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!
Everyone looked at one another in concern, with Aggie saying while clenching her hands frantically, "Oh golly, this is bad! If the Catacombs of Music is a trap, then Laguna has absolutely no idea what she's walking into"!
"Nor do we, especially if that Ramon fella is still there, and any trap that he may or may not have set up inside it might still be active," Essence added in concern.
"What are we gonna do y'all," Holly asked worryingly.
Outside, Laguna was heading back to the house after taking a lot of notes about the statue that Melody had pointed to when she heard her friends' voices from the open window. Curious, she approached the window to listen to what her friends were talking about, especially after hearing McJagger say, "Laguna is gonna flip when she hears about it."
Laguna stayed quiet as she listened in on the conversation, quietly asking, "What are they talking about in relation to me?"
Inside the house, the Trolls were all discussing what to do about the Catacombs of Music trap situation. Trollex said, "Alright, let's not try to go into full panic; there has to be something we can do."
"I think the more serious subject here is that we are now in real danger," Val shouted, crossing her arms while adding, "We are walking into a deathtrap with that stupid Catacomb Cave"!
"We gotta do somethin' about this, y'all, cause if we keep goin' we're basically gonna be laake maace walkin' inta ayy mousetrap," Buckaroo pointed out.
McJagger was a nervous wreck about all of this, saying, "I can't bear to lose my girlfriend to this place; I'd die before I let myself watch the Troll I love walk into a trap like her mother did"!
"But what do we do about it? How are we gonna protect Laguna, much less ourselves, from what's lying up ahead and the mastermind behind it," Melody asked, fiddling with her thumbs in fear.
"We are gonna have to head back to the Troll Kingdom and try an alternative method to this," Quincy brought up as a suggestion.
Laguna was shocked to hear that her friends wanted to head back to the Troll Kingdom; for whatever "alternative approach" to what they were talking about, she could care less about it, but at the moment, she was still taken aback to hear her friends wanted to head back after they've come so far with her on this journey.
"Head back? Are you sure," Aggie asked in concern.
"It's a drastic option, but yet, it seems to be the best one that we can consider of for not only our safety, but for Laguna's safety as well," Low-Note Jones replied.
"Are we sure about this, yo," Synth asked unsurely, saying, "Laguna's gone be really upset if we tell her we are heading back."
"None ov us laake it eithuurr, Synth," Delta commented, before stating, "But we gotta take ayy rational approach ta this now; it's mawe laakely that Mrs. Tidepool ain't gonna be there 'cause ov the trap in the cave.
"Plus, there's no way that we can face what's coming if we are underprepared," Dante mentioned, commenting, "Even Laguna's high intelligence of all thing historic won't be enough to keep her safe."
That really tore into Laguna, who now mentally argued that she felt insulted or upset, but it was a mix of both.
"Still though, to turn around and go back home just to try a different approach to this? After coming so far too? As much as I want to make sure that we can be able to face what lies ahead without anyone getting hurt or trapped, it's gonna be all the more tiresome to go back and plan out a new way to do this and then head back out again," McJagger worryingly theorized.
"True, but if Ramon is as crafty ayn' maniacal as Lizzy said, then he maheet be able ta do who knows what ta us if he sees us comin' as ayy threat ta him," Holly pointed out.
"Plus, think of what he might do to Laguna if he finds out she's Twilight's daughter; Laguna's at the most risk with his fake Catacombs of Music trap; there's no way in Trolldom she'll be able to handle what he throws at her. If he was able to capture her mom, who knows what can do to her," Barb mentioned.
"Given based on how much resentment he seemed to show when he said her mother's name," Lizzy spoke up, addressing, "I wouldn't be surprised if you guys find Twilight dead in that cave, or what's left of her if he's done something else like transported her to Trollwaukee."
Laguna did her best to not shout in anger at what she was hearing, but her emotions were starting to become a little stronger, especially from how angered and hurt she was feeling regarding to what she was overhearing about her friends' wanting to go back and thinking that she wouldn't be able to handle what was ahead.
"But if we head back and plan out a different alternative to this approach, then we can be able to explore that cave and make sure that Ramon does not hurt us , Twilight if she is still there, or Laguna, and we can see if he can tell us what he's done with Twilight in case she is not there," Essnce theorized.
While everyone did not seem to like the idea, they knew that this was so far the best option for handling the situation, especially for now how dangerous it was.
"So, I guess that we're all in agreement; we're gonna head back to the Troll Kingdom and plan out a new way to approach this cave safely to try and locate if Twilight is still there, or if she isn't anymore," Trollex delivered the statement, with everyone all nodding in agreement.
"Now, the other problem we have, yo," Stereo listed before asking, "Who's gonna be the one to tell Laguna this"?
Eyes immediately looked over at McJagger, who looked around before frantically waving his front paws as if he was defending himself, saying, "Wait, what?! Why me"?!
"Well, one, you are Laguna's boyfriend, so there's that," Val started to list off.
"That is not a logical reason for me to be the choice of who breaks this to Laguna," McJagger quickly rebutted while his face flushed an embarrassed pink.
"Which brings us ta reason numbuurr two, you're as logical ayn' standard as she is, so she's bound ta understand the mattuurr mawe if it comes from ya," Holly added on.
"And three, Laguna cares a lot about you, as the same way you care a lot about her, so she'll, hopefully, reciprocate the news better from the way you tell it compared to how any of us would tell her," Low-Note Jones mentioned.
