Shadgirl2: Okay, it's been a while, but we've finally got another one for you.
Midna: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. Aspen sings part of "Attention Attention" by Shinedown. We also don't own Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Panic at the Disco, or Bon Jovi (all are real musical artists, as are any songs of theirs that we name in this chapter).
Biggie and Cooper spent the day getting to work on safety zones, based off Branch's designs. Cooper set up net and spring traps around the entrances to the part of Fearsville that everyone called the yard (the outside area), and Biggie worked inside the caves to make safe fun zones that would meet both Branch and Poppy approval ratings. He focused, of course, on those areas that should have been fun but were essentially unused in the panic this town held, such as party rooms, playgrounds, and sporting arenas. Cooper even found some sports fields outside and started setting security up around them, as well.
Under Cooper's guidance, several trolls were working on hiding nets using dirt and grass. One looked at him and asked, "You sure this is how your great leader Branch does this? What if the nets aren't sensitive enough?"
As he set up another trap at the outdoor squishball field, Cooper answered, "I'm sure. In fact, you might have to get each other outta the nets more than any real threats! That's why we're using nets and not something else!"
Hair knew Branch's traps at home were easy to trigger. Trolls were always caught in his nets.
"Oh. Okay," the troll answered, and he got back to work.
Clover came over then, carrying some flowers for an emergency alert system. "So how's it going setting up some safe but fun security for the squishball field?" she asked.
Cooper gave her a huge smile. "It's going great! We got some nets set up on the outside of the field that'll not only catch trolls if they start to go outta bounds but also keep anything from getting in here. And, like everywhere else in the village, we're setting up some traps to catch anything dangerous that gets too close."
"That's great! Now everyone can have fun without the risk of danger!" Clover said, eyes lighting up, as she started setting up the emergency alert system (per "the great hero's" blueprints, of course). It was about time her village got back to being fun again. Noticing a potential problem with Cooper's answer, she said, "But, uh...shouldn't we maybe tell the trolls where not to step somehow instead? That way, everyone'll know where not to go and only the bad guys will get hit."
"Ohh, yeah!" Cooper said as if this were some novel idea. "That might be a good idea. I should run that one by Poppy when I get home! She's gonna love it!"
It would definitely cut back on the number of trolls getting caught in Branch's traps.
"Uh...okay?" Clover said. She didn't really think she wanted to know what he meant by that. Did his queen just let her people get caught in these traps regularly?
Inside, Biggie followed a very specific plan that had been designed by Branch and Poppy. The idea was to create a party zone that provided maximum fun and just the right amount of safety. Of course, this called Cooper's claim that he'd gotten these plans from Branch before the big break-up he and Poppy had into question. This particular plan didn't exist at that time, making it clear Cooper had taken at least some of them without asking.
"Oh, dear," Biggie fretted. "Mr. Dinkles, there's no chance that Branch loaned these to Cooper after he brainwashed everyone. Some of these plans weren't even written up until he and Poppy made up!"
If Branch ever found out, Biggie didn't want to know what would happen.
Mr. Dinkles just gave a single meep, saying that he didn't care how Cooper got them and was just glad they had these plans, given how badly they needed them.
"I suppose, but how do you think Branch will feel if he finds out we have these?"
Mr. Dinkles meeped again, telling Biggie that he thought Branch would be glad they could help keep other trolls safe. It wasn't like they were playing with his things again—they were using these plans for their intended purpose.
"I suppose," Biggie admitted, feeling a bit relieved. Then he looked over the plans again to see if there was anything he'd missed. Setting up a safe party zone single-handed wasn't easy. "Now, let's see... I've got the lighting set up for safety so the trolls will always be able to see the floor... Dance floor marked... Raised deejay platform... Emergency exits in proper and convenient locations... I think that's about everything. What do you think, Mr. Dinkles?" He looked at the worm for confirmation.
"Meep!" Mr. Dinkles said.
"Oh! Right, alarms! Of course! Thank you, Mr. Dinkles!" Biggie responded, then he went about setting up the emergency alert system.
Soon, Clover came in to check on Biggie's progress. She found him setting up an indoor arena for any sporting events that didn't have a designated space outside.
"How's it going, Biggie? Has Mother caught on yet?" she asked.
"Not that I can tell," he answered. "She's been busy turning all of the doors into Paranoid Hermit mode on Branch's bunker." Seeing the look on Clover's face, he held a hand up and shook his head, adding, "Don't ask."
