It was like the creatures never stopped coming. Draal panted heavily as he raced through the tunnels, hearing the far off screeches and screams of the gaining demon-like troll creatures. The injured troll couldn't seem to shake them, and it had nearly been two days of an endless game of cat and mouse. Draal hated being the prey, but the more he tried to fight, the more seemed to appear. For every one he took down, with much effort, two more would appear in its place. His mechanical arm hung uselessly at his side, having lost all use after yet another skirmish with the creatures. Draal had already been heavily wounded, and now his body was littered with the teeth and claw marks of these new predators. 

He could feel the exhaustion constantly creeping in, threatening to overtake his body and pit him into darkness. He did his best to push it down, use all the strength he had to run. That was all this was. Run, fight, run, fight. He had given up standing his ground after the second battle, when his arm had been rendered useless. As much as he hated being the weak one, his mission was to find the Trollhunter, and he couldn't do that if he was dead. 

Again.

Draal's breath hitched slightly when he heard the scurry of one creature right behind him, as if it had appeared out of thin air. Roaring, he turned sharply and swung his still useful arm in its direction. Thankfully, it made contact, and the thing yelped as it flew backwards and hit a tunnel wall. The blue troll didn't stop, turning again immediately and running away, despite the throbs over his entire body. He felt them coming on stronger and grit his teeth, begging for his legs to keep going. 

Black and white spots danced in his vision, a strange taste coming to his mouth. Suddenly, the tunnel was spinning and he was tipping. He could hear his heavy breath loud in his ears as the room swayed, feeling his legs stumble and nearly trip over themselves. He would have fallen completely over if it weren't for the giant horns on his head. He grunted as they hit the wall beside him, just barely keeping him upright. Draal swallowed heavily and blinked the colors out of his eyes, trying to stop everything from spinning. Growling weakly in annoyance, he pushed himself off the wall and steadied his legs as quickly as he could. 

He couldn't stop here, or he was at the mercy of those things. However, he did know that he didn't have much longer before his body shut down. The exhaustion was too heavy and he wouldn't be able to ignore it for much longer. If he really thought about it, he was surprised that he had made thus far, in his condition. He had to find some way to stop these creatures in their tracks so they wouldn't get to him when he did collapse. 

A loud, high pitched scream woke him from his panicking thoughts. In a split second, he came up with a plan. He could tell that it was getting closer to night, but the sun would still be out at this point. Gritting his teeth, Draal began to run again, picking up speed quickly. As soon as he found the right pace, he jumped and ducked his body into a ball, grunting slightly when he hit the ground, but kept going. He swerved harshly to the right, rolling up the tunnel wall. With all his strength, he barreled himself into the top of the underground corridor, and much to his relief, the soft earth gave way. Draal burst through the dirt and stone into the open air, out in the forest above him.

The troll untucked himself and landed on his knees, one arm on the ground to hold him up. More colors, brighter and more painful, flashed in his eyes. He shook his head, trying to shake away the force of the blow. That had been no easy feat, especially in his shape at the moment. He couldn't allow himself much time to recover, however, hearing the cries of the horrible things below him, already crawling up the whole he had just made. Draal swallowed and looked up with dizzy orange eyes. Indeed, the sun was still out, though beginning to set. Thankfully, the shade of the trees where keeping him safe, but he could see plenty patches on the ground where the bright ball of fire had light peeking through. 

Despite his pain, he grinned slightly in confidence, getting to his feet quickly. He had to hold on just a bit longer, and then he would be safe. Sure, he would be behind the others significantly if he stopped to rest now, but really he had no choice. Taking a surge of confidence, Draal began to run again, just as he heard the creatures peek through. They saw him going and screamed angrily after him, jumping out and racing after him on all fours. 

