A Few Days Later. . .
"ALL ABOARD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
("Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne) [Cover By Rachel Bloom]
Ai-Ai-Ai! (We Are The Trolls!)
Out of the water and into the badlands, a series of large, leather-clad creatures shot up from beneath the ocean and landed into the desert. These were the Angler Buses, an all-terrain mode of transportation that could fly, swim, and walk. Inside and outside resided a group of fierce-looking Trolls, who were far removed from the Pop Trolls they supposedly resembled. Their primary color scheme was mostly dull and muted with a heavy emphasis on black, blue, grey, and red. Their hair was messy and unkempt; their eyes were glinting with a look of energetic anger and scorn; and their appearances consisted of tattered leather, fishnet stockings, heavy makeup, piercings, and headbands. Meet the Rock Trolls and their leader...Barb.
Crazy! That's how it goes (We Are The Trolls)
Millions of people living as foes (We Are The Trolls)
Music has kept us apart (We Are The Trolls)
It's time for the hard rock revolution to start!
That's just the tip of the iceberg on how to describe Barb. Appearance-wise, she was a muddy-red Rock Troll with a bright red mohawk and a pair of pink eyes; she wore a white, torn-up tank top, leather bottoms, fishnet stockings with a right knee rip, two earrings on her right ear, one on her left (which was notably missing its tip), and heavy black makeup around her eyes. She was distinct from her fellow Rock Trolls in more ways than one, not the least of which is because she was the daughter of their former King and thus their new Queen. No one respected him more than her.
No spats, no tiffs, no fighting
When everyone's the same
We're going off the rails on a crazy train!
(We Are The Trolls)
(We Are The Trolls)
Of course, that didn't mean it made her completely simple-minded. Barb had responsibilities to take care of, such as her people, whom she truly loved despite her admittedly vile plans. Despite her age, she cared for them as if they were her own children. Well, this proved to be the case with her younger citizens; the older ones who were around her age were often treated as her own friends.
I've listened to preachers
I've listened to fools (We are the Trolls)
I've watched all the dropouts who make their own rules (We are the Trolls)
One person conditioned to rule and control (We are the Trolls)
The media sells it and you live the role
Leaping up from the front of her Angler Bus, Barb landed on a platform that stood Riff, the Rock Trolls' resident drummer. He was a violet-grey Troll with a black beanie hat, a blue jean vest, a white shirt, a pair of torn black pants, leather fingerless gloves, and a red handkerchief with a skull tucked into his right pant pocket. Her sidekick, her accomplice, and her right-hand man (whichever one suits him and you), Riff was always there to assist his Queen in her bidding.
Mental wounds still screaming
Driving me insane
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!
From one platform to another, Barb then leapt onto the one where that held a pair of guitarists plus a young Rock Troll, who happily smiled and played in unison with his leader. Barb pleasantly reciprocated his passion and led him along.
I know that things are going wrong for me
You gotta listen to my words, yeah...!
The final platform made her feel like she could reach the sky...touch the sky...kiss the sky. She would be taken higher and higher than ever before, which reflected her feelings towards her world tour. If it lead to her downfall... Well, going off the rails on a crazy train was a way to go out on.
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train
I'm going off the rails on a crazy train
Completing her guitar solo by leaping into the air one more time, Barb strummed and held the last note as red fireworks exploded behind her. She landed on the tongue of her personal Angler Bus, which retracted and pulled her in.
Yeah!
The Queen of the Hard Rock Trolls turned to be greeted by her subjects, who cheered her on with enthusiasm.
"Okay! I got the Techno String! Who knew that world domination could be so much fun?"
"Yeah!"
"All right, Barb!"
Much like Poppy before her (although in an unknowing manner), Barb went along and passed compliments like free food samples at a supermarket. When she came across the same young Rock Troll who assisted in her Crazy Train, she pulled him into an Eskimo Kiss while playfully screaming into his face as he did the same. Moving on to Riff, whom she shared a dragged-out handshake with, she took her place on her makeshift throne.
"What's our next stop, Riff?"
"It would appear to be Symphonyville, Your Majesty."
"Excellent. Only four more strings to go until rock unites the world," Barb got comfortable in her throne...a little too comfortable. "Dad? Where's Dad?"
As if on cue, the sound of a toilet flushed was heard by every occupant in the Angler Bus. The bathroom door switched from Occupied to Vacant before it was violently swung open. Presumably for dramatic effect, a flock of bats and a thick mist seeped out as it did, followed by a pyrotechnic display. In the mobile throne to call his own rolled out an eldery Troll; he had red eyes, black hair with grey streaks, and a set of gothic rock garb, which included a leather vest, pants, and knitted fingerless gloves. This Rock Troll was King Thrash.
"There you are, Dad!" Barb gave her father a side hug before excitedly exclaiming, "I'm about to nab the Classical String."
"Cool," Thrash nodded before licking his lips and adjusting his electronic wheelchair to face his daughter better, "What's a string ag...again?"
"Don't you remember the plan?"
"Plan? I don't remember..."
"Oh, great idea. Ok, guys, line up. We're gonna go over the plan again." Barb turned to three Rock Trolls in vests and gestured them to turn around, the details of her plan sewed onto the backs of their vests.
"Ok. We're on a World Tour. And on each stop, we get a new string. When I have all six strings, I'll play the ultimate power chord. And I will unite the Trolls under one music. Our music!"
