I don’t know how hard it must’ve been for Toby to say this to Jim. He must’ve just thought: “ok, so Strickler just died, who’s been such a big part of his and Dr. L’s lives in the past few years. And now on top of that, I have to tell him that his girlfriend he’s scared of losing has lost contact with us”. Like seriously, I know it even shows Toby struggling just a bit to tell him with that little pause, but it must’ve been just so hard to say to him.
I find this moment so much sweeter than the little moment it was meant to be:
And it’s for a reason:
Every time we’d ever see Claire get emotional about a death, we’ve never seen her comforted by Jim cause he either wasn’t there, or was the one dying. Just seeing Claire getting emotional about Nari’s death right as she died and Jim actually being there and putting his arm around her, made me smile and feel happy just a little during such a sad moment.
Jim in Wizards when Claire told him they can stay in the past: “What kind of hero would I be if I sacrificed everyone else”.
Jim at the end of ROTT: Resets an entire timeline and sacrifices everyone else so Toby’s alive.
Was Jim’s character development entirely forgotten when writing the script??
Omg I completely forgot about that, that’s so true! Wtf happened there?! It definitely feels like all that development there just went down the drain, doesn’t it?
Jim and Claire were taking a break from their Romeo and Juliet rehearsals happening at school after Mrs. Janet gave them a ten minute break. A few minutes later after Jim came back from using the washroom, Jim saw Claire sitting down and holding a book.
Jim: Hey Claire.
Claire: Oh! Hey Jim, you scared me.
Jim: Are you…sketching?
Claire: yeah. You, you wanna see?
Jim:sure!
Claire showed him her sketch and Jim gasped. It was her shadow staff. And a very good sketch of it too.
Claire: Is…is it bad?
Jim:I…I…
Claire: I had this really vivid dream last night of me using this thing for…something dangerous it looked like, and I really wanted to-
Jim went forward and hugged Claire in her chair.
Claire: Uhhhhh Jim?
Jim leaned backward, but kept his hands on Claire’s shoulders.
Jim: I know it doesn’t make any sense right now, I know it doesn’t…but I’ll try absolutely everything I can to make sure that it eventually does. I promise.
Imagine after he wields Excalibur (if he does, you never know) Jim ends up having the power to change between every form he’s ever had while in the armour?
After looking through some TOA things, I need to get something off my chest…
It’s kinda frustrating to see how divided this fandom is.
Ever since…well by yesterday three years ago, the fandom got so divided. Especially with all these opinions about Jim I found:
“They turned Jim into a troll?! I’m leaving the fandom”.
“I like just human Jim”.
It doesn’t matter to me what he is, he’s still Jim no matter what”.
“I like just troll Jim”.
“They turned Jim back into a human?! I’m leaving the fandom”.
Like jeeezzzzz after everything, it just frustrates me.
In my opinion, it makes me mad that some people are only gonna watch the movie to see if a different version of Jim will be in it! Tbh, that’d be so cool if there was a finale battle that all his forms were brought back for some scenes to do, but it makes me sad that some people only wanna watch it for that. I mean I know he most likely won’t turn back into a troll since it’d be just too much changing for one teen in a year or less, I mean I’d be making memes on them making up there mind, but it would be nice to see him again like that before the saga ends, but please don’t say that if that happens that’ll be the only good thing in the movie. The amazing writers and creators of this film put their hearts and souls into making this for you guys that know you love watching it as much as they loved making it. Maybe I’m just getting mad about this since I’ve watched Trollhunters since only a few weeks after season 1 was out and a lot of people didn’t know about it till a few months or years later, but that shouldn’t matter. There’s so many other things to look forward to other than the one thing some people may look at negatively. There’s somehow a new heartstone in Arcadia, Douxie’s magic looks like it’s upgraded some, they’re travelling to New York and maybe other places too, and Aja is the freaking queen of Akiridion-5 now! Those are just a few other things that sprang to my head writing this. This isn’t to offend anyone, this also isn’t about hate on any form, that’s not what this is about. I’m just saying, don’t let one thing that you didn’t like happen in a show, affect you watching something you’ve loved for years in a film that already looks like it’s going to be incredible to see. (If I misunderstood anything at all though, please let me know).
This is a painting that features a lake called Lake Avernus. (There’s a great article that talks about this place. Link)
Look at the rock pillars?
They look like the ones in the Rise of the Titans location (but just more rounded). Both places are also surrounded by mountains, and the lakes look about to be the same shape.
This is so cool, but apparently a lake is considered the “Earth’s eye”. The water is the eye, while the brush/trees/whatever surrounding it are it’s eyelashes. You know there’s been a whole lot of eye symbols in Trollhunters, and this lake kind of does look like an eyeball.
Lake Avernus is actually part of Greek mythology, because this lake was believed to be the entrance to the underworld.
Oh my gosh, what if this lake is an entrance to somewhere? And what if it’s an entrance to that new market we saw in the trailer?
P.S. This lake is located in Italy. This might be where the gang are, but I’m not sure. Either way, this place is beautiful!
Our companions journey to meet Atlas who turns out to be……
Jim’s dad ^^
A huge thanks goes out to @tyler.thi.7 for this suggestionヽ(*⌒▽⌒*)ﾉ I LOVED creating a story around this hypothesis. I can’t tell you how much fun I had drawing this and I’m so happy with how Douxie turned out especially ♡
As always, if you’re interested to join the ToARiseChallenge, let me know what hypothesis you have for the movie and I’ll draw images for as many as I can. Don’t hesitate to send me a message or a DM. I can’t guarantee that I will get to them all, but I’ll try to draw them right up to the movie release (´｡^ ᵕ ^｡`) (56 more days!!!)
There’s been some theories about Rott revolving around the time map, since it finds alternate timelines.
Now, I know it probably won’t happen… but with Jim’s dad said to be mentioned or come up in the movie, what if we see an alternate reality in which James Lake Sr never left?
Ok, I don’t think I’ve posted this yet and I don’t know how many months this has been in my head bugging me to post it. I was thinking about Staja and Jlaire one day and how Steve got pregnant by the seventh kiss and this thought entered my head, god knows how many months ago:
After Jim heard about Steve getting pregnant:
Jim: Wait…you guys have only kissed seven times?
Steve: Yeah? We haven’t seen each other much since she went back to Akiridion-5 a while back that first time she came here Jim. Why? How many times have you and Claire kissed?
Jim: Well (begins to get a little more confident)…let’s just say that if Claire was Akiridion, I would’ve been pregnant at least ten times by now.
Claire’s eyes widened overhearing them close to her as she spits out her water.
Sorry, I don’t know why I needed to post this, but it’s a joke that came into my head while texting a friend about rott months ago and I just felt the need to finally post it ♀️
[“Proshippers”, krex*e and Skraelr*c shippers DNI].
I’m so sorry Bellroc, I’m so sorry All 3 of you of the Arcane Order, I’m so sorry they did this to you. You were literally the most new, important part of the movie and yet ……
Aaaand here it is! The final Titan doodle. Like the other two this is a companion piece for one of the “Titanhunter” chapters in my RoTT rewrite fic The Eternal Day.I was gonna do carniflora doodles but it’s almost 5 am soooo :’)
Reminder that this is my redesign for the Forest Titan ^^
Author’s Notes : Final “Titanhunter” chapter! Let’s see what Doux and the others are up to, yea? Hope you all enjoy.
~
Titanhunters (Part 3)
They stepped out of the shadows, arriving at a village bordered by rainbow hills and valleys. Strokes of green and purple, blue and beige, pink and ochre painted the great mountainsides, vibrant and breathtaking even under a host of dark clouds. Like a flying beacon the white Heartstone shone, casting its glow over the harlequin landscape.
“You okay, Douxie?” Jim asked.
Douxie nodded. His head wasn’t feeling fantastic, but after fumbling through a few more healing spells it was at least bearable.
“Hurts a little but I’ll be alright, thanks,” he said, giving Jim a soft smile. He then gazed around and admired the beauty of the land while he had the chance. “I’d seen so many photos of these mountains.”
Archie pondered, “Yes, what were they called again…”
“Quebrada de Humahuaca,” Claire said. “My parents told me we had distant relatives from around here. Great, great, great, aunties and uncles.”
“Your dad’s mom’s great, great grandmother’s fourth cousin’s son’s…” Jim scratched his head. “….Daughter?”
Claire snickered. “Something like that.”
“That’s cool,” Zoe said.
But as cool and marvelous as it was, the empty village and ongoing storm put a damper on appreciating the scenery. The group walked quiet and somber down vacant roads and past abandoned shops until they reached the giant crater left by the Heartstone. Peering far down, the iridescence of multicolored crystals lined the rubbled pathways of another troll metropolis.
“Arch,” Douxie said, sharing a nod. Archie leapt from his shoulder, wings spread, and dove. He did a quick sweep of the area, checking under and around slabs of earth and toppled stone shelters.
“Hello! Is anyone there?” Archie called. He flew in place, waiting. Moments later his ears flickered in the direction of movement. From crevices hidden among clusters of white crystals appeared the faces of unsure trolls. Archie perked. “It’s alright. Don’t be afraid.” He released two streaks of fire upward, a signal to the others that it was safe. The trolls whispered and shrank back when more strangers arrived through a portal of darkness.
“H-humans!!” one troll exclaimed.
“What do they want with us?” another said.
“I’m scared!” a youngling cried.
Douxie held up his hands and smiled softly. “Easy there. We’re friends, not foes.” He took a small step. “My name is Hisirdoux Casperan, successor to Master Merlin Ambrosius.” Gasps rippled about when he conjured his staff.
Archie returned to Douxie’s shoulder, puffing his chest and grinning proud. “Master Hisirdoux’s Familiar, Archibald at your service.”
“I’m Zoe.” She hooked an arm around Claire’s shoulders. “This is Claire. We’re witches.” Claire returned Zoe’s smirk.
Jim stepped next to Douxie. “Jim Lake Jr. Nice to meet you all.”
Recognition sparked among the trolls as they gazed upon his suit of armor.
“Hold on now…Is that…?”
“Can it be?”
“The Armor of Daylight!”
“Looks a bit different, doesn’t it?”
“So it’s true!” A stout, rotund troll in cream colored garb trimmed with gold wiggled out between the others. His chipped tusks and horns were ivory like his skin. Ornate patterns were carved into his walking stick, crowned with a brilliant heartstone speartip. His two silver eyes were wide with wonder on Jim and he adjusted his large glasses. “The Trollhunter is a human boy… Yes, a human boy. You defeated Gumnar the Black and quelled the Eternal Night.”
The cavern buzzed with murmuring.
Jim tried a smile. “Well I wasn’t…quite human when I did that. Um…b-but either way, I wasn’t on my own. I couldn’t have done it without my friends. I…I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”
The ivory troll ruminated. “Mm, yes, yes. Very good. Curious, indeed, but good. And you?” He turned to Douxie. “Merlin’s successor, you said? Has he…”
Douxie blinked a few times. Looked down for a second.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. Archie pressed against his cheek. Zoe’s hand went to his back. Claire took Jim’s hand.
“Mm, I see, I see,” the troll said, a glow of sadness in his eyes. “A good wizard he was. Very good.”
