Tales of the Kamen Riders Kamen Hunters

by PhantomCross19

Beneath the people's feet in Arcadia Oak, there is a secret world. A vast civilization where good trolls live and evil trolls lurk. For centuries, these lands have been protected by one warrior, the Trollhunter. Now a new Trollhunter has been chosen and has the power of a Kamen Rider backing him up. Hear the tale about them keeping Arcadia safe from the evil that wants to rise up.

8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7; To Catch a Changeling, You Need to Find a Changeling

The following day after Jim and Draal match, Jim and the others were waiting at Jim's house until they had to meet up with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Jim said to Noah as they walked into the backyard. As Noah stepped into the yard and Seth said to them. "Hey you and Toby want to see how the new Soul Jewel works." Noah showed off a silver disk. After Noah put on the Driver, and the Driver said after Noah put the silver disk into it. "Blade!"

"So this is a sword?" Toby said before Noah said to Jim. "What helps us test it out Jim?"

"Sure." Jim said as he equipped his armor. "Let's use Gnome for this test." Seth said as he put Gnome into the Driver. which said. "Gnome Blade!" Then Noah said. "Henshin!" Noah then turned into Soul and while the left side was Gnome, the right side was now silver and had a silver sword handle on the left side. Both Jim and Soul pulled out their swords, but they didn't fight. Because they all were surprised to see that Soul just had a sword hand with a spot for the disk on the top. Noah then said to Seth. "Did you forget to tell us something?"

"No, I was just waiting until after you transformed to tell you."

"Then tell!"

"The blade comes from whatever element we are using. You just need to have an open in front of the circles and then move it away from the sword handle. That will cause the blade to appear."

"We'll see." Noah said as he did what Seth said. And it did work. The blade was being created by rocks joining together. Once Soul was finished, he now had a single-side long sword that was brown. "Ok, now that's more like it. You ready Jim?"

"Ready." Jim said as attack one another. A few minutes later, they both stop when they hear Draal enter the backyard and say. "What is this mockery?"

"Oh, hey, Draal. Just working on some sword fight skills." Jim said to Draal. Draal walked up to them and said. "Those weren't sword fighting skills. That was just children playing with sticks. And the Sword of Daylight is not a toy to be played with. It is a hallowed obligation I have spent my entire life training to be worthy of."

"You want to take it for a spin?" Jim said as he was holding out Daylight. Draal took it, and held it in the air. Before the sword went back to Jim in a flash, Draal saw a reflection of his father in the sword. Jim then said to Draal. "Sorry. I forgot."

"If my destiny is to not hold the sword, perhaps it is to teach you how to properly wield it." Draal said as he entered the house and came back with a very long lamb. Draal took off the cover around the light bulb and started to swing it around. Soul, Jim and Toby took a few feet back. Draal stopped when he almost hit Jim on the top of his head and the right side of Soul. Draal then said to them. "Your blade is but an extension of your body, and your body, an extension of your eyes. Mimic my movements, Trollhunter, Kamen Rider."

"Ok." Noah said as they followed Draal movements. Late into the night, Draal had shown them the basics of sword fighting and now we're having a sparring match. Draal had pinned Jim and Soul to the wall, with the lamb at their necks. Jim looked at Draal and said. "That kinda hurts."

"Yeah, ease up a little." Seth said before Draal said to them. "There is no holding back in a fight, Kamen Rider. And a real fight is never predictable, Trollhunter. You both have to expect the unexpected and learn to embody your powers, force it to do what you want." Jim then used his armor and was able to put his sword into his other hand and pointed it at Draal's chest. Draal laughed and let them go. That is when Toby's Bat Phone dinged and Toby said. "Shoot! We're supposed to meet Blinky at the museum now."

"Ah, we'll work on this more later, okay, Draal?" Jim said as he turned to normal and Soul switched out Gnome Blade for Sylph Fighter. "Sylph Fighter!" The Driver said before Soul picked them up and they went to the museum. Draal was left alone and well, he decided to eat the light bulb and then put the cover on it before putting it back into the house. With Jim, Soul and Toby, they got to the museum very fast. But before they went inside, Toby said to Soul as he was trying not to throw up. "You know, when you told us the Sylph Fighter made you guys fast as the wind. I thought you two were exaggerating."

