PART 3 SPOILERS IN THIS STORY! WATCH ALL OF PART 3 BEFORE READING!

Chapter 1- Everything Has Changed

The newly transformed Jim Lake Jr. took one last look at his family and friends staying behind in Arcadia. Sure, he was sad that he had to leave them behind as well as a bit nervous and unsure of what new obstacles lay ahead of him. However, he promised to come back. He knew he was coming back. There was no doubt in his mind. He didn't know how long it would be. No matter the case, he knew he would return home in the end. After taking in that last picture-perfect moment, he turned to catch up with Claire, Blinky, and the rest of the group as they head to New Jersey to find a new heartstone for the trolls.

Jim, without hesitation, took Claire's hand and grasped it tightly. Claire turned her head to look at him, seeing the sheer fright in his eyes. She could tell he was uneasy and that he was upset about leaving. He'd been through so much lately, not to mention he's now part troll. The mix of troll and human emotions all at once must drive him mad, not to mention he had to say goodbye to his mother after promising never to. Claire sighed, and then spoke, a little hesitant to ask.

"Jim?" Jim turned his attention towards Claire, then looked at how tightly he was grasping her hand. He started to speak, but then sighed and looked away. Claire took her other hand, took his arm, and hugged it tightly as they walked. "It's going to be okay."

"Yeah, I know…" Jim responded. He then began to think, and then spoke again. "Claire, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do what? Go with you on this quest?" Claire asked.

"Yeah. That." Jim responded.

"Of course. Why are you asking?"

"Because you're leaving your friends…your mom and dad…I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do."

"Jim, out of everything in my life, the worst thing I could think of is leaving you. I'm with you till the end." She said as she smiled.

"Well..." Jim said while having a loss for words from what Claire just said. He couldn't believe what he heard. He was so overjoyed he didn't know how to express it, and Claire could tell. "Wow...I..." Jim tried to say something back but had difficulty doing so. "Sorry, I'm not good at the whole romance thing. I might just start talking in Spanish again." Jim explained. Claire smiled back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I know a way you can be romantic without speaking Spanish."

"Really? How?" Jim asked before Claire cleared her throat and then spoke.

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep." Claire quoted from Romeo and Juliet. She knew he could respond to that.

"The more I give to thee, the more I have." Jim continued.

"For both are infinite." They said together as they then smiled as they gazed into each other's eyes. Claire then chuckled a little. Jim's face turned from happiness to confusion.

"What's so funny?" Jim asked her.

"You know, I think Romeo and Juliet just turned into Beauty and the Beast." Claire responded. Jim chuckled. He felt very lucky to have a girlfriend like Claire. Their love for one another really was infinite. No matter how he looked, she still loved him. He would never have imagined someone to like him with the way he looked. Sometimes, he even wished he could become human again. He missed being able to be in the sunlight. He missed eating normal food like tacos with Toby and steak with his mom and taking a ride on his now destroyed Vespa with Claire. His happy face turned into a sad one.

"So…on the school roof, when you said you loved me. You even love me as a troll?"

"Well, yeah. Even if you're a troll, you're still Jim Lake Jr., the same person I started dating a year ago."

"And you don't ever wish I was a human again?" Jim asked her. She hesitated to answer.

"Well, um, I-" She began to answer. Jim began to worry. He started to think that Claire doesn't like the fact that he's a troll. He thought as much. He didn't like how he looks as a troll either. As Merlin said though, it's permanent. There's no going back. Suddenly, Blinky interrupted Claire.

"Master Jim! We need your guidance."

Jim and Claire both ran to catch up to their wise friend. Merlin and Nomura were with him.

"Now, Merlin is correct in that there is a heartstone in New Jersey. However, this was centuries ago. The many ways of getting to New Jersey are long gone. We must act quickly as we are losing valuable moonlight. We need to find the fastest route possible."

"I have a map that could help as well as one on my phone." Claire said as she began to ruffle through her bag.

"If you have a map on your phone, why is there a paper map in your bag?" Jim said.

"My dad packed a travel bag for me again. I'm the one that packed my cell phone along with some Papa Skull tracks and a solar-powered charger. He packed a paper map, a poncho, and...chorizo...oh, Papi." Claire said as she shook her head while taking the items out of her bag. She then pulled out the map and headed to a large rock in a clearing in the woods. She laid the map out on the rock as everyone gathered around to examine it.

"Now, here's where we are." Claire said as she pointed to Arcadia on the map.

"And New Jersey is all the way over here." Jim responded as he pointed to New Jersey. Blinky was astonished.

"Oh dear. I have forgotten how far it was." Blinky realized.

"According to my GPS, if we don't count times of sunshine, it's going to take us at least 2 months to get there on foot. That is only if we don't stop for any breaks." Claire explained as she messed with her phone.