It was true—Angel had spent the entire day installing locked doors with scanners on every room in the entire underground complex. The place was starting to look like Branch's bunker if he really freaked out.
"...Right..." she said, stunned. Somehow, she didn't think she wanted to know, but she doubted it was necessary. Hopefully, what she and the boys were doing would help her mother loosen up and realize that the world wasn't as dangerous as she feared, especially with their new security.
"Anyway, I think this place would meet both Branch and Poppy's standards," Biggie said, looking around the sports venue. "I've got the alarms set up to warn everyone in the event of danger, emergency exits in safe and strategic locations that don't get in the way of the fun, and there are even a couple of hatches in the floor that will take everyone to a sort of bunker they can hide in until the danger passes."
Clover's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really!?"
How he could do that all in just a few short hours, she wasn't sure. Of course, if he'd told any of her people that the "great" Mr. Dinkles had commanded it, Clover knew they'd probably help since they believed him to be some sort of god.
"Yes. That's basically what I've been doing everywhere," Biggie said, pulling out a stack of maps he'd created that detailed all of the emergency exits and hiding spaces.
"Let me see!" Clover said, snatching the maps and looking over them.
Right then, Angel came through some newly reinforced doors, Cooper following along. "Alrighty, my little ones! Everything's prepared outside! And our Great Hero Cooper even decided to set up a few maps of all the safety trap locations so no one steps in them by accident!" she said happily, the aforementioned maps in hand.
Biggie and Cooper couldn't help but feel that "Great Hero" was becoming a part of their names in her mind.
Suddenly, Angel blinked as she realized something. "What are the two of you doing here, children?" she asked, looking curious and slightly concerned. "This room's already well protected."
Clover sweat, somewhat nervous now. After all, her mother didn't approve of her plan.
"I was just checking the protections and making a few minor adjustments," Biggie covered. "You know, just so they match up to Branch's expectations. There weren't any safe places to hide, if needed. Now there are!"
"Uh—yeah! And I was helping him fix all the glitches in the...uh...automatic door system?" Clover said, giving a nervous little laugh at the end.
"Oh. Well, alright, then. Good luck with that. When you finish up here, dears, would you kindly head over to the training class, please? The trolls are all assembling for their first lessons in self-defense, and the class is mandatory. Every troll must attend it, daughter, and that includes you," Angel said.
"Yes, Mother. I'll be there."
"Of course, Mother," Biggie answered.
"'Kay, Mom!" Cooper said naively.
Angel blinked, then gave him a stunned look as she placed a hand on her chest. "Oh, my!"
Didn't he already have a mother? Had he adopted her as his mother for some reason?
Angel shook off this unusual address calmly, then added, "Well, anyhow, I'll leave you all to that, then. See you in a few." Then, still slightly surprised by Cooper, she walked off, hand still resting over her heart.
If their great hero had chosen her as his new mother, that was both an honor and a concern at the same time. Angel couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his real mother that he'd be seeking a replacement, and she made a mental note to ask him about that after the safety class.
Clover groaned, tossing her head. "Urgh...I am so sick of all these mandatory safety meetings! Isn't there some way we can convince my mother they're not necessary?"
Biggie put a finger to his chin, thinking about it. "Hmm..."
"I dunno. It's a lot Branchier around here than I'm used to!" Cooper said.
Clover slapped a hand to her head, moaning, "Ugh..." That couldn't be a good sign, all things considered. Would the trolls of Fairiesville ever be allowed to have fun again?
An idea came to Biggie then. It was iffy, but he thought it could work. "What if we throw a party?"
Cooper raised an eyebrow. "How's that gonna help?"
"Well, think about it. If we threw a party in our new safe zones, then everyone could have fun and see that the party spaces are safe!"
"That's a great idea!" Clover said, thrilled. "Then everyone would finally know you can have fun and stay safe all at the same time! Oh!" She gave a start, noticing a single wrinkle that could ruin the whole plan. "But we'd need to keep it secret from Mother. There's no way she'd approve."
"Throw a party behind Mom's back?" Cooper asked. Looking excited, he said, "I like that idea!"
Biggie sweat. That was the second time Cooper had spoken of Angel as if she were his family. "Cooper, you do remember she's not your real mother, don't you?"
"Then there's no time to waste!" Clover said with determination, giving Cooper no chance to respond. "I'll go work on the invitations for it. You guys head over to the party zone to set everything up!" She blinked, remembering something, then put her hands behind her back and shuffled a foot awkwardly. "Uh, I mean, after class is over, of course."
