Barb greeted all her friends and introduced Trollex to them, telling them that he was a new friend she met through the care unit she visited with her dad. They all took to him like a fish to water, if you'll pardon the pun. He felt like he was a rocker right now, not a rock zombie, and not the usual shy Trollex. He could be confident like this; it was a nice change of pace.

As they passed through a busy street, a colorful shop caught his eyes. "Whoa, what does this place sell…?"

She paused, glancing over at the store before grinning widely. "Oh man, I didn't realize we made it to this part yet! Come on, this is the place with the rock candy!" She pushed the wheelchair up the small ramp and into the store, and immediately Trollex was looking around in awe.

There were so many different types of sweets! All of them were colorful, but the ones that caught his eye looked like crystals formed on a wooden stick. "What're these ones…? They look so pretty!"

She leaned over his shoulder, and snickered a bit. "That's their famous rock candy! Here, I'll get you some!" She grabbed two from the display and ran over to the counter, where a rather round looking rock troll was taking out a batch of doughnuts. Barb sighed when she got a whiff of the fresh baked pastries. Even Trollex couldn't help melting a little in his wheelchair.

The portly troll behind the counter seemed to notice their reactions and chuckled a little. "Can I help you two young trolls?" He spotted the candy in Barb's hand and grinned. "That's my best batch yet, are you getting some?"

She nodded, setting the two pieces of candy on the counter. "Yes please! How much do I owe you?"

He looked between Barb and Trollex a moment, then leaned in to whisper to Barb while Trollex was trying to figure out how the cotton candy he spotted worked. "Maybe an explanation? I can tell that isn't a rock troll, but I can't figure it out…! I'm so curious…"

She tapped her chin a moment, then turned to Trollex. "Hey Trollex, wanna show off to candy man here?"

Trollex perked up at that, tilting his head. He spoke through the bandana. "What'cha mean, Barb? Show off what?" When she made a motion to pull down his bandana, he figured it out pretty quick. "As long as he doesn't talk about it, I'd have to get found by Essence…"

She looked back to the chef, who held a hand over his heart. "Promise."

He smiled a little, using his arms to get a bit of a push off the chair, floating up in the air as he pulled down his Bandana, grinning down at the stunned expression on the chef's face. "A Techno troll! After what happened I was afraid I'd never see one of you in my shop again! Have you been up here before? I don't recognize you."

He looked between Barb and the shop owner, tilting his head. "Er, no. I never really get out much until recently." When the other grinned widely and began running to the back of the shop, Trollex looked down at Barb and gave her a quizzical expression.

The young queen just shrugged. "He's almost as old as my dad, and his family has run this shop for forever. He was working already back when Techno trolls would come up occasionally for candy."

The chef appeared once again, carrying two goodie bags with him, each rather large. "Yes! Your tribe used to love coming to my family shop. Since you guys live under water, you can't make candy down there."

Trollex nodded. "Can't really cook down there either, all the tribes I've visited so far have really good cooks! Like Quincy and Trollzart, did you know they cook?"

Barb hummed. "Really? Wouldn't have pegged them for that…"

That seemed to give the chef pause. "Er, Barb, are you talking about the other tribe leaders? Has he met them?"

She looked up at Trollex, then laughed. "I guess you really can't tell when he wears a long sleeve, huh? This is king Trollex, another of the leaders. He's been having some trouble lately, so he's been visiting all the kingdoms."

The chef nearly dropped the goodie bags. "My goodness… Things have been so eventful lately!" He chuckled. "Any more surprises and I don't think my poor old heart will survive…!" He let out a yelp as Trollex suddenly zipped forward in the air, worrying over the chef.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, are you alright? I didn't mean to cause any problems… oof!" He stumbled back a bit in the air as the chef pushed one of the bags into his arms. He looked at it, and then at the grinning chef with a curious expression.

"I call that the trial bag. Basically it has a lot of little things in it that most Techno trolls have never had, give it a shot! Maybe you'll come back again another time and get your favourites!" He tossed the other bag to Barb, who caught it with glittering eyes. "The bags are both a little different, so you can trade and share if you like!"

The two young royals looked at each other, then cheered loudly. Barb punched her fist into the air, jumping around excitedly, while Trollex pulled a few tight loops in the air, laughing as he held the bag close. The chef chuckled softly. The two were already hyper; maybe he'd made a mistake…?

