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Tanis had always known her sister would curse her eventually, but even this was a little much. She didn't even deserve it this time! Well, kinda. How was SHE supposed to know that (accidentally) letting a goblin into her sister's room would end up with everything Urada owned either stolen, shredded, or on fire? Anyway, her sister had used dark magic to banish Tanis to a place dragons called The Abyss. (also known as The Void, The Shadow Realm, or The Chaos Realm) By now Tanis was certain that she was dying of thirst and hunger in this gods-forsaken wasteland. She was becoming desperate. She sighed and marked the large, floating rock she was on with her tail blade, even though she knew it was useless marking the number of days she'd been here. Time was funny here, and she was losing count. But she knew she'd been here for... 3 months? 5 months? Nighthunters drew power from the Full Moons. When there was a full moon, then their instinct, strength, and magic got stronger. Especially when it was a special moon, like a Blue Moon or a Supermoon. Tanis reached out with her Nighthunter senses. She knew it was a full moon... but she was getting something else... a Lunar Eclipse! Tanis pumped her wings and did a small flip in the air. She had weak magic, even when she wasn't dying. She only knew 3 spells, and 2 were mainly for her Dramatic Theater, the other one she was only powerful enough to do on a Special Moon. And with this moon, in particular, she had... A complicated relationship. However you might define that. But after... After a thing that happens, her magic is unstable, but very strong. The spell, in particular, might be her only ticket out. "Script". It was a part of her theater magic that let her send telepathic messages to other beings in the Real World, or Earth or whatever. That could work to her advantage. She could send a distress signal to someone, and pray they got the message. She traced the rune that was required for this spell in the air with a claw, and an indigo light followed it. She said the incantation in DragonTongue, as one does when performing Dragon Magic. DragonTongue was a language, that, as suggested by the name, was spoken by all Draconic creatures. It was partially growls and noises, partially gestures and tail movements, and partially Old Norse. "Nyalcatha." She hissed. An enormous web of thoughts exploded in her head. Usually, she only heard 1 or 2 people, a small group at most. But now it seemed as though an entire CITY was in her head-- 
If that idiotic cretin makes ONE MORE SOUND--
 
What the hell is wrong with this ridiculous troll? 7 pairs are more than enough--
 
Enrique's crying again. I hope he's okay--
 
If this amulet doesn't talk again, it's going on eBay--
 There! Something about that last voice was different than the rest. It stood out somehow, and Tanis wasn't sure why. She blocked off the rest of the voices and zeroed in on this boy's thoughts. He was thinking about an amulet, a trollish one when she saw a glimpse of it through his thoughts. Wait. She recognized this amulet. The Amulet of Daylight, and the symbol of the Trollhunter. She pawed the boulder she was on nervously. Is this HUMAN the Trollhunter? She thought. She listened in, zeroing in on what happened next. 2 trolls had broken broke into his house, and we're telling him what the amulet was and what it meant. His reaction was hilarious. Jim. His name was Jim. What a stupid and uncreative name. She snorted. Tanis began to panic as his heart rate spiked. "Oh, SHIT--" She yelped, her loud voice jarring and unwelcome in the eerie silence of The Abyss. Suddenly the boy fell. Jim had fainted! She began to panic more. "No! I need to know what happens! Come back!" She cried out. Her Mind-seeing rune blazed on her forehead, and lightning-like swirls of magic enveloped her right forepaw, flowing along her arm, and deactivating all nerve connection wherever the unnatural magic touched. By now the magic had numbed everything under her collarbones and was enveloping those areas even now. She let out a final cry of fear, panic, and pain as the magic enveloped her head and swept her into the boy's mind._____________________________________________________________ Oorgh. Everything hurts. Jim sat up, stretching. Then he remembered. Trolls. Amulet. Being the Trollhunter. Fainting. The fainting was the embarrassing part. Jim checked his head for any injuries and didn't feel any, so he stood up, and when he did, he heard a voice in his head. It sounded fierce, scared, and feminine. AAAAAACK WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS IS HAPPENING WHY AM I IN YOUR HEAD HOW AM I IN YOUR HEAD!? The voice demanded. Was this something that happened to all "Trollhunters"? Getting a pushy, scared voice in your head belonging to the opposite gender? That kind of sounded like Adora from She-Ra? 
Hey! I am NOT pushy! I'm just really freaking out. And why the hell do you know that show?
 The voice seemed to calm down a little bit. Who are you? Jim asked. In response to that, the voice made a peculiar sound, and then Jim was greeted by a strong wave of thoughts, feelings, memories, and emotions. For a spare moment in time, he WAS her. He saw her entire life, from her point of view. He saw that she was a dragon. Her name was Tanis. More specifically, she was a Nighthunter, a catlike species of dragons as large as lions, with wings that had undersides that resembled a night sky, retractable claws, and retractable knifelike tail blades made of an interesting blend of bone and steel, strong enough to cut diamonds. Jim also saw her murderous younger sister, with her unnatural magic abilities acquired by Blood Magic, banishing Tanis to The Abyss, a dark, outer space-like wasteland with, apparently, floating large rocks and debris. Then he saw her abilities and her passions for Art, Theater, Zoology (And Magizoology), Writing, and Music. He saw what she was capable of, what she wasn't capable of. He felt her probe his memories, and he assumed she got the same treatment. You know, just a name would have sufficed. Jim said, glaring at a mirror. Just his reflection stared back, but for a split second, he thought he saw his left eye glow the color of fire, pupils turning into reptilian slits. Jim shivered, and both his eyes returned to normal. How long are you going to be here, exactly? Jim asked Tanis worriedly. 
Uh. Forever, I think. Or until someone figures out how to separate us without, oh I don't know, shattering my soul, snuffing me out of existence?
 Crap. You have to keep me a secret, though! You never know how people may react to us, and besides, if anyone is telling ANYONE about me, it's me. I just love dramatic introductions. Tanis said, grinning in Jim's head. You're stuck in my head, and dramatic introductions are your biggest priority? Jim said with his left eyebrow raised. Then he stopped himself. Tanis had been stuck in what basically sounded like an interdimensional trash can, cursed, reduced to a spirit, and is now forced to share a body with him. She was more than allowed to be in shock. And she was responding to shock by focusing on something she understood: Theater. Speaking of which, she may be able to help him with the play, since he knew literally nothing about Theater himself. But he still needed to tell someone about the "Trolls" situation. He began to speed-dial his best friend, Toby. What did I LITERALLY just say!? Tanis yelled quietly, just loud enough to make a point. "I'm not going to tell him about you... just the trolls and stuff." Tanis thought for a moment, then nodded. (Which was odd, since he couldn't actually see her.) When Toby didn't pick up, Jim began to think. He would tell him about the trolls later, and would tell him about Tanis too. But only when she was ready.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jim was biking as fast as he possibly could to Toby's dentist's office. Seriously, by all the gods. Who goes to the dentist's office 2 days in a row!? Tanis protested. Honestly, Jim was thinking the same thing, as Tanis knew already, as she was stuck in his head.  He practically tossed the bike onto the rack, and jogged in. "Don't go in there, he's with a patient--" The woman at the front desk said as she tried (and failed) to stop him from coming in. Jim walked in on Toby's dentist doing his procedure on him, his lip pulled by one of the dentist's fingers. Tanis couldn't help but notice that the dentist wasn't even wearing gloves.  "Tobes! Tobes, Tobes, Tobes, I have GOT to talk to you!" Jim exclaimed. Remember, we are NOT saying anything about me yet. Tanis hissed the reminder.  "I'm a little busy right now..." The dentist pushed 3 little white objects into Toby's mouth, and Jim wrinkled his nose in disgust. It looked like it hurt. Jim coughed for a moment, partly because he wasn't done talking, and partly to distract his best friend from the pain. "So, you know the thing we found yesterday? It works! It works like crazy!" He said, excited. "Can't this wait, dude?" Toby groaned.  Jim was majorly disappointed. Toby was acting like Jim had imagined it all!  "Just... come to my house as soon as you're done, ok?" __________________________________________________________8 hours. 8. Hours. That's how long the dentist's appointment took. "Ok, ok, ok, ok. You are NEVER going to believe this!" Jim said excitedly. He was practically jumping. Only his dignity held him onto Earth. Plus, it didn't help that he'd gone for coffee 5 hours into the appointment.  "Check. This. Out. For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to--" 
Ding! 
 The Microwave went off, as Toby went to get something out of the microwave. Jim's nostrils twitched. Pepperoni pizza, with the normal ingredients, but with a garnish of cilantro. Cheese spoiled by about a day. He thought automatically. How the hell did he know that? His nostrils flared again, and this time he smelled EVERYTHING. Or at least close to it. He could smell the radiation from the microwave, whether or not Toby put on deodorant today (he didn't, ew), and he also smelled a hare that was roughly 10 feet away from the house. His mouth started to water. He could just run over there, jump out the window, unsheath his claws, and-- wait. Those thoughts weren't his.  
Yes, I am a bit hungry right now, but those weren't DIRECTLY from me. I guess when our souls bonded, you gained some of my abilities. You'll have a much better sense of smell now, possibly hearing. You also will get a few hunters' instincts, sorry about that.
 Great.  "Okay, wait, wait, wait." Jim closed his eyes, and concentrated. Blue light snaked around him, lifting him into the air dramatically as the armor appeared on his body. He landed, and grinned at Toby's awestruck face.  "How cool is that!?" Jim exclaimed happily. Toby was still speechless, and then finally exploded with more excitement. "So cool, so cool, so cool! Holy shit, this is awesome."Toby said, babbling nonsense afterwords. "You've got, like, a sacred role or something here!" "That's what they said!" "Wait, who's they?" Toby said, frowning. Blinky took that exact moment to come outside the door and wave. Toby yelped in fear, and hid behind the counter, as Blinky burst in.  "Master Jim!" AAAARRRGH made his best attempt to walk in, finally squeezing into the doorway after several attempts. "I'm calling 911. No, Animal Control!" Toby whispered fearfully. "I've been here for awhile... why come in now?" Jim asked. "Well, to be truthful, we've been stalking you. We were figuring out the best moment to come in." Blink answered. Jim found it mightily creepy how casually he mentioned stalking him. "Why you tell round friend of us?" AAAARRGH said, with slight betrayal in his eyes. "We have gone great lengths to insure that our kind would be hidden, lest there be panic." Blinky said. He waved one of his four arms at Toby, who was picked up by AAAARGH and placed on the table. "Like that." Blinky said. "Oh my god, they're like 9 feet tall. They can talk. He has like 800 eyes. We're gonna die." Toby said rapidly. Jim rolled his eyes. "My, ah, overenthusiastic friend here is Toby. Tobes, you're fine." But Toby still was in full panic mode. "He's right. Your friend is the Trollhunter. His obligation is protective." Blinky said in a calming, everything-is-fine voice. Toby finally calmed down. "Wait... like a superhero? Can I be his sidekick, with a cool name, like Deathblade or Snipersnake?" Tobes said, excited again. Jim gave him an 'are-you-kidding' look. "I cannot even roll my eyes at you right now." He turned back to Blinky. "Wait, who would I be protecting?" "Us. And Humankind. From bad trolls. As well as goblins, gruesomes, and the occasional rouge gnome. The thing is, there's never been a human to bear the mantle before. This is a momentous occasion." 
Don't forget dragons. You gotta protect us, too.
 Jim almost jumped. He had nearly forgotten that Tanis was there. Jim looked at Blinky with an extremely odd (and honestly meme-worthy) expression on his face, when he heard a car alarm beep.  "Oh shit! It's my mother! Upstairs, fast as you can!" Jim exclaimed. He ran toward the stairs, nearly vaulting himself up them. He only realized later that he had been doing it on all fours, which the others may or may not comment on later. When all of them were in the bathroom, AAAARRRGH came in with a loud THUMP. "Honey? Are you okay up there?" Mom called.  "Fuck, fuck, fuck... She's not supposed to be home until midnight!" Jim hissed to the others.  "Jim? I forgot my phone... are you fine up there?" Mom called.  "Yeah, yeah. I'm good! Don't worry!" He called back, sweat forming on his forehead. He heard his mother shuffle around downstairs, and listened for any signs of her getting closer. None yet. Well there's one perk to the weird mutations, thanks to you. 
They aren't "Mutations". Actually, scratch that. They sort of are. But yes, with these ears, you could hear a mouse run from 20 feet away.
 "Who or what was the Trollhunter before Jim? I mean, since you said that there's never been a human Trollhunter before." Blinky smiled. "Kanjigar the Courageous was his name... he was one of the bravest and most famous Trollhunters of all time! Sagas and songs, and quite a few odd stories even, have been written by his numerous fans." "So the previous Trollhunter, what, retired?" 
No, idiot. He was killed.
 "He was killed. Brutally slain by a ruthless troll named Bular." Blinky responded, a grave look on his face. "That's not even half of it, Master Jim. He will hunt for the Amulet, and most likely will kill you as well. But we would never let you off without any proper training. Never!" Jim's eyes widened. "Uh... how long does this training normally take?" Toby said. "Decades." "And, uh, how long do I have?" Jim said. He knew the answer, and he hoped to all things holy he was wrong. "A day or two." Jim facepalmed. "Jim? Are you sure you're ok? I'm coming in!" Barbera said. Jim cringed. "Dammit, mom! I need some PRIVACY here!" Jim frantically gestured for them to hide inside the shower, and Jim deactivated the armor. "See? All good!" He said nervously to his mom. She gave him an odd look, but finally went away.  Jim watched as Barbera drove away. AAAARRRGH bumped around the living room, crashing into objects and knocking over books. "We should get started on training right away!" Blinky said.  "Uh... no. It's a school night. I'm 15. I have homework... studying... general school crap to do!" Jim replied, frowning. He tried his best to avert the whole "Bular" situation best he could, when the trolls finally left. _______________________________________ "Haha! That was incredible, dude!" Toby said. "Did you see the way she looked at you?"  Jim wasn't completely sure WHAT to think. To be honest, it was all Tanis, since he knew literally nothing about Theater. He had accidentally tried out for the part of Romeo in the school play after Mr. Strickler caught him wearing the armor, and Tanis whispered pure poetry for him to repeat. They had ended with a small puddle of sweat on the stage (that, thankfully, no one saw) and a smattering applause. "I'm still just getting used to the armor." "Well, the 6-eyed guy said that--" They turned the corner, and there was an enormous black troll with downward-curved horns and glowing eyes. "TROLLHUNTER. MERLIN'S CREATION..." Um, excuse me, he did not CREATE me. Jim thought.  Oh gods. That's Bular. Tanis gasped. The larger troll pounded on the sidewalk and roared, but didn't come near. After a second, he figured out why.  "He's afraid of the sun..." He murmured. "Not for long!" Toby yelped, and pointed to the sun. It was already Twilight... the sun will have set soon. They pedaled as hard as they could in the general direction of Jim's home. Bular ran as fast as one could while staying in the shadows. Night had fallen, but by now they were in Jim's neighborhood. They stopped to catch their breath, and saw Blinky and AAAARRRGH on the sidewalk. "Haha! Master Jim!" Blinky said happily. "Blinky, Bular is trying to kill us! He chased us all over town." Jim said urgently. "Well, you're still alive! Good job!" Blinky replied. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!? WE ALMOST DIED!" Jim pinched the ridge of his nose, and then tried to calm down. Bular burst in from the corner, in a dramatic stop that tore up a large amount of road. "Come on! We'll be safe in HeartStone Trollmarket!" Blinky called.  They pedaled and ran arcoss the streets, into the forest. "Master Jim! Don your armor!" Blinky called.  "I can't!" "Did you speak the incantation?" "I've been incanting the shit out of it! It's not working!" They reached the end of the road, and the others ran into the canal. Jim, however, stopped. The others looked back at him in horror.  "For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Jim said urgently. Bular burst out of the trees, barreling towards him. "For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Jim said again. It's not working! Jim said to Tanis.  
I may be able to help.
 
Then do it!
 
You may hate me after I do this. 
 Bular was getting closer. Jim could even smell his sweat. Or something. Whatever came out of trolls in the place of sweat. Just do it! Jim yelled in his mind. "FOR THE GLORY OF MERLIN, DAYLIGHT IS MINE TO COMMAND!" He said finally. He felt a yanking tug in his eyes, his mind, and his chest as Tanis took control of his body for the first time.  ___________________________________________________ At first, Tanis was shocked.  Actually, scratch that.  She was downright baffled that Jim had accepted her offer.  The chestplate slammed onto her body as Bular hit it, making her fly into the air. The rest of the armor flew onto her body, the blue light swirling around her as it did with Jim. At first she felt a tightness around her chest, then the armor adjusted itself. Her view in the air gave her time to look around quickly, taking in all of the details that Jim hadn't noticed before. Her arms flailed around as she tried to right herself, like a cat.  She crashed to the cement ground of the canal in a dramatic 3-point landing, glancing at the others' faces. Perfect. They were far enough so the couldn't see the changes in her, but she was close enough to see their expressions, and they were PRICELESS. She took out her sword, and looked at her reflection. The girl shown in the blade basically looked like a female version of Jim, except with Tanis's own fire-colored serpentine eyes and shorter hair (at least in the back), that kinda looked like basically a tousled version of Jim's hair. Not orange eyes. Not yellow eyes. Fire. She looked down. Was that what a human female chest looked like? She had never really thought about it. The female version of the Trollhunter armor seemed sleeker, with almost a merge of a scale and plate mail. She also had a sort of armor skirt, which was made of blue silk and had a silver sun motif on it, and high slits on the side for easy movement. Cool. Bular saw her at the other end of the canal and roared. She ran along the side, trying to escape him, or at least regroup. Then he jumped right in front of her. He looked at her from top to bottom, looking confused. He frowned, then he shrugged, like seeing a Trollhunter suddenly switch genders, get a completely different eye color, and have a different haircut was completely normal. "Use your sword, Master Jim!" Blinky called.  Tanis responded, though late, since at first she expected Jim to.  "I'll drink your blood out of a goblet made of your skull!" Bular snarled. Colorful one, wasn't he? "Cut him like bread, Jim!" Toby called. Tanis winced. Maybe she would allow Jim to tell the others about her soon after all. She snarled, and swung the blade, encased in blue light, and both her and Bular flew in opposite directions from the impact. She heard Blinky say something about a portal, and the others ran under the bridge. "MASTER JIM! COME ON!" Blinky called. Tanis realized he was hoping for an answer. "I'm a little busy here!" She said in her best impression of Jim, which apparently was quite good. "You are not fit to wield the Amulet, girl! I'll tear the armor off you! Along with your skin!" Bular roared. Tanis slashed her sword again, this time imbedding itself in Bular's forearm. He lifted her up by it, her trying desperately to yank it out. Bular swung his sword once more, and Tanis closed her eyes, ready for the blow. But instead, the idiot used it to get the sword out. Fool. She wasn't one to talk, though, as she ran beeline for the portal that Blinky had mentioned, Toby calling to her. It closed at the last minute. "Shiiiiii--" She started, as the armor deactivated, and there was a pull on her chest as Jim's human clothes reappeared. AAAARRRGH's hand reached out, the portal opening again, grabbed her, and pulled her inside. She let Jim take control again. Sorry about that. She said to him. What the fuck!? You literally took over my body! He shouted back. 
You were about to die! I saved your life!
 He paused for a moment, thinking about this.  
...Thanks...I guess?
 
You're welcome. But now Bular knows about me. I guess that could end up for better or for worse.
 
We'll talk about this later, dragon-girl.
 
