Shadgirl2: Okay, now that we've revised chapters 1 and 2, here's the new version of chapter 3.
Midna Azusa: And now we get to meet some of the other trolls! There's also some lovely foreshadowing of the trouble to come!
Shadgirl2: You're enjoying this entirely too much.
Midna: What can I say? This is fun. But enough of my sick amusement! Enjoy, everyone!
Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. Harmony is Shadgirl2's original character.
Edit: Added details, fixed inconsistencies/discrepancies, added to the scene in Symphonyville.
Smidge drove the caterbus off, intending to make a large circle around Troll Village. She checked her map, which marked all of the Pop Troll villages. It didn't need to show the other tribes since she wasn't going out there. Only the six known Pop Troll villages were shown on this map. "Alright. So, according to this map, we should be at the first troll colony to the north of Troll Village in about two minutes." She turned to Bella and Maddy, who had both agreed to take the first stop. "You two all set?"
"We're ready whenever, Smidge!" Maddy answered cheerily.
Bella giggled, standing by the supplies. She was excited to go and meet these other trolls.
"Great! Then off you go in three...two..." Smidge stopped the bus, and the two girls got off, taking their supplies with them. "One! Good luck, you guys! Poppy's counting on you!" Smidge called, poking her head out the window as she waved at them with a smile on her face.
"Don't worry, Smidge!" Bella said, waving back. "This will be a piece of cake!"
Maddy gave the gesture for "okay," and Smidge nodded before pulling her head back in and driving off again.
"Okay! Shall we?" Maddy asked her partner, more than eager to get started.
"Yes! Let's do this thing, Maddy!"
And Maddy and Bella took their relief supplies to the new village, both happy to be of assistance.
Back on the bus, Smidge, smiling with excitement herself, said, "Alright! So far, so good! Next!"
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Biggie said, bouncing in his seat. "Don't you agree, Mr. Dinkles?"
The idea of not only helping out other trolls but of making new friends was very appealing to the large troll. He could hardly contain his excitement.
"Meep!" the worm answered happily.
"Do you guys think these other trolls will be surprised to see all the neato stuff we have for them?" Harper asked excitedly.
"Oh, yeah, they gonna be really surprised! I can't wait!" Cooper answered with a laugh.
"Aw, these guys are just gonna love this stuff! We got disco balls, candy, cupcakes, confetti, fancy lights, and many colorful balloons and streamers! Who wouldn't love those?" Smidge said. She looked back at her friends, eyes burning with confidence. Surely this was going to be an amazing and rewarding experience.
After heading west from her first stop, she stopped the bus again and let Harper and Karma off with their own supplies. The two waved happily as the bus drove off.
"I believe I should take the next one, love," Creek said confidently. He wore a smile on his face that said he was just as eager to do this as anyone else aboard. "Everything's going so splendidly so far that I simply cannot wait to add my assistance!"
Smidge smiled at him proudly and answered, "Okay! The next one's still a ways away, closer to the far west of Troll Village, but you can have it when we get there!"
Happy to hear this, Creek smiled. He genuinely meant what he'd said. This was absolutely something he wanted to do, and he knew that, since the odds of there being danger in the village he visited were slim, he could handle this."Thank you, love. I greatly appreciate it."
When they reached the third stop, Creek was the only troll to get off. Like those before, he took some supplies and waved as the bus drove out of sight.
"Alright! Three down and two to go!" Smidge said. She turned to Biggie and Cooper, asking, "So? Who wants the next one? It's located south of Bergen Town, even."
"Cooper and I can take that one," Biggie volunteered. He didn't really want to go alone, and Smidge was driving, so it just made more sense for the two of them to take the fourth stop and leave Smidge with the last.
"Yeah! I can't wait!" Cooper cheered, bouncing a bit. He was sure this would be an amazing adventure.
"Alright! Then it's all yours, guys." Smidge looked at the map a little confused, then added, "Hmm... It says here that these trolls live near a cliff filled with caves. Wonder what those are for?"
"Ooh, maybe they live in caves?" Cooper suggested.
Biggie said, "Cooper, don't be ridiculous! Besides Branch, what troll lives underground?"
