It had been a couple days after Jim made his challenge to Draal, so while Marinette was dealing with Chevalier Noir, which earned her and Chat Noir an invitation to Stone Arc, Jim's training had started to take a new turn. Under Blinky's tutelage and 'expertise' Jim had begun to learn more about his responsibilities as the Trollhunter, as well as Trollkind's rich culture and history. Which led to the group sitting on the floor of the Heroes Forge as Blinky began to regal the beginnings of how the Trollhunter came to be, painting a vivid picture for the others as they listened.

"For centuries, the troll and human worlds stood separate and at peace, divided by bridges that acted as doorways between our two realms. But the Gumm-Gumms, as you've already been made aware of, wanted to devour all of mankind, and were led by Gunmar 'the Black', " Blinky regaled as he held one of Heartstone's numerous history books in both sets of hands.

"The rest of trollkind fought against him, culminating in the great Battle of Killahead Bridge, which was the portal to Gunmar's Darklands. After many moons, good triumphed over evil and our great Trollhunter; Deya 'the Deliverer', was born. Alongside the illustrious Troll Miraculous holders, Deya locked Gunmar away and exiled him to the Darklands, sealing the Killahead Bridge with the sacred amulet. After that, we tore it apart stone by stone." the six eyed troll continued before he turned a page in the book sitting in his hands.

"Centuries later, we left the old world in search of peace and stowed away on a ship called the Mayflower. It was just a handful of us and some gnomes we had brought along for companionship and nourishment. Finally, we arrived in a strange and exotic realm." Blinky entertained each of his words corresponding to the pictures, the Trolls and their history, seemingly coming alive with each word as the images were conjured in the group's minds.

"New Jersey." Aaarrrgghh!!! commented, revealing where they ended up after the long voyage.

"We kept walking. Eventually, we came across a new Heartstone, and we realized we had found a new home here, underneath Arcadia." Blinky finished, his hands pulling down the book from his eyes to reveal Toby and Aaarrrgghh!!! leaning forward, deep into the story, while Jim was asleep, another open book in his lap. At the sight of the sleeping Trollhunter, Blinky groaned and quietly walked to Jim. Toby and Aaarrrgghh only watched as Bliny slammed the book shut, waking Jim up with a startle.

"LO SIENTO, SENOR DRAAL! NO ME MATES!" Jim screamed as he woke up before he curled into himself, cowering from who he thought was the crystal-backed troll.

"The training of troll history might seem like a minor duty to you, Master Jim, but-" Blinky began to lecture.

"Sorry, I pulled an all-nighter studying for my Spanish Comprehension exam and my brain is muy gooey." Jim quickly interrupted as he rubbed his tired eyes. While he did tell Marinette that he would get some sleep, he ended up not going to bed at all, and still came down to Trollmarket for an early morning training session.

"I don't know. I guess I thought if I'm facing Draal in a week, my training would be a little more... active." the Trollhunter complained as he stood up with a stretch and a yawn, with Aaarrrgghh!!! and Toby doing the same.

"Yeah, like, when is he going to learn Troll-kwondo? Or Rock-itsu?" Toby excitedly questioned as he hopped over to his best friend and pretended to fight Jim to add emphasis to his query. After he did his fighting demonstration, the rotund boy snaked his arm around Jim's shoulders and pulled him down to his size.

"Before one fights, Tobias, one must understand why one fights. For these precious early steps will decide whether a new Trollhunter will become a Deya 'the Deliverer'..." Blinky explained as he clutched the book in his hands and lifted his left hand up to the statue of Deya 'the Deliverer'.

"Or Unkar the Unfortunate." Aaarrrgghh!!! finished, pointing to the statue of the cowering Unkar. At the mention of the past Trollhunter, Jim and Toby shared a look before Jim stepped towards his trainer.

"Well, tomorrow, my Spanish exam is with Senor Uhl 'the Unforgiving'." Jim explained as he held his Spanish textbook in his hands. "My all round main concern... is for my immediate future." the trollhunter admitted.

"A-ha! But, to learn what will happen in the future, one must only look to the past." Blinky argued before he dropped the large book into Jim's hands. At the suddenly added weight, the boy groaned as his body dropped towards the floor.

"When you have the time, I recommend A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore by the venerable Bedehilde. Volume one of 47." the six-eyed troll offered as Jim readjusted his grip on the large book by placing his spanish textbook on top of it.

"Okay, I'll try to get around to it. But if I don't pass my exam, I'll be grounded. And being grounded equals 'No Trollhunting'." Jim explained as he backed away from the rest of the group, trying to leave the arena. "I'm sorry, Blinky. But the amulet chose me, and now I have two lives to keep up." the Trollhunter vented as the sound of vast footsteps stomped into the Hero's Forge.

Jim immediately turned to the left and saw a female troll; Bagdwella, running up to Blinky in a panic. As soon as she reached the six-eyed troll, Bagdwella halted her running and took quick breaths to calm herself, which worried Blinky further.

"Oh, no. Is it the Heartstone?" Blinky worriedly guessed, seeing as Bagdwella hadn't said what was going on and could only make assumptions.

"No! No!" Bagdwella exclaimed.

"Stalkling?" Aaarrrgghh!!! questioned as he and Toby grouped up around Blinky.

"Is Bular in Trollmarket?" Jim asked after walking closer to the group, his own worry rapidly growing too.

"No! Gnome! Rogue gnome!" Bagduella cried out, her voice echoing in the Heroes Forge as she finally answered the group's questions.

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(Time Skip)

It didn't take long for Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Toby, and Jim to reach Bagdwella's shop, after she led them to the 'scene of the crime'. Once they arrived, the four of them quickly started to inspect the area for evidence of Bagdwella's claims.

"First, I couldn't find my monocle, then my collection of bed coils. Now, something disappears every minute!" Bagdwella explained as she walked from behind her shop counter and attempted to sit down. But as the woman troll tries to sit, quick feet sweep beneath her and stool the stool where she was aiming to sit. As she fell with a thud, the four clouded her vision, as another whizz of the culprit appeared with a maniacal giggle.

"Ah, yes. A gnome." Blinky stated as he held out his arm to help her up. But Bagdwella declined and stood up from the ground by herself.

"Oh, dirty little pests. Up until last week, the glue traps were working fine." Bagdwella vented before she reached into a pot and pulled out a strip of sticky paper with a gnome skeleton on it. But before she or the others could react, the skeleton disappeared, along with many other belongings.

"Fix it, Trollhunter!" the female troll begged.

"Uh, yeah, I'm really sorry about that. See, you need a gnome-catcher, and I'm, well, the Trollhunter, so-" Jim tried to explain, only for Blinky to see his fumbling as a chance to step in and say...

"Oh, no, Master Jim. The Trollhunter cannot refuse the call." Blinky stated as he walked up from behind Jim. "And what could be a better call for you to train with... than a pint-sized quarry?" the six eyed troll rhetorically questioned before everyone's heads turn to a line of socks at the sound of scuttling. A second later, the soft tune of a guitar caught their attention before the gnome popped out from behind the socks, and started to sing and laugh as he strummed his tiny guitar.

"He's trying to distract us! Hold tight to your valuables." Blinky warned as the gnome started to vocalize along with his self-strummed melody. But unfortunately for Toby, he did not heed the warning and instead ran up beside the gnome.

"Oh, come on! He can't be that bad." Toby concluded as he began to clap to the beat. A second later, the gnome stopped playing his guitar and, with lightning speed, took off and stool Toby's belt right off him with a giggle. "Oh, no! My belt!" the rounded boy exclaimed. But his shock quickly faded as he reached for his back pocket.