“So who are you?” Zoe asked. “I’m gonna assume you’re the leader around here.”
The troll nodded. “Indeed, indeed I am. Alabasteremswiss Chezekiel the Fourth is my name but please Alabast will do just fine.” Alabast opened his arms. “Welcome to Moonglow Hollow, welcome! Although our great Moonstone — er, Heartstone, our Heartstone, yes — is in the sky currently.”
“Right,” Douxie said. “And we know why.”
They walked through everything. Events from a year ago. The Arcane Order. Seven Heartstones from the start of everything. The Titans. Nari.
“She’ll be headed this way,” Douxie said. His chest tightened, as did his grip on his staff. “But we’ll bring her back to us.”
But Alabast was quivering where he stood, his trolls cowering with him.
“Oh d-dear Deya!” he exclaimed. “This is bad! V-very bad!”
“It’s gonna be alright,” Jim said earnestly.
“And if not? I-if your forest friend cannot be freed?” Alabast looked up at the Heartstone and whimpered. “Oh our precious Moonstone…What are we to do?”
“I understand you’re afraid,” Douxie said, sweeping his gaze over the trolls before settling on their leader. “But please trust us.” Even as he said it, coils of doubt wound in his gut. But he had to believe through it. He took a deep breath. “Whatever comes to pass, all will be well, I promise.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Claire said to the fear-stricken trolls. “We’ll protect you.”
“Oooh dear, oh dear…” Alabast clung to his walking stick and paced, muttering loud to himself. “The humans have escaped but what of us? Such a great threat…Too great for even the Trollhunter! For Merlin’s champions! And us? Ooooh we’ll be reduced to pebbles! I’m perplexed, so perplexed!”
“Help us,” Zoe said, stepping forward. She uncrossed her arms, made her voice soft. “Fight alongside us.”
Alabast squealed. “F-f-fight? Oh no, oh no, I can’t…W-we cannot possibly…!” The trolls shrank back further, all shaking their heads and trembling. “W-w-we are peaceful here in Moonglow Hollow. P-peaceful!” A sob erupted from him.
“A-alright, alright!” Douxie said, palms up in a calming gesture. He shared a look with Zoe. “You’re okay, mate. We’ll just—”
A tremor seized the cavern, rocks and dust raining down. Aftershocks followed to the beat of heavy footsteps. Douxie looked to his friends, stomach sinking and he swallowed.
“Oh fuzzbuckets…”
Cries of panic rose from the Moonglow Hollow trolls.
“I-it’s here!”
“It’s the end for us!”
“Deya help us!”
“R-r-run away!” Alabast yelped to his clan. “Run away quickly, n-now, now!!”
“Y-yeah, just get somewhere safe!” Jim hollered after them as they fled into deep tunnels.
“Claire!” Zoe said.
“On it!” Claire focused and conjured a portal, bringing the group back to the surface.
The Forest Titan emerged from the mountains and cantered into the village, the spring green glow of its being illuminating the bleakness of the storm. The ground quaked with every step as it gravitated toward the Heartstone, tangles of aggressive foliage overwhelming everything it passed. Douxie’s eyes went to the Titan’s tree antlers, where he knew Nari was.
“We’ll get her back,” he said.
Jim nodded. “Whatever it takes.”
He and Claire hopped into the shadows. Archie enlarged himself, Douxie and Zoe climbing aboard and they were off. They circled the Titan’s head and dove right in, landing among its strands of vines for hair, beneath the emerald shadow of the symbol and sphere rotating upon its blank face. Jim and Claire appeared soon after and they all gazed up between the trees. Nari hovered, looking straight ahead.
“Nari!!” Douxie shouted. His heart leapt, shocked but hopeful, when her head snapped down at him. His hope burgeoned when she descended, settling in front of them. They held their breaths, stances guarded, as Douxie stepped closer. Nari’s glazed over eyes watched him. “Nari…Nari, it’s me. It’s Doux—”
Vines snapped up and around him and the others, pinning their arms against their bodies. Multiple vines had snagged Archie’s large form, wrapping his ankles, trapping his wings, and muzzling him. He thrashed wildly, smoke billowing from his nostrils.
Zoe squirmed. “Ugh! Douxie!!”
Douxie kicked his legs as he was lifted. “N-Now Nari, this is an awfully bad show of m-manners…!”
Nari flicked her wrist inward, and Douxie yelped when the vine tugged him closer. Her darkened eyes bore into his, dilated pupils ringed with flaring red and icy blue. His heart lurched and he met her there, searching for any hint of her.
“Nari…,” Douxie whispered. And there it was, the tiniest fleeting glimmer. For a split second her lip quivered. He wasn’t seeing things. That was her, he knew it, he couldfeel it. But before he could call out to her again, the magic circling her eyes glared and Douxie was sent sailing. “Fuzzbuckeeeets!!!”
“Doux!!” Jim shouted.
Archie morphed into a snake, slipping through the vine’s grasp, then back into a large dragon. He sprang off the Titan’s head and did an accelerated swoop, snagging Douxie’s hood between his teeth. They dangled for a moment, reorienting.
“Grabbed me by the scruff, did you?” Douxie huffed with a grimace. The dull ache in his head had sharpened from all the crazy movement. But nevertheless, Archie chuffed and gave him a shake. “Ow! Knock it off you little—er, big—Gah, you big little fiend!”
Back on the Titan, Claire cried out when the vine around her constricted, “Nari please! It’s us!”
“We’re—ngh—We’re your friends…!” Jim wheezed.
It fell on deaf ears. Nari, not even looking their way, willed her Titan to toss them over. Claire screamed while Jim tried reaching for her hand.
“Hang on!!” Zoe made an X with her arms, fists clenched. Magic flared and sparked around her. “Come on, come on…!” The concentrated magic in her arms traveled down the rest of her body, an even spread, her mind invoking security. With a shout Zoe threw her arms open, magic surging out.
“Oof!” She thudded against her manifesting safety tarp, the magic rippling upon impact. Jim and Claire crashed into it seconds later. Once the spell was fully formed they began to drift steadily downward. “You guys okay?”
Jim got to his hands and knees, nodding dizzily. “Y-yeah. Thanks to you, Zoe.”
“I’m guessing this is what an anti-gravity spell is supposed to be,” Claire said as she pushed herself up to sit.
Zoe sighed. “Douxie?”
“…Douxie.”
The magic tarp lowered them onto the roof of a building. Douxie and Archie dropped beside them. As soon as they landed, Archie shrunk down to his regular size, noticeably faint. Douxie gathered him in his arms.
“You alright, Arch?” he asked, cradling Archie against his chest.
“Still getting used to the large form,” Archie said. He shook his head. “Just…Just a moment’s rest and I’ll be right as rain.” Claire ran her knuckles over his head and he purred.
“So what do we do now?” Zoe asked. The Forest Titan was drawing closer to the Heartstone without pause.
Douxie watched it intently. “We try again.”
“Doux…,” Zoe said.
“I know but she was there, Zo. When I said her name, she heard me. I know she did.” He worried his lip. “If…If I can reach her mind with my own…It just might undo Bellroc and Skrael’s spell.”
“How do you know?” Archie asked.
Douxie exhaled, breath shaking. “I don’t. But I have to try.”
Zoe gazed at him, then touched his arm. “Alright Douxie. But we need another plan. She’s just going to keep throwing us off.”
“We could try a more gradual approach instead of getting right in her face,” Jim said. “Uh, or right on the face?”
Moments later they were stepping out of a shadow portal and into the small wood that was the Titan’s deer back. Short trees with oddly shaped branches and teardrop leaves sprouted upon its earthy grass pelt, while two splendid ones towering above the rest flourished at the base of the Titan’s humanoid back. What had made the glowing mottled pattern of a doe turned out to be lighted flower beds of varying sizes, dazzling specks fluttering off curled buds and florets. Raindrops trickled through the leaves, shrouding the wood in a thin mist and enveloping the group with the fragrance of wet earth.
“Right then. Let’s have another go at this, shall we?” Douxie started towards the two grand trees, the others following cautiously.
“Guess I can say I’ve ridden a centaur now,” Claire said.
Archie in her arms hummed. “Actually, the proper term for this creature is a cervitaur. They’re quite rare compared to their half horse relatives.”
“Oooh. Did you know that, Teach?”
Douxie sputtered. “W-what? Of course I knew that.”
Zoe turned around and whispered, “He totally didn’t know that.”
They came to the two trees and wondered at the strange branches and unique leafy patterns that reached all the way up to the Titan’s human shoulder blades, melding with its hued skin. Embellishing their trunks were stunning, intricate sleeves of muted rainbow bark. Douxie pressed his palm against them. Something like pins and needles, deep within his very soul, blossomed in his hand and raced up his arm. The abrupt sensation had him drawing back as if stung. He looked far up the expanse of the Titan’s back, at the magic he now noticed pulsing through the branches like veins. An enigmatic ancient magic he didn’t understand, that he doubted even Merlin ever grasped.
“That’s…a pretty big climb,” Jim said.
“Not to worry. I’ve got it sorted. Hold out your hands.” Douxie brushed his fingers over his friends’ palms, closing his eyes and channeling. The pain in his head flared up but he pushed through. “Adhaereo superfiu—”
Rustling startled them. All around them the leaves began to rattle. Branches dipped and twisted. Roots broke through the earth, wrapping around themselves. The group circled up, readying themselves as monsters were birthed from the wood. Ends of furling branches turned into gangly stick creatures, jagged leaves like razors protruding all over and their splintered arms needlelike. The tips of coiling roots opened to reveal flaps bearing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. The flower beds dimmed and morphed into lumps of writhing thorny vines, centers mutating into grotesque maws.
“Not mandrakes.” Archie turned big and growled. “These are carnifloras!”
“Ugh, you’re really going to correct me at a time like thi—” A thorny vine snaked around his ankle. “Oh fuzzbucKEEAHH!!” One sharp pull and Douxie hit the ground, head immediately pounding. Archie leapt and doused the plant in flames before Douxie was eaten alive. The carniflora shrieked and released him.
Zoe hurried to help him back up. “Are you okay?”
“Nooot really…,” Douxie groaned, cradling his forehead.
The carnifloras advanced, appendages flailing and jaws open. Jim pulled the broadsword they’d found off his back and charged. Claire chucked rounds of magic alongside Zoe. Archie coated his teeth in flames and tore into the neck of a root carniflora, claws scratching like mad.
Douxie held up his hand and tried to conjure an attack. But his headache only worsened. He dropped his arm, fist striking the floor in frustration.
“Douxie, don’t worry about us!” Jim shouted as he hacked and slashed. “Just get to Nari!”
“What? No, I can’t leave you all!”
“We’ll be fine!” A branch carniflora sliced Zoe’s arm. She hissed but countered with an electrified backhand. “Just go!!”
“Bring her back to us!” Archie roared. Another root carniflora bit into his flank and he yowled, rolling to dislodge it then retaliating with fire and claws.
Douxie looked on, the world starting to rotate. Breathing becoming heavier, more desperate. Heart thrashing and hands clamming up. He closed his eyes and took ten seconds. His friends were brilliant, more than capable. He had to use what strength he had wisely. Time was running out. If he could reach Nari, it would stop all of this. It would be alright.