After he had run for a few more minutes, he knew they were catching up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that only three had followed him. He searched around him frantically, perking up slightly when he saw the perfect place. Draal wasn't normally one for quick thinking, but the fight of someone's life, no matter how weak they are, will give their brains a boost on survival skills. Smiling slightly to himself, he turned just as two of the things pounced at him, heading straight for his back again. The bigger troll reached out with his good arm and grabbed one's throat and threw it to the left, causing the other to stumble. As the one he threw stumbled and rolled on the ground, Draal kicked the second with his leg into the same spot. He stopped short and burst out a laugh of triumph, glaring at the two he had just thrown. 

The two had landed right on top of each other, struggling to get up while making strange noises of pain and confusion. Almost at the same time, the things lifted their heads and swung them to look at him, opening their mouths and screaming. Draal waited a few more moments, but horror dawned into his chest as they continued to untangle themselves, getting to their feet and hands.

Both of them were in a large patch of the bright sun.

Neither of them were burning.

They were still just as alive and kicking as before. 

Draal took a step back in terror, panic hitting him like a giant rock. That had been his only plan, and it wasn't going to work. He cried out when the third finally caught up and jumped on his back, climbing up and grabbing the horns on his head, trying to pull his head up and snap at his eyes. Draal grunted and growled in fear and pain, swinging his head back and forth to the best of his ability. Finally, in a burst of wild rage and fright, he jumped forward and slammed his horns into a tree, effectively crushing the creature on top of him. It fell limp to the ground as he backed away, panting heavily. 

The two things, behind him now, screeched terribly again, and for a moment, he thought it was really going to end here. He could feel his entire mind and body slipping. It wouldn't be long before he collapsed, and he doubted he would ever wake again. However, when his breath quickened out of terror, his nose picked up a strong scent he hadn't noticed before. 

The other trolls! They were near! Sniffing again, he found their scents not even half a mile away. To his delight, he could smell Blinky and Claire strongly, as well as a few of the ones he didn't know. He couldn't help but smile in utter relief, glancing back at the predators behind him. 

One had occupied itself with eating its fallen comrade, the other hovering over it, but not joining. As soon as Draal took off, it turned its head sharply and hissed, racing after him. The other remained behind, but the bigger troll imagined it wouldn't be long before it joined the hunt. He turned his head again and tried not to focus on that, instead keeping his mind on staying ahead of this thing. He felt a little bad that he was bringing this creature upon his comrades, but he imagined they would be able to handle it better than him now. 

Draal hurried as fast as he could force his body to go. He had to reach the others before the thing could trip him up again. A few times as he ran, it got too close. Draal had to turn and swat the thing away with his one good arm, and then keep going. His vision was starting to wain in and out, and he knew he barely had any time left. With a final burst of speed, he roared as he plowed through several trees and stacks of underbrush and bushes. He stopped himself quickly, panting heavier than he ever had before, unable to run any longer. 

When he lifted his head, much to his relief, there were three surprised figures standing ahead of him. The first he recognized was Claire, but before he could get a better look at the others, he felt himself beginning to completely slip away. "Claire...," he said weakly as he toppled over, his vision getting darker as he felt himself hit the ground. 

Then all went black. 

~

Jim stared in complete shock at the scene before him. It was like he had forgotten all knowledge of how to speak, or even move. He was frozen solid, his eyes wide and twitching slightly as he looked over the troll in front of him. Claire was looking at his wounds with huge concern, but she, too, looked just as shocked. Blinky was staring at the troll's face, just as silent and stuck as the Trollhunter was. For a moment, the teen denied it. There was no possible way he could be here. Even if he hadn't been stabbed by Angor Rot's poison, he would have died from the fall, or the collapse of the cave. He should ben shattered and dead, just a memory, as much as he missed him.

But as Jim looked him over for a few more moments, the doubts began to wash away. 

"Draal!" the six eyed troll gasped, bending over the unconscious troll, his four hands hovering over his body. Questions and worry flashed through his expression, and for a moment, Blinky looked as if he had no idea what to do, or how to even comprehend this.

"He's hurt, bad!" Claire said, looking over to her still frozen boyfriend. "Jim!" she called sternly.

