Hey, guys! So...I saw Trolls: Band Together, and it! Was! Freaking! Amazing! Everything from the laughs to the smiles and the sad parts and the heartwarming family reunions, oh! It truly was a masterpiece! In fact, this movie got me inspired to do a special AU spin on it because with the theme of family reunions, why, I figured it'd be the perfect way to do a "What If" spin on another Troll, a purple Techno antrollpologist, getting to reunite with a family member of her own. And for those of you who have been following my Trolls stories, I think you might already have a feeling of who it's going to be.
Now, I want to make this very clear from the get-go: this will be an AU spin on the movie; everything that happens in this story is NOT connected to the current canon events of the current franchise's films, my Trolls stories, or I.M. Rally's stories. I WILL be doing a "Canon take" on this movie in the future later on, properly bringing in Branch's brothers, Poppy's sister, and any other essential character that I feel is deemed worthy, but that isn't gonna be out for a long while.
Just repeating it for clarification: this is an AU take!
To help imagine the setting of when this AU is taking place: if you have already seen the movie, then you'll already know this, but if you haven't, then this might be a small spoiler ahead of time: Trolls: Band Together takes place one month after the events of Trolls World Tour. Also, taking into account the Trollstopia series, I imagine that Trollstopia occurred about 2 1/2 weeks after the events of Trolls World Tour, since according to the first episode, Poppy's idea for forming the city occurred "weeks after" everything that happened in the TWT movie.
So, with this in mind, I imagined that this AU take on Trolls: Band Together's timeline takes place two weeks after the formation of Trollstopia (during season 1 events of course), which falls hand-in-hand with the "one-month" timeline of the TBT movie. And in my AU, the Troll leaders and our favorite ambassadors will have a role in this movie, too; you'll see what they'll be doing! And, of course, my O.C.s, as well as my closest buddies, I.M. Rally and Cheah's O.C.s, will also be part of this AU too!
All right, I've wasted enough time talking' let's dive right into this story! I do not own Trolls or Trolls World Tour or Trolls Band Together or any of the characters in the franchise or the songs! And I especially don't own any of the songs I use from the movie or any other song I pick out in general! I also don't own the characters of Trollstopia! The only thing I do own are my O.C.s Melody Song, McJagger, Buckaroo, Stereo, and Twilight Tidepool; I.M. Rally owns her O.C. Aggie Galido, and Cheah owns his O.C. Finn Okazaki Tidepool. Now, strap in, ladies and gentlemen, and let's get on with the show!
A long time ago, about 16 years ago, at Techno Reef, the waters were calm, the sea was glowing brightly with bioluminescent fish and the shine of Techno Trolls that were swimming around happily.
Over by where the heart of the reef was, a massive crowd of Techno Trolls had gathered around where the DJ was playing music. His head bopped to the beat of the song that he was currently playing while Techno Trolls all danced and partied and were having so much fun!
Near where the DJ was playing music sat the king of the Techno Trolls: King Ocean. He had royal blue skin, various tones of purple in his optic fiber-like hair, purple eyes, light purple pixels on his cheeks, rainbow-colored striped armbands that covered his whole arms, light blue pixilated patterns on his fins, and a magenta heart on his chest, and he wore a gold crown with green and purple gemstone on it and a green cape. Sitting next to him was his wife, Queen Seastar, the queen of the Techno Trolls. She had magenta skin with green optic fiber-like hair and matching green eyes, green-and-pink patterned armbands that covered her whole arms, a matching green heart on her chest, and orange stripes and pixilated patterns on her tailfins, and she wore a silver crown with blue gemstones around it, a silver gemstone on top, and a light blue cape.
Currently in Queen Seastar's lap and lying on top of her head were two twin baby guppies, both of whom were young, energetic princes.
On her lap was the first-born son, Prince Trollex, and the heir to the throne once he reached the proper age in the future. The little Trollex had matching blue skin, inherited from his father, currently had a single strand of green optic fiber-like hair and matching green eyes, which he inherited from his mother, light blue pixels on his cheeks, and rainbow-patterned arm bands hat covered his arms (a trait from his father), a magenta heart (father's trait), and blue-light green, and pink pixilated patterns on his fins, as the tip of his fins were purple.
