#finally out of the shadow realm jimbo

[channelzombieheart-blog]

Gotta love when things are coming together. Your game stops being just text and sprites in an infinite limbo. It starts being a proper VN! Very satisfying.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 18

Douxie x fem reader

Masterlist in Bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 18 summary: You take the trip to the past!

A/n: So it’s a really long chapter 6,336 words, I don’t know whether to say sorry or your welcome. Also I have no clue how shops were in twelfth century Englad so...yeah. Anyways, enjoy!

“Sorry, this is a lot to process! Pets can talk? The world is ending? Again?” Toby asked as you and Douxie met up with him at the book shop.

“Not the best timing, I know, but we need your help all the same,” Douxie said.

Toby looked at Douxie confusedly. “Douxie? Y/n?”

“Toby!” You hugged him tightly.

“Wai- hold up! I thought you worked at the cafe, or were, like, a model or something,” Steve questioned Douxie.  

Douxie chuckled. “There's a lot about me you don't know.”

“Whoa!” Toby gasped as Douxie used his cuff to show off some magic. “You’re like Y/n.”

“What?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Come on, then. The answers to all your questions are within.” Douxie gestured for them to go inside.

Steve scoffed. “Yeah, right. In a bookstore?”

You all walked in to see Merlin levitating some of his books. “Ah! There's flying books!” Toby exclaimed.

“Whoa!” Steve gasped.

“Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! So cool! So cool! So cool! Ooh, what's that?” Toby fanboyed, admiring the cool displays of Magic.

Merlin scowled at Toby when he picked up something. “Put that down! Thank the ether you're here! We haven't a moment to waste.”

“Whoa! Crusty, creepy dude!” Steve exclaimed.

Merlin ignored Steve. “Though, I had hoped for more, Hisirdoux.”

“I tried. I couldn't find the changelings or the aliens. I'm pretty sure most left the planet,” Douxie explained.

Toby waved at Merlin. “Merlin, it's me-- Toby Domzalski! You know, War Hammer, Guardian of Arcadia, Geology Club president.”

Merlin sighed. “No one could forget you, chatty.”

“And Steve Palchuk, Creepslayer!” Steve announced.

“I have no idea who you are,” Merlin dismissed. “But we're desperate. Thankfully, we have the brute.”

“Yum!” Aaarrrgghh grunted, admiring Archie.

Archie swatted at Aaarrrgghh. “I'm not anybody's lunch. Got it?”

“Wait, where's Jimbo and Claire? I thought they were with you,” Toby asked.

You opened your mouth to answer, but Merlin beat you to it. “Answers forthcoming. Make preparations. We've a journey ahead. And don't-”

“-but, Master-”

“-'but, Master' me,” Merlin finished.

Douxie sighed. “But... are you sure you want to count on these children? They're clearly not ready for this.”

Steve scoffed. “Excuse me, college dude, these children fought off a 50-foot extraterrestrial!” Steve hit the helmet off of one of the knights. You were surprised to see that the knight reacted.

“Dude, let go of its head!” Toby ordered, trying to help Steve.

“It's got my head, too, man!” Steve cried.

“Just put it back!” Toby yelled and Douxie sighed, exasperated.

“Master, I'm ready for this,” Douxie promised.

“Doubtful,” Merlin said.

“I've spent years preparing, centuries-“ Douxie started.

Merlin cut him off. “Silence!”

Douxie frowned and you gently patted his back with your good hand.

Merlin sighed. “I mean, silence, all of you. Can you not hear that? Something wicked this way comes.”

You went to the window with Douxie to investigate when you heard a shadow mephit growl. It pounced on the window, only to be thrown back by a shield.

“Shadow mephits? Hisirdoux, did you lead them here?” Merlin asked.

“No, no! I mean, I don't think so?” Douxie chuckled nervously.

“Yes, we did,” Archie answered.

“He found us. The barrier won't hold for long. We must make egress! Tobias, take my things!” Merlin ordered, levitating Toby and up to the roof. “All of you, to the roof!”

You quickly ran up to the roof, fully aware that you would need to protect Toby and Steve if any climbed the building.

You used your good hand to blast a few of the mephits off the roof before Douxie, Merlin, and Archie arrived.

“Stand back!” Merlin ordered, throwing the ship out onto the roof. Glass shattered and the green mist exploded out and then condensed.

“Whoa! Ship just got real!” Steve marveled.

“Everyone on!” Aaarrrgghh called, throwing Steve and Toby on. You levitated on, blasting mephits as you flew.

Eventually you were all on the ship and Aaarrrgghh was trying to get on while the shadow mephits attacked. You and Douxie blasted a few, finally helping Aaarrrgghh up. Steve fell onto Merlin and the ship stopped moving.

You looked over the edge to see the Green Knight standing in the street. “Boy...” he rasped. Suddenly he sent the shards at all of you and you shoved Douxie to the ground.

“Look out!” Merlin grunted, finally getting the ship to move away.

You slipped a bit at the sudden speed, almost falling. Thankfully Douxie caught you, but he grabbed you by your hurt arm. You hissed in pain.

“Oh! Y/n, I’m so sorry,” he apologized.

You brushed it off despite the tears in your eyes, “It’s alright.”

“No, here, let me heal it.” He looked so eager to help so you slowly extended your arm to him. He held it gently as he began to perform a healing spell. Your arm was surrounded in a blue glow as Douxie healed it. You immediately felt the pain fade away. It felt like aloe had just been put on a bad sunburn.

Unfortunately Douxie pulled away. “Alright, good as new.”

You gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something else when Merlin slowed the ship down.  

“Awesome sauce!” Toby exclaimed as he and Steve whooped. You grinned at them, it was nice to see them happy.

“This is so cool!” Toby called as you watched Arcadia grow smaller.

“What the heck is that?” Steve asked as Camelot came into view.

“Welcome, young squires, to Camelot,” Merlin said.

“Camelot? As in anceint-old-people-times Camelot?” Toby asked.

“Excuse me, I have a question. How is this castle flying right now?” Steve asked.

“The Heart of Avalon. Its magic keeps Camelot aloft, powered by time itself,” Merlin explained.

“You get used to it,” you called to Steve.

Merlin flew the ship past one of the towers and he waved at an old knight standing there. “Sir Galahad, how look the skies?”

“All quiet, my old friend!” Galahad replied.

“Keep your eyes on the horizon,” Merlin called, turning the ship to enter the castle.

You screamed a little as Merlin sped up. “I say, coming in a little hot, don't you think?” Archie asked.

“Rubbish!” Merlin yelled. The ship entered the castle skipping on the floor and you were glad you held on.

Douxie helped you off and you honestly didn’t want him to let go. You were just so tired, you needed the extra support. Thankfully, Douxie didn’t let go of your hand and you were grateful he was there with you.

“Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” Steve yelled.

Toby gasped, admiring the grand castle. “Whoa!”

“It's been 900 years since I was last here. Hasn't changed a bit. Except for the flying part,” Douxie said.

Steve laughed. “'Nine hundred years'? Yeah, right. You're like, what? Like, 19?”

“Give or take a few centuries,” Archie said, jumping off Douxie’s shoulder and turning into a dragon.

“So, how many things can your cat turn into?” Steve asked.

Douxie smiled. “That depends. How many things are there?”

“Uh, cool, floating castle ship, but what's the grave danger you keep talking about?” Toby asked, trying to get to the point.

Right after he said that Claire, Blinky and Mao walked in. “Ah, there you are,” Merlin said.

“Claire!” Toby exclaimed.

Claire rushed to hug him. “Toby!”

“Arghumont!” Blinky called, running to hug his own friend.

“Blinky!” Aaarrrgghh called back. Aaarrrgghh pulled all of them into a group hug.

Claire gasped in pain. “Not so tight.”

“Oh, sorry,” Aaarrrgghh apologized, letting go.

“Whoa, hey, Steve's here, too! How 'bout, how 'bout some love for Steve?”

“Oh. Hi, Steve,” Claire said, unimpressed.

“What happened to you guys? Wait, where's Jim?” Toby asked, finallly noticing that your brother was missing. You felt a tear slip.

“This way,” Claire said, gesturing back the way they came.

“Jim... What happened to him?” Toby asked, observing the gem Jim was encased in.

“We were ambushed. Some ancient, dark warrior. An unstoppable knight clad in green who struck down Master Jim,” Blinky explained.

Douxie turned to Merlin. “Master, is that the same knight we saw at the bookstore?”

Merlin nodded. “One and the same. That onyx shard is working its way towards his heart. I placed the boy in stasis, stalling its progress... for now.”

“If I had my Shadow Staff, I could've saved him,” CLaire said.

You let go of Douxie’s hand to hug her. “Don’t blame yourself, I should have done something, but I didn’t.”

Toby glared. “Who is this Green Knight? How do I get my hands on him?”

“I do not know. The Green Knight said but one name, which chilled me to the bone, Morgana.” Merlin explained.

“Oh, I hate that lady. Wait, I thought we kicked her bewitched butt to the Shadow Realm?” Toby asked and you could see the poor kid shaking with anger.

“Which he appeared not to know, but he bore the emblem of Camelot. Come with me, quickly. I fear the answer lies in the past. A dark menace is coming, one even I cannot face alone.” Merlin gestured for all of you to follow him and you took hold of Douxie’s hand again.

Once you were all. Inside the new room Merlin spoke again. “You are all now soldiers in a war started centuries ago for the world of magic. Once, the realms of Magic and Man clashed in endless bloodshed. King Arthur sought to wipe out magic that ravaged the lands in his war against Gunmar. I brought what few spellcasters I could under my protection to spare them from the sword.”

“Including myself. Oh, and Morgana le Fay,” Douxie added.

“She was the finest student I ever taught... until she tried to kill me.” Merlin looked down. “Thankfully, in my all-seeing wisdom, I created a secret weapon-- the Trollhunter Amulet. The war came to a standstill and I imprisoned Morgana at the Battle of Killahead Bridge. This Green Knight that assailed us was clearly born of dark magicks but I have no memory of him, nor what connection he could have to Morgana. We know not what he is nor why he pursues us. Though, his presence is a dire omen of things to come.”

Right as Merlin finished his speech a bell began ringin frantically. You all looked away from what Merlin was showing you and gasped. Suddenly the castle was struck by something and you fell to the ground.

“What's happening?” Claire asked.

“Have you never been under attack before? To the battlements!” Merlin ordered and you immediately complied.  

You got outside and saw another giant floating castle. It was all dark and creepy.

Archie gasped. “Oh, no! I think we have something of a problem.”

“Oh, fuzz buckets,” Douxie cursed.

“No... the Arcane Order... they found us!” Merlin said and for the first time ever, you heard pure fear in his voice. “Everyone, get to safety, now!”

You moved to put Mao inside and you heard Merlin shout a spell. “Fulgur praeca!”

The castle shook again and you fell. It suddenly got a lot colder so you sped up. The castle shook and you ran into Nari.

“I need to go help. Can you take Mao?” You asked.

“Of course.” You placed your familiar in her hands and took off running back to Merlin and Douxie.

You arrived outside to see a bridge of ice spanning the gap between the two castles.

“They're boarding us! We must break free! Steer us clear at my command!” Merlin ordered and you summoned your fire spell.

“I'm on it!” Douxie called back.

“All of a sudden, flying castles aren't so cool!” Steve screamed.

“These foes' powers are beyond us!” Merlin grunted as a blast of fire came at the two of you. You sent your own fireball back at the black castle.

“Merlin!” You heard Nari yell.

“No! Nari!” Merlin protested, running towards her as you continued to blast fire at your enemies.

“Archie, find the staff or we are all dead meat!” You heard Douxie yell.

“What do you people think I'm doing?” Archie retorted.

“Archie, I'm running out of time, here!” Merlin yelled, trying to cut the ice bridge with his sword while you did your best to melt it.

Finally Archie called, “Got it!”

You and Merlin jumped onto a tower that rose past you.