"We don't exaggerate." Seth said before Seth used his wind magic to open the window. Jim then said as he entered the building and said to Soul. "So, M.B. took care of the cameras right?"

"Yes, and the others should be inside thanks to the sewer system under the building." Noah said as Soul entered the building. Toby then entered and said. "What about the goblins?"

"I don't see them or the nest." Seth said, pointing at the roof, which had the hole from their last battle covered by a rain tarp. Soon they made they're way to Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, M.B. and Vendel were waiting for them. As Vendel was looking at the outfits from the museum exhibits, Blinky said to them. "You're late."

"Sorry. Draal was training Jim and Soul." Toby said and that surprised them both. Noah then told them what was going on. "Yeah, he made a home in Jim's basement after Jim kicked his butt. Now he's keeping an eye on the house, and is training us in swordplay."

"Of course. When a troll is defeated in combat, it's completely natural for them to train and take refuge in the victor's domicile." Blinky said before Jim said. "So, you understand?"

"I think he is being sarcastic." Seth said before Blinky said. "Of course I was sarcastic! Master Jim, this arrangement could only end in disaster. Utter disaster!"

"Are we simply waiting here to be discovered? Or were you planning on showing me this thing you believe to be the Killahead Bridge?" Vendel said get very impatient. Blinky laughed and said. "The Trollhunter was just to show us the way."

"Yeah it's this way." Jim said as he led them to the bridge. But when they reached the area, the only thing they saw was a big painting that had a stone bridge on, and it didn't even look like the Killahead Bridge. Vendel scoffed and said to Blinky, as they looked for any sign of the bridge. "Blinkous Galadrigal, I've not left the Heartstone in a century. I only did so tonight because of the grave peril the Killahead Bridge represents. For you to invoke that danger without just cause—"

"If Master Jim says it's so–"

"You will be only too quick to believe him. You've never met a conspiracy theory you didn't like."

"I hate conspiracies. That is why I am dedicated to rooting them out."

"Like you rooted out the plot to rid Trollmarket of all its cat meat?"

"That was a misunderstanding."

"Or the time you were convinced we were infested with flea trolls?"

"Precaution is the soul of virtue."

"Everyone in Trollmarket thinks you're paranoid."

"If it's everyone, it must be a conspiracy!"

"Will you two stop with the fighting?!" Soul said as he got in between them. Vendel sighed and said. "It would seem your pupils are desperate to play the heroes, while you are desperate to see danger where none exists. Aaarrrgghh, take me home." Aaarrrgghh did what he was told and took Vendel away. Toby also left and only left Jim, Soul and Blinky. Jim looked at Blinky and said. "It was right here."

"We are not lie." Noah said before Blinky said. "Perhaps Vendel's right. Perhaps I have flooded all of your imagination with flights of fancy. I blame myself."

"We are not making this up Blinky." Seth said before Blinky said as he placed one of his hands on Jim and Soul's shoulder. "If the proof isn't here, it has to be somewhere. You both worry about your studies. I'll worry about this." Blinky smiled and that let them know that Blinky believed them. On the way to school the next day, Seth said to Toby. "Toby, stop trying to delude yourself. We saw the bridge! We did not see an illusion!"

"Fine it wasn't an illusion, but where is it? And how could we possibly find it?"

"Hopefully Blinky has an answer." Noah said before Jim said. "But one thing's for sure. That curator did not move it by herself."

"Maybe she had help! Other changelings, perhaps?" Toby said as they arrived at school. Jim then saw Claire and ducked his head. Noah noticed that and said. "Jim?"

"Yes?"

"What did you do?" Noah said as they all looked at Jim. Jim laughed and said. "Well, when I thought I was gonna die, I wrote Claire a letter, too, and told her everything."

"And by everything? Do you mean "everything"?" Seth said before Jim said. "Everything."

