Just a Dream?!

His decision was made and the Time Stone was connected to his Amulet. Around him, the sphere of light and pure energy orbs formed, and as its power lifted him and made him float above the earth, he felt that it was different. The magic emanating from the Amulet Douxie and Krel had crafted felt as old as the master wizard himself. But unlike with Merlin's Amulet Jim sensed no underlying resignation in it. He had never been so aware of it before, but in that moment, as the armor formed to his body for the benefit of all, he realized the difference between Merlin's and Douxie's magic.

Smiling, he looked at the wizard and then let his eyes wander to all his earthly and not-quite-earthly friends. Founding Claire's eyes his heart ached leaving her. But despite the grief and the throbbing black hole formed by seeing Strickler's death which painfully manifested in his chest by the loss of his best friend, he felt something new growing inside him. Hope.

"Whatever happens next, I'll make sure this isn't goodbye. I promise."

He trusted Nari's words, and the hope of saving his fallen friends - of saving all those who had needlessly given their lives in this ancient battle - made him feel calm inside.

A trollhunter fights till the end...

Yes, he knew what he had to do, and with a determined exhale, Jim closed his eyes as he activated the power of the Time Stone with his will.

With a loud gasp, Jim awoke. Panting and with unnaturally wide eyes, he stared at the ceiling for a long moment before his alarm clock sounded its wake-up call at 6 am to the second.

With a movement that could only be attributed to his muscle memory, he dropped his arm onto the alarm clock so that it fell silent again. Slowly blinking but still breathing fast, he became aware of his surroundings, and with an even slower movement, as if fearing the worst, Jim palpated his face and then his upper body when he found no scars. But neither there nor on his arms did he find any injuries caused by the flaming inferno of a skyscraper-sized primeval titan and its staff-wielding owner.

"What the heck was that!" he finally muttered, taking a deep breath. "Was that… a dream?"

After a few minutes of just lying in bed, Jim was convinced it was a dream. Everything pointed to it - he was in his pajamas, and with a little effort of his gray cells, he could remember everything he had done yesterday. That would hardly be possible if several years had passed since then. Right? But damn, this... dream had felt so real! Everything about it. Every exciting and joyful moment, every kiss... Every hurt and pain of every loss! He-

When the image of Toby, lifeless and half-buried under rocks, came back to him, Jim suddenly felt sick. With one swift movement, he pressed his hand against his mouth and staggered out of bed and into the bathroom as quickly as his tired limbs would allow. Just in time, he managed to bend over the toilet as the last remnants of yesterday's meal took their leave.

It took minutes for the retching to subside. Just as he flushed the toilet with a shaky hand and pressed his forehead against the cold toilet seat to get some relief, he heard his mother.

"Honey? Is everything okay?"

Jim could hear how sleepy his mother's voice sounded, and with a guilty groan, he closed his eyes. He wanted to answer her, to tell her he was okay. But he completely lacked the strength to do so.

"Honey?"

Her voice sounded closer now. Then she apparently stepped into the bathroom, because all at once her voice no longer had a tired undertone but a motherly alarmed one.

"Jim! What happened?"

Then he felt a hand on his shoulders, supporting him, while her second felt for his forehead.

"It's okay, I've got you," her soft voice whispered to him, giving him more relief than the coolness of the toilet seat. For there wasn't an ounce of pain or grief in it that had poured out before when Walter was gone.

Triggered by his thoughts, he saw in his mind again the explosion in the icy cold of the north, when Waltolomew Stricklander was pulverized, and promptly he felt sick again.

His mother stroked his back with steady movements as he tried to get the nausea under control. There was already nothing left in his stomach and only bitter bile burned in his throat.

"Ugh..." Jim tried to say something, instead spitting out the little bit of spit that was trying to collect again.

"Here, Jim."

His mother handed him the toothbrush cup into which she had poured water. When she had done this was beyond him. He must have been totally out of it...

Dazed, he rinsed out his mouth, feeling a little better afterward.

But physically and mentally still fatigued, he then let himself sink against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Okay, Jim. Just sit here for a moment. I'll call Toby to excuse you to school today. You can't possibly go there with a stomach bug."

"Ugh- Mom..." Jim began, but by then his mother had already left the bathroom.

'Stomach bug... Yeah right' he thought, trying not to let his mind wander too much. He could do well without a third round over the toilet bowl!

