Your Future Hasn't Been Written Yet
by K. Stonham
released 23rd December, 2022

The bridge opened.

Jim vanished.

And a deep, dark chuckle sounded through Killahead, raising the hairs on the back of Toby's neck.

Suddenly, something huge and dark and slimy erupted through the gate, barely fitting through the bridge's arch. It raised itself high up into the air, screeching. Toby could only stare, gape-mouthed, at the frigging Sith sandworm that had come through from the Darklands.

"Aw, man," Toby whined. "A nyarlagroth? Again?"

Humans screamed and scattered.

Over to the side and behind the bridge, Blinky spoke up. "A nyarlagroth! They were once our ancestors' most noble steeds and companions. Perhaps it may be reasoned with."

The direworm turned to face him. Wait, did it have a face? It didn't look like it had eyes. But it definitely had a mouth, because it opened its glowing maw and screeched again before lunging at Blinky.

"Not friend," Aaarrrgghh concluded, and hauled Blinky out of the way. The nyarlagroth gave chase, whipping over and around Killahead Bridge, rocking the structure. Toby yelped, ducking as the end of its massive tail finally finished coming out of the interdimensional gate and nearly knocked him off the top of the bridge.

He stared as it gave chase around the square, snapping at Aaarrrgghh's heels as he jumped and ran and bounded, keeping clear of the biting teeth and the glowing, dripping saliva that Toby would bet anything was not good for humans.

Swallowing, he glanced around. Jim. Where was Jim?

No sign of his bestie and Trollhunting partner.

The dark chuckle sounded again.

"Gunmar," Toby breathed.

"Forward!" Gunmar roared. "Kill them all! Leave none alive, save for the Trollhunter." A low growl. "He is mine."

Toby gulped. "Jimbo," he whispered. "Where are you?"


"Not a noble steed!" Blinky yelped, looking back over his boon companion's shoulder as Aaarrrgghh ran, bounding fleeing civilians and parked vehicles alike. He jumped over Steve, who was hustling people into the safety of the cafe. "Not a noble steed at all!"

Aaarrrgghh, not having the breath to spare, only grunted in agreement, bouncing up and off the wall of the record store. The people sheltering inside screamed, but they had already moved on, down the street. The nyarlagroth slammed into the building; bricks fell free. The screams increased. It shook its head, cast about, then charged off in the new direction, resuming pursuit.

"Not good at all!" Blinky yelped, scrabbling for his pouch, which contained several dwarkstones. Unfortunately, it was pinned to his side underneath Aarghaumont's arm. "Curses!"

"Uh-oh," Aaarrrgghh rumbled.

Blinky twisted and saw, ahead of them, a short, stout, almost Trollish figure stepping out from behind the shelter of one of the food trucks that blocked off the corners of the square.

Nancy Domzalski calmly raised a rocket launcher over her shoulder. She sighted through its scope. Braced herself. Raised the device's barrel a bit higher.

She waited patiently as Aaarrrgghh ran closer, and, following him, so too did the nyarlagroth.

Finally, her finger twitched; the rocket launcher fired.

Aaarrrgghh swerved out of its path, into the center of the park. Behind them, Blinky saw over his shoulder, the rocket went straight and true down the nyarlagroth's gullet.

Glowing jaws snapped shut.

Halfway down the beast's length, the rocket exploded, momentarily distending the nyarlagroth's enormous form. It looked rather like a black snake that had swallowed a beach ball.

The nyarlagroth wavered, its head swaying back and forth. It shook itself several times.

Aaarrrgghh had drawn to a pause in the middle of the park and was watching.

With another screech, the nyarlagroth surged toward them again. But it was dizzier now, slower.

The rocket had had an effect.

It turned, saw Nancy Domzalski, standing proud and sure in the middle of the street. Nancy met its nonexistent eyes boldly.

It screeched and lunged for her.

"Oh my," said Nancy, and turned to run. Unfortunately, she was not very fast.

"Nana!" Toby screamed from across the square.

"Aarghaumont!" Blinky cried.

