For Whom The Bell Tolls (Trollhunters continuation/Evil Jim AU)

1: So It Begins (Again)

Tobias Domzalski was dead. Again and again and again.
Jim had his fingers curled around Toby's  tightly. The warmth slowly drained from the boy's flesh, his hand falling away weakly. In the background, everyone stood in shock. Well, everyone who had survived.
One look around showed how badly Bellroc had decimated Arcadia this time round. The buildings were in ruin. Chunks of broken fire Titan and primordial Heartstone littered the landscape. Homes were on fire.
Aja and Krel stood behind Jim, their heads bowed. Yet another loss they'd suffered in the battle. Varvatos Vex lay deceased to the side.
Claire was being propped up by Blinky, a metal rod sticking out her leg. It hurt to move.
AAARRRGGHH!!! was turned to stone.
Douxie had already perished, an apparition left behind by his residual magic hovered for a moment before dissipating into thin air.

"Master Jim...this battle...we have lost so many..." Blinkous tried to muster, but even as one of the most clear minded trolls there was, Galadrigal struggled to find the words to comfort the boy he considered his son.

Jim hadn't moved. Anger coursed through him, a tidal wave of rage ready to burst out.

"I told him not to do this...I fucking told him...HE NEVER LISTENS!" Lake threw his fists into the remains of the taco truck, a large clang ringing out.

"Jim, Toby was just doing what he thought was right. I mean, we won?" Aja attempted to speak up.

This didn't sit right with Jim at all. How dare she. She'd been a thorn in his side this whole time. She may have been trying to comfort him, but he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything she had to say.
Yes, they'd won. But at what cost?Everyone dying, again.
He knew what he had to do. It was becoming force of habit by this point. He'd lost count of how many tines he'd reset. This was one of the worst outcomes yet.

"Aja...shut up." His voice hissed into the night.

The queen's eyes narrowed, "What did you just say?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Lake was on his feet faster than ever, Excalibur pointed at the young Akiridion.

"Great Gronka Morka! Master Jim! What has gotten into you?!" Blinky exclaimed, almost dropping Claire in shock.

Nuñez couldn't even bring herself to respond, she was frozen in fear. Jim was so...cold.

"You shut up too! All of you, just shut up!" He collapsed to his knees, letting out a piercing caterwaul to the sky.

He contemplated for a split second. Could he really go through all this again? He had to try. He couldn't give up until everything went perfectly. Until Toby lived.
Jim didn't even say goodbye this time, in his gut he knew that within a few months he'd be back here again, so what was the point? He rose to his feet and activated the amulet. The Time Stone glowed, the gears whirred. He blocked out the sounds of what remained of his friends begging to know what he was doing. Then everything faded away.

He was awakened by the sound of an alarm blaring next to his head.

7:00am

He was back in his own room, in his own bed. He sighed deeply. Could he bring himself to change things again? What was he even going to do differently this time? Who knew. Not Jim.
Jim fluffed up his bangs and rose up slowly. As he tried to stand a sudden rush of energy ran through him. It was happening again. A green haze clouded his vision momentarily, flickers of himself dotted about the room. Clutching at his head, he fell back down to sitting on the edge of the bed. He hated this, a lot. But he didn't have the time or patience to research what it meant.

James...

A strange, distorted voice emanated from his pocket. Jim pulled out his amulet and stared at it. What the hell?

James...

There the damn thing was again. He shrugged it off. He was probably hallucinating.

James...listen to me James...

"Are you talking to me?" He asked the amulet, bringing it close to his face to inspect.

Well, yes. Who else in this room is called James?

"M-Merlin?" Jim stammered, a little in awe. The voice didn't sound like Merlin but it wouldn't surprise him if the old wizard had modified his voice just to mess with him.

Oh, please. I detest that old fool! I was overjoyed to hear of his death. I would have rather I be the one the take his life away, but there's something rather cathartic about it being Arthur of all people.

"But he made the original amulet? Why would you hate him? Who are you? What do you want?"

Ah, 21 questions, goodie! What I want is no concern of yours James. It's what I can offer you that you might be interested in.

Lake hesitated. He must be going mad. How else could this be happening. But honestly, whilst he'd never admit it, he was desperate for a way to fix everything.

"Okay, I'll hear you out mysterious voice, on the conditions that you tell me your name and don't try any funny business. If you hadn't noticed, I'm in the middle of something." His kept his tone stern.

Ah, very well. If you must know my name, I have many, but you may call me Dhiren. It's so sweet watching you play hero over and over again James, rather pathetic actually. Why did you ever think you could save your precious little Tobias?

"I can...and I will...somehow." Jim snapped.

So optimistic! Well, I'm sure you may have noticed that you've been having some...strange episodes each time you reset, correct?

"Uhh...yeah? How'd you know about that?"

Easy, really. You and the Time Stone are now one and the same. You've reset the timelines so many times that you've fused with it. It's magic is within you, within your amulet. What you're experiencing in those episodes are other timelines, you are beyond time and exist within it and outside of it concurrently. You are seeing glimpses of other timelines, past and future.

"I..." Jim couldn't wrap his mind around this. It was a lot. He'd placed trust in this voice he didn't even know. Who the heck was Dhiren? He didn't have the patience for this anymore, "Well, uhh, this little chat has been fun weird amulet hallucination, but I gotta get to class..."

He crammed the amulet into the drawer of his bedside cabinet and locked it, placing the key in his school bag.
He sprinted to the garage, grabbed his bike and prepared himself to leave. The door opened and he exhaled. He was ready. He'd do it right this time. He'd also find out what the heck was happening to the amulet. Now he just had to wait for one more thing.

"Morning Jimbo! Sorry I'm late, Nana insisted I helped her get Mr. Meow Meow PI off the roof...man, that cat is so problematic!"

A tear nearly left Jim's eye, "Heh, morning Tobes..."