Chapter 10; Young Atlas and Young Kratos

A day after Jim, Noah and Seth's birthday, Draal was training them in the backyard, and Jim was not doing so well. And because of how Jim was doing, Soul was too focused on Jim to be doing well. "I think I just broke my butt." Jim said as Draal had Jim on the ground and had his new spear pointing at Jim, and Soul, in his Gnome Blade Form, was being held in the air because Draal was holding them by the head. Draal then said to all of them as their swords were away from them. "Were this an actual battle. Kamen Rider, your head would be a bloody mess."

"Noted." Soul said as Draal let go of Soul, before Draal said to Jim. "And Trollhunter. You would have just been deprived of your right leg, three fingers, and your gronk-nuks."

"Sorry, I guess I'm just a little distracted tonight." Jim said as he and Soul grabbed their sword and they started sparing again. As they blocked Draal's attack, Noah said to Jim. "Are you worried about the play?"

"Yes." Jim said as Draal did a leg swine move, which caused them both to fall down, and Draal said to them. "Focus on the battle. Because if you don't, Bular will use your distraction as an opportunity to cleave your head from your shoulders."

"Sorry Draal." Seth said as Soul and Jim got up. Draal knew Jim was the cause of the distraction and said to Jim. "What has you distracted this night?"

"You wouldn't understand." Jim said before Draal attacked them again. They were caught off guard and Draal said as he pinned them to the ground. "I am a son of the former Trollhunter, Trollhunter."

"I'm a little preoccupied about kissing Claire." Jim said before Draal said. "I don't understand." Draal then let them up and Seth said. "The school play has a kissing scene and tomorrow Jim is going to kiss the girl he likes in front of people."

"Kissing? What is this kissing?" Draal said as he grabbed them and put them on a rock. Noah then said to Draal. "Kissing is a show of affection that happens when two people who love one another put their lips together, and if they love one another could last a long time."

"Disgusting. Killing sounds easier." Draal said before Seth. "In some cases, yes." Then Jim and Noah undid their transformation and Jim said. "Guys, I really like her. If I blow our first kiss, I might not get a second, or third."

"Jim, while I don't have any real experience with love, I say just do it and don't think too much about it." Noah said to Jim as he entered the house. After Noah entered the house, Draal said to Jim. "You're afraid."

"I know, I know. The first rule, "Always be afraid." But that's with Trolls, not girls. Girls are like the opposite of Trolls."

"I once had similar stirrings for an Impure. I know of something that may help. If these "girls" require you not to be afraid… then you need a Grit-Shaka."

"Is that a protein shake?"

"A Grit-Shaka is a totem used by the Gumm-Gumms. If you wear it, it banishes all cowardice… makes you fierce and ready for battle."

"Hmm… You wouldn't happen to have one of these, would you?" Jim said and Draal thought about it. At the museum, Bular, Strickler, Nomura, and the goblins were waiting by the bridge, which needed one more part, for Otto. The only one missing was Teika, but they didn't care. All that mattered was the Eyestone. "Sorry, I'm late, but you know what they say to those who wait." Otto said as he arrived and showed them the Eyestone. Bular took the stone away from Otto, and threw Otto away. Bular then opened the case and flew to the bridge and joined with the other piece, but nothing happened. Bular then turned to Strickler and said. "It doesn't work."

"Are you sure?" Strickler said as the light ball in the area started to break. Then light from the Eyestone speared throughout the bridge and then under the bridge an energy stream appeared. Once it was over they all saw a silhouette of Gunmar appeared behind a wall of light blue energy. "Son!" Gunmar said happy to see his son for the first time in over 900 years. As the goblins ran away, Bular bowed his head and said. "Father, your release from exile will soon be at hand…"

"Your dark excellence. I am humbly in your service." Strickler said as he got in front of Bular and bowed. Bular got up and Strickler said to Gunmar. "Killahead is nearly complete and you will soon be free."

