Chapter Text
"Atention citizens of Arcadia..."
That uneasiness takes over, because of voice roaring through the dark city thanks to the speakers located throughout the streets.
"The city's center will be closed down to the public from tomorrow until further notice. The reason for this has yet to be explained, still, no one is allowed into the main state building, the plaza and the clock tower. Be tuned for more info down the line"
Some time ago, that voice used to be good news, a bright light at the start of every day. Now, sounds hollow, almost dead, as if the joy was sucked out of it since the day the sun stopped shining onto this town.
A black bubble encapsulates the city, making each moment eternal.
Sunlight was replaced by LED and Neon Lights, placed into every corner of the town just so anyone could see where they where standing in this black hole. The town grew more in the last 3 years than in all of its history because it became a Sanctuary to every living creature. Troll, human or...akiridian. From a small town to a city, Arcadia was no longer the place I grew up in. Now, it is a place where forests are scarse and the air is hunted by the ghosts of the past.
How did we end up like this?
The eternal night didn't took hold of the world, as Gunmar wanted. Morando's threat over humankind was vanquished as well. But the Arcane Order...was too much for us...for me...
I was no longer the Trollhunter, I couldn't be the one on the frontline guiding the attack. I was left sitting on the bench, looking as everyone I loved perished because I wasn't able to wield Daylight or...Excalibur for that matter...
Despair drove me to keep hidden where I once lived, now...I'm nothing more than an urban legend living on a wreckage of a house.
Me...the last Trollhunter
Me...James Lake Junior, the ghost of Merlin's champion...
I still remember when Kanjigar told me "I had to fight on my own". I proved him wrong so many times but...at the end...he was right. How could I be so blind?
. . .
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Her voice as calm and soft as always, her gentle embrace helping me get by once I was my old self again. Everything was shifted, my height and weight were smaller from what I had been the last year or two. Being human again after being half troll was...weird. Claire, against everything, was there. "Last time she saw you, you were...different. Don't you think she'll be worried?" Concerned, yet sweet.
"She's right, Jimbo!" Tobes replies, as concerned as her. "Wouldn't you like to rest before confronting Dr. B?" For once, Toby was trying to make me change my mind, maybe with a reasonable logic. An hour before, I was a monster, lost in a magic indused rage, and before that, I was wounded with a magic shard for a little over a month, even before all of that, I wasn't able to properly sleep for...who knows how long! Weirdly enough, that only fueled my desire even more.
"Guys, I only want a thing right now..." as I said that, a glimpse of a very familiar and nostalgic sight can into view. "My home..." I whispered as I desperately wanted to run to the front door. Claire and Toby followed me, seeing as I tripped over the sidewalk, drunk on my homesickness. I could already feel the warmth of the living room, the clean smell of the kitchen, the dust on the basement, the fabrics of my bed and most of all, the sweet scent of my mother's loving embrace.
I bumped into the door, trying to keep balance as I tried that night 2 years prior, the night I came home as a half troll. As that memory ran, I stopped my hand from opening the door. She was going to have a thousand questions about how, why, when. Everything...
"Jim?" Claire whispered from behind, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Is everything ok?" Confused because I was hesitating after running down the street to get there.
"I'm...scared..." I reply, remembering how worried my mother was when I fell over that night. "What if...I...she..." my mind was running, my anxiety was making my thoughts blurry. Once again, Claire looked at me, her dark eyes being my beacon of light.
"Everything is going to be ok" those worlds coming from her, made me throw my anxiety aside for a moment. I was still nervous but...the only way to find out how everything was going to play out, was by entering the house.
I open the door, hesitant, someone's in the kitchen...
"Walter! You returned earlier!" Her voice, as warm as ever. Sweet, like a nursery rhyme. Walks from the stove to the open square on the wall that lets her see directly to the entrance. "How was your...day?"
Our eyes clash for a moment, her expression changes from happiness, to disbelief. And there I stand, like the eighteen year old youngster I was once, frozen by a sight I never thought I could get to see again and I now wish I still had.
She walks slowly, from the kitchen, to the access directly in front of the entrance door. Her face doesn't change, but her eyes glisten. She comes closer, slowly, fearing her eyes were lying to her.
"Jim?..." she muttered in disbelief, getting closer by the second. Her hands slowly moving upward, until they embrace my face, carecing my scarred cheeks. "Jim, is...is it really you?".
I could only left out a nervous giggle, trying to keep my tears at bay. Her touch makes the clock run back in time, back to those good old days, when there was only me and her against everything. When I promised her I would never leave...
"Hi, mom...It's me..." only those worlds leave my mouth, as I try not to whimper like a kid, but that dumb smile in my face, alongside my glistening eyes speak volumes. Luckily for me, she looks the same.
At a moment's notice, she hugs me like she had never done before, stroking my hair with her hands shaking like crazy. I can hear her weeping her heart out, but she's also giggling. I hug her back...
"I missed you!" I whimper as my silent tears run across my face.
"I missed you too! I missed you so much!!" She replies, as we let the clock go by endlessly, trapped in a melancholic bubble. Her embrace is all I ever wanted since I left to New Jersey, her warmth, her sweetness, every last piece of love I always got but never fully appreciated. Just being with her, already felt like home.
"Welcome home, kiddo" . . .
. . .
I no longer remember how she passed away, I guess my mind blocked it so I could keep my sanity. Was it that bad? I no longer know...
And now...here I stand, alone in this empty house. Few things still work, others have become dust gathering ornaments. Against the bright city surrounding me, this feels stuck in time. The walls are cracking, the paint is rotting away and the dust stains everything with its gray. A color that fits me perfectly now...
Heavy footsteps come and go through the house, all coming from my tired feet, who no longer wish to act as intended. My body moves around only when needed, like when I need go search for something I can eat.
Since I'm dead to the public eye, I have certain liberties. I can steal anything I need, since tracing me always comes to a dead end. It isn't something I enjoy, but I don't have any other option.
When social structure was reorganized, humans were left at the bottom of the priority list. Because they used to be the former residents of the town, they soon became the hosts for the refugees, specially to akiridions, who felt no shame whatsoever on having their hosts turning into servants. Other aliens came by, reinforcing the control over us, because they were stronger than us. As far as I know, there are still groups who search for some level of equality, but none have spoken up. I can't give you names, mostly because I don't know any, but sometimes, while going through the streets, I can see a symbol on some walls: Two circles one inside the other with a line crossing them horizontally. Seems familiar but...I can't put my finger on it.
Sometimes...I wonder how everything could have been if I had fought.
If I had been the Trollhunter when the Arcane War came upon Arcadia. We would´ve won? I don´t know...but...I miss them...I wish I had protected them like I did before. If only Excalibur had given me a chance...
. . .
The night falls over the city -my only marker of that is on the clock I still have on my room- And my time has come to go gather the essentials: Food, water and maybe a rogue to deal with. Those have become abundant for the last month, probably because of that treaty everyone is mumbling about.
Supposedly, the queen of Akiridion 5, among with other heads of state, will sign a document. No one knows why but the sole temptation of a big fish roaming through the city has caused some criminals to rise. I have no doubt that a revolution is coming, I can sense it. This comes as an opportunity to “recover the town”, but I think we lost it a long while ago. Either way, I won´t get involved.
From the old streets of the phantom of a house I live in, to the bright lights of the city that we still call Arcadia. I go by with the same old blue hoodie, one of the few good memories I still hold close. Obviously, my face is covered. I don´t fear being recognized, It just makes it easier to blend with the crowd. Another gloomy 21 year old who survived the war and stuff like that.
My head is empty while I scout around, looking for a good target.
Most are other people who buy for themselves, “hosts” to some other alien who gives them permission to go for groceries. I don´t bother them, they might have more problems than I do. Some faces are familiar, from school, from our old daily lives, maybe from my mishaps as the Trollhunter, but none of them recognize mine...Luckily keeping me off the radar.
“Ow!” lost in my own thoughts, I don´t notice someone coming straight at me until we bump into each other. They react at impact, stumbling for a bit, the same as me. “Kleb, look where you are going!” their voice seems awfully familiar...why? I turn my gaze to see this stranger. A guy with dark hair, copper like skin and a backpack, he´s taller than me, his hair on a half man bun but his eyes...strike my memory like...Lightning...lightning in a bottle...LIGHTNING ON A BOTTLE! Krel?. . .
Our eyes lock for a moment, looks like he recognized me as well. Damnit!
“Jim?” he asks, a smirk forming in his face. Suddenly his eyes shine, with hope? Why?! “Jim Lake?” asks again, hoping I will answer. What do I do? I stay silent, when suddenly...
“HELP!” a stranger screams close, as the fast steps of a burglar run past me. “Help me please! Everything I have is on that thief´s hands!” screams once again, this stranger saved me without knowing it. As fast as I hear that, I run past Krel, towards the thief. This is my chance!