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!
Out on the road already on their journey, Rhonda was running fast as the speed of light, her tongue flapping happily in the wind as it let out a pant while it ran. The pathway leading all the way to Bergen Town started to disappear the farther that Rhonda got from it.
While they were starting to head onto the main road, Branch and Poppy had changed out of their wedding clothes and into their regular clothes, but Poppy was actually wearing a brand new outfit that she made in a knitting class a few days ago. Her new outfit consisted of a blue woven dress with green yarn plant patterns at the edges of her dress, leg warmers with light green, light blue, blue, and dark green stripes, and she even updated her crown, turinging it into a , blue, light blue, and green woxen headband with teal blue leaves sticking up the center in a crown shape, and three small light green pompoms sticking up from each side.
At the moment, while John Dory was using the stove to make some coffee and pour himself a cup, Branch was scouring through some old magazines that John Dory had that talked all about BroZone, looking to see if he could find any clues that could help locate where his other brothers were. Poppy was looking over Branchs shoulders, watching Branch look through the magazines carefully.
As he was reading through one of the magazines, Branch's voice could be heard declaring in determination and a hint of excitement, "Operation: Family Harmony is on and popping"!
For Poppy, seeing Branch show a smile as he was looking into each magazine, it made her happy seeing her boyfriend happy. At the same time, it was also quite exciting seeing Branch look almost excited to be looking for the rest of his brothers, reuniting his family once again so they could be able to rescue Floyd.
Of course, the key word? Almost, because what Poppy could not see was that underneath that seemingly happy outer layer, inside, Branch still had a lot of mixed feelings about this, especially with the trepidation he felt about getting to see his brothers again. On the one hand, he was still very much angry with them for that night when they all walked out on him, and to the fact that so far John Dory has YET to apologize for how his own actions caused his brothers to split up in the first place, there was a hint of resentment towards the eldest sibling. And unless John dory decided to do some grand gesture while they were making this trip to show that he felt truly sorry, he had no favors of forgiving him any time soon, and this went for Clay and Spruce as well. But, on the other hand, with Floyd? That was a much different case; he was still upset that even Floyd, whom was the kind and gentle soul of the brotherhood, had chosen to "follow his heart" and leave him, and what made it sting a lot more was that Floyd never lived up to his promise of coming back, that left a really sore spot in his heart. But then again, Floyd is in danger at the moment, and who knows how long he's been in the clutches of this Velvet and Veneer? And perhaps THEY were the reason that he never came back. Still, out of all 4 of his older siblings, Floyd was the only one whom he really wanted to see again, and he was willing to do everything he could to help save him.
Branch then noticed the way that Poppy was looking at him, asking a confused, "What"?
"What? Oh, nothing," Poppy replied with a smile, saying to Branch as John Dory handed her a cup of coffee, "I just...if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you were excited."
Branch could tell that Poppy could sense his slight excitement, and tried his best to play it cool, rebutting with a sheepish smile as he placed one magazine down and picked up another, "It has nothing to do with my brothers."
In reality, Branch was not just trying to play it cool in front of his loving girlfriend, but he was also trying to mask his more vulnerable side about all of this; how was he to tell Poppy that deep down...he was really scared about getting to see his brothers? Not scared of seeing them physically, but scared about...losing it in front of her? His emotional resentment towards his 3 eldest siblings still boiled greatly, and as much as he wanted to really talk them down about what happened, he worried...what would Poppy think of him if she saw him so...emotional?
Before he could get his thoughts together, the radio signal feed screeched before a new voice, who didn't belong to any of the 3 Trolls on Rhonda, announced in the speakers, while up in the front, the driver's seat was seen swinging a little, but not enough to show who it was, "All right. All right. Tiny, Branch, Poppy, and this random dude.."
"What," John Dory was very confused when he heard who was talking.
However, Poppy and Branch could easily identify who that voice was, With Branch saying, "Wait, did I just hear.." as Poppy walked up to the driver's seat to see who it was/
As it turned out, Tiny Diamond was seen sitting at the driver's seat, a smaller driving wheel attached to the bigger one, which he was using to drive Rhonda, as he spoke into the intercom, saying happily, ...on another musical adventure filled with heart, hilarity and happiness"!
Poppy saw the little Glitter Troll in the driver's seat and was very happy to see him, asking curiously, "Tiny! What are you doing here"?
Tiny was more than welcome to answer, telling Poppy, "Well, Aunt Poppy, for your information, I am no longer a baby.; I am a big boy now. And I'm on a man-sized rite of passage to learn lessons of life, courage, and maybe love."
"Aw," Poppy commented in awe, finding it cute Tiny wanted to go on his own little journey.
At that moment, Branch had also came over and saw Tiny in the driver's seat, asking in confusion, "Tiny? How'd you get on Rhonda"?
Tiny chuckled before answering, "Well, Daddy's friend Branch, it's kind of a funny story actually."
Flashback to earlier...
Poppy and Branch started to board onto Rhonda, with Poppy saying as she and Branch turned around to say bye to their friends before departing, "Bye, everybody; we're getting the band back together"!
Everyone was saying their goodbyes to Poppy and Branch before the two went inside Rhonda.
"Have a safe trip, you two," Aggie shouted as she and the other leaders and ambassadors waved bye.
"Hope you find the rest of your brothers, Branch," Quincy added.
"Good luck, sweetie," Peppy declared to Poppy.
"Bye, Poppy," the Snack Pack declared while waving bye.
"Take care of each other out there," Prince D shouted.
"Good luck on your mission, Popsqueak," Barb added on.
"Have fun, you crazy kids," Gristle's aunt Smean mentioned, her presence alarming the Trolls.
What no one saw was that while everyone was saying goodbye, Tiny Diamond hopped down from his father's than and snuck onboard Rhonda, wanting to join the trip.