"You freaking idiot!" Noah said as he hit Jim in the back of his head. For the rest of the day, Jim did his very best to avoid Claire, and it worked. After school, they all went to Trollmarket and Blinky was taking them somewhere new. "So, where are we going?" Noah said before Blinky said. "Well, assuming that Killahead Bridge was in Arcadia, and it was indeed, as you all say, delivered to a clandestine location, that would mean more changelings, scavenging, assembling and disassembling. If we prove that the museum curator wasn't working alone, then Vendel might start believing that you saw the Killahead Bridge."

"So, we need to find another changeling." Jim said before Blinky said. "Stop saying that so loudly. Changelings have not been heard or seen in Trollmarket for centuries. The mere word could cause hysteria."

"You still haven't answered Noah's question?" Seth said as they found themselves at a metal wall that had a lot of small stained glass windows and small sliding doors. "RotGut's" Aaarrrgghh said before Blinky said. "Purveyor of fine charms, totems, Soul Jewels and spells."

"So a magic shop basically?" Toby said before Blinky said. "Follow my lead." Blinky then knocked on the wall and an orange troll opened a stained glass window, but they could only see his eye. Noah turned to Aaarrrgghh and said. "Is that Rot or Gut?"

"Rot." Aaarrrgghh said before Rot said. "Ailment or curse?"

"Oi, numbskull! I'm supposed to answer it!" A green troll said as he opened a door. "Gut?" Seth said to Aaarrrgghh nodded yes. Rot then said to Gut. "But I already answered it."

"What is not clear about "I deal with the customers, you handle the wizardry"?"

"Hold a tick." Rot said as the window and door closed. After Rot and Gut talked for a few seconds, Gut opened the door again and said. "Welcome to RotGut's. How may we service you?"

"Gut, my good troll. We suspect one one of these fleshbags may be a changeling." Blinky said and Rot looked at them. "Other fleshbags." Aaarrrgghh said before Rot said. "You're gonna need a gaggletack."

"Unfortunately, you see, we're running a bit short on those. Very hard to get." Gut said before Rot said. "But I've got a bag of them right here." Gut then shut the doors and argued with one another again. Toby then said to Blinky. "Gaggletack?"

"Rare artifact." Aaarrrgghh said before Blinky said. "Exceedingly rare. An object of great mystery. With physical contact, it reveals the true nature of a changeling."

"Step back, please." Rot said as they shot out a gaggletack. The gaggletack hit Toby in the face and Noah caught it. "That hurt." Toby said as he fell down. They all looked at the gaggletack and saw that it was a normal horseshoe. Jim then said looking at it. "It's a horseshoe."

"Made of pure iron." Aaarrrgghh said before Blinky said. "Why would you put such a precious thing on a horse's foot?"

"I don't know why, but how do we find these changelings?" Noah said before Blinky said. "I don't know. Changelings are swapped with their human counterparts at birth. So, it is likely these troll-pretenders have dwelt amongst you for decades."

"So they could be anyone. Great. So does anyone have any ideas?" Jim said as Toby got up. Toby took the gaggletack and said. "Oh, I have a few ideas."

"Let's make sure the school is clear of changelings first." Noah said before he took back the gaggletack. The next day, when they arrived at school, but before they started checking if the students and teachers were or were not changelings, Claire found Jim and said to him. "There you are!"

"Hey! What's up, Nunez?" Toby said to Claire, but Claire ignored them and walked up to Jim. She then looked right at Jim and said. "Have you run into Ms. Janeth?"

"No, why? …Oh! Is she mad that I couldn't make rehearsal for the last few days?"

"Mad is an understatement. She is tired of you never showing up. She is making you the understudy, and Steve is now Romeo."

"Come on! But I memorized all my lines!"

"Doesn't matter. Ms. Janeth is on the warpath for you. I'd watch out." Claire said as she entered the school and the bell rang. Noah looked at Jim and said. "Don't you have algebra with Ms. Janeth?"

"I'm doomed." Jim said before Seth said. "It's one school play. How mad can she be?" The answer is very mad. When she saw Jim, she stopped teaching algebra and not only gave Jim some homework assignment that caused Jim's backpack to overflow with papers, but made the class time more about her play then algebra. Jim was embarrassed by Ms. Janeth, so he couldn't say a word. Seth, who was also in the class, said to Ms. Janeth. "Uh…? Ms. Janeth? Aren't you freaking out too much, it is just a high school play."

