"Time travel?!"
"You don't expect us to believe that that's me?!" Jim's human self stated in an incredulous voice, Daylight still raised to strike.
Jim himself was too shocked to really respond, though he kept his body crouched protectively over his mate. He'd lowered his shield slightly, and it hid her from view. When she made to move, Jim shifted only slightly enough to press his knee against her shoulder, urging her to stay down. Thankfully, she fell still until he could figure out what the hell was going on.
"Well, of course," Merlin said, sniffing haughtily. "I see my spell will work wonderfully."
"Spell?" Barbara asked, giving the wizard a sharp look. "What spell?"
"The spell to turn Jim into a troll," the wizard stated as if it were the most normal thing to say.
"You want to turn me into a troll?" Human Jim exclaimed, Daylight dissipating as he turned to face the old man in stunned disbelief.
"Oh, my god," Jim mumbled to himself. Shaking himself free from his muted shock, he raised his voice. "Wait... wait a minute! Someone give me a timeline here!"
"Woah," Toby rushed forward as everyone else jumped in shock at Jim's voice. Tossing his Warhammer aside, the pudgy kid that looked like his best friend pushed past the human Jim and leaned in close to peer at the troll counterpart. "That's your voice, Jimbo! And he does kind of look like you. And he's clearly a Trollhunter. And—"
Jim leaned back, startled, an instinctive growl rising in his throat. Any version of Toby was his best friend, but he'd just been attacked and nearly killed (again), apparently tossed through Time itself, and his breeding mate was barricaded protectively behind his shield as everyone stared at him in amazement. "Back off, Tobes."
Toby grinned, but stepped back only to turn and grab the human Jim by the shoulders and shake the slack-jawed boy excitedly. "He is you! A troll you! So cool!"
"Why on earth would you do that to him?!" Blinky shouted, turning to stare askance at Merlin.
"Okay, enough," Jim growled, baring his teeth in frustration. "I've already had this conversation, and you'll have it sometime later, so can someone tell me when we are?!"
Human Jim's Amulet flickered and then his armor dissipated. The other Claire, who had remained silent through the exchange, was clearly just as shocked, but her experience with magic kept her more guarded. The shadow portal she had summoned rippled in the air ominously, something which his Claire was not too happy about.
"Ugh, get rid of that damn thing!" Claire shouted, finally getting fed up with being the protected damsel in distress. Jim didn't fight her as she pushed him back slightly, sitting up on her knees to pop her head over the rim of the shield and glare at her other self. "Get rid of it!"
The others jumped back again, especially when Claire's magic began to rise, whipping her hair around her face. With a gasp, the other Claire pulled her staff back, the portal dissipating into nothing.
"Woah!" Toby exclaimed again, dancing from foot to foot excitedly. "There's a future Claire too!"
"I must admit," Javier said from the stairs, his voice equally as excited. "This is the coolest thing ever!"
"When are we?" Jim repeated, breathing deeply and allowing his own armor to dissipate as his adrenaline eased. Without the added power of the Amulet to empower him, his fever and weakness rushed back, causing his body to slump. Claire braced herself under his arm, holding him up, her hoodie practically swallowing her in its volume.