McJagger bit his lower lip nervously, not liking at all how very right that his friends were about this, but at the same time, he also didn't like the idea that HE had to be the Troll to tell the love of his life that they had to go back home to rethink their strategy in approaching the Catacombs of Music. His knees quaked with fright while he debuted, "B-B-but, I just don't like that I have to be the one to be telling her this; I feel like I'm gonna break her heart if I tell her that we have to go back and rethink things."
"Y'all ain't breaking huurr heart, McJ," Delta reassured him, pointing out, "Is she gonna be upset? Most laakely, but would ya rathuurr that she ends up fallin' inta the same trap hurrr mothuurr possibly ended up in ayn' we don't see huurr again"?
McJagger shuddered in fright, answering, "No, definitely not."
Trollex added, "We don't like it a much as you do, but sometimes, hard decisions have to be made, and we have to now taker this matter more precautiously when it comes to the now-changing expectations on if we're gonna even be able to find Laguna's mother."
McJagger sighed in resignation, saying sadly, "You have a valid point, your Technoness. I don't want her to think that we are stopping, but I don't want her to wind up getting hurt or lost or trapped and vanish the same way her mother has."
The red Funk Troill let out a small exhale before saying, "Ok...I'll...I'll tell Laguna."
Little did anyone know that Laguna was still standing outside by the open window, and as she overheard the conversation, she felt like a stake had been placed through her heart, her emotions on a rapid haywire. She felt angry, hurt, and dizzy with emotion, all that was contributing to her emotional misunderstanding that her friends no longer wanted to help her with her mission, wanting to return back home.
Bitter and furious, Laguna stepped away from the window and took a minute to catch her breath before saying to herself, "Some friends. If they don't wanna help me anymore, why'd they bother coming anyways"?!
She stormed off, heading to go find the pink-and-blue marigold that would lead her to the "Catacombs of Music" while unaware of the warnings she picked up on regarding the place being fake and just a trap. All while no one noticed the anTrollpologist walking off on her own.
Back at the Putt-Putt golf course, Branch and his brothers were preparing to head out to Mount Rageous.
Deciding that they had to get moving right away if the brothers were gonna have a hair of a chance to rescue Floyd in time, Clay led his brothers over to the front door, which was still open, to their luck. Clay placed down a cloth sack and started to fill it with candy rations as he said, "Okay, guys, if we're gonna save Floyd, we need to get going. The sooner we are on the road, the sooner we get to floyd in time, and the lesser chance we have of getting stuck here."
"Stuck here? What do you mean, Clay," Bruce asked Clay, with John Dory also sharing a very unsure shrug.
Clay explained, "Let's just say that attendance is the one matter she takes REALLY seriously, though a lot of it is based on the stuff she has going on."
Branch seemed to understand, saying, "I'll go get Poppy."
But before Branch could head over to go get Poppy, Clay stopped Branch, gently holding him by the wrist while telling him, "No, no, no, wait, hold on; there's no way Viva's gonna let her go."
This made Branch confused, as well as a bit concerned, as he asked Clay, "What? W-What are you talking about"?
Clay looked left and right to see if anyone was watching or listening in before he quietly said, "What I'm about to tell you, you guys have to swear to never bring this up with her because only I know about this, and we made a pact to not discuss this with anyone else, ok?"
Branch, John Dory, and Bruce all looked at one another and gave nods of affirmation, showing that they were gonna keep what Clay told them secret.
Clay then pointed to a spot near where the gears that made the metal door move were. The door was currently open, with Rhonda shown to be sitting and parked on the other side. He then asked, "You see that gadget over there?"
Clay was referring to a special chain mechanism in which the metal chain was wrapped around a wooden wheel. When someone ran on the wheel, the power of its spinning could pull the chain up and open the door or move it down and make the metal door slide down and close. Pointing to it, Clay explained, "That is how we Putt-Putt Trolls make the door open and close at will; with only rare exceptions, that door usually stays closed because no one is allowed to leave the course under any circumstances, unless in an emergency. And you see that small rope next to it"?
The brothers looked over and saw that near the mechanism, there was a small string of rope that was tied from the top of the left gear, and the end of the rope looked to be tied so that it looked like a lasso.
Clay looked at the rope and for a split second, Branch swore that he could see Clay's face become frightened by it, and he didn't need to wait long for an answer before Clay then explained, "No Putt-Putt Troll knows the significance of it, but that rope...was tied into a noose by Viva herself during the first few months that we made our new home here."
His brothers were silent but stunned to be hearing this, as Clay then sorrowfully explained, "Stress was getting to her with the duties of being the new acting leader, along with the feelings of grief and sorrow that she felt from missing her pops and Poppy so much; one night, she had this really bad dream about watching her little sister get eaten in front of her, and she couldn't do anything to stop it because she was locked away. It caused her to wake up and break down really bad."
He added, "She snuck out in the middle of the night and climbed up here, grabbed the rope, and tied that end into the noose we see now. She stayed there for who knows how long, and I didn't know what got me to come out and see what was going on, but thank Troll, I did. Because when I came out and saw her there, holding that rope, looking so helpless..." He paused for a minute, trying to keep his composure before saying, "I'll never forget the dreaded look on her face when I saw the way she was looking at the rope. If I hadn't come out and convinced her to come down so we could talk about this...Poppy would've never gotten to meet her sister."
John Dory's face looked like it was gonna become pale in disbelief, Bruce himself was overcome with shock and sympathy for her, while Branch, as stunned as he was to hear this, found himself feeling really empathetic with Viva. The burden of that kind of trauma can make any Troll feel so...helpless, and he'd be lying if he didn't say that he hasn't had days back during his grey period where he wanted to do what Viva almost...attempted.
Clay, meanwhile, then stated, "The way that night, as well as the night we escaped, has affected Viva runs really deep, especially with how, for so many years, she always thought the worst of what could've happened to her family, especially her little sister. She was always worried that Poppy had either gotten hurt or killed or caved in, and it made her feel worse to know that despite those dangers, she felt like, under all that fear and anxiety, she couldn't do anything about it. So, now that she's reunited with poppy, she's become, how'd you say, overprotective? She means well by it, but it's a massive wave of it in where she doesn't want to go through that kind of pain in losing her sister again, especially to whatever dangers could be out there that she's not aware of. She's scared, but not for her own safety, but for the safety of her closest family."
Branch was the first to respond verbally to all of this, commenting, as he tried to process it all, "Wow."
"I know," Clay replied, adding, "It's heavy stuff, man. She doesn't like to be openly vulnerable like this because, with all these Trolls that she's helping to lead and keep safe, Viva's grown to show a "tough" front where she helps to keep things lively and enjoyable for them here. No one sees the "real" Viva...except me."
As Clay finished packing his sack, he commented, "So, you see why, as upsetting as it's gonna be to hear this, Branch, Viva's not gonna let Poppy go so easily. So, if we don't wanna get trapped like she is, we should sneak out now."
Suddenly, the boys heard the sound of metal rattling and looked up, seeing one of the Putt-Putt Trolls activating the mechanism on the door, running on the chain wrapped around the wooden wheel and making the door slide down, closing it on them, much to their surprise, as well as Rhonda's, the armadillo bus barking in curiosity.
While Clay saw his brothers look around frantically to see what happened, he then saw Viva and a bunch of the Putt-Putt Trolls coming up to them, and Viva did not look at all pleased. Trying to not look so awkward and too apparent of what he was trying to do, Clay sheepishly grinned while stating, "Oh, hey...Viva. What's up, girl"?
"I could ask the same of you, Clay," Viva asked sternly, which her comment made Clay shrink back slightly while a little taken aback by the comment.
Before anyone else could chime in, Poppy quickly ran out and stood in between Viva and Branch and his brothers, asking her sister, "Viva! What are you doing"?
"You're not leaving here no matter what, because...because it's just not safe out there, "Viva replied, both firmly and in deep concern for her sister's well-being, adding with crossed arms, "You're welcome."
Poppy could tell that this was probably due to what Viva and the Putt-Putt Trolls experienced when they escaped from the Bergens, who caught them and had to move a different way after the tunnels collapsed. With that in mind, she told Viva reassuringly, "Wait, is this about the Bergens? Because they stopped trying to eat us; that's all in the past."
Viva didn't seem to believe Poppy's comment, saying sarcastically, "Yeah, right, that's hilarious, Poppy. I'm laughing really hard."
Poppy, however, was being dead-serious, stating eagerly, "I'm serious, Viva. Bridget, my best friend I was telling you about? She's a Bergen"!
Poppy pulled out a bright green scrapbook and opened it, showing a page that was dedicated to a time when she and Bridget were sharing a fun hug, and gave the book to Viva to look at, saying while Viva looked at the page in confusion, "Look, Bridget and I do a million fun things together; we talk, and we play games, and we sing songs, and make up these really bad dances."
"It's a lot like..." and with those words, Poppy thought back to the times she spent with Bridget and reflected them with the new moments that she's gotten to make with Viva, realizing that, they were sort of one in the same. Bridget was Poppy's best friend and the two of them were so close that it felt like they had an almost sisterly bond together while with Viva, who was her biological sister, the same feeling resounds when she and Poppy were talking and getting to catch up together and share their interests and hobbies and similar quirks.
Given how the feelings from both felt similar, Poppy then added, "Well, actually, it's a lot like what you and I have been doing."
However, even those words, as convincing as they sounded, didn't seem to do much to shift Viva's current train of thought as she looked at the picture on Poppy's scrapbook, leaving Poppy to try a different tactic to explain how things weren't like what happened back then. But, she didn't want to say simply that "The world's a lot different than it used to be" because Viva was right about one thing; there were still plenty of dangers out there that could impact them.
But, thinking smart, Poppy instead decided to say, acknowledging the trauma that Viva experienced, "What we went through back then when the Bergens used to eat us, I can't even describe to you how scary it felt to have to see so many innocent lives be hurt, both physically and mentally. And I know that you probably felt so scared when we got separated, thinking something like that happened to me and Dad, so I understand why you wouldn't want anyone to leave because it helps them feel safe; it helps you feel safe."
She then added reassuringly, "But things have changed over time over the past 20 years, and as honest as I can be with you, while I can't go back and rewrite history and change the hurt and fears you experienced, what I can do is at least tell you that it can feel so nerve-wracking, in both a bad and a good way, to step out of the comfort zone and face what life throws at you head on because...it's worth it, especially for those in need."
Branch then stepped in, adding to what Poppy was saying, "Viva, look, I used to be just like you, too. I experienced a lot of heavy trauma at such a young age, and it impacted the way I viewed the world for such a long time, viewing it as a constant threat to my survival. I built a bunker, and I lived in it for years because I knew it was safe, where I could feel safe, where nothing bad could hurt me. And, sure, i-it kept me alive, and I never had to wear pants."
The "pants" comment made Poppy blush heavily and ask, "Wait, wha-,"
"That aside," Branch quickly pushed that topic away, blushing a bit in embarrassment for revealing that, before saying, "But...even in the safety of the bunker...I didn't feel any better in it than I did when I went out and risked death on multiple occasions. Most of which, Poppy has brought me into, and that is something I'll never regret because once I got to actually experience it, even when I was feeling scared or pushed out of my comfort zone...I still went for it because I had someone who looked out for me. Who made it all the more memorable and less frightening to experience firsthand."
"Plus, I was living without pants," Branch added, blushing again in embarrassment before saying, "Does that make sense"?
Tiny Diamond, who was still sitting in the baby harness taking all of this in, commented, feeling slightly perturbed, "Well, I feel judged."
Viva held the book in her hands, but the concern and fear in her eyes still remained as she spoke up, telling them, "You don't understand; I just got my sister back after fearing for her life for so many years! Not once did I ever stop thinking about if she and Dad were ok, and I can't risk seeing her get hurt or killed out there by who knows what," before she turned her head to look at poppy, saying to her fearfully, "I'm not gonna lose you again, for anything."
"Viva, you shouldn't have to worry about my saf-," Poppy started to say.
But Viva abruptly stopped her, shouting, "Yes, I do"!
Suddenly, there was the sound of moving chains and metal banging again, but this time, nothing was being shut; the door was, to the wonder of Poppy, and to the shock of Viva and the other Putt-Putt Trolls, who all began to scatter in fright to hide, being opened. The Trolls looked around, wondering who it was that opened the door for them.
When Viva looked up, she saw Clay standing on the special wheel-chain mechanism that the Putt-Putt Trolls had used a little earlier to close the door. This time, the chain was hanging since it had been pulled back to pull the door open. Feeling shocked, confused, and, deep down, a little hurt to see Clay, who had mastered the exits, doing this, Viva called out to him timidly, saying, "Clay? W-Wha...What are you...doing?"
Clay shot Viva a guilty/apologetic look as he told her, "I'm sorry, Viva, but we have to leave; I don't wanna lose my brother either, and I'm willing to risk my life if it means saving his's."
With the door open, still to the shock of Viva, Clay hopped down from the chain mechanism that controlled the door, declaring as he got a grip on his candy rations bag, "Let's move"!
Bruce, John Dory, Branch, and Poppy wasted no time in following Clay as they started to head out of the golf course and over to where Rhonda was parked outside.
Viva, still in shock, watched as she saw her little sister follow her boyfriend and his brothers, with Clay in tow, heading outside of the golf course, and panic immediately grew within her. She wasn't ready to see her sister disappear from her life again, not again! Worried, she started to follow Poppy, shouting, "No, no, Poppy, wait"!
As Branch and Poppy were the last ones to go under the metal door and head outside, Viva initially followed them, going under the door, but within the first three steps of being outside of the golf course, the scrapbook clutched in her arms to her chest, Viva glanced at her surroundings and was immediately feeling frightened. The feel of the uneasy scenery around her, the darkness of the sky, the shadows amongst the trees, the eerie sound of what was up in the distance; all those factors contributed to Viva's fear of the possible dangers around her.
Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly, her breathing becoming short and rapid. Her muscles suddenly felt tense and clammy, and her heart raced like a motor pump. Chills went up her spine, which only added to the anxiety that coursed through Viva's body, her mind racing with fear. She held onto Poppy's scrapbook like it was the end of the world, and she scurried backward, back under the other side of the metal door, back into the soothing feel of the golf course.
As much as Viva was scared for herself, she felt even more scared for her little sister Poppy, who didn't look like she had a single concern about what kinds of dangers were out there. She shouted worryingly, "Poppy, please"!
Poppy heard her older sister's pleas and turned around, seeing how scared she looked. The quaking of her knees and the frightened glance in her eyes tugged at Poppy's heart, especially when Viva fearfully added, now begging for her sister to come back, "I want you to stay!"
Poppy knew that Viva really wanted her to stay, and she'd be lying if she didn't agree to not wanting to be with Viva, but at the same time, Poppy knew that she couldn't. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she had to go with Branch and his brothers on their mission to rescue Floyd, and this was important because this mission was a family matter. With a small, sad sigh, she told Viva, "Viva, I can't do that," before adding with a reassuring smile, "But you can come with us. It's scary to think about, and I know you think it's risky, and maybe it is, but it'll be worth it. After all, family's always worth it."
She offered her hand out to Viva, with the older Pop Troll looking at her little sister worryingly. Her mind and heart raced with conflicting thoughts; if she risked going out there with Poppy, there was a huge chance that they could face something really dangerous and they could get hurt and killed or worse! And she couldn't bear to have to witness her little sister go through something excruciating or fatal! She couldn't bear to lose her again, and at the same time, she was also scared about facing danger head on.
As frightened as she was, she sadly looked at Poppy and gave her back the scrapbook while telling her, "No, no, no, I-I can't," before the metal door came closing down, closing the golf course.
Poppy sadly looked up and down at the metal door that now separated her from Viva; the sisters were now separated once again after reuniting from being separated for so long. The Pop Queen couldn't help but feel really downhearted about this; on the one hand, she understood how frightened Viva was feeling about facing dangers, especially after the trauma she had from the night of the great escape from Bergen Town. On the other hand, she felt sad that despite how much Viva really cared about her, she didn't have the courage to be able to come join them on this, especially because Poppy really wanted Viva to join them on their journey. But she knew that there wasn't much that she could do to change Viva's mind.
Branch approached Poppy, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, letting her know that things were gonna be ok. It helped her feel a little better, though it didn't do much to really enlighten her currently downtrodden mood, especially since she was already missing Viva.
Poppy placed the scrapbook on the ground right in front of the metal door, thinking that it'd be nice to leave something of hers at least for Viva to hold dear to. On the plus side, letting her keep the scrapbook could also possibly help Viva be able to take a closer look into how the relationship between the Trolls and the Bergens has changed, which might help change her mind, as well as the minds of the other Putt-Putt Trolls. Once the scrapbook was left on the ground, Branch and Poppy turned around and started to walk back over to Rhonda, where Clay, John Dory, and Bruce were already inside, awaiting their arrival.
Over at Mount Rageous, the big show over at the Rage Dome was but only a long few hours away, and at the moment, Velvet and Veneer were inside their dressing room, with Veneer currently sitting in one of the fancy chairs while Velvet was pacing back and forth, a cascade of thoughts were running through her head, but most of them were about one essential matter: BroZone was still a no-show, and the Rage Dome show was happening very soon! Without those Trolls, there was no way she was gonna be able to get a plethora of Troll essence that would last enough to make her and Veneer's singing voice the best, and then, her dreams of becoming legendary famous would all fall apart at the seams!
Suddenly, the twins heard someone knocking on their door and heard a voice tell them from the other side, "Knock, knock; almost showtime."
"Ugh," Velvet commented while trying not to flip out in frustration, turning her head to ask Veneer, "No sign of BroZone"?
"No," Veneer sadly replied back, though under that tone of sadness, there was also a hidden sense of relief in saying "No" because truth be told, he was glad to see that BroZone hadn't appeared; he couldn't bear to see any more of those innocent little guys suffer through the painful process of having their musical essence and Troll-like lifeforms sucked out of them after seeing what the one they currently had to go through in this entire ordeal. Plus, he knew that the little one (Floyd) was not gonna last any longer, and seeing him deteriorate was really doing a number on the guilt he was feeling about this entire scam.
Velvet grimaced, declaring with anger and frustration laced in her voice, "How on earth is this happening? They should be here by now; where are they?! Without those Trolls, we're not gonna be able to last for the Rage Dome show, and our voices are gonna suck the minute we sing into the microphones! We need Troll power, and we need it now"!
Veneer, seeing how upset his sister was getting, felt a little bit on edge because he knew when Velvet got mad, things get...broken...very badly. However, this now presented him with the opportunity to get Velvet to, perhaps, try an alternative, more "Honest" method to their lil' "predicament." If he could convince her to actually try and put in the effort to practice singing and dancing for the Rage Dome show, then perhaps they wouldn't need to rely on the use of Troll essence, and then not only could they be able to put on a memorable performance, but then, the lil' Troll they had could be released and get better again!
With this in mind, he spoke up, telling Velvet while trying to sound reassuringly, "Well, maybe there's another way we can handle this problem. Luckily for us, I have an idea."
Velvet turned to face her brother, crossing her arms while saying, "Spill it to me, Veneer."
Veneer then explained, "What if, and this is only a suggestion that could work, but... what if instead of us using Trolls to improve our already supremely amazing talents, we could practice? We can choreograph our own dances and get in a little singing practice, and we'll no doubt be able to nail it and be our perfect selves without having to use Troll power to achieve so. Sounds pretty god, huh?"
Velvet looked at Veneer with an incredulous look at first before her expression changed to that of hilarious, breaking into laughter, clutching her sides while asking Veneer, "Veneer, you can't be serious, right"?
"Huh," Veneer commented, both confused by his sister's reaction while also hurt that she thought he was trying to joke with her.
Velvet let out another chuckle before saying snobbishly, "I wanna be famous, but I'm not gonna work for it, ew. "Practice" are for talentless folks who aren't as serious about making it as we are, and I want all the fame to come to me, not for myself to work for it. Ugh, imagine the sweat build-up ruining my complexion from "practicing" what we are already good at with Troll power."
Veneer could see that Velvet was being stubborn and tried to convince her otherwise, pointing out, "Come on, Vels, it could work, and it'd also be pretty fun. We used to make up little dances together all the time, remember? Back when we were little, we'd always do dance shows in front of our parents and classmates, and we'd have the best dance moves in our routines. Remember the one we did for the Mount Rageous Kindergarten Shindig"?
He got up and mimicked one of the childhood dances that he would do with his sister when they were but only little tots, saying with each move he did, "Hip, hip, twist, flip." It brought back a lot of good memories, such as how much fun he would have dancing and seeing the looks on their parents' faces when they danced and the cheers of their friends from school.
However, Velvet was NOT at all impressed, bluntly telling Veneer, "Our dances sucked; they were baby moves that won't help us at all with our ever-growing careers! How many fans do you think we can get making up sucky dances"?
Veneer was about to respond to that before Velvet bluntly added, interrupting his train of thought, "That AREN'T a bunch of our childhood NOBODIES that we grew up with, or our clearly distasteful parents"?
That got Veneer to stay quiet at first, but Velvet saw it as a sign that she had made a solid point, stating confidently, "Exactly, Veneer."
Velvet then commented, "Now, we are gonna prepare for the show; let's get spritizing, and then get to singing."
She walked over to the vanity table and picked up the diamond bottle, with Floyd inside. Floyd was lying down on his back, his eyes shut, and his tongue stuck out; to the eyes of most, it would appear that, as dark as it was, he was...dead. BUT to the eye of a trained actor or an amateur one, you could tell that this was not so, as it was more so that Floyd was faking. Why, you may ask?
When Velvet saw Floyd inside looking very unresponsive, she shook the bottle, trying to wake him up, while calling to him, "Hey, hello? Hello in there; Wake up, wakeywakey."
