Mama skull was practicing their band. Claire was singing and playing the guitar. "We wanna be mean," she sang.
"We wanna be mean," Mary and Darci repeated.
"Because mean is the scene. If you know what we mean!"
They're singing wasn't that great. Claire stopped in the middle of rehearsal when she heard a voice in her head. "I am with you. You are mine."
She started getting dizzy and she soon passed out.
***
She woke up on the couch with Mary and Darci over her. "Claire, are you okay?" Mary asked. "What happened? You like, went to the twilight zone there."
"I uh, lost myself in the music," Claire said. "Sorry."
"Claire," Darci said. "Your nose."
Her nose was red and started bleeding. She wiped away the blood. "Maybe I should sit this one out."
"Maybe you should sit school out too," Mary said. "I mean, that's not normal."
"Yeah, you're right."
***
"Changelings call it 'Grave Sand'," Strickler explained as Nomura handed Jim a container. "Derived from the pulverized bones of the fallen GumGums, Grave Sand aids us changelings in shedding our human form and embracing our more trollish nature. In humans, the Grave Sand should hone our feral instincts."
Jim looked inside the container at the purple, sparkling sand and reached his hand inside. "It changes your nature," Strickler said. "Some of the changes are permanent."
"What do I do?"
Strickler blew the dust from Jim's hand and it blew into his face. It went up his nose and he started coughing. His eyes glowed yellow. "How do you feel?" Strickler asked.
"Angrier."
"Good," Strickler changed into his troll form. "Use that anger."
Jim's armor appeared on him and Nomura came up behind him in her troll form. The two changelings surrounded him. Jim's sword appeared in his hand and fought off both of them. Strickler threw a dagger at him and he caught it. He grabbed Strickler by the hand and threw him against a wall.
Blinky was leading a few trolls through the sewers when they heard the noise that was going on. He saw Jim pinning Nomura against the wall with his shield. "Great Gorkus!" Blinky said. "What is the meaning of this insanity?"
Jim let Nomura go. "What is she doing here?" Blinky asked as she and Strickler turned into their human forms. "And you!" He looked at Strickler. "I should've known. Gunmar takes Trollmarket, and of course, you slither out from under your rock."
"They're here to train me," Jim said. "Not lecture me. If I'm going to kill Gunmar, I need to fight like Gunmar."
"Master Jim," Blinky said. "Your eyes." He picked up the can of Grave Sand. "You gave him Grave Sand! That's not meant for humans!" he walked closer to Jim. "Master Jim, look at me. The very reason the amulet chose you is your humanity. And allowing your human instincts hasn't failed you yet."
Jim's eyes started changing back to normal. "I'm sorry," He said. "I lost myself."
"Jim is a good kid," Strickler said. "But a good kid can't kill Gunmar."
"Brutality and deceit won't suffice either!" Blinky said.
"Sometimes, deceit is the only option."
"Lies may work for you," Jim said. "But not me."
"You lie to your mother every day," Nomura said.
"I protect her to keep her out of this."
"We have a greater concern," Blinky said. "According to Aaarrrgghh's reconnaissance, Gunmar has left Trollmarket."
"He still chases the Eternal Night," Nomura said.
"Until we learn more, we must remain vigilant and use this time to prepare. The right way."
"Let me just go grab my stuff," Jim said, picking up his backpack.
"We must take every precaution in the event Gunmar strikes," Strickler said, holding up the can of Grave Sand.
***
Jim sliced a few tomatoes in his kitchen and made sandwiches with them. He put them each in bags and looked at the Grave Sand nearby. He picked it up. "Mom, I packed you a lunch!" he called.
"Down here, honey!"
Jim walked into the basement and saw Barbara painting another picture with cans of paint nearby. Jim looked around at all the other pictures she's painting. There was one of Blinky, Vendel purple trolls, and looked at the one Barbara was painting. "So, what do you think?" she asked. "I call it 'Goodbye, Walt'."
Jim looked at the painting of Strickler in his troll form. "You warned me he was bad news," Barbara said. "But I didn't listen. Then, he vanishes without a goodbye. What kind of man does that?" she pointed to the horns. "Hence the horns. They're symbolic."
"Wow, mom," Jim said. "Quite the imagination."
"Thank you, sweetie. First your father, and now him. I swear if I ever see Walt again—"
"On that note, I have to run."
***
"How can Claire still be sick?" Toby asked as they walked through the school hallway.
"It's one sick day, Tobes," Jim said. "Claire needs her rest."
Coach Lawrence walked out of a classroom. "Hey, Champ," he said to Steve. "Your mom has to work late. What do you say to pizza?"
"Dad—Coach," Steve said. "I told you not to talk to me at school."
"I know I'm not your father, but I'd like to be your friend. Come on, bring it in."
He wrapped his arm around Steve and Jim and Toby saw this. They saw them and Coach and Steve quickly separated. "Jumping jacks, now!" Coach Lawrence said. "Give me 20!"
Once Coach Lawrence was gone, Steve walked over to them. "You heard nothing, Lake," he said. "Got it?"
He pushed Jim to the ground and the Grave Sand fell out of his backpack. It rolled down the hallway and into the teacher's lounge. "Great," Jim said.
"The teacher's lounge," Toby said. "The educational no-fly zone."
"Just cover for me, okay?"
He went to the teacher's lounge. He saw Senor Uhl, Coach Lawrence, and Miss. Janeth. "Kids these days," Coach Lawrence said. "You try to open up to them, then they shut you down."
Jim saw the Grave Sand on the counter. "At least you get a reaction," Miss. Janeth said. "I became a teacher to make a difference. Now, I just make them fall asleep."
Jim hid under the table without being seen. "Quit grousing, Lenora," Senor Uhl said. "My students stole my truck and then tried to poison me with a Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito. Detention does nothing. No discipline, no respect."
Toby ran to the doorway. "Surprise teacher dance party!" he started dancing in the doorway. The teachers stared at him while Jim took the Grave sand from the counter. "This is a strict no-dancing zone, Domzalski," Senor Uhl said.
Once the teachers were looking in another direction, Jim ran out of the room. Coach Lawrence looked down and saw a container that looked like the container Jim picked up. He opened it and sniffed it. "Smells organic."
***
The students ran around the football field while Coach Lawrence watched them. He drank his coffee and his eyes glowed yellow. He felt angry for no reason. He grabbed a phone that one student held. "You want to text and run?" he asked. "Well, how about this status update?"
He threw the phone away from him, above the trees. He ran over to Eli, who was hunched down and tired from running. "That's your best?" Coach Lawrence asked.
"I'm doing the best I can, sir," Eli said.
"Let me ask you. How have you not been eaten by a hawk with those embryonic little legs? Run, little worm, run!"
Jim and Toby watched as Coach Lawrence continued this. "Who peed in his coffee?" Toby asked.
"Give him some slack, Coach," Steve said.
Coach Lawrence walked over to him. "Your father might've taken your lip, but you're playing on my field now. If it wasn't for your mother, I would have shipped you off to military school, son."
"You said you wouldn't say anything!"
"You think I like picking up pimple pads and pudding snacks? You're a disgrace, Palchuk!"
"I hate you. I hate you!"
He ran out of the football field and Jim turned to Toby. "Maybe there was something in his coffee."
They quickly went to the locker room and opened Jim's locker. Jim picked up the can of Grave Sand and sniffed it. "Oh, no."
"What did you do?" Toby asked.
"I must've grabbed the wrong can."
Steve and Eli went into the locker room. "It's okay, Steve," Eli said as Steve punched a locker.
"Coach might have made coffee with GumGum ashes," Jim whispered.
"He drank dead troll?" Toby asked.
Steve looked at Jim and Toby. "This is you, Lake, isn't it?"
"I'm sure Jim had a good reason," Eli said.
"It was a huge mistake," Jim told him. "He drank something that's making him act like a troll."
They heard Coach Lawrence and went to where the sound was coming from. They saw him digging through a bin of dodgeballs. "Teenagers," he said. "No discipline!" he popped one of the balls and Steve picked up Jim by the shirt. "Whatever you did, Lake, you better undo it, or I'm gonna undo your face!"
Jim dialed a number on his phone and Strickler picked up. "Young Atlas, it's fourth period. Shouldn't you be...dissecting a frog?"
"Strickler?" Steve asked.
"Hypothetical question," Jim said. "What if someone accidentally ate Grave Sand?"
"What?" Stricker said. "It's not meant to be consumed. That would amplify its effects tenfold."
"No need to be concerned," Jim said. "It was just Toby's cat."
Toby started making cat noises and hissing. Coach Lawrence heard it. "Tasty cat."
"So how do we help the cat?" Jim asked.
