"Jim! I'm here!" Kanjigar called out as he entered the cave

There was no response. No patter of small feet.

Kanjigar frowned; usually Jim was all over him by now. Where was the child?

"Jim?" He called again.

Concern began to take root in his chest and the old troll lifted his head and tested the air for the child's scent. He could smell both Jim's scent and Merlin's. They were fairly fresh but…

Kanjigar sniffed again.

There was something unfamiliar in the air. A slight shiver ran through him setting his tusks on edge.

He followed the strange scent through the roughhewn hallways and deeper into Merlin's abode. What was it? No one could get in here without Merlin's permission.

The scent led him to Jim's room. Kanjigar's whole body was tense. If something had happened to the boy…

His hand wrapped around the amulet where it hung from a chain around his neck. Without a word the armor materialized around him. He didn't summon Daylight just yet but he kept one hand free as he eased open the door.

The room was empty but the strange scent was fresh.

All Kanjigar's muscles were tense as he entered. He moved slowly; leaving the door open as a precaution.

His ears were pricked and alert as his eyes swept over the room.

Jim's toys sat undisturbed on the small shelf he had liberated from the junkyard. The picture book he had borrowed from Blinky was still there.

There was no sign of the boy himself.

His eyes tracked across the room before a small movement drew them.

Curled in the large pile of blankets that served as Jim's bed was a small blue troll. They were staring at him with wide surprised eyes, both hands slightly raised as if that had been just holding their horns.

His eyes snagged on the hands. The five fingered hands.

Kanjigar's nostril flared as he took in their scent. It smelled both like troll and human, with a heavy scent of some unidentified potion hanging over it all. More importantly it smelled like Jim.

A changeling.

Kanjigar's ears went back -a jolt of betrayal stabbing through him like a dagger- He'd been fooled. His ears pressed tighter against his head as his fist clenched. Had he ever met the real Jim or had the impure been pulling his strings the whole time? This was what happened when a Trollhunter let themself get attached.

The low growl that rumbled from his chest caused the imposter to flinch. Its eyes widened further and its ears pressed down.

"Kanji…" It started.

Kanjigar didn't give it a chance to spin its net of deceit. In a second he lunged forward pinning it to a wall.

The impure shrieked and wailed. It clawed at his hand for a moment before going limp. It shook as big tears dripped down its face. Its eyes looked so much like Jim's that he felt a pang in his core at the sight. He shook his head and steeled himself; he wouldn't fall for crocodile tears. Not again.

"How long ago were you planted," He demanded.

If the changelings had found a way to fool even Merlin, they would be in trouble. If he was being honest part of him hoped that somehow, against all prior knowledge of when the exchange could happen, the changeling was a recent plant and he had actually known the real Jim.

The impure didn't respond. It just kept whimpering and pressed its eyes closed. It was a very convincing actor. He would give it that.

He opened his mouth and…

"What are you doing?"

Kanjigar startled at Merlin's harsh tone. He hazarded a glance back at the doorway, careful not to let the changeling completely out of his sight. He looked furious. His brows were drawn together and his eyes flashing.

"I found this changeling in Jim's room," Kanjigar reported, switching his gaze back to the creature he had pinned against the wall. "I was trying to find out just how early the exchange happened."

Behind him Merlin huffed out a sigh.

"Put him down," The wizard said. "That's Jim, not an imposter."

"What? But Master Merlin…"

"Don't Master Merlin me. Put him down now."

Puzzled but deferring to the wizards judgement he let the changeling drop. It hit the ground and stayed where it was curling in on itself and shaking. It looked positively frightened. He felt the unwelcome pang of sympathy again.

He shook his head trying to focus and figure out what was going on.

Why would Merlin…

There was no way.

"Did you let that changeling in here?" Kanjigar asked horrified. "You knew the whole time."

That would explain why the wizard had been so careless with him and expected him to take care of himself. Despite appearances, changelings were not planted until they reached mental adulthood and were capable of fending for themselves.

"What? No," Merlin looked offended.

"Then…"

"Jim is not a changeling. I would not take one of Morgana's servants into my house lest I wake up with a knife in my back. I'm not a fool!"

"Then what…"

"Jim was a human but now, thanks to the potion I have been working on since I woke, he is a half-troll."

Kanjigar blinked unable to quite process that sentence.

"What?" He said dumbly. He had never heard of such a thing.

Merlin sighed.

"Walk with me."

