Chapter Text
“But we have to, Draal!” Jim explained, throwing his hands in the air. The two boys listened to Draal’s earlier suggestions and wait in Trollmarket for a bit until they are certain the coast is clear. Though, at the moment, it was getting late.
Draal crossed his arms and squared his shoulders up in an attempt to gain authority from the boy, but Jim was now used to Draal’s method of intimidation to get what he wants. It no longer worked for him. “I can see why you’re troubled, Jim. But your safety—“
“We’re already safe!” Toby entered, with some geodes in hand. “Besides, Jimbo here has a curfew.”
Jim’s brow furrowed at Toby’s remark. “No I don’t,” he stated in a matter-of-factly tone.
“Well, you will if you come home late again, buddy. Remember?”
Jim was puzzled for a few seconds until he remembered a discussion between him and his mom a few days prior. Barbara became more protective, especially when it comes to Jim and his late-night strolls. At this point, the risk of being grounded was too high. “You’re right, Tobes,” he agreed, before turning to Draal, “We have to go.”
Draal mused for a moment before finally giving an approving nod. “If you must…”
“Thanks, Draal. We’ll see you tomorrow anyway!”
Draal looked away reluctantly and scratched the back of his head. “I suggest not coming tomorrow.”
Both the boys seemed confused. “Why is that?” Toby had to ask.
Draal sighed before answering, “The battle between me and the Trollhunter is tomorrow.”
“Woah! Now I want to come!” Toby remarked, rather enthusiastically. But Draal’s expression was utter disagreement.
“No,” the spiked troll firmly said, “The battle will be to the death… I doubt you’d want to see it, despite who wins.” Draal couldn’t look at them. “If I win… I’ll have to… kill the Trollhunter, who is human. I do not wish for you to see that. But if they win, then…” he trailed off.
Jim could only give a ghost of a smile. “We get it, Draal… just… good luck m’kay?”
Draal gave the boys a small nod before they made their way to the exit.
Jim and Toby didn’t talk about earlier’s topic, all they wanted to think about now was getting home. They both went to Jim’s house as Toby still had his stuff there, as they entered, they both noticed that Toby’s phone was out — which was not how they left it. Toby took a look at it and a GPS indicating the tracker’s current location.
“Jimbo, look!” Toby took the phone to Jim’s face.
“What— why?”
“My chubby tracker, it’s been in the museum! And I think someone found it since it activated!” Toby said with enthusiasm.
Jim watched as Toby took his bag and ran out. “What? now, Tobes?”
Toby shrugged as he made his way out the front door. “I didn’t ask you to come… but…”
“I’m coming anyway…” Jim continued, “and this is because I can’t possibly leave you unattended,” he remarked sarcastically while making a series of gestures in the air.
“Mhmm,” Toby hummed as Jim followed soon after.
The two boys agreed that they would simply enter, retrieve the tracker and get home before curfew — easy enough, is it not?
They both went on their way to the museum as fast as their bikes could allow them. They took a few quick turns — Toby almost crashing onto a pole and Jim almost breaking a poor soul’s car side mirror — before they arrived at their destination.
It only took a few seconds of looking at a seemingly locked door before Jim spoke, “I guess we should just come by tomorrow, they could’ve le—“
A loud bang followed by a bright blue light clashing with a red one coming from one of the windows cut off Jim mid-sentence that made both boys lightly wince. At the fade of the light, Toby and Jim took a glance at each other.
“I… think… there’s still, uh, someone…” Toby said, slowly glancing back at the window. “Well, uh, maybe… they have it?”
Jim mused for a second or two, why would anyone be raving in a museum, of all places?
Toby took a double-take at Jim, reading his face. “I know what you’re thinking, Jimbo…” he started, “what if it’s illegal?”
“Yeah…” Jim looked around with a weary expression, he clutched the handles of his bike tighter as if ready to flee at any given moment, “maybe we should…”
“Check it out?” Toby finished for Jim, in which the blue-eyed blue had to make a double-take at his best friend. Jim raised a brow as Toby gave Jim a shrug. Toby pulled Jim’s sleeve on one hand as he pulled his bike on the other. Jim’s bicycle dragged along as he did. They went towards the bush that covered the area adjacent to the museum walls and set their bikes just behind it.
Jim gave Toby one last grave look after Toby glanced at the half-open window. “No,” Jim firmly stated.
“C’mon, Jimbo!” Toby stated enthusiastically, as if looking for more trouble than they are already in. “Just an in-and-out!” Toby coaxed.
They stare at each other for a brief moment, one’s expression explicitly stating ‘No’ while the other’s said ‘Yes’. It took a few seconds before Jim broke away and sighed a frustrated “Fine!” as he threw his hands in the air.
Jim gave Toby a boost as they enter through the window. “...Do you even know how to enter through a window, Tobes?” Jim teased.
“P-lease! Who’s to say I’ve never had an experience in breaking-and-entering before?” Toby asserted as he eventually slid through the window - albeit head first. “-Oof.”
“Hmm…” Jim pretended to muse, “Me? I can, Tobes.” He gave a small smirk as he realized that his best friend was busy rubbing the side of his face, having a slight pain caused by the fall. Jim turned to see their surroundings, it was definitely darker than when they last visited. Something, though Jim didn’t know what it was, it gave a chill to his spine. “Who even breaks in to rave in a museum anyway?” Jim heard himself say aloud.
“Rave?” Toby repeated, “I was thinking along the lines of ‘summoning an evil troll assassin’ but I guess that works too.”
Jim gave his best friend a baffled look. “Summoning- evil- assassin—? Tobes, Wh— Ugh, nevermind.” He waved a hand in the air, though he could barely blame Toby considering the events of the past few weeks.
Toby simply shrugged before gesturing to continue to the room from which the flashes of light came from. Jim wearily crouched as they approached closer, Toby followed his steps. The sound of steel clashing became more audible as they approached a part of an exhibit that seemed to be closed off and hidden behind a crimson curtain.
Curiosity took the better of both the boys, they entered but was suddenly welcomed by two creatures that dueled in the room. The one that seemed to look like a troll threw their weapon at the other one — the one that seems to be in an armor and helmet that illuminated a light blue glow. Jim pulled Toby aside and they hid behind crates large enough to cover their bodies. The two watched, intrigued with a mix of cautiousness.
“Dude!” Toby exclaimed in a whisper. Though Jim didn’t look at him, he knew that his best friend was listening. “This is some news we can tell Draal!”
“Yeah…” Jim was focused on the two creatures that were fighting and their exchanges. It took Jim a moment before he realized what — or rather, who — was upon them. “The Trollhunter…” Jim breathed.
“Why are you doing this?” the masked armor-clad warrior asked with an almost recognizable voice.
The other — the magenta-colored troll — scoffed, “For someone caught in a war, you surely don’t know who you’re fighting.” She gripped the khopesh in her hand and swung it at the Trollhunter, but the other managed to duck just at the right moment before locking their legs against the dear-like ones of the troll, tripping them both.
“War? What do you— the Battle of Killahead? No, that was over centuries ago!” the Trollhunter answered in a defiant tone. The troll swiftly grabbed the Trollhunter’s ankle, and before they could do anything, she threw the other to the balcony of the second floor.
No response came from the she-troll as she shook her head. They both stood still for a while, Jim shifted into a new angle to see the scene clearer. The troll made one big leap and landed right in front of the Trollhunter who was still trying to get up from the floor, their weapon seemingly vanished from their hands. Jim’s eyes narrowed as he closely watched the two.
“You’re…” the Trollhunter weakly stated, “... a troll… why do- why do you choose to fight against your own kind?” the Trollhunter stated as she found herself standing up — albeit limping.
The statement made the troll chuckle — no, cackle — as if she said something absurd, they were almost tearing up in the process. “You- ha!- really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?!”
The Trollhunter tried their best to stand up straight, summoning a sword in one hand.
The troll took one of her dual khopesh from her back and sliced it against the wall as she ran towards her opponent. “You don’t even know what I am!” The magenta troll aimed for the Trollhunter’s throat but their khopesh instead met with the Trollhunter’s sword. The Trollhunter pushed their weapon against the troll’s which caught them by surprise. The armor-clad warrior swiftly swung both their sword and the khopesh against the wall, letting both be buried into the cement of the wall. The Trollhunter clutched onto the sword and used it to lift herself up as she kicked the troll on the chest, they spun landing on both feet, turned away from their opponent. The Trollhunter pulled her sword out and swung it in a motion approaching the troll behind her — as if hitting a baseball with a bat — but it was countered by other khopesh the troll had in her disposal.
The magenta troll gave a low, gruff, chuckle, before making a call-like whistle. In half a heartbeat, a wave of goblins entered the room, rushing towards the Trollhunter. Jim nearly jumped from where he was hiding, but Toby pulled him back. Jim watched with horror as the troll gripped the Trollhunters neck and lifted them up against the wall.