On Queen Seastar's head was Trollex's twin brother and fellow prince: the second-born son, Prince Synth. He had dark purple skin (a mix of both his parent's skin colors), different tones of pink optic fiber-like hair (inherited from his father but the color from his mother), matching pink eyes (his mother's trait), light purple pixels on his cheek (his father's trait), green-and-pink patterned armbands that covered his whole arms (inherited from his mother), a matching green heart (his mother's trait), pale blue square neon outlines on his fins and the edge of his tailfins were pink (similar to Trollex).
Both guppies were listening to the Tehcno music happily, bopping their heads and mimicking raving motions together.
Now, you might think that this is where our story starts, but it actually doesn't take place here. It actually takes place in another part of the reef.
Down a current and through the coral, there resided a luxurious seashell mansion home. The house itself was created from dozens of white pearl clam shells and dozens of tiger-stripe conch shells, all dusted with a coating of light blue sea salt that colored on-key with the shite shells. The roof of the house was a ginormous purple conch shell where small sea-sponge lanterns hung from the rim of the roof and glowed many colors aplenty; the windows were made of teal sea glass that shimmered in the glazing lights, the door itself made of a dark blue flat seashell with tiny gold seastars decorating it, and a cast-iron coral fence with a gate archway made entirely of pearls that held the gate doors that allowed anyone to come to the door and say hello. This home was none other than Tidepool Manor, home of the Tidepool residents.
Inside the house, the focus was on a bedroom, and even though the room was currently dark, you could tell from the bits of light that shined in through the window that the bedroom walls were light purple. There was a light green conch shell-shaped bed, covered by a light blue comforter, and had a seaweed green pillow; resting on the pillow was a plush Seacorn with a lilac ribbon adorned with a blue moon shell. There was also a nightstand, which was a sizeable cube-shaped piece of orange coral, a yellow-and-blue glow fish that was in a tiny fish bowl, which was currently asleep, a purple clamshell alarm clock with a disco ball pearl inside that showed the time in green electronic numbers, and a light purple seashell notepad and a matching pen to go with it. Around the room, there was also a small vanity with a few hair accessories and a brush that rested by the mirror, a bookshelf full of various books, and a toy chest that had various fun toys for any child to play with.
Suddenly, the doorknob began to jiggle, meaning someone was opening the door.
Slowly, the door opened, and a figure could be seen entering the bedroom. The figure was revealed to be a female Techno Troll, who looked to be a young adult, with very light purple skin, very dark blue hair that was tied up in a ponytail by a red scrunchy that hung around her upper back, and slightly thick side-swept bangs, light blue eyes, singular purple-and-yellow armbands, a light green pixilated heart, and yellow and green pixilated patterns on her fins. She appeared to be wearing a tan explorer's shirt, her heart shining through the shirt and the sleeves covering the purple armband but leaving her yellow armbands seen, and a matching tan fedora on her head.
The troll swam into the room, closing the door behind her and looking around the bedroom.
Suddenly, she heard someone giggle, making the Troll smile and look up.
Standing on the shelf that hung above the bedroom door was a small shadowy figure that leaped and dove onto the Troll. However, it didn't scare her; if anything, it made her a little more excited, as she eagerly caught the figure, saying, "Gotcha, ya lil' whippersnapper"!
The figure in her arms let out an adorable giggle as the Techno Troll who caught it snickered, saying, "Thought you could catch me by surprise, kelpcake"?
The figure was revealed to be a 6-year-old female Techno guppy with purple skin, dark blue hair that was currently in a small braid held by a green neon scrunchy that hung by her lower back, light blue eyes with a pair of dark purple glasses that she wore on her face, pink eyebrows, a teal-green squared-shaped pixilated heart, pink dots at the end of her fins, and singular green-and-light blue armbands, and she was currently wearing a lavender onesie with silver dolphin patterns on it.
