It'd finally happened.

Branch had finally come to reunite with all of his brothers after so long, though the circumstances had not at all been what he had fathomed. Well, to be fair, he hadn't really fathomed much of a reunion in his mind at all. In fact, he hadn't pictured any reunion ever happening. But fate had other plans, and he had indeed come to reunite with John Dory, Spruce, and Clay all over again. And he'd thought he'd been surprised with each one of his brother's he'd met up with thus far, taken aback by how much they'd changed (or in some respects how much they hadn't ) from their old ways. But nothing could compare to the blow that he'd received when he was shut within the diamond imprisonment.

"You can't get away with this!" Branch had gasped moments before, writhing and struggling terribly in the steadfast grip of the strange, glammed, doll-like creature who had him in her grasp and refused to let go.

"Oh, yes we can! And we kinda already have ," the creature, Velvet as she was called, sneered. "So why don't you just shut your trap till we need it, ay? Gotta save your singing voice, after all!" For extra measure, she'd lifted Branch up to her face, pressed her nose into his hair and took a quick whiff. Then, she'd tilted her head back and belted out a strong C note. "All right! That's what I'm talking about!" She turned to her brother, Veneer, who was just as equally glammed-up as her. " I'm calling dibs on the blue one."

"But you already called dibs on the pink one!" he'd whined.

"Who cares, they can both sing!" Velvet argued.

"Yeah, but that one sings better!" Veneer had shot back.

The siblings had continued to argue, ignoring Branch's shouts, and then throwing him into their dreadful crystal.

"Now stay there, like a good Troll. And who knows – maybe we'll become good friends!" Velvet had to laugh at her statement, prompting her brother to laugh along with her and forget all about their little quarrel. At least for a minute. Because in the next minute, they picked up right where they'd left off, debating on who would be using what Troll as their singing devices.

Now in the present moment stuck within the crystal, Branch banged on the shiny glass-like dome with all his might, but was ultimately unable to break through to freedom.

"It's no use... I already tried..."

The sudden voice startled Branch and he gave a short yelp, whirling around. The blue Troll had to adjust his eyes to all the shiny reflections, but they finally landed on a figure a few steps away from him. He cowered, a little frightened at Branch's reflexes. Branch squinted at him, and was hardly able to believe it when he realized who this Troll was.

"Fl-Floyd?" Branch whispered.

The Troll's eyes shone. He looked like he had much to say, and that much of it was all trapped inside of him. But he only replied with a simple, breathless "Yeah…" A weak smile played on his lips, but even that faltered, and soon disappeared entirely to a flat, expressionless line.

Somewhere in Floyd's mind, he felt frustrated at himself. Something as simple as a smile couldn't even be maintained on his face – how else was he supposed to show his gratitude for Branch being there? But that soon was overtaken by the lightheaded feeling that continued to plague at him, blurring his vision, making him feel like he could do barely so much as twitch a finger without it being an enormous amount of effort. His thoughts were consumed by the aching sense of tiredness that racked his whole body, so much that he couldn't even bother to wonder what was happening to him anymore, and what was to even become of him if he continued like this.

But that didn't mean that Branch couldn't wonder.

And wonder he most certainly did.

Branch was horrified at the Troll who had just confirmed himself to be his brother. The last time Branch seen him was in his youth as a teen. Sure, he expected him not to look identical to his past self, as his other brothers hadn't, but he would much rather have seen that than this . He could guess that Floyd was at least a good couple inches taller than him, but it was hard to tell with just how small he looked in that moment, somewhat crouched, shrunken back with fear in his eyes. Or, at least the one eye that he could see. His left was obscured with his hair, which had been styled to fall over his face to give it a sort of "emo"-ish look, as best as he could describe it. But that was not startling him the most. It was his color. Or, his lack thereof.

Floyd could always be picked out among their bunch from his bright magenta swoop of hair that was on his head. But now, the pinkish tone was barely there. It looked much more washed out, with a whiteness that now made up nearly its entire color had it not been for the faded magenta tips that were at the top of his hair and at the ends of the bangs that framed his face - the only reminder of its old, true colorful appearance. He COULD have dyed it, Branch reasoned, remembering how Clay's yellow hair was no more, instead a brilliant lime-green. Though, Branch didn't think that any kind of product was at work in this case. For even Floyd's blue skin tone looked as though it were washed out, much more dull in its appearance than how Branch used to look in his own gray days. The color was sickly, and it combined with the exhaustion that was clearly encompassing the Troll made Floyd look far too weak to bear going on as he had been in the strange creatures' clutches.

Goodness, Branch thought to himself. What did they do to you?

