Chapter 10: Bridges to Cross
[This chapter contains scenes from Episode 5: Waka Chaka! from Trollhunters]
The gloom cover of night had fallen as Jim, Toby, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH made their way towards the edge of the museum, hiding in the underbrush to remain unspotted. It was all going well, Jim managing to steer them in the right direction to realize Toby's Chubby-Tracker was on one of the goblins and then follow it to the museum. Things were progressing as they needed to, but he still needed to be prepared for whatever might come.
Finding an open window, Jim crouched down with Toby in the brush, turning to Blinky and AAARRRGGHH.
"Tobes and I will go in through here. You two need to find a bigger entrance, alright?"
"Indeed, Master Jim. You've performed rather remarkably. You may well already be a goblin-hunting master." Blink praised before he and AAARRRGGHH circled around the building, looking for a way in.
"Dude, did you have to send both our trolls off?" Toby complained as the two of them maneuvered their way up and through the window. "Woulda helped to have some muscle on our side if those goblins come after our butts. Or lay eggs in our ears."
"Tobes, goblins don't do that." Jim hushed his friend as he glanced up to see the nest of goblins hanging from a mucus-like sack from the ceiling, sleeping.
Pointing them out to Toby, the chubby boy immediately jumped in surprise, but Jim managed to put a hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. Slowly, they pressed forward, doing their best to remain silent and undetected as they crept towards where Jim knew the Killahead Bridge would be.
As they made their way forward, Jim heard something behind them and quickly turned around, eyes scanning the darkness as he held Merlin's amulet ready inside his pocket.
While Jim kept an eye out behind them, Toby continued forward, peering around the corner where a stream of warm orange light cascaded out of an open doorway.
"Hey! Jimbo! There's someone here!" He hissed back in a low whisper, turning Jim away from the dark. "It's the museum lady!"
Jim's Trollhunter instincts triggered as he pulled Toby behind him, taking the front as he glanced around the corner and saw the shadows twitch and bend, snapping into place as Nomura transformed just beyond the doorway.
"Jim! What happened? Did her head explode? Was it the goblin eggs in her ears?!" Toby stammered, jittering and panicking a little.
"Relax, Tobes. The goblins, remember?" Jim spoke softly, but with a sense of urgency. "You're gonna draw them to us."
"Then tell me what's going on, Jim!"
While he knew Toby was only talking about the current moment, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his chest. He was still hiding so much from Toby. From everyone. He wanted to tell them, to let them know everything, but he couldn't do that just yet.
"I knew I detected the stink of teenage flesh." A hissing, predatory voice sneered from just behind them as Jim whipped around, seeing Nomura's angular, magenta face and glowing green eyes staring at the two of them.
"Aaagh!" Toby screamed in terror, his Chubby-Tracker buzzing as the sound of goblins scurried throughout the museum.
"Run, Tobes!" Jim grabbed his friend by the sweater vest, tugging him along as they sprinted down the hall and through the canopy into the restricted section of the museum.
The two of them tumbled through into an assortment of crates, scaffolding, and other historical artifacts. The setup made the entire, massive room feel like a jungle gym from the annals of history. However, there were more pressing matters as the sounds of goblins approaching reached the upper levels and Nomura strode through the canopy, long, black claws reaching out towards the two boys.
"A human Trollhunter." She mused. "That I've never tasted."
Taking a confident step forward, Jim produced the amulet from his pocket, its radiant blue light causing the Changeling to flinch back.
"Let's see how you like the taste of Daylight."
"That was a good one, Jimbo!" Toby cheered on as a flash of blue light surrounded Jim's body and he was suddenly clad in the silvery-blue armor of the Trollhunter.
Nomura's green eyes grew wide as Jim summoned his sword, standing at the ready. She snarled, but that quickly changed into a sly grin as she took a step forward.