"At least he didn't take my Nougat Nummy." Toby sighed out in relief as he pulled out the candy from his pocket. But his optimism was quickly snuffed out when the gnome took the candy as well. "(Gasp) We need to catch that gnome!" the rounded boy darkly concluded, not happy that the gnome took his favorite candy.

Deciding to group up, the four aimed to catch the gnome. But he was too quick, each barely grabbing him, chaos erupting in the small room as everyone yelled and pointed at the scurrying gnome as they tried to catch it. The chaos only quieted down when Aaarrrgghh!!! said...

"Right here!" Aaarrrgghh!!! exclaimed as he pointed to the gnome whistling on his head, before the little devil waved at his pursuers and disappeared once more. Seeing the gnome try to retreat, Jim jumped to catch him but failed. A second later, the gnome appeared on a laundry basket, only for Blinky to appear behind him and seemingly catch him. But when he pulled up the clothing inside the basket, he found there was a hole in it, which offered a look at the gnome standing on the gourd after making the little exit. Just as Blinky groaned in frustration, the little pest hopped around, jumped off of the trolls, and reached the ceiling of the shop to steal another item.

"Oh, my beautiful saw! Catch him!" Bagdwella exclaimed, prompting Jim to chase after the gnome and dive once again to the ground. To the boy's surprise, he actually caught the creature, only to be dogpiled by Blinky and Toby a second later, which allowed the gnome to escape with a few twists and turns out of Jim's grip. After getting out of the dog pile, Jim slid on the floor to try and catch the gnome, falling under Aaarrrgghh's raised foot that allowed the gnome to escape once more. At the sight of Aaarrrgghh!!!'s aid in the pest's freedom, Jim looked up at the large troll with a groan.

"Pacifist." Aaarrrgghh!!! reminded with a surge of his shoulders. But as Jim got up from the ground, the gnome rushed by Jim, causing the boy to panic as he felt his pockets.

"Oh, no. Where's the amulet?" Jim exclaimed when he found the relic not on his person. At the sound of the gnome's laughter, the group looked to see that the amulet was clutched deeply in his fingers.

"Oh, no!" Blinky uttered in worry before the tiny devil ran behind a large closet. After running after the pest, Aaarrrgghh pushed the large container away from the wall to reveal a hole, with green lights shining inside as the gnome's laughter echoed within it.

"Hole." Aaarrrgghh!!! remarked as Jim knelt down to get a better look inside the new obstacle.

"Yes, it appears the plot quite literally deepens." Blinky noticed as they all looked into the depth of the hole. Jim then reached his hands in and tried to summon the amulet, hoping it would return to him.

"Come back, come back. Shouldn't the amulet be coming back to me right about now?" Jim asked when he saw that the amulet wasn't coming out of the hole.

"Unfortunately, that rule only applies if you've rejected it. When it's thieved from a Trollhunter, it's another story. If you had read A Brief Recapitulation, you would have known that." Blinky lightly scolded as Jim backed away from the hole.

"Some Trollhunter you are. Jim 'the Baby-Handed'!" Bagdwella mocked with a huff while Toby sneakily shoved food into his mouth.

"Master Jim, press on. This is not the moniker you want." Blinky encouraged.

"Well, what else can I do? I can't fit in that hole." Jim pointed out as he gestured to said hole.

"Hmm, currently." Blinky mussed, the gears in his head turning to provide the perfect solution.

"Bad idea." Aaarrrgghh!!! said, knowing exactly what Blinky was thinking of.

"No Trollhunter has ever lost his amulet. We'll need time to procure the Furgolator." Blinky concluded, leaving Jim in confusion.

"Uh, the Furgolator?" Jim questioned as he looked at Blinky.

"Uh, don't you worry about anything, Master Jim. Tend to your studies. We'll watch over the hole. Tonight, you'll return refreshed to deal with this, uh... little problem." Blinky reassured before he gestured towards the hole in question.

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The next day proved to be more lax than the one before, much to Jim's relief after his less than stellar performance the previous night. Granted, he still had to sit through Spanish class while Mary Wang was giving her comprehension exam, but it did give him some time to finally start looking through the book Blinky had given him.

"Little did anyone know, Maria was juggling two hombres. Manolo was muy guapo, but Joaquin had muchos musculos." Mary Wang nervously recited from her notebook, while Senor Uhl was writing on the chalkboard with his chalk scratching against the board. Over at Jim's desk, he was covertly reading the troll book by covering it up with his Spanish textbook, acting as if he was studying for class. But his reading was soon interrupted by a grinning Steve when his scribbling caught Jim's attention. With his focus redirected, Jim glanced at Steve as he held up a stick figure drawing; that was crying with x eyes and a cast, while he softly chuckled.

"You broke my tooth, so I'm going to break your life. When I'm through with you, you're going to wish you were dead." Steve threatened with a laugh, his words ending in a whistle due to his missing tooth. But his threat only made Jim roll his eyes at him.

"I'd be careful if I were you. Even my sister could kick your butt, and I think you would rather stay intact below." Jim whispered back, deciding to give the blonde oaf a taste of his own medicine. Unfortunately, it only made Steve laugh.

"Need I remind you, I've met Marinette before. What's that little pixie going to do to me? Bake me a cake?" Steve quietly mocked, remembering how timid and petite Jim's sister was from the last time she was there. Granted, he thought she was cute, but like some sort of puppy.

"You'd be surprised at how much she's changed this year. She would have no hesitation to put you in your place, and she's not the only one." Jim softly warned, before turning back to reading his book.

"We'll see about that." Steve uttered before he crumpled the paper he drew on and threw it at Jim, causing the boy to roll his eyes and continue to ignore Steve while Mary continued her report.

"And poor Maria had a pedoso heart." Mary continued to recite, only for her report to be interrupted by Senor Uhl's chalk stopping with a screech, scaring Mary to her core.

"What kind of heart did Maria have, Miss Wang?" Senor Uhl questioned as he turned from facing the board and bore his stare at the frightened Mary.

"Uh, a heavy heart. 'Pe-do-so.' Or is it-" Mary nervously began as Senor Uhl walked up to her, his figure tall and imposing.

"I would hope Maria wouldn't have a pedoso heart, because that would mean 'farting'." Senor Uhl interrupted Mary when he was right behind her, revealing the reason why he decided to interrupt her report. "Did Maria have a farting heart, Miss Wang?" the Spanish teacher rhetorically questioned as he leaned down to Mary's face, causing her anxiety to spike even more as the rest of the class started laughing.

"Of course not, Senor Uhl!" Mary replied, tears in her eyes as she tried to continue her report.

"Uh-buh-bum!" Senor Uhl interrupted. "You were trying to say 'pesado'. 'A heavy heart.' And it is with a heavy heart, Miss Wang, to tell you that you have not shown the slightest comprehension of the basic Spanish." the Spanish teacher declared as he reached for a box of tissues that were sitting on his desk.

"If you can't even finish the exam, I have no choice but to fail you." Senor Uhl proclaimed as he offered Mary a tissue from the box. The girl immediately took the offered tissue and ran out of the class; leaving the students in shock at how brutal their teacher was, before the bell rang.

"Mr. Lake, I look forward to your presentation tomorrow." The Spanish Teacher reminded Jim as the other students walked out of the classroom.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Jim replied with a nervous chuckle as he turned to face Senor Uhl as he spoke. After he did, the boy turned around and walked to his locker to meet with Toby; who had just come out of his French class. But Jim soon found that Toby was running a little late, and spied Claire at the other end of the quad as she opened her own locker. Deciding to be bold and also ask for help with his exam, Jim started walking towards her.

"Hey Claire! Hey!" Jim greeted as Claire reached into her locker. "You know, I have this Spanish Exam coming up. Muy importante." the Trollhunter explained, ending with a nervous chuckle at his small pun while Claire put her books away.

