Tales of Arcadia
Again
Disclaimer: Trollhunters, Tales of Arcadia, 3Below, Wizards, and Rise of the Titans are works of Guillermo del Toro created under DreamWorks and Netflix. I do not own any of these intellectual properties and this work is a fanmade story.
Prologue: The End/The Beginning
[This chapter contains scenes from the end of Rise of the Titans as well as Episode 1: Becoming, Part 1, from Trollhunters]
The time stone glowed with a brilliant viridian light as it descended into the back of Jim's newly awakened amulet. The delicate, petal-like segments closed around it, cradling the engine that would send him off on his new voyage. Floating to his chest, resting over his heart, the amulet whirred, its alien clockwork mechanisms rotating as Jim was lifted into the air, energy spiraling around him as he looked down at his friends with so many feelings flooding his heart.
Pain at their imminent parture. Sorrow that everything they had been through, everything they knew about each other, would have to be wiped clean. But, at the same time, hope. Hope that Nari's words were true and that he could live up to them.
Time unfolds differently, like a flower.
The armor materialized around Jim, adhering itself to his form as he looked at everyone one last time. Blinky, AAARRRGGHH, Douxie, Krel, Aja, Steve, Varvatos, and Claire. He wouldn't let them down, and he wouldn't let down anyone else. Not Nomura, or Strickler, or Nari, or Tobes. This time, he would make things right.
Claire gazed up at Jim the longest as he floated in the air, his armor fully donned as the viridian light became a blinding sun in the dismal gray dark. However, she didn't look away. Jim had to close his eyes in order to not falter and, a moment later, everything went dark.
It was a deep, vast darkness. It reminded him of when he bathed in Merlin's potion to become a half-troll, or when he pushed the Green Knight's shard into his chest to protect Claire and his friends. He could feel his heart speed up and the thought crossed his mind that something had gone terribly wrong. However, a moment later, a sharp, electronic blaring rang in his ear.
Stirring, Jim felt something heavy on his face and reached up, pulling away a Motor+Pedal magazine that had somehow stayed squarely on his nose while he slept. The alarm kept blaring and it took a moment, but eventually Jim sat up, looking over at a familiar alarm clock set right next to his bed.
Glancing around his room, it was exactly as he remembered. Vespa posters hung up on the walls, his bag lying there on the floor. It was confusing at first, disorienting even. He didn't quite know why he was suddenly back in his own room until he realized what day it was.
This was the day he found Merlin's amulet.
Almost in a daze, Jim got up out of bed, his body feeling rather heavy. Slowly, he made his way downstairs, looking around and finding everything just as he remembered it. He even peeked in his mom's room and found her lying in bed, a frazzled mess with her glasses still on and the blankets barely covering her scrubs.
Jim bit his lip as he looked at her, gently kneeling down and taking her glasses off, cleaning them, and placing them on her nightstand. He hadn't even asked his mom what she would think about him using the Time Stone. At least she had been far away from the final battle with Bellroc and the Fire Titan, but it felt like Jim had once again hid something from her. Forced her to forget.
Placing the blankets gingerly over his mom's shoulders, Jim crept out of the room and made his way back downstairs. It was still hard to believe it was all real. Everything felt like a dream.
Opening the garage, Jim saw his old bike leaned up against the wall, helmet close by. He quickly opened the garage door, shielding his eyes as sunlight streamed in and blinded him for a moment. When he was finally able to see, he spotted the toppled garbage cans lying in the driveway, trash scattered everywhere after a vicious nighttime raid from the local racoons.
"Tobes was here when the racoons knocked the trash over…" Jim muttered to himself as he walked out into the cul-de-sac. However, he didn't see his friend there.
Jim had to bite his lip to keep himself from breaking down. It hurt. He had been through so much as the Trollhunter, suffered so many injuries, lost so much. The Arcane Order had beaten him into submission and his troll form had perished in the sun's light. But none of that hurt as much as the hole left behind by Tobes.
Kneeling down, Jim started cleaning up the trash, sweeping what he could back into the cans as he stood them up right. That was when he heard the ding of a bell and a familiar, pitched voice call out to him.
"Morning, Jimbo!"
He almost didn't want to turn around. It felt like, if he did, he would wake up from this dream. But he gathered his courage, standing up and turning around.
"Toby…"
There, holding his teal bike at his side, dressed in his typical red vest and mustard button-up, half untucked around his rotund belly, was his best friend. Alive.
