Trollhunters: welcome to the darklands

Chapter 17:BURNED

"When Jim woke up, it was to the thick smell of smoke and the sting of stomach acid on his armor. He scrambled to an upright position—at least as upright as the low ceiling of the Nyarlagroth's stomach allowed Jim to stand. In that moment, the Trollhunter realized two things. One, that the great eel was busy digesting Jim while he was (thankfully) unconscious. And two, that Jim could actually see in the stomach.
He looked over his shoulder and found Rob sitting dejectedly on top of a catapult boulder in the middle of a pool of churning yellow acid. He almost looked like a little kid in a time-out as he flicked tiny fireballs against the stomach walls, to no effect.
"Hey," said an unusually sullen Rob. "Glad to see you're up. I was just about to give ya CPR. As a duly deputized robo-officer of the"

"Future Police, I'm fully programmed in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
"Gee, thanks, 'Gun Robot,' " Jim said. "Or you could just burn your way out of this Nyarlagroth's gut and take me with you? Like how I saved you back at Skarlagk's fortress?"
Saying her name instantly reminded Jim of Skarlagk . . . and of her ultimate fate at Gunmar's hands. He still hadn't seen Gunmar, and yet the Trollhunter now hated the Gumm-Gumm warlord more than ever.
"I tried," Rob murmured. "But wouldn't ya know it? Turns out Nyarlagroths are fireproof on the outside and the inside."
Jim looked down at his legs. The Eclipse Armor protected them from the stomach's corrosive juices, yet he didn't know how long that would last—or how much breathable oxygen was left in there. With a thought, Jim vanished the whips that had become tangled about his body, while conjuring the Sword of Eclipse in his right hand.
"Okay," Jim said to Rob as he pointed the blade at the intestinal wall. "This is gonna get messy."

"The Nyarlagroth lumbered past Madness Canyon, until its tubular body spasmed and bellowed out an anguished screech. The Sword of Eclipse poked through the eel from the inside and sliced a slit across its flesh. Jim and Rob then wriggled out of the incision, along with several other partially digested contents from the Nyarlagroth's belly.
"The! Dark! Lands! Suck!" muttered Jim as he wiped eel ooze from his armor.
The Nyarlagroth continued past the canyon. Jim watched with surprise as its side stitched itself back together, fully healed within seconds.
"Those things are as tough as they are ugly," said Rob.
Rob held out his hand for a high-five, but Jim pretended he didn't see it.
"Look, Rob, back there with the Helheetis I stopped," Jim began, searching for the right words. "I, um . . . well, I'm sorry about your mom."
"Oh, that's okay, Jim," said Rob. "I don't know if I mentioned this to you yet, but my mother ate my father a while back, and I still have some unresolved issues around that."

"that."
"Uh, gotcha," Jim said, trying to hide his bewilderment. "Well, anyway, I guess this is good-bye, Rob."
Caught off guard, Rob floated over to Jim, studying the Trollhunter's soot- and slime-streaked face to see if he was joking.
"But-but-but, we're partners," Rob whined. "We ride together until the commissioner throws us into lockup for being a couple of loose cannons!"
Jim kept walking, saying nothing.
"Besides, we had a deal!" Rob added. "I lead you through the Darklands, and you take me back to the surface world for the greatest Gun Robot movie marathon since Action Con '87!"
"Only you didn't lead me anywhere," Jim finally said. "And things have changed."
Jim reached a high outcropping of rock and looked out past Madness Canyon. Beyond the labyrinth below him, he saw the remains of Skarlagk's fortress, miles away. Even from here, Jim could see the Horde picking at the broken citadel like a carcass. Oily black fumes drifted from its spire like a lopsided chimney,"

" blotting out the Darklands' photo-negative sun.
"Everything's changed," said Jim, his grim stare still fixed on what was left of Skarlagk's rebellion. "The deal's off."
"No it ISN'T," Jim heard Rob say, the Heetling's voice building with each word.
Turning around, Jim saw Rob's flames burning brighter than ever, his face screwed up in anger, before he reverted into his fireball shape.
"HOW DARE YOU?" Rob demanded. "HOW DARE YOU?!"
A great peal of flame arced forth from the fireball, streaking toward Jim. The Trollhunter summoned his shield and endured the blast, gnashing his teeth under the heat. Once the fusillade dissipated, Jim pivoted and smacked Rob away with the flat of his sword.
"How dare I?" Jim asked, incredulous, as the fireball's trajectory sent it bouncing off the ground. "Are you serious? Can you think about anyone other than yourself for even a second? What about those babies that are trapped a world away from their families?"