When he had first gotten into the water, he had enough energy to take him the whole way! Or so he thought. He was proved wrong as he began to slowly drift asleep as he swam, and at one point awoke with a start to find himself floating at the surface, having fallen asleep in the water and floated upwards.
He yawned loudly and dove back into the water, deciding this time to make his way for the nearby current. Once he slipped into it, he sighed. "Where did all that energy go…?" He yawned again and rubbed at his eyes. "Mph… I need a nap…"
As he slowly began to drift off asleep again, he noticed in the distant darkness colorful lights flashing rhythmically. He smiled, recognizing his home. "Looks like at least some of the coral has come back properly…"
He smiled a little, watching as the light grew closer and brighter. He flicked his tail a little faster, wanting to be home again at last. As soon as he swam past the barrier reef, he slipped out of the current and floated along in the gentle ebb and flow of his ocean home.
He would have been more than happy to float there a while longer, but he heard a voice calling to him. "Hey, who's that? Looks familiar…"
He turned to see a familiar couple approach, a small green hatchling swimming between them. He grinned widely, holding his arms out. "The Blush family! I haven't seen you guys in a long time!"
Little Coral blush, showing no hesitance, gasped sharply and darted forward, tackle hugging Trollex and sending the young king tumbling backwards in the water with a chuckle. "Whoa kiddo, easy does it!"
The parent's approached, their eyes wide. The mother, who he recalled was named Anemone, titled her head slightly. "King Trollex, is… is that really you…?"
He smiled and nodded, gently patting Coral's head, who hadn't let him go and was showing no signs of doing so any time soon. "Yeah… Sorry I've been gone a while…"
The father, Atoll, smiled, though it was clear he was tired. "Everyone's been so worried about you. When Beat showed up looking so ragged, we all panicked… He said you were fine, but even he got frustrated after a while…"
His eyes widened. He forgot to send Beat updates! He face palmed, groaning loudly. "I was supposed to send him messages, but I couldn't figure out how…! Oh man, he's going to kill me…!"
He felt Coral hug him a little tighter, looking up at Trollex with teary eyes. "No! You're not allowed to get killed!"
Trollex clutched his heart. He couldn't handle the cute! He gave Coral a little squeeze. "I'll be fine Coral, don't worry. Beat's just not going to be happy with me, is all." He looked up at Atoll and Anemone. "How's everyone else though…? I know I've been gone a while, I just… I'll explain it to everyone, I promise."
The two looked at each other, then back to Trollex. "We've missed you. Beat said you lost your color, is that why you're looking a little… Um, different?"
He couldn't help a soft chuckle, noting how Anemone had avoided using a worse descriptor. "Yeah, I did… but I've been working at getting them back. It's a surprisingly slow process. For now, let's gather everyone and I'll make an announcement."
Atoll gave a nod, calling Coral back to him. "We'll spread the word. You're D.J. booth is all fixed up, should we meet there?"
He bit his lip slightly, looking down. "Mm, maybe not yet. How about the courtyard? It gives me a chance to check on Beat while everyone gathers."
With a nod and happy waves, the Blush family swam off to spread the news. He waited till they were out of sight before making his way towards LED castle. Along the way he'd run into more of his Trolls, all of which were overjoyed to see him, and insisted on asking if he was alright.
By the time he made it to the castle, he let out a sigh and slipped inside. It was comparatively quiet within, and he guessed that not many needed to come through while he was gone. He immediately began his search for Beat, checking all the usual places.
It didn't take long for him to end up at his own room, and he smiled when he saw Beat within, lying on his pillow and sleeping lightly. He swam over, careful not to cause any ripples in the water that may wake the sleeping fish. He managed to gently scoop him up, and beat barely stirred, doing little more than snuggling into his arms. He chuckled softly. "Beat… Beat, wake up…"
The little fish let out a small grumble, squirming a bit. "Mph… what is it…?" He opened his eyes a crack and looked up at the troll holding him. In an instant he was wide awake, staring wide eyed up at the other. "TROLLEX?!"
He gave the little fish a hug, laughing softly. "Yeah, it's me Beat… I missed you lil' buddy…"
Beat Gave Trollex the best hug he could, then squirmed out of the hold. He swam a few loops around Trollex, looking him over appraisingly. "You got a lot of your color back!" He spotted the red and yellow shining on his arms. "How was Classical and Rock? Queen Barb didn't give you any trouble?"
He shook his head. "No, Barb and I are friends, and Trollzart is my Grandpop." He smiled, a hand resting on his heart. "I have such a big family now, Beat! It's been so much fun on the surface." He shrunk a bit at the look Beat gave him, which was a mix of happy, concerned, and frustrated. "Also, sorry I didn't send any letters… I couldn't figure out how…"
"Well, I didn't manage to get any to you either, so I guess we're even…I'm just glad you came back home, Trollex." Beat smiled, true and full of energy like he used to be. Trollex had missed the little fish's energy more than he had realized. He pulled Beat into another hug, spinning a moment in his room.
