AN: There is something I have to let you all know. Due to slow motivation, focusing on other projects and dealing with things in my personal life, this story might have to slow down or come to a hiatus. For those reading it, sorry that it might have to come to a pause until I am able to return to it. I might continue to update weekly for this episode, but just to let you know, it is going to be slow.

Recommended Songs

[1] Built For This - Becky G

[2] Chacarron - El Chombo

[3] On Ne Porte Pas De Sous-Vetêments (Clean) - McFly & Carlito

'Playing with the Matches' Part 3 - Just Deal With It, Kids

Poppy is delighted about the outfits her friends are wearing. [1]

Branch is wondering if these are the right ones appropriate for the job.

Both of them can agree that at least that the uniforms help the Snack Pack stand out from the rest of the civilians of TrollsTopia.

It is the same uniform as the one Suki and Creek wear. Police hats in a blue color, an orange safety vest with all the special pockets - especially the little fun gadgets in which Branch spends too much time trying to fit all tools in one - the same golden badges, a white shirt underneath that had sleeves that matched their skin colors and black boots. Poppy wants to let them wear any type of pants to give them their own dignity, so they did; their normal casual pants and skirts.

However, there are a few Trolls who stood out from the rest of the others along with Suki. Satin and Chenille aren't wearing the hats since their hair is conjoined to each other. Smidge and Guy Diamond (along with his son Tiny) are wearing black shades. Mr. Dinkles is oddly wearing a siren hat on his head which is funny because Branch made a joke about him wearing something like this, but he didn't expect the worm to be actually wearing one.

As Poppy and Branch enter the pod, they see their friends happily chatting to each other. The common interactions amongst the Snack Pack. Both Pop Leaders have to admit that they haven't been together in a while since they all split up to interact with the other Trolls.

Satin and Chenille are giving Guy and Tiny Diamond clothing advice since this is one of the few times they are wearing clothes. Glitter Trolls don't need any clothing unlike the normal ones, but there are a few who try to wear clothes. It is just that most of them aren't used to it. It is an adorable sight seeing one of the twins adjusting Tiny's new black shades much to his delight.

Suki and Legsly are talking with each other with the latter trying to tie up in the same high ponytail as the former has.

Smidge is playing around with Mr. Dinkles' siren head as it lets out a humming, beeping noise. Biggie nearly squealed in fright, but quickly tapped on the siren.

Creak, meanwhile, is alone and meditating on a chair alone.

Branch glares at Creek despite the purple Troll being busy minding his own business. Even though Creek has reassured him that he does not mean any more harm, the light blue Troll is still skeptical about what that traitor would do. And while Creek claims that he has the skills necessary to be a law enforcer, it is unknown if he is going to flee the job once he sees something that can be beneficial for himself.

As to confirm his own worry, Branch sees Poppy shivering a little, crossing her arms as if it is cold today. She is nervous about how the law enforcers will be able to keep everyone safe alongside the one person who is known to be very cowardly. What if things go sideways if everything falls apart? What if Creek just ran out on them again?

"You're alright?" asked Branch.

Poppy chuckled weakly. "We're all gonna die out there."

The light blue Troll nodded wearily. "Just stick to the plan. If anything goes out of control, then we have to take action.

"Got it!" Poppy paused for a moment. "There is something on your tie."

"What? No. There isn't."

"Nah. Let me fix it."

Branch rolled his eyes playfully as his girlfriend started to readjust his tie. He decided to come in with a business-looking suit. A midnight blue collared shirt with a black vest that has golden buttons, a green and teal tie, black trousers and a golden chain attached to it. He honestly feels that it doesn't really fit him - he is more on the casual Pop clothing than really fancy - but the colors feel right to him.

Poppy is wearing something of a mix of a suit and a dress. Hers is of course pretty, but there is something surprising about how professional she looks as a formal queen. A blue blazer with turquoise lapel, a navy blue top, a black belt with a golden buckle and a heart shape on it, a dark pink leather skirt, purple leggings with clouds on them and a mauve scarf. While she still has her crown, she looks really pretty in this outfit. Though, the top might be a problem since it exposes her navel which is something she doesn't really do.