The two leave the shop soon afterwards, Trollex back in his chair and holding both bags so Barb could push him down the street. He smiled under the bandana, then glanced back at Barb. "So, where should we stop to try these? I don't know how long I can wait!"

She snickered, pushing him a little faster. "I know this really nice place nearby that almost no one goes to, we can stop there!" As they continued on their way, he gave himself a moment to think back on his journey so far. Pop, Funk, Country, Classical, and Rock. He'd been to all the other major tribes, and even met a few from smaller sub tribes. He'd spent his whole life in the ocean, and now he was starting to branch out.

He had to admit he had been surprised to learn that some Techno trolls had been visiting the Rock trolls before the world tour. He'd have to ask around when he got back about it. He had been happy to see some of his trolls enjoying themselves with the Funk and Country trolls to. He glanced back towards Barb, who was smiling. "Hey Barb, I've got a question, if you don't mind."

She gave him a curious look. "Shoot, fish boy. What's on your mind?"

He hummed softly, looking up at the blue sky overhead. "Have you left Volcano rock city at all? Since we all met up at Pop village after the tour, I mean…?"

She paused, coming to a stop in the walkway as other trolls bustled past them. She looked away from him, staring at nothing in particular. "No, I haven't. Why?"

He noted the tired tone in her voice. "No? Hmm… Alright, what HAVE you been doing since then…?"

She muttered something under her breath, and sighed when Trollex gave her a look that told her to repeat herself. "I… I've been staying here, co-ordinating repairs and aid as best I can… I've been sending out Rock trolls to help with repairs to the other places, bringing food and building materials… But I don't leave. I didn't want to tell you because I can't figure out how to help Techno…" She sighed, resting her head on the backrest of the chair. "I'm sorry; I've been trying, but… We can't do anything down there, we have to stay in the angler busses or we can't even breathe…"

He looked down at the bags in his lap. He hadn't even realized that Barb had been trying so hard to help the others. He felt slightly bitter that there was nothing she could do to help the Techno trolls, but he understood her position. If it weren't for flow, they wouldn't even be able to come to the surface.

His eyes widened slightly. "Heart bubbles…!" he looked back at Barb, his eyes practically sparkling. "Heart bubbles!" When he didn't get the excited response he had expected, he elaborated. "We Techno trolls have an ability we call heart bubbles, it lets land dwellers breathe underwater for a short time! Of course, we'd need to keep a Techno troll guide on hand, but we could have Techno trolls accompany Rock trolls down there, and help out!"

She gasped sharply, covering her mouth. "No way… you guys can do that…?" She cheered, leaping around him and stopping in front of him, setting her hands on the arm rests and grinning. "Trollex that's genius! Heck, that means I could totally send some trolls down there now…!" She paused a moment. "Wait, no, you have to talk to the other Techno trolls and figure that out first…" She poked him lightly in the chest. "We gotta get your color back and get you home!"

He nodded, happy that the two could figure something out. "Yeah!" He wanted so badly to leap out of the chair and zip around, but he needed to stay hidden for now. At least in open spaces. "So when is the concert anyway?"

She walked back behind him, and started to push his quickly through the crowds. "It's not much longer, but I wanna eat our candy first! I never had anyone to share that with; most of the trolls I hang out with are older, so they don't like just goofing off so much." She turned them down a street, which was much quieter, and up ahead he could see some trees. "Up ahead there's a small park, we can relax there!"

Once they had made it to the park and found a quiet area, Trollex floated up out of the chair and stretched his fins a bit. "Man, I hate sitting for that long…!" He smiled down at Barb, who was grinning up at him. "So, candy time?"

"CANDY TIME!" She sat down with one of the bags, tossing the other up to Trollex. He landed in front of her, tucking his fins under himself as he tore into his own bag. Within he could see a stick of rock candy, a chocolate doughnut in a paper bag, a small tub of cotton candy, a few chocolates and a couple gummy worms. "Whoa… it's all so colorful…!" He took out the rock candy, having been curious about it since Barb first brought it up.

He looked over at her to find her already munching on a vanilla dip doughnut, which she seemed more than happy about. He gave the candy a small sniff, and realized it… didn't really smell like anything. When he took a bite though…! His ear fins stood up, his eyes nearly sparkling. "It's so sweet!"