The wizard turned away. Kanjigar hesitated glancing back toward Jim who was now hiding under the blankets. He half turned toward him before glancing in the direction that Merlin had went in.

There was no saying how long Merlin would stick around but now that he knew that the small troll was actually Jim (Even if he was still struggling to believe it.)… The flash of the boy's scared eyes, his desperate sobs and Kanjigar, the very troll who he had trusted pinned him to the wall…

Kanjigar's ears pressed down.

He took a step in the direction of the blankets before stopping.

He should give the boy some time to recover before he approached him. Not only that but he needed answers.

Once they were back in the main room, Kanjigar turned to Merlin. His anger at himself for hurting Jim was mixing with his anger and confusion toward Merlin for… whatever he had done. The turbulent emotions set his tusks on edge. He managed to fight down the snarl that was threatening to crawl up his throat, but his voice still came out more sharp than respectful.

"Why would you do that to Jim? What point is there in turning him into a… a half-troll?"

Humans and trolls were not meant time be mixed; changelings were proof of that. Even if they did not die by the sword or succumb to the webs of their own treachery, the magic that was forced into their stone aged them prematurely. They often suffered joint problems and fatigue as a result of hybridized systems –A weakness Kanjigar had learned to exploit when he came into conflict with them. They were doomed the weaknesses of humanity and trollkind while being rejected by both.

What purpose could Merlin possibly have in inflicting such a fate on such an innocent young child?

He drew himself to his full height ready to stare the wizard down until he got answers. Merlin eyed him through his thick brows.

"Because he will be the next Trollhunter," He said.

Kanjigar stilled.

"What?"

In his shock it felt as if he had taken a step back out of his own body.

If Jim was going to be the next Trollhunter that meant…

Merlin sighed, looking slightly regretful.

"Yes, according to what I saw studying the future, you're destined to die in the next decade or two and the Amulet will choose James when you're gone."

The first thing Kanjigar's mind latched onto was just how soon that was. A couple decades was hardly the blink of an eye… The next was…

"But he's just a child…"

Grown adults… great champions even… had crumbled under the weight of the amulet. Tellad-Urr the Terrible had been the most shocking and horrifying example but unfortunately not the only one.

"Then make sure you don't die soon," Merlin said. He sighed again. "Look I brought him here to make sure that when the time came he would be ready to take up the mantle." He gave Kanjigar a look that the troll couldn't quite interpret. "Perhaps you could start teaching him some combat and other Trollhunter skills. You were saying that younglings need to run around."

Something welled up in Kanjigar's chest as he finally managed to push through his shock.

"Yes," He said, lips curling up slightly from his fangs. He had to take a breath to force down his anger. It didn't work. "But they also need to have friends and enjoy the freedom that comes with their youth. I've already told you that Jim should not be trapped in this cage… in this cave all the time… but…" Kanjigar took another breath, the first hints of a snarl rode on the exhale. "But knowing what the future has in store for him. He needs to have time to just be a child even more. The mantle of Trollhunter is a heavy one. Caring for the wellbeing of many is a great burden. You of all people know that."

He tried to catch the wizard's gaze but he refused to meet Kanjigar's eyes. The flame flickering in his chest kindled brighter. He hadn't felt this way since he found Draal- back when his son was still just a whelp- cornered up against the edge of the tree line by some idiot younglings who thought terrorizing others was fun and who had not yet realized just how small of a slip it took for one to turn to stone.

"Let me take the boy to Trollmarket," Kanjigar suggested, still trying to be reasonable and keep some semblance of control over his temper. "He'll be safe there. He'll be able to play with other younglings and grow up at a normal pace, then when the time comes for… for him to take up my mantle he'll have had a chance to properly enjoy life first."

Kanjigar waited for Merlin to reply. The silence stretched out between them. Kanjigar thought the wizard looked older than usual: tired. His shoulders were slumped and lines of tension traced his forehead.

"No."

"What?"

"I said no." Merlin looked up and met the Trollhunter's eyes finally. Once again his face was unreadable. "James will not be accepted in Trollmarket. If you are looking for a place where he can be safe and happy and carefree… Well I'm sorry to break your delusion but that will not be it."

Kanjigar growled and open his mouth to argue. The amulet hummed ominously on his chest in response to his emotions. He knew without trying that it was impossible to remove right now.

"Do you really think the other trolls will notice nothing odd about him?"

Kanjigar paused at his words and Merlin seized on that hesitation and continued.

"You yourself thought he was a changeling. Do you think you are the only one who will come to such a conclusion? The only one to treat him harshly because of it?"