Each time his head and/or his body hit the walls of the diamond bottle prison, it hurt A LOT! It did absolutely nothing to stop the aches he currently had due to having his essence sucked out, but as much as it hurt, Floyd mentally sucked it in and showed no flinch, no grunt, no sound. All to give off the image that he had passed away. And to his own surprise as he cautiously listened in, it seemed to work, as Velvet, seeing that the Troll still didn't move, thought that he was dead, commenting a meek, "Oh."
She seemed to have no remorse, no guilt, nor even shed a tear about seeing that the Troll they had was now "dead," but Veneer? The second he saw Floyd unresponsive and not moving, he flew into a full-blown panic and screamed, clutching his head while shouting in concern, "He's dead?! Oh, man, what have we done"?!
He shook Velvet's shoulder while saying, "I told you this was a bad idea; now we're not only frauds, but we're murderers"!
"Veneer," Velvet bluntly told him, trying to get Veneer to snap out of it.
But it didn't work, as Veneer still panicked, crying out, "This is bad, this is really bad! If the Mount Rageons hear about this, we are gonna be in even deeper trouble than we will be about getting caught as frauds! I can't live with the guilt of accidentally killing the poor guy; he's too adorable to be dead"!
"Veneer," Velvet called out to him again, a little louder and sounding more stern this time.
Veneer, however, still didn't listen, as he kept panicking, saying, "His ghost is gonna be haunting us for the rest of our lives because of what we did to him! Why didn't I do something to help make things less painful for him?! What's gonna happen now with the Rage Dome show?! We gotta cancel it! We gotta give his body a proper burial! We gotta-,"
"VENEER, GET A GRIP," Velvet, having enough of her brother's consciousness showing, shouted harshly at almost the top of her lungs.
Veneer snapped out of his panicking rant, but it didn't do much to curb his worries as he asked Velvet, "What do we do?"
As much as Velvet hated to admit it, Veneer's goody two-shoe brain pointed out one fact that was unavoidable: they had a "dead" body that they now had to get rid of before someone caught them about it, and it brought down their huge megastar famous plan. She could figure out how to get Veneer to keep his mouth shut about this later, but right now, the sooner she could rid the Troll body in the bottle, the sooner it'd be gone before anyone noticed, and it'd increase the hopes that BroZone would soon come so she could use them as replacements for their now "dead" Troll. Imagine the looks on BroZone's face when she tells them that their "brother" whom they came to rescue was dead, and now, they'd get to be taking his place?!
The sadistic idea itself made Velvet smile, but the next thought made her come up with the perfect way to get rid of this "dead" Troll without anyone finding it outside. She looked to Veneer and asked him, "You remember the goldfish you had as a kid?"
"You mean Sparkles," Veneer, temporarily distracted from his panicked state, replied in confusion.
Velvet nodded before saying, "I know just where we can put this little guy; the same place where "Sparkles" went after he settled for that "mid-swim nap" you saw him taking."
One walk to the nearest bathroom later led to both Mount Rageon superstars standing over an open gold toilet, the water clear as daylight, their reflections shone in the water like that of a mirror.
"Are you out of your mind," Veneer asked his sister increduously while Velvet gave an annoyed eye roll.
"Look," Velvet stated bluntly, explaining, "No one is gonna think of looking in the pipes for a dead Troll body; so we flush him here, he get sent to the ocean...hopefully, he gets disposed, and we won't have to worry about anyone finding his dead body."
"That doesn't make anything better," Veneer replied, both annoyed and angry that his sister ws even suggesting such an idea, pointing out, "Especially with the fact that we still have-,"
"Just stop thinking about it, Veneer," Velvet angrily retorted, saying, "I'll handle things, and we'll be back in track in no time like it never happened. And you better keep your mouth shut about this, understood"?
Veneer sighed sadly before saying, "At least give him a proper send off."
Velvet groaned bitterly but figured that it would help her brother feel less terrible about the situation and make this go much faster than it was going right now.
Holding the diamond bottle over the open toilet, Velvet proceeded to give the world's most insulting, half-hearted eulogy, wanting to simply discard the "supposedly dead" body before anyone gets a glimpse of it and exposes their secret, saying with no regard to Floyd's well-being, "Goodbye, little guy, please, hurry up and flush; being this close to you next to a toilet makes me uncomfortable."
But little did she know that Floyd was not dead at all; in fact, he was utilizing the good ol' fashion of playing dead to try and be able to escape. And since Velvet was just carelessly holding the bottle in one hand, not at all having a firm grip on it, Floyd opened his eyes and saw that the moment was ripe for the picking! It is time to make a clean getaway before the Rageons see that he is ok and take any more essence from him!
He stood up and pushed the bottle with his hands, trying to get it to move, before he stepped back and gave the wall of the bottle a mighty shove with his shoulder. The force of his shove sent shockwaves through his body, making Floyd shake in pain, but he withstood it and watched as the bottle fell out of Velvet's hand and headed straight toward the ground. While the force of it landing on the floor didn't cause the bottle to break, it did give Floyd enough leverage to stay on his feet and start running as fast as he could. It felt like he was a hamster that was running on the little wheel in their pet cage, but he couldn't care less about how it felt; all that ran through Floyd's mind was getting the hell out of here!
Velvet and Veneer were surprised to see that the little Troll, who they thought was dead, turned out not to be and was now escaping them. Of course, Veneer was still taking a minute to process this and thought that the little Troll was now but a ghost, commenting, "Wow, I thought ghosts just floated away."
But Velvet harshly reprimanded Veneer, hitting him on the backside of his head hard while shouting, "You beautiful idiot, he's not dead; he played possum"!
Though Veneer did show a little surprise, at the same time, he was now really relieved to see that Floyd was ok and sighed in contentment, saying, "Oh phew, that's a relief that he isn't dead. I was not ready to have to come here every day and bring him flowers while crying in guilt that we killed him."