Barb snickered, nodding. "Yup! That's basically just sugar! Oh, we're going to be SO hyper man!"

As Trollex enjoyed the treats in his bag, he learned rather quickly that his favourite was the candy floss. He marveled at how it turned from puffy clouds to liquid in his mouth, which caused Barb to nearly split her sides laughing at him. As much as they wanted to finish ALL of it, they had to concede that there was a lot to eat, so they put the rest away in a pouch on the back of the chair.

Once they had tossed out the trash and stored the rest, the two lay side by side on the grass, watching as small puffy clouds drifted by. He let his eyes slip shut and he enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his scales.

"This is nice, y'know? Just hanging out with someone my age, doing stuff we never got to do as hatchlings…" He was a little shocked by Barb suddenly speaking, but let her continue. "Dad was always supportive, but… I felt like I had to prove myself and show I was just as great as him…"

He nodded a little. "Yeah, I'm always trying to be as good as my parents were, but… Well, we've seen how that ends."

Barb smirked. "Yeah, it ends great. Don't beat yourself up so much on a few mistakes. We've all made plenty. I really doubt that any of the leaders never made mistakes…"

"You mean like how Poppy nearly got all the Pop trolls eaten?"

There were a few beats of silence before Barb spoke. "Wait, what? Poppy did what with the who now?"

He shrugged. "I don't really know details, the version she told me was… very short. And somehow she was very peppy telling me about it? I want to ask more, but I don't know if it's a sensitive topic. I think Branch would be best to ask…"

She sat up, looking down at Trollex. "About Branch, is he a Pop troll? He looks a lot more like a Rock troll of some sort."

He was about to say he was sure that Branch was Pop, but… was he? "I…have no idea? Maybe he was a Rock troll raised there? I've never seen him looking anything but a faded blue, so I can't say…"

Barb hummed a bit, but jumped slightly when she heard fireworks starting to go off a distance away. "Oh, shoot! The concert! Trollex we gotta get to the stage, they're starting!"

He sat bolt upright, looking in the direction of the fireworks. They seemed quite a distance away. "Why are they starting now? You're not even there! Neither of us are!"

Barb blushed a little, poking her fingers together. "I had planned on bringing you back towards the stage, and I figured we'd make a dramatic entrance, but… Heh, I got distracted. We have to figure out a way to get there, and fast!"

He bit his lip a bit, looking towards the chair, and then to Barb. "OK, so I can carry you there fast, but… what about your dad's old chair? I can't carry that the whole way to…!"

They both looked at the chair, trying their best to come up with something. "It's no use dude, I think we have to come back for it later…"

He wasn't so sure they'd get the chance, but it was their only hope. "I'll tuck it away somewhere, you get what we need ready and we'll go."

It didn't take long to prepare, but Barb insisted that now that they were ditching stealth, Trollex should change. He did, and found that once he was in his new outfit, he looked like he had as a rocker the first time. He had the vest, fishnets, and even a spiked hair band. "You know, now that I can think clearly, this outfit is actually kinda cool…"

Barb grinned, clapping a bit. "Thought you'd like it. It looks great on you~." She winked. "Quite the heartthrob I think. You'll be the talk of all the young troll ladies~." She nearly fell over laughing at the bright pink blush that nearly took over his face.

"S-Shut it!" He zipped forward, grabbing onto her hands and tugging her into the air, causing her to let out a short yelp. He flew upwards, breaking past the top of the trees and soaring over towards the fireworks. "Can't tease me in the sky, can you!"

He was expecting some kind of witty response, but received only silence. He tilted his head slightly and looked down. The sight almost melted his heart. Barb was staring down at Volcano rock city, a look of awe painted on her features. "It's… it's so beautiful from up here… Trollex do you see this all the time…?"

He looked down, and realized he was indeed used to these kinds of sights. "I guess, yeah… When I first came to the surface, I was all down in the dumps, so I didn't really take the time to look, but… it is kind of pretty up here, huh?"

Barb smiled up at him. "Well, you seem to be doing pretty good… I'm glad! You're fun to hang out with. So… I hope we can be friends…?"

He smiled softly, and gave a nod. "Yeah, I'd like that…" He looked ahead, seeing the stage surrounded by all sorts of trolls from all the tribes, mixed and mingling happily. "Friends…"