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"We took our eyes off of Branch for one second, how did we lose him?!" John asked as he stood on the roof of Rhonda.
He had his goggles over his eyes as he scanned the area for any sign of his baby brother.
Clay had his head in a bush. "This is kind of cliche—"
"Not now Clay!" John yelled.
"Maybe we should ask Poppy and Viva for help?" Bruce suggested.
"No, please! Anything but that!" John and Clay begged. "They'll murder us!"
"Guys, this is no time to be standing around!" Floyd said, genuinely worried about his baby brother.
They began searching high and low, but Branch was no where to be found.
"It's been forever, where could he be?!" Floyd asked, panicked about his missing brother.
Bruce put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Relax Floyd, he couldn't have gone far. We'll find him."
Clay looked up at John, who was still standing on the roof of Rhonda. "Yo, John! You think Rhonda could help us out?"
John thought about that. "Hm, I suppose. I'm sure she has Branch's scent."
"Perfect!" Clay replied. He turned to tell the idea to Floyd and Bruce, until...
VROOOM
The noise of Rhonda cranking up interrupted everyone.
John looked down at them. "What's going on down there?"
"I think it's Rhonda, did someone crank her up?" Floyd asked.
"That can't be...if we're all out here, who could've cranked up Rhonda?" Clay asked.
Their heads turned towards the armadillo bus.
Branch's head popped up in the windshield of Rhonda. He was sitting in the drivers seat.
He giggled before toppling down and landing on the gas pedal.
John gulped. "...Help."
Rhonda took off.
"John!" The three brothers yelled before taking off behind Rhonda.
He held on for dear life. "HEEL RHONDA, HEEEEEEEL!!"
Branch was having the time of his life, not knowing the danger he was in.
"DON'T LET ME DIE UP HEREEE!!" John cried out.
"We're coming John!" Floyd called out as they took off after Rhonda.
Bruce was running the best he could. "Curse this Dad bod!"
Rhonda began heading towards the village. If they didn't stop her, she would cause damage for sure.
Floyd was the first to take action. His hair stretched out and wrapped around one of Rhonda's legs.
He tried to hold Rhonda back. "Clay, see if you can get up there to Rhonda's door and get inside! Bruce, you help me hold back Rhonda!"
"Boom! Gotta go fast!" Clay's hair wrapped around him as he formed a ball and rolled towards Rhonda.
Bruce's hair wrapped around Rhonda's other leg. Him and Floyd attempted to pull her back.
Everyone began working together to stop Rhonda.
John saw the village coming closer and closer into view. "Bros, anytime now!"
Bruce and Floyd weren't strong enough to hold Rhonda back. "It's not enough! Clay, it's up to you!"
Clay sped up to get to the door.
They had gotten to the village. Rhonda let out a worried cry.
"Oh, I can't look!" John covered his eyes.
"Clay hurry!" Floyd cried out.
Some trolls had ran out of the path of the huge creature. Rhonda was about to collide into a huge structure.
It looked like Rhonda wasn't going to stop. They all braced for the collision.
Just as everything was about to go downhill, Rhonda came to a screeching halt. She was close enough to give the structure a little nudge.
Floyd and Bruce sighed in relief. John was still holding onto Rhonda with a terrified expression.
"JD, you alright up there?" Bruce asked.
"A-Am I dead? I must be!" John asked in a panicked tone.
Bruce sighed and shook his head. "I'll get him." His hair lifted him up as he went to retrieve their oldest brother.
Clay came out with Branch. "Here's the little troublemaker."
Branch just looked at them with an innocent smile, completely oblivious to the panic he caused.
Floyd scooped up his baby brother and held him to his chest. "Oh, thank goodness! You had us worried sick!"
"Floy!" Branch replied happily as he returned his brother's embrace.
Clay shook his head. "It's been so long, I forgot how much trouble the little man could cause."
"Yeah, we should definitely keep a closer eye on him from now on." Floyd suggested.
Bruce had finally managed to get John down. "Easy does it. I've never seen you so scared."
"You try hanging onto a rogue armadillo bus." John replied as they came over to the other bros.
John crossed his arms and looked down at Branch with a frown. The baby troll stared back with that adorable face of his.
Of course, John had fallen for the cute charm of his baby brother. "You're lucky you're so cute. It's hard to believe one little troll can cause so much havoc."
"Yeah, and I thought my 13 kids were a handful." Bruce said.
Branch just looked at them innocently. What a crazy day...
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Down in Branch's bunker...
"Branch, come back here!"
Bruce was chasing Branch, who was somehow butt naked. He was in the process of changing the little guy, until the little rascal got up and ran once his brother decided to turn away for a second.
Branch screamed playfully as he ran through the bunker.
"Bros, a little help here!" Bruce called out.
John jumped out in front of Branch. "Gotcha!" He facepalmed when the little troll ran under his legs. "Yeah, should've seen that one coming."
Bruce slapped his forehead.
"You can't escape me little man!" Clay called out as he went after Branch. It was clear that he was the most agile of his brothers.
He almost caught him, until Branch ran into his trap room, which he somehow still had.
Branch hopped over the traps with ease and into the next room. This shocked his big brother, who came to a stop.
Clay stared nervously at the traps. "Okay, I've got this. What can go wrong?" He took a step forward.
Branch's little ears twitched to the sound of a loud SNAP and his brother's high-pitched scream.
His little legs carried him across the bunker. "Weeee!"
He kept causing ruckus and mayhem, until...
"Branch, that's enough!"
The little troll stopped in his tracks. He turned around to see Floyd, who's never yelled at him a day in his life.
Floyd immediately regretted this after seeing the shocked face of his baby brother.
"Look, I know you want to have fun, but you're stressing us out baby bro." Floyd said, trying to go easy on him now.
He inched closer to Branch, making sure he doesn't run. "I'm worried you'll get hurt, and I'm sure our other brothers are too."
Branch felt like he was bad now. He wanted to be good, and he thought his brothers were having fun chasing him.
"F-Floy..." His little ears drooped and he began to tear up.
This is what Floyd was afraid of. "No no, Branch. Please don't cry! It's not your fault, okay?" He said reassuringly.
"Come here, let's get you in a diaper. I'm sure you're tired from all that running." Floyd suggested, reaching his arms out to the little troll.
Branch went into his brother's comforting embrace. Floyd carried him as their other brothers entered the room.
"Floyd, I gotta say, you're great with kids. You've gotta teach me that." Bruce said, impressed with his younger brother's skills.
"Aw, it's nothing. Kids aren't all that bad once you get to know them." He replied.
John noticed the traps stuck to Clay's skin. "Uh, you gotta little something there..."
"...Yeah, I noticed." Clay replied, a single tear dropping from his eye.
TO BE CONTINUED