"Oh, I thought you were texting like all you do." Merlin said in disgust.

"Merlin, not everyone texts on their phone 24/7." Jim responded.

"No matter, I still don't like it." Jim rolled his eyes in response.

"Let's focus on the task at hand. If we apply the time we take for breaks from walking such long distances it would amount to about 3 to 4 months of travel." Blinky reminded everybody.

"Don't you agree that 4 months is a bit long? I don't necessarily need a heartstone but pure trolls do in order to survive." Nomura responded.

"Exactly. We have already been without a heartstone for half a year already. I'm afraid if we don't find another heartstone, we will have more concerns." Blinky stated.

"Like what?" Jim asked.

"Like I said when you first became the Trollhunter, the heartstone is our life source. It is what keeps us alive and walking in the shadows. I fear that if we don't find the heartstone soon, we will all be but a stone. The same fear now is on you as well, Master Jim." Jim gasped. He'd never put into consideration what would happen if he didn't have a heartstone nearby. The mere thought of it scared him. All he considered is how he would save the world from the wrath of Gunmar and Morgana. Claire also gasped along with him. They both looked at each other in concern.

"We need to find a faster way there. There must be something. Anything. Maybe a gyre or a transportation device like how Claire's shadow staff was?" Jim added to the conversation. Blinky paced back and forth thinking of what there could possibly be nearby that would aid them in their quest.

"There was a gyre that traveled from Arcadia to New Jersey long ago. but those ways of travel are long gone. They were destroyed to prevent the gum-gums from traveling to other lands."

"If I may add, I know of a village called Las…Vegas. There is a troll village right below it where there might be some useful information." Nomura said. Blinky then snapped his fingers with an idea in mind.

"Of course! The Paiute trolls!"

"Paui what?" Jim asked.

"Paiute. They derived their name from the Native Americans that have settled on this land many centuries ago. They are masters when it comes to potions and spells. They might also have some information about ways to travel to New Jersey faster than 4 months. They may be able to help us."

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's head to Las Vegas." Claire said as they began to walk again. Jim began to walk as well, but then stopped, thinking.

"Wait, shouldn't we travel in a different way other than walking to Las Vegas? Isn't there a troll village somewhere nearby?"

"Alas, Master Jim, the closest troll village is Las Vegas. Since Trollmarket is now destroyed and the heartstone is no longer alive, the gyre is now just a metal sculpture. It no longer serves its purpose."

"If we want to get to Las Vegas, we need to find a faster way. If we count breaks and sunlight, it'll take about 6 days to get there." Claire stated as she looked at her GPS.

"Unfortunately, walking is our only option until we get to the Paiute village. We better hurry. We're burning moonlight." Blinky said. They began to walk again. Jim, however, walked a little slower than the others and stayed in the back of the pack, pondering over some things.

3 days go by. The woods turned into deserts and it seemed as if they were in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, with Claire's GPS, they were about to find their way around. Nothing eventful really happened though. During the nights, they walked and during the daytime, they hid to combat the sunlight. Claire and Merlin had to resort to a night shift schedule, so they both could sleep during the day. The trolls didn't need to sleep. Now that Jim is a troll, neither did he. He found it weird that he didn't need any. The days started to feel extremely long for him. Being awake all 24 hours of the day felt like the days would never end.

They arrived at an area called South Avawatz Mountains where a cave was found to help the trolls evade the beaming hot sun. Claire got her sleeping bag ready in order to sleep for a few hours. She saw that Jim was gazing at her from a distance.

"Jim, what is it?" Claire asked him before he realized she had noticed what he was doing. He shook his head in order to bring himself back down to earth. He began to walk over to her.

"Sorry, I uh…I just like looking at you that's all. I'm your boyfriend. It's what I do."

"Well yeah, I can tell with those eyes." Claire responded. Her eyes deepened as she looked at Jim. She then caressed his stone cheek with her hand. "You know, your eyes are just the same as when you were human; a beautiful ocean blue." Claire said before smiling at him. He couldn't help but smile after seeing her do the same. It was the one thing he cared about the most; her happiness. Claire began to get herself in the sleeping bag.

"Yeah, one of the only human qualities I have now. You know, Toby is right about one thing." Jim said as he watched her settle herself in the sleeping bag.

"What?"

"If I get a haircut, a pair of sunglasses, and a dentist, I could almost look human again."

"Jim, I wasn't kidding when I told you that you're not hideous in any way." Claire said before Jim smiled again.

"Thanks for that. What would I do without you Claire." He said before kissing her forehead. "I would kiss you on the lips but…you know…troll breath. Have a mint on you?"

"I should in my pack. Go ahead and grab one." Claire said as Jim walked over to her pack and looked through it to find a mint. He'd never had a mint before as a troll so he didn't know if he would like it or not. Even if he didn't like it, he would still make a sacrifice and eat it for Claire's sake. As he buried his troll-like four-fingered hand into the bag, he came across a blue fabric. He took it outand gasped.