If she didn't attend one of her mother's meetings, Clover knew Angel would catch on for sure.
"Right!" Biggie said at the same time Cooper said, "On it!"
"Right! Well, we'd better head on over there, then. You know, before Mother starts to believe the teachers are playing hooky or...something," Clover said with a roll of her eyes as she headed off for this unwanted class.
Cooper laughed a bit as he and Biggie followed. In the safety class, Biggie really started wondering where Cooper had been before they'd left Troll Village on this adventure—he had some of the videos with Titan and Winter and was showing those for class. Still, since Mr. Dinkles was hopefully right, he chose not to worry about that for now. After class, he, Cooper, and Clover set about planning this party, which they did their best to hide from Angel. They couldn't have it getting shut down before it began.
In the Techno Reef, CJ was having the time of her little life. Not only was it really pretty, but the games they played were super fun! She had just lost a game of Musical Shells to Bay—it was a lot like Musical Thrones, but they swam and danced around shells instead of chairs.
"Aw...no fair," CJ whined lightly. "You guys can swim faster than me. You've got fins, after all."
Bay, who had just beaten the child to the final empty shell, grinned and giggled a bit. "Hey. Like, what can we say? It's not, like, our faults you land trolls are, like, super slow." She lay across the shell on her belly, propped up by her elbows, and flipped her tail skyward like CJ might have done with her legs.
CJ giggled a bit. "No kidding. You guys zip around so much, you'd think you were the laser lights instead!"
Cascade laughed a bit, glad the kid was enjoying herself. "Well, that's how Techno Trolls are, CJ!"
"Well, it's super cool, if you ask me. You guys have some killer skills."
"Thanks! So do you Pop Trolls," Bliss said with a smile. "I'm kinda surprised, really. I'd always heard Pop was the worst troll tribe of them all. Who knew you guys were secretly so talented?"
"Uh, duh. We're real good at what we do. I mean, it's not like we all hide in a hole somewhere being scared of the world. What were you all thinking?" CJ asked, looking at them with curiosity.
Bay and Bliss looked at each other, then Cascade, concerned. If she didn't already know the history, they weren't sure they were the right trolls to break it to her.
Cascade didn't even bat an eye, waving his hand dismissively as he answered, "Oh, nothing like that! Never you mind that one, CJ. Why don't we play something else?"
CJ just blinked, looking confused. What didn't they want to tell her? "Uh...okay?"
As CJ made friends with the Techno Trolls, DJ was impressing Trollex with her skills. Somehow, she managed to mix some pop elements into the music along with to techno elements she was learning and still have it sound fantastic. At least, Trollex thought it did.
"Man, Suki! You're really getting the hang of this!" he said with a proud smile. He'd be lying if he said this wasn't exciting for him.
"You can say that again!" the Beat Drop Button said excitedly. "Who knew Pop Trolls had it in them?"
DJ laughed a bit as she finished up her latest attempt and said, "Thanks!"
"No, really. I mean it, dog!" Trollex swam up beside her quickly, looking excited yet serious. "You are the bomb! And I'm thinking it's high time we put them skills of yours to the real test! So? How's this one move ya? We're planning to have another huge rave tonight. Everyone's gonna be there, and I want you to deejay it. Can ya dig it?" Trollex asked eagerly.
"Uh, sure. I mean, I've never deejayed a Techno rave before, but I'll sure give it my best shot!"
Trollex snapped his fingers as he waved his arm through the air coolly. "Super! Then there's no time to waste! Let's hit that power chord again, but with a little more tempo this time! One more time, you guys! Let's go!"
He put a hand to his headset, testing the settings as he bounced eagerly. He couldn't wait to get started. This techno/pop mix they'd created was one of the best things he'd ever heard! Who knew the two genres could cross over so perfectly? Well, almost perfect—it still needed something to make it the best it could be, but they had time to figure out what before the big night. Trollex never thought he'd be working with a Pop Troll, but DJ really was the bomb, so he saw no reason to worry about it. This rave was going to be their best one ever.
"Yeah, King Trollex!" Beat Drop cried in excitement. "Let's do this!"
"Awwriiiight!" DJ agreed, growing equally as excited.
These other tribes weren't so bad. DJ could only imagine how much fun everyone else was having, but she'd have a chance to hear all about it when they all got home. For now, she had a party to prepare for.
The two continued with DJ's lessons on techno music, both of them quite enjoying themselves (and Beat Drop feeling a bit like a third wheel).
Back in Volcano Rock, their rave was going long and hard now that the Pop Trolls had taken over the music. Fuzzbert was deejaying while Aspen sang along. The weirdest part was they were singing rock music, not pop.
"Nothing bout me is ordinary. My friends all say I'm going crazy," Aspen sang. "I don't hear a word that they say!"
"Whoa, man, Princess Barb!" Carol said with a sneer, impressed. She banged her head to the beat, soda in one hand and a can of cheese whiz in the other. "Who knew these guys were so good at rockin' out!?"
Fuzzbert, in addition to playing the music, was timing some sick effects perfectly with the music—smoke, flames, occasional red laser lights. The effects reminded Barb of some of the older rockers, like KIZZ. Honestly, she couldn't be happier with how this was going. They were real rockers now.
"Yeah, no kidding! They're running the show now!"
Just then, another troll slid over, a sucker in her mouth and dark sunglasses on. Her coloring looked more like a Pop Troll, with orange hair in pigtails and bright purple skin, but she was dressed like she was a Hard Rock Troll. "Yeah, tell me about it, man! My boy Fuzzbert's doin' about as good at rockin' out as you're doing poppin' things up!" She had an arm raised in the air in the traditional Rock Troll salute and kept pumping it, apparently aiming to dance like a Rock Troll. Still, she couldn't seem to resist the urge to dance like a Pop Troll every now and then, tossing in a spin here or there that didn't really match what the Rock Trolls were doing.
Carol's eyes widened, and she gave a start of surprise, for obvious reasons. "What the—" She looked at Barb with worry. The Rock princess, going Pop? That would be a disaster.
"Whoa, wait a sec!" Barb said, waving her hands in the air. "Who are you? And what do you mean, I'm 'popping things up'!?"
Barb hated pop music. Why would she ever do anything remotely pop!?
The troll just stopped dancing and gave her a lazy look, apparently unfazed by Barb's anger, and said, "Who, me? I'm Legsly! A friend of Fuzzbert's since we were little, duh." She shrugged as if she thought that question was stupid. "And don't go gettin' mad at me if some of your dance moves were flat-out pop just now. If it's what you wanna do, just do it, ya know?"
Carol stared at Barb with concern. "...Princess Barb...?" she asked, a bit disturbed.
Barb, meanwhile, had her own issues to worry about—like the fact that this Pop Troll hadn't been here earlier. "Where did you come from? You weren't in Fuzzbert's balloon!"
Noticing the commotion, Fuzzbert came over to investigate.
"Psh," Legsly said, waving a hand. "Sure, I was. Just like how I was there when that nasty bergen Chef took us all to Bergen Town so she could bring back Trollstice." She looked at Fuzzbert curiously and asked, "You remember that, right, bro? You, me, Creek, Biggie, Mr. Dinkles, Cooper, Smidge, Guy, Satin, and Chenille all wound up caught at Poppy's celebration of 20 years of peace! And then Creek betrayed us all when Chef tried feeding him to King Gristle, right?"
She desperately hoped he remembered her—he was the last one of her friends she'd checked on, after all, and all the others had thought she should be someone else. Hopefully, Fuzzbert could clear this up so they could all go home and pretend this never happened.
Fuzzbert looked puzzled, crushing Legsly's hopes. Of course, that had happened, but DJ had been there, not this troll. He didn't even know who she was.
Legsly roared out in frustration, pulling her hair. "Oh, come on, man! Why do you all think I'm someone else!? ARRHH, this is so frustrating! This 'DJ' character's taken my place with you, and—"
Was she in the wrong dimension? Had some Jazz Troll hypnotized everyone? Why didn't anyone know her?
"Uh...Princess Barb? What's going on here? This is weird, even for Pop Trolls to do," Carol asked, now confused as well as disturbed, as she raised an eyebrow.
Barb shrugged and shook her head, eyes closed. "I dunno, Carol." She crossed her arms, cocking her head as she eyed the strange Pop Troll. "Honestly, I kinda wanna chuck her into the sea and let the Techno Trolls have this whack job."
Fuzzbert was just disturbed and lost at this point. She didn't even look like most Pop Trolls, and he was pretty sure he'd remember someone like this. Where had she come from?
