[This chapter contains scenes from Episode 2: Becoming, Part 2, from Trollhunters]
"So you'll be going to Trollmarket tonight?"
"Yeah, though the first time Bular ambushed us and we had to run away."
"He'll likely do the same this time." Strickler nodded along as the two of them planned. "You may not believe this, but I never really had a good handle on Bular. He's uncouth and impatient. It was… rather, is a nightmare to work with him."
Jim and Strickler were meeting early in the morning, getting the chance to discuss what little they could before classes started. There was a lot to go over and Jim already shared his notebook filled with rudimentary plans and ideas.
"Should I… you know, take him out?" Jim hesitated to even say it, but he knew Bular would stop at nothing to kill him and take Merlin's amulet. It was a risk letting him live.
"No. We cannot risk changing too much." Strickler shot him down. "Besides, you're not a coldblooded killer, Jim."
Jim sighed, but nodded along.
"Avoid Bular tonight. Get into Trollmarket, and do what you can to win the troll's trust." Strickler took the notebook from Jim and scribbled down a very neat and tidy plan. "And keep journaling. This was a rather ingenious idea, Young Atlas. We must keep our memories sharp. They serve as our only guide this time."
The bell rang and Jim stood up, taking his notebook back as he hefted his bag over his shoulder. "Alright. I'll do that. You stay safe too, alright?"
"Jim, I've been playing the Changeling game for years now. I know how to keep a secret and how to keep hidden."
School ended surprisingly fast and Jim already met up with Tobes. However, this time, he wasn't going to forget about the tryouts for Romeo & Juliet. Tobes was supportive, encouraging him to go, so he did. He had been rehearsing the lines in his head, the memory he had with Claire still vivid and fresh. When it came to his turn, he couldn't help but chuckle thinking about his first audition, and how he just repeated Blinky's speech from the night before.
He didn't plagiarize the troll this time though. Jim remembered his parts, and recited them with passion and firmness. The entire time his eyes were drawn to Claire. She was the one who helped him become so much more. Even after he turned into a half-troll, she was there with him. Supporting him. He would give it his all and never stop until she loved him again.
The tryouts ended without the same climactic show Jim gave the first time around, but he felt confident his experience actually performing in the play would lend itself to his success. Claire was also impressed, chatting with him and Tobes for a little before she left.
"Dude, making progress." Tobes commented as the two of them were heading out, walking their bikes out of the school lot. "Between this and the whole Trollhunter thing, you're living the dream!"
"It's not as easy as it looks, Tobes." Jim laughed, not lying in the slightest. "But I'll take this one step at a time. As long as you've got my back, we got this."
"Aww, Jimbo, you're gonna make me blush." Tobes smacked him on the back, scrambling to climb up onto his bike. "So, headed home? Or are we gonna find those two troll guys and start training? The big one's a pretty fun guy. Chatty one was more your type."
"Yeah, we're gonna go meet up with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH. Just keep up and don't freak out too much, alright?" Jim took a deep breath, hopping on his own bike as they started riding through the streets.
"Come on, me? I'm as cool as a cucumber, Jimbo." Tobes pedaled hard to keep up with Jim, but his eyes were trained on the shadows as the sun sank deeper in the sky.
The looming, dark shadows that cut across the street were like roads in his mind. Ever corner, every ledge, a possible vantage point for a troll. His time as a half-troll trained him well to look for safe routes to navigate the treacherous sunlight.
As the two of them continued biking down the quickly dimming streets, Jim had a sense of deja vu right before they rounded the corner. Then again, it wasn't necessarily deja vu, because this was exactly how things happened the first time.
Standing down the street, shrouded in the thin veil of shadows on the edge of the fading light, a hulking black troll roared. His vibrant red eyes pierced through the dark, like glowing embers on the verge of igniting into a fierce flame. Two wicked swords hung across his back and curling horns framed his hideous face as he bared his gleaming white fangs and roared again.
"Trollhunter, Merlin's creation, Gunmar's bane!"