The guppy giggled and asked innocently, "Did I do a good job, mommy"?
The older Techno Troll smiled, replying with, "Almost, but maybe the next time you choose to sneak up on me, you gotta be quiet and stealthy. Giggly Trolls are easy to catch," before she tickled the guppy and made her laugh as she carried the little guppy towards the bed.
Once she reached the bed, the little guppy swam under the covers and snuggled in, hugging the Seacorn plushie while watching the older Techno Troll sit on the edge of her bed before she asked, "Mommy, do you have to go on this exploration trip in the morning? Why can't you stay? You always go on SO many of them, and it's quiet without you around; Daddy and Finny and I miss you every time you go."
The older Techno Troll's smile faltered slightly in sadness as she commented, "You know that if I could, kelpcake, I'd choose to stay here in a heartbeat. Nothing means more to me than spending time with you, your brother, and your father. But I have to; it's part of my work as an explorer. Those catacombs won't explore themselves; you can hear them calling out to good ol' Twilight Tidepool," and gently tapped her chest.
The guppy pouted slightly before she said, "Note: catacombs can't call out; they don't talk at all. Unless you count the sea eels that like to live in them."
The now-identified Troll, Twilight, giggled before saying, "True, but my point is that even though I do want to stay here, I have to go. But don't worry, kelpcake; I'll be back before you know it."
"And when you come back, we'll get to go on our trip to...land" the guppy asked with curiosity.
Twilight nodded proudly, saying, "Fair dinkum. Of course, kelpcake. And I'll also tell you everything that I got to see while on my exploration, and bring ya back a lil' something special for your collection."
The guppy then asked, "Do you think someday, I'll get to be as good as explorer as you, mommy"?
Twilight had a hand over her heart while answering happily as she got up and carefully pulled the comforter over her daughter, who held it close and snuggled closer, "Of course, you will, kelpcake. You've got the spirit of a Tidepool in you, and as we say, "When the going gets tough, a Tidepool gets going."
"Soon, the world is gonna know about the legacy of the great Laguna Tidepool," she added while gently tousling her daughter's hair.
The now-identified guppy laughed a bit and tried to pry her mother's hand away before saying, "Mommy, stop! That tickles"!
She then grabbed her mother's hand and placed it up against her cheek, saying, "I love you, mommy."
Twilight smiled and replied, "Love ya too, kelpcake."
Twilight kissed her daughter on the forehead before swimming towards the bedroom door, opening it so she could exit the bedroom. Before she left, she turned her head back and looked back at Laguna, who pulled the comforter closer and hugged her Seacorn plushie, settling in so she could sleep peacefully. She tipped her fedora and whispered, "G'night, kelpcake."
"Goodnight, mommy," Laguna replied adorably before closing her eyes.
Twilight looked at her daughter fondly, feeling very proud to see how much her daughter's been growing up and excited to see how she'll be once she becomes an adult. Family was something Twilight cherished deeply, even more than any precious artifact, and nothing meant more to her than the well-being of her family, especially her youngest daughter.
She soon swam out of the room and gently closed the door behind her, heading to her room to turn in for the night.
Meanwhile, Laguna had fallen asleep, feeling cozy as happy dreams filled her head, many of all the future adventures that she and her mother would get to go on together once she was old enough. Little did the guppy know that tonight would be the last night that she'd see her mother for a very long time.
One other thing that Laguna didn't know about was that she would not be the only Troll who knows what it's like to lose the people you know and care about.
Four years earlier, counting approximately 20 years ago to be exact, over at Pop Village, there was excitement in the air as crowds of Trolls gathered over by the main stage, which was set up for a performance. However, this would not be just a simplistic performance, for tonight, all of Pop Village was going to be granted a musical performance by one of Pop Village's hottest bands around that was currently on a spectacular world tour: the legendary, hip, talented, most popular boy band known to Troll-kind: BroZone!
Now, BroZone was no ordinary boy band; while most bands and music groups had members who were close friends that treated one another like brothers, Brozone was a boy band made up of LITERAL brothers!
Who were these musical brothers? Well, we start by taking a look into their dressing room.
