Chapter 22: Two Flowers
[This chapter contains scenes from Episode 13: The Battle of Two Bridges from Trollhunters]
As the dust cleared, Jim looked back towards Killahead Bridge and saw nothing but a massive pile of rubble lying in its wake. The dust was still thick in the room but he could also make out the shapes of Blinky and AAARRRGGH, Draal, as well as Strickler and his mom. All of them safe and sound, if not a little dusty and bruised.
"Holy Merlin! That was awesome!" Toby cheered. "How'd you know the bridge would self-destruct like that?"
"Long story. I'll tell you sometime, Tobes." Jim chuckled, standing up. However, as he did, the rubble of the bridge shifted and Bular emerged, prying his way out from beneath the stones.
"Father! Father!" The black troll howled, clutching at the broken remnants of the only thing in the world that could possibly connect him to his kin.
"Master Jim, we must leave at once!" Blinky cried out, maneuvering with AAARRRGGHH and Draal towards a sewer hatch.
"I'll look after Barbara!" Strickler called out, shifting back into his human form as the two of them rushed out the front door.
Jim helped Toby up, rushing over to their exit point while Bular continued to howl in lament. As they managed to get the grate open and Toby protested leaping down into the flooding sewage, Jim looked back, catching the angry red-orange eyes of the Gumm-Gumm. While they were filled with rage and hatred, he recognised another emotion there as well. An emotion very familiar to Jim. A very human emotion.
"I will end you Trollhunter! You! And everything you hold dear!" Bular roared, leaping after the five of them as they dove into the sewers.
The water swirled and tore them apart, though AAARRRGGHH and Draal managed to act as anchors, catching Toby and Blinky as they floated past. Jim also caught onto them but, as he did, he saw the dark shape of Bular swimming towards them through the sewage.
He had to finish the fight.
Patting AAARRRGGHH on the shoulder, Jim pushed away from the group, slamming into Bular as he swam right into him. The two of them struggled, pulled along by the water current until they smashed through a grate into the canal. Jim swam with all his might, catching onto the railing of the bridge and pulling himself up right as Bular also emerged from the water.
"Yet another Trollhunter killed under the same bridge." Bular snarled. "I'll drag your corpse back to Killahead and bathe it in your blood! Daylight is fading, and soon, your friends will join you in death!"
Jim took a deep breath, holding up Merlin's amulet as it glowed with resilience. "Not this time. I'll stop you. Just like the first time. I'll stop Gunmar too. And I'll do it with my friends!"
A flash of blue light enveloped Jim as he donned his armor once more, sword appearing in hand as he clashed with Bular. The two of them exchanged blows, Jim still struggling against the Gumm-Gumm's might but holding his own, retreating when he needed to and wearing his opponent down as much as he could.
The black troll roared and snarled, swinging off the railing of the bridge and slamming into the metal over and over again. It was an intense fight, and Jim was finally feeling himself tiring out. Bular took advantage of a single opening, headbutting Jim and sending him flying across the bridge, slamming into one of the pillars and grunting as he slumped down, his breathing heavy and his entire body already exhausted from the prolonged battle.
"Master Jim!"
"Jimbo!"
"JIM!"
Looking over his shoulder, Jim spotted Toby, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH as they climbed out of the canal. They all looked worried, but their eyes were following something else, even as Bular strode over to Jim triumphantly.
"Just in time to see their Trollhunter slain." The Gumm-Gumm sneered as he reached down, grabbing Jim by the throat as he raised his blade to deliver the killing blow. "They'll be next."
"No, you will!" Jim roared as Bular's cleaver swung down.
The black troll's arm fell, tumbling past Jim and shattering into stone against the metal scaffolding below as Bular cried out in pain. Behind him, Draal stood, the Gumm-Gumm's second blade in hand.
"That was for my father." Draal snorted as Jim slipped from Bular's weakened grip. "But this, this is for me!"
Raising Bular's own blade, Draal swung once more, Jim mirroring his strike with Daylight. The two swords struck Bular the Butcher, cleaving him into pieces as radiant blue light erupted from the black troll's body and he crumbled to pieces, falling away into the raging torrent below.
Leaning over the railing of the bridge and looking down into the swift torrent of rainwater washing away any evidence of their battle, Jim felt like a certain weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Draal stood by him, having helped him up from underneath the bridge, but was silent, looking off into the distance as the sun had fully set, settling Arcadia into the cool embrace of night.
"You're alive!" Toby cried, his arms spread wide as he tackled Jim for a hug.
"Master Jim!" Blinky laughed as he followed suit before all of them were crushed in AAARRRGGHH's hug.
"Jim!"
"You've done it! I–I can't find the words." Blinky looked on the verge of tears before turning to Draal. "And you! You've avenged your father! Draal! Oh wonderful Draal!"
Blinky hugged the spiky blue troll who looked about as comfortable as a cat in the bathtub, but he didn't pull away.
"Dude! Victory hugging!" Toby cheered as he had yet to pull away from Jim.
"Happy." AAARRRGGHH nodded along, swinging the two boys back and forth.