For now, act like that was you the whole time, and pray to Odin they don't suspect a thing.
 "He almost killed us!" Jim finally exploded. Tanis nodded in approval. "Key word there: Almost! A life of almost is a life of never. Remember that, Master Jim!" Blinky said. He walked over to the edge of the small cave they were in, and a spiral staircase made of crystals lead down a large hole. "This way, Masters." Blinky smiled. He beckoned the others over to him. "Cool." Toby and Jim said, almost together. "You sure we're safe here?" Jim asked Blinky nervously.  "Bad trolls can't come. Trollmarket safe for us." AAAARRRGH said. "Indeed. Entrances to Trollmarket are laid with magical protection, so Gumm-Gumms, like Bular, aren't able to enter." Blinky explained. "So there's no way he can come in?" Jim asked nervously.  "No, Master Jim." Blinky turned Jim around, as they had reached the bottom of the stairs.  "Woah." Jim breathed. What he saw at the end was incredible-- an entire underground city of trolls, with countless streets and shops, glowing crystals all around, and in the center of it all, was what he guessed was the Heartstone. It was a honking enormous crystal, orange, and seemed to glow with an eerie light. "This is the world you are bound to protect. This is Heartstone Trollmarket!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Bular sharpened his blades on his arm spurs, a thing he did to clear his head. First, he had killed Kanjigar the Courageous. The Trollhunter before this whole thing. That was nice. Then he tried to kill the new Trollhunter. Then the Trollhunter switched genders, right before his eyes! An argr. Merlin must have officially gone nuts to choose a human Trollhunter, and an argr no less. Wait a second. His- or rather her- eyes had changed color, and her appearance was slightly different. That never happened with real argrs.  However, it did happen when a spirit used someone as a host. "The Trollhunter is hosting a spirit..." He murmured aloud.  Then he grinned evilly. This should be fun. He thought. _____________________________________ "This is incredible!" Jim cried as he went down the stone stairs that led into the trollish city. "This is your home?" Toby said to Blinky. Blinky grinned. "Indeed. Heartstone Trollmarket is my home, and the home for all good trolls." Blinky said as he gestured to the market. "Come, friends. There is much to see."  They walked through Trollmarket, trying to see everything at once. It was glorious... there were more crystalline bridges, shop after shop after shop, and pretty much every kind of troll imaginable. What surprised Jim most, though, were how many languages he heard.  He mainly heard English and a growly language that Tanis told him was Trollish. But he also heard Spanish, French, German, and even a bit of Japanese. "Trolls come here from across the globe, to seek remedies and comfort, anything you may need! Sometimes, you may find what you never knew you needed." Blinky said mysteriously. Already, trolls were looking at them funny. "Humans?" One hissed. "Friends." AAAARRRGH!!! Growled back. "Jim! Check it out! So cool!" Toby said, pointing to the edge of the corner. As they turned the corner, Jim saw one of the most breathtaking things he had ever seen... It was as wide as a football stadium, as tall as a skyscraper. A gargantuan orange crystal that seemed to glow with with its own trollish magic. It was glorious, and it seemed as though the entire city was built around it. "The Heartstone. The life force of trollkind, the thing that keeps us from crumbling to stone, and our source of light and strength." "What are humans doing here?"  "Fleshbags!"  "Runts!"  They turned around quickly. There was a group of trolls behind them, growling and muttering. "Well, it looks like we've attracted the paparazzi." Toby muttered to Jim, who gave him a nervous look and edged closer to him in case he needed to protect Toby. "Fear not, friends! This human is the Trollhu--" Blinky began, but was interrupted by a large, teal-blue colored troll with gigantic horns and crystalline spikes. "What is this?" He snarled. "I was just getting to that, Draal." Blinky said, annoyed. "Human feet have never defiled the ground of Trollmarket before... who are these fleshbags?" He said, studying Jim. When he leaned in, Jim winced. Gods, did these people ever brush their teeth? "Believe it or not, he's our new Trollhunter!" Blinky declared. The trolls in the audience gasped. "He can't be the Trollhunter! He's not a troll!" Draal said, smashing the ground. Oh, we're much more than trolls, asshole. Tanis growled.  "Amulet chose." AAAARRRGH!!! insisted.  To demonstrate it, he brought out the amulet and said the incantation. "For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command..." He said. The armor clanged on, and Draal was taken aback for a moment. "A human? Protecting us? Bushigal! I am Draal, son of Kanjigar, the Amulet's rightful heir!" He announced.  Oh no. This could be an issue. Dragons took birthrights and "passing down from generation to generation" very seriously. Tanis assumed trolls did as well, judging by this. "When my father fell, the amulet should have passed to me." Draal hissed. He reached toward Jim's chest, trying to grab the amulet. The amulet's magic combined with Tanis's own exploded out, making the 2 of them fly in opposite directions. AAAARRRGH!!! caught Jim. "Amulet chose." He said again. They walked off, the crowd (grudgingly) clearing a path for them. "Vendel will hear about this!" Draal called. Gods, he sounded like Draco Malfoy. They walked along the path, Blinky leading them to a tunnel. It was dark for a moment, but then suddenly the room came to light. It was an enormous cavern, with dozens of stone statues, wide-open spaces, and countless etchings in the walls of trolls.  "The Hero's Forge! This is the place where Trollhunter after Trollhunter trained for battle... as their final reposes are laid here." Wait... the statues were dead Trollhunters? Ew. "That's gross... I'm going to be trained surrounded by dead corpses?" Jim retched. "Well when you put it that way, it sounds bad. It's an honor..." Blinky began. Jim gave him an "are you kidding me" look. "We must start your training as soon as possible, Master Jim. Stand back." Blinky said, ignoring the look. He went over to a button in the wall. They all stood back. Blinky pressed the button, and the entire room burst into chaos. A gigantic, claw-like blade hurtled toward Jim, and he leapt back instinctively, landing on all fours. "Maybe can we start easy? With, oh I don't know, less sharp things!?" Jim yelled to Blinky. "You're doing great! Excellent reflexes, Master Jim!" Blinky called back, when a loud male voice cut through the air. "BLINKOUS GALADRIGAL!"  Blinky yelped, then hurriedly shut the Hero's Forge off. In walked a large, wavy-horned troll that looked hundreds of years old, and was wearing a permanent scowl.  "Blinkous? That's your name?" Jim said to Blinky. Blinky looked ashamed. "Blinkous Galadrigal. I wish to meet the fleshbag chosen by the amulet." He looked at Jim with a sort of angry-teacher look. "I am Vendel, son of Rundle, son of Kilfred." He began. Kilfred? That sounded familiar, but Jim had no idea how. Jim took out the amulet. But Vendel was still displeased. "Ridiculous. However, the amulet has been known to make bad choices... as you know better than most." Vendel looked at Blinky. "Remember? Unkar the Unfortunate? The Trollhunter before Kanjigar that got torn limb from limb on his first night out? If the amulet chose true, then the Soothscryer will reveal it." He said, walking over to the center of the forge. "No! Please, he's has barely even a moment's training!" Blinky protested. "Mmm-mmm!" Vendel pointed to the ground next to him. Jim walked over timidly, placing his feet on a pair of troll footprints. The floor glowed red, and a totem shaped like a troll's head came from the floor. There was a hole where the mouth was. "Behold, the Soothscryer! It will judge your true spirit. Insert your left hand, Trollhunter." Vendel said, chuckling softly. "I'm going to get it back, right?" Jim said nervously. "That is part of the test." Vendel said way too happily. Oh, hell no. "Tobes, c'mere. Help me up." Jim beckoned him over, and hoisted him up. The teeth began to whir. He reached in. The machine clamped down on his arm, trapping it. Jim began to scream hysterically, trying to get his hand free. The machine finally spat his arm out, making Jim fall on top of Toby. "Inconclusive." Vendel grunted, then walked away. "Wait, what does 'inconclusive' mean?" Jim asked. "It means there's never been a human to bear the honor before! I sense that this will turn out... interesting. And let us all hope you live long enough to see it." Vendel said. __________________________________ "What have I gotten myself into!?" Jim said. They were walking home with their bikes, and were almost there. "Oh, only trolls, magic, an underground city, and who knows what else!" Toby replied happily.  "If I survive! You're forgetting that there is STILL that Bular guy after me, also that the guy before Kanjigar got torn limb from limb. On his first night!" Jim said back. They both paused for a moment. "So there's nowhere else to go but up!" Toby said, then went in the direction of his house. Jim looked at his house. The light was on.' Aw shirt. OK, quick. You were at the Library! No, that closes at 6:00. You were... helping Toby with homework and lost track of time! That's it. That's good. Or he got hit by a car, but he's totally fine. Tanis suggested rapidly in his head. He opened the door, and put his book bag on the stairs.  "Jim! You're home! Look who stopped by." His mom called from the kitchen. He turned the corner in the hall, and his History teacher was there. He had, earlier in the day, seen him in his armor. Now he was at his house. There's no way this could be good. He sniffed for a moment. His mom was making tea, and Mr. Strickler smelled of mint, limestone, and sage. Weird. Humans rarely smelled like that. Be wary, Jim. Tanis said. Always be vigilant. "Mr. Strickler came by to congratulate you, Jim!" His mom smiled from inside the kitchen, as the screen was open.  "Oh! That's really... nice." Jim said, still slightly freaked out. "It's a great honor that you've been chosen to wield this mantle." Mr. Strickler said. Jim's face paled. Did he know? "Why didn't you tell me you were trying out for Romeo and Juliet?" Mom smiled as she brought over more tea.  Jim breathed a sigh of relief. "Certainly you know you got the part of Romeo after your incredible audition!" Mr. Strickler said to him. "Well after audition I had to run, but-- wait, I got the part?" Jim said, surprised.  Oh hell no. Tanis said, displeased.  What do you mean? Jim replied. 
I'm heteroromantic. You’re ace/aro. Neither of us like this. Right?
 
Tanis, that's the least of our problems!
 "I'm a bit concerned with you having so much on your plate, especially with your new commitment to the writing club." Strickler said calmly, gagging as he tried Barbara's tea. "Writing, acting, it's like you have a whole secret life I know nothing about!" Well that hit home. "You have no idea." Jim said, grimacing.________________________________________________"Widen your stance. Keep the frame... good, good. Raise your sword, Master Jim..." Blinky said as he made Jim work on his stances.
 
AAAARRRGH!!! ate something that Toby gave him in a bag, and he burped. "A Trollhunter lives and dies by 3 rules. Rule #1: Always be afraid." Blinky began. "That, I can d--" Jim said as Blinky hurled rocks at him, and he deflected. "WHAT THE FUCK, BLINKY!?" Jim yelled at him. "Fear is good! Keeps us alert, keeps us vigilant." He said, tossing and catching a rock before he chucked it at Jim. Jim deflected most of them, wincing in pain as one hit his thigh. "2! Always finish the fight! When you win a battle, you must then vanquish your opponent through death." Blinky continued. "Dude, that's harsh." Toby said.  "Ours is an unforgiving world, Toby. Hence the third rule: When in doubt, kick them in the gronk-nuks." Blinky said, ending the list. "Gronk-nuks?" Jim asked. Blinky stomped, and a claw-like scythe hurtled toward him, barely missing his... uh... area between the legs. Aaaaand yet another reminder where I am. Tanis said sadly. "So, a third of being the Trollhunter is kicking someone in the balls. That is literally one of the most sexist things I've ever heard. What if the enemy's a girl?" Jim asked. "Um... actually, I'm not sure. It'll surprise her, at least." Blinky said, thinking. "So the Trollhunter's training begins!" A voice boomed from across the Forge. Draal came over, a smug grin on his face. "I just thought the great Trollhunter might expect my services... as a sparring partner!" He said, punching his hand into his open fist. "Part of your training regiment, isn't it?"  "In due time, perhaps!" Blinky said, putting 2 arms out to protect Jim. "Why wait?" Called Vendel from above. Since when was he there? "I am eager to see the young Trollhunter demonstrate his mettle." Jim gulped.  "Let them spar!" Vendel yelled.  "No harm in it..." Leered Draal. Blinky began to walk away. "What do I do?" Jim asked him. "Hit him as hard as you can!" He replied. "No, I mean what do I do? I've never gotten into a fight!" "Ever?" "Never." "Just hit him! 1 hit, and you will be changed forever." Jim raised his sword, putting on a determined face. "Begin!" Vendel called. Draal roared, then barreled towards him. Jim readied his sword, but then Draal curled into a ball, forming a sonic-like attack. Jim leapt out of the way, but Draal rolled up the walls and high into the air, ready to crush Jim. He ran away from him, flying into the air from the shockwave-like impact when Draal landed, making a dust cloud. Regaining his dignity, Jim unsheathed his sword again, readying himself- and then was pounded once more as Draal burst out of the cloud. He punched him again and again, and then threw him in the air, Jim slamming into the stone floor. Draal picked him up by the chest, dangling him over the edge. Jim raised his sword.  "Don't even think about it, whelp. Cut my arm, and you fall to your death." He may actually drop us. I have an idea... kick him as hard as you can in the chest, with both legs. Tanis said. She obviously had a plan, but Jim wasn't hearing it.  What!? He replied. Do it! She yelled. And, with all his strength, he kicked Draal, pushing him out of his grip, and making him fall down the pit. ________________________________ Tanis was glad to have a bit of control again. She gripped onto consciousness, and she felt herself shift. But she didn't just want her human female form, she wanted something else. Then she felt it- her glorious, dark purple and indigo wings formed, with their beautiful undersides that resembled a night sky, but they weren't full-sized, so she couldn't fly. She also felt her 2 large wing-claws grow, made for climbing like this. She had only half-shifted, so she didn't feel her entire body forming, but she felt a few scales on her nose and jaw, Her ears grow long and cowlike, fangs grow, (though in her human form she still had fangs) and her fingernails and toenails lengthen into ink-black claws. She even felt her indigo, prehensile tail grow, but she felt no tailblade. She did feel small horns grow as well, cutting through her hair, but how that was relevant to ANYTHING was beyond her. She wasn't going to complain though, all she needed was balance here. She pumped her wings, just enough to get her to the rock-wall. She grabbed onto it, letting all of her claws hook onto the stone. She grunted as she climbed, working up a sweat. When she was about 10 feet away, she heard yelling. "You've killed him!" She heard Toby scream angrily. Similar cries of fury and grief came from Blinky and AAAARRRGH!!!. "I didn't, he jumped! Your human friend is an idiot, but I'm going to be the next Trollhunter. I should feel the amulet come any moment now..." Sneered Draal.  
Ha.
 She grinned. Wait till they see that she's alive! Well, not yet. She won't reveal herself right now, or she'd be pretty much the worst actress of all time.  THOU MUST BUILD TENSION. She thought. When she was at the rim, she quickly checked to make sure they weren't paying attention to the rim.  They weren't. Good. She put her wing-claws on the ledge, gathering as much strength as she could, and getting strength from the amulet. Then she leapt up silently, shifting back into a human, and still flying about 40 feet in the air.  It's not just Draal who can make a dramatic leap.  She thought as she grinned. She did a 3-point landing again, sending up a cloud of dust. She quickly let Jim take control.  The others turned to look. "Miss me?" They said in Jim's voice. _____________________________________[Ooc note: Since Tanis made the fight a draw, a whole bunch of stuff didn't happen, but Draal lies about winning. So I'm skipping the "trying to get rid of the amulet" scene. So this part is in Claire's POV! Yay...] " 'Deny and refuse.' but he can't deny it. But Romeo can't be a Montague, which means Juliet..." Began the Mrs. Janeth, the Drama teacher. " 'And I'll no longer be a Capulet.' " Finished Claire. She loved this play. It was everything she liked about theater. Drama, romance...  "Jim..." Claire whispered to him. "You're line... 'Or, if thou wilt not, be sworn my love...' "  "Oh! Right... um. Love, deny, refuse, I got it." He said quickly. "Jim? You ok?" Claire asked him. He seemed to be on a whole different planet half the time. He had even fallen asleep in class several times in the last few days. Her heart quickened.  She wasn't really EXPECTING, after all, that the boy she'd been secretly crushing on since freshman year was going to play Romeo, and her, Juliet. She often wanted to scream.  "Yeah, yeah. I'm ok. Totally fine! Just got... stuff going on in my head..." He said.  "I know we don't know each other very well, but you're going to have to be a bit more convincing if you want to be Romeo." Claire frowned.  "All right, all right! Act II, scene II, line XXXIII." Mrs. Janeth called. Ah, the famous lines. "Romeo, o Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She began. She began the scene, ending her worries. ___________________________________ "Where the hell have you been, buttsnack?" Steve hissed to Jim. Jim had been cornered by him, and was looking for an escape route. "I scheduled your ass-whooping for yesterday, fishface! And you didn't show. Tick-tock, remember?" Steve said to him. "He was busy getting his ass whooped by someone else. Take a number, Steve." Toby chimed in, defending his friend. We can take this meat sack. Tanis said, cracking her knuckles. Not right now. We can't reveal you, or the Trollhunter armor. Jim replied. Shirt, I was looking forward to it. Tanis cursed. "Steve, I'm not in the mood to do this right now." Jim said, bored. "Duh! No one's ever in the mood to get their face bashed in! But that's what's gonna happen, unless you back down." Steve leered.  Students were beginning to watch this whole thing unfold, including Claire. "I can do that?" Jim replied hopefully. "Sure. If you wanna crawl away from me, on your knees, bowing in front of everybody." Steve laughed. "There's an option." Unsure what to do, Jim put his stuff down and bowed.  "Whoa! I didn't actually expect you to choose wussing over whooping." Steve laughed again. I am not letting our dignity go out like this. Tanis hissed. Get up.  He did, and Steve swung a fist at him.  Jim maneuvered away from him, avoiding every punch he threw at him. Steve finally landed one on him, and Jim heard an audible crack.  Jim saw the amulet in his bookbag, glowing faintly. I will help you. But only a little. She said to him. What? Why? Jim yelped. Our little kit needs to fly on his own. She smiled in his mind. "Stay down and live, worm." Steve snarled.  Jim he stood up. He could do this.  "That all you got?" Jim said defiantly, his chin high. Steve wound his fist back. "Well, it's a good thing your mom's a doctor." He snickered. 
One hit. 
 Jim felt his arm get stronger. Though there was no visual difference, he felt stronger. He punched Steve, right in the jaw, in an uppercut. He felt his irises change from blue to fire-colored, his pupils from round to reptilian slits. Steve flew up slightly, then fell straight on his back, one of his teeth knocked out, covered in blood. He leaned forward, not fully unconscious. He looked at Jim with a look that he'd never really seen before, a mix of shock, fear, and the slightest twinge of shame. "Your eyes... what the hell are you?" Steve said, aghast. Jim sneered, and spoke in a voice that seemed to be a mix of Tanis and his own, but not as if they were talking together. "Something you should think twice about fucking with."  _____________________________________ Blinky drank his Glug in silence. He'd been listening to Draal boast about winning for roughly half an hour, even though it was a draw. "It was an epic pummeling! I was going to kill him, but I couldn't make up my mind as to how!" He laughed, and took another swig of Glug. He was clearly drunk. "If only Master Jim had landed a hit on that blue ape... he would have been changed forever!" Blinky said to AAAARRRGH!!!.  "Changed forever." AAAARRRGH!!! echoed wistfully.  "Over and over and over..." Draal sighed, slamming the table with each "over". He sighed. "All I want is a chance to wail on that fleshbag again." He began to take a drink, but out of nowhere, a hand slammed it down, spilling half of the mug's content on the table and Draal. "Wish granted, loudmouth! Rematch. You and me." Master Jim said, a determined look on his face. "Changed forever." AAAARRRGH!!! said again, wiping Glug from his chin. Draal only looked at him and shock, then growled.  Jim only lifted his chin, his eyes flashing with confidence. _____________________________________ Urada hummed to herself as she polished her tailblade, sitting on her throne of silver.  It had been 5 years since her sister had been banished to The Abyss.  And Urada was Queen of the Nighthunters.  It was amazing! Everyone looked after her every whim, her every command. Everyone did whatever she wanted. And the ones she didn't like, or who didn't do what she commanded?  Dead on the spot. She ate Terrasque sausages for breakfast, Kraken for lunch, and Angel wings for dinner.  She was adorned in silk, gold, silver, and precious gems. And she had one of the best armies in the realm at her disposal. Why would she worry? Just in case, she used her dark magic to form a sight-portal, to monitor her sister in the Shadow Realm.  What the--!? Where the fork was she!?  She looked in every direction, but saw no sign of her sister.  She hissed, smoke coming out of her nostrils, her throat glowing.  She swiftly ended the spell as suddenly as she had started it.  "Moss! Moss, where are you, you pathetic excuse for a winged salamander?" She called for her servant. The pudgy, dark green dragon slithered in.  "What is it, your Majesty?" He drawled. "Gather a hunting party. My sister has escaped." She hissed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

For centuries, the Troll and Human worlds lived  separate and at peace.  
Divided by bridges that acted as gateways between our two realms.
 
But the Gumm-Gumms wanted to devour all of humankind.
 
They were led by Gunmar the Black.
 
The rest of Trollkind fought against him, resulting in the War of Killahead Bridge, the gateway to Gunmar's Darklands.
 
After many moons, good triumphed over evil, and our great Trollhunter, Deya "The Deliverer", locked Gunmar away, sealing the gate with the sacred amulet, exiling him and his army into the Darklands. 
 
Afterwards, we tore it apart, stone by stone.
 
We left the old world in search for peace. We stowed away on a ship called the Mayflower. Just us and some gnomes we brought for nourishment. 
 
Soon we arrived in a new and exotic realm. 
 
America.
 
More specifically, New Jersey.
 
We ventured on a long and perilous journey, to the side of the entire continent, when we finally found a new heartstone, a new home, a new hope. 
 
Under Arcadia.
  
Jim.

Hellooooo.

Jimbo.

JIM!
 Jim jumped awake. Blinky had been reading the "History of Troll Lore", and Tanis had just woken him up.  
The writers of this "Troll Lore" stuff were jerks. It doesn't mention the Dragons at all! 
 
Not everything does, you know.
 