"And I was... I was looking for someone to help me out–" Jim continued, only for Claire to finish putting her books away.

"And I was looking for my scene partner at last night's rehearsal." Claire interrupted before she closed her locker door, leaving a stunned Jim behind as she began walking away.

"Oh, man, the play! I wasn't–" Jim began, trying to defend himself as he went after Claire.

"I don't know what you've got going on, Jim. But this play is pretty important to me. My family's coming, and if you make me look like an idiot up there–" Claire interrupted as they continued walking, voicing her concerns with Jim's constant absences.

"Claire, I'm sorry." Jim apologized as he moved to stand in front of Claire, halting their walk. "I promise I won't–" the Trollhunter began, hoping to appeal to his secret crush and convey without outright telling her that letting her down was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Just be there tomorrow." Claire said, interrupting Jim once more before walking away. But when she was a little ways away from Jim, she stopped.

"And, by the way," the girl began, turning around to face Jim again. "I know Steve is a jerk, but there are better ways to finish a fight than punching someone in the face." Claire remarked before she walked away, leaving Jim to sigh in disappointment.

'I just can't win, can I?" Jim thought to himself while Toby; who had seen the whole interaction, walked up to Jim and gave him a 'It'll be okay' smile when Jim glanced at him before they headed off. Unbeknownst to them, Steve was behind them, laughing to himself as he suddenly got an idea.

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A little bit after Jim's encounter with Claire, the boys headed to their usual lunch spot and sat down. But unlike most times they had their usual video call with Marinette, Jim was a little worried about how she would react to his... current predicament.

"I'm sure she won't be too upset, Jimbo." Toby assured as Jim stared at his phone while he held it in his hands, lunch already out of their bags.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm more worried about when I tell her how it was stolen." Jim admitted as he leaned his back against the bike rack, sighing out as he did so.

"Oh come on, she isn't going to laugh that much." Toby remarked as he opened his lunch bag and pulled out his food. The menu that day consisted of PB&J sandwiches, carrot sticks, and chocolate pudding cups; one of Jim's simple classics.

"You try saying 'Hey sis, how's your day going! By the way, a tiny gnome stole my amulet from me and escaped down a rabbit sized hole!' It sounds so ridiculous!" Jim exclaimed as he followed Toby's example and pulled out his own lunch, right when his phone started ringing. A quick glance at his phone revealed to Jim that Marinette was calling.

"Speak of the devil, and you shall summon them." Toby teased as he glanced over Jim's shoulder to peer at the phone screen, earning a glare from Jim before he answered the call. Not a second later, Marinette showed up on the phone's screen.

"Hey, boys!" Marinette greeted with a wave.

"Hey, Mari!" the boys replied back.

"Took you long enough, sis. We were beginning to think you fell asleep again." Jim remarked before he took a bite out of his sandwich. Unlike most times they had their video calls, lunch was halfway over by the time the boys got to their usual spot and when Marinette finally called.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been in a designing frenzy ever since I went to Stone Arc." Marinette explained before she pulled up her sketchbook to her computer screen, showing off the new designs she had created. At the sight of the beautiful new concepts, the boys were completely blown away.

"Woah, these are amazing! Mari, you're incredible!" Toby exclaimed as he and Jim crowded around the phone to take a closer look at the amazing designs.

"Thank you, guys. That really means a lot. I actually had a lot to go off on with the pictures I took during the visit." Marinette thanked as she pulled out her phone and opened up the folder she put the photos of Stone Arc in.

"Oh, did you take a lot of pictures?" Jim questioned before biting into his sandwich, causing some jelly to squeeze out from the sides.

"You bet I did! Stone Arc is so beautiful, I wish you guys could have seen it in person. But these photos will have to due, for now. I'll send them to you guys after our call." Marinette gushed as she started to scroll through the photos, showing them a few of the photos she had taken.

"Thanks, Mari!" Toby exclaimed before he wolfed down his sandwich, making her smile at his antics.

"No problem. So how's your guy's day been so far?" Marinette asked as she placed her phone back onto her desk, while the boys kept eating their lunch. But at the girl's question, Jim's eyes widened in response.

"Well, um... it has been pretty... interesting to say the least." Jim replied, scratching the back of his head out of nervousness.

"Jim lost his amulet." Toby announced before he began to eat his carrot sticks, leaving Jim to nearly choke on his food and Marinette's eyes widened at Toby's announcement.

"You... WHAT!" Marinette shouted at Jim, while the boy in question cleared his throat before he actually choked.

"There's a bit more to it than that! It was actually stolen from me " Jim protested, trying to defend himself.

"How could it possibly have been stolen from you? No humans besides me and Toby know you're the Trollhunter!" Marinette exclaimed, not believing that Jim could be so stupid.

"It wasn't a human who stole it." Toby revealed before he finished off his carrot sticks, loving the tension between the brother and sister, but knew that he couldn't leave his BFF out to dry.

"Then who or what stole it?!" Marinette asked, an eyebrow raised at the two boys while Jim scarfed down the rest of his sandwich. Once he chewed and swallowed, Jim took a deep breath to prepare himself for the laughing fit.

"It was a gnome that stole it." Jim admitted with a wince, ready for Marinette to begin laughing. But to his and Toby's surprise, Marinette was quiet.

"A gnome?" Marinette repeated, a little too neutrally for the boys's liking.

"Yeees." the two boys drawled out in response.

"The tiny little men that scurry along the floor in Stone Arc?" Marinette continued to question.

"That would be about right." Toby replied while Jim braced himself for the laughing.

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Marinette exclaimed, causing the two boys to look at her in confusion.

"Wait, what?!" both boys questioned, surprised that Marinette wasn't laughing, but was being... understanding?

"Oh, don't look at me like that! I know how difficult those little guys can be." Marinette explained as she grabbed her phone from the desk. "During the tour of Stone Arc, Chat and I went shopping in the markets. But when we were doing so, a group of gnomes scurried over to us and tried to steal from us." the designer admitted as she swiped through her phone's gallery, and found what she was looking for. Once she pulled it up, she showed the photo to her brothers.

The photo itself was of a strip of Stone Arc's market area, and showed off a frantic Chat Noir trying to kick two gnomes off of his leg, with a third hanging onto his belt-tail. On the other hand, a determined Ladybug was seen to be laying on the ground on her stomach, with a gnome in her grasp while another was in the air above her back. All in all, the picture left the two boys thoroughly amused.

"Well, at least I'm not the only one being tormented by a gnome." Jim exclaimed with a relieved sigh as he grabbed his carrot sticks.

"The only thing I'm not getting, is how that gnome is defying gravity." Toby admitted as he broke into his pudding cup.

"Oh, the gnome jumped off me when the picture was taken. But after the picture was taken, the gnome used my back as its personal trampoline." Marinette replied before she rubbed her back to add emphasis to her claim.

"Oof, are you okay?" Jim asked as he finished his carrot sticks.

"I'm fine. A little sore, but fine." Marinette reassured. "So how are you going to get it back?" the designer asked as she put her phone back onto her desk.

"Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!! are using the time they have before tonight to get something called the 'Furgalator'. Somehow, that will help me get my amulet back." Jim explained as he started to eat his pudding cup, while Toby finished his own.

"Here's to hoping that whatever it is, that it works. But other than that, how are things going with your co-star?" Marinette asked, a sly tone in her voice as she did so.

"It could be going better. Due to my responsibilities as the Trollhunter, I've been missing rehearsals for the play. And now, I'm on thin ice with Claire." Jim regaled, causing Marinette to wince at the news.