With a snarl of his own, Aaarrrgghh dropped him and ran on all fours toward Nancy, snatching her up from almost within the nyarlagroth's jaws, bounding her up to safety on top of the bank.

And from behind the food truck came boiling forth an army of small round green bodies, their wiry hair making their identities unmistakable.

"The Quagawumps!" Blinky cried in relief.

The nearest, Wumpa, grinned. "Our friend Toby called for aid. We of the Quagawumps respond!" She looked up at the enormous nyarlagroth and her grin widened. "Tonight we shall dine on giant swamp maggot!" And with the ululating whoop of a war cry, she and her fellows set savagely upon the wounded beast.


Jim still hadn't reappeared by the time Gumm-Gumms started pouring through the gate. Douxie tried not to let it worry him. Surely he'd only been delayed by a moment or two, right? The nursery must have been just over an hour away.

There's nothing you can do about that right now, he told himself. Worry later. Right now….

Right now, Toby was unarmored and weaponless. Vulnerable. And with….

"Fuzzbuckets," Douxie whispered as the hulking, snarling form of Gunmar himself appeared in the opening of the bridge. His Decimaar Blade alone was as big as Douxie's body.

Gunmar turned and looked up at the top of the bridge. At Toby, who stood there, unprotected.

The snarl turned to a smirk. "Trollhunter," he growled. "I owe you for the death of my son."

Toby gulped. "Your son owed me," he said, "for the death of Kanjigar."

A darkly amused chuckle. "I will enjoy your screams as you beg for nonexistent mercy."

"Big words," Toby said, as if by rote, "for a guy who keeps bringing an army to a mano a mano fight."

Gunmar snarled and swiped at him. Toby stumbled back, his eyes huge.

The warlord's claws were stopped as a spell snapped to life, enclosing Toby in a blue spherical shield.

Gunmar's eyes narrowed, flicking to the side of the street, accurately tracking the source of the magic to Douxie, who stood there.

Douxie smirked. "Greetings, fairest and fallen," he said. From behind him he heard a snicker. Jamie, probably.

"Wizard," grated Gunmar.

"Casperan," Douxie introduced himself, not giving his full name. To someone armed with a mind control blade, giving away any more of himself than strictly necessary would be a stupid idea, even if Gunmar apparently didn't know how to use the thing beyond brute force. Typical of him, really. "Been a long time since I last saw you at Killahead, milord Gunmar."

With a snarl, Gunmar leveled his blade at Douxie, who animated his armor with a thought, arm coming up to shield his face.

The power of the Decimaar Blade washed harmlessly over him, its energies absorbed into the voidstone layer of the armor.

"What the fuck?" Zoe demanded.

"Old-fashioned smithwork," Hiccup replied, smug.

"Oh, I want some," said Jack longingly.

Gunmar was just staring. "How…?"

"Wizard tricks," Douxie informed him.

Which was when Jim's voice rang loud and clear across the square. "Gunmar!" The tyrant turned. "Pick on someone your own size!"

In a move that would have done a linebacker proud, Jim, in his full troll form, tackled Gunmar, his shoulder into the warlord's middle, knocking him away from the bridge.

"Jimbo!" Toby cried, lunging for the edge of the bridge and his amulet.

Douxie turned to his coterie of wizards and smirked. "Lady. Gentlemen. Shall we?" he asked, bowing, with a gesture at the Gumm-Gumms and goblins hording the town square.

"Thought you'd never ask," Jack said with a grin, flipping up to perch on the crook of his staff. He tossed a snowball up and down in his hand.

"Ugh." Zoe rolled her eyes and punched Douxie's shoulder. Hard. "Like I'm going to miss a chance to kick some ass." Pink lightning sparked in her hair, in her eyes.

Jamie smirked and pulled a thin paperback out of his pocket. Reaching into it, his hand went wrist-deep as Douxie's eyes widened. He drew out a thin silver sword with a glowing crystal in his hilt.

"Jamie, what in the world…?"

The libriomancer's smirk deepened. "Got the idea from a book. Figured out how to make it work."