Kanjigar flinched. Jim's scared face as the Trollhunter had pinned him to the wall reared up in his memory again.

"Well?"

Kanjigar turned away, shame curling around his throat.

"I need to go check on Jim. I will think about what you said."

He left the wizard, before he did something else he would regret, and hurried back to the small room. Jim was nowhere to be seen but Kanjigar could smell his strange new scent.

"Young Jim," He said hesitantly.

There was no response.

The Trollhunter moved slowly into the room.

"Jim? Are you there? I am sorry about how I acted. That was wrong of me."

Still no response.

Kanjigar's ears pricked. There. He could hear harsh breathing.

It seemed he was still in the blanket pile. Kanjigar carefully lifted the thick downy blanket that was on top of the pile.

Jim flinched when the light hit him and curled into himself. Kanjigar released the blanket, not feeling quite right disturbing the boy, and it fell slightly to the side.

Kanjigar sighed. He crouched down and then stayed there for a moment, unsure of how to go forward.

"Young Jim…"

Kanjigar trailed off and ran a hand over one of his horns. This was all his fault. He had crushed the poor boy into a wall. Threatened him! A simple apology was nowhere near sufficient.

"I'm sorry Jim," he said anyway to the boy's back. "I thought you were something else, an enemy, but how I treated you was wrong. I won't do it again. Can you forgive me? Or at least let me check to make sure you are unharmed."

The boy didn't respond but Kanjigar saw that one of his ears was turned back toward him. And wasn't that a change? Kanjigar fought down the sense of unease that arose at the boy's strange scent and odd features. This wasn't the time to deal with that. It wasn't Jim's fault.

The boy remained quiet. Eventually Kanjigar did the only thing he could think of and sat down on the ground next to him. Both ears twitched in his direction at that but other than shivering Jim still didn't move.

Kanjigar waited. If there was anything being Trollhunter had taught him it was patience.

An hour passed. Jim began to move more but seemed determined not to leave his spot. Not while Kanjigar was in the room.

The Trollhunter felt the shame curl tighter around his core. If only he had taken a moment longer to assess the situation. If he had done that Merlin might have arrived before he had hurt Jim and this could have been avoided. In the past he might have, but after the incident with Nomura, Kanjigar had become wary. He couldn't forget how casually she had dropped her act when it no longer suited her or the burn of her blade on his side. He definitely couldn't forget how heartbroken Draal had been.

He sighed and ran his hand down his face.

It was then he had realized that his enemies would take advantage of anyone close to him. It was then that he had started working alone. He found himself wondering sometimes if it was the right decision. Draal was angrier these days. He had heard that he was getting into more fights. Blinky had suggested it was because he wanted his father's attention. Kanjigar wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but he had made a decision and needed to stick to it.

Kanjigar wrenched his mind away from that painful line of thought and focused his gaze on the wall across the room. It was fairly plain rock at first glance, lightly textured with regular divots that suggested someone had worked on it with a chisel. If one looked close they would notice that thread thin veins of emerald ran through the darker stone. It made sense that Merlin had chosen this place, Kanjigar mused. The wizard's magic was green and magic tended to be better enhanced by crystals of similar coloring…

His thoughts were broken off by a quiet scraping to his left, he carefully didn't look.

He wasn't quite sure what else to say either. He had already apologized; what else did one say to a child that they treated as a spy?

"Do I really look that different?" Jim asked.

Kanjigar looked at him cautiously out of the corner of his eye, making sure he wasn't going to bolt, before looking at him fully. It was an odd question. He would have expected Jim to ask about the things Kanjigar had said when he was threatening him instead.

He took a moment to study the boy's changes.

Like his scent, his appearance was now a mix of human and trollish traits. His skin was stoney. Whether that went all the way or was merely on the surface Kanjigar didn't know. He didn't particularly care to find out either. His nose was still relatively human, a little flatter and broader than it had been, but human. His ears were longer and freemoving now but his hands had retained five fingers each. Of course there were a few troll species that had five fingers but it was a rarer trait. (One often associated with changelings…) His hair was courser, but still black. Small tusks just barely poked out between his lips.

"Your eyes are the same," Kanjigar said after a moment.

The boy jolted and then looked up at him. Indeed the rest of him may have changed but those bright blue eyes were the same.

"The rest of you looks different but they haven't changed at all."

"Oh," Jim said and looked away again.

He looked down at his feet a quiet frown playing across his lips.

"Do you think my Mom would recognize me?" He asked quietly.