"Oh, boy. That's not going to be easy to resolve." Marinette remarked, huffing out a sigh and causing Jim to stop eating his pudding cup to glance back at her.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"When it comes to a guy flaking on them numerous times, girls tend to hold a grudge for a long time." Marinette revealed, leaving Jim to bury his face in his hands with a groan.

"Ugh! I'm doomed! She'll never go on a date with me now!" Jim groaned out, making Toby place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, woah, woah, Jim. I said that it wouldn't be easy, not that it would be impossible." Marinette reassured, hoping to pull Jim from his spiraling.

"How exactly is he going to do that? As far as we know, you're the only one who can perform literal miracles, MariFairy." Toby remarked.

"All you need to do, Jim, is show up to the next rehearsal, on time. Then you just say that while you might not always be there, you won't let her down." Marinette explained, giving Jim a simple but effective solution to use.

"Do you think it will work?" Jim questioned, really wondering if it was as simple as that.

"I'm a girl, Jimbro. I know this stuff." Marinette assured, before the lunch bell rang throughout the school.

"Looks like fun's over." Toby sighed out before he started packing up his bag.

"Looks like it. I hope you guys have a good rest of your day, and that you get your amulet back, Jim." Marinette encouraged as Jim started to pack up his lunch.

"I hope so too. See you tonight, sis." Jim farewelled with a wave as he and Toby stood up from the ground.

"See you later, boys. Bye!" Marinette replied with a wave before she ended the call. Once the screen was black, Jim put his phone away and the two boys walked towards their next class.

"Do you really think that I can fix things with Claire, Tobes?" Jim asked as they neared their English class.

"You heard, Mari. You just need to not let her down." Toby replied before his and Jim's phones buzzed.

"Easier said than done, Toby." Jim remarked before they pulled their phones out. Upon inspection of the buzzing, the two boys saw that Marinette had sent them the pictures of Stone Arc.

"Either way, I can't wait to see what pictures that Marinette took of Stone Arc." Toby exclaimed as he opened up the attachment to look through the pictures.

"Me too, Tobes. Me too." Jim replied as he and Toby arrived at their English class and walked in for yet another boring lesson.

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After school ended, Jim and Toby headed down to Trollmarket when the sun set. But over at the museum, trouble was brewing as the dusk turned into full on night. A security guard that was on night shift duty, shined his flashlight on the hard floor of the museum, his keys jingling as he walked. As the guard watched over the building, he looked briefly at his surroundings as he walked into a lighted atrium of the museum. But the guard wasn't the bravest of the bunch, and thought he heard something go past him. With worry building, he aimed the flashlight at a statue, feeling as if he was being watched.

Finding nothing, he whistled a random melody and headed off, unaware of Bular's growling head peeking out from the statue. As he watched the guard leaving the room, he then got out of his hiding place and walked down the dark halls to enter a room with a curtain draped over the archway. Once Bular stepped inside, he looked around at the numerous crates that filled the room alongside set-up scaffolding and a blanket covered structure.

"We build it here? Right under their noses? Is Stricklander a fool?" Bular seethingly questioned out loud.

"Haven't you ever heard that the best hiding place is in plain sight, Bular?" A voice behind the large troll asked, causing Bular to turn around and find Strickler walking towards him, holding a small crate topped off with an apple in his hands as he walked to Bular.

"You're late." Bular growled out, not happy to be kept waiting even for a moment.

"And you're impatient. I was waiting for another package to arrive." Strickler explained, triggering Bular to yank the package from Strickler's fingers, the apple that rested on top of it falling uselessly into Strickler's hand. Bular then ripped open the box, and pulled out a stone from inside before dropping the now empty box to the floor. He then moved the large blanket covering the structure as the piece glowed blue, twisting to fit on the bridge that became closer to completion.

"It won't be long now. You just need to be pati-" the history teacher began as he walked up to Bular's side, only for the large troll to grab him by the neck with a menacing growl.

"Don't patronize me, Impure." Bular threatened as he tightened his grip on Strickler's neck.

"We want the same thing, Bular. I know you don't like waiting, but it's taken time for the changelings to acquire the remaining pieces." Strickler strained to explain, causing Bular to toss Strickler away and release the changeling from his iron-like grip before turning to face the incomplete bridge again. "Killahead Bridge will soon be complete. Our man from Germany will be arriving with more pieces soon." the changeling reassured as he rubbed his neck to alleviate it from any pain.

"My father has waited centuries, but he will soon know freedom and glory. The age of Gunmar is at hand!" Bular proclaimed as they stared at the nearly completed bridge.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" A voice behind the two cohorts exclaimed, causing them to turn and see the security guard behind them. At the sight of Bular, the guard began to whimper out of fear and ran away, dropping his flashlight.

"You were followed?!" Bular demandingly questioned as the security guard ran away.

"Of course not. I brought you a midnight snack." Strickler devilishly remarked as he held up the apple to his line of sight. Happy to have the little morsel, Bular chased after the man with a roar, leaving a grinning Strickler behind as he bit into the apple, a menacingly happy look in his eyes.

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Down in Trollmarket, things were more lighthearted as Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!! met up with Jim and Toby in Bagdwella's shop. But once the two humans arrived, they immediately noticed the tarp-covered thing sitting next to the gnome's hiding hole.

"Remember when I told you that 'All Trollhunters must start small', Master Jim?" Blinky asked as he walked to the tarp covered thing. Once he had the cloth in his hand, Blinky pulled it off to reveal what could only be the alleged 'Furgolator' Blinky had mentioned earlier, a golden machine with ancient carvings designed into the metal, and numerous tubes coming out from the top.

"Full disclosure, I'm a little worried about how I let you talk me into this." Jim admitted as the light in the shop caught the golden Furgolator, making it look more appealing to the eye. Blinky only smiled while he pushed a button, causing gears to turn inside the machine as smoke was pushed through the tubes. The pipes soon started whistling as the doors opened, letting more smoke fog up the room.

"Still bad idea." Aaarrrgghh!! said, still not sure about Blinky's plan. But his words did nothing to convince the rest of the group as Jim stepped into the lit-up inside of the Furgolator.

"Wait a second, Blinky. How is standing in this thing going to get the gnome out of the hole?" Jim asked as Blinky started to close the doors of the machine, sealing the boy inside.

"Simple, Master Jim. If a gnome won't come out, then the Trollhunter must go in." Blinky explained as the doors fully closed up, leaving Jim to finally put the pieces together.

"Wait, what? You're going to shrink me? Is that safe?" Jim began to question as he peered out of the Furgolator's only viewing window.

"Not to worry, Master Jim. Us Trolls often use the Furgolator to compress minerals." Blinky assured as he grabbed a pair of pliers and walked to Toby. "And now for the anthracite!" the six-eyed troll exclaimed as he took the mineral from Toby's hands before the rotund boy had a chance to eat it.

"But you've done this a few times on flesh and bone, right?" Jim asked as Blinky walked back to the machine. "Right?" the Trollhunter asked again, not satisfied with Blinky's previous silence.

"Not exactly. But I'm not concerned." Blinky answered as he placed the mineral into the little hole it was meant to go into, and walked away to stand in front of the Furgolator with Aaarrrgghh!!! and Toby.

"Well, that's because you are not the one trapped in this thing." Jim remarked as smoke started to fill the inside, letting no one see Jim through the window as it filled up the inner chamber.

"Nothing to worry about, Master Jim. We work best under pressure!" Blinky called out as the Furgolator started to rumble and shake.

"I can't see anything! [coughs] Why is there so much smoke?" Jim called out as he covered his mouth with his arm as he waved, hoping to clear the air while the machine shook and creaked even more. Soon enough, the machine's upper tubes let out farting noises, and shook more rapidly which frightened Toby enough to decide to put a stop to the machine.

"Come on, you guys gotta get him out of there!" Toby exclaimed before he jumped to the machine and tried to pry the doors open with nothing but his fingers. Seeing the boy so worried, Blinky ran over and joined in helping Toby, starting to panic himself.

"Don't just stand there, Aaarrrgghh!!" Blinky exclaimed, causing the large troll to walk over and pull the doors apart, letting the smoke out as Jim coughed while stepping out of the Furgolator.

"Looks like it didn't work. Hope you have a plan B." Jim remarked, only to be greeted by the sight of giant feet, making him scream and jump backwards.

"On the contrary." Blinky replied as Jim looked up at the rest of the group as they towered over the Trollhunter.

"He's like an action figure! "Toby exclaimed as Blinky crouched down and picked Jim up from the ground.

"The Furgolator functioned perfectly!" Blinky proclaimed as he lifted his hand to reveal a tiny Jim sitting in his palm, chuckling as Jim looked himself over with wide eyes. But now that Jim was shrunk down, the group carried Jim to the hole that the gnome had taken refuge in, using a pin as a shield. Once his feet were on the ledge, Jim sighed and turned to face them.

"Real subtle. 'We've got to start small. Deal with the little problem'." Jim sarcastically complemented.

"This is a huge problem! I can't be shrunk! I have exams to take! I have sinks to reach!" the Trollhunter ranted, really not liking this idea.

"I'm afraid that it is the only option, Master Jim." Blinky said, doing the effort of showing some guilt, "For you see, unless you manage to retrieve the amulet, we would find ourselves deprived of a Trollhunter. And in your specific situation, chances of victory against Draal would at best be in the negatives."

"Oh," said Jim, "so what do I use to deal with the Gnome?" The only response the Trollhunter got was Toby grabbing a needle, and offering it to Jim.

"Your sword, my liege." Toby announced as he held the 'sword' to Jim. But as soon as the tiny weapon was in Jim's hands, he poked Toby's hand with the needle with a frown on his face, causing the rounded boy to yelp. As Toby sucked on his finger to stop the bleeding, Jim turned and stepped up to the hole but fell backwards with a groan. Shaking off the slight setback, Jim stood up one more time and started to walk into the deep hole.

"Oh, one last thing to know when dealing with a gnome, Master Jim. And this is of dire importance: Do not touch its hat!" Blinky yelled out to Jim as he kept walking down the hole.

"Of course. It's right there in A Brief Recapitulation." Jim sarcastically agreed as he pressed on.

"You remember!" Blinky exclaimed, happy that Jim actually found the time to read the book.

"Of course not! Nothing in this world makes sense!" Jim yelled back, turning around to walk backwards as he did so. But when he turned back around, he was greeted by a large doll head hanging from the rock ceiling, causing him to scream out of surprise before slowly walking around it.

"Okay, this is one creepy little dude." the Trollhunter remarked to himself he continued to walk down the tunnel. As he went deeper, Jim's ears were ringing as the gnome's innocent laughter echoed in the cave. Once Jim reached the end of the tunnel, he turned around the corner to find that it opened up into a larger cavern, with the now larger gnome occupying the space.

"Whoa. Aren't you a big fellow now?" Jim mumbled to himself as he watched the gnome chattered incoherently to the skeleton he had stolen as it sat across from him. The piece of candy the gnome had stolen from Toby was also resting on the amulet as it was used as a table, along with a few tankards. The gnome then tried to present what he had taken but the skeleton sat still, setting off the gnome's anger. In response to the silence, the gnome shredded the nougat nummie with his sharp teeth and was about to eat another piece but grinned and tossed the candy through the mouth of the skeleton, where it bounced down its ribs and landed in the buttbone. As Jim watched the gnome interact with the inanimate corpse, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. But his focus was soon redirected to the amulet as the gnome kept using it as a table top.

"I've got to get that amulet back." The Trollhunter quietly decided before the gnome suddenly yelled in excitement and accidentally knocked the head off the skeleton's body, the skull rolling to Jim's feet. At the sight of the skull, Jim yelped out in shock, causing the gnome to be alerted to his presence and snarl at the boy in warning.

"It's okay, it's okay. I like Nougat Nummies, too." Jim tried to reason with the gnome as he set down his weapons. But the gnome used the opportunity to tackle Jim to the ground, leading them to start fighting. The gnome threw the shield and chased after Jim who held up his needle threateningly. Yet, the gnome pounced towards Jim and devoured its length, leaving Jim with nothing but a blunt needle. Thinking quickly, Jim chucked the remaining piece of metal at the gnome's nose, leaving the gnome to lift his small hands to rub at the sore spot, before growling at him again.

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Outside of the hole, Toby, Blinky, Bagdwella and Aaarrrgghh!!! crowd around the hole, only able to hear and not see the battle going on inside. But they listened closely as glass shattered and a groan from Jim also blended in with the noise.

"That doesn't sound favorable." Blinky remarked as they continued to listen to the fight, on the edge of their figurative seats.

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Back with the fight, Jim slowly crawled to the amulet and reached out his hand to grab it. But the gnome quickly fell, holding out his elbow to take out his opponent, causing Jim to roll from his attack and taking a hold of him. However, the gnome slipped through his arms, his hat sliding off and into Jim's hands, leaving both boy and gnome in shock.

"Oh, my God. I touched his hat." Jim realized in dread as he looked at the hat in his hands, before turning around to see that the gnome, indeed, no longer had its hat on. At the sight of his hat in Jim's hands, the gnome felt the horn above his head and growled before scraping his foot against the ground like a bull.

"Oh, I touched his hat. I touched his hat!" the Trollhunter exclaimed as he dropped the hat in his shock. But when he saw how the gnome was acting, he got an idea. As the gnome angrily chattered away, Jim grabbed the hat and held it out like a bullfighter. The gnome ran at the hat but Jim quickly moved, causing the gnome to run into a pile of rubbish. Using the opportunity to his advantage, Jim quickly ran to the amulet as the gnome crawled up Jim's body, his teeth moving rapidly to try and bite Jim while his hands wrapped onto a rock, straining to reach the amulet.

"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Jim strained to pronounce as he reached for the amulet, and was rewarded when he finally had it in his grasp. Once he finished saying the incantation, the amulet shrunk to Jim's size and connected to his body, leaving an excited Jim smiling. As the armor appeared over Jim's clothes, the gnome backed up with a whimper, not hopeful for his chances of victory.

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It was quiet... too quiet for Toby, Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!! as they waited outside of the hole, and the noise inside finally stopped. As they impatiently bunched up around the wall, their joint concern only grew.

"Why hasn't he come out?" Toby questioned Blinky, seeing as Jim hadn't revealed himself yet. They kept waiting, but were quickly losing hope, their attentions were glued to the hole. Suddenly, their hope was rewarded by the sight of the defeated gnome appearing, with Jim walking behind him with his sword pointed at the gnome's back and the hat on his head.

"You summoned the armor and caught the gnome! Well played, Master Jim!" Blinky congratulated Jim as he and the gnome exited the hole, the entire group giving Jim a round of applause.

"Thank you, thank you. I don't want to forget the little people." Jim greeted before he tapped the gnome to keep moving and hopped down with the gnome.

"Expedient and good-humored." Blinky remarked as Jim and the gnome landed on the ground.

"Oh, my hero!" Bagdwella praised as she kept clapping, before Jim took off the hat and tossed it to the ground. Once it was off of Jim, the gnome immediately tried to jump to it but was caught in a bag by Toby.

"And what about this shrinking stuff? When does it wear off?" Jim asked, looking up at the towering Blinky.

"Don't worry, Master Jim. Sleep it off. By morning, you'll be as good as new. And how you have earned it! Jim 'the Gnome Slayer!' " Blinky replied.