Suddenly, the reality of what was happening overwhelmed Branch. He was losing Floyd all over again. Except this time, his brother wouldn't be off somewhere on his own, living whatever life he had. If something wasn't done soon, Floyd might even die. He'd be erased from Branch's life forever, without even the option to ever cross paths in life. Floyd would be gone, as gone as their grandmother was when she had been swiped away on that awful day by the Chef. And the fact that strange, awful creatures were the cause of this harm to his family again was making it an ugly replica of what had happened before. Even worse, too, the same thing was about to happen to him. He too was as trapped as his brother, a result of a failed plan to free Floyd, doomed to a fate like his, to go back to being colorless, to never see any of his friends again.

To never see Poppy again...

His heart clenched to think that he'd never be able to call her his wife, to live out a life that he'd envisioned, the two of them together, happy and loved. That was, if she even wanted to have been his wife. With the way she'd dismissed the idea of marriage, he couldn't even be sure of that. But what he was sure of was what was happening to Floyd. His brother who, by the looks of it, could very well be ticking on a countdown clock to his death if Branch didn't take action. But… what could he do, as trapped as he, with hardly any reasonable means of escape, save for the rest of his group who was who knows where? But then it hit him – and it involved no strenuous efforts to escape the diamond prison or break through its impossibly tough exterior.

He could use this precious time. Use it to right wrongs, and set things the way he'd longed for them to be.

As Branch hadn't anticipated such a situation to ever come up, he was speechless, searching for the right words to say, and cursing himself for wasting the little time that seemed to be left. But as it turned out, he didn't have to say anything, since Floyd was the first of the two to break the silence, speaking in the strained voice he'd had. And the question he asked was not one Branch expected.

"Is… is that m-my vest?" he stuttered.

"Huh?" At first, Branch was not sure what his brother was talking about. Floyd, for one, was not wearing a vest, or any article of clothing on his top. And what Branch had on was all his own. It's not his fault, Branch thought. Whatever was happening to him could be making his mind more deluded, having him say things that weren't all there. But Branch came to realize in a jolt of remembrance that it wasn't Floyd not making sense. He was making perfect sense, in a way. Because when Branch took into consideration his brother's line of sight, he had to look down at his leaf green vest and recall just why he had chosen such an outfit for his daily casualwear. It had made great camouflage in his gray days, for when he had to be extra vigilant of Bergens. But, even before he had been able to fully encompass the dangers that the Bergens once posed, there had been another reason he'd worn vests of this design. It had been Floyd's parting gift to Branch, right before he walked out of his life. He'd slipped out of it, placing it in Branch's small hands and telling him to keep it as a reminder. Back then, he'd thought it meant only as a reminder of Floyd himself. But as Branch grew up, he saw that he'd also meant it as a reminder of better, happier days as well. Because that was one of the vests that Floyd often had worn when the band was off-duty from the limelight, and could simply hang out and goof off among each other as young boys should.

Fingering the leaves, Branch shook his head. "Um… no, actually," he mumbled. "I made this one. Kinda outgrew the other one…"

"Oh…" Floyd said, quietly, looking pensive. "Right… that makes sense. You are a lot bigger than the last time I saw you," he said rather sheepishly.

Branch just shrugged awkwardly in a gesture of agreement. It was kind of a "duh" moment for him – what did Floyd expect when he had left him? Time was not frozen. Branch was not going to be a Trolling of a few centimeters, toddling about in diapers forever! But Branch couldn't bring himself to point this out right now.

Floyd looked at him through glassy eyes, and Branch wondered if he was really seeing anything at all, with the way he blinked so slowly and seemed to stare so blankly. It was as though the cogs in his mind were rusty, unable to turn fast enough in response to any stimulus, let alone find a way to continue the conversation. So nothing came out of his slightly ajar mouth except for another, "Right... that makes sense."

Then, just as suddenly, the glassiness in Floyd's eyes seemed to shift into something else, and it took Branch a second to realize that it was tears that had pooled in them. "Branch," he whimpered, his bottom lip trembling and his voice shaky, "I'm so, so sorry…" A sob finally escaped him, and the Troll covered his face in shame, letting loose the tears.

Branch was not one to cry, at least, not in front of others when he could help it. It was a slip when Poppy had found him and his tear-stained face within his Grandmother's old pod, just the previous day. But Branch was starting to feel himself waver, a hurt overtaking him at hearing how utterly broken - how completely defeated - his brother was, and he could feel a dampness overtake his own eyes.

"I'm an awful brother," Floyd lamented with a sniffle. "I left you… I left Grandma… I-I really thought you guys would be fine, but… and n-now you're in this mess because of me… and w-we're not gonna…" He swallowed the great lump that had formed in his throat, but was too choked up to finish.