Hiccup gave a low whistle. "Nice," he said, and pulled his own sword out of its sheath across his back. A flick of his wrist unfolded it. Then it set itself on fire. "Tannlaus," he said. "Sic 'em." By his feet, the kelpie grinned doggishly. Then became something far larger, toothier, and more demonic, and surged forward into the thick of the fight.

The wizards followed.


This, Jim knew, was where he was supposed to be. Here, not in the Darklands. Here, facing Gunmar. Here, distracting him while Toby pulled his amulet out of Killahead, cutting off the gate to the Darklands. The bridge went dark.

"For the doom of Gunmar, Eclipse is mine to command!"

Jim didn't think he'd ever heard more beautiful words in his life.

He threw Gunmar clear; the tyrant landed on his feet on the museum's steps. His eye narrowed. "Who are you?"

With a smirk, Jim shifted to half-troll form. The green gem on his forehead became clearer, attached now to a circlet. "Guess."

A growl. "The divine king."

Jim bowed ostentatiously, his fingertips gesturing at the amulet embedded in his armor.

Gunmar's eye widened, flicking back and forth between Jim and Toby. "Two Trollhunters?"

"It's not Trollhunter," Toby said sternly, coming to stand by Jim's side. "It's Trollhunters."

As one, they moved, striking.


While the battle raged across the park, shrieking humans packed into the closed businesses that ringed it, a goblin paused. Sniffed the air. Tilted its head. Gabbled some gibberish at one of its fellows, who likewise tilted his head and sniffed. Its eyes widened.

The two of them gathered their fellows, every single one, and made their way, mostly ignored, out of the park, streaming over one of the buildings.

Heading north.

Toward the hospital.


"Now, I say!" Stuart blustered as his truck rocked, again, shouldered into by those brutes outside. He snapped open the window. "There's no call for that, fellas. If you wanted to place an order, you just needed to tell me."

The two or three of them, huge glowing things which looked rather like some of his late-night customers, but not nearly so genial, glanced at one another. Their eyes narrowed.

So did Stuart's. "If you can't behave and wait patiently in queue, I'm afraid I'll have to ban you from my truck."

That earned him a glower and a growl.

"All right!" said Stuart, who took no guff from would-be customers who probably didn't even have any lucre, "that does it. No talkback, my lads. You are all /banned/!"

The closest one growled and rammed into the truck again.

Stuart yelped, bracing himself on the counter as his truck rocked. "Okay!" he said as the truck landed back on both wheels. "No more Mister Nice Durian!" In a flash, he dispelled his disguise, letting his natural form be seen.

His appearance had no impact on the brutes.

"Huh. Bit of a disappointment, that," he mused. "Usually humans go running."

But then his natural scent began to waft out of the truck.

Glowing eyes froze wide. Each of the three brutes began to cough, to choke, to back away. Finally they fled.

"Yeah-hah!" Stuart cried triumphantly, shaking his fist after them. "That's what you get for messing with a Durian, mates!"


"Watch your back," was the first Draal knew of Nomura's presence.

Well, that and the Gumm-Gumm she'd stopped from taking a piece out of his back, via a well-placed flying kick on her part.

He grinned and spun to present his back to her. "You're late."

"You're a fool," she groused, but nonetheless took the position his turn had left open, shifting seamlessly to fight back to back with him.

Like a true equal and partner. Like he'd always hoped to have.

"If I am a fool to trust you," Draal said, shifting his grasp on his blade, "then I am delighted to be one."

She snorted, amused. "Stay alive, fool."

"You as well, Nomura."


"Hey!" Claire yelled. "Dictatious!"

The green troll, wielding a spiked club, turned to face her.

"There's someone who wants to see you!"

He blinked, surprised, right before her shadow portal swallowed him.

Claire allowed herself a small smile, then turned back to the battle, summoning another portal and sweeping it around a Gumm-Gumm, dumping him directly into The Deep. Whatever it was that lived down there could probably use a snack or two.


Dictatious stumbled out of the portal, stunned and mildly dizzy.

"Ahh, Dictatious."

He spun.

"Blinkous…?" he asked, surprise coloring his voice.