When Douxie opened his eyes he was facing the two trees.
“Adhaereo superfium!” he chanted. A twinge of pain in his head, then magic coated the shapes of his hands and feet. Douxie jumped and latched onto one of the trees. No grip needed. He was sticking perfectly to it like a magnet. A proud laugh and he started climbing, taking big leaps, quick and easy without purchase or risk.
The energy exuding from the trees coursed through Douxie’s fingers and poured into his body, the sensation like dandelion seeds floating around his soul, mingling with his aura. For as long as he scaled the tree the pain in his head nearly disappeared and he felt as though he could climb a thousand more. But the moment he lifted himself off the last few branches, onto the curve of the Titan’s shoulder blade, his dull headache returned and his limbs began to tremble.
“Just a little further, Hisirdoux…!” Douxie stilled, took three deep breaths, then launched himself up with two great pulls. The third one brought him up onto the Titan’s shoulder and he dropped to his knees, chest heaving. “Buckets, that’s my exercise for the next century…” Then he peered up the back of the Titan’s head, at all the vines he still had to climb, and groaned.
Dragonfire blazed through the wood below. Archie opened his jaws and spun, wings flapping and fueling the blazing tornado. Carnifloras screeched as they were incinerated to nothing. However the once flower beds wouldn’t catch no matter what Archie did. In fact their thorny vines only seemed to multiply and grow angrier. The vines’ ends split into more mouths, and like savage broods of snakes they struck out all at once.
Jim dropped and rolled on his back, swinging his broadsword with the momentum and severing heads before spinning to his feet and charging. He slashed his way closer to the snapping jaws at the center of the writhing mass, sidestepping clear of attacks. With a shout Jim leapt, flipping his blade downward, both hands gripping the handle. He thrust his sword straight into the vital mouth. The carniflora screeched, shuddered violently, and wilted, its many vines going still.
“Nice, Jim!” Zoe said with lightning shooting from her fingertips.
He was about to pull out his sword when the carniflora twitched. “What—”
In a second the creature revitalized, vines throwing themselves around Jim so brutally he thought his armor cracked. His broadsword slipped from his grasp and disappeared down the carniflora’s gullet. Its mouth sealed shut and it swallowed.
“No!!” Jim said, devastated and horrified. A blast of black and purple barreled into his malicious restraints. The vines hissed and retreated, throwing Jim on the ground.
“Jim!” Claire ran to him. “Are you okay?”
“Apparently these plants aren’t just carnivores,” Jim muttered. “I-I gotta find another sword I guess…” His attempt at lighthearted jests was soon shadowed by distress.
A guttural wail tore through the air. Archie smashed into the ground five yards away, littered with scrapes and cuts. He dug his claws into the earth, grit his teeth, and slowly rose back up. Vines broke through Zoe’s defenses and she stumbled next to him. Archie breathed deep, unleashing one more scorching stream of dragonfire before he could take no more. The flames dispersed and he lost his form, turning small and spent. But the ravenous vines kept slithering towards their kills. Once again the fire had done nothing against the flower bed carnifloras except agitate them further.
“Would’ve much preferred mandrakes!” Archie stated, shrinking back.
Douxie finally made it to the top. He slowed his movements to a crawl at the sight of Nari facing away from him. Murmured a quick concealing spell, a basic one. Tried not to lose focus at the Heartstone now alarmingly close, the Titan’s crown washed white. Douxie held his breath and painstakingly crept forward, bracelet flickering on his outstretched arm. Pain swelled in his skull as his magic churned in preparation for the spell, readied upon his lips. Douxie didn’t stop. He could never, not when Nari was just within reach….
His fingers were a hair’s breadth from her back when vines ensnared him.
“Agh!” Douxie looked right into her eyes as she turned and cried, “Blast it, Nari, I know you can hear me! Come to your senses! Please…!”
Nari’s eyes remained blank. The red and blue rings encasing her pupils glinted, cursed shackles imprisoning her will. Douxie jerked against his constraints. Every sudden movement sent pain rolling through his skull but he kept on. He gasped when a vine wrapped around his throat. It didn’t fully constrict but Douxie was panicking all the same.
“N-Nari…Nari, please, I…”
The vine tightened just a smidge. Nari willed for Douxie to be brought closer. For several seconds her eyes bore into his as if he were a specimen to be studied. Her body went taut. Her jaw clenched. Her lips thinned. Her gaze turned glossy. There it was. She could see him. But the longer Nari looked, the angrier the rings around her eyes glared. Now the vines were behaving erratically, squeezing one second then easing up the next but never letting go. The Forest Titan had gone still.
“What’s going on?” Claire asked. The vine carnifloras suddenly seemed lost, snapping misdirected or just wiggling in place.
Zoe looked up. “Douxie…”
Before Bellroc and Skrael’s magic could regain full control, before his hopes were dashed, Douxie called out to Nari again with all his heart.
“It’s me, Nari. Hisirdoux, your friend. Your friends are here to bring you back. To…To bring you home.” Nari went still as a carving. Douxie took a breath. “I-If you can hear me, Nari, please…give me a sign.” The vines loosened a hair. Douxie’s heart hammered. “Good! That’s it! I knew you could hear me. It’s alright, Nari. I promise you, it’s alright…” The vines didn’t release, although the one around his neck all but slipped off. His bracelet’s runes brightened. “I’m so sorry, Nari. I’m sorry…if this HURTS—!”
Douxie smacked his forehead against hers and screamed, “SENSUS TACTIO!!!”
White hot agony. Mystic fire igniting his mind and soul, scorching down the back of his neck to the rest of his body. He’d never felt such pain in his whole life. Not when he’d been the Order’s prisoner. Not even when he’d lost Merlin. Memories, thoughts, and feelings that weren’t his flooded through him. It was an ocean, and Douxie feared he would soon drown. He didn’t feel himself freed from the vines. He didn’t hear Nari shriek. His being was elsewhere. In darkness, light, Heartstones, trees, stars, fire, ice, a pair of indescribable eyes, a fatherly embrace, Titans. Centuries and centuries, millenniums, maybe eons.
Love, happiness, comfort, peaceful days. Songs and tales by firelight. Steadfast flames always lighting the darkness, filling it with warmth and love. Snowflakes twirling upon rushing winds. Beautiful, endless fields of sparkling white. A forest of ice crystals fashioned into trees for fun.
But then came evil. And so came annihilation. But within it there was mercy for a few. And so there was salvation for the world.
Humanity spared. Bellroc and Skrael’s benevolence replaced with hatred. Never open the Seals again. Nari’s father, the Great Eternity, disappearing into sunlit clouds.
Fear, despair, denial, violence. Civilizations turned to ash or frozen graves. Men, women, and children dying. So much death. Pain and only pain. Was this balance? Was this good? What would Father say? Where was Father? They were together. They were together. But Father’s eyes were different now.
This relentless, unforgiving river eventually swept Douxie to a vaguely familiar place. Hellfire and bitter cold, desperately fleeing from them. Loneliness. Such deep distress. Nearly fainting from longing.
Then Douxie saw himself and Archie. Nari’s affection sprouted. He saw all of their friends. Nari’s passionate love blossomed. Her wounded thoughts resounded. She didn’t deserve them, such radiant hearts and brilliant souls. She had to protect them. She loved them dearly. It had to be done. What would Father do? She was scared. If any could face the coming wrath, her friends could. She believed. She loved Douxie. Bellroc promised. Bellroc promised, surely, surely he would keep his promise of course he would because—
Betrayal.
Anguish.
Douxie was here, alive.
Crushing relief.
Wrenching guilt and shame.
I am sorry.
I will only hurt you.
Leave me.
Douxie was on his hands and knees when he came back to himself. Only seconds had passed. His eyes were sore from scalding tears. His spirit was raw. His head was splitting but his heart hurt infinitely more.
Nari was squeezing her head between her hands and screeching to the heavens. There was a woman with blue eyes humming. A village up in flames on a cold winter night. Archie. Nightmares. Sleeping. Forgetting. Lad of Fortune. Merlin Ambrosius. Zoanna Ashildr. Her hair was brown and long and she was loveliest maiden he’d ever laid eyes on. Melodies and adventures and heartache across nine centuries.
Then he found a family once again. Then Nari herself. Douxie, his heart ever good and kind, already adored her. He would protect her. He would care for her no matter what. He loved to see her smile. He wondered what flavors were her favorite, what sights she would love most, what songs he would share with her next. He hoped she could stay in his life forever. She was dear to him. It was the fondness of a brother. Love unfailing. Persisting.
The Order’s magic went to war.
Nari’s arm shot out against her will, her whole body shuddering and twitching. The Forest Titan reared up on its hind legs and shook its head about. Douxie was flung sideways but managed to grab hold.
“Whoa!!” Jim cried as the ground beneath them tilted. They clung to whatever threads of non-threatening vegetation they could and dangled. “Can’t tell if this is good or bad!”
Their faces met the dirt when the field righted itself back. The carnifloras were still confused. There was a booming crackle, like a mountain breaking.
“Oh no…,” Zoe whispered.
“We need to get up there!” Claire said, spinning a ball of shadow in her palm.
The Forest Titan had slammed its front knees against the Heartstone, its dainty hands gripping on. Its hair whipped wildly and snapped around the white crystals. Sobs bursted through Nari’s screams. She couldn’t stop. Dueling magic strobed from her eyes and mouth. She couldn’t breathe. Veins of her markings lit upon her skin as she burned from the inside out. The turmoil would soon tear her spirit asunder.
Come home.
I do not deserve you.
You’re ours.
Look what I have done.
It’s okay. I love you. We all love you.
Kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM.
Stop.
Reap what you’ve sown.
Please stop it.
FINISH WHAT YOU BEGAN.
The Heartstone’s light faded, and arms wrapped around her.
The Titan backed away. The Heartstone crashed and broke apart. Douxie held on tighter, as tight as he could. He smothered Nari’s face against his chest, buried his nose into her hair, and just held her. Nari fought, her claws slicing him through his clothes. It stung like mad. Douxie didn’t let go. Zoe, Archie, Jim, and Claire watched from under the twin trees, all teary-eyed and unsure.
For a long while nothing was said. The rain pattered and thunder rumbled. The wind whooshed by, rustling the leaves of the Titan’s antlers. Nari seethed against him, scratching and kicking.
Eventually with less vigor.
Douxie closed his eyes and sobbed quietly. “I’m not leaving you. Not ever.” He didn’t know if she could hear him. “I’m right here. I’ll always be right here with you.” He kissed her head and wept. “I know…I know. It’s alright, Nari. Please…”
A branch of lightning flashed and the gray clouds rang low. The rain started hitting harder, and soon the world was cloaked in a torrential downpour, the mist tinted the bright green glow of the Forest Titan’s symbol. They were all cold and drenched but still no one moved. Douxie lost track of everything. He didn’t notice the heavy rainfall becoming a calm drizzle all of a sudden or the pain in his head receding. He just wanted Nari back.
So when her arms lifted and her hands clutched his sides, Douxie gasped. When Nari’s soft weeping reached his ears, he looked down.
“Nari?” he said, shaking.
Nari looked up at him and bawled, tears flowing from her clear ringless eyes. “Douxie!”
Douxie heaved a sob. He cupped Nari’s cheek and managed, “There you are…!” Then they both came undone, falling back into each other’s arms and holding tight. Within seconds the others rushed to join the embrace, all laughing and crying and soaking wet.
“I am s-s-so sorry!!!” Nari wailed. “I am sorry, I am so sorry!! I h-hurt you….I hurt you…!”
“Oh darling, no you didn’t,” Douxie said, his palm brushing hair off her face. He looked her over. Another swell of joy filled his chest when he saw all the scars from Bellroc and Skrael had vanished. “You didn’t hurt me at all. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Why…After all I have done…Why did you want me back?”
“Because we love you, Nari,” Claire sniveled. Jim put an arm around Nari’s shoulders. Zoe took her hand and squeezed, failing to blink back her own tears. Archie snuggled into Nari’s lap and licked her face. Nari rewarded them all with a delicate smile and a small giggle.
“Thank you,” Nari said with glistening eyes.
Douxie hugged her. “Always.”
The group huddled together in the moment. Nari mended wounds from carnifloras and fully healed Douxie’s head injury. When all the hugs were given and all the tears finally subsided, Jim stood.
“So…what now?” he said.
Nari rose, a slight frown on her face. With a wave of her hands the Forest Titan lifted an arm and placed its thin pointed fingers on its head. Nari hopped on with ease, calling for her nervous friends to join. So they all hitched a ride down to the remains of Moonglow Hollow’s Heartstone. The Titan kneeled and utilized its head of vines to drop them safely into the Hollow, where terrified trolls made their presence known with squeals. Douxie and Jim stood on either side of a trembling Alabast as Nari approached him.
“W-Why have you brought her here, why?!” Alabast yelped. He blubbered, “Our Moonstone…Our wonderful Moonstone is g-g-gone! W-Will you kill us next? Will you?”
Sorrow clouded Nari’s gaze. “I am so sorry. I will not harm you. My friends have freed me and the Titan I command.”
Alabast peeked between his fingers. “Eh…y-you are a forest friend once again?”
“She is,” Douxie said.
Zoe patted Nari’s head. “Nothing to be afraid of. But um…sorry about your Heartstone.”
“Our Moonstone!” Alabast wailed to the ceiling.
“I am sorry,” Nari said, hands folding to her chest. “Please forgive me. Now that I am no longer in the Arcane Order’s control I will only help you. I will do everything I can to help, to stop them.” A white flower bloomed in Nari’s hand and she offered it. Alabast slowly unfurled, skittishly taking it from her. He considered it for a moment, glancing between its brilliant petals and Nari. Then he shoved it into his mouth and swallowed. Nari’s friends gaped as he smacked his lips in thought.
“W-Well…I suppose it’s alright then,” Alabast said. “You were not yourself, not yourself at all, yes.”
Nari drooped. “But I am very, very, very sorry.”
“It’s alright, I said! Those Arcane scoundrels are to blame, no? Yes, they’re at fault for our Moonstone…” Alabast choked. “F-For our M-M-Moonstone…ugh…”
“We’ll make things right,” Jim said, hand on Alabast’s shoulder.
“And with Nari of The Eternal Forest on our side, it’s the Order who should be afraid!” Archie said with wings open.
“That’s right. We have a whole Titan!” Claire said.
“She is also very sorry,” Nari said, looking down.
Jim’s phone buzzed. A text from his mom. In the three seconds he took to read it, his face turned ghostly pale. He looked up.
“We need to get back to Camelot. Now.”
◇
Claire immediately passed out after the largest shadow portal she’d ever made closed. Jim and Douxie caught her as the Forest Titan’s hooves smashed into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that blew through the entire wood. Its towering form brought them level with a window into the castle and they hurried in. When they made it to the servants’ quarters, they rushed into the only open door. A grim scene struck them.
Steve paced and bit his nails while Barbara treated a severe burn on Eli’s arm. On the neighboring bed was Varvatos with a hideous, fragmented lesion through his chest, charcoal black and seeping redness. Varvatos was unresponsive, still as a corpse. Luug whimpered and pressed into his side. Aja and Krel wept over him. When they saw Nari they could think of nothing else.
“Nari! Oh thank Seklos!” Aja cried.
“His…His core has been damaged,” Krel said, face streaked with tears. “Please, can you help him?”
“I will try!” Nari sprang over with magic flowing, covering Varvatos’ wound with her hands. “I have never healed creatures such as yourselves. But I will do what I can.”
“Thank you,” Aja said. She and Krel planted themselves on both sides of the bed, clutching Varvatos’ hands with all four of theirs.
“What happened?” Zoe asked.
Aja shook her head, face twisted in anguish. She bent forward as if weighed down and cried. Krel said nothing, but the pure grief in his eyes spoke volumes.
Douxie took Claire into his arms from Jim and laid her down on an empty bed. He placed one hand on her forehead and took her hand in his other. The one shard of teal heartstone was stationed with Varvatos, so Douxie worked to restore Claire’s strength with his own aura.
Down the way Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Toby were gathered around one bed with Walter sitting on the mattress. The Blanks stood against the walls, their faces mournful.
“Tobes!” Jim said. They all looked up, except Walter, and he staggered at the woe in all their eyes. Toby couldn’t keep it together. He ran over into Jim’s arms and crumbled into spasmodic sobs. Jim hugged him back. “Tobes…Hey, what is it? What happened? What’s wrong?” And then he noticed. “Wait…Where’s Nomura?”
Blinky shut his eyes, tears trickling from all six. Walter was mum, motionless with his head hanging. Aaarrrgghh turned around weeping.
In his arms where two sunset scimitars.
~
Author’s Notes : Emotiooooooons asdflsdskjhdjghaf;kdj X____X But the Green Bean Queen has come home :3 I finished this chapter on Tuesday and wanted to go ahead and post it here. The Forest Titan drawing will be posted tomorrow and then the chapter will be up on Ao3 ^^
As always, thank you all so much for reading and for your encouraging comments. It means so much! God bless you all.
Side Note : I watched “Come From Away” today (the pro-shot on my friend’s Apple TV) and EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO LOOK IT UP AND WATCH IT AND/OR LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOOOOOOOW—
“Right then. Let’s have another go at this, shall we?” Douxie started towards the two tallest trees, the others following cautiously. The shape of the branches and pattern of their leaves melded with the Titan’s hued skin, reaching all the way up to its human shoulder blades. Embellishing the trunks were stunning intricate sleeves of muted rainbow bark.
“Guess I can say I’ve ridden a centaur now,” Claire said.
Archie in her arms hummed. “Actually, the proper term for this creature is a cervitaur. They’re quite rare compared to their half horse relatives.”
“Oooh. Did you know that, Teach?”
Douxie sputtered. “W-what? Of course I knew that.”
Zoe turned around and whispered, “He totally didn’t know that.”
~
Ya think he’d know by now but alas Douxie is Douxie :V
“Hang on!!” Zoe made an X with her arms, fists clenched. Magic flared and sparked around her. “Come on, come on…!” The concentrated magic in her arms traveled down the rest of her body, an even spread, her mind invoking security. With a shout Zoe threw her arms open, her magic surging out.
“Oof!” She thudded against her manifesting safety tarp, the magic rippling upon impact. Jim and Claire crashed into it seconds later. Once the spell was fully formed they began to drift steadily downward. “You guys okay?”
Jim got to his hands and knees, nodding dizzly. “Y-yeah. Thanks to you.”
“I’m guessing this is what an anti-gravity spell is supposed to be,” Claire said as she pushed herself up to sit.
This isn’t the favorite of my designs but I’m overall pleased with how it turned out. Coloring was lots of fun heehee
Another doodle I wanted to share :
The ice baddies from this chapter dubbed “frospecters”, though they’ll be showing up again down the line. I ended up wanting Skrael’s minions to be ghostlike. I also wanted them to have the ability to shoot icicles. I Googled ice ghosts (just Pokemon results lol), ice spirits, ice specters, and landed on this design. Freakier than I thought it’d be but I like it!
I forgot to do a Luma doodle! Need to get on that >_<
Author’s Notes : And another! A small one yet again. Hope you all enjoy.
~
Titanhunters (Part 2)
They were met with ruin when the darkness cleared.
Rain poured through a gaping hole in the underground ceiling, the unearthed teal Heartstone drifting high above. The broken ground had collapsed inward, crushing the central hub of Harmonia, New Jersey’s very own Trollmarket.
“I’m…sure it was a lot nicer when you and Jimbo were here,” Toby said, somber.
Claire sniffled. “I hope everyone’s alright.”
“We’ve got things here,” Nomura said. She touched Claire’s shoulder. “You need to go.”
“R-right. Stay safe.” She hugged Nomura then Toby before shadowing away.
They followed Blinky and Nomura into the boroughs untouched by the wreckage. The network of vast caverns and concaves was bathed in the soft light of crystals, all varying shades of blue. Before long, trolls began to peek out from their stone homes at the sound of newcomers.
“Blinkous!” Bagdwella exclaimed.
“It’s Blinky and Nomura!”
“Welcome back, welcome!”
“Who are these strangers with you?”
“Where’s the Trollhunter?”
The trolls of Harmonia gathered around, greeting Blinky and Nomura with embraces and handshakes.
“Good to see you all again, my friends!” Blinky said. “Is everyone unharmed? Are you all safe?”
“Barely!” a short three-eyed troll said. “Almost lost three of me eyes!”
“Everyone’s been accounted for, thank Deya,” another troll said. “Even the elders and younglings.”
“Good,” Nomura said. “But we’re not out of the woods yet. Far from it. Where’s—”
“Blinkous. Nomura.”
The crowd of trolls parted up ahead until out stepped an eldery troll, slender and towering over the rest despite being hunched over from age. Crystals adorned her neck and shoulders, glistening upon her cerulean skin. Stripes of purple and green painted her forearms. Her stark white hair was bundled at the ends and nearly brushed the floor, loose braids dangling throughout. She wore a long dark magenta dress. Attached to her hip with a sash and belt was a lengthy, curved, and serrated heartstone dagger. The troll narrowed her glimmering eyes.
“Luma!” Blinky said, approaching her. “The time is most urgent. We must—”
“Now, now Blinkous.” Luma raised a brow at the Blanks zipping about and invading everyone’s personal bubbles. Her gaze landed on Toby, who waved sheepishly. “Won’t you introduce us to these strangers you’ve brought here?”
“O-oh…yes! Of course!” Blinky turned to his comrades. “Might I introduce you all to the beloved leader of Harmonia, Luma The Kind. Luma, this here is my dear friend, Aarghaumont, the one I’ve told you much about. Walter Stricklander, another reformed spy of Gunmar. Tobius Domzalski! Best friend of Master Jim. And uh…Ricky and Lucy. They’re…”
“Hootin’ and happy ta meet ya!” Ricky said, him and Lucy flying up into Luma’s space. She simply blinked.
“I’m a jewelry gal myself!” Lucy said, wide eyes flitting over the gems embedded in Luma’s stone skin. She zeroed in on her reflection in them. “Those crystals are crystal clear!”