"Ouch! Hey, guys, ease up a little." Jim laughed as he was set down once more.
"I can believe it! You two killed Bular, the son of Gunmar, man!" Tobes was giddy with excitement as he ran over and hugged Draal as well. "That was so epic! World-class team up!"
"Thank you, Trollhunter." Draal lifted Toby up and placed him aside, walking over to Jim. "Because of you, I was able to avenge my father. I may not be his successor, but I found my day to fight by your side."
"It won't be the last." Jim reached out his hand, fist bumping the large blue troll.
"Hey, we can still make your play too." Toby checked his phone.
"Yeah." Jim laughed, almost forgetting about the play. "Just let me call my mom, and Strickler too. And before you get after me, I promise I'll explain everything. Claire needs to hear this too. But there's one other person I need to help me explain it all."
Tapping his foot impatiently, Jim couldn't help but wonder if anyone was actually home. He had been told this was where he stayed, but he had been standing there for minutes and there was still no one coming down to the door. It was always possible he was ignoring him, but it was impossible to tell.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jim checked the doorknob, finding it locked, as it should be. He checked his surroundings quickly, not noticing anyone watching along the street, and summoned Daylight to his hand, the broad sword sliding between the door and latch, cutting through it and unlocking the entrance for him.
Jim walked inside, seeing books of all shapes and sizes lining the shelves. It was cluttered, with papers scattered across any flat surface he could see, including some of the banisters leading upstairs. Though the smell of old parchment and wood polish wasn't all that unpleasant.
"Uh, 'scuse me, we're closed!" A voice called out from the second floor followed by a crash of tumbling books. "You'll have to come back tomorrow, alright?"
"This really isn't something that can be talked about in daylight." Jim called back, making his way over to the staircase and ascending it to the second floor.
As he reached the top, he looked over and saw a tall, thin boy with dark hair and dyed indigo streaks. He wore a dark hoodie and looked decently handsome, with a little dimple at the corner of his mouth that gave him a mischievous look at all times.
"Sorry, but you'll have to leave. We're closed, and this could be considered breaking and entering."
"Douxie, I need your help." Jim stated simply.
"I'm sorry, have we met?"
"Yeah, basically. It's complicated. I need your help explaining some things to my friends." Jim reiterated.
"And exactly what am I explaining?" Douxie raised an eyebrow, giving Jim a strange look before a lithe black cat leapt up onto a nearby stack of books, watching them both keenly from behind a pair of spectacles.
"Trolls, the Arcane Order, time travel. Like I said, complicated."
"Alright, I don't know what you're going on about, but I think you've gone off a right bender, hey pal?" Douxie took a step back, glancing down at the watch on his left wrist.
"Come on, Doux, I know Merlin told you not to get involved, but I don't think he knew about this outcome."
"Merlin? I really don't know who you're talking about now." The incognito wizard kept playing dumb, but it was only leading to frustrate Jim. Unwilling to wait and try and convince him normally, Jim reached into his pocket, pulling out Merlin's amulet.
" For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command." He spoke the incantation instantly, the armor appearing around him in a pure show of magical might.
Douxie stood there in awe for a moment, but it was clear in his eyes that he recognised the amulet.
"Oh, uh, wow! Pretty neat trick there!" The boy continued to try and play it all off, but Jim just rolled his eyes.
"Doux, I know you're a wizard." Jim reached down, grabbing the older boy's wrist and pointing at his watch. "I know Merlin charged you with watching over Arcadia and keeping a low profile, but I need your help."
"You may as well just accept it, Douxie. The boy seems to know everything already."
Glancing over at Archie, Jim watched as the black cat stretched before letting out a long yawn and walking over to them.
"Honestly, you're no good when faced head on like that."
"Arch, really? Just gonna spill the beans all like that?" Douxie threw up his arms in frustration. "I'm not supposed to get involved. Even with the Trollhunter."
"At least hear him out."
"Thanks, Archie. At least you're reasonable." Jim smiled before turning back to the wizard. "Don't you have some sort of spell that can read memories? You said something about that last time around."
"' Last time around'? What are you–" Douxie cut himself off mid-sentence as he gave Jim a curious look.
He paused for a second before the glamor around his watch faded, returning it to the form of a large, silver bracer engraved with runes. Light blue magic emanated from the device, spinning around as Douxie arranged the runes to form a spell. Once they clicked into place, there was a chime, much like the sound the amulet made from time to time.
Pointing his finger towards Jim and the amulet, Douxie channeled his magic, speaking aloud an incantation. " Memoriam vestri revea."
The room shook and indigo wisps of magic floated around Jim, showing images of his past. The defeat of Bular mere hours ago. His talk with his mother. Toby's kidnapping. His time practicing Romeo & Juliet with Claire. His fight with Draal and the meeting with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH. It also showed him picking up Merlin's amulet.
However, at that point the images shifted, showing side-by-side two different series of events. Two stories, unfolding differently.
Douxie blinked as the magic faded, looking at Jim with a newfound understanding. "You've been through quite a lot. Guess we've got a lot to talk about."