"This pleases me, Stricklander. You have done well." Gunmar said and Strickler could say anything, Bular said to Gunmar. "Father, the mantle of Trollhunter has fallen to a human, and a Kamen Rider has reappeared."

"A Kamen Rider you say?" Gunmar said as he touched where his right eye was, but now was scared of shame. Bular then said to his father. "And this impure has ordered me not to harm them…"

"Your Excellence, killing human children will bring too much scrutiny down upon us"

"And he has forbidden me to take the Amulet from the Trollhunter."

"Lord Gunmar, until the Bridge is complete, it is ill-advised to–"

"Enough!" Gunmar said hitting the energy barrier, which caused energy to wash over everyone. All of them got down and shut up. As they were getting up, Gunmar said to all of his followers. "You make my exile all the more intolerable with your bickering. Stricklander is correct. Nothing is more important than preventing our plan from being discovered by our enemies. But from now on, my son will be giving the orders." Bular laughed at Strickler and then Gunmar said. "I will speak with my son, alone. Now!"

"As you wish, Your Greatness." Stricklander said as everyone, but Bular left. Once they were all gone, Gunmar said to his son. "What has become of Stricklander? He appears to have grown soft."

"In his human guise, he has become the children's teacher. I believe he has affection for them."

"You question his loyalties?"

"I do, Father."

"If his heart has turned, we must know. Test him."

"With pleasure." Bular said as he laughed a little. The following day at school, around lunch. Toby said to Jim as they were enjoying their lunches away from everyone. "So, today's the big day. El smoocho, doth yonder."

"Need breath mints?" Seth said as he pulled out some mints from his backpack. Jim didn't listen to them, he just looked at the Grit-Shaka, that was a necklace that had a green crystal inside a small set of sharp jaw's. "What's that?" Noah said, looking at the Grit-Shaka in Jim's backpack. Jim closed his backpack and said. "It's a totem called a Grit-Shaka. Draal said that it will help me with the kissing scene."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about that thing?" Seth said as lunch was almost over. After school, Strickler was meeting with Teika in the town center. Claire's mom was there too, but didn't pay attention to Teika because she was answering a work call and not only looked away, but walked away too. Strickler then said to Teika, as he was pretending to read a book. "Where were you last night?"

"Sorry I miss seeing the big honcho, but those students of yours caused me to be monitored almost 24/7 after the night they figured out I was a Changeling." Teika said as he covered himself in the shade of the stolen and turned into this Troll form. Teika then realized what he just said and hoped Strickler didn't hear that part. But Strickler did and he said to Teika. "You've been exposed!"

"What was I supposed to do? The fleshbags used a Gaggletack on me!"

"Bular will be upset."

"Now hold on! This could be a good thing! They think I'm helping them. I've learned things."

"Like?"

"Mr. Six-Eyes and Big Scary Name…"

"Blinky and Aaarrrgghh."

"Yeah. The big ones don't talk much, but the smart one's certainly taken to those three boys. You should've seen how he stood up for them against the old goat man. Mr. Trollmarket."

"Vendel? Wait, you've been to Trollmarket?"

"They take me all the time now."

"From now on, you report only to me. Perhaps there are some things Bular doesn't need to know." Strickler said as he pulled Teika close to him. That's when Claire's mom was done with her phone call. Teika turned back to his human form, before she noticed and Strickler made a comment on how cute babies are to her, before he left them.

Back at school, Noah, Seth, and Toby were watching the rehearsal. And while Claire was doing her lines, Jim was behind the curtains wondering if he should or shouldn't use the Grit-Shaka. He chose to use it, and felt like he could take on the world, but his attitude changed into a cocky fool. So as soon as he joined on stage, he started to do whatever he felt like doing, even if that meant changing his lines or doing what they should have been doing. Seth then said to Noah and Toby. "We need to stop him."