'That couldn't have been a dream! But then what?' With a quiet groan he let his forehead sink onto his knees and thought of his time as the Trollhunter. With a frown, he reflected the hours upon hours of tireless training that Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Draal, Strickler and Nomura subjected him to. Yet he didn't feel physically changed from yesterday! No muscles had he built up, no more stamina. And that meant it couldn't be anything but a dream, right? Right? But how could his subconscious create such an insanely long, insanely intense and insanely nerve-wracking dream for him? He hadn't watched any part of Gun Robot in the last few days, nor had he seen or read anything disturbing that could give him such thoughts! And the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table had been gathering dust in the back of his bookshelf for a good eight years, after he had put several school books in front of it. And trolls? A talking cat which in reality was a dragon? A book seller and waiter, whom he had surely noticed subconsciously in the cafe, but had never spoken to?

'Wait a minute! Douxie!'

That was the solution! He would just go to the cafe and speak to him.

'I can't know his name, the waiters don't wear name tags. But if his name is really Hisirdoux Casperan, it can't have been a dream! Then... then it would all have to be true.'

But would he want it to be true?

It was really strange. It was as if he had really lived through those three years. As if all the feelings he remembered, the joy, excitement, love, but also the fearfulness at the beginning, the calm before a fight when he was a half-troll and the anger and rage were really part of him. Now? Now he somehow wasn't afraid at the thought of this magical world around him. Yes, of course, all the dead hurt his soul immeasurably, but just at that moment he felt only an inner calm that almost worried him.

Bracing himself against the edge of the tub, Jim pulled himself up just as his mother was climbing the stairs again. Now, that he had composed himself a little, he could even show her a little smile. Nevertheless, she quickened her steps and grasped him supportively by his shoulders.

"Jim, slow down a bit. Come, I'll help you back to bed."

With slow but firm steps Jim managed to walk back to his room without her having to support him much.

"Toby wishes you a speedy recovery and he'll bring your homework over in the afternoon. You rest for now and I'll make you tea and bring you some zwieback for when you get hungry."

"Thank you," Jim whispered while sitting down on his bed. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, honey," she replied with a smile in her voice, kissing him gently on his forehead.

When he sank down onto his pillow and his mother tucked him in, he didn't see how the billowing of the fabric threw a very tiny greenish shimmering stone down onto the floor, where it dissolved into a small misty cloud of magic.

Three hours later Jim opened his eyes with a soft exhale. He felt better, but he hadn't slept a minute. When the sound of the door reached him, which led his mother into the garage, he straightened up and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It had been long three hours, but when he put on his clothes after a quick bathroom stop, he was more determined than he had ever been about anything before.

Putting another zwieback in his mouth, he walked down the stairs just as he could no longer hear his mother's car. He had maybe an hour. Jim had given her extra requests for the shopping list so she wouldn't be so quick to come back, while reminding her that her hairbrush had already lost several bristles. That would buy him extra time, because if there was one thing Dr. Barbara Lake couldn't do, besides cooking something eatable of course, it was to be decisive about grooming products.

Less than five minutes later, he was already approaching the canal on his bicycle.

Would it be there?

After the initial shock and a few sips of chamomile tea with zwieback, Jim had been able to think calmly about this crazy-real dream. Assuming it was real Jim would have wanted to use the Time Stone to take himself back to the day when it had all started. That meant to the day he had found the Amulet. And somehow Jim couldn't shake off the feeling that that day was happening at those very moments!

Well, he would find out in a moment. Surely, questioning Douxie would have been a sure way to find out what was real and what was not. But that couldn't wait. He remembered all too well the... vision Merlin had sent him through Unkar and what had happened when Draal had become the next Trollhunter. No, he couldn't take that chance. Especially if it was real, then Bular would only have to wait for the next night to get the Amulet. For Jim couldn't count on Blinky or any of the other trolls of Trollmarket taking it. He would-

"Argh! This is so confusing!" Jim groaned as he pedaled his way toward his destination. He didn't even know if it was real for crying out loud! And did he even know if Toby had taken the path through the canal this morning? If it was real, the Amulet might have already called Toby... If that was the case, Jim honestly didn't know what he would do. Surely, he would support his best friend to the best of his knowledge and abilities. But he didn't wish for Toby to go through all that this possible future might bring!

There! As the forest cleared, Jim slammed on the brakes. If he was wrong, he didn't want to have to climb the steep wall of the canal again for nothing. Therefore he stopped at the edge and looked down. But then his breath stopped - exactly at the place he remembered was a pile of broken stone.

As if in a trance, Jim left his bike and helmet and climbed down the wall. He never once took his eyes off the pile. When he reached it, he looked at each stone individually. And indeed… Swallowing hard and with drooping shoulders he bend down, taking a piece that had been a part of the face, before slumping down and starring into the lifeless stony eyes of what once had been Kanjigar the Courageous.