"C-Claire?" Jim called to her.

"Is everything okay Ji-"She stopped as she noticed what he was holding. It was one of his blue turtle-neck sweaters from his human days. "Jim...let me explain."

"Why do you have one of my sweaters…" Jim asked. He wasn't angry. He was about to cry though. Claire got out of her sleeping bag and walked over to him.

"Look, I was in your house around the time you went into the elixir and-" Claire said until she was interrupted.

"Do you really miss me being a human? Be honest with me. Please. I won't be mad" Jim said as she took a breath. She then began to tear up. Jim's face filled with guilt from seeing her cry. He never liked seeing the one he loves so sad.

"When you went into that elixir, I had no idea what happened to you or if I ever were to see you again. I couldn't bear the thought of it." Claire said as Jim listened. "I felt the same way when you were battling Gunmar and Morgana. Losing you means losing my whole world. And if I lost you again I…I…" She started crying even harder. Jim felt so guilty of making her feel like this. He ran over to her and grabbed her in a hug. He held her tightly. He then took his hand and caressed her cheek.

"Claire, I'm not going anywhere. I promise. There is no way I am leaving your side. And another thing; Even though I change into a troll, it doesn't mean I change my love for you. Like you said, 'Inside, I'm still me.' Okay?" Claire sniffled and then looked into Jim's blue eyes.

"Okay." Claire said as she smiled. "To answer your question though, there are days when I do. Don't get me wrong. I love you no matter what. Whether you're a troll or human or even…oh, I don't know, a quesadilla."

"Wait, a quesadilla?"

"It's been a long 3 days, Jim."

"Tell me about it. I haven't slept in 3 days." Jim said as he quietly chuckled. She then chuckled with him.

"Anyway, yes I do sometimes. That shouldn't matter though. What matters is that I will love you no matter what the case." Claire said before noticing Jim's face saddened. "Is that what you were worried about?" Claire asked as Jim let go of her slightly and held her hands.

"Not exactly. I still feel like everyone would like it if I was a human again. Actually, I want to be human again too." Jim said as he got choked up.

"Oh…Jim." She said as she caressed his cheek. Jim was in tears. Claire pulled him back into a hug. After a long hug, she lets him go and sat on her sleeping bag. She patted the ground right next to her.

"Stay here with me. You could use my company." She said as she got back into her sleeping bag and lied down. Jim nodded to her and laid next to her. They both gazed at each other once again as Claire stroked his cheek with her hand. "It's gonna be okay, Jim." She said as Jim held her hand with his. He gazed into her eyes, then leaned in for a kiss. She did the same. The kiss lasted only for a few seconds. Their lips came apart.

"Huh, wow."

"What? Is it my breath? I had the mint!" Jim asked, concerned.

"No. That was my first time kissing a troll." Claire said before seeing Jim upset. "And it was remarkable." Claire said. Jim chuckled, then smiled and stroked her hair.

"Get some sleep. Don't stay up on my account, okay?"

"Okay." Claire said as she closed her eyes. She fell asleep a few minutes later. Jim continued to lay there, watching her sleep. He then shifted his gaze towards the blue turtle-neck laying on a rock beside them.

"There has to be a way to change back."

Merlin decided to seclude himself a little farther away from everyone else in the cave in order to sleep. He felt as if the Trolls would keep him awake. He began to set up what was given to him. He took out a sleeping bag from his pack. Merlin pondered his sleeping bag for a while. He couldn't understand a lot of things in this day and age. Things had gotten way too technical for him to begin with. The only aspect of his life that was complicated was his magic. Now, in his opinion, he felt as if everything was too hard to comprehend.

"Agh, there's never any breathing room in this thing." He took the sleeping bag and threw it to the side. He then waved his hands in a particular motion. A green light began to surround his hands. The light was then directed towards the spot where the sleeping bag used to be. A king size bed began to form in front of Merlin. It wasn't particularly up to his standards, but it was enough to make him comfortable. The bed was green, almost the same color as the light that came from his hands.

"That should be…eh…satisfactory." He said as he began to get in bed. He put the covers over him and rested his head on the down-pillow that he had made with his magic. "You'd think to be asleep for centuries, you wouldn't need any more sleep at all." He said after letting out a big yawn. The past 3 days had been very boring to him. There was nothing to do but walk, walk, and walk some more. He found it nice to be able to rest and have some time to himself for a few hours. After a while he fell asleep. Suddenly, his eyes opened. However, he hadn't woken up. He was still asleep. His eyes glowed a bright yellow. Suddenly, a voice came out of him, but not his own. It was that of a woman's voice.

"Well, hello Merlin. Did you miss me?"

CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON