Everybody was taken aback by this sudden turn of events, another Troll hidden within Hickory's flank. This Troll had yellow skin, red hair that extended to a beard and ponytail, and a bavarian outfit. Judging by his interactions with Hickory, he knew him personally.
"What are you doing, Hickory?"
"Quiet, Dickory!"
Delta picked up the Troll named Dickory and placed him in a chokehold, Meadow retrieving her shotgun from her hair and aiming it at him but speaking to Hickory.
"Who are you really, Hickory?"
"Show them all..." Dickory struggled in Delta's possession, "...who you really are!"
Dickory then performed a yodel beat of Focus's "Hocus Pocus", granting Hickory the chance to finish. To everybody's surprise and dismay, Hickory did just that by ripping off his clothes to reveal a similar bavarian outfit beneath, slipping off his white cowboy hat to reveal a black alphine hat beneath, and yodeling with a high-pitch note as the finishing touch.
"That was beautiful," Beat sniffled with pride.
"You?" Poppy felt more betrayed than before, "You two...are the Yodelers?"
"Yeah!" Dickory smugly confirmed, "Ya darn skippy, playa-play."
"And you were going to give Barb the Pop String?" Branch shielded her.
"Ding, ding!" Dickory was close to a chortle, "Give this person a strudel for the correct answer."
"And you've been in back the whole time?" Cooper realized, knocking Dickory down a few pegs.
"Next subject, please..."
"But why?" Delta threatened to choke the imposter and later Hickory, "Why would you do this?"
"I'm...so...sorry," Hickory's natural German accent couldn't mask the genuine sincerity in his apology, "It was...the only way...to save...our beautiful yodeling..."
Suddenly, a loud alarm blared out, alarming those in attendance. The case containing the Funk String and its base guitar was encased in a protective shell.
"What is that?" CJ nervously glanced around.
"The Rock Trolls have arrived!" Prince D explained in anxiety as he rushed out of the room.
"Prepare for battle!" King Quincy followed after his son.
"Come this way!" Queen Essence lead the group outside.
("Move On Up" - Curtis Mayfield)
Poppy, Branch, and the others found the Funk Trolls preparing for battle as King Quincy commanded. Prince D took off on another hoverboard, this time styled after three DJ controllers. Queen Essence blew into a large horn that served as a call to arms for any remaining Funk Troll.
"Assemble the crew!"
Bite your lip
And take a trip...
"Cooper, get your friends out of here!" Prince D called to his brother, who nodded in agreement. Leading his friends away from the heat of battle, Cooper played a pair of specific piano keys that summoned safety bubbles for those not of Funk blood.
Though there may be wet road ahead
And you cannot slip...
"Cooper, what are you doing?" Trollex asked as he was forced into a bubble with DJ, CJ, Bliss, Coral, and Beat.
"I'm making sure you all get to safety!"
"No! Let us help you!" DJ pleaded.
Move on up...
"I have a choice, DJ! And I choose not to see my friends get killed!" Cooper wiped away tears as he ran off to join his family. As he and his friends watched in horror and sadness as Cooper took on what was essentially a suicide mission, the music suddenly slowed down to a stop.
And keep on-
"What happened?"
"Hard Rock cut the power!"
"They're fighting dirty!"
Having been forced into a bubble with Dickory, Meadow, and the other Country Trolls, Hickory sighed in resignation as he slipped on his white hat, black shoes, and green denim dungarees.
"Hickory, what are you doing?"
"Consider this an apologetic act of redemption, Miss Delta."
As Hickory reached for her shotgun and bandolier, Delta realized too late what he was intending to do and screamed his name in a futile attempt to stop him as he pushed against the side of the bubble.
"No! HICKORY!"
Now free, Hickory performed a free-fall and hopped down on several platforms to soften the impact, which he felt when rolling and landing in front of the confused Funky Family.
"Your Majesties, what can I do?"
"Our weapons are charged, but we can't do anything until the power is restored!" King Quincy attempted to calm his subjects.
"Just tell me what I need to do!"
"There's a three-pin outlet with a matching plug on the top of Vibe City!" Queen Essence explained, "Insert the plug into the outlet and that should restore the power!"
"I'm on it!"
"Hickory, hop on!" Prince D gestured for Hickory to board his hoverboard. When he did, they both flew upward to the top of the dome as the others watched on. As they went outside, Poppy forced the bubble to float upward.
"Poppy, what are you doing?"
"We have to help them!"
The bubble popped atop the rooftop of Vibe City, freeing the duo and allowed them to run towards Hickory and Prince D.
"Hickory! Prince D!"
"Queen Poppy! Branch!" Prince D stumbled back, "What are you two doing here?"
"We're here to help you," Branch replied reluctantly.
"But..." Hickory stuttered, "I betrayed you."
"I know, but..." Poppy glanced over his shoulder and gasped, "Not now!"
Tackling Hickory just in time as an axe flew past him and Poppy, Branch and Prince D dodged out of the way before turning the source of the thrown weapon. A group of Party Crashers wielding sharpened machetes and slung semi-automatic rifles led by a familiar face.
"Bash..." Branch gritted his teeth in fury.
"Branch..." Bash smirked whilst twirling his blade, "I have a bone to pick with you."
"ROCK ON!"
Everybody turned to find five Angler Buses flying in the distance and approaching fast. While they were distracted, Branch eyed the axe before he pulled it out of the roof and hurled back at Bash, who unfortunately noticed it coming from the corner of his eyes. He pulled the same Party Crasher who had thrown the axe in front of him to use as a shield, discarding him when it made impact. He lunged at Branch, who leapt out of the way and dodged the onslaught of slashes and stabs Bash would've landed on him.
"Branch!" Hickory pulled a German Artillery short sword from beneath his hats, "Catch!"
When tossed the sword, Branch caught it and used it to battle Bash. Knowing they had to do something fast, Poppy and Prince D charged the Party Crashers armed with nothing but a knife and their fists. They began throwing punches and landing kicks in an attempt to commandeer their weapons, but the Party Crashers were expertly trained this time around. Just when they were being overwhelmed, Hickory fired two 12-Gauge buckshot shotgun shells into the chest of two Party Crashers, prompting them to turn their attention to them instead and allow Poppy and Prince D to work on the plug.
"Lift, Poppy!"
"I'm trying! Prince D, look out!"
The Funk Prince turned around and gasped as a Party Crasher aimed his rifle at them both, having little time to react to this problem...
BANG! BANG!
...and more time to react to that solution. To the shock of them both, a Rock Troll held a similar rifle at the deceased Party Crasher, its barrel still smoking. Exchanging uncertain glances with the shocked Pop Queen and Funk Prince, Riff gulped and turned away to help Hickory fend off the remaining Party Crashers. Sharing a knowing look, Poppy and Prince D finished inserting the plug into the outlet, thus restoring the power to Vibe City.
While in the air, the bubbled groups watched the bloodly battle unfold, fearful for their respectinve kind and surprised on how Poppy's group could handle themselves in a fight, specifically Poppy herself.
"Hey..." CJ glanced down, "Who is that?"
DJ's group glanced down to find the boat they were on prior to encountering Vibe City. This time, they were piloted by a group of different, multicolored Trolls.
The bounty hunters watched the bloody battle unfold with equal parts horror and amazement.
"Should we help?" Wani turned to Tresillo.
"You mean interfere?" Tresillo was hesitant, "Fat chance, chica."
"Then how come a Country Troll and a Funk Troll get to join in on the fun?" Ari thumbed upward.
"What?"
Chaz pulled a telescope from Ari's hair and handed it over to Tresillo and Wani, who both used it to observe the fight above: Poppy and Prince D were fending off Party Crashers, Branch was fighting Bash, and Hickory and Riff were engaged in a gunfight with the Party Crashers's remnants. The latter provoked the K-Pop leader to hand the telescope to Kim-Petit, who took it without question and saw the battle for herself, gasping at the last part. Glancing between the attacking Angler Buses and the defending Vibe City, her eyes widened in horror as a buff Party Crasher from one of the smaller Angler Buses wielded a weapon far larger than the ones both opposing parties wielded. Wondering how to warn them, her gaze now turned to a random group of similar bubbles that housed a group of dissimilar Trolls staring back at them.
"Hey! Hey!"
From the bubbles above, DJ's group attempted to decipher what Kim-Petit was trying to say before she gestured to the Angler Buses. Turning in the direction of her finger-pointing, their eyes widened in horror as well.
"We have to warn Poppy!" Trollex pushed the bubble to the left, prompting the bubble to float towards Vibe City, "Poppy! Poppy!"
As Poppy and Prince D threw punches, the former noticed the bubble from the corner and had trouble figuring out what they were trying to say until she turned her gaze at the Angler Buses, where a cackling Party Crasher was prepping a missile launcher for usage.
"Branch!" Poppy cried out for her friend, who punched Bash away and turned toward her and then the direction she was gazing at. Exchanging looks of absolute dread, Branch immediately grabbed Poppy's hand and called out for Hickory and Prince D.
"Hickory! Prince D! We have to jump!"
Prince D and Hickory had no time to question as the Party Crasher fired his missile launcher whilst howling animalistically in utter glee. The projectiles were launched straightforward at the power source of Vibe City, where they blew up and shook the entirety of the Funk Trolls' kingdom before the systems shut down completely, causing the UFO to sunk further and further down from the sky and into the ocean. Poppy, Branch, Hickory, Prince D, Riff, and Bash were all blown forward in seperate directions, the blast sending them falling down. Some of the missiles leaked through the holes created by the first wave, destroying most of the city's established subdivisons and technology. Much like the others watching outside, King Quincy and Queen Essence watched in horror as their foundation was destroyed before they immediately called out for their loved ones, from whom they were separated in the chaos.
"Mom!"
"Dad!"
"Cooper!"
"Darnell!"
"Riff!"
"Branch!"
"Poppy!"
A/N: Yes, TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3... This did escalate quickly. You can thank or blame Olympus Has Fallen and my weird-ass imagination for the time being.