“That’s what I like to hear!” The Blanks smushed their faces together.
“Crystal clear!”
“Loud and clear!
“That’s what I like to hea—”
Walter yanked the pair back with his hands clamped over their mouths.
“A pleasure,” he said to Luma.
“Hello,” Aaarrrgghh said with a small wave.
“Thanks for taking care of Jimbo and Claire,” Toby said. “If you need a warhammer, I gotcha covered.”
Luma regarded them for a moment. Then she smiled.
“Welcome, friends of Blinkous, Nomura, and the Trollhunter,” she said. Then she turned to Blinky. “Master Jim and Fair Claire. Are they well?”
“Alright, yes,” Blinky said, before looking down. “Although…Master Jim has been most troubled and distressed after everything. I fear for the wellbeing of his heart and mind.”
Luma said nothing, then nodded. “Jim has suffered much and greatly. But rest assured when the time comes, it will be as it always has. His doubts will be of no concern. Especially,” her gaze went to Toby, Aaarrrgghh, Walter, and Nomura, “with such friends by his side.” They returned her gaze with kindling eyes and firm nods. “Now Blinkous. Do tell us why Harmonia’s Heartstone is floating in the sky.”
When they had finished explaining everything, the crowd of trolls murmured in confusion and terror.
“W-what will we do?”
“To think! Our glorious Heartstone is one of seven primordial!”
“Titans…How will we stand against such beasts?”
“It’s the end for us all! Our last days are upon us!”
“None of that! We can take’m!”
“Fire, ice, what have you, Harmonia ain’t backin’ down!”
“That’s right!”
“YEAH!!!”
“You’re all mad! Were you not listening?”
“Loud and clear!” Lucy said.
“Crystal!” added Ricky.
“These flesh bags loose in the head?!”
While the trolls continued debating, Luma held a claw to her chin, thinking. Finally, after a long while, she made her way up onto a nearby platform. The cavern went silent with bated breaths, all eyes on their leader. Luma swept her calm gaze over each of their faces before settling on Blinky and Nomura.
“Your valiant friends will not face this alone,” she said. “The trolls of Harmonia will stand with you.” Luma raised a hand, quieting the charged and fearful outbursts that followed. “Peace and take heart, my beloved ones. There is no shame in fear. But to lift your head in spite of it, that is courage. So courage, my friends. What have I always said?”
“‘A fight is more than bearing arms’,” Nomura said, “‘but hearts beating for life and death.’”
Luma smiled and nodded. “Ringa! Lopfang! Wyvernst! Glog!”
Four Stalkling trolls made themselves known, their eyes glowing red against the cave ceiling where they hung. They descended around Luma, heads bowed.
“Swift and true,” Luma said, placing a hand on one of their heads. “Bring the message of what’s to come to every troll civilization. Tell them Luma of Harmonia has sent you. Give our condolences and strength to those whose Heartstones have fallen.” The Stalklings took off without hesitation, fast and thunderous as the howling winds. “Elders, take the younglings to the furthest parts of our underground. Stay hidden or defend yourselves. Whatever the matter calls for.” Luma looked up. “The storms are shielding us. Prepare yourselves, those who will join us. We go to the Waterfront.”
Nerves tempered and hearts encouraged, the trolls dispersed and went about gathering tools. Stone clubs and maces were handed out. Boulders and dwarkstones were placed into crates next to catapults. Makeshift weapons were quickly forged. Younglings embraced their parents.
Walter and Nomura held a brief session on basic combat for those who needed it. Toby and Aaarrrgghh consoled the distressed. The Blanks flashed their new guns, trolls rolling out of the way when they recklessly took aim. Luma and Blinky locked eyes for a moment, then nodded in solidarity. She watched his friends aiding in preparations. Let her eyes linger over her trolls and her thoughts on the world.
“Eternity help us,” she whispered.
⬦
Roughly 100,000 trolls marched from beneath Hoboken to along the Hudson River. All around in the distance large blue spacecrafts were filling with frantic passengers before lifting off, disappearing into the slate clouds. The areas all along the Waterfront had been completely vacated, still and silent as graves.
“Hope Aja and Krel are alright,” Toby whispered, watching an Akiridion ship.
“Varvatos and Creepslayerz, too,” Aaarrrgghh grunted, worried.
Nomura stood beside Walter, arms crossed. “Place your bet. Who’s it gonna be?”
“Fire, ideally,” Walter said. His wings fluttered.
“Mm, so I’m going with Ice then. What’s the prize?”
“Bragging rights.”
“Oh come on, little butterfly.”
“Tickets to the next symphony then. Deal?”
Nomura smirked. “Deal.”
Luma stood still as a statue, hands folded behind her and eyes fixed on the churning open sea. An uncertain amount of time passed. An hour, maybe two. But before much longer, a thick white mist abruptly swallowed everything in sight, bringing with it a biting chill. Raindrops became pinpricks of bitter cold. Clouds of breath fumed amongst them.
“S-s-should’ve brought a sweater!” Toby said, teeth chattering. He huddled close to Aaarrrgghh’s furry self.
“Ready yourselves!” Luma shouted. Her hand slowly rose to take her dagger. The shuddering trolls braced themselves. The catapults were hastily loaded. Blinky reached into the sack slung around him, heavy with dwarkstones. They all took a step back as the river froze over. Moments later, the ice exploded, torrents of seawater cascading off a colossal form as it rose from the depths. The Ice Titan dwarfed Jersey City and wasted no time in honing in on the Heartstone. Skrael grinned madly and urged the Titan forward.
Trolls manning the catapults opened fire at Luma’s command, launching dwarkstones and chunks of jagged rock. The Ice Titan staggered as its legs and torso lit up with explosions. Taking another step resulted in another round of projectiles. After the third, Skrael seethed. A vicious flurry blew from the Titans whole body, the relentless cold like a flock of knives cutting through the trolls’ stone skin.
When Blinky lowered his arm and looked up, shivers coursed through him. From the haze floating shapes began to emerge, materializing from the frozen air. He fought the urge to scream when half an emaciated torso of ice drifted towards him, chopped at the ribs, the rest of spine tapering into a tail of ice and frost. A ghostly veil split by a vertical mouth crammed with needle-like teeth served as a head, complete with a pair of short down-curved horns wrapped in tattered strips of dark cloth. Sharpened twelve-inch icicles protruded all along its long arms, both flashing four even longer and deadlier icy claws.
“A specter of frost!” Blinky exclaimed, stepping back.
“F-frospecter!” Toby whimpered as two of the creatures neared the Wingmen.
As the haze began to clear, they saw not one or two, but what looked to be thousands of the things, these frospecters, surrounding them. They descended all at once like white vultures, blowing freezing breath and slinging icicles.
“To the Ice Wizard!” Luma bellowed at Walter and Nomura. She brandished her dagger and roared, “For Harmonia and for glory!”
Walter flew, taking Nomura with him. Shouts filled the air as the trolls and frospecters collided. The frospecters, elusive wisps of cold, wove fast around fists, swords, and clubs. But once a hit landed, their icy bodies shattered like glass. Ricky and Lucy made good use of their new torch features, jets of fire turning the frospecters to mist.
“Hey hot stuff!” Lucy said, back to back with her husband as they mowed down several at a time.
“You’re my spice of life, Lucy Lu!” Ricky quipped back with a wink. “And there goes our champ with that good arm of his!”
Toby leapt from Aaarrrgghh’s back, bringing his hammer straight down onto a frospecters chest and smashing it to smithereens. He landed on his feet, already swinging at the next and then the one after. Another frospecter swooped down, its frigid breath creating a wall of jagged ice. But Aaarrrgghh punched right through it and kept his fists swinging, turning more enemies to dust.
“Aw yeah, Wingmen in the big leagues!” Toby shouted, hopping back onto his partner’s back. He kept his warhammer swinging while Aaarrrgghh charged ahead, leaving a path of pulverized ice demons in their wake.
“Go poof!” Aaarrrgghh said with a chuckle. But the cheering was cut short when Toby got blindsided by a frospecter’s claws to the head, rattling his helmet and sending him flying off Aaarrrgghh’s back. Aaarrrgghh immediately turned back to him, punching off any more attackers. “Wingman!!”
“Ugh, okay, maybe the middle leagues then…,” Toby groaned on his stomach. “I’m good, buddy, I just…” A whirlwind of movement caught his eye and he looked up. “Holy Chompskys!”
Going on two millennia, Luma was dispatching frospecters with such grace she could’ve been dancing. She traded her heartstone dagger seamlessly between her hands and her agility was unmatched, ensuring no enemy on the left, right, above, or below was safe.
“You think my Nana could do that?” Toby asked. Aaarrrgghh scratched his head.
Meanwhile Walter soared high above the Titan’s head with Nomura dangling from his arms.
“Hehe, so that Tchaikovsky concert next month sounds good,” Nomura said. Walter rolled his eyes. “Tell you what, let’s go again. That little ice brat’s head is mine.”
“Hmm, whoever gets the killing blow.” Walter dove, his grin devious. “That’s more like it.”
He swung Nomura out of his grip. She drew her scimitars midair, going right in for a slash when she landed behind Skrael. Skrael snapped his body around without missing a beat, Nomura’s blade scraping against the rod of his staff. Walter swooped around, taking turns hurling his throwing knives and shooting with one of Krel’s laser gauntlets. Skrael pushed Nomura off and retaliated with bullets of sharpened ice. Walter evaded before they could clip his wings. Nomura ducked, hissing when one grazed her cheek.
“Disgraceful,” Skrael said. “Don’t you realize all that we’re doing is for magical creatures like yourselves?” He shook his head, scowling. “But lowly humans have infected you. So much so that you chose allegiance to Merlin’s champions. And for what?”
“To shut you up for one thing,” Nomura remarked. Then her friends came to mind. “But also, I’d prefer to side with the ones who actually care about Magickind.”
Skrael’s eyes flashed and he spat, “You will die with the rest of the vermin!!”
Magic wrapped around him then expelled, sending shards of ice whizzing in every direction. Nomura rushed and slid beneath them but ended up crashing through a conjured wall, rolling hard. Walter got Skrael in the shoulder with a blast of energy then went hand-to-hand with a knife, slicing his face and dropping him. Skrael cradled his cheek bleeding frost and righted his staff for support, snarling in rage. He banged the ground and Walter jumped before a whetted ice pillar could skewer him. Nomura sprinted into the fray, dodging icy spikes, chopping them to bits. By the time she reached Skrael he was back up, their weapons once again grinding in a vicious clash.
On the ground, Blinky was lobbing dwarkstone after dwarkstone, the blasts obliterating several frospecters at a time. He was about to toss another when he tripped onto his back over something rock solid. Dread and grief pierced him when he realized it was a petrified troll, falling to pieces around an icicle. Hundreds more had also met their marks, rimy fragments of gray stone once pieced and alive strewn about wherever Blinky looked. Many more trolls were frozen in place, suspended in ice. Others were retreating with the weight of exhaustion. No matter how many frospecters fell, the hoard remained unfazed, respawning again and again from the surrounding mist.