“Surrender, Merlin,” some creepy thing ordered.crof

“Never!” Merlin growled.

“Merlin! Merlin! Get everyone to safety!” Galahad called.

“No, Galahad! What are you doing?!” Merlin protested.

Merlin and you watched sadly as Galahad used his tower and his life to cut through the ice bridges. You and Merlin ran back to the castle as the bridge you were on was destroyed.

“Farewell, my old friend,” Merlin whispered. “Hisirdoux, now!”

You watched as a green portal opened up to show a completely different forest beneath you. You didn’t have much time to admire it though, you had to keep fighting.

Ice rained around you as you tried to send more blasts of magical fire at the black castle. Suddenly one of those ice shards hit you, sending you over the edge of the castle.

From there you pretty much just straight up tumbled into the portal. You screamed as you fell through the portal. You did your best to slow down your fall, but the landing still hurt.

You slowly got up from the ground and looked up at the portal in the sky. That was when the panic set in, the portal back to your time was slowly closing.

You were about to do something about it when you heard voices. They didn’t sound familiar so you hid behind a tree. Fear coursed through your veins as you waited for whatever was making the noise to come into view.

Men and women dressed in shiny metal armor eventually appeared and you crouched down. You didn't know where you were, or when for that matter. You were lost and alone.

Suddenly you heard screams from above you and you looked up. You watched as Douxie’s magic lit up the bright sky, slowing his descent. Unfortunately he crashed to the ground ahead of the group of knights.

This was bad, you needed to warn them about the knights. You did your best to run through the trees, but by the time you arrived to see Steve, Claire, Douxie and Jim, the knights were already there.

“Advance!” A knight called and suddenly a ton of knights were surrounding your friends. You got ready to attack, but you held back for a second. You would wait for Douxie to make the first move.

“Got them,” a knight replied as Steve screamed.

Douxie sighed. “It means... we are lost in time.”

One knight got off of his horse. “What manner of sorcery is this?” He asked. Weirdly enough, he looked like an older version of Steve.

“Sir Lancelot, um-“ Douxie started and you relaxed a little, Douxie recognized this guy.

“He's so handsome,” you heard Steve whisper.

“I- We-“ Douxie stuttered.

Lancelot seemed to realize something. “Wait! Aren't you Merlin's errand boy?”

“Apprentice,” Douxie corrected.

“He's like an angel-man. Whoa!” Steve whispered. Suddenly you heard a large crack and the green gem that was holding your brother broke.

Lancelot gasped. “The devil-?”

Jim groaned. “What? How did I-“

Claire rushed to hug him. “Jim! Are you okay?”

“Troll! Troll! To arms!” Lancelot called and you got ready to defend your brother and friends.

“Wait! Chill out, lads!” Douxie called in an attempt to calm everyone down.

Lancelot didn’t seem to understand. “Chill? Out?”

Douxie sighed. “Take a breath, all right? He's one of the good ones.”

“There are no good ones,” Lancelot growled. “Monsters are forbidden in Arthur's lands. You'll hang before the king for your insolence.”

You were unable to hear anymore as your friends were arrested. You watched as Jim was unfairly imprisoned in a wooden cage and the rest of your friends were herded away.

You carefully followed them from a distance, but when they got to Camelot you realized that you wouldn’t be able to just waltz in through the front gates with them.

You sighed in frustration. You didn’t understand why everything had to be so difficult. You just wanted to relax for a little while.

But, you had work to do, so you snuck into Camelot. You made your way to an area without many guards and used your magic to get over the wall.

By the time you got in, your friends were nowhere to be seen. You did your best to inconspicuously search the city, but as time passed you didn’t have any luck. With every second you grew more and more frustrated. You were in an unfamiliar place, your brother was injured and possibly dying, and you couldn’t find your friends.

You weren’t going to cry though, you had to stay strong. Sinking to the ground just to cry wouldn’t solve your problems.

You took a deep breath and began to think. You needed a plan, a plan would help you calm down.

First, you needed to blend in more. You had been getting many odd looks from those you passed. You didn’t blame the people. You were covered in dirt from your fall and you had dried blood all over your face from your fight with the shadow mephits back in your time.

Eventually you found a well and you took a clean looking rag from a woman. Using it you did your best to tidy up. Once that was done, you went to go get something better to wear.

You felt bad shoplifting, but you needed to fit in and if you thought about it, you hadn’t a doubt in your mind that your brother and friends had been taken to the castle.

You were obviously in the wealthier part of Camelot, so it wasn’t hard finding a dress shop. If you were gonna be stuck in ancient Camelot, you might as well have fun and dress fancy. You could always find something simpler later.

You stood up straight and did your best to make it look as if you had a purpose. Thankfully no one paid you any attention as you walked in, but you didn’t expect that to last long. While you were cleaner, you weren’t dressed for the time.

You would need a distraction and thankfully magic would give you one. You mice in your head did the hand movements. In seconds you heard squeals come from the back of the shop. You hoped that would keep whoever was here busy for a while so you went and looked for a dress.

Eventually you found a dress that you liked. It was an orangish peach color made of silk with silver embroidered swirls on the bodice. You also grabbed a sweater made of tulle, the same color as the dress. You finished off the look with a silver belt.

It was remarkably easy to take with a little help from your magic and you were able to get away without ringing any alarms or whatever they had in Camelot.

You used your magic to put the dress on and began to make your way towards the castle.

The second step you had come up with was finding a way into the castle. You felt you would be able to get in with the way you looked. Your hair was an absolute mess, but with a little magic it would be easy to hide.

You were able to find a side entrance and you were able to get in. It gave you confidence that your plan was working so well. Now that you were in the castle, it was time for step three.

Step three was the part where you would look for your friends auras, but that quickly became complicated. There were a lot of auras buzzing about the castle and you couldn’t identify exactly where your friends were.

So you would have to modify your plan. You’d wander the castle until you were able to find them. You’d be able to identify their auras if you were closer.  

You started by making your way through the first floor. You’d make your way through the castle one level at a time.

While this was supposed to help eliminate any possible frustration, by the time you made it to the third floor tears were pooling in your eyes. You couldn’t find their auras and it was difficult to be sensing so many at once.

You were crossing a bridge, wishing you had stolen a handkerchief for your tears when you came across Douxie’s aura.

You were immediately relieved. Though you were still worried about your other friends and Jim, you had at least found Douxie.

Oddly, you heard Merlin scolding him. “Hisirdoux, do you have feet for hands? All the Slorr juice? You know how long it takes to milk one of those?”

“Sorry, sir. I was just trying to save time,” Douxie said and you got confused. Why was Douxie talking to Merlin like that? Maybe he was trying to cover up that he wasn’t from this time period?

“Your cutting corners has only cost me time,” Merlin said, continuing to scold Douxie. “It's hard enough creating Arthur's new weapon without your mucking about. I need you in the workshop, and you're milking the Slorr.”

As Merlin walked away you ran over to Douxie and hugged him. “Douxie! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Um?” Douxie mumbled and you realized that he wasn’t hugging you back.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, pulling away from him.

“I don’t mean any offense, but who are you?” With that you moved away from him, finally noticing that this wasn’t your Douxie.

You chuckled nervously. “I’m so sorry! Um, would you believe that I, uh, that I have a friend named Douxie that looks exactly like you. I mean what a coincidence. You know I’m, um, looking for him right now and I’m gonna go continue to look for him, seeing as you aren’t my Douxie. Haha, Bye.”

You were about to turn and leave when you sensed another aura. This other aura just so happened to also be like Douxie’s.

You turned back, just in time to see a Douxie who looked like the one you knew grab the other Douxie.

“Hey! Aah!” Archie protested and Douxie held his hands up in defense.

“Um, hey, me,” your Douxie said, chuckling nervously.

Past Douxie yelped. “Doppelgänger! You-you're me. I'm me!”

“No need to panic,” your Douxie soothed.

You stepped over to them. “Now, this is the Douxie I was looking for,” you explained.

“Well, how-- how... Wait, this can only mean one thing-” Past Douxie started.

“Time travel paradox!” Both Douxies yelled and you chuckled.

Archie sighed. “Double Douxies? This is a disaster!”

Both Douxies glared at him. “Give me a break, Arch!” They said in unison. “Oh, wow. This is wild!”

“Let's focus on the here and now. Where having two of us will be-“ Douxie started.

“-will be a logistical nightmare,” Archie cut in.

“I agree, uh, so the easiest solution...” Past Douxie trailed off.

“Is for one of us to go away till I return to my time,” Douxie informed.

Past Douxie nodded. “Great idea! But which one of us-?”

Your Douxie cut him off. “Interminus nocti sluumberso!”

Past Douxie suddenly fell asleep and your Douxie put him in a closet.

“I know this looks bad,” Douxie told you and Archie, “but I swear I've got this under control.”

“If that were true, things in the future have really changed,” Archie said.

Douxie laughed sarcastically. “Just don't go blabbing to Merlin, okay? I need to stay incognito. Aah!”

The cabinet burst open and past Douxie fell on Douxie.

“I’ve got it,” you promised, already levitating him back into the closet.

Archie chuckled. “This should be fun to watch.”

Suddenly you heard Merlin yell, “Hisirdoux, what is taking so long?”

“Just cleaning up another mess,” Douxie called back.

Douxie sighed and put his hair up into a bun. “Swore I'd never do this again,” he muttered, and you laughed.

“You look fine,” you soothed, taking his arm.

“So, I see you’ve got yourself a dress,” Douxie said. “I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. I was worried something bad had happened.

“I’m fine,” you promised when you felt Douxie’s aura spark with guilt.

“Good, I’m glad.”

“How’s Jim and everyone?” You asked.

“Oh, uh, Jim’s been arrested, but right now everyone else is fine. Steve is being trained by Lancelot and Claire is now Morgana’s handmaiden.”

“Morgana!” You hissed, worry for Claire suddenly overwhelming you.

“Don’t worry,” Douxie soothed. “She hasn’t gone bad yet.”

You hesitated. “What’s the plan then?”

“I’m gonna take you to where I used to live and then we can all meet up later to figure everything out. I’m gonna try and steal the time map to get us out of here.”

“Alright, but if you need any help don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I won’t,” Douxie said, leading you into a room. “Here you are, home sweet home.”

You looked around the room, it was off a decent size, but it was awfully drafty. “Nice place,” you said, taking a seat on a window bench.

“Thanks.” Douxie smiled. “Be careful if you go outside. You look like royalty, but people will question where you’re from.”

“Aw, thanks. You be careful out there too,” you called. “Will do.” He gave a little wave as he closed the door.

You gazed around the room, trying to think of something to do when you yawned. Suddenly you were very aware of how tired you were. If you thought about it you hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours.

You lied down on the bench and closed your eyes, easily drifting off into much needed sleep.

~~~~

You immediately sat up when you heard the door open. You looked around, confused at the sudden noise. Douxie was standing there frozen in the middle of the room.

“Sorry, Y/n. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologized.

You yawned. “It’s fine.” You looked over and saw Steve sitting in a chair. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long, I didn’t want to wake you.”

You nodded, grateful, but soon your kind smile turned into one of disgust. “What is that smell?” You asked.

“I, uh- I forgot how much I hate milking the Slorr,” Douxie muttered gagging at the smell he had trailed in. You mimicked him, plugging your nose.

Archie recoiled away from Douxie. “Ugh! Please!”

You looked over to Steve. “How was your guy’s days?”

Steve groaned. “I think Lancelot broke my everything.”

“And I still don't have the Time Map. One wrong move, and we will screw up history without even knowing it,” Douxie grumbled.

You were about to try and sooth the both of them when Claire burst in through the door. “We have to change history! Arthur's had enough. The trolls are gonna die at sunrise!”

“Oh, blimey Balroths! How are we supposed to stop this and stay inconspicuous?” Douxie asked and you could see the panic in his eyes. You felt bad about all the stress that was on him.

Claire sighed. “It wouldn't be a problem if I just had my Shadow Staff. I know you said to lay low, but we can't let Jim die.”

“No we can’t,” you asserted. “Douxie, I’m sorry, but we will have to change history.”

“Yes. Let's see what this future Douxie is capable of!” Archie cheered.

Douxie nodded. “You're right, sod the rules. It's time for a dungeon break.”