Inside, 4 Trolls were hard at work getting ready for tonight's show. A red male Pop Troll who was dressed as a stage manager, walked by them, declaring, "One minute to showtime"!
As he walked away, by the curtain that'd led to the state outside, a small baby Pop Troll (bigger than Tiny, but still short) with teal skin, much like the other 4 that were busy at the moment, and gorgeous blue hair, was peeking through the curtain and saw not only how big the crowd was, but how boisterous their cheering was and how excited they looked. It was so intense, dare the baby thought, it also felt...nerve-wracking.
Back with the other 4 Trolls, the eldest of the 4 was the leader of BroZone: John Dory. While all 5 brothers shared the same teal skin, he had green-blue hair and was wearing a matching puffy green-blue vest, white pants, and a pair of shiny orange goggles on his head. At the moment, he was busy looking over some sheet music, telling the others, "Alright, guys. We're gonna open with Girl, Baby, Baby. And close with Baby, Baby, Girl."
However, he didn't think that it sounded right, muteirng to himself, "Wait, no, that doesn't sound right."
He quickly thought of an alternative, suggesting, "Ooh, I got it! Open with Baby, Baby, Girl, and close with Baby, Baby, Girl, Woman"!
Feeling like he got it, he slammed his pen into the sheet music and smiled, saying as he looked up in determination, "We are gonna make boy band history tonight."
Behind him, in the corner, currently doing a bunch of sit-ups, was the second eldest of the brothers: Spruce, with the same teal skin and purple hair, otherwise known in the band as the "HeartThrob." He shared the same outfit choice of white pants, though he normally wore a puffy purple vest. But at the moment, he was not wearing the vest as he was busy working on his sit-ups, counting out loud, "510, 511..." and didn't look like he would stop any time soon.
John Dory approached Spruce, telling him, "I love it, brother! I want to see another 100 of those by showtime, Spruce! Those abs have to be perfect, baby"!
Spruce grunted a bit in pain as he shouted, "Come on," and was determined to fight through it. Though in reality, he didn't need to do so many as his figure was so defined, from his rich, thick muscles to those sweet, sugar-like stone cold abs. Abs that John dory quickly commented, "God, I want to boil an egg on those abs."
Before John Dory could walk away, he heard another voice ask him, "John Dory, do I really have to keep to wear these things"?
That voice belonged to the middle child of the brothers: Clay, the Fun Boy. Aside from his teal skin and yellow hair, he also shared the same fashion choice of white pants and wore a puffy yellow vest, though he also had on white-and-yellow exercise bands. And at the moment, instead of the pants, he was seen wearing a shiny greenish-blue pair of underwear with a yellow lightning bolt pattern on it and yellow rims.
John Dory approached him and answered, "Yeah, you do, Clay. They're Funder-drawers; they're underwear, but 76% more fun! Now, let's see those dance moves, brother"!
Clay sighed, slightly annoyed, but pulled it together and answered, "Fine," before performing a series of moves. Beginning with the robot, moving into a worm-like dance before moving as if he were a puppet being controlled by a set of strings, saying, "Rusty Robot into Wiggle Worm and All Caliente Puppet, yeah."
John Dory's attention was then called out to him by someone who told him, "Bro, you look stressed. Breathe."
That voice belonged to the fourth brother and one of the younger members: Floyd, aka the Sensitive One. He also had teal skin, as well as red hair, and he also white pants and a puffy red vest to match, as well as a white cotton ball earring on his left ear. Seeing the eldest brother stressed, he offered him a chance to take a breath and breathe.
John Dory, who was too freaked out to listen, retorted, "Well, of course I'm stressed, Floyd; it's the first show of the tour! we have to hit the perfect family harmony; we promised the fans"!
John Dory's anxiety was not doing any good for anyone, and Floyd was the first to point this out, saying, "Ok, calm down; you're making Baby Branch nervous," and pointed to Baby Branch, the youngest of the group of brothers (who was the baby peeking out through the curtains from earlier), who was nervously looking at the crowd outside.