Once the two managed to spend a little energy and catch up, they both made their way towards the courtyard. While normally he would speak from the terrace above that, he wanted to be on a much more personal level with his trolls.
Beat seemed to notice Trollex's destination. "You know you're going to get hounded, right? Everyone has been freaking out and worried sick."
He let out a thoughtful hum. "Maybe. I almost ended up having to carry Coral blush back here I think, lil' tyke didn't want to let me go. A few other families caught me on the way here to, and they all seemed happy I was back…" He smiled. "Maybe I'm not so bad after all…"
The little fish let out a sharp, faux gasp. "Really? I didn't know! Oh, wait, yeah I did. I've only been telling you that for… what, a few years now?" Beat gave him a nudge on the shoulder. "It's almost like you were the only one who thought like that? Can you imagine?"
He laughed grinning as he gave Beat a playful shove. "Oh hush up, you're not allowed to be sarcastic, that's my job."
"Yeah, but I do it better~." Beat made a little pose in the water, trying to look innocent. It didn't work.
"Careful Beat, your horns are showing."
"Oh, those? They're just to hold up my halo~!"
They held each other's gaze for a moment, before the serious act shattered between them, both nearly collapsing in laughter. They barely managed to calm themselves by the time they made it to the front doors of the palace. That's when Trollex hesitated, wringing his fingers nervously.
"Don't you think they'll be mad, Beat?"
Beat looked over at the young king, and smiled. "Still nervous, huh? Don't worry so much, they'll be happy to see you back. Trust me."
He bit his lip lightly, and nodded. He could do this… he could do this! He reached out, setting his hands on the doors, ready to push them open.
…
"Nope, can't do it." He took his hands off the door and turned to swim away. He'd gather his courage and come back in a bit—
His eyes widened as he heard a whoosh and a creak behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, and found Beat grinning widely, floating in front of a now open door, his tribe staring at him from beyond.
He was going to fricassee that fish!
He turned, blushing a soft pink as he waved shyly to the tribe, who was staring at him silently. Expectantly. "Er… Hi, everyone…?"
That seemed to break the flood gates, as an excited chatter started through the crowd, many of the trolls calling out to him, and some even waving enthusiastically. He could recognize a bunch of them by name, and seeing them together, happy and healthy, warmed his heart. He smiled brightly, not realizing he had tears streaming down his cheeks.
That's when Coral blush pushed his way through the crowd, darting to him and hugging him. "Don't cry, mister Trollex!" That got everyone else to swim forward, giving him back pats, hugs, and affectionate head rubs.
He laughed softly, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm alright guys, promise! Haha, hey, that tickles!" He flicked his tail at Bliss Marina, who had tried tickling his ear fin.
Bliss grinned and laughed. "Good to have you back, king Trollex."
It took quite a while for him to get his trolls to calm down and return to a group so he could talk to them. Of course, Coral blush insisted on lying on his head. He didn't mind it, and figured it might break any coming tension.
He cleared his throat. This will be a bit hard. "So, as you all know, I left a while ago after I lost my color… I won't go into detail around that just yet, but as you can see, I've gotten some back… just not all of it." He held out his arm to show the mix of colored and black stripes. "I need to get two more, green and blue. Blue I can get from our own music, but…" He sighed, looking down as his ear fins drooped. "I…I don't think I can make any… I can't seem to bring myself to make any Techno…"
Bliss swam forward, holding up a hand. "Maybe… we can try? I know none of us really know how, but… maybe you can help us? So we can help you? We'll do everything we can to help you." She smiled sweetly. "After everything you do for us, it's the least we can do." That got many cheers and cries of accent. Many trolls were piping up about what they could contribute to the cause.
Beat swam a little closer to a stunned silent Trollex, smirking as he whispered to his friend. "Told ya, you're their king, and they wouldn't have it any other way…"
Trollex sniffled, rubbing at his eyes a bit. "Guys… thank you. I'll do what I can to help out. But for now… it's gotten rather late, we should meet again tomorrow around noon. Anyone who wants to help, meet me here at the court yard and I'll give you a crash course. I'll need someone to get the right critters here to."
Bliss puffed her chest a little. "I'll take care of the critters!" She swam off quickly, and the other trolls gathered began to disperse as well, heading off to their own tasks to get ready for tomorrow.
Once he managed to get Coral to let go of him and give him back to his parents, he swam into the castle, feeling like he was infinitely lighter. He looked over to Beat, who seemed lost in thought. "What's wrong, Beat? Something on your mind?"
"Yeah, actually. I'm trying to think of what I can do to help to. I know we have to be careful about the pacing, but I'm worried whoever decides to actually do the song is careful… If I help on the board like I do with you, then I can probably keep that from happening, but…" He sighed. "It feels wrong, doing a song without you man…"
Trollex smiled a bit. "Mm, it's a bit weird for me to, thinking another troll will be doing what I usually do. It's… kinda nice that I can share it with my trolls though. I'm sure it'll be fine~." Though he was making a mental note to mention the complications with their biology and the tempo. It was about time they changed things, and this was going to be a change for the better.