return from the shadow realm

"Why can't I open a portal? Wei's been in there two days. He's going to die." Claire says sorrowfully, collapsing to her knees in front of Draal in the hero's forge.

"You're overdoing it. You've been at it all day yesterday, the staff still takes too much out of you." Draal says.

"We don't even know if he's still alive. I hate to say this, but he was hurt and he isn't alone in the shadow realm as far as we know." Toby says sadly.

"Wei is strong warrior. Won't die easily." Arrrgggh says, patting Toby's back.

"How can you just say that Wei would die? He's stronger than any of us." Claire asks, tears falling down her face.

"I'm sorry, but he's in there with Angor Rot." Toby says.

"I know... Believe me." Claire says, hugging her knees to her chest.

"No success?" Jim asks, entering the heroes forge with a small trunk under his arm and gets a headshake negative from Draal.

"Well, as much as it sucks, we need to get to school. It won't help if we're miserable here and get in trouble up top additionally." Jim says, making his human friend get ready to head to school disappointed.

"What's that?" Toby asks, noticing the trunk.

"Bagdwella wants me to bring this to the post office and send it to this address." Jim says, showing them a card with the address.

"What's in it?" Toby asks intrigued.

"Don't know. But she warned me not to open it." Jim answers.

"Why are you acting as a troll courier?" Toby questions.

"She said it's a call, as in a call the trollhunter has to do." Jim tells him with a sigh, heading out of the trollmarket and to school with his two friends.

After first class the group of three are standing at the lockers, when Steve tells Jim that he's going to destroy him during the touch-a-truck-athon.

"Uhh, right. That's today. I wanted to take the box to the post office during lunchbreak." Jim says annoyed.

"Let me take it for you. I need a distraction anyways." Claire suggests.

"Yeah, let us handle it." Toby agrees, leaning against Claire, who immediately slaps his arm off of her.

"Really? Thanks you guys are the best." Jim says, giving Claire the box and Toby the adress.

"Remember, don't open it." Jim tells them, before heading for the competition.

"Right. Come on Toby, we have a mission." Claire says, focusing on accomplishing the task.

"So where do we send the box anyways?" Toby asks.

"You have the address." Claire replies, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, seeing him stop and search his pockets.

"Uhhh, you didn't happen to see where I put it right?" He asks nervously.

"Toby! You had one job. Hold the card." Claire groans, setting down thr box and looks over the floor the way back to Jim's locker.

Hearing a creaking and a loud thud from behind her she sees Toby crouched over the box suspiciously.

"What was that? Did you open the box?" Claire asks disappointed.

"I thought maybe Bagwella put the address on the inside in the top of the box." He says shrugging his shoulders, the address card falling out of his pants' back pocket.

"Here it is." Claire says, picking it up and waves it in front of his face.

"So, what was in it?" She asks a little curious herself.

"Nothing. I opened it, there was this whooshing sound, but that's it." Toby replies, suddenly floating as he's reaching for his backpack.

"Uhh, Claire?" He asks nervously.

"What?" She asks, stuffing the box in her backpack and turns to him.

"What did you do?" She asks annoyed.

"I don't know. It must be because of the whoosh." Toby answers, being stuck under the school's walkway roof.

"Here." She says throwing up his backpack, which weighs him down enough to land on the ground.

"Uff." He then grunts falling over, landing flat against the floor, unable to move.

"What is it now?" Claire asks angrily.

"I don't know, I feel so heavy." He says.

"Well with how many Tacos you can eat in a day that's not surprising to me." Claire retorts.

"Hey, that's uncalled for. I meant that I can't move, like I'm being pulled into the floor." Toby groans uncomfortably.

"Great. What are we going to do?" She asks, holding her head in annoyance.

"Blinky. Bring me to Blinky." Toby says.

"Alright. He's at Jim's house. Let me steal a rope from gym. Don't fly away!" She orders him.

"Roger." He says, about to float away, but clutches onto his backpack, keeping him on the floor.

A few minutes later Claire returns with a rope and ties one end around his waist and the other to her bike. After that she rides to Jim's house, most of the way going without a problem, pulling the floating Toby behind her. Only the two times when he gets heavy she had to take a break for him.

When she arrives at Jim's house Claire tosses the weightless Toby in their friend's home, with Toby shouting for Blinky's help. Blinky and Draal then rush up to the living room, seeing Toby floating on the ceiling with Claire also starting to float slightly.

"My god, what happened?" Blinky asks.

"Toby opened Bagdwella's box and now he's floating around and it's spreading appearantly." Claire says, getting lifted in the air.

"Oh my." Blinky says, also starting to float, alongside the furniture.

"What box was this?" Blinky asks.

"This one." Claire answers, pulling the box out of her bag.

"A curse box? Where did you get such a dangerous object?" Blinky asks.

"We were trying to help Jim and bring it to the post office." Toby says.

"Such a curse cannot be broken, it can only be passed on. Vendel, we need to get to Vendel in trollmarket. He can help us." Blinky informs him.

"But how are we going to get there?" Toby asks, getting an idea to try and anger Claire to open a portal, the only time the Staff changed color having been when Toby made fun of her.

"Claire! This is all your fault. You decided we have to send the box away, you have that staff and can't even use it and you trapped Wei in that shadow realm." Toby says.

"I can't believe you'd dare stoop so low Toby." Claire says, gritting her teeth, grabbing her staff and remembers Draal telling her to channel her emotions. She swings the staff and creates a portal in the middle of the room, saying " go through the portal, now. Before the curse gets even stronger." Claire tells Toby and the two, now floating Trolls. The four of them floating through the portal and appearing in Vendel's room.

"I... I did it!" Claire says excitedly while Vendel who starts to float as well, looks at the still humanoid Bliky asking, "what did you do now Blinkous?"

"Don't look at me. It is Toby who was cursed." Blinky says.

"I'll apologize a million times later, but can you stop this curse?" Toby says.

"Of course, I just need something to seal it in. Anything." Vendel says.

"Wait. Not anything. I know just the thing." Toby tells them and tells Draal to fetch the firecrystal war hammer from the forge's armory. Once Draal brings them the weapon Vendel seals the curse in the weapon.

Once the curse is contained to the weapon Claire hurries off in a rush, running straight to the heroes forge.

"Where is she going in such a hurry?" Vendel asks surprised, since Claire is his favorite of the four humans he knows.

"Wei! She's going to try and open a portal to get him." Toby says in realization and runs after the girl with Draal and Blinky.

"Where are you heading in a hurry?" Jim asks his friends, arriving in trollmarkt when they rush past him.

"Heroes forge. Claire. Portal." Toby huffs winded from running at his top speed.

"She can make portals now?" Jim asks excited.

"Come on trollhunter." Draal says, leading the charge. When they arrive in the forge they see Claire concentrate in the middle of it, the staff blackening and its claw like end opening, a slowly growing portal forming in front of her, with Claire holding the staff tightly, using her anger at Toby, herself, Angor Rot and her missing brother to fuel the portal.

"Cla..." Jim is about to greet her, but Draal's metal hand covers his mouth, whispering to the group of three beside him, "let her concentrate."

The four and Claire have to wait for about 2 minutes, the portal she opened getting weaker and decreases in size, only being as big as a basketball now.

"It's not working." Toby says saddened, sitting down on his new hammer weapon.

"Spoke to soon buddy." Jim says, a grin on his face, when a dark hand appears out of the portal, another hand, having an obsidian gauntlet joining moments later. The hands grab the side of the portal and force it open, Wei's body gradually coming out of the portal until he's standing in front of Claire, his body still darkened with green markings and his scars also glow in an eery green color, two bull horns and his gauntlets. The only clothing being his ripped pants.

"Wei!" The four males shout in relief, but their changed comrade doesn't react.

"Wei." Claire says softly, dropping her staff with the portal disappearing behind her friend.

"Wei, you're here." She says, hugging him around his neck with tears of relief falling freely from her eyes.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" She asks worried, releasing him from the hug, looking him deeply in his black and green glowing eyes.

"Ugh, argh." He grunts, grabbing one of his horns and pulling on it harshly, after two more tugs he finally pulls off the mask, his body turning normal human again and he holds his eye mask in his hands.

"Claire? You're safe. That's great." He says relieved, pressing the girl tightly to his larger frame, the other rushing over, welcoming him back.

"What happened? How long was I in the shadow realm?" Wei asks.

"You don't know?" Toby asks.

"Well, there isn't exactly day and night in that realm. And I wasn't myself." He says, glancing at his mask.

"You were there for two days. What happened to Angor Rot?" Jim tells him.

"He has the crystal and vanished shortly after I helped Claire out of that place." Wei informs them.

"So, he's here again?" Jim says to himself.

"That'd be my guess. Yes." Wei answers.

"Now, if you don't mind I'd like to talk with Claire." Wei says.

"Ahem, yes. Come along." Blinky says, leading the others out of the forge.

Wei takes Claire's hand and pulls her over to the soothscryer, sitting down against the statue with Claire.

"What's on your mind?" She asks him, looking at him concerned.

"I couldn't take it off in there." He says tiredly.

"Take what off?" She asks.

"The mask. I saw my father. Well, a vision of him." Wei says.

"What did the vision say?" She asks.

"He told me I'd never be free of him." Wei replies heavy heartedly.

"It was probably just a manifestation of your fears." Claire tells him.

"You're probably right." He says with a light chuckle, looking at her.

"What's funny?" She asks.