"He was so young. There was so much music left in him." Toby said with remorse as he sat by the struggling gnome, strumming the tiny guitar before quickly grabbing the bag as it moved away.

"Now, all that's left is for you to take care of it." Blinky continued as he picked Jim up and set him on higher ground. But the six-eyed troll's words struck a sour cord in Jim.

"Wait, what? Take care of it?" Jim questioned.

"Rule number two." Aaarrrgghh replied, jumping into the conversation.

"Always finish the fight." Blinky reminded Jim, who was not comfortable with what he was being told to do.

"No! I can't kill that thing, I nearly had dinner with it!" Jim protested, trying to find a better option.

"Master Jim, there is no other way. A Trollhunter must always make it so there are no loose ends." Blinky argued, leaving Jim to look at the squirming bag in remorse.

"If I do kill him, Marinette would never look at me the same way again! Granted, her line of work doesn't involve any killing, but I would like to think that I'd only kill someone when it was necessary!" Jim exclaimed, his nerves climbing to a troubling high at the thought of killing something. But then, he got an idea. "What if instead of killing an enemy, I try to make a new friend?" the Trollhunter asked, leaving Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!! in shock.

"What are you suggesting, Master Jim?" Blinky asked.

"You said I need to 'take care of him,' " Jim recalled, making a 'knife across his throat' gesture, "but what if I take care of him? I know it's not the second rule of Trollhunting, but he's not a huge threat like Bular. Why should he die just for being a little mischievous?"

"Well, when you put it like that... perhaps it is a little too harsh." Blinky admitted, seeing the points Jim had made. But at the sounds of the conversation, Toby grabbed the bag and leaped to his feet.

"We can keep him? Awesome! I even already have a name. Gnome Chompsky." Toby exclaimed as he moved closer to the group.

"Chompsky. I like it." Jim said as he glanced at the moving bag.

"Yes, very good. But you can't just let 'Chompsky' roam free! Where are you even going to keep him?" Blinky asked, which brought the boy's good mood down a bit. That is... until Toby's eyes lit up.

"I know just the place!" Toby exclaimed.

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A while later, both Jim and Toby were in the rounded boy's room, and laying on the ground as they watched Gnome Chompsky explore his new home. The idea that Toby had was that the gnome could live in the dollhouse he had in his room, and it ended up being the perfect spot for the little gnome.

"Nice job, Tobes. Your Nana's dollhouse is the perfect home for Chompsky. Look, he's even found a friend." Jim pointed out as Chompsky started talking to Toby's Sally-Go-Back doll, only to switch to playing his tiny guitar to serenade it.

"He has the mind of a vermin but the soul of an artist." Toby sighed out as they continued to watch Chompsky in his new home.

"Man, what a day. Marinette is not going to believe this." the rounded boy exclaimed as he picked Jim up and walked the both of them to his bed. He then set Jim down onto his pillow before moving to sit at the other end of the bed, only to hear a buzzing coming from Jim's bag.

"Speaking of which..." Jim remarked as Toby reached for the Trollhunter's bag and brought it onto the middle of the bag.

"Oh boy... if she didn't laugh at you when you told her that your amulet was stolen by a gnome, she's definitely going to this time." Toby realized as Jim pulled out his phone from the bag, with a great amount of difficulty due to his current size.

"Yeah, but one can hope she won't." Jim replied as he waddled over to Toby's bed pillow to lean the phone against it, his body vibrating with each phone beep. When he finally had it at a good spot, he stepped to the side and accepted the call. A second after he did, Marinette appeared on the screen and was greeted by a smiling Toby.

"Hey, MariFairy, how's it going?" Toby greeted, leaving Marinette slightly confused as to why it was Toby greeting her on Jim's phone.

"Hey, Tobster, nice to see you too. My day went pretty good, but how come you're answering Jim's phone?" Marinette asked as she started eating her lunch. That day's lunch was a wanton soup with noodles, two steamed buns, and chocolate profiteroles for dessert.

"Well, the solution that Blinky found to get Jim's amulet back, had... a lingering effect on Jim." Toby replied with a nervous scratch to his neck.

"What sort of 'lingering effects'?" Marinette asked, an eyebrow raised at the boy, before she slurped up some of her noodles.

"Before I answer that, for Jim's sake, I have to ask you to promise that you won't laugh." Toby responded, trying to save Jim some amount of embarrassment.

"Um... I'll try not to." Marinette promised. With her verbal agreement, Toby reached for the phone and redirected it to show off the tiny Jim as he sat against Toby's pillow.

"Hey, sis... how's it hanging?" Jim greeted with a nervous smile and a scratch on the back of his neck. At the sight of seeing her brother shrunk down to the size of a doll, Marinette's eyes widened as she placed a hand to her mouth to hide a sudden smile and halt a flurry of giggles from slipping out.

"You said you'd not laugh, Mari." Toby warned when he saw Marinette trying not to laugh.

"And... I'm trying... not... too! (laughing)" Marinette managed to stammer out in a string of giggles, before being unable to hold back the full on laughter she so desperately wanted to let out. "(laughing) Oh my gosh, you are so tiny! You look like a little pixie!" the designer managed to say through her laughter, prompting Toby to join in at her last comment.

"Ha, ha, you said it, MariFairy! You know what, that should be his new nickname... 'PixieJim'!" Toby announced during their conjoined laughter, much to Jim's chardign.

"Are you guys done yet?" Jim asked as they kept laughing at his expense.

"Yeah, we're good." Toby assured as he and Marinette calmed down enough to be able to finally speak without giggling.

"Sorry, Jim. I couldn't resist." Marientte apologized as she wiped away a few tears of joy from her cheeks.

"It's okay. I wouldn't be able to resist either." Jim replied, his annoyance turning into a fond smile.

"Either way, you can thank the Furgulator for Jim's current size. It turned out to be a device that shrinks stuff, which allowed Jim to go after the gnome." Toby explained as Marinette kept eating her lunch and listened to the retelling of what happened.

"Taking into account that Jim is safe, I'm guessing that he got the amulet back?" Marinette asked before she took another bite of her soup.

"All that, and we even made a new friend." Jim piped up before he pushed the phone to show off Chompsky as he beat the TV, hoping for it to work.

"You KEPT the gnome?! What were you thinking?!" Marinette exclaimed when she saw the gnome inside the dollhouse.

"I know that he was a handful when getting my amulet back. But he turned out to be nice when we offered him a new home, and friendship." Jim admitted as he turned the phone to face him and Toby again.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing. Gnomes can be very tricky to deal with." Marinette warned as she took another bite out of ehr lunch, having her own unpleasant experience with the little pests.

"Don't worry, I think we'll be fine." Toby reassured as he and Jim looked back over at the dollhouse to see Chmopsky had sat next to the Sally-Go-Back doll, sliding closer to it as he played his tiny guitar to it again.

"You better be. But other than that, how did the rest of your day go?" Marientte asked after she finished off her soup.

"Other than what happened in Trollmarket? Nothing much. I'm honestly more worried about tomorrow." Jim replied as Marinette pulled out her steamed buns.

"Right, your comprehension exam. How do you feel about your chances of passing?" Marinette asked as she tore into one of her steamed buns.

"I've been studying all night last night, and in the week beforehand. I think I'm going to do well." Jim admitted with a sigh as he leaned against the pillow with a yawn.

"That's good to hear. But I'm guessing you didn't get any sleep last night? Even when I told you to make sure you did." Marinette questioned with a pointed glare.

"Yeah, and now I'm suffering the consequences." Jim yawned out as he stretched his body from any stiffness.

"Clearly." Marinette remarked before she glanced over to Toby. "Make sure he doesn't stay up all night, Tobes. Otherwise, he might fail on the account of no sleep." the designer told Toby, knowing that losing one night's worth of sleep was not a good idea.

"You got it." Toby replied with a thumbs up.

"Um, don't I get a say about my sleep schedule?" Jim questioned the others, causing the two of them to turn and face him.

"No." Both answered, their tone filled with certainty when making their statement. "Speaking of things needing to be done, I need to go. Alya and I need to meet up to do a project that's due this Friday. I just wanted to have a quick chat and catch up before that." Marinette explained before she stuffed the other steamed bun into her mouth. Guess the profiteroles would be saved for the study session.

"It's cool. We totally understand. Especially when an akuma could come up at any time, and interrupt your work." Jim replied as Marinette started to pack up her bag.

"Don't remind me. I'm just hoping that this is one of the few times where nothing happens." Marinette admitted with an eye roll as she zipped up her bag and stood up from the bench.

"Don't jinx yourself then." Toby joked, which caused the three of them to laugh.

"Let's hope I didn't. Alright, I got to go. I'll call you guys tonight." Mairnette began as she started to climb up the stairs.

"See ya soon, Mari. Bye!" the boys fare-welled with a wave, right before Marinette hung up the call. Once the screen was a black void, Toby took it off of his pillow and put it back into Jim's bag.

"So much for her not laughing at me." Jim sighed out as he leaned back against the pillow, eyes starting to close.

"Eh, to be fair, it was tame compared to what could have been. I'd say you got off easy." Toby remarked as he had a little difficulty in putting Jim' phone away.

"Good... point." Jim uttered as he started drifting off.

"Speaking of good points, you better listen to us and get some..." Toby began to lecture as he turned to face his best friend, only to be greeted by the sight of a snoring Jim laying on his pillow. "...sleep. Looks like today's events finally caught up to you." the rounded boy quietly pointed out before he carefully moved off the bed, and picked up Jim to place him in the dollhouse's main bedroom. Once he was sure Jim was comfortable, he moved back from the tiny house and glanced down to the ground floor of it to see Chmopsky had nodded off too, making Toby smile in fondness

"Good night, you guys." Toby whispered before he headed off to do his nightly routine and then headed to bed, quickly drifting off to dreamland after that day's exhausting events.

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The early morning sun shone over Arcadia as Jim woke, his head on a pillow as he rolled over. But as he woke up, he found himself next to a lady doll 'sleeping' beside him, causing him to scream and alert Toby. A second after Jim screamed, the rounded boy opened the wall and pulled Jim from the house.

"What's wrong, PixieJim? Did you not sleep well in Nana's dollhouse?" Toby asked as he peeked through the main bedroom window, and opened the dollhouse.

"Why am I still small, Toby?" Jim questioned as he walked to the edge of the dollhouse, looking down at his still tiny hands.

"I don't know. Maybe stuff works differently on trolls than it does on humans." Toby theoried as he held his hands out to Jim, who walked onto them to let Toby lower him to the floor. But then he remembered...

"Oh, no! School!" Jim exclaimed, recalling that certain detail.

"We have to call you in sick. Tell them you ate too much chocolate. That always works." Toby offered as he pushed Jim's phone to him, the large device pushing the boy backwards. But he fought back and pushed it away.

"No, Senor Uhl can sniff out a lie a mile away." Jim remembered, before his eyes caught the computer and the small couch in the dollhouse. "That's it! Toby, I need you to do me a huge favor. Well, maybe a small one. But huge." the Trolhunter said, the gears turning in his head for what he and Toby referred to as a 'Marinette level' idea.

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(Time skip)

Soon enough, Toby was running through the school halls, with a computer tucked into his armpit. But just his luck, he passed by the gym teacher as he ran to his desired destination..

"Hey, Jello Mold! Why aren't you in your gym clothes?" The coach scolded.

"Sorry, Coach! No gym today! Got the shingles!" Toby yelled in reply as he kept running.

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Meanwhile in Jim's Spanish class, everyone was waiting for Jim to finally show up and do his presentation.

"Jim Lake? Jim Lake? Is Jim Lake here?." Senor Uhl questioned as he looked at his watch while he called for Jim, even though he was staring right at Jim's empty seat. "How disappointing but not entirely unexpected. - Moving on." the Spanish teacher announced before Toby burst into the room.

"No problemo! Jim's here, virtually." Toby explained as he set the computer on the stool and opened the laptop to find Jim.

"¡Hola! Sorry, I couldn't be en escuela, Seanor Uhl, but I'm sick en casa." Jim greeted, along with his half-baked excuse for why he wasn't in school. In reality, Jim was sitting in the dollhouse's living room, with Chompsky acting in the role of a camera man in holding Jim's phone steady as the boy spoke.

"Which is fitting, since I'm doing my comprehension presentación on Ponce de Leon, who muerto-ed from a great illness." the Trollhunter announced.

"Hey! 'Muerto-ed' is not a word!" Steve piped up, trying to find a way to put a spanner in Jim's plan.

"Nope. I'm curious to see where this is going. Continue, Mr. Lake." Senor Uhl decided, giving Jim the floor to begin his presentation.

"Ponce de Leon, one of the most famoso Spanish conquistadores, is best associated with..." Jim began, before he was interrupted by Nana began to vacuum, as everyone looked at the screen in question. "... the Fuente de la Juventud, the Fountain of Youth!" the Trollhunter exclaimed before running to the phone so the class could hear him better. But judging from Senor Uhl's face, he didn't like the new complication.

"What is that horrible noise?" Senor Uhl demanded to know

"Uh, construccion. Uh, remodeling. A minor intrusion. Un minuto, Senor Uhl!" Jim began to explain before Chomspky jumped out of the way from the vacuum as Nana pushed the phone with the vacuum, smashing the device against Jim's face. But thankfully, Nana soon grabbed the vacuum and left the room, slamming the door shut and allowing Chomspky to come out of his hiding place and hold the phone so Jim could go back to sitting on the dollhouse couch.

"Sorry about that." the Trollhunter apoligised as he dusted himself off. "Anyway, Ponce de Leon then joined Columbus in the New World. He sailed Las Carreras with the famous explorer, all the way across the Oceano, and soon arrived in Nuevo Mundo, the New World. ¡Arriba! Oh, what joy this new world was! ¡Que Bueno! And that'll be all for my presentacion." Jim finished, feeling proud of himself for being able to complete his presentation.

"Actually, by my count, you are three words short, Mr. Lake. If you can't finish the exam, I'll have to fail you." Senor Uhl revealed, slightly dragging Jim out of his feeling of accomplishment.

"Well in that case, there were muchos problemas in the New World! Um..." Jim trailed off, trying to find the right thing to say... until his gaze landed on Chomsky. "Like vermin who you can't seem to get rid of. Ratas." the Trollhunter said, finding the right thing to say. Considering how much of a pain Chompsky was the previous day, it seemed fitting. "But, in the end, they were taken care of. And that is it for my presentacion. I hope this wasn't too much trouble, Senor Uhl. Hasta luego." Jim finished, which prompted Eli to stand up and cheer for him, while Senor Uhl marked Jim's presentation.

"Very, very informative, Mr. Lake. C-plus." Senor Uhl announced. But just as the feeling of relief washed over Jim, his body suddenly started to become unproportioned, making Senor Uhl and the rest of the class worried at the sight of it.

"Fine. B-minus." the Spanish teacher corrected as the class became worried about Jim.

"Jim? Jim, what's wrong?" Eli asked, becoming more and more concerned as they saw Jim's body shift in such a strange way.

"It's happening!" Jim cried out.

