Work Text:
As if nothing had just happened, Barbara was standing there being told that her schedule had been mixed up and she did in fact have the night off. Not that she wouldn’t be running home right away if she were scheduled.
“Thank you, Wanda, I’ll be heading home then.” Barbara did everything in her power to remain calm and collected, and she hurried through the halls as fast as she could without drawing too much attention. She normally would have reprimanded someone for driving as far over the speed limit as she did, but she didn’t have time to be following the law. It wasn’t like the boys back in her home were.
Barbara pulled her car into the driveway, barely remembering to put it in park, thankfully muscle memory kicked in for that one. She hurried to the door, but then stopped herself. She needed to be calm and aware of everything that was about to come her way. She couldn’t have the two of them too distracted that they couldn’t fight.
The idea of willingly letting Jim fight made her stomach twist, causing her to feel nauseous. As long as she played her cards right they would all be safe.
Pouring as much calm as she could into her voice, Barbara unlocked the front door, and entered the house, closing the boarded door behind her. “Hey, kiddo, you home? Wanda messed up my schedule again. Guess I have the day off after all.”
“Mom?!” Jim’s head popped out from where he had been hiding. “MOM! WATCH OUT!”
Barbara ducked to the side as the swinging axe sliced through the air towards her head, and instead buried itself into the door.
Nearly getting your head cut off always made her shake no matter how much she tried to prepare herself. Jim reached his hands out towards her, having been ready to push her to safety, but finding he hadn’t needed to. His eyes were wide, putting the blue of his irises on full display to the lights of his house, nearly making them brighter than the glowing amulet in his chest plate.
Her attention was drawn to the other person in the house, his weapon still at the ready.
“Walter?” She questioned, just a little bit longer and she would be able to ask actually important questions. “Is that a crossbow?”
“Oh! Well, you see I-” Walter attempted to hide the crossbow behind his back, which caused it to trigger and shoot up into the lamp above him.
“Strickler is helping me with a project!” Jim quickly jumped in.
Barbara looked at the two of them for a more believable explanation, they had done better than this before. As much as she was playing dumb to get things to go right, she also found it incredibly entertaining to see what they would try to pass as a believable explanation before their large troll friend would emerge from the basement.
Speaking of the troll, all three heads turned towards the basement as he burst through the door and charged her, believing Barbara to be the enemy they were waiting on.
“Draal! STOP!” Jim quickly jumped between the troll and his mother.
Barbara took an instinctive step back, although she hadn’t screamed at his threatening approach since her first time through this, she couldn’t help but feel… well… threatened.
“M-Mom, this is Draal,” Jim said, and Draal gave a small wave as he settled back from his charging posture. “He’s a friend.”
Barbara took a deep breath attempting to calm her rising panic. Draal just meant one more step closer to the other troll showing up. She didn’t know when HE was going to be showing up, it was different every time, but every time it made her terrified, thankfully he didn’t seem to be aware of what he had done to her.
Barbara put her hand to her chest, feeling her accelerated heart rate more clearly. “What is going on?” She looked down at her son who stared up at her, surprised by how well she was taking the threats being thrown her way.
Walter made his way around his defences. “We are attempting to prepare ourselves against a troll far from as friendly as this brute.” He shot a dirty look at Draal, upset that he had come up before they could manage an excuse to get her to leave. “But Barbara, it is dangerous, you need to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Walter,” She stated firmly. She never ran like they both wanted her to. She would never ever leave her son, even if it meant losing her and Walter’s lives. The loop would reset anyways, and if she had to go through this loop a hundred times, even a thousand times, she would do it to keep her boy safe.
Walter looked ready to convince her otherwise, but then paused as he tried to figure out if such an argument would even go anywhere with her stubbornness. It wasn’t a large pause, but he’d had the same one in nearly each loop.
Barbara decided to cut the argument short. “I’m not leaving Jim to fight some monster alone. I’m going to help in any way that I can.”
“Mom,” Jim said half reluctantly, not entirely wanting to say what he was about to. “I know how to fight, and I know you want to help, but this is magic and swords and-”
Makeshift chimes they had put up jangled as a signal of their enemy’s approach.
“Strickler, keep her safe!” Jim shouted, and hurried for the basement, ready to join Draal in defending them.
Barbara instinctively went to follow her son, when Walter’s arm shot out barring her path. “I need to get you somewhere safe, away from here.”
She grasped his wrist, ready to force his arm out of her way, but brute force would do nothing. She clenched her jaw, ready to fight for her son, but she already knew how that went. Walter was stronger than her, and far more equipped to fight the troll assassin.
Roars sounded from the basement, and the entire house shook with the fight taking place beneath them. “Go help my son, I’ll be fine.”
Walter hesitated, unsure that he trusted her with her own preservation.
“Go Walt!” Barbara shouted, releasing his arm. “Protect my son!”
He stared at her, trying to puzzle everything together, then hurried down to the basement to aid in the fight. A flash of green light barely made it through the door as he transformed for the battle.
“Just don’t get us killed this time,” she whispered to herself in plea to whatever magic or god might be listening.
Barbara took in the rigged house around her, making sure she hadn’t misremembered any of it, and then she made her way to the basement door. It was time to face him again.
She had only made it a few paces when pain shot through her shoulder, making her stumble and cry out in pain. Barbara slammed into the wall, desperately needing something to keep her mostly upright. Her eyes watered at the excruciating pain. Her hand tentatively reached for the injured shoulder. She grit her teeth and inhaled deeply. Yup, that was dislocated. She needed to move quickly.
Once steady enough, Barbara ripped open the basement door, her ears immediately overrun with the sounds of combat, Draal’s angry roars concerningly absent. She needed to get Angor Rot away from her boys as soon as possible.
Walter noticed her at the top of the stairs a second after Angor Rot, but the assassin was already moving, smiling at what he believed to be an advantage over his opponents.
Barbara retreated immediately, clutching her arm tightly as she made her way upstairs as quickly as she could. She effectively avoided all of the obstacles along the way. She still questioned how any of this was functional, and how Jim and Walter had planned to explain this mess to her after they defeated Angor Rot.
If they defeated Angor Rot. That ever present doubt voiced.
She heard the troll behind her fall as several traps activated, giving her a chance to hide away, and allow him to fall into the final set trap.
She hurried into Jim’s room, closed the door behind herself to buy more time, and slumped her back against it as she attempted to orient herself again through the pain. She was careful to keep herself from setting foot onto the carpet. She didn’t need to put herself in the trap again.
Barbara climbed over his bed, and made her way towards the window, knowing if she did it right and with a whole lot of luck she could maybe get up onto the roof.
The bedroom door ripped open, and Barbara turned around to see the horrifying monster that had trapped her in this eternal round. She could only hope it would end with him.
His frustration from the previous traps melted away as he saw his work to capture her was nearly done. Angor Rot charged eagerly, viewing this as an easy way to weaken one enemy and kill the other.
One foot landed on the circular carpet ringed with enchanted stones, and as the other leg came forward they activated, holding the assassin in place.
“MOM!” Jim rushed into the room, Walter right behind him, back in his human form clutching his arm just as she did. The two stopped and stared at the captured troll.
Walter kept his eyes on the assassin, and blindly turned on the UV lights set up around the room. “UV lightbulbs, Angor Rot.” He hissed, happy this moment had finally come. “The same effect as the sun, only these will take their time.”
“Mom,” Jim looked past their burning prisoner, and to the person on the desk. “You can come back around, but don’t put anything inside the stasis trap.”
Barbara hadn’t planned to move from her spot on the desk, but she really wanted to wrap her son in her arms- or arm right now. As much as she didn’t want to get her hopes up of this being her last time experiencing the whole thing, she was excited that they had successfully captured Angor Rot.
Barbara carefully made her way back to his bed, then towards the door where the other two were standing. Immediately she wrapped her little boy in her grasp, her eyes welling with tears at the fact that she could hug him without either of them being too stressed about the incoming threat. She knew there was still more for them to deal with, and explanations were in order, but she just wanted to soak up this moment.
“Mom, I’m sorry I never told you,” Jim began, clinging to her tightly. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but I didn’t want to put you in danger. This whole thing, because I’m the Trollhunter-”
“I know,” She said, then pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and released him to look him in the eye. “I know, kiddo.”
Walter stiffened as Jim’s eyes widened with surprise and panic. “You know?! For how long?!”
“Not long, just tonight technically,” she answered. Now it was her turn to explain. Barbara took a deep breath, and looked up at Walter, before locking her eyes with her son.
“I- I know about your troll knight- hunting because you’ve already told me,” She explained, getting a horribly confused look from him. “Angor Rot used some sort of magic, and I’ve been repeating this same night over and over again.”
Jim’s jaw dropped open, and Walter’s briefly did too, but he was quick to hide it.
Both Jim and Barbara looked over at Angor Rot, who was facing away from them, not that he would be able to express his thoughts on the spell.
The UV lights were slowly turning him to solid stone, and although Barbara wanted him dead and gone, the slow death made her pity him. No one, no matter how awful they were, deserved to suffer in such a way, but she knew of no other way to be rid of him.
“So each night you relived,” Walter began, now ready to start asking questions. “We failed to defeat Angor Rot?”
Barbara only nodded, she cared for Walter—she wouldn’t deny that—but now that Angor Rot was being taken care of, her worry had settled back, and far more complex feelings rose to take its place.
“We were killed, weren’t we?” He immediately jumped to the conclusion, sure he had reached a terrible fate in at least one of the loops.
She nodded again. “You were killed, and-” and I died too.
“Then…” Terror dawned on him, making his face pale as he fully realized what her being in a timeloop where such things happened meant.
“Yeah, I know.” She placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder, and looked down at him. “Jim, why don’t you go check on Draal?”
“But what if Angor Rot somehow gets out?” Jim questioned, clearly worried about it even if the troll was nearly entirely solid stone at this point.
“Jim,” She tilted her head back and forth trying to find how to word it. “I need you to go check on your friend.”
He glanced over at Walter, and understanding dawned on him. “O-okay.” He slowly retreated, his eyes lingering with great concern on her shoulder, then retreated down the stairs towards the basement.
“I want answers, Walter,” She demanded, once she was sure Jim was far enough away. Both her shoulders tensed with her anger, the one functioning just fine, while the other only cried out in pain.
“Barbara, a short moment,” he said with little patience. “Brace yourself.”
She quickly saw what he was planning and did as she was told, even if there was part of her that wanted to remain in pain so that he did too.
Walter grasped his arm, and with the skill of someone who had done this many times on himself, pulled and released his arm back into its socket.
Barbara’s arm burned with pain, then all at once relief washed over the joint, feeling nearly perfectly back to normal in a matter of seconds.
She pushed herself off the wall she had chosen as her support, and her eyebrows sunk with anger and determination. “Now talk, Walter. I deserve an explanation. Why? Why did you do all of this?”
His gaze fell to the ground, guilt washing over him. Good, at least he felt guilty for what he had done, that was… better than she had expected honestly.
“How much do you- no, no, I don’t have the right to ask,” he said, as if the question wouldn’t help him find where to start, but perhaps it was also that it would tell him what he could and couldn’t withhold. It seemed he had the decency to be fully honest with her.
“I was originally positioned against Young At- Jim, because of my work under Bular, a vicious beast of a troll. But then Bular was defeated, and I couldn’t help but see Jim as a threat to everything. I still served Gunmar, or I thought I did. I was desperate for an advantage against him, summoning Angor Rot and… binding our souls.” He paused, thinking over his own words carefully, the reality of it all. “I did it all because… I was scared.” His gaze finally lifted and green eyes met blue, the confession being to himself as much as it was to her.. “I have been scared for my entire life, Barbara, and with Angor Rot I thought I wouldn’t have to be scared, with you I didn’t think I would have to be scared anymore. But when I am with you I am terrified!”
As much as he clearly hadn’t wanted to say any of this, it was clear that neither of them had the power to stop it.
“I am terrified that I will mess things up, which I clearly have.” He grit his teeth and looked over at the solid statue of Angor Rot, but they both felt it best to leave him there for far longer than probably necessary.
“Walter, stop,” Barbara finally managed, which stopped him far more quickly than she expected. His mouth remained tightly shut at the simple word. “I don’t need you saying all of that, my emotions are complex enough as they are. You tried to kill my son, and then you protected him… and then you died to save him. I don’t know what to think!”
The room fell into silence for a long moment, both of them trying to figure out the best thing to say.
“I will go,” he said. “After we break the binding spell, I’ll leave, and you will never have to see me again.”
Barbara moved before she could think to stop herself, not that she would have if she did have the chance. She grabbed his hand, and clenched it tightly, causing pain to flare in both their hands.
“You’re not running away,” she stated, but then her anger eased back slightly. “Please don’t leave, Walt.”
She shouldn’t be asking him to stay, she should just let him go, especially after everything he’d done. But there was that look in his eye, he wanted to be different than the scared person he had always been.
“I have done horrible things,” Walter reminded her. “Even long before your son became the Trollhunter.”
“But you can change,” she told him, she wanted him to change, maybe not so much for her, but for himself. “Isn’t that your whole thing?”
To her surprise a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows rose in amusement. “Did you just make a joke about what I am-” His amused expression dropped. “You know what I am.” He suddenly looked ready to bolt, like an animal sensing a trap.
“Yeah,” she nodded, and kept her grip tight on his hand, not wanting him to suddenly run away and disappear forever. “I know, Walt. I know what you are, I know what you look like in your…” she didn’t know the proper term for it, and didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
He glanced down at their hands, then back at her in disbelief. “You know all of this, and yet you do not wish me to leave?”
“Part of me wants you gone. I am SO angry with you, but I- I care about you, Walter. I don’t want you to be stuck in a world where you feel the need to be scared all the time.” She answered, then slowly, she released his hand. “But it has to be your choice.”
He looked down at his now empty hand, deciphering it all. “I- I can’t stay, not after everything I’ve done.”
Barbara’s heart sank, but she wouldn’t argue against it. She wanted it to be his choice, and this was that.
“Okay,” was the only word she managed before her emotions took hold of her throat, stopping her from saying more in the moment.
“But, I will of course break the bond between us before I go,” he added.
“So I’ll forget?” She asked, was that his plan? To make her forget about it all, and she would never know any of this. She wouldn’t know where he had gone or why.
Walter’s eyes widened with surprise that she knew about that.
“Yes, there is a high probability that you will forget,” his shoulders slumped with shame, his cowardice on full display. “But I trust Young Atlas will inform you of this all once again.”
Something told her Jim might struggle to tell her again, it took her walking into a fight to find out.
Barbara closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. If Walter wanted to go, she needed to let him.
“Okay, how do we do the unbinding spell?”
Barbara stirred from the horrible buzzing darkness in her mind, the world around her was far brighter, and as her eyes did their best to focus, even without her glasses, she was able to identify it as a hospital room.
She slowly took in what she could with her poor vision, and as she reached for where she was sure her glasses had most likely been set, she tried to remember how she had gotten here.
With her glasses successfully in her possession, she put them on, and instantly noticed someone approaching her bed, concern written all over his face.
“Jim?” she looked up at him, he looked exhausted. He had been looking exhausted for months now, and she couldn’t seem to find a way to help him. “What happened?”
“Well,” he struggled to find the words, “Mom, something happened last night. Something you can't tell anyone.”
She pushed herself up further, worry taking over as she saw the panic in her son’s eyes.
He glanced at the ground, then back up at her. “Well, uh… there was umm…”
A hand grabbed Jim’s shoulder, offering support. Barbara’s eyes lifted and met Walter’s, he looked just as scared as Jim, even as he tried to hide it, which only made her worry more.
But Walter was here, she didn’t know why, but that felt like a miracle.
“Mom, it’s a bit hard to believe,” Jim started again, “But I’ve-” He couldn’t seem to say whatever it was.
Walter gave a small smile, which gave her a little bit of reassurance that whatever it had been wasn’t a complete catastrophe.
“We have a lot to tell you… once you have been discharged of course,” Walter jumped in for him. “I believe Jim here, wants to show you his big… project, at home.” He gave Jim a friendly nudge with his elbow.
Jim flashed him a grateful smile, but that was the most of a smile she had seen him give when Walter was around.
They’re start to the conversation still worried her, but she had a strong feeling that from here on out there was going to be a large improvement in this chaotic little family that was beginning to form.