"How I'm talking to you for 2 minutes and it's like my two days of fear are just washed away." He says, pulling her into his side.

"You're welcome. I tried getting you out sooner. I really did, I just didn't know how this thing worked." Claire says, handing him her staff.

"Shadow staff." Wei says, holding it in front of him, creating a massive portal and stands up, holding his free hand out for her.

"Do you trust me?" He asks.

"With all my heart." She says, smiling at him while taking his hand.

Wei goes through the portal with her, coming out on the mountain they took Blinky days earlier.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything you can do by now." She says, the two sitting down on the edge of the mountain, their feet dangling over it while Claire leans in his side.

"My mentor once told me how the staff works. And I got a bunch of rage build up inside me." He chuckles, wrapping a strong arm around her.

"I'm so glad to have you back." She says, hugging him tightly.

"I'm glad to be back." He says.

"Hey, you wanted to talk to me when we got back from Florida." Claire reminds him.

"Right. It has to do with my mask. When I went into Limbo with the soothscryer I met a blood-goblin. Or rather a ghost of one. And he had a vision of the future. In the future I'll be a half goblin." Wei informs her worried.

"So why are you telling me this?" Claire asks.

"I just think you deserve to know. Since you know about my feelings for you." He replies.

"Thank you. But I don't care. If the half goblin you is as sweet and caring as the current you then I will always welcome you in my life." She tells him shyly.

"Thank you." He says, squeezing her hand thankfully.

"Wei." She says, making him look at her.

"Hmm?" He asks, before Claire's lips clash against his softly with her putting her arms around her neck.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again." She tells him, resting her forehead against his.

"I'll try." He replies with a wide grin.

"It's getting late huh?" She says after a while of silence, simply watching over the bright lights of the city below.

"Yeah. I should get you home." He says, grabbing her hand and makes the staff unfold again, creating a portal beneath their feet, jumping into it with her in his arms, reappearing in front of her house, beneath her window.

"Here. This is yours now." He says, giving her the staff.

"But I'm nowhere near as good as you with it." She says.

"That's a good thing. Believe me, but you've earned the right to wield this weapon." He tells her, giving her the collapsed staff.

"You know, we didn't talk about our kiss yet." She says blushing.

"You're right. So, you kissed me. You start." He says with a grin, rubbing her forearms calmingly.

"Fine. I guess that's fair. Given my reluctance to the subject in the past." Claire agrees.

"I guess once Jim told me how I'm like his sister, I realized that I already had an amazing man who's grown close to my heart watching over me." She says, with him smiling wordlessly.

"I guess I'm trying to say I love you." Claire tells him gingerly.

"I love you too." He says, kissing her longingly, pressing her up against her house.

"Honey, did you hear something?" The two hear Claire's mother ask.

"No, it's probably an animal in the woods again." Her father answers.

"Guess you should head in soon." Wei says.

"Yeah. Soon, which gives us a few more minutes." She says with a playful grin, pulling him around a corner, behind the fence around the backside of her house.

"So, you are OK with what the goblin foretold?" He asks, following her behind the fence.

"I think so. Maybe it will be a challenge if you physically change much, but with you beside me I'm willing to face it." She tells him, caressing his face and kisses him.

"You are amazing." He says, lifting her up in his arms.

"No. I just know what I want and I'm not afraid to take it anymore. Almost loosing you taught me not to take our time for granted." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Wei then makes out with her for a few minutes, ending up with him lying on his back and her lying on his chest, their faces almost constantly connected by their lips.

"You are the most gorgeous girl I've ever met." He compliments her, sitting up against the fence with her in his lap.

"Well you haven't seen many girls." She replies teasingly.

"Haha. Fine then I won't compliment your beauty anymore. Like how soft your skin is, how warm your brown eyes look or how every time you smile my heart races." He tells her teasingly, tracing a finger over her arm, over her eyebrows and cups her cheek lovingly.

"Aww, you tease. Fine, you find me gorgeous. Thank you." Claire tells him, kissing him with a warm smile.

"You know... I have seen a lot of boys and you certainly are top notch material." She tells him, dragging her hands up his naked torso, careful not to hurt his wound.

"Thanks." He says with a grin, wrapping his arms around her back and stands up, pushing her back against the wooden fence, eagerly kissing her neck, caressing her outer thighs.

"Hah, slow down. I still need to look presentable when I'm entering my house and at school." She says with a gasp, pushing him away slowly.

"Sorry." He apologizes.

"Don't worry. I was tempted to let you continue for as long as you wanted." She tells him a coy smile on her lips and a finger pressed on her lips, making her look even more seductive.

"Ahem, yeah. You should probably head in before I can't stop myself anymore." He says blushing.

"Fine, see you tomorrow, boyfriend." She says, pecking his cheek and sways her hips as she walks past him, heading to her front door, his eyes following her intensely.