Eli ran over to them. "He's coming!"
"I recommend putting the cat down," Strickler said as the teenagers ran through the locker room. "It's the only merciful thing to do."
"What if that's not an option?" Jim asked. "What if the cat means a lot to Toby?"
"To bring him back, you need to break through his delusions and emotionally connect with him before his altered state becomes permanent. Now, how one emotionally connects with a feline is debatable."
Coach Lawrence was now behind them. "You're no cat!"
They ran out of the locker room and held the doors closed. Darci walked near them and waved. "Hey, TP!" she said. "Senor Uhl went totally loco. He made our entire class wash and wax his truck."
"Same with Miss. Janeth," Mary said. "She flipped a desk and started eating ou test papers. Like, literally ate them."
The bell rang and the two girls walked to class. "We have to get the students out of here," Eli said, looking through the window of the door. Steve pushed him out of the way and looked through the window. "Where did Coach go?"
"Calm down," Jim said. "I'll call Claire and portal the teachers to a safe place."
He dialed her number, but she didn't answer. "She's not picking up. Any other ideas?"
"I was saving this one for Arcadia Fitness Day," Toby said. "But..."
***
Senor Uhl was teaching his Spanish class, talking about tasty dead cats, when Toby's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. "Attention," he said. "El Guerito Taco Truck is parked outside. Free tacos for everybody as long as they last!"
The students ran out of the room, past Strickler. He walked down the hallway to see Miss. Janeth digging through a trash can. "Miss. Janeth?"
She looked at him with a sock in her mouth and her eyes glowing yellow. "Strickler," she said. "You're back."
"I have a feeling Mr. Lake wasn't entirely honest with me," Strickler said. Senor Uhl came up from behind him and knocked him out.
***
The students gathered outside. Toby shut the gates to the school so they couldn't get in. Darci ran to the gate. "Toby, what are you doing?"
Toby and Eli ran into the school, where Jim and Steve were still holding the door to the locker room shut. "Alright," Jim said. "The kids are gone. That leaves the teachers."
"We better hurry before they get stuck in beast mode forever," Steve said.
They heard Strickler's voice over the loudspeaker. "You've been a bad student, Young Atlas. When students disobey, it falls upon their teachers to dole out punishments."
"Sounds like he got a caffeine fix," Toby said.
"I'll take Strickler," Jim said. "Steve, you handle Coach Lawrence."
"I'm on it!" Steve ran down the hallway.
"Eli, you got Miss. Janeth."
"Yes!"
"Toby, Uhl."
"Emotionally connect with Senor Uhl?" Toby asked as Jim ran down the hallway. "He doesn't have emotions!"
***
Eli walked into the theater. "Miss. Janeth?" he called. He turned on his flashlight and looked around. "Sounds like you could use a pep talk from your favorite student?"
The spotlight turned on and he could hear Miss. Janeth. "So wise, so young. They say they do never live long."
She started dropping lights on him from above and jumped down. "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child."
***
Toby walked into Senor Uhl's classroom. "Senor Uhl?" he called. "Hola, Senor Uhl?"
He saw him by the window, talking in Spanish. "Sounding pretty, senor," Toby said. "So, how does an Austrian dude become a Spanish teacher? I bet it's a beautiful story."
Senor Uhl looked at him with his glowing yellow eyes.
"Or maybe it's not. Maybe it's personal. Probably personal. We don't have to talk about it."
Senor Uhl did a cartwheel over to him and Toby got out of the way. "Who knew you were so flexible?"
***
Steve walked into the gym to see Coach Lawrence on the rope, whistling his whistle. "Coach," Steve said. "Wanna talk?"
Coach Lawrence got down from the rope, still whistling and looked at Steve with his glowing, yellow eyes. "You sure seem to like that whistle," Steve said. "Maybe you can take it out so we can talk like men."
Coach Lawrence swallowed the whistle whole and pulled the rope from the ceiling, swinging it around like a lasso. "So, that's the way you wanna play it?" Steve said. "Let's dance!"
***
Jim ran through the school, hearing Strickler again. "How do you think this is going to end? This is the real world. In a war against Gunmar, there are no happy endings."
Jim looked up to see Strickler on the roof. Jim's armor appeared on him. "I want to teach you," Strickler continued. "Help you, but you're so blind to the truth."
"What truth?" Jim asked.
"You can't walk away from a fight with Gunmar."