"You poked the bear didn't you, Seth." Noah said as everyone was changing class. It was that this time, Noah and Toby saw that Jim and Seth both had a lot of algebra homework. Claire then walked up to them and said. "Hey! I see you survived Ms. Janeth's "Math Class of Doom."

"She cares about this play way too much." Seth said as Claire saw his backpack. She then looked at Seth and said. "I'm guessing you faced Ms. Janeth's "Math Class of Doom" too?"

"Yes, only because I will always have Jim back, even if it gets me in trouble." Seth said, placing his arm on Jim's shoulder. Claire chuckled and said to Jim. "You have a good brother."

"Oh, Seth isn't my brother, more like a weird cousin."

"If that's how you feel, then I won't help you with your algebra homework." Seth said as he removed his arm. Jim then said to Seth. "No, wait? Come on Seth! I have a mountain of homework I hardly understand."

"You know, I did honors algebra last year and was pretty okay at it." Claire said and they all looked at her. Claire then continued to talk to Jim. "What if you came by my place after school for a study sesh?"

"Wow! Really? Why would you do that? I screwed up your play."

"Promoting Steve to Romeo wasn't your idea. And, honestly, I'd rather be on stage with you, even if you are a total flake. We'll walk to my place after school, okay?"

"Yeah, totally." Jim said as she went to class. Jim was totally love struck and Noah said as he pulled out the gaggletack. "Oh, great. He is going to be useless for the operation."

"Can't be helped. Now let's do this thing!" Toby said as he took the gaggletack and went to class. Throughout the day, Noah, Seth and Toby tried everyone to see if they were changelings, but each person was clear and they thought Noah, Seth and Toby were crazy. Jim did help with the people in rehearsal. He didn't check Chaire and threw the gaggletack at Steve's face. Steve made a scene after that, which allowed Jim to recover the gaggletack quickly. Jim gave it back to Noah and Noah said to Jim. "Did that feel good?"

"A little bit." Jim said as Noah left rehearsal and met up with Seth and Toby. "Any luck?" Seth said as he and Toby took out their things. Noah opened his locker and said. "Not one of Jim's rehearsal mates is a changeling."

"Who else is left to check?" Toby said as he and Seth closed their lockers. Seth pulled out his phone and said. "I say about ¾ of the school has been checked." That's when Strickler appeared and Toby said. "Hey you two tried this out on Mr. Strickler?"

"I haven't. Have you Noah?" Seth said before Noah said. "No. But how do we handle checking on him?"

"I have an idea." Toby said as he took the gaggletack and threw it at Strickler's feet. Seth got the idea and walked to Strickler. "Sorry about that, Mr. Strickler." Seth said as he picked it up and it almost touched Strickler, but Strickler stepped back and the gaggletack didn't touch him. "What's wrong, Mr. Strickler?" Seth said as he moved forward and Strickler stepped back. Claire got in between them and said touching the gaggletack. "What are you doing?"

"Dang, I really thought you were one." Seth said as he was looking at her left hand touching the gaggletack. Claire didn't know what he meant and said. "What one?"

"Never mind him." Jim said as he got Seth and Claire away from one another and gave the gaggletack to Toby. Claire sighed and said to Jim. "So are you ready Jim."

"Just one second." Jim said as he opened his locker and quickly pulled out his backpack. He then shut his locker not seeing that his Phone Bat had fallen out of his backpack. "Ok, ready." Jim said as he and Claire left the school. "What is your problem with her?" Noah said as he and Seth went home. Toby on the other hand took the gaggletack with him to his dentist's appointment. While his dentist was working on him and sang a song in Spanish. Toby used the gaggletack on him, but it didn't work. Toby tried a few more times, but each time it just annoyed the dentist. Soon the dentist assistant came in, and took away the gaggletack with a handkerchief. Back at Jim's house, Noah and Seth walked in and saw M.B. flying around like crazy in the living room. Noah walked in and said to her. "Whoa M.B.? What's the problem?"