I know, but we're an entire, separate kingdom! So what if we didn't participate in the War of Killahead. But that doesn't mean we should be ignored!
 Jim thought about it for a moment, but was interrupted by Blinky. "Master Jim! Troll history may seem like a minor duty, but heed this: Before one learns to fight, one must know WHY they fight." Blinky said, exasperated.  "I know... It's just that I pulled an all-nighter studying for my Spanish Comprehension Exam, and my brain is is basically sludge right now. I dunno, I guess I thought since I'm facing Draal in a week, my training would be a bit more... active?" "Master Jim... put it this way. These early steps will decide whether a young Trollhunter will become a Deya "The Deliverer" or an Unkar "The Unfortunate"."  Well THAT could honestly mean pretty much anything.  Care to be a little less cryptic, Blinky? Tanis grumbled.  "Well, tomorrow is my Exam, with Uhl "The Unforgiving". If I don't pass this, then I fail the class, and I'm grounded, and I can't be the Trollhunter. Sorry, but now I have 2 lives to keep up." Jim backed away from them all as he said this, and only a sharp warning from Tanis kept him from falling from the edge. Then a large, female troll ran in, panting as she stopped in front of Blinky. She began panting and babbling incoherently, Blinky trying to figure out what she means. "Is it the Heartstone!?" He began. "Stalkling?" AAAARRRGH!!! said next. "Is Bular in Trollmarket?" Jim gasped. "No!" She cried out, finally making sense. "Gnome! Rouge Gnome!" 
Wait.
 
What.
    They were in the shop. It was actually rather nice, with it's crystal-light. But it was trashed, and chaotic as hell.  "First, I couldn't find my monocle, then my collection of bed coils! Now something disappears every minute!" Maybe she just can't find anything because she's just really messy? Tanis said. Bagdwella sat down into a chair, only to get it stolen from under her. She yelped in surprise as she fell to the ground. "Ah yes, gnome." Blinky contemplated, though the has been covered multiple times. "Dirty little pests..." Bagdwella muttered. "Up to last week, the glue traps were working just fine!"  She got up, and held what looked like a strip of flypaper, with a rotted gnome corpse still hanging onto it.  Jim gagged at the sight, only to see the flypaper-like strip be nicked away by what was apparently the gnome, who was making high-pitched giggling noises. "Fix it, Trollhunter!" She pleaded. Jim frowned. No way was he doing this. He was the Trollhunter, not a gnome-catcher.  "Uhhhh... no. Sorry, but I gotta cut this one out--" Jim began, only to be interrupted by Blinky. "Oh, but a Trollhunter cannot refuse a call! And what better way to train with than a pint-sized quarry?" The little gnome came out suddenly, playing a guitar.  "He's trying to distract us! Hold tight to your valuables." Blinky warned them. "He can't be that bad..." Toby said calmly, clapping his hands to the beat of the song that the little creature played. Then the little garden-gnome lookalike stole his belt.  "Well at least he didn't take my Nougat Nummy..." Toby said, frowning. He searched his pockets for it. "SON OF A--" The gnome ran this way and that, stealing assorted small objects. "He's over there!" "No, over there!" "It's right there!" "Holy shit, is there more than one gnome?" They ran after the little beast wherever it sprinted, but no one seemed to be able to lay a hand on it. The gnome ran by Jim for a moment, and Jim felt a little whoosh by his thigh, where his side-pocket was. "He took my amulet!" The boy cried out in alarm. The gnome ran off, holding up the amulet mockingly. He ran into a hole in the wall that none of them had noticed before. "Oh... it appears that the plot, quite literally, deepens." Blinky said nervously. Jim stuck his arms into the hole, willing the amulet back to him. It had worked before... and it was a cool sight to watch. "Shouldn't I be getting the Amulet back right now?" Jim asked. "Really, that only works if it's been purposefully placed somewhere, or if it's rejected. When it is stolen, and the Amulet knows it has been stolen, that is another story." Blinky replied. "...Well that's bullshit." Jim spat after a minute. "Literally one of the most stupid rules I've ever heard. Besides the fact that in one state, and I don't remember which, you could get arrested by dancing with a hat on. That is an actual rule by the way."  "Well that's just plain odd." Toby commented. "What am I supposed to do? I can't fit in that hole!" Jim said. "Hmmmm... currently!" Blinky exclaimed. "Bad idea." AAAARRRGH!!! said immediately. "No Trollhunter has ever lost their amulet before! So we'll need to take risks. We'll need to get the Furgulator." Blinky said. "The what?" Jim interrupted. "Should I be concerned? I feel like I should be concerned." "Oh, don't worry about a thing, Master Jim! Just focus on your studies. We'll handle this for now." Blinky said. This won't end well. Partly because I'm convinced that Blinky is perpetually drunk. Tanis said in his mind.    Mary was giving her Oral exam, and Señor Uhl was (probably intentionally)Screeching chalk across a blackboard. Since Jim had a much better sense of hearing since Tanis came, Jim thought his eardrums were going to burst. He winced as Señor Uhl broke off a piece of chalk as Mary mispronounced one of the words in her Oral Presentation. "Maria had a what heart, Miss Wang?" He hissed. "A heavy heart... pe...do...so..."  She began, her voice shaking with fear. "Ah-ah! You were trying to say pesado. A heavy heart." Señor Uhl began. "And it is with a heavy heart, Miss Wang, that since you have not shown the SLIGHTEST comprehension for basic Spanish, I'll have no choice but to mark your Oral Exam as a failure."  Mary ran out of class, sobbing. "Hey, Lake." Steve whispered. He held up a piece of paper. On it was a badly drawn stick figure with a broken leg. "You broke my tooth... now I'm gonna break your LIFE."  Jim raised an eyebrow at this.  "Sorry, but I really can't take you seriously with that drawing." Jim, or rather Tanis, said cheekily. She said it in Jim's voice, as she did the last time she took control, and there was absolutely no change. She took the drawing, and redrew it on the back. It was only like a 30-second scribble, but it was light-years better than Steve's. She showed it to him with a cocky smile, and Steve only looked at her in shock. She quickly let Jim back into control. 
Uncool, Tanis. So not cool.
 
What? It was funny! 
 
Hmph. 
 The bell rang, and Jim walked out. Then he realized something.  
I still have a day!
 
Well good for you. It honestly doesn't make too much of a difference, Jim.

"Presenting... the Furgulator!" Blinky announced as he revealed what looked to Jim like a large, brass torture device. The machine opened, and Blinky beckoned him inside. "You cannot be serious." Jim said. "Oh holy shirt, you are." Jim timidly stepped into the machine. "Uh, so how is this supposed to get me to catch a gnome?" Jim asked when he was inside.  Blinky turned it on.  "Wait. I'm gonna be shrunk, aren't I." Jim said, aghast. "AREN'T I!?" "When the gnome won't go out, the Trollhunter must go in." Blinky replied. "ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW--" Jim shouted as the machine began to make extremely loud noises. He began to cough, for the smoke was so thick he couldn't see a thing, he couldn't even breathe. He faintly heard Blinky shouting for AAAARRRGH!!! to open the Furgulator, and after several attempts, they finally managed to get it open. Jim fell onto the ground, breathing in the fresh air.  "Well, guess THAT didn't work. Hope you got a plan B--AAACK!!" Jim yelped as he realized that the machine had, indeed, worked. He had shrunken to roughly the size of an action figure. "It seems that it worked, Master Jim! The Furgulator has functioned perfectly. Haha!" Blinky chuckled as he picked Jim up and placed him at the edge of the hole. "Your sword and shield, my liege." Toby smirked as he handed Jim a sharp pencil and a metal pin to serve as a shield. Jim took the pencil and jabbed him in the hand.  Toby yelped with pain. "Real subtle. 'Little problem'. 'Start small'. Cute, Blinky. Real damn cute." Jim spat. "I have exams to take! I have sinks to reach! How am I going to defeat Bular? Stab him in the eyes?" "And you have a gnome to catch. Now, onward, Master Jim!" Blinky said cheerfully. Jim groaned in exasperation, then headed into the hole. "One more thing, when dealing with a gnome... DO NOT TOUCH ITS HAT!" Blinky called one last time, when Jim was almost far enough that he couldn't hear.   Well, this is just plain rich. Tanis said in Jim's head. We've been shrunk, and we're now going on a mock-mission to get our magic pocket watch because of some stupid rule. Hey, it's not like it's my fault. Jim replied back.  I know, but I feel like I  gotta say it.  Jim turned around. He walked backwards, eyeing the path back to the others. "Well guess it's too late too turn back now, huh Tani--AAAAACK!" He yelped even louder than before when he turned around and almost bumped into a creepy doll head that was hanging from the ceiling. "This is one creepy gnome..." He muttered aloud to Tanis, who nodded slowly with a disturbed expression, which was weird, since she was in his head. He heard the gnome laughing its creepy-high-pitched laugh. He looked ahead, and he saw an open room where the Gnome was chattering to the dead corpse from earlier. The gnome was having a forking tea party. And it was using Jim and Tanis's amulet as a table.  There is everything in the world wrong with this. Why, just WHY. Tanis said in Jim's head. The gnome accidentally knocked off the head of the corpse, and the head rolled towards him, revealing his presence.  The gnome snarled, showing its sharp fangs. It leaped at him suddenly, and Jim let it fall onto the shield for a moment before throwing the shield off him with all of his strength, something he learned from the movies. Which one, he wasn't sure. He rolled away, and grabbed his pencil, ready to impale the gnome as it leaped at him. He shut his eyes tight, expecting a spray of blood, but he looked again only at the gnome being a whole lot closer and the pencil being a whole lot shorter. My gods, it's a living pencil sharpener! Tanis said. Hey, she's not wrong. Jim threw the pencil at the gnome, who yelped and rubbed its forehead where there was a noticeable dent. The gnome leaped at him again, and this time he was able to avoid it, as he leaped again and landed on all fours. Why does this keep happening to me? He demanded to Tanis. 
Hey, this whole thing wasn't my fault!
 
Tanis...

Okay, okay, it's with the similarities thing and adaptations and whatnot. I'm used to walking on all fours and suddenly I'm forced to balance on two, like some kind of kangaroo! 
 
I'm not even going to dignify that with a snort.
 Jim ran from the gnome once more, trying to get to the amulet, when the gnome suddenly fell on him.  "WAAHG!" He yelled. He flopped around like an angry squid, trying to get the tiny creature off of him. Tanis tried desperately to hold in her laughter at the sight. When he finally got out of the gnome's reach, he realized he was holding something. Something... red. "Oh god. I touched its hat. I TOUCHED ITS HAT!" Jim yelled, tossing the thing away. What the hat was hiding was quite... strange. It appeared that gnomes had a triangular cone on their heads, like a drill. Oh, fascinating! I wonder how and why they use it? Is it to build the tunnel? Do trolls use the cone for arrowheads, or similar? Tanis wondered rapidly, continuing thoughts like that for roughly 30 seconds, non-stop. Tanis. Jim began. Tell me... were you a zoology major when you were, uh, in your own body? How'd you guess? Tanis answered sarcastically.  Jim darted toward the amulet, but the gnome grabbed his legs.  The tiny beast laughed maniacally as it tugged Jim closer and closer.  Jim reached for the Amulet finally landing a hand on it.' "ForthegloryofMerlindaylightisminetocommand!" He said as fast as he could. The armor made a clang noise as it always did, and he was lifted up into the air with the magic, and then landed, snarling and baring his teeth at the gnome. And the only noise it made was a small whimper. Ha. You did it! And I didn't even have to help you! Tanis clapped proudly. Yeah... I guess I did. Jim smiled.   Toby had been pacing the small shop, still close to the hole. He had been waiting, too, for awhile now.  And Jim hadn't come back yet. He was beginning to get nervous. How long exactly had he been down there? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Then Toby heard more of the gnome's chattering, and the gnome reared its head out of the hole.  With its hands tied behind its back. Wait, how the fork did Jim get rope down there? Or string, or whatever. He thought. Jim was behind the gnome, with his armor summoned. He had his sword out, forcing the gnome forward. "Well done, Master Jim! You summoned the armor, and caught the gnome!" Blinky exclaimed happily.  Toby swiftly bagged the gnome, picking it up as the little creature wrestled furiously with the bag, trying to get out.  "What about this shrinking stuff? When does it wear off?" Jim asked, fidgeting. "Oh, not to worry! All you must do is sleep it off. Go to bed, get a good night's sleep, and wake up your original size." Blinky smiled. "All that is left of you is for you to take care of it." "Take care of it?" Jim asked. "Kill. End. Deaden. Le coup de grâce." Blinky explained to them, as if he hadn't made it obvious enough. AAAARRRGH!!! drew a line on his throat to punctuate it. Toby just winced.   Jim sat on the pillow on Toby's bed, thinking. What's so hard about this, human? Just kill the gnome. Stab it while it rests. In the sink, of course. To wash away the blood. Tanis lectured him on his reluctance to kill the gnome. He still couldn't bring himself to do it... "I'm not a killer." He said aloud. Toby looked up from studying the amulet. 
Shit. 
 "What was that?" Toby asked.  "I can't kill the gnome. I nearly had dinner with it! Neither of us are killers." Jim answered, throwing himself back onto the pillow. He sighed.  "I am." Toby said after a minute.  Jim got up, and looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "You?" "Yeah... Detective Snuggles. It was just after Easter, and I'd pulled in a huge haul. I never thought that cat would find my stash. By the time I found out, it was too late..." He began, sobbing a little. "Death by chocolate. There're worst ways to go, but that's up there." Jim tried to comfort his friend, but clearly he wasn't succeeding. "That's not even the worst part. To cover it all up... I used to eat his cat food to make it look like he was still around... and..." Toby sobbed. "I liked it." Well this is getting odd. Tanis said.  "Don't beat yourself up, Tobes... we've both had a big day, and now's not the time to deal with this." Jim said as he stubbornly threw himself back into the blankets, curling up like a cat.   Jim yawned, and shifted to his side. He opened his eyes, and there was a freaking doll staring at him.  He screamed, and threw himself off of the bed. "What's wrong, Tiny Jim? Did you not sleep well in Nana's dollhouse?" Toby said.  "THERE IS EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THAT SENTENCE!" Jim yelled. "Why the fuck do you have a dollhouse, anyway? I mean, this is Netflix-level shit!"  "We will not speak of it outside of this house." Toby replied, with a slight frost to his tone. "WHY AM I STILL SMALL!?" Jim demanded. "I dunno. Maybe this stuff works different on humans than it does with trolls?" Toby questioned. Oh, like LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE HAVING TO DO WITH TROLL MAGIC!? Tanis said.  Jim winced, as he did when Tanis yelled in his head.  "Oh shit! I still gotta present." Jim realized. He facepalmed. "Don't worry... I have a plan." Toby said.    Toby ran into the classroom.  He was lucky; Señor Uhl was just calling Jim's name, and Toby burst in. "Jim's here! Virtually." Toby said. He opened the tab that had the FaceTime application. Jim was sitting in the dollhouse couch, though, to everyone else, it looked like a completely normal room. He began the presentation. There were quite a few interruptions by the gnome, but it ended up actually ok. "And that's it for my presentación. Hasta luego!" Jim ended swiftly, panting slightly. It had appeared that he got the gnome thing under control. "Spectacular!" Called Eli, a little too loudly. Toby snorted. He was half-convinced that the boy had a crush on Jim, even though he had no real proof. Especially since he wouldn't ask him about it.  "Very informative, Mr. Lake. C-plus." Señor Uhl said.  Jim groaned. "Fine, B- minus." Señor Uhl amended. Toby looked closer, and he realized that Jim wasn't groaning just from the grade... he was changing! He was growing to his normal size. That wasn't just it, though. He saw something else. Toby could have sworn that for a moment, his eyes were a different color, and his nails were definitely longer, and dark. But it was only for a moment, after a mere second, he returned to normal. Still tiny, but he looked like himself again. Only he was definitely growing at a much faster rate.  Toby quickly shut the computer off, and scooted right outta there.  "Jim! You're ok! And big!" Toby cried out as he came in.  Gods of Asgard, I'm so sorry, Jim! I didn't mean to take control. It just sort of happened, it was only for a moment! Tanis was saying in Jim's head. She had been like that since the presentation. APPARENTLY, you didn't mean it. You can stop rambling now. Jim sighed. Then he realized Toby was still there. "I'm so sorry I failed you, I should have killed it when I had the chance."  Jim simply showed Toby the gnome, happily munching away at a Nougat Nummy in the dollhouse. "I thought he was attacking me, but all he wanted was a home..." He smiled. They watched the little creature play the guitar and sing for a moment. "Blinky said to 'Take care of him'. But what if we actually TOOK CARE of him? Y'know. So we can be like 'well, we did what you said'." Jim said with a cocky grin on his face. My idea. So my idea. Tanis commented.  "Can I keep him? I already have a name: Gnome Chompsky." Toby said, spreading his arm out. "Odd, but I like it." Jim pointed at him.  He closed the dollhouse.  "Not bad for a first mission! Two problems solved, and it's not like we get to rehearse this stuff-- OH SHIT! REHEARSALS!" Jim yelled. Well, we're screwed. Tanis said.    
 
Tanis burst into the auditorium. She had been the one going in for rehearsals since she realized Jim was hopeless in theater. She used his voice and appearance. Nobody would, not had, suspected a thing. "Romeo, o Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" Claire began. "SHALL I HEAR MORE--" Tanis began her line, using Jim’s voice, and shouting so they could hear.  Then Steve came in from the left side. Steve! Of all people.  "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Steve quoted. He coughed, and pointed, for Mrs. Janeth. "Oh, Mr. Lake! Your repeated tardiness has forced me to take precautions. Mr. Palchuk will now be your understudy." She said. Great. Just wonderful.   Stricklander walked into the room. It was dark, but that wasn't a problem. He held a crate in his hands. Bular walked towards him. "You're late." He growled. "You're impatient." The changeling raised an eyebrow at the gigantic troll. "I was waiting for a different package to arrive." The black troll ripped open the package and grabbed the stone inside. He held it up to the curtained shape, and Bular thrust a part of the cloth aside.  The stone blazed for a moment, then flew to its place like a puzzle piece. "We're making progress... soon, the Killahead Bridge will be complete." Stricklander said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

She's changed.

You can see it in her eyes,

Feel it in her touch,

Hear it in her tone.
 
She's not the same.

And she's never coming back.
  Blinky had apparently decided to do the next training session in the forest.  Jim thought it was an awful idea. He had only been training for half an hour, but he was already bruised in so many places, and had cuts in even more. "WHY ARE WE DOING THIS, AGAIN!?" He shouted to Blinky as a flurry of arrows were shot at him while he maneuvered through the trees and bushes. "For preparation! Not all of your battles will be fought in arenas, Master Jim! You need to be accustomed to fight in ALL environments." Blinky called. The worst part about all of this is that he's RIGHT. Tanis grumbled in Jim's head. "AGH!" Jim squawked as an arrow grazed his ear. He fell to the ground, startled. He flipped over so he could see the one shooting the arrows. And he only saw them for a second before one of them hit him square in the chest. Orange paint exploded on his armor as the paintball arrow popped. "Haha! Bullseye!" Toby called as he pumped his fist. "Yeah, yeah, you got me." Jim muttered. He shut off the armor, hoping that the next time he activated it there wouldn't be a giant, tangerine-colored splot on it. "Good shot, Tobias! And Master Jim... You still averted your friend for 30 minutes. That is still a new record for us! You are improving." Blinky said, trailing over to the clearing with AAAARRRGH!!! right behind. "Did good. Ran for long." AAAARRRGH!!! nodded.  All of a sudden, Jim felt a presence.   He stood up and his nostrils twitched. He smelled something... something that wasn't there before. He smelled fire, more like smoke. But he saw none, in fact, the only light was from the fading twilight, blazing low in the now-purple sky. The smell intensified, along with his fear. He heard a small clang as his armor was summoned again, as a sort of defense mechanism. (The paint was gone, that was a relief.) "Something's coming." He hissed to the others. "Quiet!" Both Blinky and Toby moved closer to AAAARRRGH!!!, who snarled.  Jim summoned his sword, growling faintly.  Then they came out of the shadows.  It was almost as if they were part of the shadows themselves, but Jim knew better. There were only 3 of them, but it seemed like they were a force to be reckoned with all on their own. They were all muscular yet sleek, composed, yet it was obvious that they could spring upon them with all of the strength and ferocity of lions.  Nighthunters. "Dragons..." Blinky breathed. "Wait, what? There're trolls AND dragons!?" Toby yelped.    "Yes, and these are Nighthunters. The smallest race of dragons, but one of the most ferocious. They bear all of the strength, agility, and grace of panthers, and are known for their dark scales and the retractable blade on their tails that are larger than a chef's knife, sharper than a surgeon's scalpel." "Where is she!?" One large, buff male barked.  "...Who?" AAAARRRGH!!! said, confused.  "You know who... Tanis! The traitor, the runaway... we followed her scent to here. Now why is that?" The leader, a sleek female hissed. The last one just looked down at his talons. He was a rather chubby Nighthunter... and was a dark green color that looked familiar. Moss! It's Moss! Tanis said excitedly.  Who? Jim answered, confused.  Moss! He was my friend before this whole thing. He could help us! She yelped happily. Oh, it's so nice to see a familiar face!  Tanis, wait. These guys are here for you. If we reveal you, then they'll take us.  Jim told her. 
But they'll take us anyway. 
 The leader padded around, inspecting each of them. "Interesting group... A fat human, a troll scholar, a former Gumm-Gumm, and... a human Trollhunter!" She exclaimed. Then she laughed.  "Well that is certainly something. Now, the question is... where is she? The Abyss does... curious things to someone in it... she must have escaped when she was reduced to nothing more than a spirit, which means she needs a host. So... which one of you has her?" She leered. "Oh, just take them all, Midnight! Her Majesty will sort them out herself." The large one said to the one called Midnight. Moss still just looked down at his paws. The other 2 began to herd them further into the forest, Moss leading the way.  "Jim? What do you think they want?" Toby whispered fearfully.  Jim didn't answer.  "Stop here!" Midnight barked suddenly. They all froze. The sleek dragoness slithered forward, in front of a tree. Ancient oak, with a knot in the trunk, near a body of water of some form... Tanis recited.  What? Jim asked.  It's how you get into the City of Night. Tanis explained. City of Night? Jim asked, nervously. The City where the Nighthunters are. Like Trollmarket. There's also the City of Sand, the City of Fire, the City of the Ocean (Atlantis), and a lot more. Tanis counted on her claws. Wait, Atlantis was a dragon city? Jim asked. Before Tanis could respond, Midnight blew fire on the knot in the tree. Instead of burning up, the fire flew across every line in the tree, and runes encircled the knot. The knot grew and grew and grew-- until it could fit even AAAARRRGH!!! into the knot, which wasn't scientifically possible. "In." Midnight growled. The large male dragon and Moss prodded them forward with their tails. Jim bit his lip and went into the portal.  It felt exactly like going into Trollmarket with Horngazel. A little tingly sensation of magic, then it was gone as he came to the other side. He gasped.  It looked like the entire city was built inside a tree. There were buildings after buildings, castles, shops, small parks, and lots and lots of open air, perhaps for flying. There were streetlights with fire inside them, as it seemed to be the main light source. Jim walked on soft green grass and hard, glossy wood. The city's dome was of a night sky, but it wasn't like a mural... it seemed like a genuine night sky. There were a few movements, but Jim was sure that they were shooting stars, not planes. In fact, there were more stars than he had ever seen in his life. He had gone to the country once, on a visit to his Grandmother's, but even that was dwarfed by the immense beauty he saw here. He looked around, and he saw the palace. It was a towering, massive structure, with half a dozen turrets and towers. It seemed to be made of the tree that the entire city was built on, except darker. But it didn't look evil, not at all. The main part of the building seemed to be carved like a dragon flaring its wings up, and it was all in all a very cool building. "Welcome to the City of Night." Midnight said.  
 
