Aja focused on the other side, both straining and shouting as they used all their strength to keep the weapon at bay.
On the ground nearby, Toby seemed to go unconscious from the hit, but when tiny droplets of water splashed on his face, he giggled, coming out of his slumber. "Stop that! Cut it out, Chompsky."
That was until his eyes were rapidly pulled open, staring up at the pipe and remembering the effect of the fire hydrant and what Mother was trying to say before. "The only known weakness is wa... wa... wa…"
"Not going to lie, I am surprised you guys did not figure that out earlier," Claire mentioned turning to the group who all quickly realized how easy that answer was to figure out.
"Well, maybe…maybe we just wanted to be sure." Eli coughed out, rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, okay."
"Water," Toby finished, coming up to a stand and letting his hammer open back up. "Guys, Magma-Tron's weakness is water!" He screamed as he ran, jumping up Steve, Eli, and Zadra's back as he threw his hammer, smacking it right into a pipe and letting it explode.
The fountain poured over Magma-Tron as electricity crackled, the bot letting out a cry of, "No, no!" He began to power down as the group still focused on holding the hammer until Aja had an idea.
"Zadra, let go of the hammer now!" At the same time, the two sides let go of their hammers, the two colliding together and smashing Magma-Trin into nothing but lava as he exploded.
"That was awesome sauce!" Toby exclaimed.
"Yep! That's my girlfriend," Steve celebrated as he pulled Eli into a hug. He let go as Eli stared at him and the taller boy cupped his hand into a c. "And you are my friend, Pepperjack."
"Yes!"
"Creep…"
"Slayerz! Best friends? Bros?"
Mary shook her head, holding her forehead. "This is still something I am not used to."
"Right, it's so weird!"
"Yeah, okay, Pepperjack. Bros. But you're still a buttsnack."
Zadra moved to Aja and Krel who both held a hammer of their defeated enemy, Krel the first one to speak. "Sorry, we snuck out. And were nearly killed. Again. You were right."
"You were right as well. If you hadn't left the ship, I might have been killed. And I see now there aren't just enemies out there. These humans can be our allies, our friends." She said, gently tapping Toby on the head.
"This is pretty nice. Has a lightweight thruster. I can put this to good use," Krel said, finally inspecting the weapon as Aja lifted the other. From that, the group was seen, finally moving the ship back to its original spot, fitting it nicely into where it crashed the first time.
Toby had also been helping as he held the roof of the house, his hammer high in the air. The ship was still chained to the taco truck as Aja guided them with her serrators. When in place, Stuart gave the Creepslayers a thumbs up and they moved toward the hammers, doing their signature hand gesture before taking off a hammer.
"More to the left," Krel said.
"You're not helping!" Aja hissed.
"It is so funny to me that this whole thing went unnoticed… unless someone saw and did not bother questioning it because of what happened with the entire eternal night thing."
"At this rate, if I see a ship connected to a house moving back where it should be, I don't care, it's a normal day in Arcadia at this rate."
The house fit back into its original spot, and only a few days passed before a delivery driver stepped up to the door, knocking, Lucy opened it instantly, holding a knife like some murderous lady as she grabbed the package, the delivery driver simply walking away without a care.
The door shut and Zadra startled Lucy as she came up behind her, "Who was that? And what's in that chamber?"
"Red-red-red boots you ordered. Red boots. Red boots…" Mother answered once Kucy cut the box open, revealing the boots and Zadra instantly fell in love with them.
"I will keep these. I mean, confiscate them for further inspection," Zadra said nothing more before disappearing off with the box.
Zadra instantly looked shocked the moment Aja and Krel turned to face her, "As I said, I will be inspecting to see if they're safe…"
"Your eyes told us otherwise."
Back by Mother's controls, Krel was inspecting the system before digging into the control box. "This better work. Your glitching is starting to get more annoying than the Blanks. And that is saying something."
"Security protocols disabled."
When everything faded from view, Krel crossed his legs as he sat on the floor. "Uh... Mother?" A crackling noise startled the boy as the familiar shape of Mother floated behind him, causing him to turn with a grin.
"Good evening, my royal."
"Aha! It worked! How do you feel, Mother?"
"I feel... Well, I feel... almost alive."
"Would you perhaps feel like accessing Varvatos' personal logs?"
"Are you sure you want to view them, my royal?"
"Yes, I am sure."
"Accessing." Krel turned to face the screen as Varvatos was seen doing push-ups and listening to Krel's music through headphones, dancing with enjoyment.
"Four-ninety-eight, 499, 500! The princeling has become quite good at this Earthly "moo-sic." Ah! Varvatos Vex is feeling "the beat." Krel watched the moments with a smile on his face, even the one where Vex was old and wrinkly.
"...tos was meant to slay, to murder and… Varvatos is like a feeble larvox. His bones…" Memories continued to fill the screen as Aja peaked around the corner, listening to the sound of the distant video.
She slowly moved to the room where Krel was perched watching the big screen like a little kid.
"You would be proud of Aja. A glorious victory, to be sure! Commander's log. Delson 12. The king-in-waiting continues to struggle fitting in with the other hoomans. It pains Varvatos that they do not understand him. Perhaps Varvatos can beat the children into befriending Krel. Ha ha!"
Krel chuckled lightly at the threat on the other kids as Aja watched him, silent. "As your commander…"
Krel and Aja were silent as they stared at the screens, it was clear the other kids felt just as emotional, however, they paid no mind, only to the mentor who was watching with teary eyes. They had recently discovered to cry, and seeing that Varvatos was not bothering to hide his emotions was shocking.
"I think I can forgive him," Krel mumbled to his sister.
"You already have," Aja answered, the two watching the screen somberly.
"Exactly, commander! You are not my papa! And this is not my home!" Krel said angrily, slamming the door and leaving Varvatos to reflect toward Mother.
"Varvatos is trying his best, Mother, but he swears battling larvoxen is easier than raising teenagers. Varvatos does not feel like this is babysitting anymore. Aja and Krel, they are like family now."
Krel laid his head in his arms as Aja watched sadly, however, when he lifted his arm and waved his sister over, she smiled and moved toward him, lowering herself to his height and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Spending time with Varvatos?"
"I want to hate him, Aja. I want to hate him so much. But he really loved us."
Aja sighed, "I know he did. Varvatos would be here if he could."
"We'll get him back," Krel said, pushing himself to a stand as the video of Varvatos towered over him, "We're going on a rescue mission… to the moon." The moon was the last thing in view before the episode ended.
"What!" Zadra yelled out, turning to the kids who instantly tensed up.
"Oh no."