A Trollhunters Fanfiction

== Author's Note ==
The following story takes place after Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, and contains spoilers for the same, so do not read if you haven't watched Rise of the Titans, and you don't want spoilers.
Italics in the story is used for thoughts, and emphasis, it should be obvious when I use it for what purpose.
Bold is used for languages other than English. Most characters cannot understand these languages, and if they can it is clearly stated. It is translated into English only for your benefit (And also so I don't have to spend hours creating words for my OG languages, and even more time translating english to already existing languages in the franchise).
Happy reading :D
== Prologue ==
“This is bad,” A voice said, “He cannot be allowed to keep doing what he is currently doing.”
“I will get through to him.” Said the other voice, “I will bring him here to listen. He doesn’t understand you, and neither does he understand the levity of what he has done. Neither do I, if I am being completely honest.”
“I don’t expect you to get it,” The first voice said, “Just know that if Jim is allowed to continue, it would spell the destruction of the world as you know it. Everything would descend into pure chaos.”
“I- will take your word for it.” The other voice said. It seemed frightened. 
A figure walked out of the shadows, but it wasn’t clear.
It was shrouded in energy, unfathomable forces of power swirling around it. The figure knelt, facing something.
“Master, give me permission to speak to the boy. I can make him see reason.” The voice pleaded.
“Very well, you may have a chance. But be warned, if the boy won’t listen- I know he won’t, he takes after his mother- I will have to take drastic measures.”
“I failed a person like this once, and I do not intend to do so again.” The figure stood up.
Jim woke up, gasping. 
“What- what was that?” He whispered.
Jim hadn’t understood what that first voice was saying, something about ‘Turkaz Kolits’? 
But the second voice spoke English. It had said something about a boy- someone they would bring to their creepy area with absolutely nothing all around it.
It was just a dream, Jim tried to convince himself, It isn’t- it cannot be real.
== Chapter 1: A Day In The Life Of A Totally Ordinary Teenager ==
Jim woke up to the sounds of a million texts.
He looked at his phone and smiled.
There were a bunch of texts and pictures from Toby, saying that he was the Trollhunter, and that trolls are real.
Of course, that wasn’t anything new to Jim, he had made Toby the Trollhunter, but he pretended that he didn’t believe Toby.
Jim had promised himself he would never get embroiled in all this again.
He wrote to Toby that the pictures were photoshopped, and that he still didn’t believe him.
Then he got out of bed to make breakfast.
After making breakfast, and leaving some for his mother, Jim went to the garage and got out his bike.
Toby was out there waiting for him.
Jim frowned. Toby rarely talked to Jim anymore, now that Jim refused to believe Toby, so it was weird that he came to see Jim all of a sudden.
“Look, Jimbo,” Toby said, “I know we’ve not been very close lately, but I want you to know, you were always my best friend, and you always will be.”
Jim furrowed his brows. Something was wrong.
“What caused the sudden change of heart?” Jim asked playfully.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Just- stay away from the museum tonight, okay?” Toby said, his voice resigned.
He rode away on his bike.
He looked… Mournful, somehow, Jim thought, The museum was where Killahead bridge had been opened, but that is going to happen in a few weeks, not now.
Jim worried about this for a while, but decided to take it with a pinch of salt.
Toby was very melodramatic sometimes, so it didn’t mean something, did it?
Jim cycled to school, and did his classes.
Basically just the usual stuff.
Well, mostly usual.
Another weird thing had happened in class.
Mr Strickler had come up to Jim, and started talking.
He had said, “I wouldn’t recommend going to watch that special exhibition they’re putting on today, Young Atlas. It would be better if you stayed away from there.”
When Jim had asked why, Strickler had just said nothing, and walked away with a worried expression on his face.
While he was putting stuff in his locker, during break, Jim saw Claire approaching him.
“Hey,” She said, “So are we still going to the museum tonight? After the movie?”
Jim hesitated for a while. Both Strickler and Toby had told him to not go to the museum that day.
Claire saw him hesitating and said, “Of course, if you don’t want to come it’s totally fine-”
“No!” Jim said quickly, then laughed awkwardly, “I mean, no, I’m good, we’re still on for tonight.”
“Oh, okay then.” Claire said, smiling, and walked away.
Jim sighed.
Even after actually dating Claire in the future- his past, Jim still became a mess around her.
It’s all good, Jim tried to convince himself, Strickler probably just wants to surprise me and mom with something tonight. It’s just a coincidence that both Toby and Strickler said the same thing- maybe they’re even in this together. Nothing is wrong.
Jim looked into the sky, and saw a shooting star.
Please let nothing go wrong today, Jim wished.
Ignoring that nagging feeling at the back of his mind, Jim decided to just forget about it.
Besides, he knew everything about the future, and how everything was supposed to go.
It was all perfectly fine.
During the rest of his school day, Jim couldn’t help but feel something was off.
He felt that something was very wrong, but couldn’t place what.
Toby had missed class, he was probably off doing some Trollhunter business.
“Mr Lake, are you hearing me?” A voice cut off Jim’s wandering thoughts.
Jim looked up, startled, and scanned the writing on the board.
“Uh… World War II ended in 1945, Mr Strickler.” Jim said quickly; He’d been brushing up on his history in the past few days.
Strickler let out a sigh, and said with an amused smile, “That is correct, Young Atlas, but all I asked you to do was open the window. It’s getting stuffy here.”
“Oh- okay.” Jim said with a sheepish grin. He could hear his classmates giggling softly around him as he got up to open the window.
Jim sat back down in his seat as Strickler continued to explain.
The next class Jim had was Spanish, taught by Señor Uhl.
When Señor Uhl came into the room, he brought two other students with him.
“Listen up, class,” Uhl said, thrusting the two other students in front of him, “These are Aja and Krel Tarron, from- from Cantaloupia, whatever that is, and you people are going to be nice to them.”
Jim froze.
Aja and Krel were supposed to arrive a lot later than this. Everything is definitely NOT fine, Jim thought, This is very, very bad.
== Chapter 2: And so it begins... ==
Jim took a deep breath.
I have to remain calm, He thought, Panicking is not going to help anyone.
Jim forced himself to breathe.
He didn’t know why everything was going crazy, but he would figure it out.
He always did.
Krel and Aja took seats in the classroom, and Uhl started to teach.
Jim wasn’t paying attention.
This is bad. If everything happens earlier, then the Eternal Night is only a few weeks away. Assuming it even happens.
Jim shook his head.
He would think about this later.
Jim somehow managed to get through school.
He cycled home as fast as he could.
Jim was just crossing the bridge over the canal, when a figure in a black cloak stepped out in front of Jim.
Jim hit the brakes, the tires of his cycle squealing.
Eli would be proud, He thought vaguely.
“You are a hard person to track down, James Lake.” The figure said.
Jim gasped. It was the voice from his dreams!
The figure leaned in closer, and said, “It wasn’t too hard to track you down, really. I just thought it would sound cool.”
“Who are you?” Jim demanded.
“A well wisher.” The figure answered, “And I would recommend you stop doing what you are doing.”
“And what, exactly, am I doing?”
“Don’t play innocent with me boy. Go back to where you belong, or bad things will happen.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.” The figure said, calmly, “It’s a warning.”
Jim glared at the figure.
Then he realized that something was off.
Everything had gone silent.
Jim looked around. Everyone, every single person Jim could see was frozen in place.
“What did you do?” Jim asked, “Are you trying to intimidate me?”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of doing that,” The figure said, “This is merely for convenience. It’s like when you used the Kairosect, except there’s no time limit to my power, even though it is pitiful compared to the others.”
The figure looked off into the distance wistfully.
“But I digress.” The figure said, seeming to snap back into reality, “You have to return to your own timeline. You replacing the real you of this timeline has disturbed a lot of stuff. Going back will make our job possible, but as long as you remain here, you will continue to cause problems.”
Jim scoffed disbelievingly.
“You don’t believe me?” The figure asked, “Did the aliens not arrive before schedule? Did Toby and Strickler not act strange? Soon, everything will start going out of balance. Think about it. I will be back tomorrow. Make up your mind by then. I plead to you to make the right choice.”
The figure snapped his fingers, and vanished.
Around Jim, everything started again.
Jim just stood there, dumbstruck.
⁂
Jim left the movie theater with Claire.
He had tried to forget about what that cloaked guy had said, but found himself unable to do so.
And so he decided to just not think about it.
Jim knew he would have to face the fact that his Toby was dead, but he didn’t fancy doing that just yet.
Besides, he could protect them all.
After all, he had been trained as Trollhunter for quite some time.
“Uh, Jim?” Claire asked, from beside him, “Are you even listening to what I'm saying?”
Jim snapped back to reality.
“Oh… sorry, I was just thinking about- stuff, yeah.” Jim said awkwardly.
“Look, if you don’t want to go to the museum, it’s fine with me-” Claire started.
“No, no, it’s fine. I just got a little distracted.”
“You get ‘distracted’ a lot lately.”
Jim sighed, “Look, I’ve just got a lot going on now. But this is nice, it’s good to finally relax a little.”
He continued, “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”
Claire smiled, and they entered the museum.
The inside of the museum was very extravagantly decorated, with banners and other decorations hanging from every nook and cranny.
Jim saw Toby standing off to one side.
A round man with glasses came onto a makeshift stage that had been erected in the middle of the museum.
Behind the man, who was still standing in the shadows, was something that had been covered with a cloth.
“Welcome, welcome, meine freunde, the special exhibition will be starting shortly.” The man came out of the shadows.
It was… Otto Scaarbach?
What’s he doing here? Jim thought.
Otto smiled slyly.
“Yes, yes, you will be very surprised indeed, at what you will be seeing today.” He said.
Near the corner, Jim saw Toby tense up.
What’s going on here? Jim wondered, What am I missing?
Otto turned around and pulled off the cloth on the strange artifact behind him.
It was a bridge. No- it was the bridge.
== Chapter 3: The Battle of the Bridge... Again ==
“For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!” A voice came from the corner of the room.
Toby charged, yelling and raising Daylight over his head.
A loud roar sounded, and Bular jumped out from the shadows.
He batted Toby away.
Toby landed on his feet, and leveled Daylight.
People screamed as Bular roared loudly.
Jim looked around wildly for Claire, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Bular charged at Toby, roaring.
Toby dug his feet in, a determined expression on his face.
Suddenly, Aaarrrgghh appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
He charged Otto, grabbing him.
Otto started laughing.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.” He yelled to Toby, who was only barely blocking Bular’s blows.
“Stand down, Bular.” Otto commanded.
Bular stopped.
Toby looked at Otto, surprised.
Otto snickered, “Did you think of leaving someone to guard your house?”
Realization dawned on Toby’s face.
“And so you realize that there is no way out. One wrong move, and your Nana dies. Now, place the Amulet on the bridge.” Otto said.
Jim didn’t wait to see what was happening.
He had heard some shouting outside.
It had sounded like Varvatos.
Jim went to investigate.
“Varvatos must help the Toby-pie! Nancy asked Varvatos to help him!” A voice was shouting.
Jim hid behind a dustbin in an alley beside the museum.
He peeked, and saw Zadra and Vex arguing.
“You were charged to protect the royals, would you abandon them now?” Zadra asked.
“You are capable of protecting them. Nancy- she was injured when Varvatos found her. She asked Varvatos- she asked me- to do this. Varvatos must go.”
Zadra sighed, “In that case, go. Go help this Toby-pie. I will take care of the royals.”
“Thank you.” Varvatos said.
He then pulled out his serrator.
Yelling, he broke through a window into the museum.
Zadra leaped up onto the roof of the museum, and ran out of sight.
I need to help them, Jim thought, But how? I don’t have my Amulet, or any weapon.
Jim followed Varvatos through anyway.
                       ⁂
Jim entered the museum into pure chaos.
The Amulet was in Killahead Bridge, and the bridge was activating.
Toby had picked up a spear from a Gumm-gumm and was fighting Bular with that.
Gumm-gumms were crawling out of the portal, and Aaarrrgghh was only just able to keep them at bay.
Varvatos jumped into battle.
He cut down Gumm-gumms, and they fell like pins in front of Varvatos’ onslaught.
“Glorious!” Varvatos yelled.
He charged into the Gumm-gumm hordes coming out of the portal, destroying them one by one.
He was like a whirlwind of destruction.
Toby’s spear broke at a particularly hard strike from Bular’s sword.
Bular growled and moved in for the kill.
Jim saw a spear lying next to him.
“Tobes!” He shouted, throwing the spear to him.
Toby caught the spear and drove it into Bular’s gut.
Toby’s expression of astonishment mirrored that of Bular’s.
Bular stumbled and fell, turning to stone.
“Nooo!” A voice roared from inside the portal.
A single glowing blue eye shone from inside the portal.
“You killed my son, Trollhunter. And for that, you shall pay.” He growled.
The Gumm-gumms formed a circle around Toby.
They started slamming their spears on the ground.
Oh no, Jim thought, Last time this happened, it didn’t go very well.
As the behemoth leader of the Gumm-gumms came through the portal, Dictatious called out.
He shouted, “All hail Gunmar! Gunmar the Black! Gunmar the Vicious! Gunmar the Skullcrusher!”
Gunmar came out of the portal.
He bore his Decimaar blade.
Gunmar picked up a spear, and threw it to Toby.
Jim looked on from behind a statue in horror.
Gunmar, his biggest nightmare, was going to fight his best friend.
And Jim could do nothing to help.
== Chapter 4: Accidents Will Happen ==
“Jim! Jim! Over here!”
Jim spun around and saw Claire.
She was hiding under a table with a very large tablecloth.
“Jim, why do I feel like I’ve seen these things before?” Claire asked. She looked confused.
Jim racked his brain for an answer.
“You- uh- you must have seen something like this in a movie!” Jim said, “Maybe that’s why you think you’ve seen them before.”
Claire didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t ask anything else.
She was distracted by a clashing sound.
They turned around to see Gunmar attacking Toby with his giant sword. Toby was able to block the incoming attacks, but only just.
“I have to help him.” Jim said, determined.
Not waiting to see Claire’s reaction, he ran into the hall.
Jim got out from behind the statue, but he already knew he was too late.
Gunmar had disarmed Toby, and was raising his sword for the kill.
Suddenly, a giant blue figure hurtled across the room into Gunmar.
“You tried to hurt the Toby-Pie! For this Varvatos shall give you a glorious death!” Vex roared.
He punched Gunmar and the two started to fight.
Jim ran to Toby’s side.
“Jim, I told you, trolls do exist!” Toby started to say, but Jim cut him off.
“I know, I know, Toby, I used to be the Trollhunter but things happened and I got confused and- I’ll explain later. But I know everything about all this, and you can’t kill Gunmar, not without the Triumbric stones.”
Toby looked dumbstruck.
“Wha- what are you saying, Jimbo?”
“Look, in the future, my Amulet broke and Titans were attacking and Stuart created a new Amulet with Excalibur as Daylight and I was fighting Bellroc but I couldn’t beat her but you came with the Akiridion anti-magic tech and helped me beat Bellroc but you lost your life in the process so I came back in time to try and change the future so you don’t die!”
“Bellroc? What’s Bellroc?” Toby looked worried, “Jim, are you on drugs or something?”
“No I-” Jim noticed Varvatos flying towards them, “Toby, look out!”
Jim fell flat on his face, but he got back up.
He looked around for Toby, and breathed a sigh of relief.
He had managed to push Toby out of the way in time.
Jim looked at Varvatos, who was getting to his feet.
“Varvatos will flay you and drink your blood from a cup made of your intestines!” He shouted, and charged at Gunmar.
Gunmar casually sidestepped Vex’s attack, and kicked him in the back.
He levelled his sword, and blue magical lines extended from it, moving towards Varvatos’ face. 
Varvatos struggled, but there was no point.
After a while, Varavtos’ face went blank.
“You shall be my general now, Var-vathos.” Gunmar growled.
Varvatos bowed, and Jim looked on with horror.
“Kill the Trollhunter!” Gunmar yelled.
The Gumm-gumms charged.
Toby shut his eyes in concentration and shouted, “For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!”
The Amulet in the Bridge started spinning.
It flew into Toby’s hand, and then formed the armor, and the Daylight sword.
Toby dropped into a fighting stance.
“Your left foot should go a little further, it’s easy to topple you if you maintain this stance.” Jim corrected him absently.
Toby stared at him in shock.
“This is never going to work, there are too many of them.” Jim said.
“I know, I have a plan. Run!” Toby shouted.
And so, Jim ran.
He ran as fast as he could.
His legs were burning, as were his lungs, but he could see the Gumm-gimms behind him, and so he ran.
They reached the exit, and ran through it.
Toby used Daylight to jam the door in place.
The Gumm-gumms swarmed towards the door, and started crashing into it, trying to break it down.
“This won’t hold for long,” Toby yelled, “Blinky, are you done yet?”
“I need some more time, Tobias.” Blinky yelled back.
“We don’t have more time, Blinky, what you have already done will have to do!”
“Very well then.”
The four-armed troll walked into Jim’s vision, carrying a large sack.
“Aaarrrgghh, throw it!” Blinky shouted, throwing the sack towards the bushes.
Aaarrrgghh emerged from the bushery, and caught the sack.
But Jim had just noticed something.
“Tobes, what’s in that sack?” He asked.
“Dwarkstone, it’s a-” Toby started to reply.
“I know what it does, and you need to tell Aaarrrgghh to stop!”
But it was too late, Aaarrrgghh had thrown the bag into the museum.
Jim grabbed Toby and pointed.
He could dimly hear himself shouting, but he was numb.
Claire was in the museum, trying to stave off a few trolls with a spear.
Toby’s eyes widened with shock.
As Jim watched on, the museum exploded.
== Chapter 5: Shock and Awe ==
Jim heard Toby say something, but he couldn’t hear what it was.
He fell to his knees, burying his head in his hands.
He could hear words being spoken all around him, but he couldn’t understand them.
His ears were ringing, but not from the blast.
He felt a hand rest on his back, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Toby.
“He’s in shock,” A medic, who had probably just arrived, was telling Toby, “He will recover from it.”
The medic approached Jim and took out a wicked looking needle.
Seeing the look on Jim’s face, the medic said, “Don’t worry, it’s just a sedative, you will feel a lot better soon.”
A numbing bliss washed over Jim, and everything went black.
⁂
Jim bolted straight upright in his hospital bed.
“Claire, where’s Claire?” He asked, looking around wildly.
Barbara Lake came into the room and rested her hand on Jim’s shoulder.
“She’s in the ICU. We don’t know if she will recover, but we are hoping for the best.” She said.
Jim punched the bed.
“This is my fault. I didn’t see her there, if I had, I could have saved her.” He gave his mother a pleading look, “What’s wrong with her?”
Barbara sighed, “She’s in a coma and on life support.”
“Can I see her?”
“There’s no point, she won’t give any response. Besides, you are supposed to be in bed. I don’t know if you have recovered from the shock yet.”
“Please?”
“Fine. But after seeing her, you’re going straight home to rest. Doctor’s orders.”
Jim nodded, and went out of his ward, walking towards the ICU.
Jim entered the ICU.
Claire was currently the only patient there.
Jim felt a pang when he saw Claire on life support.
He felt like just breaking down and crying.
Jim cleared his throat.
“Ahem, well, I know you can’t hear me right now, but- but I just don’t know, okay? I need you to get better. Please.”
Jim hung his head.
Tears slid down his face.
“I’m just- I’m sorry, okay? I thought that I could fix everything if I came back in time. I thought I was strong enough. I wasn’t. I- I came here to say goodbye.”
He lifted his head.
“I will do- I’ll do the right thing. I’m gonna go to the creepy weird time person and tell him to take me back. And I just wanted you to know that- that I’m sorry, for everything.”
Someone cleared their throat behind Jim.
Jim turned around to see Toby.
“I wasn’t spying on you, I just came here to see her, and then I saw you saying something about being sorry?” Toby said quickly.
“I-” Jim started to explain, but Toby cut him off.
“Look Jimbo, I don’t know how you knew about trolls and everything, but I trust you, okay? You’re my best friend, so I thought you should know. After you were gone, Gunmar emerged from the rubble, with his army. The sun was just rising, and so he couldn’t attack. But he said something, before he went. He said that he would bring about the Eternal Night. Blinky won’t tell me what it means, and since you seemed to know so much, I thought you would know…” Toby said.
“I- I do know what it is.” Jim said, touched by what Toby had said about trusting him, “It’s bad.”
“How bad?”
“Very.”
Toby froze.
“Uh- Toby? Is something wrong?” Jim asked, bewildered.
He waved his hand in front of Toby’s face but there was no reaction.
It dawned upon Jim what had happened.
“Come out, creepy time person, I know you’re here!” Jim shouted.
The figure came out of the shadows near the entrance to the ICU.
“So, have you made your decision? Are you going to come with me? Or will you stay on this doomed timeline, and watch all your friends die?” The figure said.
“I-” Jim sighed.
Just a few moments ago, he had wanted to leave this place.
But now- now that he knew Gunmar was still out there, and about to bring upon the Eternal Night, something had changed.
I cannot abandon them, Jim realized, I cannot, and I will not, abandon my friends.
“I am going to stay here, and I am going to save everyone.” Jim said in a determined voice.
The figure let out an exasperated sigh, “I knew you wouldn't listen to me, but it was worth a shot.”
The figure straightened, and Jim tensed, ready for an attack.
“Very well then, a bit of advice. In your darkest hour, the Amulet will come to you. Once it does, all you have to do is call me, and I will be there to take you to your rightful place.” The figure spoke.
“The Amulet? But I don’t have it anymore, Toby’s the Trollhunter.”
“Soon you will see that I am right. But I don’t think I can persuade you right now. Call me.”
“How can I call you if I don’t know your name?”
“Lester. You can call me Lester for the time being.”
The figure snapped its fingers and vanished.
Jim looked at Toby.
“I’ll explain why later, but now, we have a wizard to find.” Jim told Toby.
“Whaaaaa-” Toby looked confused.
“Yes, a wizard, they exist. And this one is pretty famous.” Jim smiled, “You may have heard of him. Merlin.”
== Chapter 6: The Tomb of the Wizard ==
Jim put his hands over his ears as dwarkstone exploded all around him.
He dropped down into the familiar Gyre station, the place where he had destroyed his amulet.
Jim brushed dust off his clothes and got up.
They had to find Merlin as soon as possible.
It had already taken long enough for Jim to find the Gyre station, not to mention the time it had taken to stop Toby from exploding with excitement.
“We have to go guys, Gunmar might already be here.” Jim said, getting on to the gyre.
“Yeahhh, I don’t know if you noticed, Jimbo,” Toby said, “But this gyre has no controls.”
“I know, you have to break your Amulet to power the gyre.”
“What? You didn’t tell me this before?”
“The strange boy speaks the truth.” Blinky said, “To find Merlin’s tomb, the Amulet must be destroyed.”
“He’s not strange, he’s my friend!” Toby said.
Aaarrrgghh lumbered over to Jim and sniffed him.
“Smell familiar.” He decided.
Jim quickly said, “Eh, all humans smell the same, you know.”
Blinky didn’t look convinced, and neither did Aaarrrgghh, but they were distracted by a loud clunk.
Toby had jumped onto the Amulet, and it had broken into pieces.
Toby looked sheepishly at the others and said, “What? I couldn’t think of a better way to break it.”
Jim shook his head, but he was smiling.
“Okay, now place the blue stone in that slot over there.” Jim directed, pointing at a slot in the gyre.
Toby placed the stone in the slot, and the gyre took off, moving at a rapid pace.
“Hate… Gyre!” Aaarrrgghh moaned.
Jim couldn’t agree more, but he decided to not open his mouth, he was already feeling nauseous, and he didn’t trust his stomach to comply with his wishes.
The gyre came to an abrupt halt.
Jim was thrown forwards, out of the gyre.
He groaned and picked himself up.
Jim walked right into the cavern the gyre had stopped in front of.
He ignored the inscription above him, since he already knew what it said.
The others followed him without complaint, but Jim thought he saw Blinky shoot Aaarrrgghh a meaningful look behind his back.
Dismissing it as his imagination, Jim walked into the workshop.
It was exactly as he had remembered it, with the rotting dinner, and other remains of what it used to be.
Jim walked up and put a bag on the floor tile that would restore the room to what it originally was.
He beckoned for the others to follow him, and he left the workshop.
Jim exited into the strange time room.
He didn’t bother looking at the murals on the walls.
“Don’t look at those.” Blinky said, as Toby went to get a closer look at the murals on the walls, “They will not do you any good.”
Jim frowned.
Last time Blinky wasn’t so suspicious of these murals.
Jim dismissed this too, and went down the trapdoor into the caverns underneath.
And there it was, right in front of Jim.
The staff of Merlin.
Toby, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh dropped down behind Jim.
“There, Merlin’s staff!” Jim pointed, “We need that, or Merlin won’t have his powers.”
A low growl sounded from the other side of the cavern.
“I knew you would come, Trollhunter.” Gunmar’s voice echoed through the chambers.
Toby put on a determined look on his face, but Jim knew Toby couldn’t fight, not without his Amulet.
“Attack them!” Gunmar roared, and hordes of Gumm-gumms charged towards Jim.
“Run!” Jim shouted, and jumped.
Slowly but surely, Jim made his way towards the staff.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Blinky and Aaarrrgghh huddled behind a crystal.
They were whispering about something.
Jim was jolted out of his thoughts as a Gumm-gumm leapt at him.
He sidestepped the attack and ran.
He knew he could probably take the Gumm-gumm if he wanted to, but he decided the Staff of Avalon was more important.
Jim ran faster.
Gumm-gumms attacked him from all sides, but Jim managed to avoid them.
Jim smiled, he had gotten a lot better since the last time he had come here.
Jim could see the staff in front of him, but he could also feel the Gumm-gumms getting closer to him.
So he jumped.
He gave one last leap, trying to grab the staff.
His fingers scrambled against its body, he had it, just a bit more.
Jim landed in a roll, the Staff  of Avalon clutched safely in his left hand.
Then, much to his surprise, the staff let out a blast of green energy, vaporizing all the Gumm-gumms near him.
He heard Blinky cry out from behind him, “Aha! I knew it!”
He heard a roar.
Jim turned around, and saw Aaarrrgghh barrelling into him, and Toby standing to the side, a betrayed look on his face.
== Chapter 7: Betrayal ==
“Aaarrrgghh? What are you-” Jim was cut off as the large troll grabbed him.
“Not Jim. Bad.” He asserted.
The Staff, once again acting on its own accord, shot a beam of green energy at Aaarrrgghh, throwing him backwards.
Jim heard Toby let out a raged yell.
Jim shook the Staff of Avalon in his hands.
He had realized what had happened.
They think I’m controlling the staff, and making all this happen.
Jim gripped the staff tighter, and started to run.
He heard Blinky shout, “Come back here, scum of the earth!” but he ignored it.
He focused on getting the staff as far away from his friends as possible.
He leaped over a few Gumm-gumms and ran, but found his way blocked by Toby, who was held up by Aaarrrgghh.
Jim’s heart wrenched at the look of pain and fury in Toby’s face.
He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could say anything, Toby punched him hard on the face.
Toby’s eyes were alight with fury.
“I trusted you, Jimbo.” He said.
He wasn’t shouting. He was whispering, like he couldn’t believe it.
“Of course, Blinky told me you aren’t the real Jim.” He continued, “But I still trusted you. And look where that got me.”
Toby struck again, but Jim blocked.
“Tobes-” Jim started.
“Save your breath.” Toby spat at Jim’s feet, “Nothing you say will change my mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What did you say?”
“I’m sorry, Tobes.”
Jim slammed his staff into Toby’s side, and then ran.
He didn’t want to have to fight his friend.
He heard Toby yell something, but couldn’t catch exactly what it was.
Pushing it out of his mind, Jim racked his brains, trying to figure out how exactly he had gotten into Merlin’s tomb last time.
There was an explosion… but I don’t know how we can replicate that here.
There was a thunk behind Jim.
Toby doesn’t believe me now, but Merlin will tell him.
Another thunk, this time louder.
As long as I find Merlin, it will be alright.
Blinky crashed into Jim, pushing him to another part of the cavern. Gunmar roared. The sound was very close. Jim was still zoned out.
Once I find Merlin, it will all come together. And all will be well.
There was a crash, and rocks started to fall from the ceiling.
⁂
Toby stood silently, watching the rocks fall.
He watched them fall, and trap a friend and an enemy in disguise with the terror of all trolls.
He watched as the rocks trapped Jim- no, Fake-Jim and Blinky with Gunmar the Black. Gunmar the Vicious. Gunmar the Skullcrusher.
He watched as Jim realized what had happened, and ran.
But Blinky held him back.
The rocks fell, and cut them off from the rest of the world.
Blinky, he sacrificed himself. But he did it for the good of the world- the good of everyone.
Toby had been fooled by the imposter-Jim.
He had blindly trusted the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“He’s my friend.” Toby had argued, “He wouldn’t betray me.”
Blinky had tried to warn him, but he hadn’t listened.
I don’t know who this person is, and why he did this, but he will pay.
The Fake-Jim had hurt people.
Who knows, he could also be in league with the gumm-gumms.
But one thing was for sure.
The Fake-Jim was not a good person.
I failed this town, its people- my friends, Blinky, and everyone else when I was fooled by this imposter.
I failed, and I failed badly, today.
I do not intend to do so ever again.
⁂
Jim scratched at the fallen rocks desperately, trying to get out.
But there was no point.
He was stuck.
He had lost.
And the worst part was, he had been defeated by his friends- who now thought he was a bad person.
“You shall cause no more evil, foul creature!” Blinky shouted at Jim from behind him, “Your days of terror are-”
Blinky’s voice cut off suddenly.
Confused, Jim turned around.
And what he saw made his heart wash over with fury.
There was Gunmar, Decimaar blade in hand, standing next to Blinky’s lifeless, stone body.
Jim’s eyes filled with tears, and his brain was muddled with shock and rage.
“You killed him!” He yelled at Gunmar.
Gunmar laughed.
He laughed.
Jim’s face set into one of determination.
Gunmar was still laughing.
“It’s just you and me, Gunmar. Your Gumm-gumms are not here to protect you now.” Jim said softly.
Then, without thinking, he shouted, “For the good of all, Daylight is mine to command!”
== Chapter 8: The Trollhunter's Fury ==
Jim immediately felt stupid.
His Amulet was gone. He had to accept that.
But something had clicked in Gunmar.
Some old instinct.
And this instinct said, kill the boy.
Jim dodged.
Gunmar came at him swinging his blade, but not a single one of his strikes came even close to hitting Jim.
Gunmar yelled in frustration.
Jim smiled.
I’m not the same boy you fought before, Gunmar.
Growing more confident, he started trying to slowly edge towards Blinky’s body.
But Gunmar noticed this, and immediately blocked his way.
Now it was Jim who growled in frustration as Gunmar stopped attacking, realizing that Jim was unarmed, and all he had to do was prevent him from acquiring a weapon.
Sooner or later, Jim would get tired.
And then-
Something hit Jim on the side of his head.
It then flew into Jim’s hand.
Jim looked at the Amulet in amazement.
Then he grinned.
He whispered the incantation, and then breathed deeply.
Jim felt the familiar armour materialize around his body.
Excalibur appeared in his hand, and as he felt the familiar weight in his hand once more, Jim felt like himself again.
His inner Trollhunter had awakened.
Gunmar never had a chance.
For once, Jim had the feeling of actually winning.
Jim grinned as he realized something.
I have been getting stronger, but the stronger I get, the more powerful people I have to fight. And that makes me feel like a loser.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins.
Jim struck harder and harder at a bewildered Gunmar, who was still dazed and very confused.
Gunmar was a formidable fighter, but Jim disarmed him and slashed him across his back.
Except nothing happened.
The cut healed.
“Fool.” Gunmar said, “You cannot kill me with that blade.”
“I know.” Jim said, “But I know something that can.”
Jim kicked Gunmar, and Gunmar fell.
Jim hadn’t known for sure that Excalibur would kill Gunmar, so he had slowly pushed Gunmar towards a chasm he had spotted before.
Jim could only hope that Gunmar didn’t somehow survive the fall.
“That was for Blinky.” He shouted, not caring whether he was heard.
And behind him, someone started clapping.
Jim whirled around and came face to face with the greatest wizard of all time.
“Merlin!” Jim exclaimed, “You have no idea how great it is to-”
“Who are you, boy, and where is my Trollhunter?” Merlin interrupted Jim.
“Ah. Well- it’s sort of a long story…” Jim hesitated.
“Well go on then, I’ve got time.”
“Okay so I actually was the Trollhunter but then the Arcane Order awoke the Titans and so many of my friends including Tobes didn’t make it so I went back in time and gave Tobes the Amulet but I messed up and Claire went to ICU and then we came to your tomb but your staff went absolutely crazy so now my friends think I’m not me and that I’m someone else and everything is going out of hand and I don’t know what to do and you are the only person that can help me.” Jim said all this very quickly.
“Hm.” Merlin said. He pondered for a while.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think that you have ruined this timeline and the chances of the entire world.” Merlin whispered, half to himself, “Even as we speak, they awaken.”
“Awaken? Who awakens?” Jim asked.
“The wraiths. Servants of the Unnamed One.” Merlin said gravely, “They move to free their lord. If they aren’t stopped, they could wreak great havoc.”
“Then we have to go!”
“And do you expect us to take on the wraiths alone? Assuming what you said is true and that you do wield one of the four elemental swords, you do not use it to its full potential. We will need help.”
“Don’t worry, I think I have a plan.”
== Chapter 9: When Wraiths Rise ==
Jim came out into pure chaos.
Arcadia had been overrun with strange spectral creatures who flew around.
They destroyed cars, broke into homes, and generally harassed the people of Arcadia.
Up until now they hadn’t seemed to have wanted to harm the people.
But the moment Jim arrived, they lifted their heads, sniffed the air and started attacking.
For a few blissful moments there was silence. 
Then the screams started.
The wraiths were humanoid figures, except they were spectres, with transparent bodies. However, their claws seemed to be solid enough to cause damage.
They looked incorporeal, but appearances could be deceiving.
Jim saw Steve chasing one of the wraiths, swinging a baseball bat and shouting, “Die, creeper!”
Merlin nudged Jim suddenly, “They’re coming towards us.”
Jim looked at the wraiths that were streaming towards the wizard and the Trollhunter.
“You can handle them, right?” Jim asked.
“Maybe for a while, but I cannot truly harm them. To do that, we would need something old and powerful, a weapon that could kill gods.”
“And where do we find this weapon?”
“That’s the good news, you already have it with you.”
“Excalibur? But didn’t Nimue create it?”
Merlin laughed, “Oh! Oh, no, no, no. She is powerful, but not that powerful. No, the Blades Elemental were created a long time ago, and are powerful weapons indeed. Nimue found it, and repaired it, but she never possessed the power to create it.”
Merlin stopped talking for a while, and slammed his staff on the ground.
Green energy erupted all around the duo, shielding them from the wraiths.
“What do you mean, Blades Elemental?” Jim asked quickly.
“There is no time to explain all of that. The legends and lore surrounding these swords are enormous, and explaining it all is not a luxury we have right now. Excalibur is the Sword of Ice. It has numerous other names: Caliburnus, Caledfwlch, Caleswol, and others. Over history, it has become legendary as the sword of King Arthur of Camelot. However, Arthur never used it to its full potential, hence his slaughter at the hands of Mordred. The Sword of Ice is powerful, and it will be able to harm the wraiths.”
“I’m guessing there’s a catch?” 
“Yes.”
Jim sighed.
Of course there’s a catch. There’s always a catch.
Merlin continued, “To unleash the true power of Excalibur, one must sever all ties with anything or anyone on Earth. By this I mean that all emotions, all feelings, anything that might hinder the wielder's ability to protect, conserve and preserve, all of these must be purged. At the very least, no heed should be paid to them.”
“So… you’re saying I need to let go of everyone I ever had a connection with.” Jim confirmed, with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“No, I’m saying you need to stop caring about them.” Merlin said calmly.
Jim rounded on Merlin, “So I need to just stop caring about everyone I’ve ever loved, my friends, my family? I can’t do that!”
“Then we are all doomed.” Merlin said simply.
Suddenly the wraiths stopped attacking the green barrier protecting Jim and Merlin.
They parted.
And what came into sight was something terrible.
It was Merlin, but with eyes that glowed bloodred, a sunken figure, and a reddish glow spreading from his body.
Beside him, a hideously scarred creature with a humanoid figure but no facial features at all.
Then came Vendel, but a different Vendel, a Vendel consumed with hate and disgust for himself and his kind.
And last of all, a giant shadow looming over them all, the dragon, Charlemagne the Devourer, who had apparently lived up to his name.
The strange red Merlin spoke first,
“Look, it’s another version of me!” He said, pointing at the Merlin who was inside the barrier with Jim, “And apparently it’s a version who believes in the goodness of humans.”
The Merlin scoffed.
The hideous creature spoke next, “I want to study the boy, the skinny one with blue clothing. I believe he will prove useful.
“Patience, Metus.” The Vendel spoke in a raspy voice.
The creature- Metus- seemed to blur, forming a lot more of itself. It let out a growl, and Jim shuddered.
The red Merlin, who looked like the leader, said to the real Merlin, “You cannot hold for long. Soon your defenses will fall, and the Unnamed One shall reclaim the Earth- and the universe.”
An idea struck Jim.
He recalled the words of a certain strange figure who had come to offer Jim his advice.
He said the Amulet would come to me- and it did. I don’t think he should be trusted, but I really have no choice.
And so, Jim shouted, “Lester, if you can hear me, you asked me to call you, and I did!”
== Chapter 10: The Sword Of Ice ==
COMING SOON