Lucy winced when the flames of her torch petered out. “Oy vey, out of gas!”
“Drat, not in this economy!” Ricky exclaimed. “Watch out!” The Blanks zipped and bounced out of the way of flying ice needles. They resorted to their cannons, picking off frospecters where they could.
Toby smashed his warhammer into what had to be the billionth frospecter, only for two more to take its place.
“They’re like Nana’s friends when there’s a sale at the antique store!” he cried, hammer head thudding against the ground as his screaming arms went limp.
Aaarrrgghh roared and punched the new terrors away but it was no use. His ears drooped even as he stood his ground by Toby. The things just kept coming. Above it all, the Ice Titan was closing the distance between it and the Heartstone. Blinky squinted up through the rain.
“Come on, my friends,” he whispered.
Another frospecter fell to Luma’s dagger. She stopped and looked about. Knelt and touched what remained of the fallen, grief and anger burning her eyes and heart. When she stood she followed Blinky’s gaze up, fearing more sorrow.
It was a battle of sheer power and speed. Skrael casted blizzard after blizzard, summoned lethal shards and spikes. Nomura spun, ducked, leapt, veered. They traded a couple savage blows then backed away. Rinse and repeat. Skrael simultaneously deflected Walter’s aerial attacks with one hand creating frost barriers. He knocked Nomura sideways before whirling to double down on Walter, firing a barrage of ice shards. Walter beat his wings hard and made one huge loop to narrowly avoid the attack. But when he reoriented himself and noticed the light, bluish tint of everything, he spun around and his mind ruptured in panic.
The Ice Titan was now right in front of the Heartstone.
“No…no, no, n—NNGH!!!” A blast of frigid cold to the back, and Walter was falling, wings shackled by webs of frost.
“Walter!!” Nomura bolted to the edge, just in time to grab his hand. She strained for purchase on the ice. Their eyes met. “I’ve got—” A crystal lance lodged into her shoulder and she shrieked. From agony. From Walter slipping from her grip. She screamed her throat raw, “NO!! CATCH HIM! SOMEBODY CATCH HIM!”
“Waltolomew!!” Blinky shouted when he spotted him.
“Wingman!” Toby cried but Aaarrrgghh was already on it, barreling towards impact. Twenty seconds, maybe less. Aaarrrgghh growled and pumped his hulking arms harder, faster. He rolled at the last second, enough coverage to fold Walter into his arms before he was impaled by a block of serrated ice, tumbling again from the momentum, smashing right through it and flipping several times more. Aaarrrgghh landed on his side and finally skid to an abrupt stop against a truck.
“Nicely done, Aarghaumont!” Blinky and the others hurried around them. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes, but Nomura…!” Walter clambered out of Aaarrrgghh’s arms, stumbling to his knees, his disquieted eyes trained on the Titan. The image of that iced javelin piercing Nomura gutted him. He punched the ground, swore under his breath when his rimed wings didn’t budge. “Don’t you dare, Nomura. Don’t you dare!!”
A cry of pain scraped Nomura’s throat. She clutched the ice stabbed into her, teetering backwards. She looked down. Sucked in a harsh breath, stomach sinking and twisting while her entire body sagged. It was already spreading, the discoloration from the puncture wound. Nomura clamped her eyes shut, forcing deep and ragged breaths through clenched teeth until a dry sob burst passed. She’d never been more angry in her life.
“Well that was fun,” Skrael said, grinning ear to ear. He tilted his staff in tandem with the Ice Titan surging and crushing the Heartstone in its grip, its arms glowing. Skrael cackled as the Heartstone’s teal light dimmed rapidly.
Nomura slowly opened her eyes. Her scimitars were on the other side of the field, maybe three yards from where Skrael was. She started, moving quick and silent, setting aside her agony and her body graying by the second.
The last of the Heartstone’s light vanished. In a fury, Nomura leapt and scooped up her weapons. Skrael blocked before she could decapitate him. She locked his staff between her blades and wrung it out of his hands with a brutal twist to the side. She went back on her feet and pounced.
Another icicle gored her stomach.
Her blade missed Skrael’s throat. So she brought down the other, and sliced his left arm clean off.
“NNGAAAAAHHHH!!!!” Skrael screeched, swore, thrashed. Frost and mist spilled from his elbow, thin black veins pulsing icy blue creeping up his skin from the trauma. “YOU WRETCHED LITTLE…! MISERABLE—WORTHLESS—I’LL KILL YOU I’LL KILL YOU!!!!!”
Nomura slumped against an icy wall. Watched her stomach turn gray. Felt the paralysis burgeon. She dug her claws into the ice, turned her face up and let the rain wash over her.
“I’m sorry,” Nomura whispered. “I’m sorry…” All of Skrael’s screaming and all of the gray faded to the background. Instead she heard laughter and saw her friends. Their smiles and embraces and fighting spirits. She thought of Jim, who changed her heart. Harmonia, her first real home. Walter. Her oldest, closest friend. She saw him holding Barbara, that sweetheart, and smiled. A weak laugh. For most of her life, she’d only known strife and brutality. But laying here, Nomura also knew what love was, and believed in it. A lone tear was lost in the rain.
Thank you.
Skrael brought the cold blade of his staff down.
~
Author’s Notes : I had fun writing more of Walter and Nomura’s friendship. Nomura herself is such a blast. And I was torn for a bit about whether or not she’d go in my fic. In the end, it felt right to me. Thing is her death in the movie (like everything else) was just handled so poorly, just disrespectful to her character. I hope I changed that here!
Initially I was going to go with the whole “let’s blow the Ice Titan up” plan. But I as wrote, it just wasn’t turning out that way. Besides, Nomura deserved better than just being blown up. She fought like the savage she is to the end.
Oh, and also Skrael losing an arm just kind of happened lol Sometimes a story does what it wants.
Bless and thank you all again for reading. Until next time.
Rain poured through a gaping hole in the underground ceiling, the unearthed teal Heartstone drifting high above. The broken ground had collapsed inward, crushing the central hub of Harmonia, New Jersey’s very own Trollmarket.
“I’m…sure it was a lot nicer when you and Jimbo were here,” Toby said, somber.
Claire sniffled. “I hope everyone’s alright.”
“We’ve got things here,” Nomura said. She touched Claire’s shoulder. “You need to go.”
-
The crowd of trolls parted up ahead until out stepped an eldery troll, slender and towering over the rest despite being hunched over from age. Crystals adorned her neck and shoulders, glistening upon her cerulean skin. Stripes of blue and green painted her forearms. Her stark white hair was bundled at the ends and nearly brushed the floor, loose braids dangling throughout. She wore a long dark magenta dress. Attached to her hip with a sash and belt was a lengthy, curved, and serrated heartstone dagger. The troll narrowed her glimmering eyes.
“Luma!” Blinky said, approaching her. “The time is most urgent. We must—”
“Now, now Blinkous.” Luma raised a brow at the Blanks zipping about and invading everyone’s personal bubbles. Her gaze landed on Toby, who waved sheepishly. “Won’t you introduce us to these strangers you’ve brought here?”
-
“Hehe, so that Tchaikovsky concert next month sounds good,” Nomura said. Walter rolled his eyes. “Tell you what, let’s go again. That little ice brat’s head is mine.”
“Hmm, whoever gets the killing blow.” Walter dove, his grin devious. “That’s more like it.”
He swung Nomura out of his grip. She drew her scimitars midair, going right in for a slash when she landed behind Skrael. Skrael snapped his body around without missing a beat, Nomura’s blade scraping against his staff. Walter swooped around, taking turns hurling his throwing knives and shooting with one of Krel’s laser gauntlets. Skrael pushed Nomura off and retaliated with bullets of sharpened ice. Walter evaded before they could clip his wings. Nomura ducked, hissing when one grazed her cheek.
“Disgraceful,” Skrael said. “Don’t you realize all that we’re doing is for magical creatures like yourselves?” He shook his head, scowling. “But lowly humans have infected you. So much so that you chose allegiance to Merlin’s champions. And for what?”
“To shut you up for one thing,” Nomura jeered, then was serious when the faces of her friends came to mind. “But also, I’d prefer to side with the ones who actually care about Magickind.”
~
I didn’t think I’d have any actual OCs in this fic but here we are lol This chapter should be up pretty soon so stay tuned!
Fire Titan redesign doodle! An art companion piece for Chapter 6 of my RoTT rewrite fic The Eternal Day ^^ I’d like to imagine this thing bursting out of a lava lake hehehe
Author’s Notes : Another 900 years, my friends! :’D Bless and thank you everyone for your patience. It’s a short but hopefully good one. Please enjoy.
~
Titanhunters (Part 1)
Trees had broken his fall. Nothing else was broken, he didn’t think. Though his head was hurting something awful and the pummeling rain wasn’t helping but he couldn’t move.
Douxie blinked up at a dark gray void. Muted thunder. An unceasing high pitched whine. Then…voices. Calling his name, muffled and distorted. He closed his eyes and found solace in the darkness. When he opened them again, there was a pink blob and some big cat looking thing. Whatever it was licked his face.
“Oh thank God, he’s alive…!” Zoe’s voice shook like a leaf. She touched his cheek, leaned close. “Douxie? Can you hear me? Can you…” Her hand slid under his head and her heart froze at the warm stickiness clotting his hair. Her palm came away smeared. Douxie shuddered. Blackness bled into the wet earth beneath him. Oh God…Oh God, oh God. Zoe cupped the back of his head again, chest heaving, fighting the urge to vomit. “F-Fulcio.” Her magic pulsed through his skull. That would hold him together for a bit. “Arch.”
Archie lifted Douxie into his forepaws. Zoe reassured him through his groans of pain. Reassured her own deeply distraught self, two seconds away from a full blown panic attack. Okay. He’s going to be okay, he’s going to be okay, he’s going to be okay. Zoe’s canine dug into her lip. This had never happened. He’d never busted his head open before. He has to be okay, he has to be okay, he has to be okay.
The rain was coming down harder. Everyone limped and stumbled to the servants’ quarters still intact. Douxie and Steve were laid next to each other, beds pushed close, the one shard of Heartstone that had survived glowing between them. Barbara arrived on scene within the hour, horror-struck and armed with all the first aid she could carry. She and Jim carefully pulled Douxie out of his sopping clothes and bundled him in sheets. Jim hurried to find more pillows, helping his mom elevate Douxie’s head and shoulders. Barbara held cold packs to Steve’s broken arm as she coached him through deep, slow breaths to ease his hyperventilating. After wrapping Douxie’s head and securing Steve with a splint, she made her rounds with the others.
Zoe slid her hand over Douxie’s wound and concentrated, struggling to find the right arrangement of soul and spell. She’d never been adept with the intricacies of healing magic, but if there was ever a time to make it happen it was now.
“Sar…Sarcio,” she uttered, turning up the heat of her emotions, pushing her aura. A breath of relief when magic flowed from her palm. Three seconds and it was gone. Better than nothing. She stroked Douxie’s cheek before going over to Steve, gingerly resting her hands on his arm. “Corrigo…Corrigo!” Again, it was only the smallest burst of magic. Zoe leaned on her elbows, trying to catch her breath. She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry…I think that’s all I can do.”