"This isn't you. It's the Grave Sand talking."
"No, I thought I could burn the weakness out of you, but the weakness is you! And the world will rot."
"No, it won't."
"Then, kill me, or I shall kill you, ending this charade once and for all!"
***
Eli picked up a wooden sword as the lights began flickering. Miss. Janeth picked him up. "These violent delights have violent ends."
"My bounty is as boundless as the sea," Eli said. "My love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for those are infinite. You're an amazing teacher, Miss. J. I don't want to have to slay you. A student should never have to slay their favorite teacher."
Miss. Janeth's eyes started changing back to normal. "I am your favorite teacher?"
She dropped him and he caught her before she fell to the ground. "Eli?" she asked. "Why are you dipping me in the theater?"
"Because all the world's a stage."
***
Toby ran through Senor Uhl's classroom and picked up a chair, putting it in front of him. "Come on, you big Austrian teddy bear. We must have something in common! Tacos, burrito, especial number 32! That's all the Spanish I know! Wait, we both ate that super spicy burrito, remember?"
"El Diablo Maximus." Senor Uhl held his head.
"Hey, I love Moral Weapon. That stars an Austrian muscle guy. Or Moral Weapon Two."
Senor Uhl pushed him against the wall as Eli ran into the room. "Toby, I saved Miss. Janeth!"
"Good for you," Toby said. "Now save me!"
Eli jumped on top of Senor Uhl. "This was a mistake."
Toby grabbed Senor Uhl by the arm. "Think of your wife, your children. Do you have either of those?"
"His truck!" Eli said. "He loves his truck!"
"It has a name, right? Something with an S? Sally? Samanda?"
"Sabena? Shirley? Susan?"
"Su..." Senor Uhl mumbled.
"Susannah!" Toby said. "That's it! Think of Susannah, senor. Think of Susannah's glorious white paint. Her nearly flawless bumper. Only a few dings. They're dimples. She's smiling at you. You love that truck, don't you?"
Senor Uhl's eyes changed back to normal and he looked around. "Toby?"
***
Coach Lawrence continued swinging the rope around. "Time to whip you into shape."
Steve ran around the gym, avoiding being hit by the rope. "You gotta talk to me," he said. "No way I'm bringing you home to mom like this."
"I'm not going home. Give me cats!"
"No, you like dogs. And I know what else you have a soft spot for. I meant what I said this morning. You're not my father. My real dad's never around and can be a real buttsnack. But you are—I mean, you're not a buttsnack. You're the dude who sticks around, which makes you cooler than my dad. You may not be my father, Coach Lawrence, but you are my friend. You can't resist the love, coach. We're gonna...we're gonna hug it out."
Coach Lawrence's eyes changed back to normal. "Steve?" he hugged him. "Bring it in."
***
Strickler was now in his troll form and he threw daggers at Jim. "If you don't believe in me," Jim said. "Then why train me?"
"I didn't return to train you. I returned to protect her."
Jim pushed him against the lockers and put his sword to him. "So, you do have it in you," Strickler said. "Go on. Finish the fight."
"No, you want to live. You want to help me."
"I want nothing."
"That's not true. You want...you want to protect my mom. You care for Barbara. Remember how happy she made you feel."
"She doesn't even remember me."
"She does. She still cares for you." His armor disappeared.
"She still cares for me?"
"She loves you."
"Loves...me?"
He fell to the ground and changed into his human form. His eyes were back to normal. "The grave Sand," he said. "How did you—"
"Let's just say, I said what I had to say."
Toby, Eli, and Steve ran over to them. "So, there's a couple of teachers waiting for an explanation," Steve said. "And we don't know what to say. Anyone?"
"It's okay," Strickler said. "I'll have a word with them. You've proven yourself today, Young Atlas. There is hope for you yet."
"Yeah," Jim said. "Sure."
"Wait until Claire hears about this," Toby said.
"I have a feeling she's happy to have slept through this one."
***
Gunmar stood in front of the large cave. "Pale Lady," he said. "I have come."
"You seek magic," Morgana said. "But what makes you worthy?"
"We seek the same thing. The Eternal Night."
The cave lit up, showing a woman with golden armor. "Then, we shall show you the way."
"We?"
"My child and my champion."
Claire stood near her, holding Angor Rot's head. She threw his head to Gunmar and he picked it up. "Angor Rot."
"He will rise again. Together you will free me,and we shall bring the Night Eternal."