Faded Rainbows

Drop the Beat

"...I don't get it; they've been out so long... There's got to be something we can do to help...!"

Trollex groaned softly, opening his eyes a bit only to screw them shut again. It was so bright... His entire body hurt, and he felt like if he so much as moved he'd be sick. He tried to remember the last thing that happened before he blacked out.

That's when his eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, his body and mind screaming in protest of two very different things. He glanced over, seeing a very startled Poppy and barb a few feet away. He tried to push himself out of the bed, but his abilities seemed to be on the fritz. He fell off, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

Barb and Poppy ran over, doing their best to help Trollex back up to sit on the edge of his bed. Once he regained himself, he looked between the two queens. "W-Where is everyone... are they ok...?"

The queen of rock pushed him gently by the shoulders, laying him down. "Everyone is fine. They're all stable and being cared for by the best we have here... Don't worry; the Rock trolls will make sure you're all fine."

He looked to the nearest source of the blinding light, and realized it was the sun shining through a window on the surface. "We're... out of the water...? Did you guys take us all to Volcano rock city...?"

Poppy nodded. "We had to... we couldn't stay down there and help, we'd have had to come up eventually. We decided to bring you guys up so we could make sure you were all ok."

He sighed, letting his eyes slip shut again. He was so tired... "Did anyone stay behind, or did they all come up...?" His mom had told him that some are more affected than others by the fast tempo, but it's still good for all involved to get care.

She nodded again. "Yeah, Cooper, Barb and I checked ourselves with the help of her Angler busses. Techno reef is completely empty."

He felt a pang of fear bubble up in his heart. Hearing that his home was completely empty was disturbing on a level he couldn't quite place. "And Coral... is he ok? He's the youngest; he'll be hit hardest..."

The two queens shared a worried look before Barb spoke. "He's in the same state as the others; you're the first to have woken up... We hoped you could explain a bit about all this so we can help a bit better."

As the two waited for the king to respond, they were shocked to hear a soft snore slip from him. "Seriously? He's asleep again?" She looked at Poppy. "Do YOU know what's going on at all? You yelled something about the Tempo... isn't that the speed of a song?"

She nodded. "Yeah... When Trollex, Branch and I went to Symphonyville, we heard one of the trolls there play his violin. It was a really slow song, but it was nice. Suddenly, Trollex just falls asleep! After that, he said his tribe is affected by the speed of the song... I had forgotten to mention that to Suki and Guy Diamond..." She scratched at her hair, looking at the young sleeping king. She was happy he'd gotten his color back, but the cost was nearly him and his whole tribe.

The two queens perked up when they heard approaching footsteps, turning to the doorway in time to see Branch step inside, eyes staring to the floor with his chin in his hand. He was clearly deep in thought, paying little attention to his surroundings.

Poppy and Barb stepped aside, making room for Branch as he walked up to Trollex's bed. He still didn't acknowledge them, his eyes closing as he concentrated. "Could green be a clue? The colors used to match the strings... maybe I had it wrong, maybe there was a green string once..." He rubbed at his temples. "But that would mean they were around DURING the time of the strings, not before..."