Tiny ran towards Rhonda, easily passing through Poppy and Branch since he was tiny, and climbed up onto the vehicle, hopping into a nearby seat and waiting for them to be on the road.
Once Rhonda had gotten onto the road, Tiny saw John Dory place the driving feature on autdrive and went to go make himself a cup of coffee, offering the little glitter Troll a chance to drive.
He ran up to the driver's seat, placed a large, comfy booster seat on it, and hopped up, buckling in for safety, and then, he took out a small steering wheel and attached it to the big one. Once it was secured, Tiny gripped onto it and proceeded to drive Rhonda, without no one noticing at first, until Tiny pulled down the bus' speakerphone and made that announcement.
End of flashback...
John Dory, who had then come up and seen the little glitter Troll driving, asked in slight concern, "Should we be letting a baby drive"?
"I think the better question we should be asking is," Branch said before asking Tiny, "Does Guy Diamond know that you left with us"?
"Uh..." Tiny Diamond, who had now realized that he left sos suddenly he forgot to tell his dad about it, replied very unsurely before he did a hesitant shrug and answered, "Yes"?
He then told John Dory, "And not to worry, fellow grownup; I have procured my learner's permit," before pulling out a green learner's permit that allowed him to practice driving. The permit had a picture of Tiny, who was wearing a fake white mustache to appear older than he really was, and had the name "Adulty McManFace" on it. How on earth he was able to pass on for being old when his picture clearly showed that he was a lot younger, and the name was completely made up, no one knew.
Poppy, who read the name, asked in confusion, "Who is Adulty McManface"?
"The better question is," Tiny replied before he gave a sort of inquisitive glare towards Poppy while he asked, "Are you a narc"?
While Branch looked very unimpressed, Poppy was a little taken aback, answering hesitantly, "What? No. No. Why? Are you"?
Tiny slowly turned his head back to focusing on the road, as John Dory then told Tiny Diamond, "Enough chitchat, Adulty McManface. Step on it"!
Tiny pressed on the brake and it triggered Rhonda to stop for a minute, stand on her hind legs, and start running really fast, moving at an almost break-neck speed.
Deciding to focus back on their main mission, Branch then explained as he headed into the back area of Rhonda, leaping over the steps to head there with Poppy and John Dory following, "Okay, guys, where was I? We gotta find our brothers and fast."
He then pulled the light switch string to turn the light on so that he could reveal something, telling them, "But don't worry., ol' Branch's got it handled. All we have to do is follow the clues."
What Poppy and John Dory saw was a massive work board that had a map of their entire world, and all over the map were so many posters of BroZone from back in the day, some talking about each member, others talking about the band as a whole, a few advertisements, the back of an ambul cover, and even some pictures of them posing for magazine pages.
Poppy couldn't help but fawn over how cute Branch looked in every picture available on the board, saying giddily, "Wow! Check out your old outfits."
One picture had BroZone all dressed in puffy vst-like jackets, making her squeak excitedly, "Puffy jackets"?
Another picture had BroZone all wearing white seashell-like necklaces around their necks, "Puka shell necklaces"?
Another picture had BroZone all dressed in fancy denim tuxedos, with Branch wearing a denim diaper, "Denim tuxedos"?!
One picture made Poppy's eyes widen in awe as she asked her boyfriend, "Branch, did you have frosted tips"?!
The picture of Branch when he was a baby, posing with Spruce and Clay, and the tips of his hair were white, frosted! Branch couldn't help but feel a little nsotalgic about it, saying as he looked at the photo, "Yeah. It was an era," while Poppy looked ready to burst at the seams in excitement. Branch was cute, but seeing Branch as a baby with these fashion statements were SO cute! Nothing could be better than seeing Bitty B with frosted tips!
Untill..
"Don't forget his perm," John Dory them mentioned dout of the blue.
That set Poppy off; Branch had a freaking PERM?! Thus she HAD to see! She nearly pounced John Dory to the floor, asking as she gripped his face tightly like the world was gonna end, "No way! Pictures or it didn't happen"!
And on cue, John Dory had a picture in his hand, which Poppy eagerly took and gazed at, and she lost it in awe! She screamed excitedly as she looked at the picture, much to Branch's embarrassment as the male Troll blushed shyly, "Look at you! You were so cute; I love it"!
As Poppy was fawning over the picture of seeing Baby Branch with curly hair, Branch felt slightly perturbed, mainly because John Dory just HAD to bring it out, and now make his girlfriend lose track of what they actually NEEDED to focus on.
John Dory then stated to Poppy, who didn't listen because she was too distracted by the adorable picture, "But we had to pull the plug when he tried to frost his perm."
"It was an era," Branch rebutted back, trying to fight the growing blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.
"Tragic," John Dory responded while mixing the coffee in his cup.
Struggling to resist the urge to facepalm, and also biting back how annoyed he now felt, he told Poppy and John Dory, "While you two are strolling down memory lane, I'll work on finding Spruce."
As Branch turned around to start studying his clue board, Poppy then told John Dory, "I'm gonna need copies of that pic, wallet size," before turning around to help Branch.
John Dory then approached Branch, telling him, "Listen, baby brother, we don't need your little board to find Spruce...
"It's not little," Branch rebutted quietly, not liking that John Dory was talking down about his plan.
"...because I got this," john Dory then declared before pulling out a postcard, "Ha! Booyah"!
Branch took the postcard out of John Dory's hand and analyzed it, seeing that it just showed a mountain with an orange sunset, over the ocean and a small patch of beach. Of course, the postcard looked like there was absolutely no clue on it to help find Spruce, pointing out, "A postcard that says, "Wish you were here"? That's it? It's not even signed."
"It's definitely Spruce," John Dory responded, saying, "I mean, he's the only one I know who talks that way."
"He's never said that," Branch quickly pointed out, adding, "One. And two, there's no return address. It's blank; this could be from anywhere. We can't find Spruce with this."