“That’s alright,” Barbara said, a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “You’ve done more than enough.” She turned to Blinky. “How much will the heartstone help?”
“It’s uncertain, with only a shard and such severe wounds,” Blinky said, downcast.
“But spells should help,” Aaarrrgghh said. “Even though small.”
Zoe’s mouth twitched. “Yeah.”
A grave silence befell them all, a suffocating stillness. Thoughts churning but dampened. Eyes stinging and staring at nothing. The urge to scream and cry like the storm wailing outside. Or to disappear, to sink and drown in the darkness looming over them. Jim sat with his back against the wall, head hanging. Claire was quiet beside him, absently scraping a nail against the stone floor. Walter sat on another bed, leaning forward with his face in one hand and Barbara’s shoulder pressed against his. Nomura stood with her back against everyone else, tense with her arm crossed. Zoe gripped Douxie’s hand. Archie nuzzled his neck. Aja and Eli were at Steve’s bedside, Aja cupping his pained face and whispering comfort. Then she stood.
“This isn’t the end yet,” she said.
“What’re you saying, Aja?” Toby said. “The Titans are gonna wake up and kill us all. We’re toast! Nummy ice cream bars! Those bushes that look like animals!”
“Topiary,” Eli whined.
“Yeah, that!” Toby sobbed and sank to the floor, Aaarrrgghh close and looking sad at him. “What’re we gonna do now?”
“Find the Titans,” Aja said. “And do everything we can to stop them. Isn’t this why we’ve been training?”
They all looked to her before solemnly nodding. After a moment, the smallest of sparks returned to their eyes.
Krel straightened up off the wall and knocked a fist in his palm.
“That’s not all,” he said. “Do you remember what Nari told us? The Hearty Stones of the world were all destroyed before the Titans could do their…uh…Titaning.” He opened all of his hands, face glowing with hope. “We still have a chance!”
“Varvatos Vex agrees with his royals,” Varvatos said. “The fight is yet to be won!”
“Question is, where are the Heartstones?” Jim asked, rising to stand with Claire. “How will we find them? Blink?”
“I had no prior knowledge of seven primordial Heartstones,” Blinky said. “I can’t begin to wager their whereabouts…”
A tremor in the distance.
Toby glanced out a window and his jaw dropped. “Uh…I think I might know where one is.” The others followed his gaze and echoed his astonishment.
Through sheets of rain they’d caught shards of fire rising from the town. Nearly every window came alight, flecking the darkness. Jim, Claire, Toby, Blinky, and Aaarrrgghh all gasped, immediately recognizing the massive cluster of orange and red crystals as it completely unearthed itself, toppling nearby structures. It climbed higher and higher until it was suspended in the air, much like Camelot was, lighting the night with its fiery glow.
Trollmarket’s Heartstone.
“By Daylight’s gleaming…,” Blinky said, breathless. His eyes glistened.
“But how?” Jim asked, unable to look away.
“The…ritual…”
Everyone turned. Douxie was trying to sit up but within seconds collapsed back into the pillows. Barbara hurried to him, the others close behind.
“No sudden movements, alright?” Barbara said.
“Are you okay?” Zoe asked, voice trembling like her fingers brushing Douxie’s temple.
“Oh gods, am I in my boxers?”
“Douxie.”
“M’sorry.” He took her wrist, leaning into her touch. “Feel like I’ve been thrashed by a hippogriff but otherwise alright.” Archie climbed onto Douxie’s chest, butting his chin with a purr.
“What did you mean about the ritual, Doux?” Claire asked.
“It’s all the raw magic from the Seals,” Douxie said. He weakly lifted an arm and flexed his fingers. “I can feel it, actually… But I reckon that’s why Trollmarket’s Heartstone’s been revived. Why it’s floating in the sky however…”
Barbara’s phone buzzed in her pocket.
“The news,” she said, looking up with big eyes.
“One sekton!” Krel pulled out a dark blue disc and a big holographic screen projected from its center. “Come on, come on…” The screen blinked and glitched. A few button taps later and a bedraggled news anchor was panicking on camera.
⬥
“W-we interrupt everyone’s beauty sleep to inform you of a worldwide crisis!” Aerial shots of Trollmarket’s Heartstone were fullscreened. “It appears that all across the globe strange and humongous crystal formations are exploding from the ground and just…uh…floating?” A slideshow of footage played.
The glowing teal Heartstone of New Jersey. A blinding white Heartstone in Argentina. A deep purple one rising in Southern China. A jet black Heartstone crashing through the ice of the North Pole. An every-shade-of-green Heartstone uprooting trees in the Amazon Rainforest. One blood red lifting itself in Israel.
“K-kinda neat! Pretty, honestly, b-but that’s not the crisis part! Uh we got monsters, people! Big ol’ scary guys I definitely didn’t learn about in school!”
The footage switched to stormy daytime and a man being battered by wind and rain yelling into a microphone in a different language. Indonesia, along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Cut to a gargantuan terror, the Titan of fire, crawling across smoking, molten landscape. Its head was a reptilian skull with one gaping eye socket, a golden circular symbol fixed over it. Black feathers ran down its long neck and over the back of its massive clawed wings, fanning out into lengthy tails that flamed at their ends. From the plumage at the nape of its neck and along its underbelly spewed curtains of bright lava, becoming a hellish waterfall as the Titan took flight, flames igniting upon its wings. Between its devilish horns stood Bellroc, who seemed to be controlling the giant.
In Oymyakon, Russia was the Titan sculpted from ice. Skrael stood upon its spherical head that levitated between shoulders like twin mountains, jagged at their peaks. A silver symbol of circles and triangles shone across its blank face. Icicles were shaped around its torso like ribs, its waist cinched and hips protruding like one starved. Its limbs were thick battering rams of hard sharp ice. Cameras from above captured through heavy rainfall as it stomped its way further north, crushing buildings underfoot.
Helicopters soared over the Amazon, a female voice rambling in Portuguese through an intercom, shouting over the roar of thunder. An effeminate centaur, only the lower half was deerlike, rising above the treeline at its knees. Luminous patches made the mottled pattern of a doe along its second back. Hundreds of thick vines composed its hair, draping its humanoid torso all the way down to its deer chest. Two great trees sprouted atop its head for antlers, Nari hovering between them. Its face, like its companions, only held a glowing symbol, spring green and displaying an orb encased in runes instead of mere circles.
A fast pan over and there was the green Heartstone. Not a moment later the forest giant was bounding towards it, wildlife scattering as trees fell and the earth was bulldozed. Just as the Titan drew close, its vines coiled around the Heartstone like a brood of snakes and began to glow. Seconds later the vines unraveled, revealing the Heartstone turned gray and crumbling. It crashed back into the earth, breaking apart further upon impact. Dead.
The broadcast switched again, showing two other Heartstones meeting the same fate. The Fire Titan had already descended upon Hong Kong, digging its obsidian talons and sinking its teeth into the violet Heartstone, draining it of all its color and life. Below was pandemonium, horrified citizens fleeing from chunks of dead crystal raining down and rivers of lava swallowing the city. The black Heartstone of the North Pole was now dull and lifeless, smashed to huge bits at the Ice Titan’s feet.
Finally back to Arcadia’s newscast.
“I dunno what these big colorful rocks did to these guys or why there’s cosplay happening here! A-anyway d-danger! Big danger cause Arcadia’s in the line of fire…again. So uh here’s hoping that every military ever — and maybe some zoologists? — is gonna get on that before we all die! C-Could maybe use some help from those aliens we’re friends with now. M-Mom if you’re watching this, I love ya and I’m the one who ran over your mailbox! Dead of night Arcadia news, s-stay tuned!”
⬥
A whole new wave of dread crashed over them.
“Seklos and Gaylen…,” Aja whispered.
“No…No!” Claire said. “Three Heartstones down already?”
“It’s okay…,” Zoe said, breathing deep. “It’s okay, we can still do this. We still have time!”
“Can you pull up a map, Krel?” Eli said. Once it was displayed, Eli studied it closely. “The Titans will probably go after the next Heartstones closest to them. Bellroc and Skrael will want to destroy Israel’s next. The closest Heartstone to the Forest Titan is Argentina’s.”
“Only these Titans aren’t wasting any time,” Nomura said. “It only takes one of them to kill a Heartstone. Odds are either the Fire or Ice Titan will go ahead to the States.”
“We’ll need to divide and conquer,” Jim said. “Stop them before they destroy more Heartstones.”
“Nari did say the Order can be destroyed, even without her spell,” Claire said. Her moment of excitement soon deflated, grief clouding her eyes. “Nari…She’s…She’s gone and now we have to…”
“No!” Douxie said, wincing as he shook his head. “No, Nari’s not gone. She’s not.”
Archie’s ears drooped. “Douxie…”
“She tried to kill you,” Zoe said, face pained then enraged. “And I bet she would’ve killed us if Bellroc had told her to, that son of a…!”
“Nari could have killed me,” Douxie said. “She could’ve easily just crushed me in her grip but she didn’t.” He held Zoe’s hand, eyes locking with hers before sweeping around the room. “It was only a second, maybe less than that, but Nari was there. I looked into her eyes and she was there, I could feel it!” His voice trembled, eyes dampening as he remembered the moment before Nari tossed him over, a sliver of her will slipping through when he gasped her name. Maybe it was just him being desperate, nothing more than heartwrenching denial. But Douxie had to believe. “I can reach her. Get her back to us.”
Hope flickered around the room, but the uncertainty was still there.
“Even if that’s true,” Barbara said slowly, “you’re in no condition to go after her right now, Douxie.”
“I’m fine, Barbara. Honest, look—” Douxie only made it onto his elbows before he was falling back again, Barbara and Zoe supporting him. A breath of frustration. “Fuzzbuckets! I just…I just need more time.”
“We’re fresh out of that,” Walter said. “When it comes down to it, we need to do what we must to save this world.”
Barbara frowned. “Walt…”
“It’s the facts,” Nomura said. “Even if…” She paused, looking down. “Even if it has the face of a friend, a threat is a threat. And we have to deal with it.”
“It won’t come to that,” Douxie said. “I’ll make sure of it. I’m coming with you.” In a sudden burst of strength he managed to sit up while Zoe kept him steady. Douxie immediately saw double and the room was spinning but he couldn’t have cared less. He reached out and gripped the shard of heartstone, closing his eyes with a shaking breath. “I’ll be fine. I can’t leave her. We can’t just leave her.”
Someone touched his shoulder and he looked up.
“We won’t,” Jim said. He then addressed the room. “Nari’s our friend. She needs saving right now just like…” The words came stifled from his mouth gone dry. A cold sweat was forming. Jim swallowed, the hammering of his heart almost painful. But he continued. “Just like I did.” He locked eyes with Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Toby, then Claire. Then he looked at Douxie, chest swelling with grief and gratitude. “You guys didn’t give up on me. So we won’t give up on Nari. Right?”
Jim gazed around the group, and soon the somberness and uncertainty were overshadowed by impassioned resolution.
“Right,” Claire said, taking his hand. All nodded in firm agreement. Toby wiped away a tear.