"Indeed."

Dictatious' club lowered. "It is… it is good to see you again, brother."

Blinky could not keep the sadness from his own voice. "Indeed. It is good. Aarghaumont?"

"Aarghaumont?" Dictatious echoed, right before a small trunk swung down over his head, improbably fitting itself over his head. And his shoulders. And his torso, his legs, his feet….

"Well," said Blinky as Aaarrrgghh shut the lid, "I am not sure that Douxie will approve of this use of the trunk he enchanted for me, but it is a most satisfying temporary storage solution for my treacherous brother."

"Good idea." Aaarrrgghh patted the trunk, hefted it up onto his shoulder, and scaled one of the columns on the front of the museum.

"Ah, Aaarrrgghh!" Krel greeted him. He paused, sighted, and fired off a blue blast from his serrator.

"Nice shot," Aaarrrgghh complimented him.

"Thank you."

Aaarrrgghh put down the trunk, patted it gently. "Keep safe," he requested. "Important to Blinky."

Krel nodded. "It shall be done."

Aaarrrgghh nodded gravely, then leapt back down into the fray. Krel pulled the trunk closer by his side, lined up another shot, and fired.


Between one strike and the next, Toby heard the unmistakable fwoomph of Eli's potato cannon.

Gunmar twitched, like a cat bitten by a flea.

"Give up, Gunmar!" Jim called.

A snarl, followed by a darkly amused laugh. "I don't know the meaning of those words."

"Fine by me," Toby snarked.


The darkness of the skies gave her vessel enough disguise from the visual senses of this planet's primitive inhabitants. The Striker's cloaking abilities took care of their crude planetary sensors as well. Given their extremely basic scope, it was no wonder this "Earth" had a nest of criminal scum on their moon.

Akiridion-5, and the Taylon Phalanx, would never have allowed such a thing.

Zadra snorted as she flew over the small hamlet the Mothership had landed in.

Flashing lights drew her eye.

Frowning, she increased the image on her viewscreen.

"By Seklos," she breathed. "The royals!"

Hurriedly, she landed the Striker in the cover of the nearby forest, and took off running.

She never noticed the OMEN blank unfolding itself from the Striker and beginning data transmission back to its master on Akiridion-5.


"ENOUGH!" Gunmar roared with a slash of his sword. "This farce is done."

With a savage smirk, he leveled his Decimaar Blade.

At Jim.

"No!" Toby yelled, even as white gold wisps came off the blade, arrowing toward Jim.

"You are strong," Gunmar said with satisfaction. "You will make a fine lieutenant."

Jim gasped, the light entering his mouth and overtaking his eyes.

"Jimbo!" Toby screamed. And attacked Gunmar, Eclipse flashing so fast it left streaks of ruby light in the darkness.

Jim stood absolutely still as Gunmar effortlessly warded off the Trollhunter.

The gem on his crown began to glow.

Suddenly he gasped, and with a slash of Excalibur, slashed away the remnants of Decimaar's magic.

Gunmar knocked Toby away and turned to Jim. "How…?"

Jim grinned savagely. "This," he said, touching fingers to the gold and silver of his circlet, "was made to help me keep control. Even from you, Gunmar."

"Impossible!"

"You say that word," Toby quipped, "but I do not think it means what you think it means."

Gunmar snarled and ripped open a pouch, pulling out dozens of green-glowing stones. He cast them wide into the darkness, where they grew into new Gumm-Gumms, replenishing his troops' ranks.


Jamie groaned at the sudden influx of new opponents. "Are you kidding me?"

Newbie, Douxie thought but did not say. "You get used to it," he said instead.

"I'd rather not!" Jamie yelped, dodging and parrying. "I'm a bookworm!"

Beside him, Jack caused a slick of black ice that took the Gumm-Gumm off its feet. Jamie's sword shortly took off its head, and then the body crumbled into so much rubble.

"Not bad for newbies," Zoe remarked, her hands wreathed in pink lightning, striking Gumm-Gumms down one by one as she and Douxie kept back to back.