The Trollhunter was struggling, but not giving up. She retreated from attempting to remove the troll’s arm from her neck, but instead tried to reach the red banner just a few inches beside her. Her hands trembled, but she finally reached the banner and pulled it down. Quickly, she wrapped it around the troll's face, it distracted her enough that the grip on the Trollhunter’s neck loosened enough for her to escape. The Trollhunter couldn’t find an escape, goblins were rushing from behind, a troll that was struggling to get out of a banner from the front, down didn’t seem to be the best option either — she still needed a good leg to escape, of course. But the circumstances didn’t allow the Trollhunter enough time to formulate an escape. The magenta troll sliced their way through the banner, her hair was now a mess, and it was clear from the scowl painted on their face that they weren’t too happy with the Trollhunter. With a swing from the troll’s sword, the Trollhunter ducked. At that moment, the leader of the goblins was about to pounce at the Trollhunter but was brutally slashed with the troll's khopesh. The troll gasped, stepping back as they realized what they just did.
A moment of silence came by before one of the goblins yelled out a “Waka Chaka!” before attacking the troll. The Trollhunter leaned against the wall as the wave of goblins attack the troll. The Trollhunter saw an opportunity, she pushed the troll off the balcony. With a yelp, the troll came crashing to the ground, but only after their hoofed foot took the sheet that covered a big, arched object.
Jim’s eyes widened at the sight of what seemed to be a bridge. He could have sworn Draal showed him something like it once. He looked up and saw that the Trollhunter was just as perplexed as he was, they ran down and out of the exhibit. Jim looked at the troll who was taking out an entire pack of goblins trying to attack them, he felt that it was also time for him and his best friend to go.
They went back to where they entered but found that the window was shut tight. “The front doors, Jimbo!” Toby suggested. They both ran towards it, as they opened the door, a loud alarm rang.
“Oh… no…” Jim whispered to himself.
-
-
Barbara was panting, her side hurts, and so does her neck. She could still feel her lower back throbbing from the pain, and her neck still felt like there was still someone gripping it. Her vision was somewhat blurry, with black blotches that keeps appearing as she ran out and closed the window from where she entered. She was trying to catch her breath, but she needed to be somewhere safe first.
Across the street, she saw an alley that seemed to be just the perfect place to get out of her armor, and so she went. Barbara took off her armor and gasped for air. She grasped where the pain felt most prominent. “That’s definitely gonna leave a bruise,” she mused.
Barbara hid by the alleyway, catching her breath, panting as she watched a flash of the reds and blues of cars go by, approaching the museum. She narrowed her eyes, trying to assess what seemed to be happening just a few yards away. She gathered herself, thinking that she or the troll might have tripped a security protocol. Barbara couldn’t make out what was happening, everything and everyone was but a blur in her vision. She simply turned away to rest her eyes as she listened to the racing beat of her heart.
Barbara was trying to process everything that happened merely minutes ago as she regained strength, but a ring from her phone caught her attention. She didn’t bother looking at the caller ID before answering it, damned be anything at this point.
Barbara took a deep breath before answering, “Hello?” She tried to sound normal as she could.
“Hello, uh, is this the parent or guardian of James Lake Junior?” a man whom Barbara doesn’t recognize asked.
Barbara reached for her eyes and felt that her glasses were back in place. “I- yes, I’m his mother, Barbara Lake… did anything- is something wrong?” She would have sounded as worried as she was if only her throat wasn’t sore.
“Well, he and another boy broke-in and entered in private property, Ms. Lake,” the man stated, Barbara shot up at the mention of the felony her son was accused of committing.
Barbara was in disbelief. “He- what?!”
“Yes, ma’am. You can pick him up at the local police station. We’ll be waiting ‘ere and we can discuss more about your son’s behavior.”
“Yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Barbara answered before hanging up. She gave a long sigh. It wasn’t from frustration, she was simply tired. Tired from everything that has happened, if this was to happen to her a few weeks back, she would’ve screamed at the top of her lungs — filled with rage. But now she was just tired, barely having the energy to be upset. Oh, how she wished the day would just end so she could move on to the next, but this night seemed to be becoming longer than it’s supposed to be. She looked around, out of the alley, and saw her still-parked car just a few feet away.
She checked if the keys were still on her body somewhere, luckily — after checking every pocket she had — it was.
She got into her car and drove straight to the police station, which was — in fate’s mercy — nearby. She got there and saw the two boys waiting as the curator gave her statement. She was perturbed at the sight of the woman, if she was here… then— the only possible conclusion that came to Barbara’s mind was that the police went for Jim and toby at the museum.
Barbara internally panicked at the thought of it all. What if Jim and Toby saw the fight? What if he saw her? All these scenarios popped into her head as the woman from the museum, who can, in fact, turn into a Troll — of all creatures — exited a room with one of the officers.
The curator, whose secret she now knows, looks at her with a familiar glare. Despite the obvious annoyance painted on her face, it was left unreadable. She didn’t look at Barbara as if she doesn’t remember her. Maybe she doesn’t know?
One of the officers approached Barbara, in which she gave her attention to while keeping an eye on the curator.
“Good morning, Ms. Lake,” they greeted. “I’m Officer Scott, the one holding your son’s case.”
Barbara nodded as she took her hand out for a shake. “About the case…?” she was almost hesitant to ask.
“Ah, yes.” They took out a folder, fixing its contents. “Ms. Nomura told us that there was a break-in at the museum while she was making her ‘nightly rounds’, checking if any problems in the exhibits.” Barbara wanted to correct the officer but bit it back. “She said she noticed that someone was in but didn’t realize who they were until the alarm sounded.”
“And the boys?”
The officer cocked his head to take a quick peek at the two boys who sat quietly — mostly quiet. “The boys claimed they were just looking for something.”
There was a wave of realization that hit Barbara. “The chubby tracker,” she muttered aloud, though not meaning to.
The officer looked at her with suspicion. “You… knew?” they asked.
“I knew about the tracker… but not about the boys sneaking out to get it,” Barbara answered truthfully, in which she, herself, thought about. But before she could piece together what may have been going on, a man entered the door — in which the officers immediately attended to.
It took Walter a double-take to realize who else was in the same room as he was. She was just as surprised as he was, yet not at all. Barbara had a long night, seeing the man she’d been going out with, in the same police station as she was, was by far the most normal thing that happened this evening.
“And what are you in for Doctor Lake?” Walter said as he approached her.
Barbara quickly caught up. “If having too many double-shifts is a crime, then that’s probably it,” she replied jokingly.
“Tsk tsk.” He shook his head, “I presume you are now fined at least 8 hours of sleep?” he quipped.
Barbara chuckled and brushed the question off without answering, knowing well that she won’t be able to get that much sleep even if it was an actual fine. “What are you here for?” she threw the question back at him.
“An… acquaintance of mine called about a ‘break-in’ incident earlier, thought I’d come to help,” he answered with a rather unreadable expression. “And then,” he continued after a long pause, “I found out who broke in.”
Walter gave a sympathetic smile but Barbara could only help herself from grimacing. “I-I don’t know what got into them.”
“I’m just glad they’re safe…” Walter put his hand on her shoulder. “Worse things could have happened, yes?”
Barbara simply nodded, knowing well what could have happened.
“Don’t worry, Barbara, I know Ms. Nomura, I can talk to her about this… incident,” Walter sad reassuringly.
Barbara’s brows furrowed at the mention of the curator’s name. “Ms. Nomura…”
Walter was surprised at the sudden change of tone Barbara had as she uttered out the name. “Yes, the—”
“I know.” Barbara now took caution, now that she knows these kinds of creatures exist, and if people she knew are getting involved in this mess, then she has to keep them safe. After all, it is her duty. “How… how well do you know Ms. Nomura?” she asked casually.
“Quite a while now,” he answered. “Why do you ask?”
And she didn’t think that through. What was she supposed to say? Oh, nothing Walt, just maybe be careful of — I don’t know — shapeshifting troll-people? No, that won’t do. “N-nothing, I was just- just wondering about, ah, the, uh—”
“I assure you, Barbara, we’re only friends.” Walter gently squeezed her shoulder as his hand still rested on top. Barbara was surprised at how Walter took her question. “Honestly, she’s like a sister to me at best.”
“I- ah, g-great! Good-I mean…”
Walter took off his hand on her shoulder and clasped his hands together. “Well, then. I’ll have a chat with Ms. Nomura regarding the… situation, and be on my way.” He glanced at the door before returning his look to Barbara. “It’d be a shame if a wonderful evening like this goes to waste.”
Both Walter and Barbara were called shortly by Officer Scott to discuss matters with Ms. Nomura. As they walked in another part of the room, Barbara couldn’t help but think back to what she saw in the museum and came to a conclusion, they’re planning to bring back Gunmar.