"Ah… Jim! I think he's talking to you…" Tobes whimpered, slowly scootching his bike back away from the hideous beast blocking their path.
Bular roared for a third time, snarling like a wild beast as he pawed forward, tentatively sticking a clawed hand out into the sun only to recoil as the fading rays of light still petrified his digits for an instant.
"Look! He's afraid of the sun!" Tobes exclaimed with glee but Jim turned to him, reaching into his pocket and grasping Merlin's amulet.
"No time for that. Get moving, Tobes."
"The amulet! Surrender it, and I will give you a speedy death!" Bular threatened, snarling and waiting like a caged dog at the edge of the shadows.
"Tobes! Now!" Jim pushed his best friend forward, forcing him to pedal as he followed close behind, the two of them biking off at high speeds right before Bular could lunge forth, the fleeting rays of sunlight finally dying out.
Jim made sure to stay behind Tobes, ensuring his friend remained out of harm's way as Bular was in hot pursuit. The black troll was surprisingly fast despite his hulking form, keeping up with them despite their head start.
"Tobes, make for the canal!"
"What?! Why not the police station! Or you could just armor up! Agh!" Tobes screamed and swerved as a car tumbled over their heads, crashing into the ground as metal crunched and glass splintered.
"I'LL FLAY THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" Bular roared, reaching for another car to throw.
"Just trust me, Tobes! Behind Stuart Electronics!"
"You know I can't fit there!"
"You can fit!"
"I CAN'T!"
"I'll buy you time!" Jim shoved Tobes into the narrow alley, helping him down it for a few feet before turning back to see the quickly approaching Bular.
"Jimbo?!"
"I'll be fine, Tobes!" Jim took a deep breath, leaning his bike against the alley wall, keeping it ready until his friend was far enough in.
Bular spotted Jim, standing there defiantly, Merlin's amulet clutched in his hand. The troll's glowing red eyes focused in on the amulet and he sneered.
"Centuries of Trollhunters, and I will have killed two in almost as many days!" Bular snarled, stamping at the ground as he prepared to charge.
"Not tonight, Bular." Jim stared at the viscous troll defiantly, infuriating him more.
Jim wasn't being arrogant. He wasn't full of himself. However, he trusted in his training, in Blinky's training, and all the other trials he had endured. He wasn't forgetting fear, but he wasn't letting it stop him either.
Bular charged, tearing up the pavement as his massive, horned head barreled straight towards Jim like an avalanche. Jim could practically feel the troll's hot breath against his face, but he held his ground, and held tightly to the amulet until the time was right.
Just as the massive black troll was about to trample him and Tobes shouted back through the alleyway in terror, Jim brought up Merlin's amulet. He held the magical mechanism out in front of him, blocking Bular's charge as a powerful blast of radiant blue magic erupted on contact, sending the hunter of Trollhunters flying back into a car.
As soon as the Gumgum was down, Jim turned and grabbed his bike, sliding down the narrow alleyway to join Tobes on the other side.
"Jim! Aha! You're not dead! Right?"
"Nope, not dead." Jim and Tobes rode for a while longer, putting some distance between them and Bular. "Keep heading for the canal."
They rode fast for a while longer before they spotted two large shapes in the middle of the road and quickly put on the brakes, stopping just inches before running into Blinky and AAARRRGGHH.
"Aha! Master Jim! You're still alive! I knew you had potential!"
"That Bular troll is trying to kill us! He chased us all over town!" Tobes panted, taking a moment to catch his breath. "You may have a sweet voice, but you bring death with you!"
"It's fine, Tobes. We got away, right?" Jim turned back to Blinky. "We need to get to Trollmarket, Bular can't get in. It's safe."
"Ah, yes! Of course!" Blinky nodded. "Wait, you know of Trollmarket?"
"Couldn't you guys just fight him?" Tobes asked nervously, glancing over his shoulder before pointing to AAARRRGGHH. "He's big!"
"Pacifist." AAARRRGGHH shrugged.
"Man, such a waste of a hulking brute."