"I wasn't going to say," he said, preparing a runic circle to blast toward another opponent.

Hiccup, meantime, was doing quite well for himself, between the kelpie that kept taking off Gumm-Gumm body parts with savage delight and Hiccup's sword of flickering flame. All those years of muscles built up from working the forge, Douxie supposed. Not to mention the general SCA and RenFaire training.

Which, of course, was when a familiar white airship, borne aloft by the power of a green gem glowing with the power of time itself, landed silently atop the bookshop.

"Fuzzbuckets," breathed Douxie.


It was a fine thing, to be fighting on the side of the good and the just. That said, while none of the Gumm-Gumms had wings, picking them up and dropping them to shatter on the ground below, one at a time, was having little effect on their sheer numbers. Waltolomew sniffed and switched tactics, flinging his (magically) endless supply of knives.

"Ah, progress," he murmured with pleasure, landing before the cafe to draw a few more enemies off from the central fray.

The cafe's windows were full of civilians, gaping as they watched him dispatch the mindless drones that were Gunmar's forces. Few to none of the onlookers recognized him. He and Nomura had warned the local changelings of tonight's battle, and, to a one, they had all chosen to stay away.

But–

His gaze caught on a pair of the figures inside.

Well, well, it looks like Karl finally asked Lenora out. Though the odds are even whether or not she realizes it's a date.

He grinned, sharp-toothed and green, at the pair, and turned to go to the aid of the nearest food truck. Not the one run by the Durian; one of the others, whose proprietor was merely human and unable to defend himself and his property.

He was forestalled by a loud war cry and a trash can flying over the top of the truck, knocking into the nearest of the Gumm-Gumms and knocking him flat.

"And that's what you get," a slow, heavy voice said.

"That's what he gets for what?!" a smaller, sharper voice demanded.

"Uh. I dunno, Gut."

"Being a Gumm-Gumm, moron!"

This fascinating dialogue by two unseen beings was interrupted by a stout trollish figure squeezing her way around the truck, rocking it, and thumping the end of a spear down on the ground. "Trollmarket has come!" she said in a shrill, almost panto, voice. "We will not sit idly by this time! For glory!"

Behind her, the rallied roar of dozens of voices. Then more trolls were squeezing through the gap, or climbing over it, holding makeshift weapons. Their feet were swarmed about with angry gnomes, gnashing their teeth.

"Well," Waltolomew said to himself, the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips, "the pacifists have decided there's something worth fighting for after all."

Turning, leaving his troll brethren behind him, he went to guard another of the food trucks.

This one was well defended, after all.


Zadra ran, and Zadra leapt, and Zadra climbed.

"Prince Krel!"

The Prince's head– no, the King-in-Waiting's head– whipped around to look at her from where he stood at the edge of the building, serrator in hand, overseeing the battle below. "Zadra?" he asked incredulously. Then, "Huh. You made good time."

"My royal." She knelt. "We must leave. This is no fit place for you. It is too dangerous. Far too exposed."

His expression hardened. "Actually," he said, "this is exactly where I am meant to be." Turning, he surveyed the chaos and carnage below. "Aja, mind your 5 o'clock," he said, which made no sense to her. Zadra stepped up to the building's edge and saw, to her horror, the princess– No, she thought, the Queen-in-Waiting, for the royal crest was unmistakable, engaged in that bloody battle.

Beside that traitor, Varvatos Vex.

"Varvatos, watch out– ugh, too late," Krel groaned, even as Vex flew backwards through the air, utterly crushing a delicate freestanding structure.

Even from the roof, Zadra could hear Commander Vex's bellow of outrage. "How dare you desecrate the bandstand of chess!" he yelled, which made absolutely no sense, as he charged toward his opponent and handily decapitated it.

"Ay-yi-yi," Krel muttered, shaking his head.

Zadra realized he must be wearing a communications device when she faintly heard another voice say, "Blue Boy, who's that with you?"

"Lieutenant Zadra of the Taylon Phalanx," Krel replied, lining up a shot and taking it. He missed, due to his target suddenly lunging forward. "The wind is starting to pick up, CreepTracker. Mind your aim."