Instead of seeing it as a chance to calm down, John Dory took it as something that could mess them up, retorting, "What? Nervous?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! He's not allowed to be nervous; he has to be perfect"!
Floyd, a little bothered by john Dory's lack of interest in their baby brother's well-being, addressed to John, "Cut him some slack, John Dory; it's his first show."
While the other brothers were continuing to prep for the show, Floyd went to go check up on Baby Branch, asking him, "Hey, Branch, how you feeling"?
Baby Branch turned around and replied, "I feel like I'm gonna barf and pass out and-,"
"Pee your pants all at once," Floyd asked, while at the same time finishing Baby Branch's statement as he knew the feeling that Branch was experiencing very well.
Baby Branch noticed this too, asking Floyd, "How'd you know"?
Floyd answered happily, "It's the pre-show jitters. Completely normal; everyone gets them. You wanna know what I do when I get 'em"?
Baby Branch thought before answering, "Barf, pass out, and pee your pants"?
Flous chuckled and replied, "I remember that I'm with my brothers, and that when we come together, there's nothing that we can't do."
Baby Branch then commented, "But no one's ever hit the perfect family harmony before. Is it true that it can shatter diamonds"?
"Yeah, it's that powerful," Floyd responded.
Just then, John dory cut right in between them, saying as Spruce and Clay joined up, "Alright, boys; just remember: no matter what you do, just follow my lead."
"Or maybe, let's just go out there and have fun together," Floyd suggested to the others.
"It's just...so much pressure," Clay commented nervously when he saw how big the crowd was outside, especially when the stagehand commented, "Ten seconds"!
"And what happens if we can't hit it," Spruce asked while applying some baby oil to his abs to make them look shiny and sparkly.
John Dory's response to all of this? A firm and authoritative, "Oh, that's not an option; if we can't hit the perfect family harmony, we aren't perfect! And if we're not perfect, we're nothing"!
"Just follow my lead, and the harmony will happen," he added on, Floyd, Spruce, and Clay not at all amused by John Dory's bossiness, while Baby Branch, oblivious to it, eagerly put on a pair of white glasses and was very excited, ready to sing, as John Dory announced, "Let's bro"!
Perfect by Justin Timberlake, Eric Andre, Kid Cudi, Troye Sivan, Daveed Diggs
BroZone's voices: Da-da, da-da-da! Da-da-da, da-da-da!
An announcer, out by the stage, then declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, here they are"!
"The HeartThrob," as Spruce swung onto the stage and blew a kiss at the audience.
"The Fun Boy," as Clay bounced on a few mushrooms and landed on the stage, pulling a fun facial expression.
"The Sensitive One," as Floyd swooshed his hair and struck a pose, looking sweet and emotional.
"The Leader," as John Dory stuck his arms out, presenting himself as the leader proudly.
"And..The Baby," as Baby Branch looked adorably at the crowd.
The announcer then declared as the spotlights turned on and the smoke died down, "Give it up for...BroZone," as all of BroZone posed and got into sync, ready to sing and dance accordingly.
BroZone: Well, there she goes!
Spruce took the first solo, singing as he stretched his vest open, showing off his abs, which swooned a few Trolls so much that they fell over in awe.
Spruce: On the floor, let's do it, no more talkin' (BroZone: No more talkin'!), huh-uh!
BroZone: Did anybody notice?
Floud took the next solo, showing emotion in his voice as he sang, which made a few girls in the crowd scream in giddiness.
Floyd: The energy just shifted when we drop that? Ooh, and I drop it (BroZone: And I drop it!), ooh!
Clay took the next solo, showing off his amazing dance skills.
Clay: I don't flex, but I might! Groove about to take flight?
As the leader, John Dory took the next solo, leading his brothers to follow the same choreography.
John Dory: 'Cause the night is young and the music's on, and we got love on sight!
Finally, it was time for Baby Branch's moment, where he showed off his beautiful, tender falsetto voice that charmed the audience, especially with how cute he looked as he grooved and winked at the crowd when he took his glasses off for a moment.
Baby Branch: The sky was the limit! Now, the stars where we're livin'! It's the vibe, and we're in it; it'll blow your mind!
BroZone: It's so perfect, perfect, perfect; a hundred percent!
Put us together in thе work you'll get!
As they sang, John Dory saw that the glow, which indicated that they were close to unleashing the perfect family harmony, was happening; it was working! He smiled, cheering, "Hey, great, it's working! Yes"!
BroZone: Yeah, it's so perfect, perfect, perfect; harmony's so gold!
John Dory then got a crazy idea, ushering the brothers to follow him, much to their confusion and Floyd's concerns, especially Clay's, as he whispered to Spruce, "What is he doing?! This isn't my choreo"!
BroZone: And you'll never, ever wanna let it go!
One by one, John Dory had his brothers stack up on top of him, almost like a tower, to try and really get the perfect family harmony to be truly connected.
John Dory: Oh!
Floyd: Oh!
Spruce: Oh!
Clay: Oh!
Baby Branch: O-Oh!
They all tried to hold it together, the perfect family harmony so close to being reached, yet so far because while their voices sound in sync, THEY were not.
They started to lose their balance and were unable to hold it together, and with a mighty tumble, they all fell down, the glow disappearing with them.
But when they fell, Floyd got tossed around and ended up swinging helplessly on a vine.
John Dory quickly recovered to his feet, but before he could ask his brothers what happened, his foot got caught, as well as Spruce's, and before long, Clay got caught in the vine, too. Baby Branch was the only one who did not get caught in the vine and had to watch in worry as he saw his brothers get tied up at the top of the spotlight/speaker set, trapped there, and the song completely ruined. All while an agasped audience saw this happening, and were very shocked.
A female stagehand came out onto the stage to try and calm things down, saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, please standby. We're uh...experiencing...some stuff."
"Hey, at least we didn't fall," John Dory commented out of the blue.
That comment then led to him, Floyd, Clay, and Spruce falling down, making the audience gasp, and he regretted what he said, "We fell."
Later on, after that disastrous concert, the brother returned to their little macrame pod home, where it was organized with all sorts of musical instruments, sheet music, posters, and other essentials.
John Dory was straight-up furious with how poorly things went and started to reprimand his brothers, telling them as they walked in, "You see what happens when you don't follow my lead"?
"Dude, that is EXACTLY what happens when we follow your lead," Spruce harshly retorted back, with Baby Branch watching on sadly.
Floyd, who had changed into his usual attire: a white undershirt/pants one-piece suit, and a familiar green leaf vest over it, watched on sadly as he saw his brothers arguing, with John Dory telling Spruce, "Oh, so it's my fault? Is that what you're saying? I know we can reach the perfect family harmony"!
Spruce finally decided that he had enough of hearing John Dory ramble on and on about the "perfect family harmony" business, and he was not going to sit there and take it anymore. He quickly clapped back, daring to ask, "What if we don't want to"?!
"Yeah, dude," Clay chimed in agreement, adding in, "This used to be fun, but now it's all about being perfect"!
Finally, Spruce declared in anger and frustration, "You know what? I'm done playing the "HeartThrob"! My exquisitely chiseled roch-hard abs and I quit," and he tore off his vest, ripping it into two.
Clay then chimed in, saying, "I quit too, and you can keep these," before tearing off the Funder-drawers and throwing them at John Dory's face, telling him, "I'm more than just the fun one; I'm in a sad book club, did you know that?! A SAD! Book club"!
John Dory angrily ripped the underwear off his face and watched as Clay declared, "I'm gonna find Trolls who take me seriously."
This was coming all as a shock to John Dory, but out of frustration and anger about everything that had gone wrong today, he was now having enough! His brothers wanted to quit the band?! That was FINE with him! He replied bitterly, "Fine, I don't need these! I'm out; I'm done; I'm sorry"!
He started to head towards the exit, grabbing his backpack as he did so, saying, "I'm gonna go hike the Neverglade Trail by myself! Bro-Lone"!
Baby Branch, who was taking all of this in, couldn't believe it; his brothers were...leaving?! His brothers were leaving...him?!
Launching a grappling hook out to who knows where so he could leave, John Dory added, "Yeah, that's right! Bro-Bro, going solo! Yolo," and saluted the brothers before he leaped out and left, shouting, "Goodbye forever," before falling outside when he landed, but taking his leave.
Clay and Spruce took this and their cue to leave, with Clay saying, "Fine, I'm out of here"!
"Same here," Spruce added as both brothers took their leave and left the house, not looking back.
Floyd tried to call them back, saying, "Guys, please; come on," but sighed in defeat; it was hopeless. Their band was splitting up, and the brothers seemed like they were never going to come back.
Baby Branch had already taken his glasses off in disbelief but watched hopelessly as he saw his brothers go. He felt so bad for what happened, and he was worried that all this happened...because of him. He commented sadly, "It's my fault; I ruined everything."
Floyd responded quickly, telling Branch reassuringly but also seriously, "No, no, Branch; this is not your fault. "
He sighed and told his baby brother clearly and to the point, "We're not NSYNC; we've gone from Boyz II Men and now, there's only One Direction for us to go: the Backstreets"!
Baby Branch took this as meaning that now, even Floyd was gonna be leaving too! He quickly piped in, "But not you, Floyd; you're not leaving too."
"Not forever," Floyd clarified reassuringly, telling his baby brother, "I'll be back, I promise. But for now, I...I have to follow my heart; it's telling me that it time to try a solo career."
Baby Branch was now very, very worried; with Floyd gone, and all his brothers gone, what was he gonna do?! He'd be alone without them! He asked sadly, "But...what am I gonna do"?
Floyd answered reassuringly, "Branch, you're gonna do the most important thing. You're gonna..." before looking around to see what it was that Baby Branch could do, and he found it, adding in, "Take care of Grandma."
At the table, Grandma Rosiepuff was shuffling a deck of cards, telling the youngest Troll, "Aw, come on, Branch; let's play some Grummy. But I won't let you win," before adding, sounding serious, "Because I play for the money"!
Baby Branch, a little bit terrified with seeing how serious his grandma was, looked back at Floyd, who told her, "You might have to let her win," before adding with a playful wink, "Occasionally."
Branch nodded in agreement and eased up a bit.
Floyd then took off his leaf vest, giving it to Branch and placing it on him while saying, "When you miss me, you can wear this, and it'll be like I'm right there with you."
Baby Branch then remembered something and pulled out a small piece of paper, saying, "And when you come back, we'll make our hideout," and gave it to Floyd to look at.
Floyd smiled, responding with, "Definitely."
He unfolded the paper and took a look at the design; the hideout resembled a gigantic bunker with a lot of rooms, one for each of his brothers, and what looked like a 10ft story water slide, a detail that caught Floyd's eye as he asked, "Wow, is that a ten-story water slide"?
"Yeah, that's how we shower," Baby Branch replied giddily, making Floyd smile and laugh.
He then folded the paper back up, saying, "Well, we better keep this in a safe place," and tucked it into the inside pocket of the leaf vest.
He then had his arms out open, offering Baby Branch a hug, which the little Troll was more than welcome for as he hugged Floyd tightly. He loved his brothers dearly, but Floyd was the one brother he was very close with, which made this goodbye hard on him but even harder on Floyd himself.
Separating from the hug, with regret in his eyes, he gave one last small smile at Branch, telling him, "See you soon, Baby Branch," and went to grab a guitar case before he left.
With his guitar case in hand, Floyd took one last look behind him at Baby Branch, giving the baby Troll a hopeful smile, before he started to leave, walking down the steps and heading towards who knows where.
Baby Branch watched Floyd leaving, and with a small smile, he gave a little wave, saying, "Bye...see you later," but even at such a young tender age that every Troll would be filled with bottomless optimism, Baby Branch had this feeling in his heart that...he wasn't gonna see his brothers ever again. Maybe someday, he would? But what would be the chances? And how?
For now, though, Baby Branch was gonna honor Floyd's wish and help take care of Grandma.