~~~~

The four of you snuck down to the dungeon and you watched from behind a post as Lancelot and Galahad laughed.

“No way!” Galahad grinned. The two of them were focused on their conversation so you decided to make a run for it.

“Ah! Oy! Young gentleman of Palchukia, join us in our nocturnal libations,” Lancelot called.

“We are looking for the Holy Grail!” Galahad took a drink. “Oh, well, it's not in that one either!”

Steve chuckled and began to saunter over to the knights. “Steve, no!” You whisper-shouted at him.

“Where do you think you're going, buddy boy?” Archie asked.

“Dude, I'm keeping the guards busy,” he whispered, “while having a righteous time! Ha! Yeah-eah! Drinking with knights! I'm so stoked for my first brew...uh, today.”

“I don’t condone this.” You glared at Steve before going after Douxie and Claire.

Archie sighed. “This is going to end badly. Ohh, I can’t wait.”

“This is going to end badly,” you muttered. The four of you continued to run, eventually coming across the section of the dungeon Jim was in.

“Jim! We're breaking you out,” Claire announced.

“Your stay in Terror Tower is over, mate,” Douxie said, conjuring magic knives for himself and Claire. Douxie cut open Jim’s cell.

“And presto, one liberated troll,” Archie announced.

“Hahaha! Take that, death! I elude you once again-“ a troll shouted as Jim freed her.

You hugged Jim tightly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, no need to worry.”

“A big sister always worries,” you said before going to free more trolls.

As you freed the last one you heard Steve shouting/rapping. “My lord Arthur's in the building. Watch out, y'all, he's here to do some creep-killing. Get out of here.”

“Now, now, everyone just stay calm,” Douxie said in an attempt to sooth the trolls. Unfortunately his attempt completely failed.

All of the newly liberated trolls panicked and began to stampede out of the dungeon.

You were pushed up against the wall as the trolls left. You looked over to Douxie. “What now?”

“We do our best to help them.” You all ran out of the dungeon and into Camelot. When you got outside you say that the sky was fading from a light purple to a blue. You heard the metal armor of guards clanking after you.

“Is this part of your plan?” Archie asked.

“I'm improvising!” Douxie yelled, fiddling with his cuff.

“Quick, through the alleys! They can't catch all of us!” Jim’s friend called. You followed Douxie as Claire helped Jim.

You turned down a path, but stopped when you heard more clanking.

You looked to Jim one last time. “Stay safe!” You called.

“I will!” He promised.

“Did you see where they went?” A man you assumed was King Arthur asked.

“Quick! In here! This way, sir! Don't worry, sire, I'll freeze them on the spot,” Douxie offered, he messed with his cuff.

“Then do it! This way, men! Charge!” Arthur ordered. Douxie spun his cuff as Arthur and his men went to run after Jim, but at the last moment he cast a spell, opening two blue portals. Arthur and his men charged into them, only to appear out the other one. “What trickery is this now?”

Douxie sighed. Oh, fuzz buckets! I must have cast an Infinite Hallway by accident. You know how frustrating magic is. Uh, let me-let me just find the right spell.”

“Wizard, remove this enchantment or I'll remove your head!” Arthur threatened. “You! Girl! What are you doing?”

“Uh, me?” You asked.

“Yes, you!”

“Well, I’m-I’m terrified,” you cried. “This kind young man has been helping me.” You put the back of your hand to your forehead and pretended to look feint.

You leaned on Douxie and whispered. “Their auras are gone, you can let the king go now.”

Douxie did as you asked and Arthur and his men ran off. “Come on, we can’t let them get to the gate,” Douxie said, grabbing your hand and pulling you to a nearby house.

“Up we go,” you mumbled, using your magic to help you climb the house. You, Douxie, and Archie made it to the top of the house just as Arthur was about to reach the gates. Thankfully Douxie slammed them down just in time.

“Men, after them! Get this open at once!” Arthur commanded. You watched as Jim and his friend tried to run away, but they stopped when the sun hit the bridge.

The sun slowly spread, forcing the trolls to retreat closer to the gate Douxie was struggling to keep closed. You added your magic to his, and the gate glowed both blue and orange.

Unable to get the gate open, the knights put their swords and spears through the opening, trying to stab the poor trolls. You and Douxie gasped for breath as it became a struggle to keep the gate shut.  Soon it became too much and you had to let go.

Suddenly, the day began to get darker and shadows spread across the bridge, paving a path for the trolls to get to the forest. You turned around, looking for the aura that was casting the incredible display of dark magic only to find Claire. You pulled Douxie towards her.

The two of you jumped from roof to roof till you managed to get to the bridge she was on. You could see the strain she was under and you raced over to her. Douxie caught her just as she collapsed.

“By the seven rings, how did you manage that?” He asked and Claire groaned. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy!”

“It’s gonna be okay, Claire. Jim and the trolls are safe.” You soothed.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“I’ll check.” You closed your eyes and focused on Jim’s aura. You felt a shift and opened your eyes. Your projection was standing behind a tree.

You looked around, trying to get the gist of what was happening when you saw Gunmar and Bular standing in front of Jim. “Little king, these Wild Woods are my domain. I command the souls of all under its shade, and I decide who lives or dies!”

You saw shuffling and looked over to see one of the gumm-gumms kill a knight. You gasped at the horrific sight and Jim looked over to you. His friend helped him over to you.

“Y/n!” He whispered.

“Stay safe Jim. I’ll send more messages later okay?”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.” You gave a little wave to Jim as he left and you continued to watch the rest of the encounter play out.

“You can only push us so far, human,” Gunmar growled.

“This isn't over!” Arthur yelled, retreating.

“War is coming!” Gunmar retorted and you stopped projecting before he could see you.

You felt the shift and you were once again standing with Claire, Douxie and Archie. “He’s gonna be okay. All we need to do is figure out a way to get home.”

Douxie nodded. “Let’s go. Arthur is going to be furious when he gets back.

Claire took a step away from the two of you. “I want to go thank Morgana. I’ll meet up with you.” She went off and Douxie offered you his arm.

~~~~

“I was right, Arthur is furious. He's locked down the castle,” Douxie said, pacing.

“Luckily, he thinks you're so incompetent, you can't be a suspect,” Archie pointed out.

“At least we got Jim and the prisoners away safe,” Claire added optimistically.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “It’s not all a loss.”

Douxie turned to walk out the door. “Where are you going?” Archie and you asked in unison.

“To get that TIme Map. Hopefully with Arthur on the hunt, I've got a chance to finally snatch that thing,” Douxie answered and you grabbed his arm.

“I’m coming too.” Douxie nodded and you and Archie followed him to Merlin’s tower. You unlocked the door and the three of you snuck over to the vault. Douxie opened in only to find an old gnome skeleton in it. Douxie closed it again and tried to open it, only to find an old horn. He continued trying to no avail.

The both of you sighed when he opened it to a bird’s nest full of eggs.

“Looking for this?” The three of you jumped and turned to see Merlin holding the time map. “Or perhaps this?”

Merlin took the sleeping Past Douxie out of a cabinet and you noticed he had given him a pillow.

“Oh, fuzz buckets!” Douxie cursed.

“Have you any idea what you've done?” Merlin asked. “I knew my apprentice was an ignoramus, but traveling through time? Time!”

“Hey now!” You yelled, defending Douxie. Merlin ignored you.

“I think we handled ourselves just fine, all things considered. And, technically, it was your idea,” Douxie explained.

Merlin pointed his finger in Douxie’s face. “Well, then, you must have botched it up! My planning is flawless.”

Past Douxie spoke up, “For the record, Master, I had nothing to do with this. He did, which is he, and... ugh! Time travel, so confusing!”

Merlin went over to the time map and winced as it flashed red. “Aah! The timelines are in complete disarray!”

“Look, I can fix this, I swear!” Douxie promised.

Merlin shook his head. “Ah-ah, your meddling has already wreaked enough havoc on history.”

“Then surely we can use the Time Map to change things back, and then it'll all be as it was,” Archie suggested and you nodded along to his plan.

“It doesn't work that way. The map only offers glimpses of possible futures. There are no detailed instructions,” Merlin countered.

“Oh, come on, it's not that bad,” Douxie said optimistically. He tried to grab the time map, but Merlin swatted at his hand.

The timeline flashed to show Arthur's death and all of you gasped. “Aah! By my beard! Not that bad, eh?” Merlin asked.

“Oh, fuzz buckets,” Past Douxie cursed.

“Fuzz buckets,” your Douxie agreed.

Merlin walked over to the door. “Your little dungeon break must have changed fate. Now, unless I stop it, the king will die!”

****

So, tada, thanks for reading all of that. Honestly there’s a very high possibility that the next chapter will be even longer. He-he. The next chapter is gonna be really great and I’m so excited to write it. Anyways, I hope that y’all have a fantastically wonderful weekend.

~~~~

Also the scene where Douxie heals Y/n’s arm was inspired by @furblrwurblrrequest:

i! I'm curious to see one where doux kinda cares for her wounds? like a quick little fluffy one while they're on the ship after they get away from arthur? idk aaaa

~~~~

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

[taags-old-account]

CHAPTER NAMES SO FAR!!!

I have gotten up to 91 chapter names so I thought that I would list what I have so far below the cut. If you do read I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I had making them!

Chapter 1: The Two Amulets & A Quest For A Billionaire.

Chapter 2: What The Hell & A Study Group Is Formed (This Counts For Both Sides If You Take Things Into Perspective)

Chapter 3: Welcome To Trollmarket & Stories Are Shared

Chapter 4: Spanish Class Fails™ & Annoying Loki For Information

Chapter 5: WAKA CHAKA, Scott Being An Adorkable Nerd, & A Space Bitch (There Are Several)

Chapter 6: AAAA DRAAL, New Team Members, & Settling Into A Mudball

Chapter 7: Changeling Hunting, More Suspicious Shit™, & Reading Some Minds

Chapter 8: Trollsitting, New Friends, & Some Annoying Bounty Hunters

Chapter 9: Several Birthdays, Cameras Are Complete, & Drivers Ed

Chapter 10: Teacher Is Sus & Talking Some Shit Out

Chapter 11: DEJA VU

Chapter 12: MORE GOBLINS???, New Energy Signals, & Eagle Lady Is Sus As Well

Chapter 13: The Battle Of Two Bridges & Realizations

Chapter 14: The Beginning Of The Winter Holidays & A New Plan

Chapter 15: CAMERAS?, & Investigation With Infiltration

Chapter 16: OH SHIT OH NO

Chapter 17: Interrogation & Giving Thor Shit

Chapter 18: Alliances Are Formed & Parents Are Told Things

Chapter 19: Return Of The Defenders… To School

Chapter 20: AAA GOLEMS, GO AWAY STRICKLER, & Southern Water Tribe

Chapter 21: Teens Being Teens & Letting The Adults Do Shit

Chapter 22: Gummar’s Bane AKA QUESTS, Also Shadow Claire Is Cool

Chapter 23: Human Blinky Is Annoying & More Mothership Repairs

Chapter 24: Everything Is Floating & Research!

Chapter 25: Mission Somewhat Impossible

Chapter 26: Nightmares & Proposals

Chapter 28: PAAAAAAARRRRRRTY

Chapter 29: The Kiarosect

Chapter 30: Cave Queen Bitch

Chapter 31: Gnome Chompsky’s Return & Reluctant Alliances

Chapter 32: We Are Not Gonna Forget This Night

Chapter 33: A Rotten Bitch Attacks & NO JIMBO

Chapter 34: More New Plans Are Made & Everybody Is Just Sad In General

Chapter 35: The First Nights In The Dark

Chapter 36: A Tried And Failed Escape From The Darklands & Cave Queen Is Sus Now

Chapter 37: The Skullcrusher

Chapter 38: An Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter 39: The Janus Order

Chapter 40: KanjigAAAARRRGHH!!!

Chapter 41: Welcome Home Jimbo

Chapter 42: Blood Goblins Are Worse Than The Originals

Chapter 43: Jim Will Need Therapy After This Escapade (Though He Needs It Already)

Chapter 44: Preparations For The Akaridions & A Zeron Attack

Chapter 45: I’m Getting The Vibes Of A Bad Omen Coming

Chapter 46: Add Some Water To The Flour Bitch!

Chapter 47: Papa Skull

Chapter 48: THE RECKLESS CLUB

Chapter 49: Space Adventure!

Chapter 50: Unbecomings

Chapter 51: The Dogfights Above

Chapter 52: A Turbinal

Chapter 53: The Gumm Gumm King Attacks

Chapter 54: More New Plans Are Made

Chapter 55: Mother’s Day

Chapter 56: Nice Try Area 49B Bitch!

Chapter 57: NIGHT PATROL

Chapter 58: The Police System Is Fucked Around Here

Chapter 59: Is That Coffee Too Bitter For You Kind Sir?

Chapter 60: TRIPLE DATE & The Chicken House Lady

Chapter 61: Shadow Realm Stuff

Chapter 62: A Meeting But Goblins Are Bitches

Chapter 63: Douxie is Stressed

Chapter 64: Ancient Power Awakens

Chapter 65: Teens Dating

Chapter 66: Douxie Really Needs A New Father Figure

Chapter 67: Some Tool Power Ups & An Ingredient Search

Chapter 68: Suspicious Stew

Chapter 69: Battle Plans & Acceptance

Chapter 70: The Battle Of The Night

Chapter 71: Telling The Truth & The Actual Battle Of The Bands

Chapter 72: Goodbye For Now

Chapter 73: Clark Tries To Strike Earth, The Akaridions Say Greenland Rules

Chapter 74: Luug Just Goes Ballistic

Chapter 75: The Fall Of House Tarron

Chapter 76: Dream World

Chapter 77: Race To The Core

Chapter 78: The Glorious End For Now

Chapter 79: No Rest For The Defenders

Chapter 80: THIS ARCANE ORDER JUST NEEDS TO GO AWAY

Chapter 81: Time Shenanigans

Chapter 82: Siblings Are The Worst

Chapter 83: Princess Yue Just Went All Koh The Face Stealer On Us

Chapter 84: NO STOP IT MORGANA

Chapter 85: Battle Preparations & Douxie Finally Gets What He Deserves

Chapter 86: The First Battle Of Killahead

Chapter 87: STOP BEING SELF SACRIFICING JIMBO

Chapter 88: The Dragon’s Den

Chapter 89: The Final Battle

Chapter 90: A New Safehaven

Chapter 91: WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL???

[yellowmagicalgirl]

a liar by your side

Months after she locked herself in the Shadow Realm to save the world, Jim went to retrieve Claire's corpse. He found something different than he expected.

This isn’t canon to the main Juliet Dies; Life Continues series, but I thought it fit well for Day 5 of Whumptober (WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?: Rescue) This takes place about a month or two before Claire canonically escapes the Shadow Realm in Juliet Dies in this. Title comes from “The Change” by Evanescence.

AO3

FFN

"And you're sure this will take me to Claire's body?" Jim asked.

"Of course." The sorcerer grinned as Jim placed down his amulet in the center of the patter of purple dust he had drawn on the ground of the alleyway. In the distance, Jim could hear Toby grumbling about how Jim always had to play the hero. This wasn't a case of that, though. No one would be a hero for Claire, not when she was already dead. The only reason why Jim had gone alone was because the sorcerer had seemed scared. Maybe it was because he used shadow magic, and was scared that a troll would try to take revenge on him for being connected to Morgana even though the only connection was shadow magic? That was stupid, though, considering that Claire had used shadow magic to save the world.

Magical red ropes suddenly wrapped themselves around Jim's body. The sorcerer created a knife and sliced it across Jim's hand. “Baba Yaga, Pale Lady, Eldritch Queen,” the sorcerer began. Damn it. He was definitely connected to Morgana. “I bring you the Trollhunter, to do with as you will. In return, I ask that you impart a fraction of your great power into me.”

"Oh no you don't!" Toby shouted, running down the alleyway. At the same time, the sorcerer kicked Jim through the portal.

The first thing Jim heard when the portal closed behind him was the slamming of a door, and then fast and frantic breathing. Jim looked toward the sound of the noise. He blinked once, twice, three times. He couldn't believe his eyes, not when the person standing in front of the door was wearing the armor that belonged to -

"Claire?"

She spun around. Her eyes were that same horrible, beautiful purple that had haunted his nightmares of her dying before she had died for real. Except here she was, alive. Blood was splattered across her face, and cracks ran across her cheeks but she was alive

She screamed and flung her arms protectively in front of herself; Jim was knocked over by a wave of purple magic. "You're not real, I know you're not real I saw you die get away from me!"

Jim frowned at how hoarse her voice was, like she had been doing nothing but screaming. They had left her here to be tortured by Morgana. He slowly stood up, hands up in a placating gesture. "If I'm not real, then I can't hurt you. But I'm real, and I'm going to give you a hug if that's okay."

"If you're not real, you might've been sent here by her. To bring me back; I just escaped and why would she let me go?" Still, Claire let him hug her. She practically melted into his embrace. Jim slowly ran his fingers up and down one of her arms, wondering if she would be able to feel his touch through her armor.

"I won't let Morgana hurt you ever again," Jim said, hoping that he would be able to keep his promise.

"I saw you die; I saw her kill you!"

"I mean, I got knocked out, and it left scars." Jim watched as her eyes flicked towards where the lines of the armor got branded into his skin from Morgana's blow. "But I didn't die. We all thought you did, and I thought I would just have found your corpse. I'm so happy you didn't die."

Claire stiffened in his arms.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Get the blood off. Will you grab clothes for me?"

"Of course." Jim led her up the stairs to the upstairs bathroom, and with reluctance parted from her so he could grab clothes. It took longer than he had hoped, but he eventually found underwear as well as a pair of pajamas. They had purple polka-dots, and the pants had pockets. He hoped Claire would appreciate the clothes he had picked out.

He walked back to the bathroom, making sure to announce his presence before he got there. "Hey, Claire? I'm going to hand you your clothes, or would you rather me put them on the counter?"

Beyond the door, he heard hyperventilating and weak, distressed cries.

"Claire? I'm going to come in."

He found Claire clawing at her too-pale skin. Her armor was nowhere to be found, but there was a purple crystal on the counter. He couldn't tell what color her hair was anymore due to all the grime, but it didn't look like the healthy brown-black. Black cracks covered her body. Her bra hung loosely on her chest, and even though he averted his eyes he could make out the small craters near her heart. It was easy to see her ribcage. Her arms and legs were too thin. In between the long black cracks there were thin scars criss-crossing Claire's back. They looked like she had been flogged.

"Claire?"

She looked up at him, and her hyperventilating got louder. "Go away, you don't want me!" "Yes, I do, Claire. I've wanted you back since I woke up and you were gone."

"I'm not her anymore I can't be Claire anymore!"

"Okay. You're not Claire anymore." Jim took a step towards her. "What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. So Claire would, were she not Claire called, retain that dear perfection which she owes without that title."

She either smiled or grimaced as her breathing evened out by a fraction. "You're messing up my lines."

"Give me a break, it's been nearly a year since the play." He took another step towards her. "So, doff thy name, and, for thy name, which is no part of thee, take all myself."

"You wouldn't call me but love if you knew."

"Knew what?"

"What she did to me. I'm not me anymore, I can't be."

"Claire, I should have told you this before you made the giant portal, but I love you. I just, you know how I'm bad with words and speaking my feelings. I should have told you sooner, and I regretted not telling you because I thought you had died before I could tell you." Claire flinched, but Jim kept speaking. "Nothing that Morgana has done to you could change the fact that I love you."

Claire took a step back, squeezing her eyes shut and tucking her chin between her collarbones. She shook her head as she made fists in her hair. "Well, you're too late to tell me before I died. She killed me, and she brought me back over and over again. I'm not me anymore, I'm just inhabiting the corpse. You can't love me. You can't love the person I've become! No one can!"

Jim swallowed. They had all been so horribly wrong. It had never been an either-or calculation of death versus torture. Not with how Morgana had brought back Angor Rot.

"Oh, Claire." He took a small step towards her. "I wish I had figured out a way to save you sooner. And I wish you would let me judge if I can love you after everything. I think I can. I want to try. I don't think I could not love you."

Claire lowered her hands from her hair and looked up at him. "I'm not me anymore, though. I'm a mess of dark magic."

"And I've got blue skin and horns. Trust me when I say it doesn't matter what you are." He took a final step towards her. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing. Jim tried not to hug her too tightly.

They stayed like that for several minutes until Claire began to try and uncurl herself from Jim. Her limbs were sluggish and her eyebrows pinched together in pain.

"I... I don't think I'll be able to take that shower."

"Do you want my help, or..." Jim regretted the words as they left his mouth. She probably wanted privacy for the first time after all these months.

"Please?" Or Jim was wrong, and what Claire wanted was someone to give her kindness.

Jim turned on the water, hoping it would warm up. He then helped Claire finish undressing herself. He averted his eyes both to give her privacy as well to try and avoid the rising bile and guilt with every new scar revealed to him. A thought occurred to him.

"Hey, is it okay if I strip down to my shirt and boxers? That way I won't be soaked afterwards."

Claire nodded, and Jim quickly took off his outer layer of clothes before helping her into the shower. The water was surprisingly warm, and she leaned into the warmth. He gave her a bar of soap while he began to carefully massage shampoo into her hair, careful to avoid her eyes. As he did so he talked. He talked about her parents, and her brothers, and about their friends. He wasn't entirely sure if she was listening, but he hoped he was distracting her from everything that had happened to her since the Eternal Night.

He continued to talk as he turned off the water and wrapped his girlfriend in a towel. He wrung out the ends of his shirt before helping her to get dressed. Her movements were even more sluggish than before, but she didn't seem to be in as much pain.

"Do you want to eat something?" Jim asked as he put the rest of his clothes back on, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of putting dry clothes on top of wet clothes. "I can make some chicken broth."

"'m not hungry," Claire said as she ran a comb through her hair. Her white hair. "Just want to sleep."

"Okay, do you want me to prepare something as you sleep?"

Claire shook her head as she plucked the crystal from the countertop and placed it in her pocket. "No. Stay, please?"

"Of course."

Claire fell asleep almost as soon as she laid down in her bed. She gripped his hand more tightly than Suzy Snooze. With his other hand, Jim carded his fingers through her hair.

Hours passed, and Jim heard Toby's voice. "Jimbo? Jim, are you there?"

"Up here," he called in a soft voice. Thankfully he didn't wake Claire up. Nor did the pounding of Toby's feet.

"Jimbo, why didn't you listen to all those 'don't talk to strangers' talks and... no." Toby's jaw dropped before he pressed his hands to his mouth "Is that...?"

Jim nodded. "Can we let her sleep, or are you on a time limit to rescue me?"

"I mean, Douxie, Krel, and Zoe really don't want to keep this portal open longer than necessary. Oh, Jim, I didn't think she was still alive. We should have rescued her sooner."

Jim slowly began to shake his girlfriend awake. She woke with a shriek, arms and legs clumsily bunching up to protect her vital organs.

"It's safe, you're safe," Jim soothed. Claire looked around.

"TP?"

Toby had never looked happier to be called by that nickname. "I'm here. Let's go home."

[sorceress-coffee]

Air Heads

AO3 Link Phase 2 Chapter 24 Episode 19

Jim and I stood in the Void, constantly berated by the Trollhunters of the past. Currently they were tearing apart Jim’s memories from our fight with Angor Rot in the Quagawump swamps. Especially the moment Angor escaped with the Killstone.

 “We’ll get it back,” Jim tried to explain for the hundredth time today. Who knew ghosts could be so stubborn?

 “You said your friends would make you stronger!” One spirit yelled, running straight through my spirit form as they circled Jim and me.

 Jim sighed, tired of the Void already. “It’s one set back.”

 I frowned, watching as the statues flared with irritation. They continued to question and insult us, when Kanjigar finally decided to step in.

 “They are right,” He lectured, floating in front of us. “You, Trollhunter, are too focused on your fight tomorrow, not the fight today.” Turning to me, Kanjigar pulled Jim’s memory of me shielding him from Angor’s blade. “And you, River,” He sighed, watching the panic break across Jim’s face in the memory. “You are so focused on protecting others, you never think of when and when not to fight.” He squared his shoulder glaring over both of us. “You both bring change. Neither is fully troll, and only one of you is part human. You bridge the worlds that you protect, but if either of you fall in battle, who will able to protect the realm of humans and magic?”

 I looked away from Kanjigar, unable to argue with him. After talking with Draal, seeing how much it hurt him, I was uncertain how to fight. I had always jumped head first. Calculating was easy when all I had to worry about was myself, but if you put my friends, my family into that equation, it was like I was running on instinct.

 Kanjigar hummed in surprise as neither of us offered an argument. “It seems after your fight with Angor Rot, you recognize how unprepared you are.”

 “Angor Rot has killed Trollhunters before.” Jim sighed, looking to the statues. “That means some of you can help me.”

 “When Angor kills his prey,” a gruff voice began.

 “And he always does,” another chimed in.

 “Their soul is devoured,” the gruff voice finished.

 Kanjigar sighed, “It is true. Those defeated by his hand are gone forever.” He circled us, pulling memories of Jim almost getting hurt while protecting Toby and Claire. “We were once concerned your devotion would get your team killed. We now fear that it is your team who will get you killed.”

 We were forced out of the Void, both returning to the Forge to see Claire and Toby in the middle of a fight. As their fight got progressively worse, I noticed that Shadow staff was charging.

 “Claire, stop!” I yelled out, trying to get her to notice the staff at least.

 Jim ran for Toby, panicked seeing the portal Claire was creating, “Get down!” He tackled Toby, barely missing as the Shadow staff hurled a portal where Toby’s face had been moments ago.

 Claire dropped the staff in surprise, shocked at what she had just done. “Oh my gosh, Jim! I-I didn’t mean to!”

 I quickly went to Claire, picking up the Shadow staff. “Magic is emotion, you’re imbedding yourself into the staff.” I explained, the staff turning white as I held it.

 “See, Jim!” Toby yelled behind me, angry at Claire. “She just tried to kill me!”

 “It was an accident, Tobes. Remember what I did to the wall when I was first learning?” I huffed.

 “Stope! Enough!” Jim yelled, cutting us all off as the stress from the council finally caught up to him. “The council was right,” he sighed.

 Draal frowned, approaching us with Arrrgh, “What did my father say?”

 Jim stood straight, looking between the trolls and the humans. “He said that we need to step it up.” He tried keep it toned down for them. “And that’s not just coming him. That’s coming from me, too.” Sighing as he walked past us. “Our task ahead just got harder. If we want all the stones, the path now goes through Angor Rot.”

 I winced, knuckles turning white as blue mist clouded the white of the shadow staff. If Angor killed Jim, his soul would be lost.

 Claire held my hand over the staff, easing it from my grip, allowing it to turn white and collapse again.

 “And we all know what that means.” Jim spoke, pointedly at me. “Even the council doesn’t know how to stop him.” Looking to the others, he continued. “We all need to pull our weight and that goes for me, too.”

 “Which means we all have to train, none of us can be defenseless,” I added, agreeing with Jim.

 “I’ll do whatever it takes,” Claire agreed quickly.

 Toby rolled his eyes, scoffing at Claire’s eagerness, “We will do whatever it takes, Jim. But if rookie here gets to rock a sweet weapon, I get to rock a sweet weapon, too!” He decided, running over to the wall of weapons kept in the forge for sparring.

 I looked to Jim, both of us knowing there was more going on than Toby wanting a weapon.

 “Warhammer!” Toby gasped, dragging a crystalline hammer that was way too heavy for him to carry. We watched as Toby fell over, trying to carry the Warhammer back to our group.

 Draal sighed, “Shouldn’t you pick something easier to handle first?” Shaking his head as Toby refused to give up.

 “See?” Toby asked, struggling to drag it towards us, “It’s not that heavy.” He grunted, pausing as Bagdwella’s voice echoed through the forge.

 “Trollhunter!” She yelled, running straight for Jim as soon as she spotted him in our group. “It’s urgent!”

 “What is it?” Jim asked, concerned at how frantic Bagdwella was, “Is everything okay?”

 She held out a wood and iron box to Jim. “I have a package I need delivered to my sister, Sagdwella! She lives under a trailer park in Oo-tah.” She explained, shoving the box over to Jim.

 “Wait a minute,” He took the box, confused on why Bagdwella was coming to him for this. “You want me to mail something?”

 I inched further from the box, recognizing the iron right away. Last thing I needed were more burns to add to my ever-growing list of injuries. Draal stepped between Jim and I, making sure I had a buffer.

 Bagdwella began to complain that carrier mice trolls were inefficient and often ate the parcels they were meant to deliver, where as the human post offices were more reliable. Jim and her argued back and forth for a moment before he ultimately caved and took the box.

 “Jim the mailman? Why not?” He huffed.

 Bagdwella pulled out a piece of parchment handing it over with the box, “The address. Whatever you do,” she grabbed Jim’s hand taking the parchment, “do not open it!” She pulled her bangs back, revealing her second eye, “I’ve got my eye on you.” She ran off laughing quickly, most likely back to her shop before the Gnomes tried to take over again.

 Toby cheered as he was finally able to lift the Warhammer. He regretting the action immediately as be began running backwards, trying to keep the weight centered before he ultimately crash, Warhammer and all.

 I sighed as we made our way to school, having healed most of the scrapes Toby gained from his stunt with the Warhammer. “I think we all could use more training.”

 Draal chuckled, walking with us. “You were just as eager when we started training. Remember how bruised you were? I thought Vendel was going to take my head.”

 I laughed nodding at the memory, “That’s when he finally caved and taught me the healing spell.”

 We all gathered around the lockers, the teachers oblivious to Draal’s presence on the school grounds.

 “So, what’s in the box?” Claire asked, curious about what could be so important for Bagdwella to need our help mailing it.

 Jim put the box in his locker, sighing, “It doesn’t matter. We’re not gonna open it.”

 “Yeah Claire,” Toby chimed in, slipping under Jim’s arm to look at the box, “it doesn’t matter. But aren’t you curious though?” He asked Jim as the locker was shut. “There could be, like, a tiny creature in there that can’t breathe, Jimbo!” He gasped, panicking over a possibility, “Or an itty-bitty troll king whose little kingdom needs saving!”

 “I thought it didn’t matter?” I questioned Toby, realizing he had been picking on Claire, unsure of why though.

 “Guys, it doesn’t matter, because at lunch, I’m taking it straight to the post office.” Jim declared, relaxing a bit. “Easy win for once.”

 “What?” Steve’s voice wrang out over our group, causing most of us to groan. “You think you’re gonna win today, Lame Junior?” He smirked, leaning against the lockers. “The touch-a-tuck-athon is mine.” Steve sneered, trying to bait Jim. “It’s the ultimate test of endurance, and no one can touch like me.” He grinned, reaching for both mine and Claire’s hands.

 “In you dreams,” Claire hissed, snatching her hand from Steve.

 Grinning, Steve used both hands to grab mine, “Which brings me to this, River. Would you go to Spring Fling with the future king?”

 I blinked before turning to look at Draal, “I didn’t know you were running too.”

 Draal smirked, grabbing Steve by the collar with his prosthetic arm, forcing him to drop my hands. “Sorry, Fleshbag, River has a ‘date’.”

 Steve’s eyes went wide for a moment before he ripped himself from Draal grasp, “And you are? What another transfer student?” He asked, referring to Eemeli.

 “Ah, that’s right. Only the girls have met you.” I smirked, turning to Steve, “Steve, meet my fiancé, Draal. He’s actually visiting from out of town.”

 Draal smirked leaning into me slightly, “You’re the Palchuck then,” he sneered, leaning into Steve’s face. “Next time, don’t refer to Dr. Lake as nurse, you might keep your teeth.”

 Steve clenched his fist, trying to size Draal up before pushing past him, realizing it was a fight he couldn’t win. “Whatever, like I side, the touch-a-truck-athon is mine!”

 “Poor Steve,” Toby rolled his eyes once Steve was out of earshot, “I think he’s becoming unhinged.”

 Jim groaned, hitting his forehead against the lockers. “The truck-athon’s today? That’s gonna take all day!”

 “Then let me deliver the package,” Claire offered, “How hard could it be?”

 “Be careful, it’s covered in iron. While I’m not sure how gaining magic from a staff works, that stuff burns mages.” I instructed, knowing she was able to hold the gaggletak before. Claire nodded, eyeing the metal of the box.

  “You mean, we can deliver it.” Toby butted in, causing Claire to roll her eyes.

 Jim sighed, facing them, “Bagdwella wanted me to deliver it.”

 “Focus, Jim.” Toby cut him off. “We’re trying to win Spring King, remember?”

 “We?” Draal asked, confused how Jim winning could have anything to do with Toby.

 Toby glared at him as he continued, “We can be cool?”

 “You mean, you want to be cool,” Jim shook his head, smiling at Toby’s antics.

 “Semantics,” Toby waved him off. “You already won the first challenge. If you ace this, you’ll be a lock to be king. Then I’ll be duke. Win this and you won’t have to worry about anymore of these stupid things.” He argued, knowing that if Jim won this challenge, he was assured to be Spring King.

 “He actually has a point; you wouldn’t even have to show up to the last challenge.” I agreed, knowing it would free up more of Jim’s time.

 “You said we needed to step up,” Claire chimed in, eager to help.

 “Guys, troll mail isn’t what I meant,” Jim sighed opening his locker as he thought it through.

 “But this is our chance to show you,” Claire reasoned. Wanting to prove herself after almost taking Toby’s head off earlier.

 I grasped his shoulder, turning him to look at me, “I’ll go with them, and I’ll keep out of the way unless they really need help.”

 Jim caved, handing the box to Toby, “Just remember, don’t open the box.” He instructed, still tense about the situation.

 “Don’t worry, dude,” Toby grinned, practically ripping the box from Jim’s hands. “Postmaster Toby and his assistant, Claire, will handle with care.” He grabbed the address, already dropping the box.

 “I think I’ll stay with the Trollhunter,” Draal huffed, still watching where Steve left, “I don’t trust that fleshbag.”

 “Alright,” I grinned, ushering Claire and Toby away from Jim before he could change his mind, “Keep Draal from killing Steve!” I called over my shoulder.

 We hurried to our classes, meeting up during our break to discuss taking the package in. “Alright, I can’t touch the box, so one of you will need to keep it until lunch.” I sighed, keeping my distance as Toby held the box.

 “It’s just mail, River, how hard can it be to mail a package?” Toby snickered, handing the box to Claire as he began rifling through his backpack.

 “You still have the address, right?” Claire asked, carefully maneuvering around the iron on the box, just in case.

 “Um,” Toby stuttered out, “You wouldn’t happen to have memorized it, would you?” He asked Claire, rummaging through his pockets frantically.

 I groaned, “Toby, how did you lose it already?”

 “How could we mess up already?” Claire sighed, “All we’re doing is mailing a package, the easiest task in existence, and we can’t even do that properly?” She huffed, looking around the floor in case he dropped it. “Look everywhere!”

 Toby turned out his front pockets, dumped his backpack, then opened the package. As air escaped the box he snapped it close, realizing what he had just done.

 “Wait,” Claire scoffed, glaring at Toby, “You opened it?”

 “You told me to check everywhere!” Toby accused, letting go of the package.

I sighed, letting them work through this. Toby had been acting strange since the Wumpas, when Claire took the Shadow Staff from Angor Rot. If we were going to be a team, we couldn’t have animosity between us, but I couldn’t begin to tell where Toby’s issue with Claire began.

 “What was in it?” Claire finally asked, curiosity over the package winning over her annoyance with Toby’s attitude for the moment.

 Toby shrugged, looking at the package, brows knitted in confusion. “It was empty, I opened it and there was a weird ‘whhhooooooosh’ then nothing.”

 “That doesn’t sound good,” I sighed, wondering what manner of magic Bagdwella could be sending to her sister.

 “A ‘whooooosh’? How could that be bad?” Claire asked as my unease showed through.

 Glaring at the package, I shook my head, “Could be a form of magic, I don’t exactly have formal training so I’m not 100% sure, but unknown noises in empty boxes sounds like the start of a horror movie.” I explained.

 Toby began to struggle, trying to reach his back pocket. “Aha!” He cried out, pulling the slip of paper with the address written down. Grinning in triumph as he presented the paper. “It was in my back pocket!”

 Claire rolled her eyes, plucking the paper from his hands and stuffing it in her backpack along with the box. “I’ll be holding onto this.”

 Toby glared at her, “Fine. Whatever. We’ll meet here at lunch.”

 I sighed watching as they took off to their classes. This was going to be a long day. As Toby walked away, I noticed a pencil float out of his back pack. I snatched it out of the air before anyone could notice. If what I thought was in the box latched onto Toby, it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose.

 Heading to my class I deposited the pencil into a zipper pouch of my backpack. Hopefully it wouldn’t spread from the pencil if Toby was infected. Throughout the morning I kept a close eye on my bag, watching for any signs of it trying to float.

 During Chemisty, an orange blurr caught my eye across the courtyard. My head snapped to the window as I realized it was Toby, floating mid air by Claire’s classroom. I quickly pulled my hood up, a signal to the teachers that my ‘condition’ Eemeli had filed for me was causing issues, allowing me to exit the classroom without argument.

 I quickly ran to the courtyard meeting up with a panicked Claire. “Did you see where he went?” She asked as we took off for the school entrance, careful to avoid the truck-athon.

 “Last I saw he was floating outside of your class, I really hope no one else noticed,” I grimaced, looking near the roof, hoping Toby had enough sense to grab onto something.

 “Claire! River!” A panicked yelp drew our attention to the flagpole.

 “Toby!” Claire hissed out, running back to the school.

 I grabbed her arm before she could get too far, teleporting us up to the flagpole. “Toby hold on! We’ll get you down!”

 “It was the whooooosh wasn’t it?” Claire huffed, using the rope to lower Toby with the school flag.

 “I don’t know!” Toby defended, wincing as Claire and I worked to lower him. “Jim already thinks I’m useless, I can’t even pick up a Warhammer!” He frowns, as Claire grabs him, holding on tight so he doesn’t float off again.

 Sighing, she pulled him away from the flagpole, “We are useless, Toby. The only who’s been able to help Jim is River.”

 Sighing I teleported us to the ground, “Claire, I’m severely untrained. I have little to no control of my actual magic, if it wasn’t for the collar, I’d be decimating walls left and right, not to mention people and trolls. Also, all the injuries I’ve sustained? I’m more likely to get killed in a fight than you two.”

 Toby grimaced, grabbing my shoulder as Claire kept him grounded. “Look, we can argue about who the worst sidekick, after we get my feet on the ground.”

 Smiling I nodded, “Our best be will be Blinky, with as much magical research he does, he might have an idea about what’s going on.”

 “Blinky’s at your house! Can you teleport us that far?” Claire asked, wanting to fix whatever was going on with Toby as soon as possible.

 I shook my head, trying to calculate the distance, “I don’t doubt I’d be able to teleport that far by myself, let alone with two other people.”

 Nodding, Claire and I each took one of Toby’s arms, keeping him as close to the ground as possible. We tried to avoid main streets, knowing three teens skipping school would gain attention. As we ran trough town, we were passing through a smaller street when Toby slipped from our grasps.

 We began chasing him through the streets of down town Arcadia, running past mom and Strickler on a date. I tried to keep from gagging as I spotted them at the café. As Toby began floating back, heading past them again, I spotted Eemeli with Eri inside the café, keeping an eye on Strickler as he was running around town.

 Toby began to descend as we reached a row of houses. “I think it’s wearing off!” He cheered before slamming face first into the asphalt. “Never mind,” he groaned, struggling to sit up.

 Claire tried pulling him up, unable to move him an inch, “Toby, you have a serious weight problem!”

 “Not funny!” Came Toby’s muffled yell.

 Looking around, Claire spotted a wagon in one of the driveways. “River, think you could get him in the wagon?”

 I nodded; eyes glowing as I pushed magic through my body. Claire pulled the wagon over as I grabbed Toby. Even with magic enhanced strength, it took a lot of effort to get him in the wagon. “Toby, this isn’t a diet issue.” I groaned as the wagon creaked under him.

 “You’re going between really light and really heavy,” Claire sighed, pulling the handle as I pushed from behind.

 “That seems accurate,” Toby huffed, unable to lift his head.

 We were able to get a couple blocks closer the bridge when we were stopped by a cop. Claire quickly made up a story about taking Tobes to the hospital, which Toby flourished by adding that he had no bones.

 The cop offered to get us a ride and called in for a car. While his back was turned, Toby floated off before Claire or I could grab him. I grabbed Claire, teleporting us away from the cop as we lost sight of Toby.

 “How do we lose a floating teenager?” I growled out, eyeing the sky as we ran through the suburbs, Claire on the phone with Toby before he disconnects.

 She groaned, hanging up her phone, “He dropped it!”

 My phone began going off, NotEnriques ringtone filling the air. “What’s the little monster up to?” I sighed, opening my phone to a selfie of NotEnrique, Toby floating off behind him. “He’s at your house!” I grabbed Claire, her house being close enough now to teleport into the yard.

 “I have an idea!” She called out, running into the shed, coming back with a brightly colored kite. “This should be long enough to reach him.”

 I nodded, taking off after Toby’s form in the clouds, heading straight for the bridge. “There’s no wind!” I called out, realizing we would be able to get the kite into the air without it.

 “Can’t you just make wind?” Claire asked, watching as Toby began to drift into the clouds.

 “With what wind spell?” I panicked, eyes flaring as orange sparked to life among the blue flares of my magic. I looked from the sparked to Toby, trying to imagining the feeling of wind picking up around me and funneling up towards him. I let out a sigh, focusing on the feeling along with the sparks I had seen, letting it take over my mind.

 “That’ll work!” I could distantly hear Claire call out. “Toby! Grab on!”

 My eyes snapped open to see a wind tunnel holding the kit in the sky as Toby clung to it.

 “Alright, alright!” Toby cried out, getting a little wind burnt, “pull me in!”

 “Not until you admit it!” Claire yelled, finally snapping at Toby. “Admit you’ve been a butt to me all day!”

 “I,” Toby stuttered, “Okay, okay!” He groaned, looking from Claire to the ground. “I’m a butt!”

 I sighed, trying to pull my magic in to keep it from harming Toby since it seems we were talking this out now. I reached up, letting out a breath I had been holding and closed my fist tight, imagining pulling the wind back as my fingers closed. As I had hoped, the wind slowly died down, Toby’s floating form keeping the kite airborne as he clung to it.

 “Why are you so jealous of me and Jim?” Claire asked as she carefully began to reel him in.

 “It’s just,” Toby sighed, eyes locked on the ground, unable to look at Claire. “for so long it was the Jim and Toby show, you know?” Frowning, he continued on, laying bare why he was truly upset, “And you’re this cool, smart girl, who’s great at everything, and is really pretty, you’re also not River, and now you have this super rad shadow staff, and what do I have?” Toby asked, as Claire and I were finally able to reach him, holding tight to his arms. “I have weight problems.”

 I smiled softly, knowing how hard this must be for Toby to admit, especially since he never had to share his best friend’s attention with someone else before. It was like watching your sibling take off without you.

 “Toby, you and Jim are the dynamic duo! I could never change that,” Claire smiled, finally understanding why Toby had been a jerk since the Wumpa swamps. “And I would never want to change that! You’ve supported Jim from day one!”

 Toby sighed in relief; thankful Claire was understanding. “Oh, thank Deya! I thought you were going to be mad, and we wouldn’t be friends anymore!”

 “Uh, Toby?” I tried to get his attention as Claire began to float beside him.

 “Toby!” She snapped, cutting off his rambling. “The curse is spreading.”

 “Quick River! Get us to Blinky!” Toby panicked, clinging tight to Claire and me.

 I nodded, able to teleport to the house now that we were on the bridge. I grabbed both Toby and Claire, flashing us into the living room, scaring Blinky.

 “Blinky!” I grinned, relieved that we may have help. “Toby’s been cursed!”

 “Lady River!” He yelped, watching as Toby and Claire floated around the living room, the curse spreading to both of us too. “Did you curse young Tobias?” He asked, holding onto the light fixture.

 “I could do this?!” I asked, now scared I may have been the reason behind the curse instead of the package.

 “It wasn’t River!” Toby defended, understanding my insecurities with magic after our heart to heart at the school flagpole. “I opened the box Bagdwella gave Jim!” He admitted, refusing to let Blinky blame this on me.

 Watching the box fly out of Claire’s bag, Blinky gasped, having been at the house the entire day. “A cursed box?! Why would Bagdwella give this to you?”

 “Does it matter? How do we stop it?” Claire asked, getting knocked into the corner of the ceiling as the curse spread to the house, causing it to lift from the foundation.

 “I haven’t the foggiest idea!” Blinky yelped, dodging the coffee table as it flew by, the cursed object picking up speed. “Vendel would know what to do!”

 “I have an idea!” Toby grinned, grabbing the collapsed form of the Shadow Staff, throwing it to Claire. “Open a portal and get us to Vendel!”

 “I can’t!” Claire snapped, clinging to the staff. “I can barely make one the size of a dormouse, remember?” She began to panic, “River, you could teleport us here, why can’t you get us to Trollmarket?”

 “I haven’t figure out how to teleport inside! With Blinky and the curse, I’m not sure I’d even make it to the canal!” I argued, knowing there was no way for me to get in without a horngazel in my current state.

 Toby groaned, an idea forming, “I really hate to do this but…” He took a deep breath, glaring at Claire, “Way to let us down Claire! Just like you lost the Killstone!”

 “What?” Claire asked, face falling with pain at Toby’s words.

 “Yeah, I don’t think you’re ready to be a Trollhunter!” Toby yelled, insulting her further.

 “Why are you being a but again?!” Claire snapped, the Shadow Staff activating as her grip tightened, slowly turning black as Toby egged her on.

 “Right guys?” Toby asked, Blinky and I.

 “You’re right, Tobias!” Blinky agreed, glancing at the staff.

 I winced, understanding the plan immediately as all three turned to me, Toby and Blinky hopeful. I sighed, looking at the Shadow Staff as it slowly turned black. “Alright. Claire, I don’t think you have what it takes to be a mage! You’re all over the place and you can’t even power the staff! It’s just not in your blood!”

 “What is wrong with all of you?!” She screamed, confused on why we were going against her.

 “Oh, are you mad Claire?” Toby asked, as a tiny portal formed at the tip of the staff.

 “Yeah! I’m mad!” She snarled, the portal expanding.

 “Then look at the staff and think of Vendel!” He yelled, grabbing onto Blinky.

 Eyes widening, she looked to the staff. Grinning as she realized what was going on, she opened the portal quickly, heading into it.

 I grabbed her ankle as she headed in, knowing we had to get Toby to Vendel. Blinky linked his arm with mine as Vendel and Claire pulled us through into his study. The curse immediately began to spread through the Heartstone.

 “Blinkous! What mischief have you gotten yourself into now?” Vendel asked, as he began floating, hitting the ceiling of his study.

 “Don’t look down on me,” Blinky huffed, grabbing onto a stone table. “It is Tobias who is cursed.”

 “Can you fix it?!” Claire asked as she floated across the ceiling, whacking various objects out of the way as they flew by her.

 “Yes, but I need a vessel to trap the curse in!” Vendel yelled, trying to grab his scrolls as they floated around the room.

 “River!” Toby grinned, “I know exactly what to get!”

 “Warhammer!” I laughed, nodding to Toby as I teleported to the forge, grabbing the hammer her had tried to lift this morning. I flashed back with the weapon, kicking off the wall to float by Vendel.

 “River, I’ll need your help. Grab onto a small section of the Heartstone and draw its magic into you.” Vendel explained, having me hold one end of the hammer hilt while he held higher up.

 “Is that safe?” I asked, hesitating as I reached a small grouping of the stone.

 Vendel nodded, “You are part troll, it’ll be like drinking your coffee, if it was magically enhanced.”

 I nodded, knowing I could trust Vendel. I grabbed the small outcrop of crystal, claws sinking into the stone as I began to pull the magic from the crystal. My eyes began to glow bright blue, my magic meeting the Heartstone’s as I pulled it into me.

 “Alright, slowly channel it into the Warhammer,” Vendel instructed, incanting in Trollish as the magic flowed from me, into the Warhammer.

 I kept a tight hold on the magic entering and leaving my body. The more I focused, the more orange began to bleed into my eyes, slowly taking over the blue glow as the Heartstone magic began to meld with my own.

 We slowly began to descend the longer Vendel was chanting, sealing the curse inside the Warhammer. One by one, our feet planted on the stone floor. Once Toby’s finally hit, we knew the curse had been trapped.

 Vendel ended the chant, waiting for my to finished transferring the magic.

 I could feel a coolness settle over me as I slowed the flow from the Heartstone to the Warhammer. The lines that had once bled blue, burning my skin, were now a soft orange, the burning sensation nowhere to be found. I released the Heartstone and the Warhammer as I held tight to my control over the magic.

 Vendel smiled, patting the top of my head as the glowing dimmed, complimenting the changeling features coming out. “Well done, River. Focusing on the feeling of what you’re wanting to do may be the best course for you to practice with.”

 “If the wind was anything to go by earlier,” Claire grinned, crouching on the floor, happy to have solid footing again.

 “Wind?” Vendel asked, handing the Warhammer off to an overly excited Tobias as he was bouncing next to us.

 Toby began swinging the Warhammer, careful to keep from hitting Vendel at least. “Claire used a kite to get me out of the sky, but there wasn’t any wind. Next thing I saw was blue and orange sparks as River made a wind tunnel!”

 I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Besides the healing spell, I don’t know any incantations. I figured if it was anything like teleporting it was all about feeling. Like you said, it seems to be working for me.” I shrugged, still trying to wrap my head around it.

 Vendel smiled, corralling us out of the study before Toby could breaking something. “Why don’t we head to the Forge? I’d like to see what else you could do.”

 Blinky whacked the Warhammer from him as we walked to the Forge, meeting with Arrrgh as he was putting away the weapons from multiple sparring session that day.

 Toby and Claire immediately went off. Claire was focusing on controlling her anger and imbedding it into the staff. Toby began to test the effects of the curse on the Warhammer as it switched from feather light to weighing as much as a freight truck.

 Vendel, Vendel and Arrrgh stood to the side. Arrrgh and Blinky were keeping an eye on Claire and Toby while Vendel called out instructions.

 “Since you were able to conjure wind, why don’t we try another element?” He suggested.

 “How about water?” I asked, not trusting myself with fire yet.

 Vendel nodded, “That will be a good start.” He chuckled, realizing my hesitance, “The safer option for now.”

 I smiled, closing my eyes as I began to focus, imagining the feeling of water around me. This felt familiar, my mind going back to when I created the crystals, the flowing mana pools that had taken shape in my mind. I felt myself sink further into my mind as I kept a tight hold on the mana surging around me. I began to envision the calm flow, the cooling sensation of water running against my skin, pulling it all around me, slowly forming the water into bubbles, letting them float around me, a mix or blue and orange taking form throughout the water bubbles.

 I could hear Vendel chuckle near me, Blinky and Arrrgh voice flitting in and out of my consciousness.

 “Changing,” Arrrgh’s voice broke through. At first I thought he may be referring to more troll features surfacing.

 Blinky’s voice flitted in, “Her magic began to shift when she took in energy from the Heartstone, is this just leftover power the stone gave her?”

 “Perhaps,” I could hear the smile overtaking Vendel’s face, “though, I believe it could be something very different.”

 “Fitting,” Blinky huffed as Vendel couldn’t clearly answer his question. “A half changeling sorceress is unheard of, but the fact that she’s learning from feeling instead of tomes sounds like a young Merlin.” He reasoned.

 “Hey!” Jim’s voice cut through, as two sets of footsteps drew closer to the forge, “Does anyone know why there are bubbles all over the Heartstone? The trolls don’t seem worried, is it like a salt lamp…” He trailed off as his steps came to a brief halt.

 “As you can see, young Trollhunter, our sorceress is beginning to learn what drives her magic.” Vendel chuckled.

 “That’s definitely new,” Draal’s voice broke in, shifting my focus back to the physical realm.

 I slowly opened my eyes, first focusing on Toby and Claire as they continued to spar. That wasn’t odd, other than their fight earlier, maybe he was talking about Toby throwing the Warhammer around like it was nothing.

 The light of the forge highlighted blue and orange objects around me. My eyes began to focus clearly as bubbles of water came to view. Floating throughout the entire forge were bubbles of magic water, some were blue while others were orange, all of varying sizes and brightness.

 “Whoa,” I breathed out, in awe of the bubbles. I titled my head, thinking of how it felt when they popped on my hands or fingers when Jim and I used to chase them as little kids. I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers, watching as the bubbles simultaneously popped throughout the forge, the magic dissipating into the air.

 Draal grinned, picking me up as he cheered, “You’ve learned a new spell!”

 I laughed, hugging around his neck, keeping myself stable as he swung us around. “I guess I did!”

 Jim smiled, letting us be while he turned his attention to Claire and Toby sparring, “Can I get in on that?” He asked, summoning Daylight as he ran out to spar with them.

 The magic I released, boosted their weapons. Allowing them to power up their weapons easily. Toby’s a little unstable due to the curse, but he adapted quickly enough.

 Vendel smiled, speaking with Blinky, “At times, we forget they are still children. Let them have fun while they can.”

 Blinky smiled, watching over us proudly as we all began to spar, learning to adjust to each other’s fighting styles, and teaming up against each other. “They’ll almost look like a team.”

 Eemeli ran into the Forge, waving me down as he sidled up next to Vendel, out of breath.

 “Eemeli? What’s going on?” I asked, flashing to him as he leaned over his knees, trying to catch his breath.

 “Strickler.” He got out, coughing a bit.

 “He ran all the way here from the other side of town,” Eri explained, popping out of Eemeli’s hood. “We followed Stricklander all day.”

 “How did it go?” I asked, worried about what could cause Eemeli enough distress to come running.

 “Not sure,” He sighed, finally catching his breath. “He met with Angor Rot tonight. All I know is he’s planning something big, and Strickler won’t be around for it.”

 I frowned, while this was terrible news for us, we still didn’t really have anything to go on. “Strickler’s tactics, are these normal for Changelings you’ve worked with?”

 Eemeli shook his head, “We’d never do anything that would gain a lot of attention, our goal is to blend in, not take over. That was for Gunmar to do.” He sighed, having no idea what could be going through Strickler’s head.

 “Then I have a favor to ask,” I steeled myself, unsure of Jim’s reaction to come. “Eri, I need you and Eemeli to find my father.”

 Eemeli jumped back, looking shaken by the request, “You want us to find Garridan, an ex- Gumm-Gumm general?”

 “River, is that a good idea? Both of our dad’s left to protect something.” Jim cut in, worried about my request.

 “Both?” Vendel asked, eyeing Jim confused.

 I turned to Jim, nodding. “I’m sure. We don’t know what Strickler is up to, we don’t know how massive his plan could be. He’s not following normal Changeling ways. He’s desperate with a side of crazy, and has a troll assassin on his side.” I explained, “If anyone might have an idea of how to handle a renegade Changeling, our fathers’ are our best bet.”

 “I’m not supposed to take you to him!” Eri cut in, panicking. “I’m supposed to stay here and help you.”

 “You wouldn’t be taking me, you’d be taking Eemeli.” I sighed, knowing this was a lot to ask. “I’m starting to get a better handle of my magic thanks to you. But we may need his help. I’m not willing to wait until its too late.” I scratched under her chin, “And you’re the only one who knows where he is.”

 “You think sending a Changeling to him is the smartest thing to do?” Eemeli asked, nervous about meeting Garridan again. “He might actually kill me.”

 “Even with Eri escorting you?” I asked, more to Eri.

 “No, he wouldn’t,” Eri sighed, wrapping herself around Eemeli’s shoulders. “If you think this is the best course of action, I’m in.”

 Eemeli nodded, holding out his hand for me. I reached out, instead of grabbing my hand, he linked our wrists. “I’ll find him. You’ve done more for me than the order ever could. If this is what you ask, it’ll happen.”

 I smiled, nodded before pulling my arm away. “Thank you. Both of you.”

 Vendel coughed, gaining all of our attention, “Is no one going to explain what the Trollhunter meant by ‘our fathers’?” He asked, glaring over all of us.

 Jim chuckled, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Right, River do you have the book?” He asked, hoping to soften the blow.

 I nodded, grabbing my bag quickly and bringing my mother’s grimoire back. “Right here.”

 The pages began to glow as I opened to the sketch of our parents, showing it to Vendel as the human knights morphed into trolls. “They’re brothers, and both are Changelings.”

 Vendel sucked in air quickly as he watched the sketch shift back and forth, “What did the council have to say?”

 Jim took out the amulet, “Not much actually, Kanjigar said River and I both bridge the world between humans, trolls, and sorcerers. That we both protect it. Other than that, they didn’t seem to have much of an issue, though Deya’s eyes were glowing the entire meeting, and that’s a first.”

 Vendel hummed, nodding to himself as he closed the book. “Then I have nothing to say on the matter. Your sister has proven time and again that Changeling have the potential to be trusted. After Bular, I have great faith in you, Trollhunter.” Vendel smiled, patting my head, then Jim’s.

 “It seems we all have our tasks then,” Blink grinned, clasping his fleshy hands. “Eri and Eemeli will find River’s father. Arrrgh and Draal will look over Jim and Tobias’ training. I’ll research ways to help both our Fair Claire, and Lady River with their evolving magic.”

 Draal rolled his eyes, elbowing my side, “Since when is Blinkous a magic tutor?”

 We all burst into laughter, even Vendel as Blinky spluttered, trying to defend his researching methods. We split up in our respective groups for the night. Eri and Eemeli heading out right away, the rest of us training into the early hours of the morning, excited to have some direction now.

[autumnalfallingleaves]

5th Episode Thoughts:

- ...Skrel. Skrel?! 

- Oop, just checked subtitles. Skreal. Still. That can’t be a coincidence with him looking all Akiridion-like.

- WAIT DOES SKREAL USE THEY/THEM PRONOUNS?? D U D E Y E S

- Oh damn, armor time

- Archie is doing the doggy paddle through the Shadow Realm sdjkdsjk

- “We go way back” Not this far back, Jimbo 😬

- Why is AAARRRGGHH!!!’s nose ring glowing

- jkdsfjhdfshjks I don’t know whether to call her Deya (because she totally is) or Callista lol

- How are those kids even seeing out of those masks?

- That Knight of Skulls is someone we know, I just don’t know who, yet

- “I’m a pacifist” Oooh I see what you’re doing there, Jimbo! 😉 Good idea!

- Thank you, peanut gallery

WHEN I SAY I CACKLED-

- “Yep, got a point!” WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU COME FROM?!

- VENDEL!! I LITERALLY SCREAMED Y’ALL (pleasedontbreakdownjim) (also he looks younger lol. it looks weird)

- *points at Blinky* HAHAHAHAHAAAAA

- Eh, scratch the “Knight of Skulls is someone we know” thing. He’s just a Lancelot remodel :/

- CHANGELIIIIIINNNNNGGG

- So the rocks were Dwärkstones... and they were placed so that the walls of Camelot would be destroyed... fuck.

- THIS IS SOME MOVIE-QUALITY ANIMATION RIGHT HERE LADS

- Ooooh, Morgana’s shadow portals are gold

- Ah yes, the Eternal Night. Let’s hope that still gets stopped!

Mmmm yep good episode. AAARRRGGHH!!! is finally (nearly) on the side of good, Callista is becoming the Deya we know, and the humans are finally teaming up with the good Trolls. 

[earth-ambassador-jim]

The Missing Month Chapter 5

Loops 17-18

This is a fanfiction that explores what happened during the first 30 time loops that Jim was in in the episode D'Aja Vu.

Fanfiction - AO3

Trigger Warning: Panic attack.

17.

Jim flung himself forward. His head was no longer pounding but he couldn’t see anything. He hit the ground hard. His teeth clicked together painfully and he tasted blood.

There was no time to worry about that. He had to get away from Gunmar. Jim attempted to get up but his feet were tied. He thrashed desperately only managing to make it worse. His breath was coming in short rapid gasps and he was distantly aware that he was close to passing out.

He made another lunge forward attempting to escape his bonds and his head struck a hard pointed surface. Jim curled into a ball as pain roared through his skull. After it abated a little he looked around to see what he had hit his head on and stilled. That was his dresser. His bed was to his left. He slowly looked down and realized he was tangled in his sheets. He was back in his room! The day had restarted!

Jim stared for a moment longer and then started laughing. It was okay. He was safe from Gunmar. He laughed until his sides hurt. His breath hitched. Draal’s eyes had been so empty. He could hardly recognize him. It was like he was dead. It was hard to breathe. He had felt so small before Gunmar. Helpless. Worthless. He had been ready to give up. His chest was being crushed. He couldn’t breathe but his heart was racing. He clutched at his body and his fingers encountered metal. When had he donned his armor? He tried to remove the amulet but it wouldn’t budge. His blood roared in his ears. It was too hot. He couldn’t breathe. His vision was greying at the edges like it did when Bular nearly choked him. He wondered if he was dying. After everything he’d been through his body was finally just giving out on him. He let out a strangled whimper. He wasn’t ready to die.

Distantly he heard someone talking to him. A familiar voice. Toby.

“…imbo. Please breathe. I’m here now. You’re going to be okay,” He was saying.

Jim grabbed at the hand on his shoulder and his eyes met Toby’s. In the dim red light he saw that his friend’s eyes were wide and teary.

“Hi,” Toby said shakily. “Um…. Ah, Right! Try breathing with me Jim.”

Toby started taking slow breaths. Jim stared at him not comprehending. Toby repeated himself and this time it registered for Jim. He followed along shakily. His throat hurt.

Toby was rubbing the back of Jim’s neck with the hand he wasn’t holding. After a few minutes of slow breathing, Toby started to talk. He wasn’t talking about anything in particular just rambling. It was nice. It reminded Jim of when they would hang out in the park during the summer. It was too hot to move or run around so they would just talk. Vaguely Jim noted that he was no longer tangled up in his blankets.

His heart rate gradually slowed down and his head cleared somewhat, but not entirely. It was still throbbing a bit. Unwilling to let go of Toby’s hand he reached up and prodded at his head with his left. There was a bump. He removed his hand from his head and looked at it.

“Is that blood?” Toby sounded alarmed.

“I think I hit my head on the dresser,” Jim mumbled. His voice was hoarse.

“That’s not good. Let me look.”

Toby tried to tug his hand loose from Jim’s, but Jim tightened his grip. Toby stopped, drew in a shaky breath, and used his free hand instead to tilt Jim’s head forward. He started gently prodding through his hair. Jim hissed when he touched the injury.

“Yeah, that looks bad. I don’t think you need stiches, but we definitely need to get it cleaned up and bandaged.”

He paused, searching Jim’s face.

“Is it okay for me to call Claire over?”

Jim thought for a second then nodded.

“Okay.”

Toby tapped something out on his phone then hit send. After a moment the phone pinged and he glanced down at it.

“She’ll be here soon.” His gaze shifted back to Jim. “Can I hug you?”

Jim nodded and released the hand he was holding. Toby wrapped both arms firmly around him and pulled him close. Jim took a shuddering breath and pressed his face into his friend’s shoulder. The Eclipse Armor disappeared in a flash of red. They stayed like that until there was a knock at the bedroom door.

“Can I come in?” Claire called.

“Yep,” Toby responded when Jim nodded.

The door creaked open and Claire’s feet thumped softly against the floor. A moment later Jim felt her kneel down at his side. She hesitated and then joined in the hug.

Jim wasn’t sure how long they sat there, just holding each other and sharing the same air. Around them the room slowly brightened as the sun crept over the horizon.

Easy Peasy…

There was a slight change in air pressure and the alarm abruptly cut off.

Jim pulled back and gave Claire a shocked look.

“Did you just banish my alarm clock to the Shadow Realm?”

Claire looked rather sheepish and attempted to hide the staff.

“Sorry I wasn’t thinking. I swear I just did it on instinct. I can try to get it back…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jim said.

The situation was so absurd that he started laughing. Claire and Toby joined in and for a moment everything felt right. Unfortunately his head injury had to go and ruin that. Jim hissed as it sent a jolt of pain throughout his skull.

“Aaaand I forgot about that,” Toby said. “Are you okay to come down to the kitchen so we can get you cleaned up?”

Jim nodded and immediately regretted it.

“I brought a first aid kit,” Claire said holding it up. “You have no idea how hard it was to sneak downstairs to get that without waking my parents.”

Claire looked so pleased with herself that Jim decided not to mention the very well stocked medical kit that was already in the house. His mom always got lots of freebies whenever she went to conferences.

Jim stood up slowly grimacing when he realized his leg had fallen asleep. He leaned heavily on Toby as he massaged out the pins and needles.

Once they got down stairs Claire had Jim lean over the sink so she could wash the blood out of his hair and clean the wound. After she finished Jim sat down at the table while they debated how best to treat it.

“How about you just bandage it up for now?” Jim suggested.

“I don’t know Jimbo, it looks pretty bad. We should probably drop by the hospital just to be sure. You didn’t get this one doing troll stuff so it should be okay.”

The idea of dealing with the hospital right now, even if he did get to see his mom, sounded really unappealing.

“Head injuries bleed a lot, so it’s probably not as bad as it looks. Anyway it will be gone in a few more hours.”

“What do you mean?” Claire asked a wrinkle forming between her brows.

Jim sighed.

“We’re in a time loop right now. It restarts a little before noon. Unfortunately I’m the only one who remembers it.”

He was expecting Toby to get all excited about it like he usually did. For a moment he looked like he was going to, but then he frowned.

“Does that have something to do with… you know… this morning?” He asked hesitantly as he placed a piece of gauze over Jim’s injury.

Jim grimaced; he didn’t really want to talk about it.

“Yeah. The last loop didn’t end well.”

“Are we in one of those scenarios were everyone dies and you have to keep going back until you fix it?”

Jim blinked. “What? No! I just… I kinda did something stupid last loop.”

He looked away but not before he saw Toby and Claire exchange a glance. He felt Claire’s hands on his head as she gently secured the bandage in place. He sighed.

“I went to Trollmarket…”

Claire and Toby both inhaled sharply.

“I thought with the timeloop in play I might as well see if I could check things out down there. Just a quick look…”

“You went alone didn’t you?” Jim winced at the hurt in Toby’s voice.

“Yeah… If it worked out I figured I could bring you guys next time. I just didn’t want to see anything happen to you guys.”

Jim’s hands clenched on the table.

“I messed up. I got caught and Gunmar made Draal fight me. He… He was just about to use the Decimaar Blade on me before the loop reset.”

Jim’s breathing hitched. Toby sighed and put his arms around him.

“Oh Jimbo, what are we going to do with you?”

“I’m sorry,” Jim whispered.

“I know you are,” Toby said squeezing his shoulder. “Listen… I… I’m not going to ask for a promise, but please… Please! …Make sure you at least talk to us before doing something like this again. I… we can’t lose you Jim.”

Beside him Claire nodded. Were those tears in her eyes?

“I’m sorry,” Jim said again, voice cracking.

The three hugged. Jim’s shoulders started to shake and he felt his friends tighten their grip on him. They were shaking too.

Eventually Toby pulled away and gave him a determined smile.

“Okay! No more Trollhunter business today. We are making popcorn and we’re going to waste the rest of this loop watching dumb movies and filling our bodies with junk.”

“I could make a nice breakfa…”

“No,” Toby cut him off. “You are banished from the kitchen. Shoo.”

Toby waved a hand at him. Jim rolled his eyes but did as he was told. He started to head toward the living room but after a quick assessment of his clothes he decided that it was better for him to go wash up first. He was really sweaty.

A half hour later Blinky and Aaarrrgghh showed up. They didn’t ask any questions. Jim assumed Toby must have filled them in. Toby and Claire emerged out of the kitchen with a plethora of junk food and they all leaned up against Aaarrrgghh as Toby put in Gunrobot: the Original.

The movie was actually cheesier than Jim remembered. The special effects were terrible, the plot questionable at best and the acting super hammy but the familiarity was nice. Jim laughed at Toby and Claire arguing the merits of the series and tried to answer Blinky’s questions as best he could.

Jim yawned as the movie finished and Toby jumped up to put in a new one. This is nice, He thought snuggling into Aaarrrgghh’s mane. Claire adjusted herself against his shoulder and Toby came back and leaned against him. Blinky shifted and carefully patted his hair. Jim smiled as his eyes slipped closed…

18.

Easy peasy, Lemon squeezy…

Jim yawned as he turned off his alarm. He stretched slowly and then reached for his cellphone. It rang a few times before he got an answer.

“Good morning, Sweetie. What’s up?”

“Hi Mom. Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet. I was going to grab a donut from the breakroom. Why?”

Jim grimaced at that.

“I was wondering if I could stop by the hospital so we could eat together.”

His mom took a moment to respond but when she did he could hear the smile in her voice.

“I would love that! I have my break at nine. Would that work?”

“Definitely. And no donuts, okay? I’ll bring breakfast.”

She laughed at that.

“Sure thing kiddo. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

There we go! Jim finally gets a little rest. The poor kid needs it.

The kids are Not alright... but at least they have each other.

Next time... back to hunting Porgon.

[snarkyoracle]

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NINJA-K #1 Written by CHRISTOS GAGE Art by TOMÁS GIORELLO Cover A by TREVOR HARISINE Cover B by LUCAS TROYA Interlocking Variant by KENNETH ROCAFORT Ninjak Icon Variant by DAVID MACK Brushed Metal Variant by MICO SUAYAN

A NEW CAN’T-MISS ONGOING SERIES! From acclaimed writer Christos Gage (Netflix’s Daredevil) and superstar artist Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR), the United Kingdom’s most dreaded intelligence operative delves into the cold, calculating world of espionage and international intrigue!

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Collecting SECRET WEAPONS #1-4

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November 2017 Solicitations: Valiant NINJA-K #1 Written by CHRISTOS GAGE Art by TOMÁS GIORELLO Cover A by TREVOR HARISINE Cover B by LUCAS TROYA…