"Another Akiridion?!" The voice was excited. "That's so cool!"

"Ugh, you guys and your lame codenames," a third voice cut in. "Have you two checked out Toby's nana? I think she's tossing hand grenades off the bank roof."

An explosion sounded from the other side of the square.

"Toby's nana," Prince Krel said, "is klebbing cool."

Zadra itched with the need to join the fight, to defend her royal, to take vengeance upon Vex for his betrayal of the king and queen–

Prince Krel must have seen the urge on her face, because as she leaned forward, ready to jump down and join the fray, he said sharply, "Lieutenant Zadra!"

She froze, the unexpected authority in his voice freezing her in place.

"You know nothing of the situation, let alone who are our enemies and allies. Until you have that knowledge, you are less asset and more liability."

She was astonished, by several things. The rebuke. The tone in which he said it. The heavy knowledge in his expression. The way he held himself, like the paltry few wardons he had spent on this planet had aged him into someone beyond his keltons….

"Prince Krel?" she asked, feeling unexpectedly stupid. "What has happened to you?"

Fleeting sadness crossed his faceplate. "Too much to detail right now. Wait until this," he said, gesturing at the scene below, "is over. Then all will be explained."

Numbly, she nodded.

"Until then…." His mouth quirked a smile. "Zadra. Sit. Stay."

"I am not your pet," she retorted.

"No." He sighed. "Luug is easier to deal with. /He/ doesn't have to understand about time travel."

Time travel?!


Barbara felt jittery with nerves. It was a light evening, so far. But knowing what was going on just a few miles south… well.

"You okay, Doctor Lake?" Eduardo, one of the janitors, asked her.

She forced a smile. "Just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Ah." He nodded sagely. "I feel like that a lot too, these days. With Milagro and all…."

Barbara put a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine," she reassured. She was very good at reassurance. "She's been making all her prenatal visits, right?"

"Aa." Eduardo smiled. "You should see her, Doc. She's practically glowing."

"I remember the feeling."

The ER doors opened and Barbara turned to see who was there.

No one.

"Uh, hello?" she called out.

No answer.

Emily, behind the desk, shrugged. "Sensor glitch, maybe," she opined.

A short green blob with spindly arms and legs side-stepped into the open doorway.

"What the…?" Eduardo asked.

Barbara had never seen one of the creatures before, but her sons and their friends had described them often enough that she knew what it had to be.

The goblin extended a toe into the ER. It grinned wide, showing sharp teeth. It locked mad eyes on her. "Waka chaka," it said, and sprang, all teeth and claws.

Emily screamed. Eduardo gibbered.

"Not in my hospital!" Barbara said, and snatched the dry mop out of Eduardo's hands, swinging.

The goblin exploded in a shower of fetid bile-colored goo.

"Waka chaka that," she said in grim satisfaction.

"What– what–" Eduardo stuttered.

"A goblin," Barbara said. From outside, a howling started. It had to be comprised of a hundred or more voices. "And it's not the only one." Her teeth gritted. "Grab a weapon and get ready."


Merlin surveyed the battlefield, frowning. It looked like the Trollhunter and his allies were slowly, grudgingly winning the battle. Even Gunmar the Black had run out of tokens to make his golems, and given the half-dozen cursed coins Merlin could see clinging to the villain's back, slowing and confusing him, it was fair odds that his defeat would come about soon.

Which did not make the fell lord less dangerous; as Merlin watched, Gunmar nearly gutted the human Trollhunter, only a hasty dodge and roll preventing the spilling of entrails.

Merlin cast about, looking for…. Ah. There. His apprentice was fighting in the midst of a coterie of hedge wizards, with Archibald lending aerial support. The lot of them were clearly beginning to flag; even Zoe looked wilted. And the other three, surely younger and less experienced, were reduced to keeping one another safe, fending off attacks as they were herded into a smaller and smaller circle. Though he did raise an eyebrow at the actual-to-Taliesin kelpie viciously defending the group.