Poppy then saw something on the postcard that seemed to stand out, which clicked an idea in her head as she grabbed the postcard to look closer, pointing out, "Yeah, we can! All we have to do is find this sunset."
Branch, on the one hand, wanted to roll his eyes because of course, Poppy would look at the brighter side of a clue that had literally no ethical standout to help find Spruce. On the other hand...she did make some point about this, but then again, how else could anyone find a sunset like this? How?!
While Branch knew the more realistic aspects of this search, John dory found the way poppy perceived the postcard to be intriguing, telling her, "Liking that optimism, Poppy seed."
As Branch took the postcard and walked over back to the driver's seat, he heard John Dory call out playfully, "Branch, one word. Keeper""!
He let out a tired groan, not wanting to be around John Dory any longer; he just couldn't take his brother's demanding presence and how he always seemed to know everything when he truly DIDN'T! Branch was looking through all the more valid clues and all John wanted to do was use a postcard to find Spruce? He could feel his anger towards the eldest sibling return and took a minute to breathe through his nose and out his mouth to try and restrain himself from letting anger cloud his mind.
Tiny saw how bothered Branch looked about being treated as a baby, telling the elder Troll, "Hey, man. I know about being treated like a baby. But while it's just the two of us, you want some of this," before offering Branch a blue ring pop candy that had a pacifier base.
Branch saw the candy, and his life flashed before his eyes; he remembered how OBSESSED he was as a baby and how much he would cry if he didn't have it in his mouth. Those memories haunted Branch like a ghost, and the sight of the candy was making him all the more uncomfortable, especially biting the urge of how much he wanted to...try ti again. But he held his morals, and refused, telling Tiny, "Nah, thanks, man. I-I can't get back on that train."
"Suit yourself," Tiny replied before placing the ringpop pacifier in his mouth, sucking on it.
Branch then looked back on the postcard, showing it to Tiny, saying as he tried to look at it from the way Poppy had seen it, "I mean, hey, look at this, we're never gonna find Spruce with this. I bet this sunset doesn't even exist."
Then, Branch saw something that made his jaw drop: Rhonda was walking down some jagged rocks by a cliff, and up in the distance, there was a sunset EXACTLY like the one on the postcard, with the hill, ocean, and beach just up ahead, with neon palm trees, and even the sign "Wish You Were Here" right above it! The sight of the same place they were looking for made Tiny declare happily, "Oh, hot dog"!
Branch was definitely shocked, to say the least, to see that out of the blue, the place that was most likely said not to exist, exists. He sighed, commenting, "Oh, man, of course," before calling out to John Dory, telling them, "Hey, guys, you're gonna want to see this."
Poppy and John Dory came over and saw the upcoming island, with Poppy cheering, "I knew we'd find it," and high-fived John Dory before adding, "Spruce must be on that island."
John Dory then decided to take the wheel, spinnignt he chair so tiny would be sent off, falling into Branch's hand while the tiny Troll commented, "Whoa, easy there, goggles."
"All right, y'all. Let's mobilize," John Dory announced as he dropped his goggles on and over his eyes before he pressed on the gas and Rhonda took off at full speed, with Poppy adding on, "Yeah, pedal to the metal, JD"!
Rhonda ran with all her strength, heading right towards the island, and as the cliffside was getting smaller, Branch saw that Rhonda looked like she was about to jump over a ledge, making him ask his older brother, "What are you doing"?
John Dory replied confidently, "Worry not, friends; Rhonda here's completely waterproof," as he got Rhonda to run right up to the edge and make the leap of faith over the massive ocean below, starting to descend right towards the water.
Everyone screamed from the top of their lungs, holding onto each other as their lives depended on it, as the sounds of Branch's loud scream could be the last sound heard before Rhonda dove into the water.
Up on land, Bridget and Gristle were on a motorcycle, heading towards their honeymoon; a grand trip to wherever the road took the lovebirds. Bridget was taking control and driving the motorcycle, and Gristle was holding on to his lover tightly, with only the dust following them.
As the couple made their way down the road, Bridget told Gristle in awe, "Oh, Grissy, this is the most romantic honeymoon I've ever been on. Ever."
Gristle, however, was focused less on how fun the night was, but was still enjoying it, and more on not trying to fall off from how fast Bridget was riding the motorcycle, telling her, "Whoo! It is a night of surprises"!
Bridget then turned the handle and made the engine rev up as she sped up, passing by a sign that labeled a waterpark that they made plans to go to, with Gristle cheering as they rode off into the sunset, "To the water park! Whoohoo"!
As Branch and Poppy were literally "treading the waters" on their search to find the rest of Branch's brothers, meanwhile, with Laguna's group, they were trekking a much different patch of land.
Out where the sun shined so bright that the heat could easily fry an egg on the sidewalk, the group was trudging their way through a vast, dry, hot, everlasting desert. The sand felt like hot coals on the bottom of their feet, yet so thick and dense that it was like treading on top of a thick layer of snow without sinking down to the ground below.
There were tall dunes that rivaled the height of hills, and the air was so humid and dry that not even the biggest drop of water could withstand it.
Carefully making their way across the desert, Laguna was leading the way, using the map as a guide so that they could find the right way to get to the Catacombs of Music. Her friends followed, with the heat heavily making everyone stagger.
Dante was sitting on Low-Note Jones' back as it was too hot to fly for fear of his wings catching fire.
Synth was currently laying on the hot sand, tiredly dragging his body forward while crying out in thirst, "Water...so thirsty...for water."
"Uh Synth, speaking from experience as someone who's lived in ayy hot ayn' arid community," Holly was telling the Techno prince, "It'd be ayy lot safuurr if ya stand up ayn' walk."
Synth replied, "You don't...understand...yo. This is...how...you're supposed...to act...in a desert."
