Eclipse: A TrollHunters Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Six: Search

Walter Strickler was wide awake, despite how late it was at night. Or, rather, how early it was in the morning. He was leaning against the wall, watching Arcadia through his and Barbara's bedroom window. He sighed a bit. It was so quiet, so peaceful. He was still torn about what was happening with the Janus Order. He was a changeling. Didn't he owe Gunmar for letting him out of the DarkLands and letting him serve him? He hugged himself. But he didn't want to see this beautiful, human world destroyed. He looked over at Barbara, who was curled towards the edge of the bed, fast asleep. At least, he didn't want to see her destroyed.

He jumped when Barbara's phone rang, and he rushed over to answer it before it had the chance to wake her up. He stared at the screen for a moment. It was the hospital. Surely, nothing had happened to Jim, right? He answered, keeping an eye on Barbara in case she woke up.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"Doctor Lake? Is that you?" asked a very frantic-sounding woman on the other end.

"No, she's a bit...preoccupied at the moment." he sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if he should wake her.

"Well it's really urgent." he could hear the anxiety in the woman's voice. Strickler lightly shook Barbara, so she'd wake before handing her the phone.

"Hello...?" she asked groggily.

"Doctor Lake, James Lake Junior has gone missing."

~~~

Toby was riding on Arrrgh's shoulder as they ran through the dark streets of Arcadia. Blinky and Claire were searching someplace else. They figured if they split up, they could cover more ground and would have a better chance of spotting Gunmar. Or Jim. Whichever came first. Toby had tried time and time again to call Jim, but it always went straight to voice mail, no matter if it was a call or face time.

"You don't think that Gunmar...y'know..." Toby asked, and Arrrgh growled while shaking his head.

"Don't know. Hope not." Toby sighed, giving Arrrgh's head a pat.

"Me too, buddy."

~~~

Strickler was desperately trying to follow Barbara as she stormed her way into the hospital. He apologized to all of the people she shoved out of the way, and kept calling after her.

"Barbara, Wait-" she suddenly whipped around with enough force for her glasses to be knocked askew. Her face was full of frustration and rage, but her eyes were wet. Soft. Strickler sighed, gently pulling her into his arms. "We'll find him." he whispered, and she took a shaky breath, which slowly spiraled into a sob. Strickler held tighter to her as she began to sob violently into his chest.

"I-I-I just got him back..." she whispered, and Strickler shushed her softly, stroking her hair.

"I know, I know. We'll find him." he cooed. "We will." he looked up when the nurses that watched Jim during the night came over.

"Doctor Lake?" they whispered, and she slowly pulled away from Strickler's chest, rubbing her eyes and sniffling a bit.

"Y-yes?" the nurse placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Do you have any idea where he could have gone?" she asked.

"I...I don't..." Barbara fixed her glasses, pausing for a moment. "You...you don't think his friends broke him out, do you?" he looked up at Strickler. It was...possible. Maybe Jim wanted to get out and something had gone awry with Arrrgh. Maybe it looked like someone had broken in.

"No." he eventually decided on saying. Toby and Claire were very loyal to Jim, but they didn't strike him as the type of kids that would let Jim do something they knew would hurt him. Barbara nodded, and followed the nurses as they headed down the hall. They arrived at Jim's room, where it suddenly got...very cold. Strickler shivered a bit, even under his turtleneck and blazer.

"Why is it so cold?" he asked, and the nurse pushed the door open. The window was shattered, glass covering the floor. It crunched under their shoes as they stepped inside. All of the monitors that Jim had been hooked to were knocked over, their wires and tubes that had once been connected to Jim dangling. Strickler swallowed hard when he saw Jim's cane, broken in two pieces against the wall.

"What...happened?" Barbara asked as she looked around, worry beginning to settle in her stomach.

"We don't know." the nurse said softly, before flickering on the lights. Jim's bed sheets, the floor, and part of the walls were all splattered with blood. She swallowed hard, and Strickler slipped an arm around her shoulders to help keep her grounded.

"Don't you have security cameras?" she whispered. "In the hallways and outside?" the nurse nodded.

"We...do. Are you sure you want to...to see them?" Strickler gave her a squeeze, and she nodded.

"Yes." the nurse sighed, and they took her to the security station. The guards left once she entered, offering her a chair. She sat, Strickler standing behind her and gently rubbing her shoulders as the nurse played back the footage from earlier that night. She watched as the glass shattered, hand flying up to grab Strickler's hand as a bloodcurdling scream ripped from her body.

"Jim!"

~~~

Claire grabbed Blinky's arm before he could walk past. He blinked, and looked back at her. She was holding tight to her shadowstaff, staring ahead with her dark hair moving slightly in the breeze.

"Claire?" he asked, and she shook her head, seemingly breaking out of the trance she was in. She looked over at Blinky.

"I know where Jim is." was all she whispered, flicking her wrist so her staff elongated.

"How?" he asked. Claire pulled out her phone, thumbing through her contacts.

"I can sense it. He's hurt." she whispered. Blinky watched as she tapped on Barbara's contact, and held her phone to her ear. It nearly rang out, before someone finally answered.

"Doctor Lake?" she whispered. There was a bit of a shaky breath, and a voice.

"Yes?" It was Barbara all right. Her voice was feeble and weak, on the verge of collapse. Claire couldn't help how her heart hurt in sympathy. But she ignored all urges to ask if the woman was alright. She had a job to do.

"I...I know where Jim is." she whispered. Barbara swallowed hard.

"How?" she whispered. Her voice was still strained, but now it sounded like it was for a different reason. It was taught with rage.

"Well...I think its more of a guess." she whispered, fiddling with her staff in her free hand. It wasn't a guess. She knew where he was. She had never been so sure of something in her life. Another shaky breath.

"Where?" Claire cast a portal, looking over at Blinky. She pressed the phone to her chest.

"Meet me in the canals." she whispered, before jumping through the portal, landing just outside of Jim's room. She peeked her head inside, and found Barbara sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out the broken window, and silently crying.

"Why don't I just show you?"

~~~

A/N

Oooookay I realize this chapter is kind of sporadic but I wasn't really sure how I wanted to structure it! Great things are coming in the next few chapters, and I honestly can't wait to publish them! It is honestly taking all of my being to not just publish all of them right now.

Thanks for reading!

~TJ