TrollHunters One-Shots

Sunrise

*based off of a fanart by @/nathvods on instagram*

 One step after another. It didn't matter how far how he walked because soon it would all be over anyway. His armor-clad feet sunk heavily into the tall forest grasses and his determination became more solid the longer he trudged through the trees.

Loneliness engulfed him wherever he went. He'd been warned that becoming half-troll would be challenging and life-changing, but nothing he could have done would have prepared him for the countless years of darkness and suffering he'd lived through.

He didn't even know what year it was anymore, but it didn't really matter; after he started to notice the aging of those he loved and his own unchanging youthfulness, he stopped counting for fear that he would lose the years too quickly.

Through all the fighting he'd done to protect his family and friends, he'd never realized that the price of saving them would be so cruel and unforgiving-- loving them for years and living through each of their deaths as he himself had many years left to endure alone.

Finally, he reached a small clearing cluttered with poorly crafted headstones. It took only a few quiet seconds of staring at the makeshift memorial for Jim to begin crying silently.

Barbara Lake Strickler: his mother. She had done everything she could for her son throughout her lifetime. Fought, cried, struggled to be a mother all on her own-- especially when cooking wasn't a talent she possessed-, and doing her very best to make sure that her only son was happy. The world around them had been dark when her husband had left, but she had made sure that there was always light and love. Jim laid a wildflower next to the memorial of the wonderful, courageous woman who had raised him, loved him unconditionally, and believed in him for every second of his life until the last breath of her own.

Walter Strickler: the closest thing he'd ever had to a father. Living, breathing proof that everyone has good in them and they could choose to change for the better. Jim smiled a little bit as he remembered the long-ago dinner where he and his high school history teacher had nearly stabbed each other with steak knives, jumping back into their seats each time Jim's mother had approached. Strickler had been an enemy at first. But then he became a friend, a mentor, a father, and a legend.

Toby Domzalski: Jim's life-long best friend. By his side through thick and thin. They shared everything together-- from peanut butter sandwiches to life-threatening adventures. Even though they'd had to spend a few years apart while Jim searched for a new Heartstone and Toby powered through the horrors of high school, they never grew apart. They were always an unstoppable duo.

Claire Nuñez Lake. Jim fell to his knees, sobs engulfing him as his heart shattered for the millionth time. He'd loved that brave, fiery girl from the start and never once did he doubt that she loved him too. There wasn't a time that Jim's heart didn't do wild backflips when Claire kissed him, or a day that thoughts of her smile didn't fill his mind and warm his heart. Even when he'd transformed into the hideous monster that he was, Claire had loved him. She stood by his side for the rest of her life.

Blinky. AAARRRGGHH. Nomura. Enrique. Eli Pepperjack. Even Steve had a stone in Jim's memory graveyard and a special place in his heart. All of them. Even those who he wasn't as close with, such as Mary and Darcy, had stones placed in the clearing. Jim had fought for all of them with equal reason and determination. And now...

He had no one left to fight for.

Trollmarket was in the safe hands of Not-Enrique, who had fought for changelings' rights and acceptance--that is, once he was old enough to walk around in more than a diaper. Gunmar and his army were defeated. Trollkind was safe; they had no need for a Trollhunter. Jim was free from his duties. The time had come for him to join his friends.

"Thanks, everyone, for helping me to find adventure in my life, and for sticking by my side after all this time," Jim whispered, clutching a bouquet of wildflowers in one hand. A single flower rested next to each stone-- not a graveyard anymore, but a garden of beautiful memories and bittersweet goodbyes.

The sun began to rise in the east, sharing its rays of light with the world. Its bright glow filtered through the leaves, making its way toward the heartbroken Trollhunter in the clearing. Jim smiled as warmth shone on his face--his cold, stony face that had seen nothing but shadows for so long. He felt himself hardening to stone and he smiled.

Jim Lake Jr, the Trollhunter, was going home.