Stereo helped her husband up, saying, "I gotcha, Synthesizer," and helped him to walk, though she could feel the exhaustion and heat getting to her too.
Aggie, who had flown ahead to see if there was anything in the distance, flew back to the group, reporting as she sat down onto Buckaroo's back, "Nothing to report from far away, except more sand dunes."
"It's so hot," Val complained, tugging at her pigtails tiredly.
"Why are you complaining about the heat," Dante asked the Rock ambassador, addressing, "Your home is thriving with lava and boiling magma; you're used to living with hot weather."
"Heat from the lava is different from the heat of a stupid desert," Val retorted tiredly.
Laguna was reading the map as they walked, as Aggie asked her when Buckaroo trotted up next to the Techno Troll, "So, Laguna, what's our first stop in the desert"?
Laguna replied while pointing out the direction on the map for everyone to see as they gathered around to listen, "Well, according to the map, in order to get across this desert, we have to look for a landmark that'll guide us to the path where we can head to our next location. So here, the landmark that we need to find are these silver pyramids. Once we do, we need to go to the biggest pyramid, where we have to go inside and get to the other side, and there'll be a stone path on the other end of it. We go down that path, which will lead us to where we have to go next to find the Catacombs of Music."
"How are we gonna find silver pyramids in a big desert like this," Melody asked while gesturing to the large area of the desert.
"Statistically speaking, we've only seem to cross approximately 12% of the desert's entirety, leaving us with an overwhelming 88% of the total area of the desert to explore and find the silver pyramids," McJagger calculated while jotting down some notes on his notepad.
"This is gonna take forever," Val groaned in annoyance while facepalming.
"It won't, yo, with all of us looking together," Stereo commented optimistically.
Aggie added on, "Stereo's right; we'll be able to find them if we all work together. There's just gotta be a clue around here that'll help lead us down the right path."
"Note: perhaps if we try to stick with going north, we will more likely run into something that will help us know if we are going the right way," Laguna instructed, saying, "I learned that it's an explorer's best source of geographical orientation when trekking uncharted or unknown territory."
Holly fished through her hair and pulled out a small compass, saying, "Here, y'all ken use this compass ta faand north"!
Laguna accepted the compass and studied it closely, noting how the arrow was pointing as she adjusted her stance so that it'd move and point in the direction she wanted to go.
Once she got the compass to point north, which was about a few degrees to the left from the path that everyone was initially walking, Laguna grinned, saying, "This way, every Troll! Onward"!
Leading the way, Laguna's group proceeded with their search for the silver pyramids.
Walking by the big sand dunes, everyone kept their eyes and ears peeled and alert for anything that could give off a potential sign that they were heading the right way.
Synth then developed a question, asking, "You think anything would be living out here, yo"?
"In this heat? I highly doubt that any animal would be able to survive without food and water," Melody commented while wiping her forehead and removing the sweat that was building up.
"Actually, there are some animals that ken live in these arid parts," Holly commented, adding, "Though most ov 'em are usually small creatuurrs."
"Yeah," Buckaroo mentioned, "The most y'all will faand are lizards, some desert birds, snakes, bugs."
"Then...what made that giant footprint over there," Synth asked while pointing to a footprint that he caught notice of.
The group turned their heads and noticed the footprint, walking over to inspect it closely.
"Looks like we got a bit of a mystery, baby," Low-Note Jones commented with a chuckle.
Buckaroo inspected the footprint with their magnifying glass, saying, "It appears that this ain't ayy standard footprint, this is ayy...paw print."
"Going by its aesthetic skin pattern and the shape of the pads on the foot, it appears to resemble the paw print of a...Kitty Critter," Laguna noted.
"That can't be right, though," McJagger pointed out, saying, "Kitty Critters don't live out in the desert; they're a forest species who prefers caves and trees to sand dunes. Plus, their natural food isn't here either, so why would there be one in the desert in the first place"?
Suddenly, the air was filled with a growling sound, making the Trolls flinch a bit nervously, with Dante asking, "What in Trolldom was that"?
Luckily, the mystery of the growling sound was easily solved when they saw Low-Note Jones place a hand on his stomach, the Funk ambassador chuckling as he stated, "Oops, sorry, babies; Low-Note Jones forgot to eat breakfast and is now feeling a funky rumble in his stomach."
That made the group sigh in relief before they heard another growling sound, and this one was NOT the sound of someone's stomach rumbling, something Stereo pointed out, "Ok, yo, now what was THAT? That ain't no tummy grumble"!
They heard footsteps coming from behind a nearby sand dune, which made the Trolls a little nervous; what if what was behind there was dangerous and could hurt them? But, deciding to face whatever, or whoever it was, they stuck together, and awaited for it to come out.
Slowly, something came out from behind the sand dune, and to the Trolls' surprise...it looked like a little kitten! The kitten's head was peeking out, showing that it had bright dark lavender fur, thick light lavender fur that grew out from the top of its head that was long and frizzy, with some of it peering over its right eye like bangs, a purple muzzle, a pink nose, and dark blue eyes. It's front paws and legs were covered in bright dark lavender fur as well, and it had a gold chain necklace around its neck with a purple circular gem hanging from the necklace, though the rest of its body was hidden behind the dune. It looked at the Trolls and let out a small meow.
"AWWWWWW," the Trolls squealed in awe, their eyes glistening in adoration.
"It's a kitty," Melody squealed.
"It's ayy lil' baby kitty, y'all," Holly cheered excitedly.
"It's so cute, yo," Stereo and Synth screamed in unison.
Aggie jumped down from Buckaroo's back and stood in front of her friends, saying while offering a hand out to the kitty, saying in a high-pitched voice, "Come here, little one, hi"!
She then started to say, sounding a little higher, "Ming! Ming"!
"Uh, Aggie, pray tell, why are you calling the cat like that," Dante asked in confusion.