"The only person who is gonna be crying is YOU if he gets away and we lose our chance at becoming mega-stars," Velvet harshly told Veneer, telling him, "This is gonna be on you for making us lose him and our meal ticket to obtaining BroZone"!
"What? But he was in your hands, and in any case, don't you think that-," Veneer quickly tried to point out, but Velvet glared at her brother, saying, "Don't I think what"?!
Veneer fearfully stayed quiet as Velvet threatened him, saying, "You don't get it, do you? Without that Troll, we are nothing, and YOU will most certainly be nothing! After all, who took you in after we left the house? Me! Who made sure that you had a place to sleep and some fine food to eat? Me! Who guided you through the way to becoming a famous celebrity? Me! The least you could do is stop acting like a conscious-wielding nobody and act as my loyal partner without questioning and without letting morals interfere with our ultimate plan to etch our names into music history! You owe me, brother, and don't you forget that"!
"Step out of line, and I may have to try and take some "Drastic" measures to make sure that you follow accordingly," Velvet added, that last line filled with frightening determination, with Veneer fearfully shuddering as his sister came face-to-face with him.
Velvet glared at him and said, "We've come so far, and we're NEVER going back. Now, go and get him back!"
"W-W-W-Why me," Veneer nervously asked.
"Because one, Crimp is locked in the closet, and two, because it's your only chance of redeeming yourself," Velvet bluntly addressed before shouting while pointing to the hallway where Floyd ran down, "Now, go"!
Veneer nodded in fear while he scrambled to his feet and ran after Floyd.
Floyd was trying his best to run, since his life depended on it, though the pain of having his essence drained was taking a toll on Floyd and making it hard for him to keep a fast pace. The pain in his legs and arms was numbing and hurt like hell, and his breathing was becoming increasingly rapid and choked, but he had to keep fighting to keep up without falling and passing out. He kept himself motivated with the idea of getting to be free and be able to reunite with his other brothers again, and that gave him all the strength to keep running and running.
However, he noticed that Veneer was coming from behind, chasing behind him, and he knew that things now got even more intense, as he now had to avoid getting captured again. Turning a corner down another hallway, he shouted for anyone who might hear his pleasing cries to come and help him, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Help! Help"!
Veneer fumbled, trying to grab the runaway bottle with the Troll inside, but Floyd was surprisingly fast and could move in the bottle with such agility that he hadn't seen in even the best of dancers.
Floyd saw that coming just up ahead; there was a Mount Rageon janitor who was busy mopping the floor, listening to music on his headphones while he did so. Floyd saw that the janitor seemed to be the perfect person to help him get free, and called out to him, "Help me, please"!
But the janitor didn't seem to be listening, due to his headphones, and reluctantly, Floyd had no choice but to pass him and try to find a different way to escape capture. Though run by the janitor did pose one positive aspect: behind him, Veneer slipped on the water on the floor and fell, slipping and sliding like butter on a hot pan.
Little did Floyd know that Mount Rageons' limbs were as maneuverable as their voices. He used slipping on the water to move quickly across the hallway floor without needing to run on his feet. So, while Floyd called for help, Veneer was shockingly catching up to him, and using the wall as leverage, he slid over to the diamond bottle and grabbed it, with Floyd being shaken as Veneer picked it up, declaring, "Gotcha," successfully.
As Floys struggled to catch his breath inside the bottle, he dropped to his knees, his hands over his chest, and he breathed choking breaths of pain and suffering, all while his head rung with a nasty headache that followed from all the excess movements.
Veneer would've felt relieved that he had gotten the Troll in time, but seeing him in pain inside the bottle made Veneer become genuinely concerned again, asking him worryingly, "Hey, are...you ok"?
Floyd couldn't say anything as his body and head racked with throbs of pain, and his breathing sounded as rusty as that of an old motor car.
Veneer bit his lower lip, wondering what he could do to help the little Troll without having Velvet catch him doing something that she'd think would be his illegal doing, and by illegal, he meant something that would cause their ticket to fame to get away again. But then again, his conscious nagged him to do something to help the Troll; after all, it was his fault and his sister's fault that he was like this in the first place.
Then, Veneer thought of something that just might work and pulled out what looked like a small caramel candy ball that was wrapped up in a candy wrapper. He unwrapped the candy, plopping the tiny candy ball into his hand, and then gently unscrewed the top of the diamond bottle, plopping the candy ball inside the jar, as he then screwed it closed again.
Floyd saw the little treat that Veneer gave him, as Veneer said, "Suck on the candy; it should help take your mind off the pain you're experiencing."
Floyd looked at the candy ball before back up at Floyd, then back at the candy ball. It appeared to be an innocent gesture that was of pure genuine sincerity, and Floyd could trust Veneer's judgment a lot more than Velvet's by a mile, though there was that off chance that it could be poisoned. But, that look in Veneer's eyes that showed an endless pool of remorse and guilt, Floyd could tell that Veneer was doing his best to try and help, even with what limited thing that he was even allowed to do without Velvet interfering.
So, he took the candy and placed it in his mouth; the flavor was caramel, and he was lucky that he still had tastebuds that could easily identify it from the get-go. Floyd sucked on the bandy for a little bit and found that it did a good job with helping him to relax and ease his mind off the pain, which slowly started to go away, as did the headache, and he found himself able to breathe normally again, though he did have one small hiccup from his breathing pattern that had him gasp every so often, one of the more illicit side effects to his entire essence-drained ordeal.
