A Brother's Love

Bounty Hunters

John surprised Floyd one morning with that pink makeup bag. Floyd took the bag and opened it to see a beginner's makeup kit inside it. Everything in the kit included the basic brushes, basic foundation, primer, eyeliner, mascara, an eyeshadow palette, blush, and even lipstick. John even made sure to put makeup wipes in the bag. Floyd was so happy that day and spent almost all day testing out his makeup kit. John made sure to get Floyd anything new for his makeup bag every other weekend. Spruce and Clay learned that Floyd was into makeup and they supported him as well.

Floyd snapped out of his flashback and then stashed the photo back in his hair. He reached into his makeup bag and pulled out the makeup wipes. He began to wipe away the smug makeup on his face. Once he was done, he pulled out the eyeliner and a small handheld mirror. He brushed back his bangs and then started applying the eyeliner. When he was done, he set his bang back in place. Floyd still had doubts about Barb's plan but she and her father took Floyd in when he had no one. He still questioned, if he was still a Pop Troll or was he a Rock Troll.

Floyd:

I used to float, now I just fall down

I used to know, but I'm not sure now

What I was made for

What was I made for?

Floyd imagined seeing his Baby Branch being tossed in the air by John Dory, having fun. He saw Spruce and Clay doing their secret handshake. Floyd then saw his younger self running towards his brothers, full of joy and happiness to be with his brothers.

Takin' a drive, I was an ideal

Looked so alive, turns out I'm not real

Floyd reached out to the images of his brothers but they vanished in thin air.

Just somethin' you paid for

What was I made for?

Floyd clutched his heart.

'Cause I, I

I don't know how to feel

But I wanna try

I don't know how to feel

But someday, I might

Someday, I might

Think I forgot how to be happy

Somethin' I'm not, but somethin' I can be

Somethin' I wait for

Somethin' I'm made for

Somethin' I'm made for

Before he had another moment to himself, he heard Barb shouting. He ran to see what was going on and found her pet bat, Debbie covered in glitter. "What the...? What happened to Debbie?" Floyd asked.

Barb held up a letter that was scrapbooked in the shape of an ice cream cone. "Pop trolls. Their leader, Queen Poppy sent this and made Debbie look like a glitter bomb!" Barb shouted.

Both of them heard a fizzing sound coming from the letter. Barb held it up to her face, watched in confusion, and then the letter shot glitter in Barb's face. Some of the glitter landed on Floyd as well. The invite started to play Poppy's voice singing which caused Barb to growl. Riff pulled Floyd away and even King Thrash backed away knowing Barb was gonna go full rage. She furiously wiped the glitter from her face and started breaking things in her rage path. "Pop music isn't even real music! It's bland! It's repetitive! The lyrics are empty! Worst of all, it crawls into your head like an earworm!" she screamed.

Barb then takes a chainsaw and saws a couch in half, revealing a Rock Troll who was reading inside the couch, then Barb sits against half of the couch, gasping for breath. "You know, you can't get it out... Uh, I'm tired now. Hating things takes a lot of energy." Barb stated.

"You know I'm a Pop Troll, right Barb?" Floyd asked, wiping away the glitter from his face. "Who uses that much glitter?"

"Yeah, but you're cooler. This Queen Poppy thinks we can be best friends." Barb answered as she picked up the invitation, "Ugh! I need that Pop string! And I know who's gonna help me. The most feared bounty hunters in all of Trolldom."

Three out of the four bounty hunter groups arrived in the rock critter. There was Chaz, the smooth jazz troll, the Reggaeton Trolls, and the K-pop gang. Barb told them that she would give them their own territory that wasn't Hard Rock territory if one of them brought her Queen Poppy and the pop string. The bounty hunters agreed to Barb's terms and left to get Poppy. The only bounty hunters that didn't show up were the Yodelers. "I heard a rumor, uh, that they yodeled so hard, an avalanche fell on 'em," Riff stated.

"Riff, that's not true." Floyd said, "I've been in contact with Hickory through letters. He's in Lonesome Flats."

Barb knew that the Yodelers would be able to find Queen Poppy but she figured that someone else should be out there. Barb then turned to Floyd, "Queen Poppy might be heading to the other tribes to warn them. So we need someone on the inside. Someone she's never met in her village." Barb suggested.

"I don't know about this Barb," Floyd spoke.

"Come on, Floy Boy. You're perfect. You know more about the Pop Trolls than any of us."

"Barb, if I agree to do this, I want you to promise me that you'll spare Branch from your plans. I don't want him getting caught in the middle of all this."

"I'm a queen of my word. I'll spare your baby brother." Barb stated.

Floyd then agreed to get close to Queen Poppy. He took a motor critter and headed out to Lonesome Flats.