Kanjigar felt something his chest tighten.

"I don't know," He said softly. As much as he wanted to comfort the child he couldn't lie to him on this. It would only bring pain in the future.

He paused a thought flickering in his mind.

"Does she not know… Was she not informed of your change?"

He hoped Merlin had discussed this with the boy's parents beforehand, but… well…. The Wizard had shown that he was careless about such things. A lot of heartache could have been avoided if he had told Kanjigar beforehand…

Perhaps he had thought Kanjigar would try to stop him. (Perhaps he was right.)

Jim drew his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He pressed his face between them and murmured something that Kanjigar couldn't quite make out.

"What was that?"

"She wasn't there," Jim repeated softly. His voice caught and Kanjigar realized that he was starting to cry. "I went to our house before… when Merlin told me about the potion. I…" He hiccupped and lifted his head a little to wipe at his eyes. "I wanted to see her before… But there were other people there. They said she'd moved… left."

Jim's shoulders shook and a slightly louder sob came out of him.

"What if I see her again and she doesn't know who I am?" He almost wailed. "What if…" He grabbed at his long ears, tugging them down in distress. "What if she's scared of me or hates me?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "What if she thinks I'm a monster?"

Kanjigar reached out and picked him up. He pulled him to his chest and wrapped his arms around him. For a moment Jim struggled but then the small half-troll pressed his head into Kanjigar's chest and wailed.

It was a lonely, painful sound. Not quite troll or human.

It made Kanjigar's chest ache.

He rested his chin on Jim's head and rocked him gently as the boy cried.

Eventually he quieted and then after a little longer he breathing evened out.

He'd fallen asleep, Kanjigar realized.

He shifted him to a slightly better position and then leaned back against the wall tiredly.

What was he going to do?

He had had his hesitations about Jim being in Merlin's care but after this…

He meant what he said about wanting to take Jim to Trollmarket. Unfortunately Merlin was right: the other trolls would be hesitant to accept Jim. There was some advantage to the fact that he was young. If he could convince the adult trolls that he was not a changeling they would not harm him… Most likely…

Kanjigar's status as Trollhunter would certainly provide some protection but even if Jim was safe from the adult trolls…

Kanjigar grimaced. The adult trolls wouldn't be the only problem. In his experience children tended to pick up on their parents' prejudices. It was possible Jim wouldn't be accepted among them either.

That was even without getting into ages.

The troll children who were mentally Jim's age were already over a century. There were differences in how they approached and understood things as a result.

Not to mention he didn't know if Jim was going to keep aging at a human rate or slow down…

Kanjigar carefully shifted Jim so he had a free hand to rub his forehead.

"What am I to do with you?" He murmured to the sleeping child.

He didn't know. He really didn't know.

Jim shifted in his sleep and made a soft whimper in his throat. His brows drew together and he pressed his face harder against Kanjigar before stilling again.

It wasn't fair, Kanjigar thought. He had wished –pleaded with the amulet even- that his own son Draal wouldn't have be forced to bear the burden. He had gotten that wish: but at what cost? This boy didn't deserve to suffer it either.

He ran a hand through Jim's hair and promised himself two things.

First: He would live as long as possible. He would make sure that Jim was well into adulthood before he took to mantle of Trollhunter. Kanjigar would fight for his own life as if he was fighting for Jim's.

And second: He would do everything in his power to make sure that Jim was prepared for when his time came.

Author Notes:

Yeah Jim is going to have some trauma from that...

Chronologically this chapter takes place soon after Chapter 6. If Barbara had waited even a month to move she might have encountered Jim. (Whether that would have ended well or not is hard to say.) We'll get to see what happened with Jim's visit to his old home in another chapter.

Jim is a little different looking from his cannon half-troll form in this AU due to Merlin having much longer to work on the potion. His troll and human traits are a little better balanced. Main differences include: 5 fingers on both hands, his ears are more like Blinky's in shape than elf-like as they are in cannon, and a slightly increased immunity to the sun (I'm still deciding to what extent). There are some other things that will come up later as well.

Something worth noting is that Jim is in many ways what troll imagine changelings look and smell like. Actual changelings switch from fully troll to fully human, but changelings are not frequently interacted with so images get distorted over time. Kanjigar knows this but it escaped his mind in the moment.

I don't recall seeing Kanjigar interact with any changelings in cannon but I have no reason to believe that he would be an exception to the general attitude toward them.

This is the end of this three part arc. I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will take place in the present.