"Come on. Trollmarket. Now." Jim insisted as they heard a snarling roar from behind them and turned to see Bular caught up.
Tobes screamed and started pedaling as fast as he could, quickly followed by Blinky and AAARRRGGHH while Jim took up the rear. They biked as fast as they could, keeping ahead of Bular for the most part, but the Gumgum was gaining.
"Master Jim! Don your armor!" Blinky pleaded as they ran.
"I will. Just keep Tobes safe. You stay safe too, alright, Blinky?"
The multi-eyed troll looked at him for a long moment, surprised. However, he quickly recovered, nodding and speeding up.
"Best of luck, Master Jim! Remember! Always be afraid!"
They reached the dirt path leading towards the canal, AAARRRGGHH picking up Tobes and planting him on his shoulders as they continued making their way to the entrance to Trollmarket. But Jim stopped, hopping off his bike as Bular drew nearer. However, the troll stopped early this time, refusing to fall into the same trap as before.
"Your cowardly tricks will not defeat me, Trollhunter." Bular snarled. "I'll drink your blood out of a goblet, made of your skull!"
Jim took a deep breath, clutching Merlin's amulet tightly. He was confident he could face Bular again. Throughout his adventures he'd only grown stronger. The Gumgum was tough and skilled, but he bested Gunmar himself.
He had to remember Strickler's advice though.
"I'm not going to let you keep hurting people, Bular." Jim raised the amulet, keeping his eyes on the black troll. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command."
The armor apparated out of the blazing blue light that surrounded Jim, donning itself across his body as the broad sword, Daylight, appeared in his hand. Faint light from the streetlamps reflected off the smooth, silver surface of the armor and Jim stood confidently, facing down Bular.
"So you can summon the armor." Bular growled. "That does not mean you are fit to wield the amulet! I'll tear the armor off you, along with your skin!"
The black troll roared, lunging forward as he drew his crude blades from his back. Jim met him head on, clashing with Daylight and sending blue sparks flying across the streets as he was pushed back into the woods on the edge of the canal.
Bular hit much harder than he anticipated, forcing him to back up and dodge the next strike, parrying the follow up with skilled bladework. The two of them clashed again, Jim holding his own but making sure they steadily retreated towards the canal and the entrance to Trollmarket Blinky and AAARRRGGHH should have open by that point.
Daylight flashed as Jim nicked Bular's arm, causing the troll to recoil in pain as the magical blade singed his stone skin just like the light of the sun. However, it only made him more angry as he roared and slammed his blades into the ground, brandishing them in massive, sweeping strikes that gouged the surrounding boulders and trees.
One of the blows caught Jim with his guard down, sending him flying. He tumbled through the air before slamming into the ground, a burst of daylight erupting from his armor on impact, cushioning his fall like an airbag. Once he recovered, he glanced back, seeing the sloping edge of the canal not ten feet away from him. Down, beneath the bridge, he could spot Tobes, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH standing in front of a swirling portal opened by the horngazel.
"Pathetic human Trollhunter." Bular spat as he crept forth out of the woods, his huge form blotting out the moonlight as Jim stood up to him defiantly. "Your spine will serve as a fine toothpick once I've shredded you into minced meat."
"That'll have to wait for another day, Bular." Jim allowed the sword, Daylight, to disappear in a flash of blue light. "But this is just the beginning. I'm coming for Gunmar too."
A look of confusion flashed across the black troll's face before Jim leapt back over the edge of the canal, sliding down to the bottom and sprinting over to the open portal.
Bular roared in defiance, leaping high into the air and over the edge of the canal, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. However, he missed Jim as he rolled out of the way, nearly at the entrance to Trollmarket.
Seeing his quarry escaping his grasp, Bular snarled and threw one of his blades, sending it spinning through the air towards Jim's back. However, the silvery blade of Daylight suddenly manifested over Jim's shoulder, deflecting the troll's sword and using the force to send him tumbling through the harngazel's portal right as it closed, leaving Bular roaring in frustration and failure.