Without thinking, Jim rushed forward, tackling his best friend with a hug, sending both of them sprawling to the ground as Tobes lost hold of his bike. Tobes just laughed, hugging him back as they both rolled out on the sidewalk and looked up at the sky. The sky never looked so blue before.
"You seem really happy to see me." Tobes chuckled before looking over at him concerned. "Are you doing okay, Jim?"
Jim just sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he looked up. "It sure feels good to be back."
Glancing over at Tobes, his best friend smiled and nodded, still looking a bit confused.
"Okay." He shrugged, a silly smile plastered across his face. "Does… uh, this mean you didn't make any meatloaf for lunch then?" Tobes asked expectantly.
"Sorry I've been… busy." Jim chuckled.
"Ah, it's alright, Jimbo. Though I am feeling a little peckish. You sure you didn't prep anything?"
Jim laughed aloud as Tobes prodded him until he heard the school bell chime off in the distance.
"Oh crap, we're gonna be late! And not even because of meatloaf!" Tobbes rocked back and forth, trying to roll himself back up onto his feet in desperation before Jim helped him. "Come on, Jimbo! Don't wanna get chewed out!"
Watching Tobes struggle to get onto his bike, Jim still couldn't get the smile off his face as he ran back to the garage and grabbed his own bike, quickly putting his helmet on and pedaling out into the cul-de-sac just as Tobes started pedaling.
That was when he remembered how that day went originally.
"... Hey! Tobes! Let's take the canal!" Jim shouted over his shoulder as he already pulled ahead of his friend.
"What?!"
"I've gotta pick something up there."
"What was that, Jimbo?!" Tobes shouted after him, pedaling furiously as the two of them made their way down the streets.
It felt odd, making his way down the roads and cutting down the dirt path through the woods towards the canal. Several times he wondered what would have happened if he never found Merlin's amulet. What would have happened if someone else picked it up and became Trollhunter?
Tobes was always so much more into being a hero than he was. Part of Jim considered letting Tobes find it. Pick up the amulet. Live his dreams as the Trollhunter. But he couldn't do that.
That was Jim's responsibility. He wouldn't wish the struggles and hardships that came with the amulet on anyone, much less his best friend. Tobes wasn't the only one he had to save either. There were others. So many others. And only the Trollhunter, only James Lake Jr, could set it right.
Riding up over the ridge and speeding down the sloped sides of the canal, Jim quickly applied his brakes and came to a stop right beneath the bridge. The rays of the early morning sun illuminated the canal as the occasional car zipped past overhead.
The first time Jim and Tobes were there, they never imagined just what had happened mere hours earlier. A brutal fight between Kanjigar the Courageous, and Bular, son of Gunmar. Glancing over, Jim could see a pile of stone rubble, the remains of the once Trollhunter.
Tobes came skidding down the side of the canal after him, nearly falling off his bike as he struggled and flopped to the side.
"Man, how awesome are we? Awesome~" Tobes chuckled as Jim set down his bike and made his way over to the remains. "Hey, whatcha doing there, Jimbo?"
"There's something here." Jim replied, bowing his head in reverence towards the previous Trollhunter. "Something for me."
As he said it, a distant, ethereal voice emanated from the rubble.
James Lake Jr.
Tobes visibly jumped, looking around like his nana's cats for the source of the noise. "What was that?!"
"It's alright, Tobes." Jim reassured his friend, kneeling down over Kanjigar's remains and extending his hand. "This is what we're here for."
Reaching into the pile, Jim quickly spotted the radiant blue glow that he had become so familiar with. Moving the rubble away, he spotted the source of the light. A delicate, silver amulet, with thin clockwork mechanisms resting over a radiant azure stone. Runes were etched into the outer rim of the pocketwatch-like object and a terrifying face rested on a dial near the center.
"Wooooaaaah!" Tobes gasped as Jim picked up the amulet, feeling the familiar, cool metal in his palm. "What is that?! So cool! So cool! So cool!"
Tobes jumped around with excitement, eyes trained on the amulet in Jim's hand like it was some super rare edition collectable. He wasn't entirely wrong. However, something felt different as Jim held Merlin's amulet in his hand.
Confused, he turned it over, looking at it closely. That's when he saw the back of the amulet open up, blooming like a flower as he saw, placed delicately inside one of the chambers, a small, verdant stone, glowing with a sliver of power.
Jim couldn't believe what he was seeing. This wasn't there the first time, and he was sure it was used up already. But there, resting within Merlin's amulet, was the Time Stone.