As they continued on their quest, Branch noticed Flower lying on the couch with a purple crayon in her hand. Next to her was a drawing of herself, her parents, John Dory, Bruce, and two empty, light blue circles.
Must be for Clay and Floyd, he figured, smiling at his drowsy daughter.
"Oooh, it wuns in da famiwy..." she quietly sang to herself, trying to stay awake.
"It's all about you and me," Branch sang back, gently pulling the crayon away as she fell asleep. He, then, pulled a mint green blanket from his hair, wrapped it around Flower's body, and held her close to his chest.
While Branch was focused on Flower, Poppy, John Dory, Willow, and Synth focused more on how they were gonna find Clay.
"Do you have anything that can help us find Clay?" Poppy asked John Dory.
"Unfortunately, no," John Dory admitted. "For being the Fun Boy, Clay was always very discreet. It was kinda weird."
"I know you guys don't like it that much, but maybe it's time we used the clue board Dubstep made," Synth suggested.
"Good idea, fish boy!" John Dory agreed. "Let's get to it!"
While Poppy and John Dory began reorganizing Branch's clue board, Synth decided to go see what Willow was up to, and found the rainbow-haired Troll listening to a Velvet and Veneer CD through a pair of headphones.
Never gets old, no matter how much I'm told
I'm amazin' (You're amazin')
Hard to get tired when I'm always on fire
I'm blazin' (Ooh, you're blazin')
"Willow, why are you listening to this?" he wondered, pulling away one of the headphones.
"I believe in getting to know my enemy, Synth," she explained as Branch joined them. "Maybe if I listen to this song enough times, it'll tell me something important. Like all those old rock records Barb showed me."
"What do you got so far?" Synth wondered.
"A really annoying earworm," Willow replied bitterly.
Synth shrugged and then asked, "Do you think it's kinda weird that I'm not as smart as Dubstep, yet Poppy and John Dory listened to me about using the clue board but not him?"
"Well," Willow said, "I'm pretty sure Branch's brothers are jerks, and Poppy's currently in fangirl mode. Though I can't be too mad at her for that. We've all been there. Except, for me, it wasn't a boyband. It was Trollermo del Toro."
"Poor Dubstep," Synth sighed. "Maybe you can use those emotional powers of yours to convince them to take him seriously."
"No, they wouldn't learn anything if I did," Willow pointed out. "Besides, Branch would catch on way too quick."
"Baby," Synth chuckled.
"I'm not a baby," Willow said defensively, only for the purple Techno Troll to start clucking at her like a chicken. Willow gave in and yanked off her headphones. "Alright, stop, stop, stop, okay?! I'll-I'll do something. But it'd have to be subtle."
Willow took her time to look around the van and noticed Branch sweetly kissing little Flower's forehead. Handing her CD player to Synth, she went up to the driver's seat where Bruce was while Tiny Diamond, who was sitting in his lap, had his little sparkly hands on the steering wheel.
"Psst! Tiny!" Willow whispered to the month-old glitter Troll. "You got your eyes on the road?"
"Of course I do," Tiny replied. "Wait, why are we whispering?"
Not answering Tiny's question, Willow carefully placed her hand on Bruce's shoulder, her pupils turned to slits, and she whispered, "Ask Branch about Flower."
Bruce turned his head and noticed Branch smiling at Flower. Oblivious to what Willow did to his brain, he suddenly felt this urge to talk to his little brother about the princess.
"Hey, Branch, could you come over here?" Bruce asked. Branch looked over at him, slightly confused, but walked up to him anyways with Flower in his arms. "So, tell me about little Flower."
"Really?" Branch said, looking down at his daughter and then back at his brother, who smiled at him eagerly. "Well, she's sensitive to loudness, except for most music. But she's very honest and emotionally mature for her age. I've never seen a toddler who cares so much about other people."
"You must be very proud to be her father," Bruce figured.
"I am," Branch admitted with a smile. "Though I must say, I was terrified when I found out about her. I mean, Poppy and I weren't even friends when she was conceived, and I was alone for so long, I... didn't think it was possible for me to be a father. Or, at least a good one."
"From one dad to another," Bruce said, "you're doing just fine."
"Satisfied?" Willow asked Synth.
"Hey, if Dubstep's happy, I'm happy," Synth replied.
"Well, you're a sweetheart, Synth," Willow admitted. "I'll give you that."
"Thank you, Willow," Synth said. "Does that mean we're best friends?"
Willow didn't answer. She just went back to work. "If Velvet and Veneer are still mainstream, then Floyd must still be alive. If he is, he must be either really talented, or he's barely hanging on. Maybe we should search the radio for their music. We might pick up something from there."
"On it!" Synth volunteered, heading to the driver's seat of the van with Willow. "Yo, Bruce, do you you mind?"
"Go ahead, Synth," Bruce replied, and Synth began changing stations on the radio.
"Willow," Branch whispered to his teenage friend, "did you use your powers on my brother?"
"No," she lied, looking away. Branch just glared at her. "Maybe... But Synth told me to do it."
"Well, thanks, anyways," he said quietly, disappointed that Bruce wasn't being genuine about them bonding over fatherhood.
"Let's see," Synth muttered. "Some yodeling... an acapella group... songs about butts... Ah! Here we go."
If you want to be as famous as me
You gotta work, gotta work, gotta work!
Watch me work
"Oh, my kids love these guys!" Bruce said. "We're a total Veneer household!"
"They're the ones who have Floyd!" John Dory said in exasperation.
Bruce groaned. "It's gonna be hard to separate the art from the artist," he replied. John Dory just rolled his eyes.
You gotta be kidding me, Willow thought, pinching her brow with her fingertips.
"That's Velvet and Veneer's spicy hot new single, 'Watch Me Work!'" the radio DJ announced. "Catch them tomorrow night at the Rage Dome, where they'll be receiving the Lifer Award! Lifer Awar-"
After turning off the radio, Bruce shared a look of concern with Branch.
"Well, at least, now, we'll know where they'll be," Willow said. "We find Velvet and Veneer..."
"We'll find the sensitive one," Synth finished. "But first, we gotta find Fun Boy."
"Guys, will Floyd even make it through that show?" Branch asked as he, Willow, and Synth rejoined Poppy and John Dory.
"Don't worry, we're gonna make it," Poppy assured him, putting a poster up on the clue board. "We've been looking for clues to find Clay."
"Oh, I'm sorry. The clue board? You mean my clue board?" Branch asked, slightly frustrated. "That I made? We like the clue board now?"
Willow and Synth shared a look of concern, feeling sorry for their dark-haired friend.
"What is he wearing?!" Poppy asked with a laugh, pointing at the shiny green pair of briefs Clay was wearing in the poster.
"Oh, those are just his..." Then, Branch had an idea! "... funderdrawers! Willow, hold Flower!"
"Uh, okay," Willow replied as Branch handed his still-sleeping daughter to her. Branch grabbed a hammer, found a glass case holding the funderdrawers, and busted it open, letting out a horrendous stench.
"Good thing I don't have a nose," Synth said as the others gagged.
"John Dory," Branch said to his brother, "I have no idea why you saved these... it's incredibly disgusting... but I'm glad you did."
"What? They're memorabilia," John Dory said defensively. "But I will be good gosh darned if I know how they're gonna help us find Clay."
To answer his question, Branch climbed out through the window on Rhonda's head and held the funderdrawers in front of her face with a stick.
"Help us, Rhonda!" Branch hollered as she sniffed the underpants. "She's got the scent!"
"Well, that helps us track him down," Willow admitted, setting Willow down on the couch. "But we still don't have much time."
"Relax, kiddo," John Dory said calmly. "Your old pal JD's got this covered."
"We are not pals," Willow grumbled.
(I don't know how to write this down, so just watch this clip)
"How did Flower sleep through all of that?" Synth wondered, looking down at the sleeping baby as Rhonda stopped at an abandoned, Bergen-sized structure.
"Probably a good thing, though," Willow replied. "I've seen things, man."
"Psst! Flower, wake up!" Poppy whispered to her little princess. "We're gonna meet your uncle Clay!"
After letting out a tiny yawn, Flower got up and said, "Okay, Mommy. Wet's go."
"Are we sure this is where Clay lives?" Branch asked as everyone got out of the armadillo.
"Are we sure?" Tiny repeated, being held by Bruce in a baby carrier. "Our GPS is an armadillo bus sniffing used undies! So, no, we're not sure."
Bruce shuddered as they approached the gates. "I think this is the place from every true crime podcast I've ever listened to."
"It's definitely creepy enough to be," Willow replied. "Looks like no one's been here in years."
Synth nodded in agreement and nervously took Willow's hand. Dark/creepy and Synth just never mixed. Luckily, Willow made a glowing ball of light with her free hand, so things were less dark. Still creepy, but he felt a little more comfortable.
"I think I saw something," Synth whispered, the corner of his eye catching something round and colorful rolling through the shadows.
"Keep it together, boy," Willow said. "It's gonna be okay."
"HALT! WHO GOES THERE?!"
To be continued...