Douxie exhaled, slow and shaky. “Thank you all. Truly.” He reached up and put his hand on Jim’s back. Jim’s hand tightened on Douxie’s shoulder.
“So, how are we doing this?” Nomura asked.
Aja turned to Varvatos. “Contact Zadra. We need to make arrangements to have this planet evacuated. And tell our troops to be ready.”
“Yes, my Queen,” Varvatos said.
“I’m already sending a text in the world leaders group chat,” Eli said, tapping away on his phone. “Gosh, a hundred messages…”
“There’s just…a group chat for that?” Toby said.
“Of course! How else would we talk about universal issues? Though the time differences can be a pain.”
“Krel, Varvatos, myself, and Eli will handle the Titan of Fire,” Aja said, getting a nod from Krel.
“The Wingmen will take on big murdery Jack Frost,” Toby said, meeting Aaarrrgghh for a fist bump.
“Jack Frost actually very nice,” Aaarrrgghh said.
“A bit of a fiend himself though,” Blinky murmured.
“I’ll go with you guys,” Nomura said.
“And I,” Walter said.
“What, you babysitting me, Stricklander?”
“Hardly. You should know I don’t like to be outdone.”
“You can take the Blanks with you,” Krel said. “So they can use their new built in torches! Uh, but also help you.”
“The rest of us will go after Nari,” Jim said. “You sure you’ll be alright, Doux?”
“Alright enough,” Douxie said. He looked down at his bare torso and hugged himself, face warm. “A-after I get some clothes of course…”
Aja nodded. “One hour. Make what preparations you can.”
When the brief hour had passed, they gathered in the foyer. The Guardians of Arcadia regarded one another in earnest, dire silence falling over them.
Outside sirens wailed, the storm showing no signs of stopping.
⬦
Three Akiridion pods zoomed through the squalling skies of Israel, engaging hyperspeed to reach Jerusalem where the dark crimson Heartstone beckoned. They were flanked by a fleet of Akiridion ships that quickly descended as the Fire Titan crawled across the ancient city, engulfing it in flames and lava, decimating structures with every move. Civilians scrambled to the ships as the ramps lowered, Akiridions shepherding people aboard.
Aja soared ahead on her hoverboard, Krel piloting his own pod close beside her. She configured her serrator to the strongest cannon and opened fire, aiming straight for Bellroc through veils of rain. Krel deployed shots along the Titan’s neck, provoking a deafening screech. The Titan swung its massive head, flames trickling from its mouth. Krel barely dodged the swipe of its huge claws. Aja veered left just in time, a blistering stream of fire grazing the underside of her hoverboard. Another pod bombarded the Titan’s back with laser beams.
“Varvatos Vex will stuff his pillows with your feathers!!” Varvatos bellowed.
“Take this you noodle-necked chicken!” Krel said.
While Krel and Varvatos continued to unload on the Titan, Aja’s only target was Bellroc. They snarled in her direction and willed their Titan to unleash more flames. Aja swerved and ducked and spun to avoid giant balls of fire, all while racing towards the Titan’s head. With a warrior’s cry Aja leaped off the hoverboard, somersaulting in the air before bringing her serrator down onto Bellroc’s staff with such force sparks flew.
“What a waste,” Bellroc growled. “A regal being such as yourself fighting for this miserable world.”
“This world is not miserable,” Aja shot back. “It’s my home. And I will protect it from you!”
She scraped her serrator up to force them apart, spinning into another attack. Bellroc ducked and Aja jumped as their staff swept under her. Their weapons clanged in a flurry of strikes and blocks. Bellroc caught Aja in the face, sending her stumbling towards the curved edge of the Titan’s skull. No time to regain her balance when flames came barreling, her serrator’s shield activating seconds before she was cooked.
“All your struggle is in vain,” Bellroc said. “Stop this foolishness, and perhaps the world from which you come will be spared.”
The Titan’s head tipped, sending Aja rolling forward under the fire. Krel’s tachyon enhancers did wonders to help her stabilize, and on one knee she sliced Bellroc in the side. Bellroc screamed and clutched their wound, yellow and orange leaking through their fingers. The Fire Titan roared.
“What do you mean my planet will be spared?” Aja asked, stance guarded.
Bellroc chuckled. “Surely you didn’t think we would stop here. We will end this world and the worlds beyond. The skies erased and the stars crushed!” They brought their staff down, Aja swift to block. Bellroc seethed through the scraping of their weapons. “All will be remade in my image!”
Up above the third pod jerked about in the air.
“Steve, try to keep it steady!” Eli shouted, once again losing sight of Bellroc through the scope of his serrator rifle. The pod suddenly dipped. “Steve!”
“Kinda hard to drive with one arm, Pepperjack!” Steve groused, wiggling his arm in a sling. The relentless rain made the windshield runny, but he caught Aja’s blue glow as she went at with Bellroc on the Titan’s skull. “Kick Miss Jalapenos’ butt, Aja! Woohooo! That’s my ninja alien Queen!”
Eli ducked into the cockpit, flipping water off his face. “Focus, Steve! I gotta get a good shot—AHEEEE!!”
The Titan reared onto its legs, folded in on itself before flinging its enormous wings apart, effectively blowing the pods back several hundred feet.
“Worse than the fairest wheels!!” Krel cried as he tumbled upside down. “Varvatos! Creepslayerz, come in! Are you guys alright?!”
“Nothing more than a gentle breeze!” Varvatos said, going right back in with lasers firing.
“Righto, Krellex!” Steve slurred. “Iz like a swirly…”
Eli pulled himself back up through the hatch. The Titan went still and Aja and Bellroc were circling each other slowly, a perfect chance to take aim. But just as he pulled the trigger, the Titan brought its wings back down, the powerful gust knocking against their pod. What would’ve been a direct hit just grazed Bellroc’s ear and they looked up, locking onto the Creepslayerz and fuming. Eli yelped and retreated back inside.
“No!!” Aja cried as Bellroc commanded the Titan to spew flames in their direction.
“C-Coming in hot!!” Steve squealed, yanking the controls and sending the pod spinning wildly. But not before the fire made contact, the porthole on Eli’s side shattering.
“AHH!!” Eli recoiled as flames licked his arm, eating through his suit.
“Pepperjack!!” The pod violently shook and banged and then they were dropping no matter what Steve did. “W-we’re going down! We’re going down!!”
“Steve—UGH!!” Bellroc’s staff slammed into Aja’s stomach, sending her smacking into a wall of bone and her serrator flying from her grip.
“Hold on!” Krel dove after the Creepslayerz’s smoking pod, mashing buttons and pulling levers. “Come on, come on, come on…Yes!” Panels successfully unfolded, and a pulsing beam of energy enveloped and stopped the pod before it could crash into a golden dome. “Hoho! Anti-gravity ray!”
“N-Nice catch, bro-in-law!” Steve wheezed. “Ugh, anyone gotta barf bag?”
The damaged pod was lowered onto the structure where the dome sat. Steve slouched back in his seat, head pounding and spinning. He looked up, stricken by all the destruction showcased through the remaining windows. Jerusalem burning against the rain, a foul smell tarnishing the air. Structures grand and small now reduced to piles of blackened brick and stone. The Akiridion ships were pulling out, each at full capacity, but desperate screams still resounded all around. Varvatos was taking shots wherever he could, all the while evading teeth, claws, and torrents of fire. But still the Fire Titan inched closer and closer to the Heartstone, the devastation awashed in its deep scarlet glow.
A thump and a heavy, pained groan. Steve looked to see Eli leaning against his seat, clutching his arm.
“Pepperjack? Pepperjack, what’s…” He turned Eli towards him, and one look at his arm made his blood run cold. A nasty, third degree burn marred his bicep and elbow. “Pepperjack…Oh man, Eli’s hurt really bad guys!”
Krel hovered over them, gut sinking. He snapped his head up when the Titan let out an ear-splitting roar. It thrashed its head side to side, ribbons of fire streaming from its maw. Varvatos launched himself onto the Titan’s back, his pod obliterated by the blaze. Aja clung with all four hands for dear life while Bellroc remained rooted in place with her serrator under their foot.
“Last chance,” Bellroc said. “Give up on this world. Join us, even. And no harm will come to your kind.”
Aja grit her teeth, rising onto one knee, two arms holding her stomach. Nari’s face flashed across her mind.
“You’re a liar,” she said, slowly getting to her feet. “You’re full of hatred. Full of yourself! Any universe that bows to you will only suffer.” Behind Bellroc, Aja spotted Varvatos emerge from a jungle of feathers, serrator at the ready. She quickly looked away. “House Tarron will never join you.” Her gaze flickered to her serrator. “And we won’t let this world, any world, fall to you!”
Varvatos jumped as Aja dove. Bellroc whirled, blocking Varvatos’ attack and allowing Aja to scoop up her weapon. With a battle cry Varvatos charged, serrator rapidly alternating between blade and cannon. Flames shot from Bellroc’s fingertips, chasing Aja while their other hand flipped and spun their staff to deflect blasts of energy. Aja dispersed and pushed against the blaze with her shield. She rolled forward as the flames dissipated, and sliced away at Bellroc’s legs.
Bellroc screeched and stumbled back, rivulets of lava bleeding down their calves. They looked up as Krel crested the Titan’s head in his pod, cannons locked on. Aja and Varvatos held them at point-blank range, glaring eyes daring them to move. The final blows were about to be made…
Until Bellroc smiled.
Before Aja could move, before she could think or react, the Titan was lifting a wing, scraping its heated claws against the side of an Akiridion ship that had flown overhead. Then it opened its maw at another ship, unleashing an eruption of red flames. Both ships began to fall out of the sky, lowered by strings of black smoke.
The impatience of time disappeared.
Krel’s pod turned and streaked after them.
Varvatos was pierced through his chest by a sharpened red gem, then thrown off as the Fire Titan took flight.
The crash of the ships rivaled the thunderclaps. Then came the crash of the Heartstone, and the world was plunged into utter grayness.
Aja was on her hoverboard, wind tearing at her face and rain lashing her like shards of glass.
Hearing every scream except her own.
~
Author’s Notes : Man, Bellroc suuuuucks.
I have to find a new place to live by May so say a prayer or two for me if you’re about that. Bless and thank you all again. I’m thankful to God that I can still create things.
“What a waste,” Bellroc growled. “A regal being such as yourself fighting for this miserable world.”
“This world is my home,” Aja shot back. “And I will protect it from you!”
She scraped her serrator up to force them apart, spinning into another attack. Bellroc ducked and Aja jumped as their staff swept under her. Their weapons clanged in a flurry of hits and blocks. Bellroc caught Aja in the face, sending her stumbling towards the curved edge of the Titan’s skull. No time to regain her balance before flames were barreling at her, her serrator’s shield activated seconds before she was cooked.
“All your struggle is in vain,” Bellroc said. “Stop this foolishness, and perhaps the world from which you come will be spared.”
The Titan’s head tipped, sending Aja rolling forward under the fire. Krel’s tachyon enhancers did wonders to help her stabilize, and on one knee she sliced Bellroc in the side. Bellroc screamed and clutched their wound, yellow and orange leaking through their fingers.
“What do you mean my planet will be spared?” Aja asked, taking a guarded stance.
