Jim rode his bike quickly. He zoomed down the street until he reached the dentist's office. "Don't go in there," the receptionist said. "He's with a patient."
Jim didn't listen and went inside the room anyway. Toby was there, laying in the chair again. "Tobes!" he said. Toby said something, but it was muffled, since he had a finger in his mouth. "Tobes!" Jim said, going over to him. "Tobes, Tobes, Tobes, Tobes! I have got to talk to you."
Toby's words were muffled. "What?" Jim asked.
"He said he's a little busy right now," the dentist told him.
"Okay," Jim said. "Remember that thing we found the other day? In the canals. The thing with the gem and stuff? It works! It works like crazy!"
Toby spoke more muffled words. "What?" Jim asked.
"He said, 'can't this wait, man?'." The dentist said.
"I've already waited until morning!" Jim said. "Who goes to the dentist two days in a row?"
More muffled words.
"' I want to get these braces off before I'm 30'."
More muffled words.
"' It's like my mouth Is a city engineering project'."
"How much longer is this going to take?" Jim asked.
***
"Eight hours!" Jim said. "I can't believe it takes eight hours."
They were now standing in Jim's kitchen. Toby was feeling around his braces. "Two molars," he said. "Plus, insertions, and some cleanup."
The kitchen consists of a white L-shaped counter, complete with cabinet doors in the inside walls. The edges of the counter tops are covered in teal tiles and the surface is composed of simple white tiles. In the end if the shortest section of the counter is a two door white fridge, decorated with a few magnets and notes, holding some dishes in top of it. To the left of the fridge is a stainless steel sink, surrounded by two soap dispensers da info the window, overlooking the sink. Atop the longer section of the counter is a wooden cutting board next to a red blender. At the very end of the counter too if a wood knife block, holding multiple black handles knives. The middle section of the counter is separated by a steel gray and black stone, situated above a glass door oven. Next to the oven is a white microwave set in the counters surface, as well as two wooden shelves above the microwave holding jars of spices and salt. The kitchens door consists of wooden floorboards, just like the rest is the house. But the main kitchen compartment sigh the cabinets and sink is surrounded by a grey diamond-tiled kitchen rug.
"Okay, Tobes," Jim said. "You are never going to believe this."
"My mouth still feels a little sore."
Jim got the amulet from his backpack. Toby started looking through the freezer. "Check this out," Jim said. He turned to Toby, holding the amulet out.
"Do you have any aspirin?" Toby asked.
"Tobes, pay attention," Jim told him. He held the amulet out. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to-"
He got interrupted by the microwave dinging. Toby opened it and pulled out a slice of pizza. "Go on," he said.
"It worked last night," Jim said.
"Are you punking me right now?" Toby asked.
"Okay," Jim said. "Wait, wait."
He held it out again and the same light and mist came out of it, the armor appearing on him again. "Holy champignon!" the pizza that was in Toby's hand floated into the air.
"How cool is that?" Jim asked. Toby stood there, breathless.
"Oh my gosh!" he said. He looked around the suit of armor. "So cool, so cool, so cool!" He looked up at him. "Dude, you know what this means, right? You have a sacred responsibility here."
"That's what they said!" Jim told him.
"Oh my gosh," Toby said. "You have to use these new powers for the benefit of all mankind. You have to use this to kick Steve's butt!"
"Really?" Jim asked. "I show you a glowing sword and a suit of armor that can only be magic and that's how you respond?"
"Seriously!" Toby said. "It's butt-kicking time!"
Toby did fight moves. "Wait, also, who's they?"
"That's the part I've been freaking out over!"
Someone knocked at the back door and Blinky could be seen in the window. Toby gasped. "What, what, what the heck is that?" he asked. "Don't open the door!"
Blinky barged in. "Master Jim!" he smiled.
Toby screamed. "I'm calling 911."
He hid behind Jim as Aaarrrgghh tried getting through the door, but he was too big to fit. "No, animal control!" Toby said, hiding behind the counter.