But Branch could, and he didn't like where it'd been going.

We're not gonna make it.

It seemed that Floyd had lost all hope. Despite knowing that John Dory had been making his best efforts along with the rallied brothers, time was just not on their side. Luck was not favoring their mission. Fortune was not smiling upon them. It almost felt like the more they strived for victory the harder the odds became. But Branch did not want to give up… not on them , at least. If this was to be the very last time they would be with each other, he didn't want it to be so solemn. Bittersweet was okay, but not completely devoid of happiness.

So the blue Troll took a deep breath, and did the only thing he could do when simple words were not enough. He sang.

"I don't understand

Just why we can't be friends…

Things are getting out of hand

Trying too much, but brother, we can't win…"

Floyd raised his head slightly, timidly peeking at Branch from behind his bangs. There was a mystified expression on his face that Branch couldn't pinpoint, until he realized that the reason for it was because Floyd had not heard him sing with his full voice - Only the small, childish one that he'd had when he was merely starting to get his groove on the stage with the rest of the band. Branch continued to sing to him, his voice getting richer and the notes flowing smoothly, its beautiful sound bouncing off the walls of the crystal dome and amplifying it.

"Let it go

And if you want it, just let me know

I'm down on my knees

I can't take it anymore…"

Branch had knelt down as he sang the second verse, scooting closer to Floyd's side and extending his hand as a means to offer his friendship. Floyd did not hesitate in reaching out to grasp it - even though his motion was slowed due to the taxing effects he was undergoing - and Branch gave it a small squeeze, unnerved with the fact that his brother's hand felt slightly limp within his and not so warm with lifeblood as it should be.

"It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you…"

The next verse was sung honestly. Branch's woes were a double-edged sword – it tore him apart when he was there with Floyd, with so many years gone that could have been used to make even more precious, positive memories between them. And, needless to say, it definitely had torn him apart when they'd been separated.

"Brother, don't misunderstand

What I'm trying to tell ya

In the corner of my mind

And it feels like we're running out of time…"

Branch couldn't be sure of it at first, but he soon heard Floyd's gentle voice harmonize along. The Troll echoed back a couple of words to start with, but with the following verse was able to muster enough energy to sing the chorus.

" It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you

But when we are apart, I feel it too

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain

With or without you…"

With the fadeout of the melody, silence fell among the brothers. Then…

"Floyd, I… I can't say life was easy after you guys left," Branch admitted in a hushed voice, "because it wasn't. Not all of it, at least. And I really don't know what's gonna happen now, but… I, um… I just want you to know that I do forgive you. All of you," he concluded, in reference to their other brothers as well.

A part of Branch felt like a hypocrite in making it so easy for Floyd when it came to making up. He'd given John Dory, Spruce, and Clay a hard time, letting them have an earful at first and not being open to their attempts at affection. But he had to remind himself that it was all for the sake of time. It was quite possible that Floyd could keel over any second, lose the sparkle of life in his eyes and be gone forever. Things had been on bad terms for too long. If Floyd was meant to pass on, then he could at the very least go in peace, knowing that Branch, the brother he was closest to and had wronged the most, was back on good terms again.

Floyd was glad to hear this. He let out a sigh of relief, and leaned into Branch's shoulder, both as a means to support his exhausted self and to seek condolence. And it was that action that made Branch feel as though their roles had been reversed for once. There was plenty a time as kids when Floyd had been there for Branch to comfort him if he'd gotten a scraped knee, or was fearful of doing a performance, or was sad about having dropped his ice cream cone on the ground. This time, though Branch was the youngest brother of BroZone, he felt like he was the older one.

Next to him, Floyd had calmed down considerably, and was able to relax against Branch comfortably, closing his eyes and easing the tension he had worked up while fussing over the past. And Branch, who normally hadn't been quick to forgive and forget, did as his song had said and let it go.

There was only so much he could do, trapped in a diamond and wondering what fate could possibly await him and Floyd, but it felt good that one of those things was a solid reunion.

A/N: Some folks have spotted Floyd wearing a leafy green vest in Trailer 2's BroZone flashback, and the suspicion has been raised that maybe it was something that was passed down to Branch as a gift before he left. I like that idea too, so I applied it.

Also I'm cool with Poppy and Viva getting a little duet in the movie together (I think it's called "It Takes Two"), but yeah, I kinda need a Floyd and Branch one too, and I would rather it be more slow and emotional instead of something like the Pop number that the sisters have. The song I ended up using for now is "Tearing Up My Heart" by NSYNC, with some tweaks to the lyrics :3