Epilouge:A LIFE OF ALMOST DEAD....

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"Being Jim was not fun.
Toby reached this conclusion in the days after he had returned from the Kelpestrum with the Glamour Mask. Toby had donned the mask and assumed Jim's form mere seconds before Barbara woke from her extended nap. Now that the effects of the memory charm had worn off, Barbara felt more alert than she had in days. And Toby's impression of Jim was serviceable enough—certainly better than Blinky's—that Barbara believed he really was her son.
But the pride Toby felt in successfully imitating his best friend turned to guilt when Barbara gave "Jim" a kiss on the cheek. In that moment, he felt more like an impostor. That said, he figured this charade was better for"

"Jim's mom than learning the truth about what had happened to her real son.
Claire didn't have much of an easier go of it, either. With Toby keeping up appearances in Jim's home life, she covered for Jim at school. But since she couldn't pretend to be Jim in class without being marked absent herself, Claire had to get creative.
Thus was born Jim Lake Disease. The rumor that Jim was quarantined at the hospital with an ultrarare condition had spread through the school hallways like, well, a virus. Claire also felt guilty. She hated the idea of making up a phony disease while there were so many genuinely sick people in the world. But Claire also understood that people generally avoided talking about the uncomfortable subject of illness. And anything that kept students and teachers from asking too many questions about Jim was probably a good thing, as far as Claire was concerned.
So, she created a fake web page detailing Jim Lake Disease, handed Eli Pepperjack a coin collection can, and acted sad whenever anyone mentioned Jim's name. Only it wasn't much of an act for Claire. All she could do"

"was donate the money Eli collected to actual charities and hope that each new day would bring Jim back to her.
Blinky tried to keep himself busy as well. As Draal and a reluctant NotEnrique pitched in on the rebuilding efforts in Trollmarket, the six-eyed Troll remained in his library. He tinkered with Toby's Warhammer, trying to devise a way to make it telescope down in size like Claire's Shadow Staff. And whenever he took a break from that, Blinky would just hit the books and search in vain for a way into the Darklands.
After closing what felt like the millionth useless scroll, Blinky rubbed his bleary eyes and stared at AAARRRGGHH!!!'s stone body in the corner.
"I really miss him, AAARRRGGHH!!!" Blinky said. "I miss you both."
Miss you, too, AAARRRGGHH!!! wanted to say back to Blinky.
But the words never seemed to leave the foggy borderlands between life and death, in which AAARRRGGHH!!! had spent the last weeks. He first woke up here the instant after the Creeper's Sun poison finished turning him"

"to stone. AAARRRGGHH!!! had then walked around the endless space, hearing everything his friends said around his petrified body, yet unable to make his replies heard.
Little did AAARRRGGHH!!! know that he had actually found an audience in a separate, even more remote dimension. For in the ghostly realm known as the Void, the Council of Trollhunters watched AAARRRGGHH!!!'s roaming spirit.
"Ah, Aarghaumont," said Kanjigar the Courageous. "How good it is to see you, my old friend, even in circumstances such as these."
Kanjigar turned to the other fallen Trollhunters who joined him in observing AAARRRGGHH!!! through a circular window of magic. In all, there were scores of other armored Trolls who had preceded Kanjigar—and now Jim—as Merlin's former champions.
"Although he does not yet realize it, AAARRRGGHH!!! shall be the key to James Lake Junior's salvation," Kanjigar announced.
"How can you be so certain?" squeaked Unkar the Unfortunate. "No other Trollhunter has ever dared to venture into the Darklands."

"Who's to say he even can get out? If he survives, that is!"
"Kanjigar speaks the truth," said Deya the Deliverer, her transparent eyes flashing the same shade of blue as her Amulet. "The Void has shown us both visions of the future. The current Trollhunter will find the child he seeks. He will face Gunmar, and he will escape the Darklands, although not in any way he or his allies could ever expect."
"And this Krubera," began Spar the Spiteful, indicating AAARRRGGHH!!! in the window with his tusks. "He plays some part in the Trollhunter's victory?"
"The Troll is the key," Kanjigar confirmed, his eyes now glowing, too, as the Void gave him another glimpse of tomorrow.
"The key to the Hunter," added Boraz the Bold, his eyes filled with the same future-sight.
"The Troll is the key," said Gogun the Gentle, eyes aglow.
"The key to the Hunter," repeated Tellad-Urr the Terrible.
Soon, the entire Council of Trollhunters fell into the chant."

"The Troll is the key, the key to the Hunter.
Kanjigar was the last to join in the spectral chorus, for he had seen something else in the latest vision the Void had shared.
The Troll is the key, the key to the Hunter.
AAARRRGGHH!!! would indeed prove crucial to rescuing the human Trollhunter from the Darklands—as would Kanjigar, in his own way.
The Troll is the key, the key to the Hunter.
And that's when Jim Lake Jr. would face his greatest challenge yet."

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