Smidge closed her eyes for a moment as she lazily raised a hand. "Nah. It's probably some sort of mining system," she said dismissively. Suddenly remembering that she was the one driving, she opened her eyes again and focused on the road, although she smiled, anticipating what awaited them. "I'm just wondering what kinds of goodies they mine out there? Candy canes? Rock candy? Hey, maybe we should ask these guys if they can share their treasure with us when this is all said and done. Anyway, we're almost there now, so you guys better get ready for it!"
"Got it!" Cooper said, and he and Biggie hurriedly gathered up their supplies.
Soon Smidge stopped the bus near the cliff in question, and Biggie and Cooper got off with their supplies. As Smidge drove away, Biggie said, "Alright, let's go meet these trolls!"
"Yeah!" Cooper agreed, and the two set off for the village.
Little did they know what this village had in store for them.
Alone on the caterbus, Smidge laughed from excitement. "This is going great so far!" She narrowed her eyes a bit and continued, "And Branch thought this would be difficult." She waved an arm through the air, a smug smile on her face. "Come on. How hard can it possibly be to drop off a bunch of party supplies to a bunch of needy trolls?"
Honestly, Smidge would have loved to call Branch out on this fear and tease him about it. His paranoia could really be ridiculous at times. However, she didn't really want another concussion or a reason to have to hold him hostage again, so she decided that she'd keep these thoughts to herself. A few trolls back home still thought her Prank Day confession had been real, and she didn't dare repeat the experience any time soon.
Choosing to get back to the matter at hand (and not the one that could be at hand if she upset Branch), Smidge smiled brightly again as she thought about the trolls she was about to meet and said, "We'll have this thing all wrapped up by dinner time tonight!"
And so, smug as can be, she drove on to the east, unaware of the potential problems she'd left behind...or the one she was approaching.
Meanwhile, DJ and CJ, with the train of wooferbugs, flew out to a spot on the beach, the very spot DJ had circled on her map. However, the only thing they saw was sand, sea, and trees for miles. Both looked on, highly confused. As far as she knew, the Techno Trolls should have been somewhere nearby, yet there were no signs of troll life at all.
"Aunt DJ? What's going on?" CJ asked, giving her aunt a look that was one part confusion and one part concern. "Isn't this the spot you had circled on the map?"
"I don't know, kiddo," DJ answered honestly, a bit worried herself. "Accordin' to the map, this should be the right place, but..." She half expected to see some huts hidden in the brush of the forest or something, but nothing was visible from up in the air.
"So what do we do now? It doesn't look like anybody even lives here!" CJ asked, throwing her arms up. Now the child was definitely worried.
DJ put a finger to her chin, thinking. To be honest, she wasn't sure. "Uh... Well, let's just take a look around a bit I...guess," DJ answered slowly, looking down at the barren beach. "Maybe there's a cave or some hidden colony in those bushes down there." She smiled gently, trying to reassure her niece. All the while, she was hiding her own doubts and anxieties about this situation.
CJ nodded in agreement, feeling better knowing that her aunt had a plan. "Okay, Aunt DJ," she said with a smile.
DJ smiled back and landed her wooferbug train on the edge of the beach where there was still some plant life and tethered her own bug to a tree. As the other six were all tied to it, that guaranteed that nobody would wander off. With that dealt with, she and CJ started looking around.
"Hello!? Is there anybody out there somewhere!?" CJ called with her hands cupped around her little mouth.
"Yo! We brought ya all some supplies from Troll Village!" DJ called, cupping a hand to the side of her mouth. "So could somebody come out here and get 'em!?"
The two combed the surrounding area for hours, but, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find any sign of other trolls. It appeared that the Techno Trolls didn't exist. DJ couldn't help but wonder if the tribe had been wiped out. Hopefully, she thought, they had just relocated.
"Huh. Weird," DJ said at last, putting her hands on her hips. This couldn't be more puzzling if it tried. "Guess that map of Branch's was a little outdated."
It wouldn't surprise her, really. None of the maps in Troll Village even bothered to mention these other groups of trolls, so who knew if any of them were really still out here? But, before she could contemplate this possibility any further, she was drawn from her thoughts.
"Aunt DJ? I'm getting a little tired. Can we stop and rest for a bit?" CJ said, looking ready to collapse.