"May I be honest with you?" asked Branch.

"Yes?" said Poppy innocently. "Is it about what I'm wearing?"

"Yes, but it's a bit too late for that. I think the top might not be good for this kind of situation."

"Excuse me?" Poppy twirled around as if trying to show off. "Tops look really nice on girls. I thought it might get your attention."

Branch chuckled a little, not wanting to be seen as a creep. "Yeah, but I think maybe it is…quite over-the-top."

Poppy laughed, rolling her eyes. "Really funny. It's said to be attractive for women to wear."

"Well, not always for kids."

The Pop Queen turned her attention to everyone in the pod. "Attention, everyone! The meeting is about to begin! Today's your induction day!"

Hearing this, the entire Snack Pack make their way to the large table and take their seats. Creek remained quiet on his own. All attention is on Branch and Poppy who are going to inform them, but Creek looks down to not cause attention. His ears perked up when he heard a firefly flying in, giving him an envelope.

"What's this?" thought Creek, beginning to read it.

"Welcome, everyone!" said Poppy. "I hope that you are all ready and excited for today! I would like to congrat and thank all of you for signing up to be some of TrollsTopia's newest law enforcers of the Pop Tribe!"

There is a round of applause from everyone to themselves.

"So, I know how stressful this job will be," explained Branch. "Last night, there was a brawl happening at a pub in Country Corral. No one was injured, but this spread paranoia and worry throughout our community. You all heard about it, right?"

"I thought that it was an experiment going on because of the blue fire," said Legsly, raising her hand.

"I thought it was a fireworks display gone wrong," said Tiny, popping from Guy's hair. "It is real nasty there!"

"You're telling us there," said Poppy. "So, we checked through your resumes and capabilities, so each one of you has a unique role to this team of authorities. Since it is your first day, we advise you to be around Pop Village. According to our statistics and likelihood of crimes, Pop Village isn't going to be one of the first few places to have any sort of extreme crime scenes there. However, we need all hands on deck to observe any peculiar things out there."

"You wouldn't know if there is anything out there…watching…whispering in the dark," said Branch, sounding firm that nearly scares the others. "Your job is to make sure that nobody in TrollsTopia ever gets hurt. Today should be smooth sailing however since everything is at the start."

"We have assigned you to different spots of Pop Village to patrol. Be it fights, robberies or any kind of things that are incriminating or hurting others, you should intervene and sort it out. However, if the threat appears out of your hands, report it and call for back-up immediately. And remember, violence should be our last resort."

"You mean our first resort is having a hug time?" joked Branch.

"What? No. That isn't what I'm going to say."

"Well-" [1s]

DING!

Poppy's watch chimed.

DING! DING! DING!

The rest of their watches chimed.

"Hug time?" said one.

"HUG TIME!"

Nearly everyone at the table got out of their chairs to get into one huge embrace. Poppy - not wanting to miss out on one - joins in. Branch playfully rolls his eyes and comes in, but mostly trying to get near to Poppy. With the two hugging their friends, Poppy catches a look from Branch saying 'I knew it'. Poppy smirked and shot him back a look saying 'this would be our third resort in handling crimes'.

The two Pop Leaders notice that someone isn't joining in the large embrace.

Creek finally finishes the envelope, slowly lowering it down with a jaw-slack look of horror.

"Eh…have you been listening the whole time, Creek?" asked Branch.

The Snack Pack hears this and all of them turn to Creek.

Creek slowly looks up back at them, still having the same expression with the gape and widened eyes.

"Is he having a stroke?" asked Biggie.

"No, I think he looks dead," said Suki.

"Close the door right now," muttered Creek.

"What?"

"Close the door right now! Closethedoorrightnow!"

Within the span of a second, Creek jumped out of his seat and stretched his hair to slam the door on the pod. And even locking it using the doorknob and dragging a large table to block it.

Everyone gives him strange looks.