They entered the building, and there was a purple rug that lead to the end of the hall, where there was a gigantic throne of Mahogany and gold. On that throne sat a large, sleek female dragon with a silver circlet on her head. She was mainly black and dark magenta, with little specks of purple here and there. Her mane was long and triangular, and they looked like long, thin knives. Her horns were long and wavy, almost like Vendel's, except they were much thinner and reached back instead of out. Her eyes were the color of garnets, and the gem in the center of the circlet were mirrored off of them, so it looked like a third eye. She was as large as a tiger, almost nearing AAAARRRGH!!!'s shoulder. Urada. Tanis growled. Who? Jim asked. My... sister. Apparently, she's Queen of the Nighthunters now. Tanis replied. 
Wait, how could she become queen? Wait, you're a--
 
DON'T. SAY IT. I hate that title. So much. 
 "So. My sister has escaped the Abyss. You knew I would find you eventually... the main question is... where are you hiding?" Urada leered. She jumped off of her throne and stalked towards them.  "She'd never choose a small, fat human. She also wouldn't choose a ginormous, half-brained troll either, if she's smart. Especially a former Gumm-Gumm. MAYBE you." She stops in front of Blinky, who gulped. "I smell books and ink on you. She loves books-- spends a third of her time with them, the other training, acting, and drawing." She glances toward Jim for a moment, then shakes her head. "What EVER are you blathering about? I am not hosting a spirit!" Blinky spat.  "Well then." Urada said. She walked back towards her throne. "Guess I know what I'll do now..." Urada's talons glowed in black magic that seemed to be made of shadows themselves. Her eyes glowed, and she spoke in Dragontongue, which Jim understood. "Come to me, sister."  She hissed.  Jim was suddenly overtaken in magic. He yelled in pain as he doubled over in agony. Searing pain rose from inside of him. "GYAAAAAGH!" He howled. He rose from the floor, contorting in pain. His eyes were shut tight, but he couldn't even imagine the betrayal and confusion that was on his friends' faces.  "Ah! Dear sister. So nice of you to join us." She leered. She brought Jim closer. Jim knew what was going to happen. He was going to die.  Tanis seized control. She gasped, her eyes widening as they morphed into her own.  "There we go. See? Now you're here. But why don't you shift into your REAL form, huh?" Urada purrs. Then she clenches her fist, and Tanis's body was enveloped in a boiling, burning sensation. She screamed as she felt her draconic form forced upon her. Her entire skeleton reformed itself, her feet lengthened as well as her spine. Her shoulder blades groaned as her wings grew out of them, as she now had six limbs instead of 4. Dark indigo, blue, and purple scales formed on her body and her hair disappeared, replaced by a spiky mane. Her horns slid out of her skull, and her face morphed and stretched and grew as her snout and fangs formed. Her feet stretched and grew catlike, the claws growing. Her prehensile tail grew as well, as long and as graceful as she remembered. Her tailblade made a thtatch noise as it sprung from its sheath. Her ears grew large, expressive, and cowlike, ending the transformation.  She just panted on the ground, on her hands and knees.  "Or at least close to it. Huh." Urada snorted disgustedly, like she was torturing a victim, and they didn't react how she wanted them to. Oh, and another thing.  When she shifts, she also uses Theater Magic (More on that later)to change her clothes as she shifts, so that her wings and tail are free and also because Jim's clothes are, of course, in a male cut.  Since she didn't shift willingly, her clothes didn't change.  So she was half-naked, her clothes in tatters. She quickly used her magic to make herself an outfit, which was a black, halter top to fit her large wings, and comfortable blue jeans tailored to fit her tail and her digitigrade stance. She got up, a look of absolute hatred on her face at Urada.  "J-jim?" Toby stammered.  "I can explain." She says desperately to the others. "You'd better! How could you keep this from us? Who even are you? I mean really?" Blinky asked.  Tanis inhaled. "Fine. When you were with Jim for the first time, I was in a place called The Abyss. Otherwise known as the Shadow Realm. I used this one spell, Mind-Seeing, which is like a group version of Mind-Reading. Somehow, I got stuck in Jim's mind/body. Now sometimes I can take over, and when I do, I'm either a human female that only looks SLIGHTLY different from Jim, or this, or something in between. PLEASE don't ask about the whole sex-change thing. Even I'M not 100% sure how that works." She coughs and then nods her head. Toby opened and closed his mouth several times, and then said: "So that rules out like half of my questions." Tanis gave him a "look".  "WHAT!?" Toby said. "Well this is all well and good, but I would prefer that we skip along to the part where I kill all of you slowly in front of her and give my dear sister an agonizing death!" She walked towards them, an unhinged look on her face.  
Shing! 
 All of her claws and blades were out. She let loose a blood-curdling snarl, her mane vibrating and moving with her as she lowered into a "killspring" position.  "Run." Was all Tanis had to say before they all turned tail and charged right outta there. Urada snarled, and then leaped at them. AAAARRRGH!!! grabbed Toby, the slowest runner of the group, and put him on his back. Tanis folded her wings and galloped on all fours, sprinting like a cheetah. Then a dark green, chubby dragon ran beside Tanis for a moment. Moss! "Follow me, into the markets! Large troll, bend down." He said. AAAARRRGH!!! bent down best he could while running. Moss turned the corner and they were in the market. It was even more glorious than she remembered- the colors, the scents, the sounds! And every dragon selling things were different. Both Blinky and Toby seemed fascinated. There were mostly other Nighthunters, but Tanis saw the feathered, graceful Skydancers, [Ooc note: Yes, like in FR] The large, pale SandRunners, scuttling about on their 8 legs. (Technically they were Basilisks, but they were named an official tribe a century ago.) There were other tribes here, but those were the main ones she saw.  "In here!" Moss called. He beckoned them over to a relatively large building, possibly his house. They ducked inside. They all breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe... for now.  "How did Urada become queen so fast? I was only in the Abyss for a few months!" Tanis says. "Oh Tanis... no, no, no... You were gone for 5 years... not months..." Moss says calmly.  It hits her square in the stomach as if someone had punched her. "5... years?" She whispered.  The others looked at her in sadness, horror, and pity.  "What about the King and Queen? What about mom and dad?" She said urgently, grabbing Moss's talon and squeezing it, hard. Moss purses his lips for a moment, then whispers: "You sure you wanna know?" Tanis nods. "Urada killed them. It was the day after you left... I was just coming up to check on them. I had no idea. I went into the room... and just found your parents' bodies on the carpet. Just... mutilated. Torn to shreds. I smelled Urada's scent on them." He begins, shutting his eyes tight as if the memory was painful. "I tried to warn the guards, but when we came back, there was no trace of the bodies, or of Urada. The blood was cleaned from the floor... and I was charged for treason. Now I'm just SERVING her... when I know full well what she did." He spat. Tanis just sat down... lost.  Her parents were dead... she would never see them again. Her sister was a murderer.   Her parents... they will be avenged. "How can we get out of here?" Blinky asks suddenly, breaking the silence. "Not that I am not utterly FASCINATED by this draconic city, but we must make our egress. And Tanis... I am truly sorry."  "Ah." Moss says.  "Well I'm a researcher of magical objects as WELL as a servant, and I believe the answer lies in your Amulet, Trollhunter."  Tanis stops for a moment. What could the Amulet of Daylight have to do with escaping this city? "I'm not the Trollhunter... I'm just tagging along on the ride." She whispers. "Well the Amulet responds to you, does it not? Only the Trollhunter can wield the Sword of Daylight." Moss smiled.  How did he know? Tanis just thought about this for a moment.  "Aaaaanyways, I know how you can escape. Horngazel, please." Moss says, and holds out a paw.  Blinky doesn't do anything for a moment, then he hands it over. Moss drew an arch on the wall, large enough for AAAARRRGH!!! to fit. (He had to fly)  "Now the amulet." He said. "You have to do it yourself, though." Tanis walks over to the arch and brings out the amulet. It glows blue, and flies to the center of the semicircle. The portal opens.  "What changes when the amulet is used?" Tanis asks Moss.  "If you use the Amulet's powers combined with Horngazel, then it summons a portal to the current Trollhunter's home. But there are restraints. You can only use it on an object or surface used for portals. Like this wall-- I use it for portals. Sometimes. The magical residue kind of jump-starts the magic. Anyway, I bid you adieu!" Moss waved.  Tanis stepped into the portal, followed by the rest of them. It had, indeed worked. She was home. She looked out the window. Sunrise. Just barely... there's the slightest sliver of light on the horizon. "You guys had best get out of here. The sun's coming up." She says as the others come in.  AAAARRRGH!!! and Blinky nodded, and made their way out.  Toby stayed where he was. "We just screwed ourselves into some really deep shit, didn't we, Tantan?" Toby says. "Yeah." She says. "Tantan?"  "A nickname. A fun little thing between us, y'know?" Toby smiled. "Tantan..." She says again. "I like it."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tanis was flying. She knew she technically wasn't supposed to be outside as herself, but it was a nice night. She didn't really care what the others thought. She launched herself into the air, pumping her wings as she climbed. She broke the curtain of clouds and did a barrel roll in the air as she glided above the clouds, basking in the light of the crescent moon.  The starscape under her wings seemed to glow with reflected light, and she dives again. She flares up her wings, making her stop before she hits the ground. She's right next to an Oak tree, near the neighborhood. She climbs up the oak tree, her wing-claws digging into the rough bark.  She hauls herself onto one of the sturdier branches and rests herself into a more comfortable position.  "Ahhhh..." She breathes happily.  She liked Midgard. It was one of the nicer realms, even though humankind was tearing it apart, with their factories and their trucks and their pollution. She wrinkled her nose. It was one of the reasons the Magical Beings had to resort to using in-between realms, like the City of Night, and Trollmarket.  She still preferred Arcadia Oaks to Trollmarket, and she couldn't show her face in the City of Night without getting captured.  Her ears flattened in sorrow, lost in thought. 
Snap!
 There was a sharp noise of twigs being broken. Her ears flew up, alert. Something was watching her.  She wasn't sure what it was, but she swung backward, off of the tree, and flew out of sight.   Jim deflected arrow after arrow as he trained, and rolled to dodge a fire attack. "Always be afraid. Fear heightens your senses. Fear keeps you alive." Blinky quoted at him while Jim finally stopped to breathe, sighing in relief as he thought the barrage was over, and he stood up proudly. Then he got hit in the back with a particularly heavy stone. "Arrogance gets you killed." Blinky huffed.  "Yup. Gotta remember that." Jim groaned.  "Draal, however, does not fear you. That will be his downfall. You have accomplished things beyond what I ever would have expected of a mere human, and not to mention your little secret, Mistress Tanis." Blinky continued. Tanis took control for a moment, and the armor changed accordingly. "You know I'm not always here, right? But I know at this point you were talking to me." She says, her hands on her hips. Blinky looked slightly shocked for a moment, then coughed. "I suppose I must get used to that..."  She raised her sword and continued to deflect the blows, even hitting some of the projectiles back at the machines.  She heard Toby and AAARRRGHH!!! chatting, something about Toby's new Chubby Tracker? Whatever the fuck THAT was.  She continued to slice open the training dummies.  "I think that being afraid is one rule that I-- ACK!" She squawked at a spear hurtled toward her. She rolled, and then stood up, watching the training dummy behind her burst into flames.  "That I'm good at." "No, Mistress Tanis, you must excel at all 3. For the trolls to truly embrace you and Jim as Trollhunters, you must ignore your humanly instincts. Embrace your more feral nature."  Tanis freezes for a moment. Her face suddenly pales at the word 'feral'.  "Mistress Tanis? Are you all right?" Blinky asks, concerned. Tanis snaps herself out of her haze. "I'm fine. Just- try not to mention feral, ok?" She says, shaken. "But why--" Blinky looks confused. "I SAID LAY OFF, BLINKY!" She shouts without meaning to. In that yell, Blinky saw her armor shift. Not her physical armor, that was just fine. Something truly devastating happened to her. Something involving the word 'feral'. She still worries about it, and she's absolutely petrified of it. He also saw a small part of her wrists, exposed. There were scars. Not like self-harm scars, Thor forbid. More like... she had been violently struggling against chains.  What could it mean? Her mental armor shifted, her wrists were hidden, and the mask of calm returned. The door opens, and Draal and one of his buddies came in.  "Master Tanis- allow Jim to take over! Quickly!" Blinky hisses. Instead of doing so, There's a little spark of magic, and it appears that Jim has taken over again. But the eyes- they're still Tanis's own color, so her eyes close.  "Look. He's training. " The large teal-colored troll chuckled as he walked by. "Cute." He then began to say some things in Trollish, probably things that should never be repeated. Tanis waited for the 2 to exit.  "Well, THEY'RE gone." She said, making everyone jump at her voice. She opened her eyes and there was the fire-colored flicker of magic as her hair turned back into the spiky haircut she always had, and her armor turned back to the way it was before, with the sleeker design, special breastplate and armor skirt.  "How did you--?" Toby came over, a bewildered look on his face. "Theater magic. I also have a Mind-Seeing spell, but that only works on the Eclipse. Also Music Magic, but I'm not gonna use it right now because it doesn't seem like an appropriate time." Tanis listed, counting each spell on her finger. "W H A T ?" He breathed.  "And that's weak-ass magic according to dragons." She said with a slight smirk. "You can READ MINDS!?" He yells.  "Of course not. Not naturally. And I hate doing it, it makes me have a weird tingly feeling in my body that I DO NOT LIKE." "What can you do with the Theater magic?" He asks suddenly.  Tanis places a finger on her chin.  "Well on a daily basis I can change an outfit to whatever and same with hair and stuff. On the full moon and eclipse I can do cross-species disguises, So, like, turning a troll into a human, a human into a dragon, et cetera, et cetera. Which wear off after about 2 or 3 hours." She explains. "Really the only ones I do a lot is the Theater Magic thing and Music Magic. The other stuff's a bitch to do."  Toby still has his jaw hitting the ground. "Oh, stop it. It really isn't that special." She says, breaking the small silence. She waves her hands for no obvious reason. She begins to walk out. "Master Tanis! I wanted to say one last thing before you make your egress. I was going to say for you to let your fear keep you alive, and let Draal's arrogance lead him astray. Defeat him... and you'll make history." Blinky called to her.   "I know contemporary media might lead you to believe that European History is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal. But I assure you... the truth is far more interesting!" The museum curator said to the class enthusiastically.  Jim highly doubted that what she was about to say was no where near as exciting as she was describing it to be. "...And there's no better place to start than Renaissance Era pottery!" She said happily.  Aaaaaaand there it was. Everyone groaned. Only Eli seemed interested.  Jim scratched his ear for a moment. He never really enjoyed these field trips, but they were better than the alternative.  "Since we have limited time, Miss Nomura, perhaps it is best that they explore the museum on their own?" Mr. Strickler said. Everyone darted inside, saying mixed things in the same general group of "Oh yeah, you think?" "Wow, great idea!" and most often of all: "YASSSSS BOI" "So check this out, dude. If I get 50,000 steps, I get the T-shirt. 100,000 nets me the water bottle. But if I get 500,000-- Oh man. That's when things get interesting!" Toby gushes about his new Chubby Tacker. Jim looks around the corner. Claire is looking at one of the costumes in the museum.  Good quality too. If I was in my own body and stuff right now, then I would have taken sketches. Tanis mused. 
You do costume drawings? 
 
It's for IDEAS Jim. For my art, for my magic, for a bunch of things. 
 "Sorry if you got caught up in the little fight between Lake and I. But I want you to know that since joining the play, I feel like there's a part of me that really wants to come out." Steve lisped. Bull. Shit. "Apology accepted. You were an asshole, though."  No, no, no— Claire, come on! He still IS an asshole! Tanis growled, sounding a little bit desperate. Wait, why do I care about this so much? Steve saw Jim coming around the corner, and began to mock him.  "Aw, come on. Steve's just a random idiot. Don't let him get to you." Toby said. "Claire's a smart girl. She'll realize he's an asshole after all." "Well she already said that, but unfortunately didn’t stick with it. Can I kill him?" Tanis had taken over for a moment, and she frowns and jerks a thumb in Steve’s direction. All it was was the eye color change, and the voice. Nothing else.  "NO. It would be awesome, but NO." Toby says, looking shocked for a moment, then shaking his head. But Tanis notices the ghost of a small smile trace his lips.  "You knew I was kidding. And she's already too busy thinking I'M an asshole for skipping the rehearsals." She points out. Tanis looks over at Claire.  "I'm gonna go talk to her." She says. Toby looks surprised. "Really!? Dude, are you serious? No, nothing good ever happens when someone says those 6 words!" Toby warns her. “Just remember to do the Jim thing. No slip-ups.” Tanis nods and makes her way toward Claire while Toby distracts Steve and lures him away. Something with the words "Topless" and "Neanderthal exhibit".  Seriously, Toby!? Luring him away with PORN!? That's a new low, even for him. Tanis scolds him mentally. Wait, what? Jim asked. 
Never mind.
 "I wish our play had these costumes." Tanis starts, clearing her throat. Claire turns around, and smiles.  "Yeah. With our school's budget, I'll probably be doing the balcony scene in my bathrobe." Claire laughs.  "Hey, you'd be able to pull it off!" Claire wrinkles her nose playfully, and smiles at her. ”Y’know... I really like talking with you. I know it’s a tad early in the conversation to be saying this, but it’s true.” Claire says. Tanis raises her eyebrows, surprised at the compliment. Was it a compliment? Or did she simply like Tanis’s company? Actually, that would be quite a bit better. That’d mean, by extension, that Claire liked Tanis! If one strings all of the signs together. It could just mean that she only sees Tanis as a friend. Tanis was a bit startled with herself.  
All of that, in a stretch, from a simple ‘I like talking with you?’
 And what was with the “only as a friend” thing? That couldn’t mean anything, could it?  Could it?  Suddenly, she heard something that DEFINITELY seemed to need her attention. "At first, I thought it was an alien. Definitely not human. It's some sort of monster!" A shrill voice was saying.  "Uh, Claire? Could you excuse me for a moment?" Tanis looks in the voice’s direction and waits for Claire’s permission to leave. Jim takes control and goes over to Eli, the one who was talking.  "Hey Eli, can I see your phone real quick? Thanks!" He takes the phone and looks at the picture. It's sort of blurry, but it looks like some kind of green puddle with a squished, tiny, green, humanoid creature in it. Ohhhhhh no. Nope, nope, Blinky needs to see this. Jim frets. We'll get him to where this is, but for now? Destroy the evidence. Tanis says. Jim taps the "x" around the lower right hand of the picture. The photo disappears. I meant smashing the phone, but that's good too. Tanis snorts. "What the hell!? You deleted it!?" Eli says in a betrayed voice. "Jim, that was my only photographic evidence of the creature!"  Jim looks down at his hands. "Sorry. I was trying to zoom in. Tapped in the wrong place." He says, shrugging. "Good thing I have a picture of something even better." Eli grins.  Jim freezes. "You what?" "I got a picture of this winged thing with horns." Eli says excitedly. Jim thinks rapidly. He knows Tanis went out last night.  "You know what? I'll come to your house sometime soon. You can tell me all about what you've seen." Jim says quickly. Eli looks delighted. "Really!?" He says happily. "Yeah." Jim nods, slightly uncomfortably. He rushes over to Toby. "We have a problem." He says quickly. "Uh. What KIND of problem?" Toby says.   "A goblin!?" Blinky demands as he looks down at the squashed corpse. "Seems like it." AAARRRGHH!!! says. Tanis studies the creature.  "Fascinating..." She mutters to herself. "Small and vaguely humanoid, but also features like rats and spiders. The blood's green, but the only creatures with even vaguely green blood are insects... all vertebrates have red blood... mammal classification. Long, spidery limbs, easily breakable. Small tusks like a troll, possibly distantly related to them. Yellow sclera. Large ears, like a bat, perhaps because they have adapted to a nocturnal habit, and use it for echolocation." She says, even running a finger down the corpse's spine, and sniffing it. "What are you doing?" Toby says, confused.  Tanis gets up, but not after taking a sample of the flesh, the blood, and one of the goblin's tusks.  "Ew." Toby wrinkles his nose at the action.  "It's a thing I do. I'm a zoologist. I tend to fangirl about these sort of things." She says with a quirky grin. "Well! That's cool. Now let's go back an train for Draal." Toby says. "Oh, no, Master Tobias. Where there is one there is many. As for the poor fellow who flattened this goblin..." Blinky starts. "Well, may Skargen's swift blade have mercy." He did a sort of action that would be the trollish equivalent of tracing a cross on one's chest. "Why's that?" Toby asks.  "Fuck, I forgot! The revenge of a goblin is tenfold. For a leader being killed, they could send an entire clan to kill the murderer." Tanis explains, scratching her head and running her fingers through her black hair. She still wasn't used to living in a human body. "A delivery guy left a note here on Eli's house! Wait for it... the goblin might have gotten run over by the delivery truck!" Toby declared, showing everyone the note. Tanis took the note. "He's coming at 8:00..." She mused. "We need to be there too. I'm not letting an innocent human get killed on our watch." She said, determined. Her eyes glowed in anticipation. Everyone looked excited.  "Stakeout time." Toby says. "I've always wanted to say that!"    "Pft. It's 9:00. The only thing that's been delivered is failed expectations." Blinky huffed, not bothering to hide the frustration in his voice. Jim takes out his walkie-talkie (or whatever the more dignified name for those things are) and speaks to Tobes. "You see anything?" He asks his friend. "Negative, Trollhunter. All good over here... except I can't stop moving. My love of stakeouts is being ruined by my unquenchable urge to obtain swag." Toby replies with a sigh. Jim sighs in exasperation.  "Other than that, nothing unusual." Toby says. Jim's ears perk up. Something's coming this way. A car? No, a truck! "Trollhunter to Warhammer. The eagle has landed." He says into the device. The driver stopped at Eli's house. He came out. "We have to get him out of here before the goblins arrive." Jim said to Blinky. Blinky looked up, then gasped. "Too late... I'm afraid that his fate may already be sealed." The troll said quietly. One by one, the street lamps went off. As they did, Jim squinted and thought he could see... yup. Little spidery green shapes crawled upon the tops of the lamps. 1 goblin came out of the fog, slightly larger than the rest. It also had a sharpie-drawn mustache below its nose.  Jim fought back a snort. It snapped its fingers on one hand, and Jim's grin was wiped off of his face as dozens of sets of yellow, glowing eyes came out of the darkness. "Great Gronka Morka! There appears to be far more than I'd anticipated. Stay down and do not make a sound." Blinky hissed frightfully into the walkie-talkie. "In their frenzied state, they'll attack any in their path." The driver rang the doorbell, too dense to notice anything. He dropped the box, and it shattered.  Here's hoping there was nothing expensive in that box. Eli came out of the door.  "Yes! Finally! My spy gear has arrived!" He cried happily. He shook the box. The shattered pieces inside rattled. "Unassembled!" he added, slight confusion in his voice.  Well, there goes a good amount of money down the toilet.  "You mind if I use your bathroom? Thanks." The driver said quickly, and invited himself in. "That's Eli! He's in my class!" He protested to Blinky. "WAS in your class. Now he's dead meat." Blinky said unhelpfully. Hordes of goblins broke toward the house. They were frenzied, they were vicious-  They jumped on top of the truck, and swarmed all over it. "Interesting. It appears that their vengeance was directed at the driver... but the vehicle that crushed their fallen comrade." Blinky said curiously. "Do not be afraid, Master Jim!" Blinky clapped Jim on the back.  "I thought the first rule of Trollhunting was to always be afraid?" He said, confused. "Except with goblins. They can smell fear, and crave the pheromone of terror, an odor you appear to be emitting quite generously." Blinky explained. "Shit. I think smell it too!" Toby said, frightened. "Then control your fear, or they will eat you!" He shouted into the device. Several goblin turned towards the noise. They roared their ratty little roar at them. "I've made my point too loudly. RUN!" Blinky cried. They darted out of the bushes.  AAARRRGHH!!! tossed Toby onto his back, and ran out of the bushes after both them and the goblins. Jim yelped as the amulet glowed, and the armor activated. "Master Jim! Now is not the time for armor!" Blinky yelled crossly back at him. " It'll only slow you down!"  "You think I'm TRYING to do this!?" Jim called back.  "It's reacting to your emotional state. Control your fear, or you'll die!"  He fell back on account of the armor's weight. Goblins leaped on top of them. No! Not now! Tanis yelled, then took control. It was a full shift, and her form twisted and darkened until she was in her dragon form WITH the armor, a double threat. Her tailblade unsheathed. "Bring it, ya rat-spider bitches." She growled at the creatures. But not even a second afterwards, AAARRRGHH!!! ran through, picked her up by her horn, and tossed her onto his back. The armor deactivated. "Hi Tantan." Toby grinned. "You're doing this NOW!?" She scowled. The Chubby Tracker beeped.  "I just got the free t-shirt! This is so much cardio!" He said to her happily.  A goblin leaped onto him, grabbing his wrist.  "Tobes!" She yelled, and grabbed his hand, yanking him back onto AAARRRGHH!!!'s back.  He noticed something missing. "My points!" He yelled. "Your points!? Our LIVES, Toby!" Tanis scolded. "We need to find refuge! Trollmarket's too far!" Blinky said.  "My Nana's house! That's close enough." Toby cried. "This way!" They turned left, and made their way across a few backyards, and Toby came to the door. He fiddled with the keys, trying as hard as he could to get the door open. "C'mon, c'mon, hurry!" Tanis said. "Don't rush me! I'm opening it as fast as I--" Toby started. He clicked a thing on the key, and lights on the house blazed, and the goblins that made it over the fence retreated. The door opened. They all came inside as quickly as they could. They panted, the adrenalin still coursing through their veins.  "Thank God for Nana's anti-burglar mania." Toby breathed. "Yeah. Sure." Tanis panted, and let Jim take control. The spark of magic blazed for a moment, and in a flash, they were human again. "Toby-pie! Is that you?" A high voice called from another room.  "Don't mind us, Nana! We'll just be in my room. Just do your thing. And keep the cats inside." Toby called back. They made their way into his room, AAARRRGHH!!! barely squeezing in. They paced the floor, and Blinky suddenly grabbed Jim's shoulders.  "I hate to say it, but your town is infested with goblins!" Blinky said. Jim huffed. "How do I even deal with them? Trolls are simpler, since at least they stay underground. But goblins? I can't even--" He started. "Jim, we gotta get my Chubby Tracker back. With it, they're just gonna get faster and stronger." Toby interrupted. "Must find den." AAARRRGHH!!! said. Then he ate the bowl that Toby was stress-eating out of. "Hey! Not cool!" Toby protested.  "Hungry." AAARRRGHH!!! said. "Yes, eradicate them before they seek their revenge." Blinky said. Jim's eyes widened. "Revenge?" "Yes. On you 2. And now he knows where Tobias lives." Blinky explained. "Well you must have SOME idea." Jim said nervously. "Haven't the foggiest. It could be anywhere."  There was a high chattering sound. Everyone turned toward the dollhouse that had the gnome inside it. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ODIN IS THE GNOME DOING IN THIS DOLLHOUSE!?"  Blinky yelled. "Toby-Pie? I don't recognize that voice. Who is that?" Toby's Nana called from downstairs.  "A friend, Nana! I do have more than one!" Toby answered, his arms crossed. "No, you don't!" She called. Jim laughed, his shoulders shaking from the action. After all, it wasn't every day you're best friend's Nana roasted the said best friend. "You told us to take care of the gnome! TECHNICALLY, we aren't disobeying you." Jim said, a sly grin on his face. Blinky facepalmed, then inhaled.  "This is in direct violation of Rule #2! What ever happened to finishing the fight?" Blinky demanded.  Jim huffs. This was completely unfair.  "And rule #1 is to always be afraid, except around goblins, because they smell fear. Your rules make less sense than Algebra, which, oh yeah, I have in a few hours if I'm not eaten by goblins tonight!" Jim remarks. Blinky opens and closes his mouth a few times. "As your trainer, I can just advise your path. Not force you upon it. I understand. You're different from the Trollhunters we've had in the past. You're learning the rules in your own way. AAARRRGHH!!! and I will find this den, wherever it may be. You two just focus on your studies." Blinky finally says, then smiles. "Life has thrown enough at you for one day."  They all smiled and looked at each other. "But a gnome in a dollhouse!?" Blinky demands.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jim panted, heading into the locker room. Another wildly successful round of dodgeball. Tanis chirped. Ha ha. Very funny. You almost revealed us! In front of an entire high school. Jim tried to reason with her. What? Steve was taunting us. Now he has a fat lip and probably a limp. If I was actually trying, then it would be a lot worse than that. She replied. Jim grimaced. "You talking to Tanis?" Toby asked. He was trying (and failing) to put on his socks. "Yeah." Jim said, because there wasn't really much else to say. Toby's phone beeped. "Woah! Cool! I just got the windbreaker!" Toby exclaimed happily.  "From that Chubby Tracker thing?" Jim frowned.  "Yeah! Why else?" Toby said. Jim thought for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "Wait. Do you know what this means!?" He said, excited. "Yeah... When it's warm and raining, i'm not gonna sweat myself by wearing my winter coat." Toby says. "No! I mean it's literally called a Chubby Tracker. It has a map. We can find the den!" Jim says.  "And, I'm getting a lot of points!" Toby grins.  They speed along the darkened road on their bikes. "Shouldn't we tell the others?" Toby panted on his bike.  "By the time we get to Trollmarket, the Chubby Trackers' batteries might be dead and our only lead will be GONE." Tanis told him. She was in human form at the time. Which meant Toby was basically riding next to Jim-but-female-and-emo-clothing-that-actually-looks-super-good-on-her-but-he-refuses-to-admit-it.  Nice. They arrived. "The Chubby Tracker thing says it's here." Toby says. Then he looked up. "Are you FUCKING SERIOUS!?" He demanded. "The MUSEUM!?" Tanis huffed. "Never would've guessed THAT... Well, time to tell the others." She said, turning back.  "Wait! Toby shoved her down. "Hey! What the fuck?" She hissed. "It's the museum lady." Toby says, pointing to her. Tanis's nostrils twitched, and her ears flattened, even though she was in her human body. "Doesn't smell right." She said. Toby looked at her. What the fuck was she talking about? "What?" "The curator. She doesn't smell right." She sniffs. "Well you don't exactly smell like peaches and roses either." Toby says. "Of course. I smell like smoke and cinnamon." She grins.  "Are we seriously talking about how we smell right now?" Toby demands. Tanis laughs. "Let's just go in."  They sneak up to the side of the museum, Tanis leading the way. Toby realizes what she's about to do right before she shifts and carves a hole in the glass with her claws, which looked painful. She hurled herself forward and caught the glass before it shattered, then placed it on the grass. She shifts back to human form. "This is breaking and entering!" He protests. "No. It's breaking and... rescuing!" Tanis corrects. "Relax. All we're gonna do is get her outta there and tell Blinky and AAARRRGHH!!! what's going on. Then BOOM. Problem solved." Tanis climbed in, silent as a cat.  Toby tried to get in, but struggled with the window. He kicked his legs, trying to force himself through the narrow space.  "Uh. A little help?" He chuckles nervously.  Tanis pulls him in, with much difficulty.  "Ah. Thank you." He says, getting up. "Man, this place is creepy with the lights out." Toby shivers.  "Then follow me. I can see in the dark." Tanis says.  They make their way through the museum. Toby sees a door with light coming through. Classical music played faintly. He knew the song, if not briefly. But he couldn't put his finger on the name of it. "Ok, what's the plan? We can't risk scaring her, the goblins will find us. Maybe we say... hm. We're art lovers, we can't wait to see the new exhibits?" She suggests. Toby looked in. The woman held a sort of... hoop like thing? With green designs and spikes. All the works of a creepy-ass hula-hoop of doom. Then the woman walked back. Toby followed his shadow... and it shifted. Like, horror-movie shifting. Werewolf of London style. The woman's form got taller and longer, her shoulders spiked as well as her arms. Even her stance shifted, from plantigrade to a very tall ungulate stance. She came out from the corner. Hoooooooly shit.  Well, we're screwed. Toby thought.  "Tanis. Tanis. Tanis. You might wanna... uh... sniff again?" He hisses to her.  "What do you mea-- oh shit." She says, her eyes widening. The woman-turned-creature came around the corner and peered at the two. "I thought I smelled the stink of teenage flesh." She hissed, with a smile of homicidal glee. They screamed in unison, (Tanis's was more of a yell) and ran beeline for the nearest hidden space, behind some curtains. "But a human Trollhunter... that I have never tasted." She grinned evilly. Tanis made an inhuman growling noise that sent a shiver through Tobys' spine. "Oh, I'm far from human..." She chanted the incantation rapidly in some weird growly language. She shifted to her dragon anthro form with the armor.  Well that wiped the smug grin off of that pink bitch's face. Tanis roared triumphantly, and Toby promptly hid.  "What ARE you!?" The Pink Bitch demanded as she just barely stopped the large sword from slicing into her chest. "I'm what kicks your ass." Tanis replied with a cheeky smile.  She should have never forgotten Blinky's rule.  A hoof slammed into Tanis's face. Throwing her down. She cried out in surprise.  She tried to get up, and swung her sword at the creature. She missed, again and again.  Toby ran forward to help, but in front of him jumped a familiar face. The goblin with his Chubby Tracker. "You... give it BACK, you little shit!" Toby yelled. He dove for his device, but the goblin avoided Toby's grasp and taunted him.  They rolled and fought.  Meanwhile, Tanis and Pink Bitch (Wow, she needed to find a name for her) continued to fence.  Tanis rolled and swung her sword, while PB made mainly defensive strokes and avoided the blade. " Ya know what? I've had enough of this." Something pearly and silver comes out of her tail and whips towards PB's arm. She yelped, and cradled her arm, which was dripping with blood. "That's what you get for messing with a Nighthunter." Tanis says, lashing her tail. Holy shit. At the end of her tail, there was an entire fucking KNIFE. No, bigger than a knife. Larger than a chef's knife, sharper than a surgeon's scalpel.  "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WHAT IS THAT!?" Toby demanded. "My tailblade. My natural weapon from my dragon tribe? I can't believe I didn't show you until now." Tanis explained. "But a fucking KNIFE!?"  Why did Jim and Tanis get all the cool stuff? The battle continued, the Pink Bitch's attacks mainly fueled by rage. Tanis didn't manage to land many more hits after that, and she mainly dropped to all fours, lashing her tail out like a scorpion. She fell back as the trollish woman began this sort of whirlwind attack. Tanis blocked the attacks with her sword wearily.  Toby had to do something. He grabbed the hem of her skirt, and Pink Bitch fell on her face.  She hissed indignantly, but her focus on Tanis didn't waver.  The goblin jumped in front of him again, and Toby growled and leaped at it again. Suddenly PB knocked Tanis into the wall, and a curtain fell on top of her.  Toby rolled in, throwing the goblin with his Chubby Tracker off of him, and taking the device.  "Oh, poor thing. All that fancy armor... and you're still just a scared little girl." Pink Bitch says. "You're forgetting something. Fear keeps you alive." She grabs the top of the curtain. "Arrogance gets you killed!" She yanked the curtain from under her, causing Pink Bitch to fall... right on top of the goblin.  Green blood splattered across her back and forearms. Some goblins who were hanging low cam approached her. "Chaka?" They queried. Oooof, that Bitch'd better run. Toby thought with a smile. "No! It wasn't me! No! NO!" The woman screamed. The goblins ran at her, swarming. Toby and Tanis used the opening to sprint right out of there.  They burst out of the museum. "Well." Toby panted. "That happened."  "Yup. It definitely did." Tanis said. "Shapeshifting troll witch. Got it."  "Did you see the picture I took of the bridge thingy?" Toby asked. "Its pretty badass."  She looks at the photo. It's blurry, but her eyes widened.  "Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no." She says. "That looks like the bridge that was in Blinky's history book!" "Killa-something or other?" Toby said. "Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad."  As they walked, tension grew suddenly.  "Toby?" Tanis says nervously. "I don't think we're alone."   Nomura grimaced as she limped to the Janus Order's base, cradling her arm.  Stricklander was there, and was wearing a scowl. "What happened? Did you kill the Trollhunter?" Stricklander said.  "No... she tricked me, and turned the goblins against me." Stricklander looked confused. "She?"  "Yeah. Believe it or not." Nomura growled.  Stricklander looked further confused. "But I was so certain... What did she look like?"  "She was a shapeshifter, but her human form was kind of skinny, with light skin and short black hair. The other form was a dragon."  Stricklander started muttering, as if he was calculating something. "This makes no sense! I was so sure that it was the Lake boy who was the Trollhunter!"  "Tvierek." A deep voice said from the darkness. Bular came out of the shadows. " There's your answer." Stricklander began to rub his temples. "No. That can't-- agh, this is too much. I can't deal with this."  "What? The boy being a tvierek and technically an argr, or you being proven wrong?" Nomura said with a cheeky grin.  Stricklander gives her a dangerous look.  "That's not the point. The POINT is that the Trollhunter is still alive! And she--he--they-- ugh, I don't even know what pronoun to use right now." Stricklander said in an embarrassed way. "Agh. They KNOW about you. That's what I'm trying to say."  Nomura makes an amused snorting sound.  "Male or female, we know who they are now. And that means it makes them a lot easier to kill." Nomura grinned evilly.   "What do you MEAN, 'we're not alone'!?" Toby demanded. Tanis whipped her head towards him. "I mean something's coming! I smell death... Dark Magic."  She re-activated the armor and took out the sword.  But what came out of the shadows wasn't what she prepared for.  A wooden fucking DUMMY came out of the darkness. It was of a dragon, which Tanis guessed that she should have expected. It was made of mahogany, The size of a lynx, and its eyes glowed purple. It lurched forward, its movements jerky and unnatural.  "Sissster..." The dummy said in a creepy, distorted voice.  "HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT THING!?" Toby screamed.  "Urada, NO!" She says crossly. "Bad Dark Magic sister!"  She proceeds to smack the wooden dummy on the snout with some newspaper that was on the ground.  Toby tried to hold in his laughter. "Wh... what are you doing!? Stop that!" The dummy said, offended. "I'm about to kill you! You should be quivering... maybe screaming in fear. Not MOCKING me with that human paper square! Soon... you will feel pain. Sorrow. Agony. I'll give you a little GIFT... you will taste death, sister, a more painful one than ever--"  "Procrastinate, much?" Tanis interrupted.  The dummy/Urada growled, and leaped at her, the claws digging into her chest. "Be grateful this is all I will do to you, for now."  Agonizing pain was thrown into Tanis, and each muscle screamed at the feeling of Dark Magic ripping through her body.  She fainted, and barely could hear Toby's alarmed voice as she slipped out of consciousness.   Jim woke up. He clutched his head, which was pulsing with an awful headache "You ok, Jim?" Toby asked.   Toby hovered over him, his face mere inches away from Jim's own.  Jim yelped and jerked his head back. He heard an odd jingling noise when he did so. He instinctively reached up to touch his left ear. "What the FUCK!?" He yelled. "Why do I have a FUCKING EARRING?" He leaped out of the couch that he had been lying upon a second before and ran to the nearest mirror.  Pierced through his left ear was a golden hoop earring, one of the small ones that with only a half-inch all around. It was about a centimeter thick, not including the place where the piercing was. It looked like genuine gold, and curious runes marked it, the whole way around. He tried to take it off, but the thing burned him.  Damn. Magic. Tanis said. Oh, look who finally decided to show up. Jim huffed.  Well, she apparently did this as some sort of cryptic symbolism. Tanis says.  What? Jim said.  Well, she just paid us a little visit. And we woke up as you, and with an earring that you can't take off that actually looks quite nice. I'm pretty sure it means that as long as it's here, we can never be free. Even though it was like that before. Tanis explains. Jim is slightly shocked. How do you know this?  Because sometimes in Magical Creature culture, they do things like this... to slaves. It's meant as a badge of shame. Tanis said softly. Holy shit. That's... intense. Jim said, finally.  "It's a sign. Pretty much a declaration of war." Tanis said aloud.  "Dude, it's just an earring." Toby replied, an eyebrow raised.  "No, it-- no," Tanis said. "You don't get it. My sister would never refrain from killing me and just send me a fancy earring. It's something else. And I don't really know what." "I have a feeling you're about to do something stupid," Toby said. "Whatever it is, don't." "I was just thinking about the fight with Draal. It's only two days away." Jim says. "Ah. Different stupid thing, then." Toby nods.  "Well, at least we can try our best to be prepared, at least."Jim sighs.  Too bad it's kind of difficult to prepare for one's own death.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Are you certain? Completely, unarguably--" Blinky starts.  "I'm certain. Just as I'm certain that this," Jim said as he jabbed a finger at his earring. "Is no ordinary piece of jewelry."  "So you've told us. The thing in the photo could be anything! Tobias is not known for his photography skills." Blinky said.   "You try taking a picture while hauling ass!" Toby bristled.  "Language!" "You never lecture Tanis on that."  "Tanis is working on it. Right?"  Blinky elbowed Jim sharply.  "Ow! Uh, I mean right! Right." He said. "What about the curator? How could somebody just shift like that?"  Blinky and AAAARRRGHH!!! looked at each other.  "Changeling." AAAARRRGHH!!! said.  Blinky spat out his glug and rushed to cover AAAARRRGHH!!!'s mouth. Already some trolls were looking at them, and the din had died down.  Blinky shouted, "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! CARRY ON!" "Smooth, Blinky. Real smooth." Jim chuckled a bit.  They huddled closer.   "Changelings haven't been seen in quite some time. In the old world, Gumm-Gumms took our young, and did something unnatural to change them. Their purpose: to spy on the world above." Blinky explained. "What did they do to them?" Toby asked.   "Nasty business. Complicated. Messy." AAAARRRGHHH!!! shook his head solemnly.  "These are the very reasons I doubt your certainty. I don't question you saw a bridge... but Killahead? It would take years to collect all of the stones. Decades, even. You would need an ARMY of changelings." Blinky reasoned. "Without any real proof, absolute bedlam will ensue." " We have to tell someone!" Toby insisted.  "Who? Our parents? They're never gonna believe us!" A teasing voice sounded from behind them. "Well! If it isn't the piece of flesh I'll pound into pancakes tomorrow!"   They turned around to see Draal. "If it isn't the world's crappiest Sonic cosplayer." Jim replied dryly.  "What?" Draal furrowed his brow. "Nothing. Unimportant."   "Insolent child. I look forward to your pain, and I'll drink to your death." Draal smirked.  Jim paled, then turned. "Death!? I thought this was only a rematch!"  Blinky gulped. "To challenge a troll's honor can only lead to trouble. When you declared a rematch... well, what's going to happen is a public battle." "What!?" Jim demanded. "Can't we, I don't know, postpone it?"   Draal smirked. "Ha! Do tell, O mighty trainer. Does everyone in your company forget how to fight?" He looked teasingly at AAAARRRGHH!!!, who huffed.  "There are things we need to deal with! Important things. We need time to work with it." Jim tried to reason with him.  "By my father's honor, I would have made your death swift and painless, but for that act of cowardice, I will draw it out. You will have an excruciating, slow, painful--" Draal began, but Jim was already walking away.  "I'M NOT FINISHED, FLESHBAG!" Draal yelled indignantly after him.  Jim flipped him off. Well, really, Tanis did.  She had apparently decided to go the 'sass' route.  Which wasn't necessarily bad.  It was actually kind of hilarious.  It just gave Draal another reason to kill her, though.  "What was I supposed to do? The Tveirek turned them on me." Nomura tried to explain to Stricklander. She knew she was going to be punished for failing to kill the Trollhunter, but the least she could do is ATTEMPT to redeem herself. "The goblins are supposed to hide our tracks, not lead them to us."  "I will see to it that your mess is cleaned up." Stricklander replied in an icy tone. He draws back a curtain and beckons Nomura inside. "Bular?" She gasps.   Traitor! He was trying to get her killed!  The large, black troll was sharpening his blades against his forearms. He growled when he noticed her. "I apologize. You've been compromised." Stricklander smirked.  Bular held his large sword to her chest.  "Please, Bular! Spare me!" She pleaded. This was unlike her. She knew it. She regretted showing weakness at that moment. This was beneath her.  "Groveling, impure?" Bular looked disgusted. "You need me. If you kill me, who will replace me? The Tveirek already knows I'm a changeling. How long do you think it will take them to figure out Strickler is one, too?" She reasoned quickly.  "We'll deal with that when it happens. Without you." He hisses menacingly.  Bular swung his sword, Nomura screamed and tried to run at the exit.   She tripped and fell over a box.  "Ah!" She winced. She looked up. A green light was coming from the box. She grabbed the magical object from the box desperately, and held it up.   "WAIT! I've acquired the fetch!" She whimpers.  "More changelings...?" Bular said. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, so she decided to play the Daddy Card.   "Think of how proud your father will be to see his legion grow..."  Bular seemed to think for a moment. Then he answered: "Prepare the exchange."  "...In case we're ever one changeling short." Bular continued.   Nomura gulped. She didn't like the sound of that.   Jim inhales as he watches Steve do his part.  He's overdoing it. And he's an AWFUL theater partner. Tanis sniffed. I pity Claire. He watched him quote his lines, bumping into Claire as he did so.   
Jerk. 
  Jim looks around the stuff at the Backstage, looking for Claire's backpack.   Aha!   He took out the letter that he wrote, explaining what was going on, why he was gone, and some more words at the end.   I'm still not completely sure about this. You really want to blurt everything that happened to her? Tanis asked pointedly.  We have to tell her SOMETHING. Jim replied.   
Yes, but we could have just told her that we were moving or something. 
  
She would ask further and realize the truth.
  
We still are going to tell her something.
   He slips the letter in the backpack and leaves, just as Claire comes in to try to talk to him.  She curses as Jim goes out of sight.    Barbara hears the oven ding from the other room, and comes inside the kitchen. Instantly, wonderful smells fill her nose.  "Bacon Mac and Cheese? Blueberry pancakes? Shrimp cakes? What is this, a last meal?" Barbara chuckles.  For some reason, Jim seemed to tense up at that.   "Well, I wanted to make dinner... so I decided to make your favorite." Jim smiled weakly at her. "Then I decided to make... all your favorites."  "Jim... this is so NICE of you? But may I ask why?" Barbara asks, frowning a little bit.   "Can't a son do some nice things for his mom? We both are SO busy. When was the last time we sat down and talked?" Jim smiles wider.   "I'll set the table."     "Oh! That was delicious. I don't know what I'd do without you, Jim." Barbara sighs. "I'd be 10 pounds lighter, but..."  "You deserve it!" Jim replied while washing the dishes.   "Shrimp cakes... I haven't had those since..." Barbara frowns.  "Since Dad left." Jim finished.   "I didn't think you were old enough to remember." Barbara says.  "I remember enough." Jim said bitterly. "I remember how much he hurt us when he left."  "Why are you talking like this? Is something wrong?" Barbara asks urgently.  Jim just smiled a little. "No matter what happens, I would never leave you like that. Not on purpose, anyway."   "Don't start that talk with me. I'm still praying you attend an in-state college." Barbara laughs as she stands up to help with the dishes.   While she's distracted, Jim slips a letter in one of the Cookbooks.  Jim stares at his clock.  2:11 in the morning.   He takes out his amulet and stares at it.   "This is YOUR fault." He narrows his eyes at the object. He turns it over, facing one of his posters.   The text on it immediately transformed to Trollish.  "Woah..." He gasps.   He fishes out his copy of A Brief Recapitulation.  He shines the Amulet on it. The Trollish changes to English.   He flips through the book, and finds something that could help.   A chapter on Draal's species, and fighting them.   "'Weak points: Rule #3, kick them in the gronk-nuks.'" Jim reads. " 'identifying your opponent's weakness...'"  He reads for as long as he can before he decides he REALLY needs to go to sleep.   Then he collapses on the bed, and sleeps like a rock.   Draal prepares for the coming battle. He has to admit, he's never seen a fight this easy.  A human opponent! And a child, no less.  This was going to be a piece of cake.  But he had to wonder... Was it right? After all, he would be killing a child. And if he became the Trollhunter... He would be the only Trollhunter to kill another.  And that is not something you want to be known for.  But he earned that Amulet.  And nothing will take that away from him.    "You ready for this, Jimbo?" Toby asks.  "Not even remotely." Jim replied. "Me neither." Toby nods.  "GATHERED TROLLKIND!" A loud, male voice called.  "That's my cue." Jim sighs.  "The Trollhunter has challenged the son of his predecessor, and you shall all bear witness to the ensuing battle. Which will be one for the ages!" Vendel called. "If it's not remarkably painful and short." He added quietly.  Loud cheering erupted from the crowd.  "Hey... I want you to have this." Jim said to Toby. He handed him a letter.  "What is it?" He asks, his brow furrowing. "It says everything I-- WE want to say." Jim says solemnly.  "No. None of that. You promised me tacos." Toby wags a finger at his friend. "Now isn't the time for lunch, Tobes." Jim smiled weakly.  "No, no, no. Last week, we went out to lunch, and we got tacos. I paid. You said 'next time on me'. You're going to get this back after the fight, and then we'll get tacos." Toby grinned.  "We're gonna miss you." Tanis took over for a second and placed a hand on his shoulder, then Jim was back. "Draal! Son of Kanjigar, Son of Tarigar, Draal 'The Destroyer'! Come forth!" Vendel announced.  The blue bastard rolled in like a fucking sonic, leaped up, and had the sass to wave his arms around like he'd already won.  "Time to put all the training I've given you to use!" Blinky said to Jim. "I've been here like a week and a half." Jim pointed out.  "No reason to give me that attitude before you fight to the death!" Blinky scolds. "And now, James Lake Junior, Son of... Bah-buh-ra." Vendel announces, getting confused around the end. "Come forth, human Trollhunter."  Jim walks out to lots of booing.  Aint nobody got time for this shit. He flips everybody off.  A few of the apparently more knowledgeable trolls gasp, but most are unfazed by this unfamiliar human gesture.  "Fight from your heart, Master Jim! It is strong- stronger than any rock!" Blinky calls before a gate smashes down in front of him. "And certainly stronger than mine." He adds quietly. "Prepare for battle!" Vendel calls.   Jim summons the armor and inhales.  We can do this. Tanis says. We can do this. "Begin!" Vendel announces.  Loud cheering for bloody murder erupted from the watching crowd. Jim got some serious Wings of Fire flashbacks. He could almost hear Queen Scarlet's voice: " And now we have the pitiful scavenger... about to die a most thrilling death!"  There was a loud sound below him as the platform began to rise. The forge was making itself into...  A kind of obstacle course? Oh shit. Tanis cursed. This won't go well. Draal ROARED and charged at Jim, knocking him down a level. He picked him up again, and smashed Jim straight into the wall.  Jim fell to the ground, and the crowds erupted into more cheering.  Draal rolled down like the sonic impersonator he was, and nearly steamrolled Jim.  He went the whole way around, and finally leaped up to smash Jim to bits.  The armor, combined with Tanis's defensive magic that only was brought forth once before, created a sort of defense. But it only worked so well.  Jim shivered at the bottom of the miniature crater. He was certain he had broken something.  Draal picked him up once more, by the leg.  "Weak. Pathetic. I know not why Merlin chose you. A fleshbag, a child. All you are is a scared little boy in a metal shell." Draal leered. His words cut deep.  He threw Jim on top of the higher levels, and the Forge changed again, this time to an elevated, flat arena.  Okay. I have an idea. Tanis started.  The last time you said that, we jumped off a cliff. Jim pointed out. 
WE WERE FINE AFTER THAT. 
 
What is it?
 
Something I've been planning since Draal first challenged us. Also since I've been listening to Fallout Boy. 
 
I don't really like where this is going.
 
Just let me do it and tell Toby to get the popcorn.
 
Fine.
   Tanis took over, and the armor changed accordingly.  Draal didn't seem to notice.  "Are you ready to die, fleshbag?" Draal leered. Tanis just smirked.  [Okay! We're at the part I've been waiting for! Play this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ0lE7e3yfk on another tab for the full experience.]  Very, very quietly...  The song began. 
Bam-chi bam bam bam bamma chi chi bam bam, cha bam bam--
 
Woahhhh oh ohhh oh ohhh oh ohhhh...
 
*DANANANANANANANANA*
 Everybody looked extremely confused. And they had full right to.  Tanis summoned her sword and charged, every move coming in-line to the beat.  
Be careful making wishes in the--
 
Dark, dark can't be sure when they've hit their--
 
Mark, and besides in the mean, mean times I'm, just dreaming of tearing you apart!
 In that last line, she had been making her strikes anyway, but now there was a crazy light in her eyes. Draal saw it. Nobody else did, but he saw it.  The eyes of someone who has killed. And who will do it again.  Tanis snapped out of that train of thought. The music was still playing, though.  
My songs kno-ow what you did in the daaaaaaaaaaaark!
 She raised her sword, about to release The Thunder. [At this point, just use your imagination for this scene, with as much fantasia-style light and badass sword-work as you can.] 
SO LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP 
 
LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP 
 
LIGHT EM UP UP UP I'M ON FIRE!!!
 Blue, purple, and indigo magic swirled around her as she fought with dramatic intensity, magic swirling all around her. She shifted to dragon form. If the trolls of the audience could be more surprised, then they did. Tanis was kicking ass and taking names and doing it with all the theatrics and light of some kind of Anime Magical Girl.  
OH, OH OHHHO OH OHHHH OHHHOH OH OH OHHHHOOOO! 
 
OH, OH OHHHO OH OHHHH OHHHOH OH OH OHHHHOOOO!
 
In the dark, dark!
 Draal had flown to the other side of the Forge at some point during her Music Magic Hype... which she really should have noticed.  He was dangling over the edge. She could end this fight now, quick and easy.  She walked over to where he was dangling and heard calls from the crowd.  "Finish the fight! Finish the fight! Finish the fight!" They chanted. 
My songs kno-ow what you did in the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaark!
 The music did it's last part of that lyric.  She could end this right now. Get rid of that asshole that's been nothing but a thorn in her and Jim's side.  But... She made a waving gesture with her hand, and the music stopped.  She couldn't. It wasn't right.  She thrust her sword into the ground for leverage, and extended her hand.  "The fight is to the death," Draal whispered to her. "House rules, not mine." Tanis smiled. "Come on. Don't make it weird."  Draal took her hand, and with difficulty, and strength from the amulet, Tanis pulled him up.  The crowd erupted in protest and booing.  "HEY! Shut the fuck up! I may haven't followed your rules, but do you think this shitty AMULET did when it chose us!?" Tanis started. They continued to boo her.  This was not what I planned. Tanis gulped. The worst thing an actor/actress can think of is being booed while onstage. That or being laughed at publicly.  "Right now, while you're watching people fight to the death, drunk as a fish, changelings are in Arcadia!" She announced. Loud gasps came from the crowd. "What are they talking about?" Vendel demanded to no-one.  "You'll need a Trollhunter that doesn't need to hide in the shadows. This is a time to work as one! They are building the Killa--" Tanis continued but was interrupted by Blinky, who yanked her back by the scruff.  "Hey! Easy! Heavy armor here! Ow!" She complained. "They have a right to know!" "And you have a right to listen! Ours is an ancient race. It will take time to win hearts and minds." Blinky shushed her.  She looked back at the arena to Trolls throwing things at her opponent, booing him, and shouting out insulting things at him.  "Why are they treating him like that? Should I go out again?" She began to start back over there to defend her opponent, but Blinky held her back.  "You spared his life, but destroyed his honor. He'll never be able to show his face in Trollmarket again." Blinky explained, his expression solemn. They came out of the arena, and Tanis shifted back to human form.  Toby immediately greeted her.  "Praise! Oh my God, that was AWESOME! You were like whoooooosh and Draal was like Aaaaah don't kill me and you were like lol I won't but suffer" Toby hyped.  The armor deactivated. "It really wasn't too much, Toby..."  "AAAARRRGHH!!!. Blinky. A word?" A voice asked from the darkness. Vendel was there.  I wonder what this is about? Jim wonders in her head.  "Very good work, Master Tanis! AAAARRRGHH!!! and I will deal with Vendel. You two go home and rest." Blinky smiled. "Tomorrow we shall join you for those Tah-coahs you mentioned." 
 