"Is it the egg?" Seth said as M.B. stopped right in front of them and nodded yes. Seth then ran upstairs with M.B. and Noah said, following them. "What egg?" Upstairs they both saw a copper colored handheld vacuum cleaner that had a disk spot in between the handle and bag on their desk. Noah looked at it and said. "What is this?"

"Our new friend." Seth said as he pulled out a copper color Soul Jewel Disk. With Jim, he just arrived at Claire's house and once they were inside, Jim said to Claire. "Nice, um, casa."

"Thanks. Make yourself at home. I'll make us a little snack."

"Uh, okay?" Jim said as he saw a baby in a baby jumper. "Who is this?" Jim said as he got closer to the baby. Claire then said to them from inside the kitchen. "That is my baby brother, Entique."

"He's cute." Jim said as he turned to Claire, and saw that she was out of sight. Jim looked at Enrique and said. "Enrique, hey! Look at this." He then pulled out his amulet and said. "For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to make ogle."

"I hope you like guacamole." Claire said as she had guacamole and chips. Jim hid the amulet as Claire continued to speak. "I put a little milk in it. Secret family recipe." She then saw Enrique reaching for Jim. "He really likes you." Claire said before they both took a seat on Claire's couch. Jim looked at the guacamole and said. "Hoo! I've never seen a bathtub of guacamole before."

"I wish! I would totally take a bath in guac. It's so good!" Claire said as she took a chip, dipped it into the guacamole and ate it. Jim did the same and after he finished crewing, said to Claire. "Mm! Oh, this is the best thing I've ever had."

"You're not just saying that?"

"You know what? I hang up my chef's hat. You are the avocado master!" Jim said before they both laughed. Back at the dentist, Toby's checkup was finished and the owner said to his assistance. "Okay. Patient's ready for clean-up. Goodnight, Gladys."

"Have a nice evening, Dr. Muelas." Gladys said as Dr. Muelas left them. Toby then said out loud. "Stupid horseshoe. I really thought he would have been one."

"What's that, sweetie?"

"Nothing. Wow, this novocaine you numbed my mouth with is really strong. I can't even feel my hands." Toby said as he moved his hand, but it didn't last long. "That's because I didn't inject you with novocaine, dear. I hit you up with a potent paralyzer." Gladys said as she got closer to Toby. Toby was confused and said. "Why would you do that?"

"Well, it's not everyday someone comes in with a gaggletack. I had to do something to keep those chubby, little legs from running away." Gladys said, telling Toby that she was a changeling. As Toby tried to get away, Toby's Phone Bat sent out a danger alarm to the other Phone Bats. For Noah and Seth. Seth had just finished telling Noah about the new gadget when they got the call. Noah and Seth quickly turned into Soul, Sylph Fighter form and followed the Phone Bat's with the new gadget. For Jim, he didn't have his Phone Bat on him, so Jim was still doing his math homework with Claire, who just put Enrique into his crib. "See, the equation only contains powers of X that are non-negative integers. Does that make sense?" Claire said to Jim and Jim said to her. "Is it supposed to?"

"Nah. That's why it's called algebra." Claire said as they both laughed. After they were done, Jim said to Claire. "Hey, thanks again for this. I-I feel… I feel really bad about what's happening with the play. I know it means a lot to you."

"You know, I was super mad at you, but then, I realized you've got a lot more going on than people think."

"I do. I do?"

"Come on, Jim. You didn't think I invited you here just for algebra, did you? You can't just write a letter like this and not expect a conversation." Claire said, showing Jim the letter he wrote. Jim chuckled and Claire said. "You have to battle monsters? "Saving the world in which we know"? What monsters are you battling? I mean, we all have stuff we've got to go through. But are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I… Yeah! Metaphoric. I was… in an exploring stage. Not successful."

"Your words are beautiful, Jim. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I don't know. There's some sentimental stuff at the end which I thought was… kinda sweet."

"Really?"

"If you ever need someone to talk to about this "the monsters," you can talk to me. It can be our secret."

"Yeah. That would be great. So, on to problem 42" Jim said, happy to hear that Claire thought the letter was about inner monsters, not that they were real monsters, like the one integration Toby. Back at the dentist office, Gladys had a lot of teeth drills. She picked one up and said. "Nomura warned me about you kids. Tell me, who else knows about the bridge?"

"What bridge?"

"That's why you're here with a gaggletack, isn't it? To find out what we've been up to?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't evade. Who else knows what we've been up to in Arcadia?"

"Halt, changeling! Or else my giant friend will tear you limb from limb!" Blinky said after he opened the sky light and dropped into the room. He then pointed to Aaarrrghh, but he was stuck. Blinky laughed a little before Gladys attacked him. Lucky for Blinky, Soul appeared and pushed her away. Noah then said to Blinky. "Blinky get Toby out of here!"

"Watch out!" Seth said as Gladys attacked him with the drill. That caused the three of them to run around Toby and knock down everything on the shelves, even the gaggletack. Blinky then said as he saw the beach sunset wallpaper. "Oh, it burns! Oh, it's just a painting."

"Force Blinky!" Seth said as he was almost attacked. Lucky Aaarrgghh grabbed her and held her tight. "Prepare to meet doom!" Blinky said as he used the dentist's lamp to hit Gladys in the face. "Aha! Not bad for a historian!" Blinky said as he accidently grabbed the gaggletack and turned into her troll form. Her troll from looked weak, but she still threw the gaggletack. It didn't hit some gas tanks, opening them and filling the room. Blinky looked at Toby and said. "What's that?"

"Laughing gas." Toby said as everyone, mine Soul started to laugh like crazy. Noah then said to Seth. "Why aren't we laughing?"

"Sylph filters out everything that is not pure air, so we should be fine. Also watch out." Seth said as Gladys punched Soul on Noah's side of the face. As Soul was facing Gladys, and not having a good time. Jim on the other hand was having a great time. Jim had told Claire a lie and Claire told him. "Have you thought about telling Ms. Janeth about whatever you're going through? Maybe she'd reinstate you as Romeo if she knew about it."

"Well, that could be… It's really hard to explain." Jim said before Claire said. "Ok, you do seem like you have this under control."

"We do not have this under control!" Seth said, as the dentist office was just pure chaos. Gladys had grabbed Soul by the neck and was holding in the air. Blinky and Toby were scared in the corner, Aaarrgghh was still stuck in the skylight, and everyone, but Soul, was still laughing. Gladys, still laughing, said to Soul. "Once I kill you, your friends are next."

"I won't let you!" Noah said as he was losing breath and trying to remove her hands from his neck. Noah looked around and knew there wasn't any other choice. Noah let go of Gladys hands and switched out Fighter with Blade. "Sylph Blade!" The Driver said and Gladys was very surprised to see the sword Soul made appear in Soul's hands, also because of Sylph the sword was like a katana now. Soul then stabbed Gladys right thru the heart. Gladys let go of Soul and walked back a little. Soul caught his breath and Gladys started to glow green. She then exploded with a big bang, making a lot of car alarms to blare and cover all of them in her ashes. Aaarrrgghh then said as they all looked at ground zero, which only had Soul sword. "There goes proof."

"Oh, my gosh! She's in my mouth!" Toby said as he was trying to spit it out the ash from the inside of his mouth. Blinky went over to Soul and said. "Are you ok, Master Noah, Master Seth?"

"I'm fine, but Noah is shaking." Seth said and he was right. Soul was shaking and looking at their sword, which was the only thing left in ground zero. Blinky touched Noah's side and said. "Master Noah, what is wrong?"

"I… I'm fine… I just never killed anyone before. And I feel like I need to throw up." Noah said before Toby said. "I feel like throwing up too." Blinky then helped Soul up and said to Noah. "Master Noah, you and Master Seth finished the fight, and in self-defense, for that matter. Vendel may continue to have his doubts, but we continue to have our lives. A fair bargain, I'd say."

"But I still feel sick and it's getting worse."

"That's ok, Master Noah. It's ok." Blinky said as he pulled Soul into a hug. That's when Jim's Phone Bat appeared. They looked for Jim, but didn't see him. The Phone Bat turned back into a phone and Seth caught it. The phone then showed a picture of a locker and Seth said. "That explains why Jim never showed up."

"Indeed." Blinky said as his Phone Bat, which had the same color as his skin color, flew out of Blinky's back pocket and landed on the top of Blinky's head. "By the way guys, what do we do about this place? It's a total mess."

"And that is why I made this." Seth said as Noah pulled out the vacuum cleaner and Seth pulled out a copper disk. Seth put the disk into the vacuum cleaner and the vacuum cleaner said. "Bee!" The vacuum cleaner handle then turned into a bee chest and head. Seth then said to them. "This is the Vacuum Bee. She along with the worker bees she makes can clean up an area in a flash. Watch." Then Vacuum Bee then clapped her hands together and when she opened them, she made a large group of bees that looked like her, but were very small. And in no time flat, the dentist office was now spotless, they removed Gladys ash off them, and even pushed Aaarrrgghh out of the skylight and onto the roof. Toby then said as looking at Vacuum Bee. "That was amazing. Hey, can we call her Hive Queen or H.Q.?"

"That's fine." Noah said as he undid the transformation and they all went home. An hour later, Jim had returned home and saw Noah sitting on the porch. "Noah? What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I just need some air."

"Are you ok?" Jim said as he took a seat next to Noah and placed his backpack next to them. Noah sighed and said. "Not really. We found a changeling, but I had to kill it."

"Why? Don't we need a changeling to convince Vendel about the bridge?!" Jim said, getting up. Noah got up too and said touching Jim's Phone Bat to Jim. "Well, if you had kept your Phone Bat on you, then I wouldn't have killed it to keep Toby and Blinky safe!"

"What?" Jim said as they both calmed down. Noah took a seat again and said. "The changeling was Toby's dentist assistant. When Toby's Phone Bat sent out a panic alarm. We all rushed there to save him. Well almost all of us." Noah turned to Jim and Jim got the idea. "The changeling wasn't like Nomura, but she was still strong, and any combination with Sylph, minus Sylph Guardian, can't really take a punch. She almost killed me and next was going to be our friends. So I had no choice, but to kill her."

"Couldn't Aaarrrgghh have helped?"

"He was stuck in the skylight, so he couldn't help. And now I feel sick."

"Where is Seth and Toby?" Jim said as he took a seat. Noah pointed to Toby's house. "Toby's home asleep. And Seth went to Trollmarket to finish the last Soul Jewel we had."

"Why is Seth doing that?"

"Sylph and the last one are the only ones that can give us power to fight inside a building without bringing the building down on top of us."

"Oh? Still I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"You should be. Things might have worked out very differently tonight." Noah said before sighing. He then said to Jim, placing his right arm on Jim's shoulder. "Look Jim, if we want to keep our home safe, we need to always be ready for any problem. And that means always having your Bat Phone with you, so we can get in touch with one another for situations like what just happened. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Go, now let's get inside. I want to hear how your study date with Claire went." Noah said with a chuckle and feeling a little better. Jim chuckled too and they both went into the house. But neither of them knew that Claire not only had followed Jim home, but heard the entire conversation. She was trying to get some actual answers about the letter Jim gave her, and knowing Jim was lying to her the whole night, she followed him home. But now she had more questions than answers. Back at the museum, the goblins were taking the bridge piece out of their hiding spot and putting them back in the same area in the museum. Bular was watching them and Strickler came in. Bular turned to Strickler and Strickler said. "I've just confirmed the worst. Gladysgro has been slain."

"Well, then the impure served her purpose. She already brought us the stones from Madagascar. Her job was done. And start the Pig Protocol!"

"I'd advise you to care for those you employ."

"Care? I only care to find the stones so my father can escape this wretched prison. Once we have them all, I will crush this troll-pretender myself. And then, everything in this horrid world will know…" Bular stopped when they heard the Fetch activate. The Fetch shot out a rock and Strickler picked it up. It had troll writing on it and he said to Bular. "It appears Nomura has gotten her way. Another changeling has been chosen. And look who it is." Both of them then cracked a wicked smile, because this changeling would be one that Jim or Soul could not touch.