"What is this all about?" asked Poppy. "It isn't even bee season."

"Wait," said Creek, turning to Branch. "Branch, there's-" [2]

But he failed to close the windows since another person appeared from one of the windows. Upside down, no less.

Branch's eyes widened.

Aww, no.

"Hello, everyone!" said Cloud Guy as he entered through the window. "The last law enforcer you need is FINALLY HERE, here, here, here…" He pretends to echo, moving his hand around to emphasize it.

"Oh no…" groaned Satin and Chenille in unison.

"Hi, Mr. Cloud Guy!" said Biggie, waving politely.

"Cloud Guy?" said Smidge and Legsly, a little belated and confused.

"Hi there," said Guy Diamond.

"It's that cloud man who rains and flies over!" said Tiny, looking excited. "Whoo! Does this mean we get to fly with the clouds for this task?"

Poppy gives a glance to Suki, equally dumbfounded.

Branch, of course, isn't happy about this.

"Oh-!" HONK! Everybody would have heard it if it wasn't for Mr. Dinkle's siren hat drowning out Branch's cuss. "Not him!"

"What?" said Cloud Guy as he got close to the Snack Pack. "I think you all need someone as light as a cloud to help you out! Isn't that right, Mr. Bunker Rock?"

Branch growled, shaking his fists.

"Uh…what are you doing here?" asked Poppy.

"Getting ready to be lifting weights of course," teased Cloud Guy. "Well, last week I was talking with a counselor in Pop Village and he suggested that I take this job. He is really smart I have to say! I decided to come here to apply for it!"

There are ten seconds of static in Branch's head as those words repeated in his mind. It took him a while to try to sputter out a word, but it sounded more like a miaow than his natural voice. Who in their right mind would encourage Cloud Guy to take up the task of being a law enforcer? The type of job that requires you to not mess around?

As if he didn't know.

He let out a low growl as he slowly turned to a sheepish Creek, looking like he could burn a hole with his eyes. The purple Troll chuckled nervously, knowing that he could have prevented it all in the first place.

"I-I could explain," stuttered Creek.

"Creek," snarled Branch, grabbing his arm. "Talk. In. Private. Now."

Before Creek could even say anything else, Branch is already dragging him to one of the small office rooms of the pod. Poppy quickly mutters an apology to her friends before telling them to stay put and quickly follow her steaming boyfriend and her ex-crush. As soon as the Pop Leaders locked themselves up in a small room, the two turned to Creek who wasn't smiling. [2s]

Branch has been annoyed of Creek several times before. He became angry at him when he betrayed them to the Bergans. But now, this is several times higher since Creek screwed something up again. He is really, sweaty and murderously mad.

"Creek…" hissed Branch through gritted teeth.

Creek quickly placed his hands around his neck.

"We're not going to strangle you!" said Poppy.

"I know that," said Creek. "But Branch would be more than happy to do so."

"If you don't explain in at least 5 seconds, I'll do it," growled Branch. "I can't believe you got Cloud Guy to be joining us as well!"

"I'm sorry, guys," said Creek. "I really am! I didn't know he would take me seriously."

"How come you give him the slip?"

"Look, something just has been going on," explained Creek, crossing his arms. "He came to me once after…an incident. Something to do with him being at his 'lowest point'. But he appeared to be dramatic. He talked to me and told me that being annoying to other people is his one true purpose. He doesn't know what other kind of purpose he has."

"You told him that he can come here?" asked Branch.

"I was just joking with him. I gave him several examples. 'There are more things you can do in life to make you satisfied. Like gardening, being a police cop, taking more walks around and observing nature or…I don't know, skinny dipping in the Rock Trolls' volcanos'. And even if he picked this, I honestly thought it would mellow him down from being a nuisance."

"I don't think that will actually solve things," said Poppy. "He has a job now, but with others, he might keep annoying others. This is problematic because after the time where Val scared him off, he still keeps annoying people and I heard that some of the civilians have become more prone to anger because of this."

"I can't just really tell him to leave TrollsTopia forever," said Creek. "He would eventually try to guilt-trip all of you and then, the cycle would start again."