Jim took a deep breath, his mind already racing. He knew just how skilled Nomura was. She had bested him on several occasions. However, he also had the experience of fighting with and against her numerous times. He had the edge, but he also couldn't afford to kill her. It would be quite the balancing act.
"Such a brave Trollhunter." Nomura mocked, slowly starting to circle Jim and Toby as the goblins drew closer. "But I'm what kills you, boy."
Lunging forward, Nomura swung with her claws, but Jim deflected it with his broad sword, pushing her back much to the Changeling's surprise. However, before he could gain more ground, she reached over her shoulders, drawing two, curved khopesh from out of nowhere. The curved blades blazed to life with an orange-yellow energy pulsing between the cracks and Jim felt his heart clench as he knew the real battle was just about to start.
The two of them clashed, sparks flying as their swords connected in a dance of red and blue. Nomura's blades were still a deadly flurry, streaking through the air and forcing Jim to rely on his instincts and heightened senses as he dodged and parried. He hardly had time to pay attention to Toby as the chubby boy wrestled with a goblin. Jim and Nomura clashed again, keeping each other back. Though it was clear the Changeling wasn't expecting this level of resistance from him.
"Well, it looks like the Trollhunter isn't just for show!" Nomura snarled, striking at him again, but Jim caught her blade with his own, sparks of red and blue grinding between their weapons.
"Freeing Gunmar won't make you free." Jim grunted, struggling to keep back the Changeling's immense strength. "He doesn't value Changelings."
While he knew it was futile, Jim couldn't help himself from trying to reason with Nomura. He couldn't get the time they spent together, imprisoned in the Darklands in Gunmar's arena, out of his head. There was more to Nomura than her subservience to the Gumm-Gumms.
"Squealing like a little rat when backed into a corner, are we?" Nomura hissed, swinging with her other khopesh and knocking Jim back. "What a weak and pitiful Trollhunter."
Clenching his teeth, Jim gripped the hilt of Daylight tightly as he fought back, using all his skills and focus as his blade met Nomura's, pressing the Changeling. As the two of them clashed, Jim could hear both Blinky and AAARRRGGHH arrive, shouting in surprise as they saw Nomura as well as the massive, arching Killahead Bridge thinly veiled by a tarp.
Nomura turned and snarled at the uninvited trolls, shoving Jim off her as the rest of the goblins began swarming the room, surrounding the four of them. "Well, well, well. The Trollhunter brought more friends! Unfortunately, none of you will be leaving here alive."
Jim glanced back to his friends, watching as the goblins surrounded them. However, as he looked around, he also noticed a singular goblin with a drawn on mustache creeping along the ground right behind Nomura as she taunted them.
They had what they came for and, while he did feel bad about it, Jim needed to make sure they had time to get away from Nomura. Brandishing his sword, Jim confronted the Changeling once more. However, as she grinned at him with a terrifying expression, he quickly rolled behind her, dodging the first of her swings and blocking the second. It was when Jim saw her raise her blade above her head, swinging it down at him, that he moved at the last second, avoiding the strike that instead cleaved directly through the goblin leader, splattering thick, lime-green paste everywhere.
Nomura's green eyes suddenly grew wide with terror as the goblins fell silent, turning to look at her with accusatory gazes. Jim didn't hesitate as he rushed away, his armor dissipating around him as he reached Toby, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH right as the goblin war cry echoed throughout the museum, followed by Nomura's terrified screams.
"Holy, what the? Her face! Did you?" Toby stammered as he rode on AAARRRGGHH's back, but his ramblings were drowned out by Blinky's.
"Great Gronka Morka! The bridge! Killahead Bridge! Right above our heads! I knew it! Dark happenings are going on in Arcadia! I knew it! Ha-ha!" The six-eyed troll was practically leaping as they rushed out of the museum, though the true nature of the matter only hit him as they were once again safe in the shadows. "Oh dear… the Killahead Bridge… and Changelings, in Arcadia… Great Gronka Morka…"