Her group of Rock Trolls cheered her on and flashed their sign of the horns in enthusiasm. Even King Thrash joined in on the action...despite his rather slow timing. Everybody watched expectantly as the former leader slowly but surely gestured in the name of Rock 'n' Roll.
"Oh, here it comes."
"Uh, just a little bit more."
Barb realized what was wrong and nudging her right-hand man, "Riff, just help him, man."
"Oh. Yes, Your Rockness," Riff nodded in understanding and helped Thrash by flipping his index and pinky finger up.
"ROCK AND ROLL!"
"Yeah!" Barb laughed and hugged her father in warm affection.
"Queen Barb, we're approaching Symphonyville."
"Perfect..." Barb reluctantly pulled away from her father's embrace and took up her secondary guitar, nodding Riff and the rest of her group to follow.
'Don't worry, Dad. Sooner or later, the Troll Kingdom will be united as one...'
A Few Days Ago. . .
. . .
"Don't do it...!"
"I have to...!"
"But you'll die...!"
"It's a price I'm willing to pay...!"
"Please...!"
"NO...!"
Trollex shot up from his bed and rubbed his hand through his neon green hair. He had that dream again. That dream...where someone died. The someone in his dream appeared to be a Troll held in high stature. In all of his years of ruling, never did he or his parents had to deal with the death of another royal, let alone one of their own. Contrary to popular belief, most if not all of the Techno Trolls died of old age and/or natural causes. Rarely did a Troll die such a brutal but honorable death for the sake of all of Trollkind.
Only then did the thought occurred to him.
'Why am I thinking about death, sacrifice, and honor at a time like this? A mood like that won't lift the people's spirits up. This Friday's party will be all about family, love, and music above else. Yeah! That will work...hopefully.'
Getting up from his bed in the middle of the night, Trollex did his best not to wake up Techno Beat, who was snoozing away in a few rooms away, oblivious to his best friend's awakening. He took out a piece of kelp and a ballpoint pen, beginning his brainstorming process by channeling his inner emotions into song form. As misfortune would have it, writer's block was threatening to rear its ugly head before the process even began. This bad feeling plagued his mindset, making him feel like the world would be ending in days. What he wouldn't give to listen, sing, and dance to the beat...one more time.
. . .
One more time...
'Huh. That sounds like a good song.'
A Few More Days In-Between. . .
Poppy, Gia, and Satin and Chenille helped DJ load her baggage onto her Wooferbug. It was currently nighttime, so they needed to be quick, quiet, and careful.
"You ready, buddy?" DJ patted her Wooferbug on its cheek area before digging for a couple of honeycrisp apples in her bag. The Wooferbug chittered happily as it munched of them. Climbing aboard the custom saddle made for her companion.
"You girls got this?" Poppy handed a pair of fashion supplies to the twins.
"You know it!" They both replied in unison.
"For the record, I did not agree to this," Bella Brightly approached the group.
"Don't worry, Bella," Gia Grooves waved her worries away, "We should be fine. Based on the design the map gave us, the Techno Trolls look beautiful."
"Getting carried away is a reason to get worry, Gia. The Techno Trolls are beautiful in their design, but in their personas?"
"We don't know that they're friendly or unfriendly yet. It's our job to find out...if they're friendly or unfriendly."
"Five gold coins that they're neutral," Satin whispered to her twin.
"Oh, you're on," Chenille smirked at her twin.
Meanwhile, in his pod, Cooper reached for three objects: a harmonica, a purple coat, and a green "Destiny" cap...which was really his normal, everyday cap labeled as such.
"Ready?"
"Ready!" Guy Diamond droned.
"Ready!" Tiny Diamond popped out of his father's hair.
"Ready!" Legsly stretched every limb on her body.
"And ready!" Smidge crackled her knuckles.
Cooper's group exited his pod and headed to where DJ's group was fixing to leave. Truth be told, he was extremely nervous. When King Peppy revealed that there were other Trolls besides those belonging to the genre of Pop, he immediately focused on one specific tribe: the Funk Trolls. Because of the Funk Trolls' ancestor bearing an uncanny resemblance to Cooper, he couldn't help but wonder...
Am I a Funk Troll, too?
"So..." Poppy gathered the two groups together, "Everyone remember the plan?"
"Yep!" DJ Suki propped herself up from her Wooferbug, "My group will head to Techno Reef and recruit the Techno Trolls..."
"...while my group will head to Vibe City and recruit the Funk Trolls," Cooper masked his nervousness with excitement.
"And we have to stay here and do our babysitting job," Moxie crossed her arms in contempt.
"Yeah, thanks a bunch, Poppy," Mandy chuckled. She was the more understanding of the two, knowing that there would be a limit of crashers in this party.
"I'm sorry, girls. I wish you two and Harper could've gone with us."
"No worries, Poppy. Somebody's gotta keep an eye or two on your dad, anyway."
"Tell the others we said hi!"
Poppy nodded as she boarded Shelia the Flower Balloon along with Branch and Meadow Spiggs. DJ Suki signaled her Wooferbug to take to the sky while Cooper led his group to the outskirts of Pop Village. All the while, Mandy and Moxie looked on with absolute disdain.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"We're going after them, are we?"
"Yep."
As they turned to leave, though, they were met face-to-face with Harper and Aspen Heitz, the latter of which made Mandy's heart race.
"Going somewhere?" Aspen raised his eyebrows in bemusement.
"No..." Moxie started before ending with, "We're going somewhere."
Harper smiled and pulled a suitcase of supplies out of her hair, "I know we are."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Mandy smiled with delight.