"Got any other predictions about that?" grumbled Branch.

Creek is speechless. For once, Branch sees how freaked out he is as much as he is about Cloud Guy being one of the law enforcers. Particularly, having one of the most useless authorities in town who is just going to be wasting time doing pranks. And it might get bad from there as Creek knew that Cloud Guy would eventually turn up for the job. From his embarrassed look, he is really upset. He is not weaseling his way out of this.

Poppy, on the other hand, has an idea.

"Creek, go back to the others," she said.

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Creek, raising an eyebrow.

"Just go and don't share a word about this."

Creek blinked before glancing at Branch. The latter could only shrug tiredly. He finally sighs and nods his head.

"OK then," he said. "Apologies for the sudden inconvenience."

As soon as the purple Troll left, Poppy closed the door and turned to Branch.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Branch. "Cloud Guy isn't going to be swayed to get off the team."

"Exactly," said Poppy. "Which is why we need him to be with us."

Branch blinked. "What?"

"I know that he has been doing a lot of trouble towards you. And others. And recently, I have been starting to see how this is becoming more than just an annoyance. So, if he thinks that the only way he can 'help' out the other Trolls is via pranking, then that means he would get away with all of it. However, since we don't exactly know what else he is good at, then we have to let him try out a few other jobs to keep his mind off. In order to pull that off, we have to give him the big kick."

"And that is?"

"The job as a law enforcer is really serious like you note and the other ambassadors told me. It's a job that requires them to look out for others and not to encourage any sort of abuse. If Cloud Guy can be on that job, he can learn really slowly."

"He doesn't really learn anything. He was insincere with how I and other Trolls try to make up for him. He gets away with anything."

"And that's where we strike."

Branch tilted his head. "Strike?"

"Do you still keep in contact with the United Council Against Cloud Guy?"

"We haven't run face-to-face meetings ever since Val blew our cover. We resorted to communicating with each other online whenever we address our concerns as a council since Cloud Guy would barely try to look into technology."

"Well, here's my idea," said Poppy, leaning to whisper.

Branch leaned in, making sure that nobody outside would be hearing them. As he listened to Poppy's plan, his ears lifted upwards in interest. It might not go well, but he realized it might be one that would be cathartic to him and the others. And serves as a really strong warning for those who muck around in their job. [2]

Outside, Cloud Guy becomes bored and sneaks off to Poppy's and Branch's room. He tries to listen from the other side of the door, but due to them whispering, it is hard to hear what they are talking about. However, if he can just listen just closely to…

But Suki comes in, catching Cloud Guy's attention.

"Sup, Cloud Man," she said.

"These two seem to be getting their feathers ruffled," said Cloud Guy cooly. "Why's that? Some kind of falling out."

"Mmm, I think it is more on you being the team."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I would be an excellent addition to the team. Not to brag, but I always get attention. The good kind of attention. The kind of where everyone stops and looks at you."

"And how do you do that? By breaking a window?"

Cloud Guy is about to say 'yes', but quickly becomes perplexed. "Wait, what? No."

"I'm just wondering because I never thought you would be willing to protect other people."

"Well, I really do! I mean, if there are no more people living around, where else can you get attention and make pranks with? I can't have any fun without anybody."

Suki nods to herself. "True. But you better might be a good law enforcer. Branch doesn't like having you around.

"Well, I can change his mind. He knows that he is my favorite buddy to be around."

"Do you think so because…not quite."

"It's easy to get one's recognition for any reason," said Cloud Guy with a dreamy look. "Like being well known for you are. Being the only one standing out from the crowd. Having a significant relationship with someone."

Suki snorts a lot. She is cool with him, but she knows that Branch does not like him and Poppy is starting to feel unnerved as well.

"I don't think the relationship part is really good," said Suki with a sarcastic grin.