"I knew it was but a matter of time before the amulet called to us," Blinky said.
"Called to you?" Jim asked.
"Actually, no. We've been spying on you."
"Spy on you," Aaarrrgghh said, still trying to get through the doorway.
"Well, keeping a close watch," Blinky said.
Aaarrrgghh managed to get through the door. "Door small," he said.
Toby dialed a number on his phone. "Animal control," A woman said over the phone.
"Monsters! At my best friend's house!" Toby said. "I need you to send a squad."
"Is this a joke, kid?"
"Make that the national Guard!"
The woman hung up.
Animal control hung up on me."
"You told your stout little friend about us?" Blinky asked.
"Is that a problem?" Jim asked. "Master Jim," Blinky said.
"We trolls have gone to great lengths to keep our existence a secret from your kind, lest there be panic."
Aaarrrgghh picked Toby up and set him on the counter. Toby screamed and grabbed a ladle. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh..."
"Like that," Blinky said.
Jim stepped closer to Toby. "It's all right, Tobes," he said.
"They're like nine feet tall," Toby said.
Jim turned to Blinky and Aaarrrgghh. "This is my best friend, Toby D."
Toby pointed the ladle at the trolls. "He has like 800 eyes. We're going to die."
"Hardly," Blinky said. "Your friend is the Trollhunter. His noble obligation is protective."
"Like protecting?" Toby calmed down. "You mean like a superhero? Can I be his sidekick? With like a cool superhero name like Deathblade or Sinpersnake?"
"Just wait," Jim said. "Who would I be protecting?"
"Us," Aaarrrgghh said.
"And mankind from bad trolls." Blinky said. "As well as goblins, gruesomes, and the occasional rogue gnome."
Toby was hitting Blinky's stone skin with the ladle. "Do you mind?" Blinky asked.
Toby set the ladle down.
Blinky turned back to Jim. "The mantle of Trollhunter is a sacred responsibility. One which has never been passed to a human before. This is a momentous occasion." Blinky smiled at him.
A car horn honked from outside. "It's my mother!" Jim said. "Upstairs, quick!"
He rushed Toby and the trolls up the stairs. He followed them into the bathroom right as Barbara walked in. She set her keys down and heard a loud thud from up the stairs. "Jim?" she called. "It's me."
"She's not supposed to be home until midnight," Jim said.
Aaarrrgghh sniffed Toby's hair. "You smell like cat," he said.
"My nana has a Siamese," Toby told him.
"Tasty," Aaarrrgghh smiled.
"I forgot my phone," Barbara said from outside the door. "Are you okay in there?"
"Fine," he said. "I mean, my stomach's a little, uh..."
Toby stuffed a plunger into the toilet, making fart noises. Jim kept motioning him to stop. "You know, I might have a food poisoning situation," Jim said.
"Honey, I'll get you some medicine, okay?"
She walked away from the door and the amulet on his chest started glowing. "Okay, what's this going on here?" Jim asked.
"The amulet reacts to your emotional state," Blinky said. "You appear to be in some distress."
Toby flicked the lights on and off to see the amulet glowing in the dark. He kept flicking the lights.
"You think?" Jim asked.
"I have another question," Toby said. He stopped flicking the lights on and off and Aaarrrgghh replaced him, flicking the lights on and off.
"Speak Theodore," Blinky said.
"It's Toby, actually. Or Tobias." Toby told him. "If Jim's the first human Trollhunter, like you said," Toby pushed Aaarrrgghh's hand out of the way, leaving the lights off, their only source of light being Jim's amulet. "Then who or what was the Trollhunter before him?" Toby asked.
"The glorious mantle has been passed down from troll to troll for hundreds of years," Blinky said.
"So, the previous Trollhunter," Jim said. "What? Retired?"
"Was felled," Aaarrrgghh said.
"Felled?" Jim asked.
"Means killed."