Legsly took some deep breaths to calm herself, deciding to figure this out after helping her clueless friends get out of trouble. After a moment, she said, "Fine. If you're all so interested in replacing me like that, so be it." She crossed her arms, hurt and annoyed, and muttered. "Some friends you turned out to be." To the Rock princess, she added, "Anyway, Princess Barb, there's nothing wrong with liking other music genres. You Rock Trolls intermix with them all the time!" She threw her arms up in excitement.
"No, we don't!" Barb protested indignantly, fists clenched at her sides. "Take that back!" Both she and Carol moved on Legsly in a threatening manner, ready to pulverize her if she dared insult them like that again.
Legsly backed up, arms raised defensively, as she broke out in a nervous sweat. She may have been a bit too direct. "W-w-what are you t-talking about!? S-some of y-your best singers are c-crossover musicians! L-like P-Panic! at the Disco! Those guys are rock and pop, and I would know!"
Fuzzbert leaped into the air as he realized something—he knew that band she'd mentioned, and he thought they were pop.
Carol started, eyes wide. "Wait...what did you just say...?" she asked as she turned to the fuzzling with shocked disbelief. He couldn't be serious.
Fuzzbert then told them that Panic! at the Disco was a popular band in Troll Village. They were pop, and he listened to them all the time.
Barb looked at him, shocked, and countered, "Uh, no, they're rock! 'I Write Sins not Tragedies' is a classic!"
Fuzzbert brought up a song called "High Hopes" as a favorite among Pop Trolls, saying it was the same band.
"W-what!?" Barb asked, eyes wide. "But...that's..."
Legsly threw her arms out in excitement once again. It seemed the Rock princess might listen, after all. "Yeah, see? Panic! at the Disco's a mixed genre band, just like Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers! Oh! Then there's that one crossover where Bon Jovi and that country singer from Sugarland sang together! 'Who Says you Can't go Home!'"
Honestly, Legsly was kind of surprised the Rock Trolls had missed all of that. Linkin Park sometimes sounded similar to the music Techno Trolls enjoyed, and Red Hot Chili Peppers definitely had a funky feel to them. Then, of course, having a rocker singing with a country musician just showed that the two genres could mix well enough. If the Rock Trolls liked everything that mixed with the other genres, why didn't they like the other tribes?
Carol stared at Barb with wide eyes, shocked. This couldn't be real, could it? Some of those were her favorite bands, but, now that she thought about it, they didn't sound fully rock. But they'd always been told the other tribes could never get along, so how was that possible? "...P-Princess...?"
Barb looked much the same as Carol, standing in shocked silence. She didn't know what to say to that. Were the other genres actually that connected that they shared some musicians without realizing it? Did they still somehow influence each other? She'd known there were genres outside of their own, but she hadn't realized that some combined more than one of the six main genres.
"Aw, but, whatever," Legsly said, waving a hand dismissively. She figured she shouldn't push it anymore—Rock Trolls could be fierce. "You guys wanna live in denial, that's cool, I guess. In the meanwhile, think I'll go see how my lil' niece is doing and see if she remembers me! Later!" Without another word, she ran for the beach and jumped into the ocean.
Barb, Carol, and Fuzzbert ran over to watch, but none saw her when they looked over the small cliff.
"...Dude... Where did—" Carol began.
Barb's eyes were still the size of dinner plates, but she shook her head and waved a hand as she got a grip. "Oh, forget about her! Carol!" She whirled on her friend, frantic. "This is bad! Like, super bad! We're talking stepping on your blue suede shoes bad! Rock mixed with other genres!? If this gets out, everyone's gonna riot!"
"Uh...so what do we do about it, huh?" Carol asked, nervous herself now. Barb wasn't wrong, after all.
Fuzzbert, meanwhile, was wondering if Legsly had fallen into a wormhole in the ocean. He backed away from the water, just in case. Maybe she'd come from the Trollmuda Triangle and had just gone back home, in which case he was closer to that creepy place than he really wanted to be.
Barb thought about it for a second, then said, "I need to talk to my dad," and ran off. "Keep Fuzzbert and Aspen company, got it!?" she called back to Carol.
"Uh...sure."
Fuzzbert approached her and asked if Barb was okay, looking concerned.
"Aw, yeah, she's cool," Carol answered as she waved a hand, trying to act calmer than she felt. "Just got some princess stuff to do. Don't worry about it." She started for the party again, waving him to follow as she grinned excitedly. "Come on! Let's get back in there before we miss the best parts!"
Fuzzbert eagerly agreed, and the two rushed back to the rave on the beach. But Fuzzbert was still wondering if Legsly was okay.