"What's happening?" Eli questioned again, while Toby finally realized what was going on. The Furgalator's effects were finally wearing off.

"It's happen-" Jim attempted to repeat, before Toby quickly high fived Jim's large hand.

"High five!" Toby shouted out before he closed the computer with a slap. "Internet connections, am I right? Gotta go. Bye!" Toby called out before running out of the classroom, intent on making it back to his house as soon as possible. In his wake, the rest of the class; teacher included, were left in confusion. What the heck did they just witness?

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Soon enough, Toby got back to his house. But as he walked through the door to his room, he found a normal sized Jim as he sat next to Chompsky; who was standing on Toby's desk, in Toby's desk chair while breaking a nougat nummie in half.

"Thanks for the help, Chompsky. You might have been a little nuisance, but you really helped out in a pinch." Jim thanked as he handed one half of the candy to Chompsky, who immediately ate it up with his sharp teeth.

"Jim! You're okay! And big!" Toby exclaimed as he ran to the boy and gave him a hug, which Jim responded to in kind.

"I think my spleen switched sides, but everything's better now. I'm just glad that Chmopsky was a good cameraman, despite your nana coming in with the vacuum." Jim explained with a grateful smile towards Chompsky, before giving him the second half of the candy. Hey, the little guy helped him with his presentation... he earned it.

"Pretty good for a first mission. Two crises averted. It's not like you get to rehearse these things." the Trollhunter sighed out as Toby pulled back from the hug. But in his words, he realized... "Oh, no! Rehearsal!" Jim gasped in shock.

"Relax, you still have plenty of time before lunch. You'll make it if we leave now." Toby reassured, knowing that Jim had no real reason to worry.

"Then we better get going." Jim exclaimed as he grabbed his bag, and ran out of the room, leaving the house with Toby hot on his heels.

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At said rehearsal, Mrs. Janeth was starting to take attendance of who made it to rehearsals. But soon saw that not everyone had made it.

"Looks like everyone is here. Save for Mr. Lake... again." Ms Janeth sighed as she began to cross the boy's name from her list. But before she could, Jim popped into the gym, running in like a mad man.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Jim yelled out as he ran to the group, before stopping a few feet away from them. "Sorry, I'm late." the Trollhunter apologized as he held his hands on his knees, panting from his running while Toby came into the auditorium.

"Ah, Mr. Lake, how kind of you to make it to rehearsal. I was beginning to think that you had been blowing them off on purpose." Mrs. Janeth admitted as Toby snuck into one of the many empty seats so he could watch the rehearsals.

"Sorry about that. I've had some difficulty recognizing certain obligations, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem from now on." Jim explained as he stood up from his bent over posture, so he could address the director of the play. "At least I hope so." the Trollhunter muttered to himself.

"Well, just be careful of your time management, Mr. Lake. Otherwise I will need to take precautions." Mrs. Janeth began as she checked Jim's name as 'present'.

" 'Precautions'? " Jim questioned, his worry and curiosity starting to grow.

"I'm happy that you've made the rehearsals today, Mr lake. But in case something like last time happens, Mr. Palchuk will be there to fill in as your understudy. And should you be unavailable one too many times he will take your place." Mrs. Janeth warned as she pointed to Steve, who was standing at the other end of the group, prompting him to chuckle while he imitated an explosion.

"I understand. Thank you for the warning." Jim replied, while he groaned in his thoughts at the turn of events.

"Now then, on to rehearsals. Let's start on the balcony scene, shall we?" Mrs Janeth announced, causing the students to start moving around to set the stage for the scene. All the while, Jim and Claire walked to the center of the stage and stood next to each other as they waited for the 'ok' to start.

"You actually made it. I was beginning to think you wouldn't." Claire admitted as she faced Jim, while he placed his bag down to pull out his script.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to come as often as I should have been. But to be honest, when I auditioned for the play, I had a lot on my plate. I'm only just now getting a handle of things." Jim replied as he stood up from kneeling on the ground, hoping that Marinette's 'being honest' advice would help him out.

"You know there is no shame in dropping a few things to make things easier on you. No one would judge you for it." Claire provided, hoping to help the boy with his seemingly poor time management skills.

"I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately, I've got people who rely on me to do these things." Jim sighed out before glancing at the ground. "But know this..." the Trollhunter began as he looked up from the ground and back at Claire while he took a few steps towards her.

"I might not always be here in rehearsals, but I will not let you down when the time comes." Jim promised as he stopped just a foot away from a suddenly blushing Claire.

"Thank you, Jim. I appreciate your honesty, and I do hope you can keep your promise. I guess with the pressure of my own life, I forgot that other people have things going on too. I will be a bit more understanding in the future." Claire replied as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, thinking about her own set of responsibilities. It wasn't easy being a council woman's daughter.

"That means a lot, Claire. But like I said, I'll be there when you need me." Jim reiterated, hoping to cement his statement to Claire. It seemed to work, since her blush got even more red.

"Places! Places, everyone!" Mrs. Janeth called out, pulling the two leading stars from their moment and back into reality.

"That, I promise you." Jim finished before he moved to go behind the curtain to await his cue, leaving a blushing Claire in the center of the stage. But she quickly snapped out of her flustered state, and began to focus on the play.

"And, action!" Mrs. Janeth announced, leading the actor to start their scene.

"Oh, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Claire began to recite, acting out her part with a smile at Jim's promise. All in all, Jim would take the win.

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Jim answered as he walked out onto the stage, his outlook on the day to come becoming brighter as he kept going.

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(Time skip)

Lunch soon ended, and with it rehearsals. But seeing as they had History with Strickler next, Jim and Claire decided to walk to class together. It even gave them the opportunity to get to know each other a bit more.

"So wait, your mom is on the city council?" Jim questioned as they neared their classroom.

"Yeah, she is. It can be a little pressuring at times, but I manage." Claire admitted as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and glanced towards the ground.

"Managing it, isn't being okay with it. I get that it's your mom's job, but if her being on the council is making you unhappy, then maybe you should tell her." Jim supplied, hoping to help his crush feel less stifled.

"One can hope. It's worth a shot." Claire admitted as they reached their history class. But before she could even reach for the door handle to open it, Jim reached for it and opened the door.

"After you, m'lady." Jim announced with a flourish of his hand, before bowing. A page out of Chat Noir's playbook... according to Marinette at least.

"Such a gentleman." Claire praised before she walked into the classroom, leaving a smiling Jim at the door.

"Nice job, dude! Looks like you're really working your way up with Claire!" Toby cheered as Claire found her seat and sat down.

"It seems like you have taken my advice, Young Atlas. I'm impressed." A voice next to the door joined in, making the two boys turn and see Strickler had been standing near the doorframe.

"Thanks, Mr. Strickler. You too, Tobes. I'm honestly surprised that I've been able to even talk to her." Jim admitted with a nervous scratch to his neck.

"All it takes is confidence." Mr. Stirckler reminded Jim."Now, go and sit down. I have an announcement to make." the history teacher proclaimed, prompting the boys to listen and sit down in their seats. Very soon, the whole class had settled down and were in their seats

"I know that you have all been anxious to get out of the classroom when learning history. And I am pleased to say that I have a special treat for you." Mr Strickler announced, peeking the class's interests. "This time next week, our class will be going to the museum." the history teacher revealed, causing the students to get excited. While the museum wasn't their first choice in field trip destinations, it was better than spending the whole day at school.

"But I thought that the museum was limiting attendance due to a new exhibit being built." Eli pointed out, bringing up a recently made announcement from the city council. But what the council didn't know was that the new exhibit was actually where the Killahead bridge was being built.

"It is," Mr. Strickler confirmed with a nod. "But I was able to get us in for a time slot with help from my old friend, Zelda Nomura."