Jim took over and raised an eyebrow at Toby, who was hugging him.  "You read the letter, didn't you." Jim smirked.  "I read that I was your best friend! And that took our relationship to a whole new level." Toby grinned.    Jim ran inside the bathroom to hide.   He didn't sign up for this.   First dragon spirits taking over his body, then fight challenges and death threats, then magical bridges, and now shapeshifting assassins.   "Come out, little Trollhunter... I know you're hiding somewhere..."  Quiet scratching noises sounded from outside the small room.   
Skrrrch... Skatch... Skrrrch... Skrrrrrrrch...
  "You can't run forever... trust me... I would know..." She hissed.   A clawed, magenta hand reached under the door, slowly clawing at the floor.   The doorknob rattled as she tried to get in.   Jim raised his sword and tried to look brave.   It was all he could do for now.   
SMASH!
  The door burst open, and he screamed. But the assassin was pulled back by an unseen force.  He looked out the window.  A familiar large blue troll was fighting the assassin!   Jim ran downstairs and to the door to get a better look.  Draal was making mostly defensive moves, but Jim assumed it was to tire the assassin.   The assassin tried to leap at Jim, but Draal jumped in front of him.  The assassin crashed off of him.   "What are you doing here!?" She demanded.  "Delivering you pain again, Nomura. Do not touch the Trollhunter." Draal growled.  Ah. Nomura. That was her name.   Much better than 'Pink Bitch'.   "Suddenly you're honorable? And sorry to hear about daddy." She smirked in a teasing tone. "Bular always liked the way he screamed."  Draal ROARED and charged at Nomura. They slashed and pounded against each other, until Draal grabbed her blades and threw her as hard away as he could. "Impure." He muttered. "You were right." "About the changelings?" "Aye." "So... you're not here to kill me?" Jim asked. "Not kill. Protect." Draal said. Jim was stunned. The amulet deactivated, and fell off his chest and into the grass.  Draal picked it up and outstretched his hand. "Come on. Don't make it weird." Jim took the amulet and put it in his pocket.  "Are you... are you gonna be okay?" Jim asked.  "Yes. But are you? Not all battles will be fought in arenas. You need to be prepared for anything and for the worst. You won't always have time to study your opponent, even if you don't use those tricks." Draal explained, raising an eyebrow as he remembered what Tanis did. "What was that, anyway?" "I have, shall we say, a Spirit?" Jim answered. "You're a Tvierek?" Draal queries. "Interesting." "What's that?" "It's when two spirits from different members of the 3 kingdoms are... shoved into one body. I saw that your 'spirit' was a dragon. What is her name?" Draal asked. "Tanis." Tanis took over for a moment and said for herself. "My name is Tanis."  Draal just nodded. "Nice to meet you. Since I cannot go back to Trollmarket, I will guard your home."  Draal explored the house further, knocking over assorted items.  "Hey, hey, hey! Watch it!" She caught a vase before it shattered on the ground. "Barbara wouldn't really, uh, be down for that?"  He went down the stairs and into the basement, eating some coals from the furnace.  "This is nice. I shall stay here, and protect your fleshbag mother, Bah-bu-rah." Draal said. "Meh. Close enough." Tanis shrugged.  "Your mother will awaken soon. I protect. I do not clean." Draal continued.  Tanis sniffed in exasperation. One second, he was actually an okay guy, next he was a lazy freeloader? She began to go up the stairs.  "Tvierek."  Tanis turned. She did not like that term. "Maybe you'll make good Trollhunters after all. And when the time comes... I will be proud to fight by your side." Draal told her.  "Thank you, Draal." Tanis said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Vendel was mightily confused.  He understood this whole situation very little.  A human Trollhunter? Why in the name of the gods would Merlin choose a HUMAN? And then there was the fight with Draal. Holy Hela. What in the worlds was THAT? He had watched the male human Trollhunter transform into what looked like a female anthropomorphic dragon? Vendel flipped through his books. History, bestiaries, mythology, and books listing magical objects. So far, nothing seemed to be coming up. "There must be something... Something... Anything!" Vendel muttered.  He ran back through his books. He knew he heard about SOMETHING like this. Or similar. The Trollhunter wasn't a Changeling-- preposterous! Besides, Changelings change into trolls.  Not dragons. Vendel could have SWORN he heard about something like this! His head snaps up.  Oh.  Ohhhhhhh. He goes through the mythology books. Not the ones on his desk, the ones he HADN'T checked yet. There! A legend about a creature with two souls... of different members of the three kingdoms. They were extremely rare... only caused by curses or magical accidents.  Tveireks.  Seemed like what the Trollhunter was.  He scratched his horn.  How did they come together, then? Was the mantle split between the two of them, or was it something else entirely? How did they handle keeping their identities a secret?  This only made a little more sense than it did earlier, but he still had thousands of questions.  Ones that he hoped they, or possibly Blinky, could answer.    Jim was practicing with his sword.  Well, more like experimenting. "You wanna recycle these newspapers?" Toby called. "Or RUN THEM THROUGH AND EXPLODE THIS SHIT!?"  Toby chucked the strung-together pile at Jim, and Jim sliced through it. It exploded.  "Woah!" Jim exclaimed, grinning. "It's like a ticker tape parade of awesome!" Toby laughs.  "What is this mockery!?" Draal fumed. The boys turned to look at the large, teal troll who was storming towards them.  "Practicing sword-fighting?" Jim tried.  "The Sword of Daylight is not a toy to be played with!" Draal snapped. Jim never said it was. Tanis snorted in Jim's mind. "I have been spending my entire life trying to be worthy of it! I did not go all of that way to see the newest Trollhunter MOCK it's reverence." Draal continued. "Do you want to take it for a spin?" Jim suggested.  Draal snorted in disbelief, then realized Jim wasn't kidding. He took the sword from Jim's outstretched hands. He raised it up before it flashed, and disappeared.  "Oh..." Jim realized, as the sword reappeared in his hand. "I forgot." "It's fine..." Draal sighed. "Perhaps if I am not meant to wield the sword, then I am meant to teach you how to use it." Jim's brows furrowed. "But I already have Blinky...?" "As I had said before. I can teach you things Blinky can't." "Like that Sonic-Roly Poly thing you do?" "What is a 'Sonic'? You have called me that multiple times and I remain at a loss." Draal frowns.  "It's nothing." Draal went around the yard, muttering. He picked up a tall lamp, and raised it. Then he whipped it around as if it were either a staff or a sword. The lamp hurtled down towards Jim, and he yelped and flinched, preparing to be hit with the lamp.  It never came. Jim looked up, and the lamp was mere inches from his head. "Your sword is only an extension of your body. Your body, an extension of your eyes." Draal explained. Jim raised his sword, silently wondering how Draal was able to stop the lamp so abruptly. "Mimic my movements, Trollhunter." Draal instructed.  He did several positions for jim to copy, and after the sun had fully set, they were full-on sword fighting.  Suddenly, Draal rushed forward, and pinned Jim to the wall, the lamp-pole on his neck.  "That kinda hurts--" He rasped.  "You should have expected it! You need to learn to expect anything and everything, and embody the armor. Force it to do what you want."  Jim looked a little freaked out, still, but he caught on. He held his hand out, and concentrated. The sword materialized, and Jim lightly jabbed Draal in the belly with it.  
Good work! Now you know how to do what literally every Trollhunter can do from day one.
 Draal laughs proudly and releases Jim. "Ha ha! Good job, Trollhunter." Jim simply holds up the blade. "I didn't know it could do that." "There are many things you don't know about that blade. This is just the beginning." Draal said mysteriously. "There are so many things you have yet to discover, fleshbag."  A reminder rang on someone's phone. Toby sighed. "We're supposed to be at the museum right now." "Ah! Right." Jim said. "See you later, Draal!" The armor deactivated, and Jim got on his bike and rode to the museum, leaving Draal alone.    They came into the museum to find Vendel, AAAARRRGHH!!!, and Blinky.  "You're late." Vendel glowered.  "Sorry. Draal was training Jim." Toby explained. Jim elbowed him.  "Draal?" Vendel asked.  "Training?" Blinky queried suspiciously. "Uh... After the duel, Draal kind of invaded my house and made a home in my basement." Jim attempted to explain.  "Oh, of course. This is completely normal for the loser in a duel to take refuge in the victor's home." Blinky said. "Really?" Jim asked.  "No! Of course not! This is bound to end up in disaster! Utter disaster!" Blinky scolded.  "Are we WAITING to be caught? Or do you plan on actually showing me this thing that you believe to be the Killahead Bridge?" Vendel snapped.  Jim nodded eagerly, and then Tanis took over.  Vendel looked shocked for a split second, then shook his head and let her lead the way.  "As we were chased by the goblin pack, we went by this closed, big exhibit. And there it was..." She opened a door. "The Killahead Bridge." A huge, covered exhibit was before them. Vendel gasped quietly.  Tanis went over to the curtain and pulled on it.  It didn't budge.  "Uh... a little help?" She laughed awkwardly.  AAAARRRGHH!!! walked over and unveiled the exhibit.  It was... An old Viking Ship? "WHAT!?" She demanded. "It was right here!" She whipped her head around at Toby.  "Well, it was out of focus, and I forgot to turn on the flash." Toby tried to explain.  Tanis widened her eyes at him and raised an eyebrow.  "We were running so fast, we were being CHASED, you know?" He shrunk under Tanis's glare. "Maybe we only thought we saw it...?" Vendel turned to Blinky and glared at him. "Blinkous, I have not left the Heartstone in centuries. I only did so tonight because of the grave peril we would have been in, should the Trollhunter's claim be true. It seems your Trollhunter is obsessed with playing hero, while YOU are desperate to see danger where none exists." Vendel turned back to AAAARRRGHH!!!. "AAAARRRGHH!!!, Take me home." Tanis just watched this, feeling lost. "It was right here..."  He puts a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps Vendel is right. Perhaps I have filled your head with delusions of grandeur."  Tanis shrugs off the hand. "I know what I saw. I'm not making this up." Blinky purses his lip.  "You're certain there are changelings amidst your community?" He asked clearly. "Of course I'm sure. One of them attacked me in my home." Tanis answered.  "There is a way of rooting them out. And there's one place to find it." Blinky grinned adventurously. "RotGut's." "Can we go NOW!?" Tanis grinned. "Of course not. It's a school night." "Dammit" Jim pulled his bike into the rack at school.  "One thing I know for sure is that the Nomura didn't move the bridge by herself." He explained. "Maybe there's someone working with her at school?" "Now THAT's an unsettling thought. Who do you think it is? Claire, Steve? Oh! What if Strickler's one of them?" Toby gasped. Jim snorted. "Strickler's been teaching history at Arcadia Oaks High since the DAWN of history. You might as well say I'M one of them." Toby looked at him strangely.  They were distracted, though, by Claire coming out of a car.  "Shit! Claire!" Jim hisses. "Claire? I don't think so." Toby shakes his head.  "No, I mean, when I thought I was going to die, I gave her a letter! Explaining all of this!" Jim winced.  "Oh, shit." Toby cursed. "Hey! Jim!" Claire called and came over.  Toby waved in a friendly way. Claire went directly past him and went right next to Jim.  "Were you looking for me Yesterday?" Jim asked. "Of course!" Claire exclaims. "It's kind of noticeable when a classmate and theater partner disappears on me!"   "I'm really sorry. Something came up." Jim flashed back to the fight with Draal.  Seemed kinda important.  "Steve filled in. That's what understudies are for, right?" He was glad Tanis plays Romeo for him. It would have been a disaster if Jim really HAD been playing him. "He's... not the understudy anymore. You are." Claire said solemnly. "Mrs. Janeth was tired of you showing up late, and missing practice. So she made Steve Romeo." "But I memorized all of my lines!" Jim protested. However, he WAS good at pretending he was the one playing Romeo OUTSIDE of the theater. Or even was in the play at all. "Doesn't matter. Mrs. Janeth is on a warpath for you. I'd watch out." Claire sighed. "And I have Algebra with her, too." Jim grimaced. "Rest in peace, muchacho." Toby said.    Claire came out and greeted him after school. "Looks like you survived her 'Math Class of Doom'. " "Yup. And now I have a mountain of homework I hardly understand." Jim sighed. She grimaces in sympathy, and notices something new. "You got your ear pierced?" She queried. "I didn't think that was your thing."  He looked confused for a moment, then brought his hand up to touch the small golden hoop, pierced through his left ear. "Oh, right. That." "You an emo now or something?" Claire smirked.  Jim frowned at her. Shit, that was the wrong thing to say. "No! That's not what this is." Jim protested. "It- I didn't--" He didn't seem to be able to find the words. "Forget it." Claire thought for a moment on what to say.  "Hey, uh, do you want me to help you with the math? At my house? Tonight?" Claire blurts. Jim looks at her strangely. "...Sure. Why not." "Cool! See you at 6!" Claire said, happy. She walked away, proud of herself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jim walked along Trollmarket with Blinky, AAAARRRGHH!!!, and Toby.  Can't wait to see what this "Rotgut's" place is. It'll probably either be awesome or they very much overhyped it. Tanis said in his head. 
I don't think they overhyped it.
 "Master Jim? Are you paying attention?" Blinky asked. "Why wouldn't I be?" Jim frowned. "You had a sort of faraway look in your eyes. Were you talking to Tanis?" "I get a faraway look in my eyes when I'm talking to Tanis?" Jim asked, genuinely surprised. "I think so." Blinky says. "I haven't seen it enough to be sure." "Huh."  They walked for a bit, then came along to a huge, decorated door, with gems, carvings, all the lot. Jim gasped at the sight. "Welcome to Rotgut's, Master Jim." Blinky smiled. "Trollmarket's primary supplier of fine charms, totems, and spells." "For Glory..." Tanis whispered. "That's amazing." Blinky nodded in agreement, and went up to the door.  He knocked on it 3 times, and a very small opening in the door revealed a giant eye.  "Ailment or curse?" A bored voice answered. Another little window opened, and an angrier eye scolded the other. "Hey! I'M supposed to answer it!"  "But I already did." Troll #2 ignored the first one. "Welcome to Rotgut's, how may we service you?" He forced a smile.  Blinky answered. "Totem, my good troll. We seek something to reveal a changeling. A Gaggletack."  "Hm. Veeery rare. Hard to come by. That'll cost ya." Totem narrowed his eyes in a teasing, 'buisnessman' manner. "But we have a whole bag of 'em over here..." Troll #1 said bluntly.  "What in the-- Excuse us for a moment." Totem forced another grin, and the hatches closed. Angry scolding and lectures could be heard.  After a few minutes, the hatch opened again and Troll #1 looked wearily at them. "You might wanna stand back."  A small object shot out of a third hatch, and nailed Toby in the head.  "OW!" He yelped, and fell back. "... A horseshoe?" Jim asked when he picked it up.  "WHy would you put such a precious thing on a horse's foot!?" Blinky demanded.  "Huh?" Jim and Toby looked confused.  "Ugh. THIS is a Gaggletack, Masters! This is the magical object that can reveal a changeling's opposite form, as I had explained." Blinky said scoldingly. "Changelings are swapped with their human counterparts at birth, so be weary. They quite possibly have been amongst you for who knows how long."  "So they could be anyone." Jim said.  "Anyone at all. Flight attendants, mall cops, television executives, weathermen!" Blinky listed.  "Dentists?" Toby asked.  "Especially dentists!" Blinky said in the mad voice of a conspiracy theorist.  "So who do we start with?" Jim asked. Toby grabbed the Gaggletack and looked down on it giddily. "Oh, I got a few ideas."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tanis limped back to her room, crying. Urada had been even worse than normal, clawing Tanis in the stomach, her claws had been swirling with some black aura.

Hm. Aura.

Au-ra.

A funny word.

Admiral had taught that word to her. "I know you're only 7," He had said. "But I think you should learn the complex words early, eh?"

He was a good, kind dragon. HE listened to her as if she was a dragon worth listening to. It was a shame he wasn't her real dad. He was only a mentor, teaching her vocabulary and reading.

Her real dad wasn't there.

"He's just busy," Tanis tried to tell herself. "Mom is, too. They're both too busy for me and Urada."

But that never seemed to be the case. She saw them at least once every day. But whenever they tried to reach them, they either pushed them away or ignored them, usually followed with muttered phrases, like "Banes of our lives", "Why did we have eggs to begin with", or, most commonly, "Worthless bitches". The Harming was usually worse after that. The Harming was when Urada did her constant torturing of Tanis. Sometimes it was just a quick scratch. Most days, she seemed to almost be trying to tear Tanis open. Or she used that awful dark magic of hers, which was agonizing and burning and painful and just AWFUL.

Tanis used her theater magic, the illusion variety, to cover up the scars. If she didn't, Ad or one of her other mentors, or one of the nurses would notice and word would get back to her parents, and--

It would be awful for her.

Whether her parents cared or not.

If they did, Urada would be punished, and no matter what they did, it wouldn't do anything. The Harming would be unfathomable. Another word Admiral had taught her.

Tanis wished, with all of her heart, that she could talk to him about this. If her parents DIDN'T do anything...

No.

They had to do something.

They were good.

...

... Right?

"So the main people on our list are Steve, Claire, Strickler, and who else?" Jim listed. "Sherman. Don't forget Sherman. He's always got a shifty look in his eyes. I don't trust 'im." Toby said.  "Who the fuck is Sherman, again?" Jim asked "I said he's a real shifty dude. Up to no good."  "Let's go back to our list." "Good plan. Can you think of what would happen if we DIDN'T make this list? We'd be running around, just TOSSING this at random people!" Toby laughed at the thought.  "Luckily, we're not doing that and we aren't going to be caught in less than 10 seconds by whoever IS the changeling." Jim agreed.  Toby brought up the list and studied it. "So what are the main reasons for suspecting these individuals?"  "Well, Steve is a douchebag, he could totally be ACTUALLY evil. He seems pretty competitive, not willing to let anyone, especially me, get the spotlight. Though that might just be his personality. He's still definitely on the suspect table." Jim explained.  "What about Claire?" Toby asked. "She's probably not a changeling, but it WOULD be quite useful to audition as the co-star of a play to get close to me. And she certainly HAS..." Jim said, his eyes narrowing at the thought. She was always nice to him. TOO nice. No; now you’re just being paranoid. Tanis said. Anything is possible at this point. We need to keep our options up. Jim replied stubbornly. "And what about Strickler?" Toby continued.  Jim paused. He thought about him, how he knew him, how LONG he'd known him. Mr Strickler, who talked to him as if Jim were his son, not just his student. No way it could be him.  ... Right? "Well, there's only one way to find out."    "So Steve is a definite no." Toby says.  "Well, we yeeted a horseshoe at his head, and now he has a minor concussion but didn't change." Jim said with absolutely no remorse. "I'd call that a 'no'." They were walking down the hallway, to their next classes, but intended to test Claire on the way.  Instead, they ran into someone else as they came around the corner. Someone wearing a blue turtleneck and a brown coat. Someone with a slightly obnoxious pompadour.  "Oh! Hey, Mr. Strickler!" Jim smiled.   Toby seemed to get an idea, and fake-fumbled with the gaggletack before "dropping" it right in front of Mr Strickler.  "Whoops! Pardon me." Toby says innocently. "Mind picking that up for us?" Mr Strickler looks back at him, poker-faced.  "I got it." Claire says and picks it up.  
Well, Claire's off the list. I knew it, by the way. That leaves Mr Strickler, who I'm still very, VERY suspicious about.
 
No! No way he could be a changeling. He's a good guy. I know it.
 
How can you be so sure?
 "Here's your... horseshoe back, Mr. Strickler." Claire says, slightly confused. "Oh, it's not mine. It belongs to Jim." He nodded towards Jim. Claire's confusion was replaced with a submissive well-that-makes-sense-he's-crazy expression.  "Figures. That would explain the flying metal objects." She sighs and gives him the horseshoe. "So not going to ask." Jim laughed nervously.  "Take care of yourself, Young Atlas. There's a lot of stress involved when you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders." Mr Strickler said ominously.  They looked at Strickler oddly as he walked away.  "Suspicious. Veeeeery suspicious." Toby commented once he was gone.  "What?" Claire asked.  They had forgotten she was there.  "Oh! Claire! Hi!" Jim says quickly.  "I was wondering if we're still on?" Claire asked.  "On what?" Jim was confused.  "Tonight? At six? We still have that da-- Study session! I meant study session!" Claire blushed with embarrassment.  Wait. Did she...? Like him?  She was obviously about to say date.  Well then. This definitely makes things a lot more awkward. What!? Okay, so she DOES like us. I’ve been the one active during Theater, so I spend a lot more time with her than you do. That means she PROBABLY MEANS ME! Tanis said, a bit too excitedly. Why are you so thrilled all of a sudden? Do YOU like her? I thought you said you were straight. Jim said, skeptical. I am! Tanis protested. I like guys! There was a pause.  I’ve looked back on my entire life, primarily since I’ve met Claire, aaaaaaaand... Tanis begins. I am most DEFINITELY not straight. I do like guys, buuuuuut also girls, APPARENTLY. Tanis finishes. Congrats on finding yourself. You’re biromantic. Now shush. Jim replies, not actually too surprised."Yeah. Study session. It's still on.” Jim said, making sure she heard that it WAS MOST DEFINITELY NOT A DATE. At least, not for Jim. Jim arrived at her house.  He sighed, and knocked on the door.  Claire answered, grinning widely. "Jim! Hi! Come on in!" She opened the door the whole way. "Huh. Nice house." Jim looked around.  He looked around at the relatively clean home. Seemed cozy and warm. A baby was bouncing around on a seat in the living room, but Jim just grinned a little (the baby was cute) and headed to the couch.  "I made guacamole!" Claire called from the kitchen as she brought over a huge bowl with said guacamole and tortilla chips. "Woah! That's a LOT." Jim comments. "I've never seen a BATHTUB of guacamole before." "Ha, I wish! I would TOTALLY take a bath in guac." Jim takes a bite of one of the chips with guac on it. "Mmmmmmmmmmph."  "What? Is it bad?" CLaire frets. "OHMYGODIT'SSOGOOOOOOOD" Jim exclaims. He shoves more in his mouth. Claire chuckles. "I'm glad you like it. It's a family recipe."  "Mmmmph." Jim says, his mouth full.  "Hey! Save some for me!" Claire says, taking a few chips and dipping them.  Yeah, why did we suspect her again? Tanis says. And by we, I mean you. Because getting close to me and overly nice to me is TOTALLY a changeling move. Jim says firmly. Well, she's not, the gaggletack didn't work on her. Tanis argues. 
She might be in the league with them. 
 
But why would that be the case? I am 100% sure she is human. 
 
How can you be sure?
 "Jim? Are you okay?" Claire asks. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Jim?" "Sorry." Jim mumbled. "Just spaced out for a second."  "Had me worried for a second, there."  "Sorry... So, Algebra?" Jim says, getting the textbook.  "Sure, but..." Claire began, trailing off. "But what?" "You didn't seriously expect this to be just about Algebra, did you? Or expect to send a letter like that to me and not expect talking about it?" Claire held up the letter. "You have to battle monsters? And you say you have a monster in your head?" EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME!?!?!? Tanis demanded. Not cool, Jim! SO not cool!  Jim winced a little at Tanis who yelled at him in his head.  "What monsters are you fighting? Are you okay?" Claire asks, concerned. "We all have stuff we have to go through... What's going on?"  Help me, she’s giving us the Eyes, and I can’t take it. Tanis says. Jim began to sweat nervously. "It's metaphorical! Definitely metaphorical." He said quickly. "I was... you know. Exploring writing. Not successful." "No, no, it's beautiful. You should write a novel or something!" Claire grinned. "And if you ever need anyone to talk to about 'the monsters', you can talk to me." She looked at him dreamily. (Tanis was flipping out in his head. Jim put her on ‘mute’. Both of them had figured out how to do it.) Jim felt extremely uncomfortable, but nodded. "Thanks. Okay! On to question 48?" He said quickly.  Claire looked disappointed, but nodded.  The phone rang suddenly.  It was Toby.  "Hello?" Jim said.  "Mmmph-nnng-kkrlrbl-snmmmg!" A voice mumbled back.  "What the fuck?" Jim is confused.  Then he gets it. Toby needs his help. "Uh, I gotta go." Jim said to Claire as he rushed out the door. "Thanks for the guac!"   Jim returned to complete, utter chaos.  Toby was swinging on the light thing in the dentist's room, Blinky and AAAARRRGHH!!! were laughing their heads off and were evading a heavy-looking changeling female.  The changeling noticed Jim, and charged. "The Trollhunter! DIE!" She yelled. "Woah!" Jim yelped and jumped aside as she missed.  Ah, shit.  He had jumped to the corner. He was trapped.  A little help!? He called to Tanis.  
Just a second! 
  The changeling tackled him and held him down. "PERISH!" She roared.  Jim yelped and tried to break free. The amulet glowed in its place in his armor, and for a split second, Jim's right arm was free. His sword materialized, and he stabbed the changeling in the gut. She gasped in pain and fell back, the wound glowing. Jim scrambled away as it pulsed brighter... and brighter... and brighter... "HIT THE DECK!" He yelled before the changeling exploded in a flash of light. There was silence afterward.  "Well shit." Tanis sighed. "I destroyed our only piece of evidence that changelings exist. At least we still have the gaggletack, right, Toby?" Toby gulped and poked his index fingers together. "Ha ha... About that. I kinda... Lost it."  "You WHAT!?" Tanis demanded.  "I had been checking if my dentist was one! I was so sure! The real changeling took it away and put it god-knows-where!" Toby defended. Tanis was still mad.  "Toby, that was our ONLY WAY of rooting out the changelings!" Tanis exclaimed. "How could you LOSE it!?"  "I'm sorry, okay!? How was I supposed to know my dental hygienist was evil!?" Toby put his hands up. "We can get another one!" Tanis forced herself to calm down. "Just... Just try to be more careful." Toby looks down in shame.    Stricklander was walking with Bular through the forest. More like Bular was leading, Strickler was just reporting to him. "The Trollhunter has slain Gladysgroe... But a new changeling has been chosen." Strickler says.  "A new changeling? Who?" Bular asks.  "The small green one who runs his mouth."  Bular snorted disapprovingly.  "But! But, he has a VERY important place! He is BOUND to be able to spy on the Trollhunter better than most... Except me, of course." Stricklander added quickly.  Bular didn't respond. He kept walking for almost another minute, and then stopped.  A dark purple dragon with long, winding horns came out of the darkness.  "Queen Urada." Strickler bows quickly.  Bular lowers his head in a smaller bowing gesture.  "We have come to make an alliance." He says.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jim gazes at the vehicle in the window and sighs.  "Check it out." Toby says.  "Vespa 300 GTS Super." Jim says dreamily. "Single-cylinder catalyzed four-stroke Quesar engine..."  What. Tanis says, completely lost and confused.  You wouldn't understand. It's a human thing. Jim answers. 
Humans are fucking weird. 
 "Can you imagine me on the road with that?" He said. "It'd be awesome." "I'd be in the sidecar next to ya, right?" Toby asks.  "Of course. I mean, I was originally imagining myself alone, but what the hell." Toby grins. "So what are the odds of your mom getting you one for your birthday?"  Jim sighs in defeat. "Only SLIGHTLY better than me winning the lottery and buying it myself."  "Aw." Toby frowns in sympathy. Jim looks back at the window.  And sees something he DEFINITELY didn't expect.  "GOBLIN!" Jim shouts and whips his head around as he sees the creature rooftop-hopping whilst it carries a baby. Or at least, that's what it looked like. It was hard to tell in all of those blankets. Jim ran in the direction the goblin seemed to be going in. "What!?" Toby yelled. "That's just a bird, Jim!"  Jim finally ran into an alley and whipped his head around. He sniffed the air, using Tanis's heightened senses. Dammit.  It was gone. Jim looked around. Toby jogged in, panting. "What the hell, man?"  Jim ignored him and looked down. He picked up a small stuffed rabbit. It must have belonged to the baby.  "I think this whole trollhunting business is making you hallucinate. What would a goblin ever want with a baby?" Toby said doubtfully.  "I don't know." Jim said. "But I'm going to find out."

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Holy crap, I just realized that it's been like over a month since I've posted.  My parents took away my computer, something about how I 'Don't talk to positive people' Which is the laziest bullshit excuse I've ever heard. Anyway, I'll post when and if I can on my longer fic, Currently, I'm writing a thing called Midnight Moon, which is on Scales of Night: part 3 It's pretty cool.  sorta. Anyway, I love you all and miss you. If you want to contact me, do so on Pinterest, as Kimburtrach.  THE ONE WITH THE BLUE DRAGON AVATAR.

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Jim had played his cards right. With a bit of convincing and a lot of luck, he had gotten a night of babysitting Enrique while Claire goes to some punk rock concert. He went inside.  Claire had already texted him the shit he needed to do. He kicks the door open. "PUT YO FUCKIN HANDS UP, BIATCH!"  There's a startled choking noise. He finds a definitely-not-a-human baby in the fridge, chugging beer. It looked like a fat green gremlin in a diaper. His eyes widen as he freezes. Jim and the gremlin stare at each other, each shocked at each others' presence. "Uh..." The gremlin said. Jim pulled Daylight on him. "I SAID PUDDEM UP!" "The fuck are you?" "THE FUCKIN FBI!" Jim, what the hell. Tanis tried to hold in her laughter. 
I don't know. I'm feeling extremely chaotic tonight.
 
Valid. So'm I.
 They narrow their eyes at NOT-Enrique. The changeling squawks and runs off, the beer can still half in his mouth. "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT." Jim chases him. "You're crazy!" The changeling yelped.  Jim finally lunged at him, and caught him. The changeling was trembling.  "STOP! Please! I'll tell you what you need to know!" NotEnrique yelped. Jim narrowed his eyes. "Really?" "Yeah! I-I mean, I don't know much! It's only my first day! And the bossman knew I squealed, he'll feed me to Urada." Tanis paled. "Urada is working with Bular?" She asked. "Y-yeah..." He said, probably wondering why the fuck their voice changed. "I do have ONE question," Tanis says, making sure her eyes are glowing intimidatingly. "Where is Killahead Bridge?" The changeling paled. "Th-thats the one question I can't--" "WHERE!?"' "I-I'm not completely sure! I never--"  There was a sound outside, and headlights from a car switched off. "Claire's parents're home!" Tanis yelped. She made sure both of them looked the way they were supposed to for the situation. Claire came in through the back door as her parents came in through the front. "Oh, hey!" Jim said as he held the human NotEnrique. "I'm Jim."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Tanis is distracted. Well, more distracted than normal. Her movements during her and Draal's private training sessions were half-assed and weak, her eyes keep wandering, as her mind, inevitably, is elsewhere. Draal uses a huge hand to hold her down "Ow! What the fuck!??" Tanis demanded. "Why are you so distracted, Huntress?" Draal demanded. "You wouldn't understand." Tanis replied, looking away. Draal snorted angrily. "I am the son of the former Trollhunter, Trollhunter! I demand you tell me!" Tanis hesitates. "I'm a little nervous about kissing Claire." SHe admits. Draal pauses. "I don't understand." He looks confused. He lets her go. Tanis sits up. "Which part?" She frowns. "Well... what is this 'kissing' you speak of?" He asks. Tanis freezes. "Well, I. Um. Well, when two humans are attracted to each other, they put their mouths together." Tanis explains. "Disgusting." Draal says. "KIlling is easier." "Actually, it depends on with whom. Sometimes killing actually IS easier." Tanis mutters. "Like in my case. I don't even know if Claire likes girls. Not that it matters..."  SHe says the last part quietly. Draal tilted his head. "So you prefer those of your same sex?"  Tanis frowns. "Well, I... It's complicated. I'm still figuring it out. And not exactly... Cause I'm transgender. And nonbinary. She/her or they/them pronouns, please. Alternate if you want. But that's a very different story that I don't wanna talk about." You're trans? Jim asked. 
Yeah, I didn't show you ALL of my memories.
 
Hm. Noice. It doesn't make 100% sense, but... Okay.
 "Anyway. Yes. Screw you, yes. I am having trouble with girls. You happy?"' Tanis said saltily "Geez, calm down. I was gonna say I might be able to help you." "How?" Tanis raises an eyebrow. "Well... There's a thing I have. It's called a Grit-Shaka. It banishes any and all fear." Draal said, trying not to anger the small salty bi girl. "..." "Sounds like some weird drug." Tanis muses. "Where can I get one?"   "

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Tanis walked into History.  A movie was playing. Terminator. Tanis glanced at the charm in her bookbag, which was glowing green faintly. SHe put it on quickly. A strange feeling, like an electrified shiver, ran through her body.  She felt good. Really good. Who was it that said that this was basically Troll Weed? Who knows? WHo cares? She walks right up to CLaire's desk and sits down. It was like there was a video game thing, and she just got a power-up. She could almost see it:  
Functional Lesbian Mode Unclocked!
 Heh. She smirks and looks at her.  "Hey." She says in Jim's voice, doing an Attractive Smolder. "Uh." Claire says, blushing. "Hi?" "So. This is awkward," Tanis says. "Stage Kiss."  CLaire goes completely red. "Y-yeah." "What do YOU think about it?" "I, uh." Claire mumbles and stutters. Tanis smirks. "Well, it's after school. Don't worry about it." "Y-yeah." Claire mumbles. Tanis sits back and watches Terminator. Claire was in shock. Jim had been acting REALLY weird. Was he high or something? He seemed a LOT more flirtatious than usual. And by 'usual', that meant he wasn't at all.  Claire was pretty sure he was gay. 
Wait, no. He actually seemed to not like any gender before. Maybe he's experimenting? Or something?
 Either way, she could somehow sense Gay Tension. Which either meant that yeah, he was gay, but then why was he flirting with her?  Or-- Nah. That can't be it. No. Definitely not. 
I am NOT the gay one. Ha. No. Definitely not. I don't like girls. I like guys. I am not gay. Why am I thinking about this so much?
 Her parents had always told her that being gay is wrong.  I mean, they were also like pretty religious and stuff, so... Yeah. Mhm. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Because she wasn't gay. And neither is he.

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Basically, Jim was just throwing chaos literally everywhere. "YOU get the finger and YOU get the finger and YOU get the finger!" He said as he flipped off everyone in Trollmarket with both hands. "EVERYONE GETS THE MIDDLE FINGER!"  Jim laughed maniacally. Everyone was very confused. "Okay, buddy, lets calm down there," Toby said. "Never! I have so much energy-- I feel like I could do anything! Fight anyone!" Jim grinned, slightly unhinged. "I don't even NEED Tanis!" Toby put his hands up. "Slow down-- wait, what?" "Tanis. I hardly need her anymore. I mainly used her for her strength and stuff, and she'd do a lot of the fighting for me. I don't NEED her. I can shift by myself and I'm confident I can do it without some uptight dragon girl in the way." He smirked and raised his left hand.  Before Toby's eyes, he turned it into a  blue-scaled forearm with hooked, coal-black claws and catlike pinkish grey paw-pads. He gasped in surprise, wonder, and horror. "Why are you even fighting? You're MY best friend, not hers." Jim growled. "I can have two best friends! She's grown on me." Toby defended. "She invaded my body and is practically taking control of my life! I have to deal with the weird side effects, not you!"  "You're in control most of the day! She only takes over in biology and art class. And a bit of Training." Toby tries to reason.  "She's nothing more than a parasite." Jim spat. "You should hate her." Blinky ran over. "Apologies for my delay, what is the problem?" "What's the problem!? The Grit-Shaka is the problem! Draal got Jim high on some kind of Troll Weed, and now he's doing weird crazy shit and is taking Full Control?!?" Toby frets. While Toby had panicked, Jim had disappeared.  "WHERE THE FUCK DID HE GO?!" Toby yelled. "I think he said something about fighting Bular." A troll said. "WHAT!?" Toby shrieked. He ran beeline for the exit. Jim was in dragon form, and in the sewer. That's right. He had his OWN. A really cool, dark blue scaled one with straight horns and catlike paws with sharp, coal-black claws. A tiny part of him worried for Tanis's wellbeing. Unfortunately, that part of him was greatly obscured by his Troll Squip's overpowering Voice and zeal.  "Bular! Get your ugly ass over here so I can kill you!" Jim yelled into the tunnels. There was a growling and loud stomping as the troll came. "Trollhunter." He snarled. "Do tell, why do you race to your death?" "Hey! I'm not racing anywhere. And the only death today is gonna be yours!" Jim sneered, then unsheathed his claws and rushed Bular, tearing them across the troll's face. "What the Hel!" Bular roared and fell back.  He slashed at Jim with his swords, probably hoping to cut off his face.  Jim leaped back, dodging the blade. "What the hell rightbackatcha." Jim grumbled. He felt a slight sting on the bridge of his nose.  It was bleeding where he had cut him. It sorta looked like Shiro's scar, from Voltron: Legendary Defender. And there was another thing. His Grit-Shaka/Troll Weed/Necklace Squip was gone. Bular crushed it under his elephantine foot and grinded it into the pavement. "I will kill you, Argr, and everyone you care about. Not even the gods can save you, Young Atlas." Bular sneered. Jim froze. 
Young Atlas.
 Only one person called him that.  Mr. Strickler.  "Holy SHIT--" He started, before the manhole cover above him opened like an angelic ray of light. Bular howled in pain as his face smoked from the sunlight, temporarily turning the troll to stone.  Toby reached a hand down for them. Tanis took bicontrol, and they turned back to mostly human, but for the moment, kept their digitigrade legs. They leaped, shifting back to fully human and gripping Toby's hand for dear life. Bular regained his senses and slashed his claws in their general direction.  But he couldn't do much without severely burning his hand. They flopped onto the surface pavement.  "Strickler's a changeling." Janis blurted. "I FUCKING KNEW IT." Toby exclaimed. They took a moment to process this.  A car beeped. "Get out of the road, ya crazy teens!" Some asshole yelled.  "FUCK OFF AND DRIVE AROUND!" Janis yelled halfheartedly.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Toby and Jim were on their way to class. "I can't even look at him the same way anymore. It's like Strickler's a whole different person." JIm says. "Technically he is. He HAD lied about basically everything, after all." They came into the classroom. Jim nearly gasped. FOr it was not Mr. Strickler who was there, but the changeling woman, Nomura. "Hello. James... Lake? And Tobias Domzalski." She smiled, a knowing look in her eyes. "Please sit down. Class is about to begin.""Jim? Can I talk to you for a moment? Alone, please." Jim nodded, and sat down, vigilant for any attacks she might try. "I'm um... Your mother asked me to have dinner with her." Jim blinked.  "What?" "I know. But we can't be fighting in front of her or everything will be lost." "Of course." "So you don't have any questions?" "Was it, like, a date?" "I hope so. I mean, she did ask me for dinner. But it was at your house? So I'm not sure? I think so." This is so great. Tanis grins. 
Tanis, shut up. It is NOT great. My mom CANNOT date a changeling!
 "You're dismissed." Jim couldn't wait to tell Toby.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Claire was in her room, reading. The Fault of Our Stars.  And it was a really good book just really good. She was lost in it, still, and she barely heard the tapping on the window when it happened. Her eyes flicked to it, and she yelped.  "Jim!" "Could you open the window?" His voice was slightly muffled by the glass. She obeys quickly, slightly freaked out.  "What's happening?" She asks as she pulls him in. "Why were you on my roof?" She says with a raised eyebrow.  "No time to explain! You need to come with me." He says, tugging her in the direction of the window again. She pulls away. "There's always time to explain! Especially you explaining why the hell you were on my roof."  Jim looks at her and makes a mildly frustrated noise.  Claire squints. There's a strange noise that seemed to come from above them. "They're here." He whispers.  "WHAT's here?!" She demands. Jim opens the window and straight up LEAPS out like he's a fucking cat. He doesn't make a sound as he falls, but there's a soft "pat" noise once he hits the ground. Claire makes her way over, expecting to see him with a broken leg or something. But no. He looks perfectly fine. He outstretches his hand. "Do you trust me?" 
Jesus fucking Christ, who does he think he is?!
 But Claire'd been looking for excitement. Just a bit. So she took a leap of faith. Jim knew something was wrong.  Tanis hadn't been responding. Not since that dinner.  Since he had felt that weird little prick as he took the amulet. He hadn't questioned it before, and it kind of felt nice to not have a mildly annoying voice spouting philosophical humor, John Mulaney Jokes, constant music, and Good Omens Quotes. But now he worried. All things considered, he quite liked the fact that even when they were dormant, he had enhanced senses and speed. He made sure Claire was following and wasn't sprinting and overexerting herself with the running, so he slowed down. She panted and knelt over.  "What... the hell!" Jim blinked. "What?" "You climb onto my roof, then jump off it, then lead me into the forest like some creep! What are you doing?" She demanded. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He answered calmly.   "A-and that's another thing! You're being so weird and cryptic! Could you give me a straight answer? For once?" Jim sighed. "Fine. Goblins." Claire blinked. "What?" "You heard me. Goblins are after us. A whole horde 'of em. They want to kill us. Well, you." Jim said, still weirdly calm. "Haha, hilarious. Seriously, what?" She crosses her arms.  "I was telling the truth," Jim says. There's a squeaky roar of a creature that is much smaller than it thinks it is. By itself, it poses no threat, like a piranha. But in a swarm, they could devour you in a murderous wave. Jim rummaged around in his pocket for the Amulet, and pulled it out. He yelled the incantation. Nothing. He tried again.  Nothing. "Oh SHIT--" He, on a gut feeling, punched a goblin in the face. Claire grabbed a stick and started swingin'.  "I THOUGHT YOU WERE KIDDING!" She yells.  "I RARELY DO THAT!" He calls back. 
For the Glory of Merlin-- Where are you!?
Somewhere else, the amulet's glowing and floating was deeply confusing one (1) bitchass changeling and one transphobic Troll Prince. It soared out of their makeshift base at the museum like it had its own agenda. Which, technically, it did. It crashed into its masters' outstretched hand and did what it was forged to do. JIMOHMYGODSJIMIMISSEDYOU-- Tanis yelled as soon as it came into his hand. She took control, but kind of tumbled into it. "For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" They yelled. They shifted as the armor clanged on, so who the hell knows what Claire was thinking. They finally landed. "Let's THROW DOWN, BITCHES!" She yells. And all hell broke loose. Controlled, fiery, blades-flying hell, conducted by Tanisaria Lake-De La Luna in a glorious symphony of chaos. Goblin after goblin after goblin met its sharp demise as the draconic enby slashed her way through the small army. Finally, they were done. They knelt over on their knees, panting heavily. Claire just stood there. "... Jim?" She asked quietly. Tanis looked at her, their glowing eyes gleaming in the moonlight. She took a step back. Tanis's armor deactivated, and they were in an indigo jacket that was opened, a lot like Jim's, and under it was a black t-shirt. And some ripped blue jeans. All of which were tailored to fit their dragon features. "I, ah..." SHe started, scratching their neck nervously. "I'm not him. As. You might be able to tell." Claire just stared. "Then who are you?" Tanis paused. How was she to explain this? That they were a dragon warrior from a different plane? Nobody? That they were someone who had been crushing on her since they had first seen her? "My name is Tanis." No sooner than when she had said that then there was some strange, cryptic humming. "Claire. I know you're in shock, but you need to rust me." Tanis said. "Wh-what? Whats happening?" Claire asked, her eyes wide. "Run." Tanis whispered. And Claire ran. Tanis didn't even have time to get the amulet before the pink figure dropped from the trees.  "Hello, little hunter. I'dve thought you would have been killed already. Good thing." She said as she took her blades out. "That I can knock you out myself." She lunged before Tanis could so much as raise her tail. She kicked her in the chest, slamming Tanis into a tree. And everything went black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"We need backup!!"
 
"SEDATIVES!"
 
"I got i--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGH!!"
 
"EBONY IS DOWN! I REPEAT, EBONY IS DOWN!"
 
"Kap, we NEED those reinforcements! He's BLAZING--"
 
"RHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA--"
 Tanis sat awake abruptly. Everything hurt.  And they felt like they'd been kicked in the chest by a horse.  And, as their memories swept back, they kind of were.  If Nomura counts. The fact that they were still wearing those Ace Bandages that they use to bind didn't help.  "Woah, there." Toby murmured.  Tanis squints at him. "I do what I wish." "Hey, just wondering: Why isn't Jim in control right now? Usually, he is, when you wake up." Tanis looks around at herself. "Shit! You're right." Maybe it has something to do with that weird prick I felt when I grabbed the fake amulet. Jim says. 
Oh, like a drug or something?
 
You sound more excited than you should be.
 
Hey, it's fascinating! Still doesn't explain why you can't take control.
 
Maybe it's like a dam. Like... You were fully shut out unwillingly and now all of you is coming out at once. So you're in control for like a day or so.
 
Maybe we should try to retrieve the fake amulet and try to find the thing?
 
Sure, and then try to find someone who knows drugs and poisons and stuff.
 "You good? Your eyes went all glaze-y for a moment." Toby said. "Oh Sorry. Just talking to Jim." "Is he okay?" Toby asked.  "Oh. Yeah. He's good. I'm just probably gonna be in control for the day or so." "That's awhile." Toby frowned. "Speaking of day. Did anything happen?" "Oh, yeah. Blinky went to check out the bridge and hasn't come back yet." "Wait, WHAT!? Why didn't you-- Never mind. I am GOING AFTER HIM RIGHT NOW!" She throws off the covers and jumps to the floor, running outside. "WAIT, YOU HAVE TO SIGN OUT--" Toby said as she ran. "...First."By the time they arrived at the museum, they were soaking wet from head to toe, and had slipped in puddles several times. So they were generally pissed off. They threw the museum doors open. "SURPRISE, MOTHERFUCKER!" She yelled. NotEnrique choked on the pizza he was eating. "Jesus, kid, don't you know how to knock!?" "Let me have a dramatic entrance." Tanis retorted.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Okay. So. A couple months ago, my school blocked Archiveofourown.You, or at least some of you, know that.I recently got the WiFi password on my iPad, so I’m back on.However, I’m not nearly as invested in Scales Of Night anymore.I still quite love the story, but I don’t have the patience to write it all down in chapters. However. If you wish to roleplay this story with me, then I’m nb-demon on tumblr, Hellfire666 on Quotev, and Hey Demons It’s Ya Boi Zephyr on pinterest.