Aggie replied to Dante, "This is how I used to call my pet cat: Orange back home; he'd always come running to me when I call to him like this."
She then returned her attention to the kitty, saying again in a high-pitched voice, "Ming! Ming"!
The kitty meowed in interest as it came out from behind the dune, revealing its body, which had the same bright dark lavender fur, a thick bushy tail with a light lavender spot on the end of the tail. Then, to the Trolls' surprise, it extended out its wings, which had light purple and dark purple feathers and started to FLY to them.
The Trolls all gasped when they saw the flying kitty, Val shouting, "Ah, flying cat! Flying cat"!
The flying kitten flew to the Trolls and landed in front of them, looking at the Trolls curiously before letting out another cute meow.
"Flying cats? Oh-ho-ho, what a world," Low-Note Jones commented in shock.
"How in the hey does that cat have wings," Buckaroo asked, surprised to see this themselves.
McJagger was flipping through his animal species book, saying, "It doesn't seem to be appearing in any of my books; no cat species recorded resembles this adorably winged specimen"!
"Do you think it's a new species," Synth asked curiously.
Laguna, although very in awe of seeing the flying kitten, wanted to get back to trying to find the silver pyramids so they could continue their journey to find her mom. Getting her friends' attention, she told them, "While I'm just as curious about this flying feline as you all are, we should get back to our task at hand."
McJagger replied, telling the other Trolls, "Laguna's right; we should get back to looking for the silver pyramids."
"Do you think that they're over there," Dante asked while pointing to where the sand dune that the kitten had come out from behind was.
The kitten, who was listening, let out a confused meow as if it was asking what the Trolls were talking about.
Val, seeing the kitten's confusion, answered, "Oh, just some pointy silver pyramids that are supposed to help us find this place where our friend's missing mom is said to be after being missing for 16 years."
"You haven't seen anything like that around, have you," Laguna asked the kitten curiously.
Then, once more, the kitten surprised the Trolls by revealing that it could talk, saying to them, "Sure have, guys"!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," the Trolls screamed in shock.
"It can talk, too?! Yo, I straight up love this kitty," Synth cheered in awe.
Aggie then asked it, "You do? Where are they"?
The kitten grinned playfully and said, "Well, if I told you guys anymore, I'd have to "Cat"ll you," (the word "Catll" being a play on the word "kill") while being intimidating in a playful manner to show it was joking about the playful threat. The kitten let out a happy meow and laughed as it flew away, heading off in a different direction.
"Hey, wait! Hold on a second," Aggie called out to the kitty that was heading off.
"Follow that flying cat," Melody shouted as the Trolls ran off to follow where the cat was going.
"Wait, guys," Laguna tried to call her friends, wanting to remind them about the journey they were on, but they were too far away to hear her. Though a little frustrated, Laguna had a hunch that the kitten might know something that could help them get back on the right path to the silver pyramids. So, she ran after the other Trolls, catching up with them as they all gave chase, following the flying kitty.
They ran for a while, doing their best to keep up with the kitten, who flew a good distance before it turned a corner behind a large sand dune. Seeing where it had gone, the group all ran over and turned by the dune.
When they made the turn, they peeked their heads and gasped when they saw what was ahead of them.
Right behind the giant sand dune where the kitten had turned, what the Trolls were now seeing first-hand, were multiple shiny, pointy, large, gorgeous silver pyramids! They had found it; their first landmark! And the craziest sight of all? Resting either on top of the pyramids or standing beside them or walking around them were hundreds of other cat-like winged creatures just like the kitten they saw! All of them were of various sizes, ranging from kittens to adults, they all were different colors, and some of them either had stripes, spots, or just a straight-colored coat. Some of them were wearing long fabrics similar to that of togas and/or dresses, while others had on fancy headwear that looked like it was helping to keep some of the longer fur on their heads back. And each and every one of them were wearing some sort of necklace and/or collar with a jewel on it.
"Woah," the Trolls all declared in surprise/shock.
"The silver pyramids! There they are," McJagger declared when he pointed out the silver pyramids.
"And look at all those cutie little cat-like critters," Synth commented in awe.
"There's so...many...winged...cats," Buckaroo shouted as they all watched what the animals were doing.
Some of the little kitten creatures were playing with other kittens creatures, others were with some of the adults, while some of the other other adults were either walking around, flying, or currently curled up, taking a nap.
Laguna wrote down notes about the silver pyramids and the cat-like critters on her clipboard, saying while she was writing, "Note: it appears that they must live in those silver pyramids; it must be their homes"!
"How are we gonna get past them and find the biggest pyramid," Dante asked out loud.
Aggie got an idea, saying as she snapped her fingers, "We just need a disguise. Something to cover us so they can't see us."
"Too bad Satin and Chenille aren't here; they'd whip up something really quick to help us blend in," Melody stated.
"Like those ridiculous "Rock" outfits they made for Popsqueak's friends during the World Tour," Val asked with a playful smirk, adding, "I mean, kudos for effort on their part, but Rock doesn't exactly exemplify "pompadour" as our style."
"Well, we don't need to worry about style as much since the focus is more about not being seen," McJagger clarified.
"Kind of too late to worry about that, little ones," a new voice, which sounded like a female's voice that was deep, edgy, yet smooth and elegant, then stated.
The new voice alerted the Trolls to look around quickly, wondering who it was that spoke.
"Who said that," Holly asked out loud, trying to find who said that.
"I am but a ghost; I am no one," the new voice replied, with the Trolls still trying to figure out who was speaking.
"You can't be no one if you're talking," Dante quickly clarified, feeling his nerves arise from whomever it was talking.
"Come out and reveal yourself, you...mystery voice," Val shouted in defense.
As the Trolls kept looking around, they suddenly heard a shrill whistle, prompting them to all lookup.
On top of the sand dune they were standing behind was a large shadowy figure that stared them down, the gaze looking fierce and intimidating. Then, its wings extended, showing a vast wing span, the sunlight making its yellow, white, and red feathers glow brightly. It took off into the sky, flying upward before it dove down, flying towards the Trolls, who all braced for impact, awaiting what could be a harsh attack if this figure was dangerous.
With a loud thud and a dust cloud that settled as it landed, the figure was now standing in front of the group of Trolls, who all solely uncovered their eyes and looked up at the figure who now stood in front of them.
It turned out to be a tall adult version of the same winged kitten critter that they had seen earlier. The figure in front of them had tan fur with dark tan stripes (small ones that went vertically down her face and four horizontal stripes on each of her legs), her front left leg was made entirely of light blue glass, a light tan muzzle with a dark red nose, black whiskers, black pointy cat ears, a brown tail with a light tan fluffy tuft of fur on the tip, thick cedar brown fur on her head with long tufts of light cedar brown sticking out from behind her ears that hung around her shoulders, heterochromatic eyes (turquoise on the left eye and pale yellow on the right), and large tan wings on her back that had yellow, white, and red feathers. She appeared to be wearing a very dark red fabric dress on her body, a gold choker with a magenta diamond gem in the middle of it, the tip of her ears each had a red gem earring on it, and on her head was a gold crown-like headpiece with curved horns and a pair of small eyes.
The figure smiled at the Trolls and knelt down, saying, "Hello there, you colorful lot. What brings you out to these parts"?
The Trolls looked up at the cat figure, in shock at her presence, and feeling unsure if she was a threat or not. It was already crazy enough to even see a creature of her kind to exist but to see how different, bigger, and a lot stronger she was compared to the little kitten critter they saw earlier, it was a tremendous sight to witness, and they were amazed as much as they were scared.
No Troll dared to speak a word until Dante, out of fear, fell over and fainted.
That prompted the figure to curiously tilt her head and ask, while pointing her glass paw at Dante, "Is he ok"?
"Yeah, he does this mawe taames than ya think," Holly bravely replied as she picked Dante up and placed him onto Low-Note Jones' back.
"Please don't eat us, yo," Synth commented worryingly, hugging Stereo protectively.
"We just need to pass through those pyramids over there," Aggie told the figure.
The cat figure seemed to crouch down in a "ready to pounce" position, her tail swooshing back and forth, and commented with a grin that looked malicious (but was actually playful though the Trolls didn't know), "And why should I allow you to pass through my home so easily? You know we don't take too kindly to outsiders."
The Trolls were now feeling a little anxious that this creature was gonna attack them for being "outsiders" or worse!
Laguna bravely stepped forward and stood in front of her friends, her arms stretched out across as wide as she could bring them, and told the figure, "Please don't hurt my friends, ma'am."
The critter brought her head towards Laguna and asked her, almost sounding threatening, "Give me one good reason why."
Laguna could feel her heart beat fast, but her determination overcame her fear, and she stood her ground, narrowing her eyes confidently and declaring as she balled her fists up, "Because if you do, you'll have to do it over my dead body! I'll fight you all by myself if it means keeping my friends safe."
"Ooh, you're a feisty little girl, huh," the figure responded, her fangs showing as she added, "I love feisty outsiders. You know what I like to do with them"?
She brought her glass paw up, saying, "I love to do this...," and brought it down, at first, making it seem like she was gonna swipe at Laguna, much to the Trolls' shock.
"Laguna, look out," McJagger shouted in concern.
"Get out of the way," Stereo shouted worryingly.
"Move, Laguna," some of the other Trolls shouted in unison while others watched in shock.
Laguna didn't budge a bit, and shut her eyes, bracing for impact. However, the hit...never came. When Laguna opened her eyes, she saw that the glass paw was now resting right in front of her, just sitting there. She looked up at the figure, who now had a much kinder, more genuine smile, as she told the Techno Troll, "Well, don't leave me hanging, girl."
Seeing that the critter had actually no real intention to hurt her, or her friends, Laguna smiled and gave the critter a high-five, high-fiving her glass paw.
The cat critter then started to laugh really hard, commenting, "Man, you guys should've seen your faces! You were all like, "Ahhhhh, no! Betrayal"!
She then rolled onto her back, laughing to her heart's content.
"Ok, what is happening," Melody asked in confusion, with all the Trolls watching, also feeling confused. Dante, who had woken up from fainting, lifted his head and saw what was happening after he had passed out.
"So...we ain't gonna be eaten," Buckaroo asked with an unsure shrug.
"I guess not, baby; sweet relief right there," Low-Note Jones answered with a chuckle.
After laughing for a bit, the cat critter rolled back onto her feet and stretched her wings out to shake the sand off before asking Laguna with a playful smile, "Did you really think I was gonna hurt or eat you and your friends"?
"Note: you had a bit of an intimidating appearance earlier that made the assumption appear so," Laguna replied hesitantly while rubbing her left arm.
The figure seemed to nod and replied back, "Well, you have to be a little rough on the edges when protecting your people. So, sometimes for fun, I like to practice my scare tactic, works best with passing visitors."
"Hot dang! Y'all definitely had the hairs on the back of our necks standin' on edge, ayn' that ain't just the hairspray talking, " Holly commented, impressed.
"Ha! I wasn't scared," Val, who had tried to resume a tough, cool persona, declared confidently as she crossed her arms and held her chin up.
"Your knees say otherwise, Thundershock," Buckaroo joked while pointing to Val's knees, which still were shaking a bit. Val's cheeks flushed an embarrassed red as she uncrossed her arms and held her knees, getting them to stop shaking.
Aggie then asked the cat critter, "So, now that we've been scared straight, I have to ask, who, or what, are you exactly"?
The critter smiled and replied, "Well since we're now properly introducing ourselves, the name's Sandtrap. Empress Sandtrap, to be more precise. I'm the leader of the Catgruffs."
"Catgruffs? Is that what kind of specimen you are," Dante asked the now-identified figure.
Sandtrap nodded, saying, "Yep; half Kitty-Critter, half-eagle. We're basically the desert version of the Griffons if you've heard of them."
"Ooh," the Trolls commented in amazement/unison.
Laguna then started introductions, saying, "A pleasure to meet you, your Empress. My name is Laguna Tidepool, and those are my friends: Val Thundershock, Holly Darlin', Dante Crescendo, Low-Note Jones, Synth, Aggie, Melody Song, McJagger, Buckaroo Ringer, and Stereo."
As Laguna said each Troll's name, the named Troll gave a smile and waved toward Sandtrap.
Sandtrap smiled and commented, "It's nice to meet you, guys. I'll say, though; never in my 320 years of existence did i think I'd ever get to see a Troll come by our kingdom again."
"Wait, you know about Trolls," Aggie asked curiously.
"I think the better question we need to ask is this: you're 320 years old, yo," Stereo asked, before adding eagerly, "What's your secret because you don't look a day over 10"!
Sandtrap appreciated the compliment, saying, "Thank you for that, and to answer your question, yes, I'm 320 years old. Catgruffs can love for up to 900 years."
"900?! Wow, that's gotta be a lot of candles on your birthday cake," Melody replied, chuckling.
Sandtrap then asked, "So, I now have to ask you guys something; what brings you Trolls all the way out here to these parts anyway"?
Laguna replied, "We're trying to find the Catacombs of Music, and according to this map here," and explained while showing the map to the Catgruff, "In order to get on the right trail to find it, we need to go to the biggest silver pyramid and get to the other side, where there's a path that'll lead us down to where we have to go next."
Sandtrap looked at the map before saying, "Hmmmm, I see what you mean. Tell you what; I'll lead you over to the pyramid you're looking for. But...you lot have to do something for me first."
The Trolls looked at one another unsurely, with McJagger offering, "Well, we could help you with whatever you need, depending on what it is exactly that you need from us."
Sandtrap crossed her front legs together as if someone was crossing their arms and replied, "Oh, it's very simple. All you guys have to do is..." before she laid down and asked, "Could one of you pet me under the chin"?
"Huh," the Trolls all asked in confusion.
"I LOVE cuddles, but other Catgruffs can be a bit...hissy about it, and I've been jonesing for a good chin scratch for days now," Sandtrap sheepishly admitted.
Now THAT was something that the Trolls could easily do; after all, who could ever resist petting a cute, loving and sweet animal?!
"Well, golly," Aggie replied with a chuckle before saying, "In that case, come on guys, let her have it"!
All of the Trolls ran up to the large Catgruff and bombarded her with plenty of cozy hugs, pets, and pleasurable chin scratches that made Sandtrap purr so loud that the sound could resemble a motor engine.
"Yo, she's so cuddly like a big teddy bear," Synth commented as he laid face-first into Sandtrap's right side, letting out muffled airhorn noises.
"Ay am in kitty heaven raheet now," Holly squealed as she was one of the Trolls petting under Sandtrap's chin.
"This is just like petting my pet cat back home," Aggie excitedly stated while gently scratching the back of Sandtrap's ears.
When the Catgruff seemed very content, the Trolls stepped back, allowing her to stand up as she stated, "Thanks. Now, let me show you guys to the big pyramid near the edge of the kingdom. Unless...you all would be interested in getting a ride"?
The Trolls all looked at one another and were all sharing the exact same thought: heck...yes!
Not one second later, everyone was soaring at the top of the sky, riding on Empress Sandtrap's back, cheering as it was a lot of fun getting to ride on the back of a Catgruff.
"This is the most thrilling experience of my life," Dante exclaimed, a scream of adrenaline following afterward.
"Yeehaw! This here is awesome," Buckaroo hollered happily.
"Never thought once in my life I'd get to cross off "Riding on the back of an epic Catgruff" on my bucket list, baby," Low-Note Jones commented.
Laguna then got an idea and pulled out her camera, telling the others, "Hey, guys, I wanna get a picture of us real quick! If we find my mom, I want to show her the pictures of everything we get to see on our adventure"!
"Smart idea, Laguna," Aggie commented as the Trolls all gathered to take a picture.
Laguna angled her camera just right so that everyone could be in the picture, including Sandtrap's head as the CatGruff turned her head and smiled at the camera the moment that Stereo shouted, "Everyone say, "Sprinkles"!
"Sprinkles," the Trolls shouted as Laguna took the picture, the photocopy printing out of the camera after it was made.
Laguna looked at the picture and smiled, saying, "Note: what an excellent form of documentation."
"Hey, Trolls, we're just flying over the silver pyramids now," Sandtrap reported before asking, "You guys want a quick tour while we're heading to the big one"?
"Yes! We'd love a tour," McJagger replied as the other Trolls all nodded in agreement.
Sandtrap then flew downward toward where the strong of silver pyramids started and followed the pathway of the kingdom while explaining, "So, here's one pyramid, and there's another, and another. It's all pretty stationary, but we each make it our own lil' place in this desert. They've been around since the time of my Sphynx ancestors, built by Trollgyptians of the era."
With each pytamid that they passed, Laguna was taking a lot of pictures to document what she was seeing during the trip.
Meanwhile, as she finished taking the last picture she wanted for the time being, and turned her attention back to the others, the other Trolls, who were curious with seeing how the other Catgruffs were living around the pyramids, were asking some questions. Synth was the first to ask one, asking, "So, Sandtrap, what do Catgruffs mostly eat out here"?
"Lizards; they always come popping out of the sand, and they make a good quick bite when we're hungry," Sandtrap replied.
"Do you go to sleep inside the pyramids at night or outside of them," Low-Note Jones asked next.
"We usually sleep outside the pyramids as a way to keep guard. We don't use them much for anything other than storing some old treasures and mummy bodies that were stored in them," Sandtrap answered.
"What's the story behind your glass leg? You seem to be the only Catgruff that has one, and it resembles my prosthetic," Melody asked next, comparing Sandtrap's glass leg to her prosthetic.
"Oh, well, funny story on that; when I was little, I was out flying with some friends and I dove down toward the sand too fast. I landed hard on my paw, and instead of it breaking or bleeding, the sand that got super heated surrounded my leg and it magically turned into glass," Sandtrap replied.
"How do you know about us Trolls when we haven't heard about you guys before," Aggie asked next.
Sandtrap answered, "Long ago, before the tribes went their separate ways, Trolls would come far and wide to the Catgruffs for advice and wisdom on all sorts of things. We had a very good relationship with them as we love to offer good advice for whatever is troubling them. Didn't even ask for anything in return; we just wanted to help. Gradually, as things between the tribes grew tense in regards to the tensions about the types of music and who was playing what, we started to see less and less come to visit us. Soon, right before the tribes separated, they just stopped visiting altogether, and we hadn't seen a Troll around since, not until today since I met you guys."
"That's so sad," Holly commented sadly.
"It is a little," Sandtrap admitted before saying, "But we figured that the Trolls were going through some hard times, and we decided that it was best not to intermingle with things for fear of us accidentally making it worse."
"Were Trolls ever...scared of you guys," Dante asked hesitantly.
"When we first met 'em, eh, a little, but once they understood we meant no harm, that fear slowly dissipated," Sandtrap replied.
"Did you or any of the other Catgruffs ever think of wanting to explore out beyond your kingdom to see if the other Trolls were doing ok," McJaggr asked next.
Sndtrap bit her lip while saying, "Well, I'd be lying if I said that thought never crossed our minds, but we always felt like it'd make things worse if we stepped in to try and help settle the tensions between the tribes. Plus, it's been a long time, and we've grown accustomed to living out in the desert on our own. Plus, seeing you all getting along so well is all enough proof for me, and for the other Catgruffs, to see how much things have changed since we last saw Trolls, and how it looks like its only gonna get better from here."
"Y'all guess correctly," Buckaroo commented.
"And you know, Sandtrap? You and the other Catgruffs can always come visit the other tribes if you want. I'm sure the current Troll leaders would like to meet you and your kind," Aggie offered to the Catgruff leader.
Sandtrap replied, "I appreciate the offer, but for now, I think that it'd be best if the Catgruffs remain living by ourselves. Nothing against the idea, but we're just more used to the solitude these days."
The Trolls were understanding of Sandtrap's response; since it's been so long since any Catgruff had seen a Troll, it'd just be all too sudden for them to be suddenly interacting with Trolls again.
Sandtrap then asked the Trolls, "So, why are you Trolls going to these Catacombs of Music anyway? You looking for something"?
Laguna replied, "We're trying to see if we can find my mom. She's been missing for 16 years and the Catacombs of Music was the last marked place that was said that she went to."
"Woah, your mom's been missing? That's rough," Sandtrap commented, surprised to hear this.
"It's been rough, but we're going to see if we can find her," Laguna replied optimistically.
"Well, speaking personally, I do hope that you find her, Tidepool," Sandtrap offered in support, adding, "Mamas are really important."
"You seem to care a lot about moms, Sandtrap; do Catgruffs have parents," Val asked curiously.
Sandtrap nodded, replying with, "Yeah, though while our dads do most of the work around the pyramids, our moms are the ones who help tor raise us and take care of us. I remember how much my mom loved me and my sister, and she did everything possible to make sure we were raised well. And going by how you appear to be, Laguna, I say that you must have had a great mom yourself to turn out this strong and well-spirited."
"I appreciate the comment, Empress Sandtrap, thank you," Laguna responded, feeling honored by the Catgruff's comment.
Soon, Sandtrap spotted something that was coming up, alerting the Trolls, "Heads up, we're almost there"!
The Trolls all looked up and were stunned to see how really huge the big silver pyramid was compared to all the other pyramids they had seen earlier.
The big silver pyramid was ginormous, and it had a gold star decal at the top of it.
Sandtrap slowly landed by the entrance of the pyramid, lowering her body so the Trolls could easily hop off.
As the group gazed up at the entrance, they were all amazed by the sight of the large pyramid.
"We have to get to the other side of THAT to find the path," Val asked incredulously.
"Looks like it, but it's HUGE, bro," Synth commented as he tried to look up, gazing at how big the pyramid was, and almost fell over if not for Dante catching the Techno prince in time.
"Ken't we just go around it aw somethin'," Holly asked as she tried to walk around the pyramid, but there was an invisible force that prevented the Country ambassador from proceeding forward around the pyramid.
Sandtrap quickly clarified, "Yeah, you can't go around that pyramid. There's some sort of magic forcefield on it that prevents us from going around and over it. The only way to the other side is to go through it."
"Then, we'll go through it and face whatever is there," Laguna answered, adjusting the fedora on her head.
Sandtrap smiled before saying, "In that case, this is where we must part ways, Trolls."
"You're not coming with us," Melody asked in confusion.
"I wish I could, but I have to stay behind and make sure my people are doing ok; can't leave them behind for too long, or else things get a bit "clawful" if you get what I mean," Sandtrap replied before adding in support, "But I wish you guys well on your journey. Good luck in the search for your mother, Laguna."
"Thank you, Sandtrap, and thank you for your help; it's been wondrous meeting you," Laguna responded back.
"Same here, Trolls. Till we meet again," Sandtrap replied before she spread her wings and flew off back to the main center of her kingdom.
After she was gone, the Trolls faced the big silver pyramid, and together, they all walked into the entrance.