DJ looked down at her niece, smiling caringly at her. She bent down and picked the child up. "Sure, kiddo. We can take five for a lunch break. Come on." She carried CJ back to the place she'd tethered the bugs and set her down on the soft sand to rest. "Now ya just take a load of while I go fetch our lunch."
"Okay, Aunt DJ," CJ said, smiling back.
DJ smiled at her little niece again and headed over to the bugs. She took one of her bags and pulled out a picnic basket and a blanket to sit on.
She looked out at the sea uncertainly. They'd set off to help other trolls, but she couldn't even find them. Had the Party Crashers hit these guys so hard that they'd left? Or had something worse happened to the fabled Techno Trolls? Maybe they were just wasting their time looking for these other tribes. The Pop Troll colonies might exist. After all, the Party Crashers had attacked someone. But there didn't seem to be any such thing as Techno Trolls. What was she missing here?
"Dang. I sure hope the others are havin' an easier time at this than we are. Do these other troll tribes really exist?"
Deciding to worry about that later, she headed back to CJ so they could have a picnic on the beach. Maybe they'd go swimming later so this trip wasn't a complete waste.
South of DJ's beach adventure, Fuzzbert and Aspen looked down from the basket of Sheila Balloon in awe to see a volcanic landscape below. However, unlike DJ's barren beach, this volcano was clearly inhabited. Statues and speakers littered the landscape below, the land was illuminated by not only lava but blue lights from these structures, and the volcano itself was carved into the shape of a troll doing a double sign of the horns gesture. Lava poured over the sides of this volcano into ditches that seemed to have been dug for this sole purpose.
"Whoa... Dude, just exactly where are we?" Aspen asked. "This place is totally tubular..."
Fuzzbert looked around, fully agreeing with this statement. This volcanic world was unreal to him.
"I feel ya, bro. Hard to believe anyone could really live here, but..."
Looking down, not only were there lights, but several bridges crossed over rivers of lava, and some of the darkly colored landscape had what appeared to be windows and doors. That seemed to imply that someone had lived here at some point, at least.
Deciding that the only way to find out would be to land and introduce themselves, Fuzzbert steered their ride into the center of the landmass and landed. No sooner had the balloon touched the ground than darkly-colored creatures that otherwise resembled trolls started gathering around, murmuring about the visitors. And they didn't sound happy.
Aspen grew nervous. He gripped the side of the balloon's basket, fearful of these harsh-looking trolls. "D-dang... W-what are they? I mean, they look like trolls, but..."
These guys looked less than friendly in torn clothes, dark leather, spiked collars and wristbands, and tattoos of skulls and flames. But their clothes were nothing to the looks on their faces—most were scowling or glaring, others seemed a bit anxious, but even those ones looked like they'd be perfectly content to punch Fuzzbert's and Aspen's lights out any day. The inhabitants of this volcanic landscape were all muddy in coloration, appearing in shades of gray, brown, red, blue, and others. Their ears were more pointed than Pop Troll ears, their hair messier, like they hadn't washed it in weeks.
These trolls gathered around the balloon, and Fuzzbert and Aspen could finally make out some of the conversations.
"Hey, aren't those Pop Trolls?" a muddy purple troll asked as she pointed at the two with apparent suspicion. Even so, the look in her eyes was quite lazy, as though suspicious figures didn't really interest her all that much.
"What are they doing here? You don't think they're here to cause trouble, do you?" another asked, glaring at the visitors.
"Probably. It's all Pop Trolls do, isn't it?" said a third, glaring as well.
Aspen nervously cringed away from the hostile trolls as one loud female voice broke through the crowd, "Everybody, step aside! Move it, now!"
Many of the trolls complied, stepping aside for the speaker. Some, however, didn't want to move, so they remained firmly in place. Fuzzbert and Aspen looked at each other with uncertainty. It was starting to appear that Branch might have had a point about visiting other tribes, at least. Nobody seemed too eager to see them.
The speaker didn't mind plowing through her own people, apparently, as those who wouldn't move found themselves shoved aside or roughly elbowed out of the way. Each of these trolls earned a glare or a growl from the muddy red troll with a red mohawk who made her way through the crowd. Her left ear had the tip broken off and one hoop earring, and her right ear had two earrings. She wore fishnet stockings, a torn white tank top, black leather bottoms, studded wristbands, and a belt with a skull for a buckle.
