Jim sat on his bed, walkie talkie and phone in hand waiting for his best friend to call him on either device. It had been two days since Jim sent Toby to the canals to become the trollhunter.
With nothing else to do, the day coming to a close, Jim sighed as he dropped the devices onto his bed and tiredly pressed his hands on his face, only now starting to regret his decision of allowing Toby to become the trollhunter. To allow him to face danger head on, and he would be the cause of it.
Time seemed to have gone rather slowly, seemed to stop even as Jim went over his decisions the day he rewinded Time using the chronosphere. Oh, how he missed everyone. He missed his team. Missed his Claire.
He couldn't help but allow his mind to wonder back on his adventures with his friends, the adversaries they had faced. Rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down from thinking of the worst possible outcome now that Toby is the new trollhunter and instead forced himself to think of a plan in action to prevent the worst of those outcomes. To prevent the future that had occurred.
With a start, his phone started ringing a familiar "I am GunRobot, pick up your phone" ringtone, snapping him out of his thoughts. Quickly he reached over and grabbed his phone, instantly pressing the green answer button and placing the phone next to his ear after confirming the caller ID to be Toby.
"Hey, Tobes-" Jim started only to get cut off by the frantic and panicked speech of his best friend on the other side of the line.
"JIMBO!! you won't believe what just happened! I found this totally awesome-sauce circle metal glowy thing yesterday that gave me magical armour and when I got home today these- these monsters were in MY BASEMENT and they said I was some kind of troll fighter?!" Toby panicked, causing Jim to smile.
Holding back a chuckle, Jim tried to get his best friend to calm down enough for him to understand what he was going on about, even though he already knew what had happened. "Tobes, Tobes, slow down. I can't understand you when you talk that fast." He said with as little amusement and as much concern as he could put into his own voice.
A pause occurred at Toby's end of the line, seemingly thinking over what he should tell Jim. If not just to calm down. Soon enough Jim headed a sigh come from Toby before continuing at a much slower pace.
"Okay okay, I know this may sound like I'm going crazy town banana pants but I'm one hundred percent not okay?! You've got to believe me Jim!" Toby begged.
"Alright, alright, Tobes, I'll believe whatever you want to tell me." Jim said with a smile he himself remembering how he acted when he first met their stony friends Blinky and AARRRGGHH!!
The rest of the night, the two boys went over what had happened at Toby's House and both promised to meet and talk more about it at school the following day, just so they could manage to gain a few hours of sleep. Even though Toby would inevitably find it quite difficult to do so.
Jim on the other hand, was quite happy that his best friend trusted him enough to tell him about the trolls just as he was. Remembering his friends and family from the future timeline, he couldn't help but lay in bed with a sad smile and a determination to keep everyone safe before drifting off to sleep.
---
"I'm telling you, Jimbo! One had these eyes and the other was HUGE!" Toby exclaimed as they walked down the halls to their classroom in an attempt to explain what had happened.
"And I believe you, Tobes." Jim said with a chuckle before looking at his friend worriedly. "Are you sure you're okay Tobes? You look like you haven't slept very well…" the taller teen observed clear concern plastered onto his face.
With a deadpan look towards his best friend, Toby gave Jim the 'really?' Look. "You try going to sleep knowing that there are those THINGS out there that can easily get into your basement in the middle of the night!" Toby said before crossing his arms in front of him. This only gained a small chuckle from Jim as he knew exactly how paranoid his best friend could get.
Just then, a very familiar history teacher walked up to the two boys somewhat overhearing their conversation. "What things, Mister Domzalski?" He asked as he uncapped his pen slightly in a fidgeting motion with a slightly raised brow, catching the boys off guard.
"Oh! Uh… um…" Toby started, unsure whether or not he should tell the history teacher, but was beaten to it by Jim.
"Oh! Tobes was just telling me how some raccoons managed to get into his basement last night. There have been quite a lot of raccoons in our area recently" Jim said in a flawless lie, knowing full well that at this current time, Strickler wasn't to be trusted.
Shocked by his best friend's perfect lie, Toby couldn't help but stare at him before regaining his posture and nodding vigorously. "Y-yeah! They were huge and fast!" He added just to make the story seem more believable.
Both boys watched as the history teacher's eyes widened with concern before capping his fountain pen once again. "Well in that case, you two better be careful. Don't want you getting bitten by those raccoons now do we?" His face eased into a smile causing both boys to smile as well.
"We will, Mister Strickler!" Jim started as he grabbed Toby by the wrist and started walking away "we'll get going to class now! Oh and I'll be making Spaghetti and meatballs for tonight's dinner!" He shouted back towards the history teacher who simply smiled and waved.