"Way ahead of you." Noah said as he was already making his way to the stage. Noah got onto the stage and as Seth and Toby told everyone a quick lie to everyone. Noah took Jim backstage and said. "Jim, give me that thing."

"No. I feel stronger, like I could take down anything or do anything."

"Yeah, that thing isn't good." Noah said as he tried to remove the Grit-Shaka from Jim's neck. But Jim punched him in the face and said as Noah fell to the floor. "If you want this, then find me in Trollmarket." Jim left and then Seth and Toby appeared. "Noah, are you ok?" Seth said as he helped Noah up. That is when they both saw that Noah's right eye was bruised. "Did Jim do that?" Toby said before Noah said. "Yes, but we got to go. Jim heading to Trollmarket." Then they all ran after Jim and they saw Jim doing things that showed that he had nor fear or impulse control. But they did lose Jim, when they entered Trollmarket. So they went to Hero's Forge, and found Blinky and Aaarrrgghh doing some maintenance on the training equipment, until Noah, Seth, and Toby came running in. "Blinky! Wingman! We've got trouble!" Toby said before Noah said. "Draal gave Jim something and now he is acting crazy."

"What thing, Master Noah?" Blinky said as he and Aaarrrgghh stopped the maintenance. Seth then said to him. "A totem called a Grit-Shaka." Blinky gasp and Aaarrrgghh said. "No fear."

"That's how it works on Troll physiology. But how will it act on a human?" Blinky said before Noah said. "Given what we saw, he'll do anything someone says without thinking about it or having any sense of fear."

"Then we need to stop him, wherever he is." Blinky said before Toby said. "He's here."

"Then why are we standing around?" Blinky said as he left the area first, then so did the others. After running around for a few minutes, they found Jim about to get a tattoo the same way as Trolls do. Which is like putting names or image into rocks. "Cease this madness!" Blinky said, causing the tattoo troll to stop. Jim turned to them and said, laughing a little. "Hey! Perfect timing, buds! Let's all get tats! Fellowship! High-five?"

"If you would give us a moment." Blinky said to the tattoo troll, and the tattoo troll left them. Jim then gave himself a high-five and Blinky said to the others. "Great Gronka Morka, it's even worse than you all said."

"I thought my eye gave it away." Noah said pointing at his eye. Blinky then said to Jim. "Master Jim, the Grit-Shaka."

"Ha, ha! Cool, right? I mean, crispy."

"I was thinking more along the lines of "unholy" and "disturbing."

"Dangerous!" Aaarrrgghh said and then Blinky said. "That, too. Master Jim, that is a Gumm-Gumm totem, reason enough to be wary of it. But the fact that you are a human makes its effects unpredictable!"

"And that necklace is not a good look for you." Toby said before Seth said. "Plus, it's turning you into a jerk."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is this? An intervention?" Jim said as he motioned the tattoo troll to give him a tattoo, but Blinky stopped the troll and said to Jim. "If need be."

"Well, need not be! I'm fine. I am better than fine. And if you want the Grit-Shaka, you're gonna have to take it from me." Jim said as he got up and pulled out his amulet. Noah pulled out his Driver and said. "Do you really want to do this?"

"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command! Holla!" Jim said as he equipped his armor. "I guess we are doing this." Seth said as Noah put on the Driver. Then Noah and Seth put in Fighter and Gnome, and the Driver said. "Gnome Fighter!"

"Henshin!" Noah said and transformed into Soul and Toby caught Seth. As Soul got closer to Jim, Toby said to them. "Be gentle with him."

"I make no promise." Noah said Soul attacked Jim with some punches, but Jim dodged it with great reflexes. Blinky then said out loud. "Grit-Shaka has changed him, indeed. Master Jim was never this nimble."