"I said move!" she snapped as she forced her way through. "Got a hearing problem? Out of the way, princess coming through!" She pushed through until she was directly in front of the balloon with the two Pop Trolls, then she stared at Fuzzbert. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Uh, is that a hairball? Who's cat spit that out?"
Aspen cleared the lump from his throat, feeling even more nervous now that he was faced with an apparent princess who seemed just as violent as her people. And he thought facing Branch's wrath was bad. He didn't manage to find his voice. This was looking like it might have been another terrible idea, and he couldn't help but wonder why he kept getting mixed up in Queen Poppy's crazy schemes.
Fuzzbert stood still a moment, feeling a bit nervous himself, before stealing himself and leaping onto the edge of the basket in apparent excitement. He hoped to make a good impression and show these guys they were friendly. Really, he would have sang the new Anthem if he thought Aspen was up for it. Given that Aspen couldn't seem to speak, Fuzzbert could tell he was on his own right now, so he went for a different approach. He introduced himself enthusiastically, hoping these trolls could understand his language, and gestured to the goodies they had brought, telling how they had come to deliver aid to victims of the Party Crashers.
Emboldened by Fuzzbert, Aspen gave an awkward smile and tried to put some excitement into his voice as he added, "T-that's right! We came all this way to turn all your frowns upside down by helping you rebuild after the invasion! I'm Aspen Heitz, and we're your friendly—"
"What invasion?" someone cut him off, sounding confused.
"We were invaded? Did I sleep through that?" another troll asked, looking around as if for confirmation.
Aspen and Fuzzbert looked around uncertainly. Fuzzbert wondered if they were here before the Party Crashers. Maybe they hadn't reached this part of the world yet.
The one who called herself the princess smirked. She spread her arms out to the sides and looked around at her people, saying, "Well, what do you know? Apparently, Pop Trolls are tougher than I thought." Turning back to the Pop Trolls, she asked, "You talking about the Party Crashers? Because my dad, King Thrash, already dealt with them. We don't need your help." She crossed her arms, looking smug.
The Pop Trolls both gave a start, Aspen's eyes widening. "R-really?"
If these guys were tough enough to drive off the Party Crashers without some of them even knowing the Party Crashers had been here, then what did that say about the Rock Trolls?
"Uh, yeah!" the princess said, rolling her eyes. "We're not a bunch of pushovers. Those guys didn't stand a chance against our guys."
The Rock Trolls cheered, but, unlike Pop Troll cheers, this sounded violent and aggressive, fierce and menacing.
It was terrifying.
Aspen and Fuzzbert moved closer together, both very definitely nervous now. Fuzzbert politely acknowledged their mistake and recommended that he and Aspen leave now, his nerves showing as he spoke. He apologized for disturbing them and was about to lift the balloon off again when the princess gestured to a couple of her subjects, who rushed forward and started tying the balloon down.
"Hold up, what's the rush?" the princess asked as her people secured Sheila Balloon. "Stay awhile! I'm Princess Barb, and welcome to Volcano Rock City!"
Once more the Pop Trolls gave a start, Aspen's eyes widening as he let out a little yelp. They looked at each other nervously. Both could tell quite clearly what was happening. They were about to become Rock Troll prisoners.
Princess Barb came into the balloon's basket and wrapped one arm around Aspen's neck and the other around Fuzzbert. "Come on! Let me give you the grand tour," she said as she dragged them off.
"Ah! Uh, gee... T-that's real nice of ya, b-but I really think we should just—" Aspen said with an awkward grin. This was not a safe place to be, and he wanted to go home now.
Barb tightened her grip on him, squeezing harder than she needed to, and said, "I insist!"
There was a threat in those words, Aspen could tell. This wasn't an invitation.
The princess called back over her shoulder, "Sid! Carol! Take care of their ride. Make sure it's secure, and nobody mess with it!"
"'Kay..." answered a purple male troll with black hair and a zebra-striped headband. He sounded bored.
"...Sure," came the unenthusiastic answer from the blue girl in a leopard-patterned leotard and a vest, and she went to the balloon.