Veneer felt a sense of relief in seeing the little Troll doing better, asking him, "How do you feel now"?
Floyd let out a relieved sigh, swallowing the candy before saying, "Better. Thank you."
Veneer had a small smile as he was about to respond, but from far down the hallway, both he and Floyd could hear Velvet's voice shout, "Veneer! Did you catch him yet"?!
Floyd knew that it was only a matter of time before Velvet came and he'd be back in her grasp again, but perhaps he could try and convince Veneer to let him go; if he did, then he could escape freely, and he could even convince Veneer to try and stand up to Velvet. He pleadingly asked Veneer, who sat up while holding the diamond bottle, "Look, please, Veneer, just let me run past you. You can pretend you never saw me; it-it'll be our little secret."
Veneer's small smile turned back into a fearful frown, and he sadly told the Troll inside, "I...I really want to let you go, but...I just can't. And..it's not that I don't want to.."
Veneer didn't even need to finish that statement because the minute Floyd saw how scared Veneer's eyes were, he knew that Velvet's actions must have had such an impact on him that he felt like he couldn't do anything without Velvet's instructions. He told Venner, showing that he understood what Mount Rageon was going through, "I know; Velvet would kill you."
Then, he told him, being firm, but reassuring, "But just because she's your sister doesn't mean you should let her treat you like garbage," Floyd told the Mount Rageon, who bit his lower lip nervously.
Veneer sighed, commenting, "I know, but you don't understand: Velvet is the ONLY family I have left. After she decided that we were gonna make it on our own and become stars whether our parents liked it or not, mom and dad kicked us out and cut us off, leaving us with literally nothing."
Floyd was very surprised to be hearing this, asking, "So what she said about you guys being nobody, did that mean..."
Veneer nodded sadly, saying, "I didn't want to leave, but Velvet gave me no choice. She said, it was either become stars with her, or live in obscurity on the streets, and...I couldn't do anything on my own without her, so...I went along with her and did whatever she told me to do. And as you can see, it's led us up to where we are now; I OWE Velvet for...keeping me from becoming a real nobody."
Floyd felt nothing but utter sympathy for Veneer. He knew that Velvet was the more dominant sibling in the pair, and while Veneer appeared to be a hopeless follower who shared the same mindset, it was only in moments like this that he could see the real Veneer: one with a conscience who could be truthful to him about everything involving this entire scheme.
Floyd then asked, "You wouldn't be a nobody if you weren't a celebrity; fame and fortune may sound great, but in the end, wouldn't it matter more if you got to be acknowledged by people, even just a few, for just knowing the real you? And not this you that Velvet wants you to be"?
Veneer didn't know how to answer that question, especially since he still was feeling that nagging gut-wrenching feeling about this whole plan falling apart and the fear of disappointing Velvet or making her feel anger towards him. This was noticed by Floyd, who then said reassuringly, "You don't have to feel like you owe Velvet anything; she's your sister, and family is supposed to look out for each other, regardless of what happens, and they shouldn't make you feel like you are indebted to do whatever they say just because of it."
"Don't it, though," Veneer asked hesitantly.
Floyd shook his head while answering, " No; sibling or not, you deserve to be treated with kindness and to be around people who would never try to change the you that you are."
He then added, "Instead of trying to act like how others want you to, you should try being yourself. Because if you ask me, I think that you'd do pretty well if you-," before the sound of incoming footsteps interrupted him.
Velvet was coming down the hallway, looking for where Veneer had gone, and saw him standing back up, holding the diamond bottle with the Troll inside it safely in his hands. She had a relieved smile, though her "Relief" was more directed at feeling happy that their source of singing prowess was back in their grasp, and her chance at becoming the biggest name in music was still apparent.
She approached Veneer, saying while feigning sincere happiness, "You got him," and extended her hand out, anticipating Veneer to just give it to her.
However, Veneer, still feeling intimidated by Velvet's threat, flinched, holding the bottle close to him, afraid to give it to Velvet.
Velvet's patience for her brother's antics was close to running out, but at the same time, she couldn't afford to have a public freak out about it in case someone overhears her, especially when her newfound fame was on the line with all of this. So, she kept feigning the kind smile and sincerity of her words, trying to sound reassuringly towards Veneer, telling him, "Hey, I know I probably don't say this enough, but good job. You're a wonderful brother, and I'm so happy to have you by my side. We really make a great team, don't we, bro"?
Veneer still didn't trust Velvet's words, but the glimpse she was giving silently said, "Give him to me or I will END you"! And the last thing that he wanted was to disappoint you, Velvet, any more than he had always done tonight. He looked at Floyd inside the bottle and gave him an apologetic look, mouthing a quiet, "I'm sorry" before he gave the bottle to Velvet.
Velvet grinned and grabbed the bottle, holding it as she swung her free arm around Veneer, saying while they started to walk back to their dressing room, "Good choice, Veneer. Now, come on, we got a show to get ready for; we should also probably hire a new assistant, which feels like a "you" job."
Veneer didn't want to do it but was frightened by what Velvet might do to him if he defied her again, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement before shouting, his voice being heard by Crimp in the closet, "Crimp! Hire us a new assistant"!
"I'm on it," Crimp's voice was heard from the other side of the closet as the Mount Rageon twins headed back to the dressing room, but nothing seemed to perk Veneer's mood or help him feel better. Veneer was left feeling very melancholy about having to let the Troll they caught be stuck all over again. But, one thing did seem to get Veneer feeling less upset: he thought back to what Floyd had told him a few minutes ago, and it now got some gears turning in his head as he processed this advice while preparing with Velvet for the upcoming Rage Dome show.