The Trollhunter blinked, snorting and shaking his head. It almost felt as he was spinning from shock, but he did his best to shove it down as he carefully approached. He stopped just in front of the troll's head, his friends now silent as they watched their leader reach out slowly with his stone hand. His fingers lightly brushed the giant horns and Jim sucked in a sharp breath. His hand gently traced the long horns and down to the top of his head. Overcome with emotion, the Trollhunter fell to his knees and stared at the troll's face with a pained expression.

"Draal..," he muttered quietly, his voice cracking slightly. "It is you..."

Blinky got to his feet, completely flabbergasted. "How is this possible?! There has to be some-"

The troll never got to finish his sentence, cut short but a terrible screech that made everyone jump, chills running down their bones. Both of the teens jumped to their feet defensively, while Blinky backed away a few steps in fear. They heard something approaching quickly, sounding like it was coming on all fours. 

"What is-" Claire started, but speech was once again cut off by a loud hiss.

All three of them screamed in fright and shock as a horrible looking creature jumped out from behind the bushes that Draal had burst from. The teen's heart quickened in fear as they stared at the awful thing, like something out of horror movies they had seen. The demonic animal growled and spit at them as it arched its back, its pale eyes staring hungrily at each of them. It then saw the fallen troll that they were standing behind. Screeching again, it pounced with ferocious speed, opening it sunken jaws, its sharp rows and rows of teeth glistening in the fading light. 

Sensing the danger, Jim suddenly roared and leapt forward, taking his sword in his hands in a split second. Just before the thing could land on their unconscious friend, Jim stopped just in front of it, swinging his blade heavily and cutting the thing straight in half. One last scream escaped its throat before both of its parts fell limp to the floor, twitching slightly for a moment. It was a little bit before any more noise befell upon the area.

"Great grumbly gruesome!" Blinky swore, breaking the heavy silence. "What in the world was that?!" he approached cautiously to look the thing over. 

Jim panted heavily as he slung his sword back over his back, taken back from the sudden attack. "I... I have no idea!" he breathed, staring at the creepy creature warily. 

Claire gulped, looking slightly disgusted. "It looks sorta like a troll.. but it didn't turn to stone when you killed it."

"And it can't be a goblin, either," Jim added. "Those things, like, explode into mush when they die." A slight groan was heard, and the Trollhunter turned worriedly over Draal, gritting his teeth slightly before turning to Blinky. "Can you get us some help over here? And gather the best medical supplies we have for him."

The four armed troll nodded his head once before turning and leaving hurriedly. They heard him calling some of the other trolls when he got a good distance away. Jim turned his head back to Draal, slowly walking around to face his front again, his expression sad. His girlfriend looked at him and the troll worriedly, joining his side and taking his arm. 

"Do you think that thing is what hurt him like this?" she asked quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

The Trollhunter continued to stare down at his thought deceased friend. "I'd say so. There might have been more of them, too, judging by how many wounds he has." His eyes fell to the gash wound across Draal's chest, biting his lip to try and stop himself from tearing up. "How.. how is he even alive?" he whispered quietly, hanging his head and gritting his teeth, hard. 

Claire sighed softly and leaned in a little closer. "I know this is a lot. I honestly have no idea how he's back. But he's right here, and we're going to help him." She let go of her boyfriend and bento down, reaching out and gently stroking Draal's shoulder. 

Jim could only nod silently, knowing if he tried to say anything else, he would surely start crying. It had been a while since he had built up so many emotions, and after his transformation... they seemed a little harder to control. Taking a deep, shaky breath through his nose, he took a step forward and bent over as well, getting to his knees again. He lifted his head and looked at Draal's face, his hands reaching out and taking both sides of his head. His chest seemed to both squeeze and burst as he saw the pained expression on his friend, scratches falling over it here and there. Jim couldn't hold it back any longer, an both overjoyed and saddened sob bursting from his mouth as he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Draal's shoulders, burying himself into a hug. 

"Welcome back, big guy," he whispered between quiet choked sobs.

~

YAY RENIOUN-

Well, sorta.

Not really. 

Well, I was afraid this chapter would be horribly short, but it was actually pretty long!

Yay, me!! 

I hope you've all enjoyed!!