Focusing her gaze forward again, Barb smiled and eagerly said, "Anyway, you guys are going to love Volcano Rock City! By the time we're done, you'll have a new favorite vacation destination!"
Aspen laughed awkwardly. "S-sounds totally tubular... C-can't wait..."
He and Fuzzbert looked at each other, desperately hoping that the others were okay, at least. They appeared to have become Rock Troll prisoners.
On the other side of the continent, Guy stared out the window in wonder at the endless sandy nothingness below. Poppy sat next to him, taking it in as well. The idea that such a place existed was incredible enough in itself, but the fact that people lived in it somewhere was even more unbelievable.
"Holy gliiiitter! Would you look at all that saaaaand!" Guy said, his eyes wide and his hands pressed to the window.
"I know!" Poppy said with awe. "It's incredible. Who knew a place like this even existed..."
"I'm not sure we should be dropping Guy off alone in a desert," Branch, in the pilot's seat, said worriedly. "All kinds of things could go wrong, Poppy."
She wanted to tell him it would be fine, but dismissing his fears like that wouldn't be very supportive. So instead she sighed and turned to him with a lame look. "Alright, Branch. What's on your mind now?" she asked, annoyed.
It wasn't easy for her to always do this. Branch could be very difficult to deal with, no matter how much she loved him.
"If Guy can't find the Funk Trolls, he'll probably die of dehydration," Branch pointed out, sounding irritated that nobody besides him had thought of this possibility.
"Aw, Branch. This time you are worrying too much," Poppy said with a confident smile as she waved a hand dismissively. "Guy's got plenty of water for hydration, and it isn't like we're just gonna leave him out here forever. Look, all we've gotta do is drop this stuff off at..." here her eyes widened as she thought of the depressing, bluegrass-filled nightmare that awaited them, "our unpleasant destination," she put on a brave face, smiling awkwardly and forcing some cheer back into her voice, "and quickly circle back. How bad can it possibly get in that short a time span?" She gave a confident and smug look, crossing her arms.
If Branch thought she was going to spend a second more than necessary in a place as awful as the Country Trolls' territory, he was crazier than she thought.
"And besides that, if these Funk Trolls really live out here, then it can't be all bad, right?" Guy added with a smile. He moved up and wrapped an arm around Branch's neck reassuringly.
To be honest, Guy felt a little insulted this time around. He'd been in charge of the safety classes until Branch had joined in, and one of the Titan films had been about surviving in a desert. Branch should have known that Guy knew what he was doing this time. One of these crates had nothing but water, sunscreen, and a tent for some shade, for pity's sake. Then again, Branch wasn't entirely aware of what Guy had packed up, so he figured he'd let it go for now and tease their blue friend later, when everyone could say "I told you so."
Poppy closed her eyes and held up a finger in agreement, still smiling. "Correct-a-mundo, Guy!" She opened her eyes and turned her smile on Branch, adding, "There's nothing to worry about as long as we're back before dark, right?"
"I guess," Branch said, but he was still worried. What if they couldn't come back quickly? He still couldn't shake that bad feeling that disaster was waiting right around the corner.
"Okay, Guy!" Poppy said to the glitter troll. "We're over your designated drop point. Ready for the drop?"
Guy walked to one of the walls, took down a parachute hanging there, and strapped it on. He moved to stand with his supplies, smiling. "Ready and willing, El Capitan!" he said, saluting her. "Let her rip!"
Poppy ran to a lever that would open up the floor beneath Guy and his supplies, saying, "Okay! Then here goes—"
"Hold on, you can't drop Guy with the supplies!" Branch complained, reaching back. If something hit him and knocked him out, he'd die from that fall.
But Poppy didn't seem to hear. She pulled the lever, dropping Guy and the party supplies out of the plane. Branch smacked himself in the face as Guy, laughing happily, fell.
Leaning over the hole, Poppy waved cheerfully and called, "Good luck, Guy! Make us all proud!" As the hatch closed, she turned to Branch, trying to act excited about this next part, and said, "Okay! Now it's off to the saddest place in all of troll society! Next stop, Countryville!" Under her smile, her nerves barely showed. She really didn't want to go there. In fact, she would rather go find Chef and try to make friends with that hateful bergen.
"It's actually called Lonesome Flats, but A for effort, I guess," Branch corrected, eyes half closed in a lame look.
Not really caring what the name of the old-fashioned and depressing location was, Poppy waved her arms in front of her. "Whatever!" Her expression turned serious as she continued, "Let's just get there," she pointed down, "drop this stuff off, and get back before anything bad can happen." She put her hands on her hips, leaning forwards. "I didn't spend the last 21 years trying to cheer you up just to have a bunch of moody, twang-loving trolls bring you down again. Ya dig?" she said, slightly annoyed.
Honestly, this was going to be difficult enough as it was. Poppy herself didn't want to go there, but she'd sworn to help all of the other trolls, and that included the Country Trolls. If she was lucky, maybe this mission of hers would help the Country Trolls cheer up and write some music that wasn't from the stone ages. She wouldn't be surprised, really, if they were so depressed because they lived primitive lives or something. Maybe they were jealous of everyone else because the other trolls had indoor plumbing. Either way, this would be terrible if she had to stay there too long. Poppy feared not only for Branch, but also that she might turn gray herself.
Branch smirked and teased, "Somehow I think I'll be fine. You, on the other hand..."
Imagine the happiest troll in the world visiting a land of sorrow. That just seemed like a recipe for disaster.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, mister?" Poppy asked, insulted, as she leaned toward him. Sure, she felt the same way...if they had to stay for more than a couple of hours, but she could handle that, at least. She wasn't that bad.
From a mirror he'd installed, Branch saw when Guy deployed his chute below. Each of the boxes he'd be taking shot out a chute as well. "...Looks like Guy's good," Branch said, satisfied that he was safe for now.
Poppy crossed her arms and turned away, annoyed. "Hmph!"
As the two flew off, Guy landed safely in the middle of a sweltering hot desert. His supplies landed all around him, which begged the question of how he was supposed to get them to the Funk Trolls when he didn't even know where they were.
"Ah... Now, then. Off to locate those class act masters of the arts. See if they've got what it takes to make it big," Guy said, setting off in search.
As he looked around, however, he knew he couldn't take his supplies with him. He had no way to carry them. He took some of the water, a bottle of sunscreen (which he applied as he walked), and the tent, making a note to bring a Funk Troll transport back here to retrieve the supplies later. He wasn't completely clueless, contrary to what Branch might have believed, thanks to those safety classes. Nothing could go wrong now!
Unbeknownst to him, he was already on somebody's radar. In a flying saucer off in the distance, a creature with a long neck and two legs said, "Hey! That blip from earlier just dropped off the radar! But it left behind a smaller one in the east desert!" He indicated a small green dot on the radar where, moments before, there had been a larger dot. Said large dot had left, but the other was still in range.
A pink striped creature with four blue legs and blue dreadlocks turned to two older but similar creatures, one male and one female. This pink one had gold rings on his dreadlocks and a star-shaped earring on his left ear. Other than the different hairstyle and the gold tinsel in three bands around his neck, he was identical to Cooper—an animal troll, as the Pop Trolls would call them.
"What should we do?" the look-alike asked, looking mildly concerned.
The female, a blue animal troll with silver tinsel covering her body and a gold tiara on her head, looked to the male, a purple troll with pink and blue hair. His importance was evident not just from the tinsel covering his body and wrapping in bands around his neck, but also from the gold cape that covered him. On his left ear, he wore an earring identical to the one worn by the younger troll.
"Hm... Someone randomly lands in the desert out of nowhere... I say we check it out! It could be you-know-who." He looked toward the driver eagerly.
The two-legged troll nodded and drove their flying ship toward the little blip on the radar.
Here's hoping that whoever that is isn't in any real danger, the purple troll thought.
Up in the mountains, the twins were pretty sure they'd found heaven. What appeared to be angels were flying around, playing beautiful music. The buildings were made of gold, the doors in the shape of classical music instruments.
"Oooh, it's so beautiful!" Satin said, immediately taken in by the town's charm.
"Are those angels?" Chenille asked of the golden creatures flying about.
They did indeed look like angels, gold, shimmering, and flying about with feathered wings.
They landed the blimp, wondering if they'd made a wrong turn somewhere. Several of the golden creatures, their bodies speckled in glitter and gems in their belly buttons, gathered around cheerily.
"Welcome!" one of these winged inhabitants said in a female voice as the twins exited the blimp. She had pink hair and a very inviting smile on her face. "Is this your first time here?"
"Uh...yes?" Satin answered uncertainly.
"Then it's a pleasure to meet you!" the winged girl said, her tone very friendly. "I'm Harmony! And this is Symphonyville! Home of the Classical Trolls! To whom am I speaking?" She clasped her hands in front of her, smiling politely at the twins.
"I'm Chenille, and this is my sister, Satin," Chenille answered, gesturing at her twin.
"Queen Poppy of Troll Village sent us! We're here to help you rebuild after the Party Crasher invasion."
The Classical Trolls gasped, seemingly worried, and started murmuring among themselves.
Chenille leaned over and hissed in her sister's ear, "Satin! What did you say!? You upset them!"
"I don't know! All I said is we were here to help!" she hissed back, worried.
How could that be a bad thing? Did the Classical Trolls not want their help?
Harmony looked nervous now but tried to be positive about this. Maybe it wasn't what they feared. "I-I'm sorry. B-but it sounded like you said your queen's name was 'Poppy'. D-does that mean you're a couple of Pop Trolls, then?"
"Yes," Chenille answered, absolutely baffled. "Is...that a problem?"
Once more the Classical Trolls gasped, and most started flying around frantically. The babble of anxious conversation grew worse.
Satin waved her hands in front of her, saying, "No, no, we're not here to hurt anyone! We're here to help!"
"That's right! We brought supplies!" Chenille added, picking up a box.
"ENOUGH!" bellowed a male voice.
All the Classical Trolls stopped and moved aside to reveal a stern-looking troll in a black coat with gold trim and lace cuffs. He held a conductor's baton and was glaring firmly at the twins as he flew over.
"Conductor Trollzart..." said Harmony as he approached. She still sounded nervous.
The twins couldn't help but think this wasn't going to end well for them. Satin fidgeted a bit. The way the Classical Trolls were acting, it was clear they didn't want Satin and Chenille here in the first place. They couldn't help but think they were in for a great deal of trouble.
Trollzart moved up to the twins, cleared his throat, and adjusted his coat. He looked rather intimidating, glaring at them so. "You two. You say you're Pop Trolls? Is that correct?" he asked coldly.
"Y-yes?" Satin stammered, fiddling with her hands.
"I see. And just what are you two after? Did you come here to complete what those heinous Party Crashers started? Don't you know we will not allow any further disturbances like that?"
"No!" Chenille cried, dropping the box and waving her hands in front of her. "We're here to help after the Party Crashers attacked!"
"Oh, you are, are you?" he asked sarcastically. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I find that one hard to believe. You Pop Trolls are all the same." He jabbed an accusing finger at them as he continued, "Thinking you can do whatever you want and causing trouble for all the rest of us! Well, let me tell you, little lady, we are not interested in converting to your Pop-like ways! So I suggest you take your worthless Pop supplies and—"
"Hold on!" Chenille cut him off, punching her hands onto her hips. "Just what is that supposed to mean!? We're not even here for that!"
"We were just worried that the Party Crashers had drained your home of all fun, that's all!" Satin added, completely nonplussed at this point.
What in the world was this troll trying to accuse them of? It didn't make any sense at all!
"Hmm..." Trollzart folded his arms in front of him, one hand on his chin, still looking suspicious. "Really?"
The Classical Trolls murmured, apparently feeling the same as their conductor. It was a well-known fact that you can never trust a Pop Troll.
"That's why Queen Poppy sent us," Satin answered earnestly.
Offended, Chenille said, "But, if our supplies aren't good enough for you, we'd be happy to take them and leave."
"Hmm... Very well," said Trollzart. "If you truly wish to prove to us that you're not trying to stir up trouble, then there's but one solution!" He held up a finger, looking very commanding. "You will have to stay here and join our orchestra." He lowered his hand, crossing his arms as he continued, "We have a huge concert coming up, and you ladies can join the strings section. Then, if all goes well, we'll believe your story and accept your offer." His tone brooked no argument.
