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A Night Patrol

One night, it was a peaceful, quiet night, with all townspeople sleeping, some staying up at night. Ah, of course, a giant Gumm-Gumm decides to visit the peaceful town. Y/N stood with F/N, Toby, Aaarrrgghh!!!, and Blinky in someone's backyard. The Gumm-Gumm stopped in front of them with campaign signs with 'Nuñez' written on it with kanji words that glowed. Blinky held a sign and charged at him, as he backed away, "eat my geomancy, Gumm-Gumm swine!" Blinky showed the sign at him, but he held the wrong sign

The Gumm-Gumm realized Blinky held the wrong sign. "Uh, Blinky, you've got the wrong sign!" Toby yelled. Blinky gasped, looked back at the sign, and screamed. Y/N was about to attack as the Gumm-Gumm was about to crush him, and a slash was heard. The Gumm-Gumm before them turned to stone. Jim stood behind it with a sword in hand, scowling. Y/N and Claire kneeled at the pile to pick up the pieces, but the light from the house made them gasp and they immediately left the crime scene.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"If only Arcadia knew your mom's campaign was actually keeping them safe," Jim said as the team walked up the hill to see the view of their town as the sun was slowly rising. Toby was grunting as he held the heavy Gumm-Gumm helmet. "The signs are no real defense, Master Jim, merely a Gumm-Gumm deterrent," Blinky said, walking next to him. Y/N and F/N came up next to them, F/N now sleeping on her top of head. "And judging from tonight's chase, we don't know how much longer our sleepy little town will be safe."

Claire was rubbing her arm, looking solemn and not feeling good. "That Gumm-Gumm, you think he was once... one of you?" Aaarrrgghh!!! hummed sadly, "Hmm. Gunmar turned friends. Sad." Y/N patted his arm and soothed it. She also felt sad that she lost her troll friends. "We can't think that way, guys," Toby's echoed voice told them. Now he was wearing the helmet, quickly walking ahead of the others. "He saw where we were hiding the trolls. He would've told Gunmar."

"And since he's taken the Heartstone, he has only grown stronger, making his defeat even more difficult, if not impossible," Blinky said. They all reached the top of the hill. Toby used his strength to lift the helmet off his head and dropped it on the ground. "For weeks, Gunmar's been sending his minions to do his dirty work. Why doesn't he come up himself? What is he waiting for?" Blinky looked at Jim, putting his four hands behind him. "Sadly, that is the question Arcadia's fate hangs upon. What is Gunmar plotting next?" Behind him, Aaarrrgghh!!! narrowed his eyes and walked towards Toby and the helmet.

Claire started coughing. Y/N took out a bottle of water from her bag and gave it to her. Claire thanked her and drank it. Ever since Claire opened that giant portal two weeks ago, she had a cold for this long and wasn't feeling too good. Because she continues using the Shadow staff, it only keeps making her worse. Claire closed the bottle, "Well, this stalemate is torture. I don't know how many more of these late-night study sessions I have in me," she looked over at Jim. He took out his amulet and stared at it. Then they all looked over at Aaarrrgghh!!! who hummed with an echo.

They saw Aaarrrgghh!!! wearing the helmet, and Toby ran over. "Hey! You look just like a Gumm-Gumm," Aaarrrgghh!!! nodded, knowing where this was going. "Yes." The others joined Toby with worry and disapproval. "No, too risky. You can't spy on Gunmar." Aaarrrgghh!!! took off his helmet as Jim disapproved of this, Toby looking sadly. "We lost you once, old friend. We cannot lose you again." Aaarrrgghh!!! looked at them with a furrowed look, throwing the helmet to the side. "Gunmar is strong! Doing nothing makes Gunmar grow stronger! It's my choice!" Claire and Y/N looked at each other and then at their friends. "It would be a waste of a hulking brute," Claire said, knowing there's no changing his mind.

"You get in, you get out. No unnecessary risks," Jim said. Toby's face was close to crying, his lips trembling, and he ran to Aaarrrgghh!!!, hugging him. Aaarrrgghh!!! wrapped an arm around him, comforting him. "Hmm. Wingman," in the distance, a bell rang. "There's our cue. We shall head back to our refuge," Blinky turned to his friends. "Will you be joining us?" Y/N shook her head. Jim placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. "Go on. I want to enjoy the sunrise while we still have 'em," Blinky patted his shoulder, and the trolls left as the five of them stood by the edge. Jim held Claire's hand and placed a hand on Toby's shoulder. Y/N stood behind them, wrapping an arm around Claire and Toby, pulling them into a group hug as they watched the sun rise, a new day arriving.