"Well, imagine this," said Cloud Guy. "I have been around Branch for longer than anyone. I looked into his bunker, his diary - OK, I haven't done it yet - and his personality. Some little brothers would annoy their older brothers to get their attention, not for them to bite them, so that is what I'm doing. And then later, in a situation where me and Branch are about to fall into a pit full of nightmare wasps, he calls me to help him and I do so and do you know why?"

"Because he trusts you the most," said Suki flatly.

"Exactly!"

"And because he knows that your life depends on his."

"Exactly!"

Suki clenched her teeth nervously. "I can't really say if that is going to help turn you and Cloud Guy into becoming blood brothers."

Poppy's and Branch's voices turned back up to their tone of talking, and they can be heard making their way to the door.

"Oh crumbs!" said Suki, grabbing Cloud Guy. "Let's go!" [2s]

"Alright, alright," said Cloud Guy with a toothy grin.

The two quickly make it back to the main room before Branch and Poppy come out. The two Pop Leaders call everyone to gather back at the table. Everyone did so quietly along with Cloud Guy. They are surprised to see that both of them look pretty…stoic.

"Alright, small change of plan," said Poppy. "So, as me and Branch decided…Cloud Guy will be joining us for today."

Cloud Guy gasped. "Really?"

"Yes," said Poppy and Branch in unison. However, the former has a really strained smile while the latter has to say it through a disgruntled sigh.

Hearing this, Cloud Guy leaps onto his chair and starts dancing. [2]

"WHOO!" he sang, moving around his arms and legs like they are made from noodles. "I'M THE BEST MAN! I'M THE BEST MAN! NOT LIKE WHAT MY PANTS CAN'T! I'M NOW A TOUGH POLICEMAN! I'M NOW A TOUGH POLICEMAN! IT'S LIKE MY PUBERTY DAY AGAIN! WHOO! I'm a grown man again!"

Creek gives Branch a look. "You're REALLY going to let him?!"

Branch places a finger over his mouth to tell Creek to go along with it.

"That is not really fair," said Legsly. "We were only able to apply when we handed in our resumes."

"What can Cloud Guy really do?" asked Smidge.

"I can do anything!" said Cloud Guy. "I can shoot guns, arrest the baddies and distract them!"

"How can you distract them?"

"Like this." He lifts his hand up towards Smidge. "Up high!"

Smidge tries to clap his hand by using her hair. However, Cloud Guy drops his hand.

"Too slow!" laughed Cloud Guy.

SLAP!

What he didn't expect was Smidge using her hair to whip him across the face.

"Whoa!" he said. "You got me!"

"Criminals might do that to you as well," deadpanned Smidge.

Most of the law enforcers all groan as if resigned to the fact that they are gonna fail today because of him.

"It's like he ain't playing at school, like a class clown," said Tiny. "Wrong down on bad town, and he is going down."

"So, as we said," continued Poppy. "We will give you certain areas of where you will be going. You will be carrying the clipboard in front of you which tells you which areas to go and when you switch positions with each other. There are two areas that are left unpatrolled in every shift, so Cloud Guy will be the one to cover these areas during shifts and during changes."

"That said," explained Branch. "When all of you need to go on break, do not waste your time. When on recess or lunch break, let one of us know and there will be other law enforcers from the other tribes who will be able to take your place as back-ups."

"Most importantly, be aware of your surroundings. Everything would be bright and all, but you gotta keep an eye out for anyone doing suspicious things or any incriminating action hidden anywhere. Don't underestimate the criminals. Keep your eyes and ears open and ready. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir!" said everyone.

Branch snorts a little. "I think they said that to me."

"No," giggled Poppy. "They said it to me."

"Well, the funny thing is that they said 'sir' and not 'ma'am'."

"Ohohoho," giggled Poppy before taking out a picture. "So, as a bonus for today, if any of you are able to do a good job - the one who does a spectacular job in handling today's crimes and protecting people and property - will get this very delicious cake!"

It is a picture of a giant pink cake. It seems to be strawberry. However, what makes this interesting is that there are several layers of colors in this sponge cake of bright pink to light pink. Some layers look like it is red. There is icing and frosting painted all over it along with fairy-like swirls and decorations. There are even cherries on top of dollops of creams and glitter sprinkled all over it.

All the Trolls are amazed by this, their eyes sparkling. Cloud Guy even has sparkling eyes, his mouth frothy.

Branch smiled to himself. This is going well.

"So, if you want to get the perfect cake," said Poppy. "Work hard and do a good job. Have a good attitude and even make sure that you know your limits. Good luck, everyone! Get into your positions!"

Excited about this, the entire Snack Pack starts to leave the room. Cloud Guy, in particular, leaps up and starts skipping, humming a lullaby to himself. He is already starting to look like a cricket filled with too much coffee already. Suki and Creek are the last ones to leave, giving each other glances about their disbelief of Branch and Poppy allowing Cloud Guy to join with no paper work first. [2s]

Creek gives Poppy and Branch an incredulous look.

Branch placed his finger over his mouth again, reassuring them that they do not have to do anything.

Poppy waved her hand in a manner of shooing them out, having a look saying 'don't worry, we got it'.

Creek narrowed his eyes and gave them a look that said 'fine then, but it's your funeral, not mine'.

With that, Creek and Suki left.

That leaves Branch and Poppy on their own.

"You know that you don't have to go talk to my council on your own," said Branch. "I can-"

"I made the choice already," said Poppy. "Besides, I think the law enforcers would need your help as well."

"Fair enough. Just make sure that the choice is REALLY appropriate. Not too harmful, OK?"

Poppy saluted. "Yes, sir! Let's go already." She stopped. "On second thoughts, I have an idea! Let's bet!"

"Betting?"

"Oh, you should try it out! Might not good since we would be wasting pennies, but it's fun!"

"Isn't betting and gambling a very bad thing?" asked Branch.

Poppy thought about it, stroking her chin.

A week ago, Rock Hallow

Poppy could only stare in stunned silence as a group of Rock Trolls wrestle each other for their money.

Apparently, they bet against which soccer team is going to win in the recent match, but it turns ugly and now they are trying to kill each other. Though, it seems that they are all so tangled up that they can't even do a solid hit on each other. With their arms and legs and necks tied around, they could only try to hit each other with their fists, kick their legs around and bite on each other's skins.

Poppy turned to Val who was watching with an entertained grin.

"It's totally safe!"

Poppy giggled as she repeated Val's words. "It's totally safe!"

Branch raised his eyebrow. "Right then. Well…since it isn't going to be exactly fun as we need to see if the law enforcers will do well, let's start guessing."

They took out their wallets and placed all their pennies on the table. You see, pennies act as the most common money in TrollsTopia. Originally used amongst the Pop Trolls before being spread to the other tribes in the village. While they have different types of money, pennies are the most popular. They are metal yellow coins - ambiguous on if it is made from real gold - with colorful petals attached to them. The petals have numbers on how much they are worth.

"This is going to be exciting," said Poppy. "So who do you want to guess first?"

"Well, Satin and Chenille have conjoined hair which helped us during our first adventure," said Branch as they shifted the money around. "I'm putting 5 pennies on them so that they are going to stop a gang of robbers using their hair."

"Me too," said Poppy, grinning. "5 bucks on that. I'm placing down 10 bucks that Smidge is going to be holding on a tree. Not like hanging but like carrying it."

"You think so? I don't think so. She is still a small Troll like us."

"I'm keeping my money on that," insisted Poppy.

"Oh, sure you do," said Branch, scoffing a little. "I got the feeling that the Diamonds' butts are going to be touched by someone. 5 pennies on it."

"Ew, no." Poppy cringed at the sound of that. "I doubt so. That would be really disrespectful. Let's see…hmm, I'm putting 5 pennies that Suki is going to fall asleep for too long."

"Yeah, me too. I think that one of them will be distracted by a butterfly. 5 pennies on that one. Either Legsley or Biggie or Mr. Dinkles…"

"Does Mr. Dinkles get distracted by anything?" asked Poppy.

"I don't know. You ask Biggie."

"I feel like Creek is going to serenade two brawlers. 10 bucks on that."

"I highly doubt so." Branch clicked his tongue. "Creek never helps angry people stay calm.

"Well, let's see him try. Oh, and one more thing, I think Cloud Guy is going to explode something up. I'm putting 15 bucks on that one."

"15 bucks?!" said Branch. "No way! Cloud Guy may be an annoyance, but he is not dumb. He wouldn't do something as extreme with that."

"I'm just guessing," said Poppy. "He is going to do an explosion somehow."

"We'll see about that. So, where do we place all the money and keep our bets recorded?"

Poppy stayed quiet for a while. "...I don't know. I thought you were going to tell me that."

Clothes make the man they say. Interestingly, they do reflect on Bastille's mood and how he thinks. [3]

At the moment, he decides to go with something that is nice and simple. Or at least to him. A black hoodie with short sleeves, a couple of golden necklaces around his neck, a red and black flannel jacket tied around his waist, and blue jeans. He still has his black fingerless glove on his right hand and a couple of golden bracelets around on the other. He nearly looks a little edgy in this outfit, but he doesn't mind it.

He remembers that he always has a tendency to be fussy about the kind of clothes he wears. There are some days where he tries to find any new clothes he wants or being nagged by a few girls to change out of the old ones since they were smelly. He makes a mental note that he should be changing clothes and placing them in the laundry.

The fussiness over which clothes he wants to wear can be problematic. Like he would refuse to wear a certain type of shirt if he feels that it is not his kind of thing. Or being forced to be in a suit he doesn't even like. He thinks that maybe it would be best if he can adapt to other clothes, but he has his own style and he likes it.

"Ahem!" coughed a voice.

Bastille blinked before he realized that somebody was already up in his face.

Jacques.

Wait, what happened?

Oh, right.

He and Charleston are at TrollsTopia Metro, waiting for Vance. The Country Detective is too busy in an argument with the front desk since he needs to get permission to investigate the station. Since Vance is not really associated with the leader circle and the official authority service, he can't exactly observe the station since that can cause disturbance to the passengers and the workers. Charleston is busy whistling a diddy to herself while swinging around her cane.

And oh, Jacques is out on a walk and Bastille realizes that he might have been staring at him for too long.

"Erm…" said Bastille, quickly snapping back to reality. "Hi?"

"Do I have to say it again?" said Jacques, his accent being more noticeable than ever. "It's rude to stare at people, young boy."

"Y-Yeah," said Bastille. "I'm noticing it as well. I was just thinking-"

"Thinking about what? Well, unless you are observing my hair, not like it is properly combed well, but you would be wasting time standing like a headless goat."

"Sir, I…um…" Bastille is already nervous. He knew that he got off on a bad start with this guy and he feels that he is in Finn's finns already. "I was just thinking about stuff, about my clothing, I was just…erm…minding my own business while waiting. I didn't really mean to be all disrespectful and stuff like…back last night…I've been disrespectful to some people in my life before…but to be fair, you are disrespectful…"

"I've been disrespectful?" said Jacques, raising an eyebrow.

"WHAT, NO! I-I'm meaning that not everyone is respectful like erm…the more disrespectful part of me…wouldn't be…able…to…get people to respect me?"

"You didn't rehearse that, did you?"

"Well-"

"My superiors don't really have a problem with being unable to rehearse their lines," interrupted Jacques, waving his hands around. "They make sure to say the wisest things before even going into a conversation and when needing to improvise, they clear their minds first before speaking. It's always in a way to make sure that they don't fall on their feet. They never say a foul thing ever since they were children and I grew up like that."

"Uh…" Bastille has no idea what else to say.

"So, if you are unable to say a nice thing to anyone, then you're going to be at the bottom because no one is going to support you on your timid side. Kids like you wouldn't be able to make themselves a man when they talk. You don't seem to have half the brain to be able to form words correctly."

"I'm fluent in English," pointed out Bastille sarcastically.

"Touche. But if you don't use the right words, you don't get the right reaction."

That is when two French Trolls - dressed in casual blue clothing - walk by with one of them making silly faces at Jacques.

"Hello there, Mister Bastard," sneered one of them.

"SILENCE!" shouted Jacques. "We don't say 'bastard' in this community!"

The French Troll sighed. "Ugh, fine. Good morning, Jacques. It is such a lovely day seeing you being trimmed nicely."

Jacques smiled. "Why thank you. You should try out my own hairstyles instead of the regulars."

As Jacques turned back to Bastille, the same French Troll made a disgusted face and pretended to mimic his words with a fat-looking facial expression. The two French Trolls walked away, not wanting to be around their ambassador.

"This man is insufferable," thought Bastille, cringing internally.

"So, I advise you to wise up a little and be respectful to your elders, am I clear?" said Jacques.

The Indie Alternative Troll feels awkward. He could have avoided all of this and now he embarrassed himself in front of the French Ambassadors. It's not like he notices he is getting attention, but he feels a little ashamed of being ridiculed by this old man. Maybe if he isn't so socially-awkward, none of this could happen.

"Yes, sir," he said robotically.

Jacques smiled and patted Bastille on the head. "Bon garçon. Très bon garçon."

('Bon garçon. Très bon garçon.' means 'Good boy. Very good boy.')

The young gray Troll isn't sure if Jacques is mocking him or just feeling relieved that he took his advice, but this is really uncomfortable.

"By the way," said Jacques. "There are some new hair salons in town. You should try out the bowl cut."

"No way," said Bastille. "That one is for dorks."

"And you act like one. Au revoir!"

With that, Jacques turns around and heads towards the train that just arrived. He grumbled something more under his breath before entering the carriage. As soon as the train went off and out of sight, Bastille groaned and rubbed his face. [3s]

Jacques is like Chaz except with more power and a place in the royalty council!

Charleston comes in, skipping around. "Was that Jacques just now?"

"Yes," said Bastille, shivering a little. "He is AWFUL."

"That reminds me of my old science tutor. He was all cranky and like.." She lifted up her cane as she pretended to talk in a raspy voice. "'Concentrate already, you runts, or else I'm going to slap you!'"

Bastille is disturbed. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I am just saying. It brings back good times as I couldn't help laughing along with the others."

"I thought you would be in fear of him."

"Yeah, but he can't hit any of us. And he broke his spine."

"Hey, kids!" called Vance, holding tickets. "I managed to sway them, but I have to waste money on them. There goes my lunch."

"We can offer you a sandwich," said Bastille.

"It's alright. Let's get investigating here! The clues aren't going to find themselves."

Charleston squealed and clapped her hands together. She starts to skip as she follows Vance, entering through the doorways. Bastille sighs as he follows along, remembering that he is supposed to be retrieving Charleston's cane.

Taking his mind off from Jacques would require doing anything to forget him.

AN: This one doesn't feel like much, however, it covers the heavy of the story, so we will see how it will all go.

Yep. I'm not kidding. Cloud Guy is being included as well. This is as a response to the most criticized episode of TrollsTopia: Cloud Control. So, in the proper context, he never gets his karma for anything he is doing wrong and all the silliness towards Branch comes off as really unsympathetically insensitive. He would misbehave and harass Branch, so this is really something I want to address since Cloud Guy has been portrayed as just a prankster with no other reasons. Here, we will see him get his karma.

Branch and Poppy betting comes from the idea of a side bet scene in The Suicide Squad.

I had a lot of fun writing Jacques. He is arrogant, stubborn and a big jerk. He is really rude. However, I had fun writing his lines as a snobby rich man. I'm not sure if I made him too insufferable, but how he says things can be pretty funny and entertaining. Even Bastille is already scared of Jacques for him being insufferable. Bastille messing up his talk to Jacques is a reference to Spider Man: No Way Home.

Special thanks once again to I.M. Rally and MasterClass60 helped me with making the outfits for the law enforcers.

Thanks for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames). However, it will take me a while to get the next chapter up due to exam study. Any questions, please ask me through PMs.

Until next time, keep on rocking!