"What was that?" Seth said as they all heard that and Blinky said. "I mean, this is terrible!" Jim then ran away with great speed, so Soul had to turn into his Sylph Fighter. "Sylph Fighter!" The Driver said and they ran after Jim. But Soul did lose sight of Jim. And to make matters worse, Jim ambushed Soul. Jim punched him in the head. Then kicked Soul chest and sent them flying into a garbage pile of old Troll food. The others caught up to them, with Aaarrrgghh holding Seth's body, and Blinky said to Jim. "Master Jim, I beg you, do not lose yourself."

"Lose? I found myself! And I wasn't even looking for me." Jim said as he started to run again. Everyone, but Soul ran after him, and Blinky said to him. "The Grit-Shaka's effect on you is false, which makes it dangerous. You should always be afraid! If Bular attacked you in this state, you would not be able to defend yourself."

"Oh, yeah? I'll show you. I'm not afraid of Bular! I'm not afraid of anything!" Jim said before he stopped his friends by using Gnomes. With that, they lost sight of Jim. "Where's Jim!?" Noah said as Soul appeared, covered in trash. "Over there." Aaarrrgghh said, pointing to the step before the doorway back to the surface. Jim looked at them and said. "I'll show you! I'm not afraid of anything! I… I… I… will fight Bular. I will end him today!" Jim then left and Blinky said. "That went poorly."

"Yes it did." Seth said as he undid the transformation and the trash fell off Noah, but he still had the small of rotten garbage. Aaarrrgghh then to the others. "So what now?"

"We need to find Master Jim. Fortunately, Master Jim has no means by which he can locate Bular." Blinky said before Toby said. "That's not exactly true." That's when they remembered about Teika. So Seth and Toby ran to Claire's house. Noah stayed with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh as they were waiting for the information that Seth and Toby would get out of Teika. "Hey, Teika! Have you seen Jim?"

"Hey! Get away! You're gonna blow me cover!

"Then tell us? Did you tell Jim where Bular's hiding?" Seth said before Teika said. "If a bloke wants to commit suicide, who am I to stand in his way?"

"Where did he go?" Toby said before Teika said as he entered Enrique's room. "I can't hear you."

"I've got stinky sweat socks. Haven't been washed all week." Toby said, pulling a wet sock. Teika wanted it and Seth said. "If you wanted it, then tell us where you sent Jim?" Teia really wanted that sock, so he told them that Jim was in the sewers. With that information, Noah, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh started to check the sewers for Jim. While Seth and Toby scout above for him.

In the sewer, Jim was using the sword to light his way, but because of the Grit-Shaka. Jim didn't notice the Goblins watching him and hearing him called Bular out. In and above the sewer, all of them called for Jim, but he did not listen to them. He only wanted to find and kill Bular. "Bular! It is I, the Trollhunter! Your nemesis challenges you!" Jim said very loudly, so that everyone heard him. They all followed the sound and Jim and Bular met in an open area. Jim then said to Bular. "There you are, you ugly Troll! Let's see how tough you are without cars to throw at people, shall we?" Bular then started to get closer to Jim. "I saw the Bridge. I know what you and your pals are up to. But it ends tonight, baby!" Jim said and Bular saw the Grit-Shaka around Jim's neck. Bular laughed and said. "A Grit-Shaka! Now I understand why you are so quick to race to your death."

"Excuse you! I'm not racing anywhere. And the only "death" tonight is gonna be your pride!" Jim said, attacking Bular. Both attacked, and were more playing with their prey then killing one another. The battle did echo to the surface and Seth and Toby ran to where the battle was and Toby went to a manhole over the area, while Seth called Noah.