The twins looked at each other uneasily. Neither really wanted to stay, especially given the welcome they'd received, but they had a mission to complete. They both looked at the conductor, and Satin said, "Well, if we have to..."
"What do you mean, strings section?" Chenille asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The strings section is a section of an orchestra. It's made up of stringed instruments, such as the violin, the harp, and the cello. I figure you two wouldn't be able to handle anything else, seeing as you're Pop Trolls and all."
The conductor's thinking here was simple: Pop Trolls didn't normally play the wind instruments, so he couldn't put them there, and he didn't think either of these girls looked like they could play the drum or anything else in percussion. No, they struck him more as guitarists, which wasn't an instrument he'd be allowing in his orchestra but would, hopefully, make for an easier transition to similar instruments...if he was lucky.
"Well, then," he said. "Are there any further questions before I send you off to prepare?"
Satin shook her head, totally taken aback by this attitude Trollzart had toward them.
Chenille put her hands on her hips, insulted at this absurd statement. What did he think they were, idiots? "Oh, no," she answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure we couldn't possibly understand the answer anyway. After all, we're Pop Trolls."
Most infuriatingly of all, Trollzart put a hand to his chin, apparently thinking about that. "Hmm... Yes, indeed, you are..."
Satin couldn't shake the feeling they were being made fun of, and she didn't like it. Chenille knew full well this troll was highly suspicious of them, and she couldn't say that she liked him all that much, either.
Trollzart straightened up, arms falling to his sides, and said, "Very well, then!" He clapped his hands together, and two trolls flew over with vaguely nasty looks on their faces. "Gentletrolls. Kindly escort these two to their quarters. Keep an eye on them until it's time for rehearsals. Oh! And make sure they're kept as comfortably as possible," he said, smiling pleasantly.
The way he was acting, it was as if these two were suddenly honored guests instead of warily welcomed intruders. Now Satin was even more lost while Chenille blinked in confusion.
"Yes, sir," said one of the trolls, and both moved to grab Satin and Chenille firmly.
Satin cried out, startled.
"Watch it!" Chenille snapped, glaring at the troll holding her.
The twins were then picked up by these Classical Trolls and flown off. Several other trolls secured the blimp, tying it down.
"Chenille, maybe Branch was right!" Satin said, now scared. "I don't think we should have come here!"
"We should really listen to him more often!" her sister agreed, more frustrated than afraid. Either way, it was clear to her that Branch had been right about staying away from the other tribes. Clearly, they weren't to be trifled with.
Despite the rough treatment and the cold welcome, the twins were taken to a rather pleasant room with a comfortable bed covered in a red velvet bedspread, a mahogany nightstand, and royal red carpeting. Velvet curtains hung around the bed, making this room feel even more like a princess's room. The walls were golden, shining brightly in the sunlight that came in from the large window. A mahogany door with gold-plated doorknobs led to what the twins assumed was a closet, although they didn't bother checking since they hadn't brought any clothes. A mahogany chest sat at the foot of the bed, presumably for storage. A single golden harp sat in the room, ready for use.
"So, this will be your room until the big concert," one of their escorts said, and he sounded almost polite. "Just let us know if you need anything."
Satin couldn't help but feel uneasy, despite the pleasant accommodations.
"You're lucky it's us who came," Chenille said, thinking of what disaster would have unfolded if they greeted Branch or Smidge this way.
"...Enjoy your stay," the Classical Troll said, and he flew out with a smile on his face. Both he and the other troll stayed outside, guarding the door.
The door was, in the twins' opinion, a bit odd. It led outside, but there was a rather steep drop for anyone who couldn't fly, given that it was halfway up this building they were staying in.
Satin, frantic, turned to her sister and asked, "Chenille, what do we do!?"
"What choice do we have?" Chenille said as she shrugged, hands raised in the air. "We join the orchestra...and try to find out why they hate us so much."
So, with nothing better to do, the twins moved to check out the harp. Really, what were they supposed to make of this? They were invited to stay to prove that they were friendly, then they were hauled off like prisoners, but they were taken to an ornately decorated room and told to enjoy their stay. The Classical Trolls weren't making much sense, as far as Satin and Chenille could tell.