The newfound smoothness of Hisirdoux's shifts between defense and offense aside, however, Merlin was not here for the wizards.

He pulled the Time Map out of a pocket and consulted it one last time. He frowned, tucking it away again. The blasted thing remained consistent in its insistence that his presence was required for Gunmar's defeat, and that its lack would lead to history collapsing like a house of cards.

His eyebrows knitted in consternation. Of all the things…! He did not have time to deal with these petty battles. Not with the Arcane Order sniffing at his heels. The last thing he wanted to do was to lead Bellroc and Skrael to Arcadia.

At least Nari had agreed that the safest course for her was to stay aboard Camelot.

Grumbling, Merlin jumped down to enter the fray.

He made his way across the ruined park, blasting mindless Gumm-Gumms aside with emerald blasts as he made his way to his destination: the reassembled Killahead Bridge, and the two Trollhunters who battled Gunmar before it.

Even as he made his way to them, a neat twist of Excalibur freed the Decimaar Blade from Gunmar's hand and sent it flying. "Tobes!" James Lake, Jr., cried.

"On it, Jimbo!" Tobias Domzalski ran toward the fallen sword and leapt, Eclipse in his hand shifting to a glowing warhammer with a gravity spell on it that would have made a lesser wizard's eyes water.

Gunmar howled as his blade was broken, shattered into a hundred pieces.

"I will kill you all!" he roared.

"Not today," Merlin snapped.

Two and a half sets of eyes snapped to him. "Merlin…?" the two Trollhunters breathed as one.

Gunmar used their distraction to snatch the nearest one by the throat, hoisting James high into the air. "For this," he growled, "you die, impure." His fingers tightened.

James struggled against Gunmar's grasp, hands around the monstrous fingers, trying to pull himself up, to pry Gunmar's hand open as his windpipe was crushed. "I'm not an impure," he gasped, blue eyes alight with something that Merlin might call panic. Or fear. "I'm a Trollhunter." Then he let go, his weight dropping, submitting himself to Gunmar's nonexistent mercy.

As he drove Excalibur deep into Gunmar's side.

Gunmar howled in pain and rage.

"Now, Tobias!" Merlin snapped, and the boy did not falter. Did not fail. Just lunged forward, his weapon Eclipse once more.

As Merlin shot a blast of deadly energy at Gunmar, to ensure his corpse would shatter and never rise, the Eclipse sword, imbued with the power of all three Triumbric stones, pierced Gunmar, killing him.


"Merlin?!" Douxie gasped, whirling to see his former master approaching Jim and Toby where they battled Gunmar.

"Why on Earth is the old man here?" Archie murmured, hovering.

But that didn't matter, because time seemed to slow as Douxie's mind flew through a rapid calculus of magical forces as Jim's blade pierced Gunmar. As Toby's followed, winning the battle. As Merlin rammed his staff to the ground, blasting pure magic.

Douxie could see the energy flow, its obvious path, even as he began to run, too slow, always too slow

The energy from Eclipse and Merlin would run through Gunmar's form.

It would run up and through Excalibur, the master sword, like lightning following a lightning rod. For all that Excalibur was a divine blade, it had no energy, no bearing, to contribute to this onslaught other than being a distraction. And without it pushing

…the other two forces would flow right into it.

That energy would be conducted through Jim's magitech armor to its central focus point: the amulet.

And there… there it would contact the Time Stone.

Douxie knew exactly what happened when you sent a ridiculous amount of power into a gemstone that had power over time.

"Jim!" he screamed, leaping.

He managed to reach his king, his friend, his brother, just in time for both of them to wink out of existence.


Author's Note: Blinky's "Perhaps it may be reasoned with" is lifted from Lilo and Stitch. Douxie addressing Gunmar with "Greetings, fairest and fallen," is from Diane Duane's Young Wizards books. Jamie, a libriomancer, pulling a weapon out a book is inspired by Jim C. Hines' Libriomancer books. The particular sword Jamie pulled out is Lightning, from Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness books. Krel's "It shall be done" and Toby's quip of "You say that word. But I do not think it means what you think it means" are both taken from The Princess Bride.