Back to the battle. Jim managed to cut Bular under his eye. That made Bular mad and Jim said to him. "I bet that hurt–" Bular then punched Jim with great power to the middle of the area. That punch did knock him out for a few seconds. When he woke up, the Grit-Shaka was gone. "Lose something, Trollhunter?" Bular said as he found the Grit-Shaka and smashed it, under his foot. And to make matters worse, the Grit-Shaka didn't remove his fear, just kept it totally suppressed. So with it gone, Jim was so full of fear, he couldn't summon his sword or do anything, as Bular walked up to him. "Good. The fear will tenderize your flesh. You'll taste… Mmm…"

"Efreet Blade!" The Twin-Soul Driver said behind Bular. So Bular turned around and saw Soul running at Bular with his flaming sword. Soul quickly slashed at Bular and Bular blocked the attack with his arms. But that was what Soul wanted. With Bular covering his face, Soul was able to get past him and then he switched out his Soul Jewel's. "Gnome Guardian!" The Driver said and Soul turned into his Gnome Guardian form. "Jim, we have a lot to talk about after we get out of here." Noah said and Jim said to them, as Bular and Soul circled around Jim. "Noah! Seth!"

"Jim!" Toby said and Jim looked up at the manhole and said. "Toby! Where am I? What's going on?"

"Long story. Toby can you get us some light!?" Seth said as Bular and Soul were still circling around Jim. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh appeared, but a goblin opened all of the manholes around the area. So Blinky and Aaarrrgghh could only watch as Bular attacked them, but thank to Toby using all of his strength and plus pushing past his limits. Toby opened the manhole, and light shines onto Bular's face. Bular roared and Soul to this chance. Soul took out the Soul Jewels and the Driver said. "Gnome Guardian Final Attack!" Then two copies of Soul appeared that looked like his curtain form. The two copies threw up their shields and then they locked Bular arms to his back. Then all of the shields joined together on Soul's right hand, and not only did each one of them release a shape point made from the center circle that linked together, but they started to spin very fast. Soul then charged at Bular and said. "Final Attack, Drill Punch!" Bular then broke free of Soul's golems and drew his sword to block Soul's attack. And it worked, kind of. Bular swords stopped most of the attack, but the attack did destroy Bular weapons, and caused some damage to Bular chest. Soul jumped back, and the Driver said. "Sylph Fighter!" Soul then landed next to Jim in his Sylph Fighter form. Noah then said to Jim. "Time to go!"

"Leave so soon, I expected more from you, Young Kratos. And you too Young Atlas." Bular said and they membered that only Strickler called them at. So if Bular knew those nicknames, then Strickler was a Changeling. Jim and Seth were surprised, and Noah was surprised too, but he just grabbed Jim and then jumped through the manhole, and landed in an alleyway. Seth woke up and joined Toby in the alleyway. In the alleway, they found Noah on the ground, and Jim in a garbage can. As Jim got out, he looked at Noah and said. "Why did you do that?"

"Because that Grit-Shaka not only made you hit me in the face, twice, but you kicked me into a garbage pile." Noah said getting up and Jim saw Noah black eye. "Yeah, you've been a real trud today.

"Sorry." Jim said before Seth said. "It's fine. But can we focus on the fact that Strickler's a Changeling."

"I never trusted him." Toby said before Jim said. "Thanks for saving my neck, guys. I owe you all one"

"Then let me use the bath first." Noah said and Jim said with a little laugh. "Deal." Back in the sewers, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh ran away after seeing Jim and Soul escape. And since Bular was trapped, they thought they were safe. But Bular already finished what he set out to do. So once the sunlight was gone, Bular returned to the museum and told Strickler and Gunmar about his run in with the Trollhunter and Kamen Rider, but did hide the fact that he was hurt after that encounter. Strickler then said in disbelief. "You did what?"

"I call them Young Atlas and Young Kratos."

"But I call them that. Me, alone!"

"You should have seen the Trollhunters face."

"They'll know I'm working with you. They'll know I'm a Changeling. Of all the idiotic things you've done, you imbecile…"

"I gave the order." Gunmar said and Bular then said to Strickler, who was starting to get worried. "Call it a test."

"Oh, a t– A test?" Strickler said and Gunmar said. "To lead him to you. So that when the time comes, you will kill the children and free me with his Amulet." So Strickler would soon clash with his students, and when that happens, chaos will ensue.