"Turned to stone and smashed," Blinky said. Jim looked at them with a horrified look on his face. "Kanjigar the Courageous was his name," Blinky said. "Brutally slain by a ruthless troll named Bular."
Toby put a hand on Jim's armored shoulder. "Don't worry, dude," he said, turning the lights on. "This Bular guy probably just got lucky."
"The evidence does not suggest that," Blinky told them. "Bular is a formidable opponent."
"Then the other guy," Jim said. "He was just off his game or something, right?"
"Doubtful. Kanjigar was perhaps the most alert and able of all the Trollhunters."
"But not the best, I'm betting."
"Oh, the very best. Many songs and sagas have been written about him."
"I think what my friend here is a little worried about is," Toby said. "If this-"
"Bular," Aaarrrgghh said.
"Yeah," Toby said. "I got it. If Bular could defeat Kanjigar-"
"Smash to pieces," Aaarrrgghh said.
Jim sat down on the ground. "What's going to happen to Jim?" Toby asked.
"A most appropriate, if troubling, query, Tom," Blinky said. "Tobias," He quickly corrected himself. "Of course, we would never expect Master Jim to engage in battle without the proper training, not at all."
Toby lifted Jim up off the floor. "See?" He said. "Nothing to worry about. How long does the training normally take?"
Blinky counted on all 20 of his fingers. "Decades," he said.
"And..." Jim said, "How long do I have?"
"A day or two."
Barbara knocked on the door. "Jim," she said. "I have medicine and ginger ale. Come on out."
"I'm fine," Jim said. "Really."
"I'm a doctor," she said. "I'm going to treat my own son."
"I just need a little privacy."
"You're worrying me."
A blue light came from inside the bathroom. "I'm coming in," she said, reaching for the doorknob. Jim opened the door, his armor gone. "See?" He said. "All good."
He walked away and Barbara looked around the empty bathroom. Toby, Blinky, and Aaarrrgghh were hiding behind the shower curtain. Aaarrrgghh was sniffing Toby's hair. "Stop sniffing me, giant troll dude," Toby said.
"Smell like cat," Aaarrrgghh said.
Barbara's car drove away, and Jim and Toby looked out the window to make sure she was gone. Aaarrrgghh was trying to make his way around the small house, accidentally knocking a few things over. "Your cave too small," he said.
Jim started picking up the books that fell. "So, Master Jim," Blinky said. "Are you ready? We should begin your training immediately."
"It's a school night," Jim said.
"I assure you, the relevance escapes me," Blinky said.
"I'm 15," Jim told him. "I have to stay home and uh study and stuff. Do homework?"
Toby picked up a VHS tape. Aaarrrgghh sniffed it and opened his mouth. Toby tossed it in and Aaarrrgghh ate it.
"I can't be out, you know, Trollhunting," Jim continued.
"Because?" Blinky asked.
"The whole 'getting killed by a vicious troll named Bular' might be a deal-breaker."
"Dude," Toby said. "He eats VHS's!"
"Deal breaker?" Blinky asked.
"I don't want to die," Jim told him.
Blinky laughed. "Goodness gracious!" He said. "Who does?"
Jim took the amulet out of his pocket and handed it to him. "Maybe you should take this back."
Blinky pushed it back to him. "The amulet called to you, Master Jim," he said. "It chose you. It is your-"
"Please, don't say 'destiny'."
"Sacred obligation."
"Or that..."
"You can not refuse it. You can not give it back. It is yours until you die."
"And I would like to get a little further past puberty before that happens."
"Master Jim, you are now responsible for the protection of two worlds, human and troll alike. If you do not keep the balance, evil trolls like Bular will come into yours and wreak havoc."
"You're saying this Bular could hurt people?"
"Like you," Aaarrrgghh pointed at Jim.
Blinky turned to him. "Not helping!"
"What's he talking about?" Jim asked.
"With the amulet now in your possession, Bular will seek you out, and you will face him, one way or another."