He sat there for quite a while and mourned a friend and mentor, whom he actually didn't know at all and who nevertheless had been with him for the last three years. Even if these three years had passed for Jim in a period of one single night.

"Kanjigar..." Jim whispered, feeling his throat tighten and his cheeks moisten. "Draal. Vendel. Nomura. Strickler. Angor. Nari!" Tipping his head back he stared heavenward, which was so unspeakably blue, as if all was right with the world. But nothing was right for Jim at that moment.

"Everything is true. Magic exists. Merlin and Morgana. Toby. Oh, Tobes," Jim sobbed, before feeling how a gentle magical wave hit him. When he lowered his gaze again, he immediately found the source. Hidden under a small rock it laid - Merlin's Amulet.

Jim had no idea how long he had been sitting there, had lost all sense of time, but he didn't care at that moment. He just stared at it and waited.

"You've gone to every troll by yourself, why not me now, huh?" he eventually asked quietly. "The trolls knew what they were getting into. A human cannot know that. Is that why you waited here? For someone to find you? Or was it no coincidence at all that I took the canal today? Would have taken it? Well, you know what I mean..."

Then, he suddenly heard Merlin's voice in his mind.

Of all creatures in our worlds, I chose you!

Yes, well, Merlin had already told him why. It was Jim as if it was only yesterday that he had been sitting with the master wizard in his kitchen. But how did this happen? This dream? Vision? Simulation? This question didn't let Jim go. But he knew that another question was even more important.

While he rubbed his face dry with his left hand, he still held the piece of Kanjigar in his right and stared at the Amulet.

"Would I do it again?" he spoke his next thought aloud.

I want you to know something.

His mother's voice now sounded in his mind.

Even before you found this Amulet, way before all of this, you were always my hero.

There was still time. He could just walk away now. Just lie down in his bed again and continue to live his life as before. But could he really do so? Unlike yesterday, today he had a knowledge that literally forced him to do something.

I thought you said I had a choice.

A choice not whether to fight, but how to fight.

Yes, no matter who the new Trollhunter would be, the threat of Bular, Gunmar, Morgana and all the others would still be there and should the last defense of the world fall, Jim would nevertheless fight. For his mother, his friends, Arcadia, the world! But if he weren't the Trollhunter himself, he would have bad cards. And then Toby wouldn't have his warhammer and Claire wouldn't have her shadow magic. Team Trollhunters wouldn't exist! And then what?

I think this is what I was meant to do.

Calmness spread within him. Whatever the Time Stone had done to him, Jim was now sure it was no coincidence. He was exactly where he was supposed to be.

The Amulet didn't make me a hero. I already was.

Determined, he leaned forward and carefully placed the stone back with the others.

"Your body will take its place in the Hero's Forge, Kanjigar," Jim vowed, resting his hand on the horn of his predecessor. But as he did so, he remembered that it hadn't always looked like this. He hadn't always looked like he looked now.

Whatever magic was at work here, Jim could surely influence the course of history in a positive way. But would it be enough not to let certain events happen? Would his knowledge be enough for him to stand up to Gunmar without having to become a half-troll?

When I gaze upon you, do you know what I see? I see a champion. A friend. A son. A magnificent son.

Whatever you are… I love you.

Well, he had come to terms with that, hadn't he? And Claire had really not left him. And even if she had, wouldn't his transformation be a small sacrifice for being able to protect the world? After all, he hadn't stopped fighting before, even when his Amulet had been destroyed and he had doubted himself.

Jim's eyes widened. His Amulet? Yes, that had been his thought.

You didn't know it could do that, did you? I did. I made it.

You might have built it, but it's still mine to command!

As his gaze once more found the Amulet and its magic began to pulse stronger and stronger, Jim smiled.

"And don't forget rule number two..."

Always finish the fight!

Except Jim hadn't even started the fight yet. But he had made up his mind and knew that he was ready facing all consequences that may follow. So, focusing completely on the Amulet he felt the immense sense of purpose that enveloped him through and through.

"For the glory of Merlin…" He stretched out his hand and saw how the Amulet, now completely engulfed in blue magic, rose from the remains of Kanjigar.

James Lake.

Hearing it's call Jim nodded.

"I choose this sacred mantle."

The Amulet floated to him and landed in Jim's hand. Solemnly he looked at it and once more to the remains of Kanjigar while he exhaled before he stood up and walked back to his bike.

As he did so, his eyes briefly grazed the barred opening in the canal wall where he knew Blinky was hiding. Probably... Well, he would see soon enough if his friend had been watching him.

But for now he had to hurry home before his mother was back with the shopping.