"Can't wait, young Atlas" Strickler called back with a smile and a wave before he swiftly moved onward, rather happily.
As soon as Striclker disappeared from view, Toby looked towards Jim with surprise written all over his face. "You're having dinner with Mister Strickler?!" Toby exclaimed once realization hit, only earning him a smile from his best friend. With a shrug of his shoulders, Jim just kept walking towards their first class.
Snapping out of his shock, Toby matched his best friend's pace questions swimming in his head, but only one worded itself out. "How did you lie like that Jimbo? You've never been able to tell a lie like that before!"
With another shrug and a chuckle, all Jim gave him was a simple answer "it's just improvised acting, Tobes."
---
The rest of the day seemed to fly by quick enough. Toby stayed behind to watch Jim rehearse for his play, finding it quite intriguing how Jim already seemed to know the lines. Something that even Claire and Mrs. Janeth were also both pleasantly surprised about.
"Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy
Be heap'd like mine and that thy skill be more
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue
Unfold the imagined happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter." Jim went on earning a pleased giggle from Mrs Janeth.
"Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,
Brags of his substance, not of ornament:
They are but beggars that can count their worth;
But my true love is grown to such excess
I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth." Claire continued with her own part on que.
A happy clapping rang out from the overlooking teacher. Happy that her play has such wonderful actors. "Very good you two! Both of you have such great talent for theater! We can rehearse more tomorrow, you two may leave while I work a bit more with our Mercutio" Mrs. Janeth hummed in a happy tone, allowing both Claire and Jim to step off stage.
Jim walked over to Toby, who already had his bag ready for Jim to just take it so they could leave. The two continued to talk with each other as they headed for the bike rack getting ready to get home as the sun started to set.
"Wait!" Called out an all too familiar voice, causing Jim to look back at the caller only to find his crush/alternate future girlfriend running towards the two boys. Stopping for her to catch her breath the two boys looked at her and smiled.
"Hey Claire, did you need anything?" Jim asked with a slight tilt to his head and a gentle smile, which earned him one from Claire.
"I just wanted to thank you, Jim." Claire said as she pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear, a habit Jim has gotten quite fond of in the two years he had dated Claire in his alternate future.
"For what?" Jim asked, trying to hide how he already knew why she was thanking him. Already knowing that it was to thank him for taking the play seriously.
"For taking the play seriously…" she started "it means a lot to me…" lowering the clipboard with the script on it she looked up to stare at Jim in the eyes, noting how soft and gentle they were. Both stared at each other in silence for a good while before Toby cleared his throat causing the two other teens to jump in surprise. Both with wild blushes rising up on their faces as they both found the ground to be very interesting all of a sudden.
Thinking quickly, Jim looked up at Toby who only nodded and gave him a smile and a thumbs up knowing exactly what he was about to ask Claire. "Um… Claire?" At the mention of her name by Jim, Claire looked back up with a flushed face. "Would you… would you like to walk home with us?"
With a smile Claire nodded "sure! Let me just get my bike! Its a good thing I came riding it today" Soon all three teens were walking home with helmets on their heads in case anything were to happen. Jim, Claire and Toby all got to know eachother better, with Toby even telling Claire about the trolls. Except she didn't really believe him in the slightest.
With a giggle at how Toby was describing AARRRGGHH!! She looked towards Jim who was only smiling as he listened in on Toby's explanation. "Your friend has such a big imagination, Jim" that only earned a light chuckle from Jim before he muttered a "if only you knew" under his breath.
The three teens walked down a street that was still under some construction. A sense of danger immediately rising within Jim as he started looking around in a paranoid way, his actions not going unnoticed by his companions. "Jimbo? You good?" Toby chimed worried for his friend.
All of a sudden, Jim stopped. Color drained from his face fast as he realised that today was the day they first met Bular, the fist fight happens today. How could he have forgotten such an important date! And how he managed to drag Claire into his mess. “Jim?” Claire’s worried call got him to look towards the other two teens with him. Jim was about to say something only to be interrupted by a roar that came from behind a building.
All three teens turned towards the sudden sound, only to find a giant, black monster appearing from around the bend, under the shade of the building. Upon seeing this, Jim pushed his companions to start running, or rather biking without hesitation. “Trollhunter! Merlin’s creation! Gunmar’s bane!” a booming thunderous voice called out to them, specifically toby, before roaring again and started chasing after them.
“What is that?!” called out Claire as she followed after Jim.
“I don’t want to find out!” Jim said biking faster with Claire as Toby trailed behind them.
“I’ll flay the flesh from your bones!!” the black troll roared as he started to catch up on the trio under the shade as the sun started to fully fall behind the horizon.
“I like my bones the way they are, thanks!” called out toby in fear, continuing to ride faster and avoiding the giant troll as he jumps between the group.
Remembering the chase, Jim thought to take the same route they had when he first faced Bular. “Head down Delancey!” Jim told them as all three of them turned to another road to avoid a flying truck before Jim called again. “Behind Stuart Electronics!”
“You know I can’t fit there!” Toby shouted as they neared the small crawl space of an alleyway.
“You can fit! Just believe!” Jim called out as he and Claire went through without a problem, while Toby got stuck, yet continued to cycle as he tried to escape the reaching grasp of the gumm-gumm.
“I can fit, I can fit, I can fit!” Toby chanted trying to convince himself that he could go through, the chanting only getting louder when he started to move and fit through the small space. “HAHA! YEAH!” he shouted in triumph as the roars of Bular faded in the distance as the trio continued to ride.
“Okay seriously,” Claire started after halting to a stop with the other two after determining that they were far enough from the giant black troll. “What was that thing?!” she asked in a panic.
“I don’t know!” Toby exclaimed between pants. “But hey! At least we’re not dead right?” Toby looked towards Jim looking for confirmation, only to find that his best friend was watching the silent street behind them. “Right, Jimbo?” he asked again but no answer. Instead, their attention was grabbed by what sounded like relieved laughter coming from the bushes.
Two heads turned towards the voice to find two creatures with stone for skin, one had four arms and six eyes while the other seemed like a giant brute that was trying to hide behind two branches that were too small to conceal him, both creatures bearing a smile. “Master Tobias! Ha-ha!” The shorter one called out, only making Claire scream, enough to get Jim’s attention off the road and look at Blinky and AARRRGGHH!!’s interaction with Claire, unable to get himself to be scared of his surrogate father and uncle.
“What are these…. These creatures?!” Claire asked, still panicked but somewhat calmed down when Jim pressed a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently before speaking.
“I think they’re the trolls that Toby talked about…” Jim said, knowing perfectly well that they were in fact who Toby talked about.
“Master Tobias, why did you tell your human friends about us? We trolls have kept ourselves secret from your kind, lest there be panic…” Binky said as he eyed Claire and Jim, mostly Claire.
“There was a giant troll chasing after us, Blinky! He was trying to kill us!” Toby exclaimed.
“That troll, Master Tobias, was Bular.” Blinky said nonchalantly, earning an unnoticed eye roll from Jim. “The good thing is that you survived! I knew there was potential in you, Master Tobias!” he continued a little more excitedly, to which Toby stared at him with a face then yelled at the smaller troll “You have a sweet voice, but you bring death with you!”
Falling into his cover, Jim walked towards them and asked “You two can fight him, right?” which only made the two trolls laugh lightly as they looked at each other.
“I could not possess the skills to defeat Bular!” Blinky said as he waved a hand in dismissal.
“What about him? He’s big!” Claire said joining into the conversation as she pointed towards the bigger troll who only tilted his head slightly to the side as he replied with a simple “Pacifist” which caused Claire to lose hope in surviving the night.
“Man, such a waste of a hulking brute…” Toby said as he gently patted AARRRGGHH!!’s arm. Which only earned him a simple “thank you” from the bigger troll.
“This is why there is a trollhunter, Master Tobias.” Blinky said as he faced toby before motioning towards his companion “AARRRGGHH!! Renounced the violent path ages ago!” Just then, Bular came skidding across the street, locking eyes with the group for a split second before the teens and two trolls dashed off with blinky yelling “Follow me! We’ll be safe in Heartstone Trollmarket!”
The group of five continued to run away from the fierce gumm-gumm with Blinky and Toby shrieking as Bular grabbed onto a telephone pole and tore it down, bringing down a couple of others that tripped up Toby only to be caught by AARRRGGHH!! Before turning a corner to run into the forest as toby’s bike caught onto Bular’s foot stalling him for a second.
As the group continued to run through the thicket, Blinky called out to the trollhunter on top of AARRRGGHH!!. “Master Tobias! Don your armour!”
“Oh yeah, right!” Toby exclaimed as he pulled out the amulet that was in his pocket only to accidentally drop it when AARRRGGHH!! Jumped down into the canal, Toby following after his amulet while the other headed straight under the bridge.
Toby grabbed hold of the amulet and looked up to see trees falling over as Bular’s roars rang louder and louder with every step he took. Panicking, Toby quickly spoke the incantation “Uh, for the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!”
When nothing happened, Jim watched in horror as Bular got close, he didn’t want to see his best friend die again in front of him. Thinking fast, Jim pulled out the pepper spray he had in his bag and ran up to Toby as stood in front of him as Bular came closer, spraying the bottle’s contents into the troll’s eyes knowing that it had worked on Draal before.
Bular roared in pain as he rubbed his eyes in pain, taking their chance, Jim grabbed Toby and started running towards the other who watched Jim risk his own life to save Toby. “Quick! Open the portal!” Blinky called as Bular roared running towards them once again as the smaller troll gave his companion a horngazel as the bigger troll drew a semicircle into the wall of the bridge’s base before punching it allowing the group entry as the wall fell apart to reveal a blue hallway, the portal closing right as the Gumm-gumm reached the base of the bridge with all five of them present inside, but still able to hear the Gumm-gumm prince’s roars.
Toby breathed heavily, checking himself over to make sure that he was still in one piece before he stammered out “he nearly… we almost… he almost…!” still in a state of panic from the encounter.
“Almost what, Master Tobias?” Blinky asked, getting a bit closer to the three teens who were still panting trying to not hyperventilate.
“He almost killed us!” Jim shouted, attempting to act scared and shaken up, which wasn’t very hard considering that he was scared.
“”Almost”! A very important word!” Blinky started as he started to walk away hands behind his back with one finger raised in the air in an attempt to teach them a lesson during their panic before turning to face them again “a life of “almost” is a life of never!”
As the three teens walked forward towards the two trolls, Toby asked a very good question “why didn’t the armour activate?!” causing the smaller troll to turn around once again now heading towards the unlit crystal staircase “Master Tobias, you are the first human to possess an amulet created for trolls! It’s to be expected its behavior will be… unexpected”
Claire held her breath as she stuck close to Jim and Toby watching their entryway cautiously as she shook in fear as they followed blinky “that wall will hold right?” she asked after hearing a roar and the ground shaking lightly from Bular’s futile attempts of breaking through.
With a chuckle, blinky stepped onto the staircase lighting the way before speaking up once again. "Do not worry, lady Claire, Trollmarket is warded against Gumm-gumms. There's no possible way Bular will get in!" With hands behind back, Blinky led the group down the luminescent staircase.
Jim lingered at the back with AARRRGGHH!! seemingly lost in his own thoughts. This would be the first time Jim stepped foot into Trollmarket ever since the eternal night fight happened. God, would he be able to keep it together once he saw Trollmarket again? What about the trolls who felled during the battle? What about Vendel? Would he be able to face that old troll and not be noticed by him, or at least fly by his radar like he did with Toby before?
What about Draal?
God, Draal. He missed him so much. So Jim, Draal wasn't just a friend. He was someone Jim would rely on, someone who always had Jim's back through thick and thin. To Jim, Draal was family. Draal was his brother in arms, even if he was a total jerk at the moment.
The more steps Jim took towards Trollmarket, the heavier and tighter his chest felt. Could he really handle being here again after what happened? No one would remember him. Heck, every troll would probably look at him with either disgust or fear at their current time. Without proving himself, Jim was just another human who was brought into Trollmarket. A worthless human.
His heart sank even more just thinking about it, a frown finding its way to his face. A frown that hadn't gone unnoticed by Toby and Claire who called out to Jim
"Jim? You okay? You seem… down?" Claire asked clearly concerned for her play partner. Her question gaining the attention of both Blinky and AARRRGGHH!! as Toby took hold of his best friend's hand in reassurance.
"Don't worry Jimbo! I'm sure we'll be fine! We are together afterall!" Toby said in an attempt to reassure Jim, thinking that his best friend was concerned about their safety.
Jim simply just stared at all four of his friends for a couple of seconds before giving them a small smile and nod to assure them that he was fine. "Thanks Tobes…" was all he could muster before continuing to walk forward with everyone else.
Soon the familiar entry way to Trollmarket came into view, and it wouldn't be long after that they were standing at the entrance's mouth staring in awe at everything. At least Toby and Claire were in awe, Jim on the other hand took a deep breath allowing the warm glow of the Heartstone to envelop him like a blanket. Basking in the giant Crystal's ethereal light and warmth seemed to have instantly put him at ease, allowing Jim to calm his mind and just breathe for a moment before snapping back into reality by Blinky's announcement of their arrival.
"Welcome! To Heartstone Trollmarket!"