Toby walked over to them. "Maybe what Jim needs is a little time to process all of this," he said. "You know, you laid a lot of heavy stuff on him tonight."
"Fine, fine," Blinky said, "We shall return tomorrow then, to begin your training."
"Awesome sauce." Toby did a thumbs up.
He pushed the back door open and handed Aaarrrgghh a VHS tape. "For the road, big guy," he said.
Blinky turned to Jim, who was leaning against the wall, looking at the amulet. He went over to him. "Master Jim, if I may," he said. "Destiny is a git. Some go their entire lives living in an existence of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon their shoulders is actually a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor. That to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don't think, Master Jim. Become. Would you at least consider?"
Jim fist-bumped all four of Blinky's hands. Aaarrrgghh climbed over the fence. Blinky waved to Jim and Toby before Aaarrrgghh pulled him over.
"They're pretty stealthy," Toby said. "How's that? I bought you a night."
"A night?"
"Dude," Toby said. "You're the one always talking about wanting adventure and something more. Well, wish granted." He started walking inside. "So, trolls are a thing. Who knew?"
***
"So, what did you decide?" Toby asked Jim at school the next day.
"That if anyone finds out what happened in my kitchen last night," Jim said. "We'll both be committed."
"I meant about kicking Steve's butt."
"Give up the dream, Tobes."
The amulet dinged from inside Jim's backpack. Toby opened it up to see it glowing. "Does this thing run on batteries?" he asked. "What's it doing?"
"How should I know?" Jim asked. "It didn't come with a manual."
"Does it feel like you're going to, you know, change?"
"Oh no,"
"We gotta get you someplace that not out here!"
Toby pushed him into the locker room. Strickler saw them go in and walked inside.
Once in the locker room, Jim got the armor on him. "Okay," he said. "Why did it do that?"
"Jim?" Strickler called. "Are you in here?"
Jim hid by the lockers. "Keep him out of here," he said.
"How?" Toby asked.
"Just go!"
"Fine!"
He walked over to Strickler. "Oh!" Toby said. "Hey, Mr. Strickler!"
"Toby," he said. "Have you seen Jim? I believe he came in here."
"Yeah," Toby said. "He's um...having some issues, you know?"
Strickler walked past him.
"Taco Tuesday. Vicious."
Strickler walked over to where Jim was and saw him in his armor.
"I think he could probably use some time alone!" Toby ran over to where they were.
"Jim," Strickler said. "I don't believe that's appropriate school attire. Do you?"
"Oh, yeah," Jim said. "This...funny story about this. It's..."
He looked around the room and saw a poster for Romeo and Juliet. "For Romeo and Juliet," he said.
"Yeah," Toby said. "It's for tryouts."
"Yes!" Jim said. "The tryouts for Romeo and Juliet."
"Jim's going to totally smoke those auditions. I mean, look at his costume. It's so realistic."
"What happened to the chess club?" Strickler questioned.
"Oh uh, I'm doing that too, apparently."
"Hm, well, you better hurry then. I believe auditions end in five minutes."
***
"Give me my Romeo," Claire said from onstage. "And when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all of the world will be in love with night."
The audience clapped. "It would have been easier to tell him that I'm a Trollhunter," Jim told Toby from backstage. "I don't even know the play."
"Thank you, Miss. Nunez," the drama teacher, Miss. Janeth, said.
Miss. Janeth had curly, black hair and wore a dark purple turtleneck and purple glasses.
Claire bowed and went backstage. She found Jim and went over to him. "John?"
"Jim," he said.
"And here, I thought you didn't like Shakespeare."
"Oh no, he's my favorite," Jim said. "I totally love him."
"That costume is incredible. Did you make it?"
"No," Toby said. "He found a magical amulet that makes it."
Claire laughed. "You're funny." She said.
"Yeah, you're a real comedian, aren't you?" Jim said.
"Next," Miss. Janeth called.
"I think that's your cue," Claire said. "Break a leg."
"I'd prefer that..." Jim mumbled as he went onstage.
"Who are you?" the teacher asked.
"James Lake Junior," he said.
"And what are you trying out for?"
"Romeo."
"Well," she said, "We're all ears."
He looked over at Claire. She gave him a smile and he smiled back. He took a deep breath.
"Destiny," he said. "Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives living in an existence of quiet desperation, never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden being pushed down upon our shoulders is actually a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor. That to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to become a hero. Don't think." He took out his sword and swung it around. He pointed it towards the audience. "Become."
The audience erupted in applause. "Thank you," he said.
Claire stood up and walked over to the stage. "Jim," she said. "That was remarkable."
"Really?" he asked. "I didn't even think. I just sort of said it."
She giggled. "That's acting."
***
"Dude, that was amazing!" Toby said as they biked home after tryouts, the sun setting behind them. "You were amazing! I'm amazed at how amazing you were!"
"I can't believe that just happened," Jim said.
"And did you see how that Chiquita was looking at you? Your armor totally did you a favor!"
"I'm still getting the hang of it."
"The multi-eyed guy said it reacts to your emotional state. The armor turns on when you're in distress."
"But I wasn't in distress back at school."
They turned the corner and saw a large troll ahead of them.
"But I am now," Jim said.
Bular growled. "Trollhunter," he said. "Merlin's creation. Gunmar's bane."
"I think he's talking to you," Toby said.
Bular got closer to the end of the shadow that a nearby building was casting. He stuck his hand into the sun, burning him. He quickly pulled his hand back. "Look," Jim said. "He's afraid of the sun."
"Not for long!" Toby pointed at the already setting sun.
"The amulet!" Bular said. "Surrender it and I will give you a speedy death."
"Doesn't know how to negotiate, this guy."
They both sped off on their bikes, Bular chasing them. They hid behind a large truck. Jim had the amulet in his hands. "Armor up, armor up!" Toby said. "Please, now! Faster!"
"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command," Jim said. Nothing happened. "It's not working!"
Bular was looking for them, car after car. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command," Jim said again. "Seriously, it's mine to command. I'm commanding here!"
Bular lifted the truck they were hiding behind. "Centuries of Trollhunters," he said. "And I will have killed two in almost as many days."
"He's good at math!" Toby said. They both sped off on their bikes and Bular threw the truck at them. "Flying truck!" Jim yelled. They pedaled faster. They turned a corner right when the truck hit the ground. Bular threw another truck. He ran towards them. "I'll flay the flesh from your bones!" He yelled.
"I like my bones the way they are, thanks," Toby said.
Bular landed in front of them and swung his hand at them. They dodged and biked as fast as they could. Bular started chasing them again. "Head down Delancey!" Jim said.
They turned another corner. "Behind Stuart Electronics!"
"You know I can't fit there!" Toby said.
"You can fit!"
"I can't!"
"You've been on a diet, remember?"
Jim squeezed through the gap between one building and another. Toby was struggling to get through. "I can't fit. I can't fit." He said. He started pedaling faster. "I can fit. I can fit! I can fit! I'm fitting!" He got through the small gap. "Yay, diet!"
They biked over the bridge, losing sight of Bular. "Catch...my breath..." Toby said. "Look at me. We're not dead, right?"
They heard Blinky laughing nearby. They saw him and Aaarrrgghh coming out from behind some trees. "Master Jim!" Blinky smiled and waved.
"Bular is trying to kill us!" Jim said. "He chased us all over town!"
"And you're still alive!" Blinky said. "I knew you had potential, Master Jim."
"You have a sweet voice," Toby said. "But you bring death with you!"
"You guys can fight him, right?" Jim asked.
Both trolls started laughing. "I could not hope to possess the skill to defeat Bular," Blinky said.
"What about him?" Jim pointed to Aaarrrgghh. "He's big."
"Pacifist," Aaarrrgghh said.
"Seriously?" Jim asked.
"Man, such a waste of a hulking brute," Toby said.
"Thank you," Aaarrrgghh said.
"This is why there is a Trollhunter, Master Jim," Blinky said. "Aaarrrgghh renounced a violent path ages ago."
Bular ran around a corner and the four ran off. "Follow me!" Blinky said, "We'll be safe in Heartstone Trollmarket!"
They ran past Eli's bedroom window. He looked up at them. Bular was still chasing them. Eli ran to his window. "Yes!" He said. "I knew it!"
Bular knocked down streetlamps. Toby tripped over one on his bike and Aaarrrgghh caught him. He put Toby on his back. Bular ran after them getting his foot caught in Toby's bike. He kicked it away as they kept running. "Master Jim!" Blinky said. "Don your armor!"
"I've been trying!" Jim said. "The amulet won't listen to me!"
"Did you speak the incantation?"
"I've been incanting the crap out of it, and it's not working!"
"Just focus and incant, dude!" Toby said.
Jim stopped at the canal, while the other three jumped down. Jim took the amulet out of his pocket as Bular got closer. "for the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command," he said.
Bular got even closer.
"for the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command."
Bular got even closer.
"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command."
He closed his eyes and the armor formed on him just seconds before Bular punched him in the chest, knocking them both backward. Jim landed near the bridge above the canal with his sword in his hand. Bular growled at him. "Uh..." Jim said. "Nope."
He ran towards Jim and their troll friends. Bular was chasing him again. He landed in front of him. "Use your sword, Master Jim!" Blinky called.
"I'll drink your blood out of a goblet made of your skull!" Bular said.
"Cut him like a meatloaf, Jim!" Toby told him.
Jim pointed his sword at Bular and Bular ran towards him.
"We must work quickly," Blinky said. He looked at Aaarrrgghh. "Open the portal!"
Blinky opened his satchel and tossed Aaarrrgghh a glowing, orange stone. "The horngazel!"
Aaarrrgghh used the Horngazel to make a semi-circle on the side of the bridge. He punched the middle, revealing a doorway.
"Master Jim!" Blinky called. "Master Jim, come on!"
"I'm a little busy here," Jim said.
He swung his sword at Bular. Bular pulled out two swords. "You are not fit to wield the amulet," He said. "I'll tear the armor off you! Along with your skin!"
He threw a sword at Jim, which he dodged. Bular knocked Jim's sword out of his hand. Jim ran towards Toby and his troll friends. "Come on, come on!" Toby called. "Let's go, Jim!"
The doorway closed right before Jim managed to get inside. The armor slowly disappeared. The amulet fell from his chest and Bular threw another sword at him. The doorway opened again, and Jim got pulled through. The doorway closed again right before Bular was able to get through it. He hit the bridge a few times in frustration.
Jim fell through the doorway. "He nearly..." he said. "We nearly...he almost..."
"Almost what?" Blinky asked. "Speak, Master Jim!"
"He almost killed us!" Jim yelled.
"Almost!" Blinky smiled. "A very important word. A life of almost is a life of never."
"Why did the armor suddenly shut off?"
"Master Jim, you are the first human to possess an amulet crafted for trolls. It's to be expected its' behavior will be...unexpected."
Blinky started walking down some blue, glowing steps that magically appeared with each step he took. "This way, Masters. This way."
They all walked down the stairs. "Are you sure we're safe in here?" Toby asked.
"Indeed," Blinky said. "The incantation forbids entry to Heartstone Trollmarket by GumGums, such as Bular, for they are the most fearsome of trolls."
"GumGums?" Jim asked.
"Scary ones," Aaarrrgghh said.
"Okay, wait, wait. So, Bular can't get in here, right? Into Heartstone Trollmarket?"
"No, Master Jim."
They walked through the cave and saw many houses and glowing lights, trolls walking around, doing their everyday thing.
"This is the world you are bound to protect," Blinky said. "This is Heartstone Trollmarket!"