"What the...?"
John Dory would have never believed it had he not been witnessing it with his very own eyes from behind all the trinkets on the vanity table that he was hiding on. He didn't know such a thing was possible, but clearly, it was, and it was somewhat fascinating but mostly horrifying. The Troll's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide, unable to tear his gaze away from the sight. It seemed so unreal, but it was real.
The crystal object that had his attention was being held in the hands of a tall, glamoured creature (though his mind drew a blank as to what kind of creature this was, for he'd never seen anything like it), and next to her was another creature nearly identical to her in appearance. But it wasn't the crystal itself that had his fixated his interest. It was what was inside. Or rather, who.
Because inside was the magenta-haired Troll that he'd called his brother, Floyd.
The crystal was bottle-like in its shape, with a slit-like opening at the top that looked far too thin to fit really anything through it, let alone a Troll. How the creatures had managed to get him inside was truly a mystery to JD. The first creature pressed her nose to the opening, inhaling deeply, and from within the crystal, the strange occurrence that was making John Dory gawk in disbelief happened – his brother's body glowed for a second, the power making him levitate right off the bottom of the crystal so he could hover midair. Then, the glow pulled itself upwards towards the opening, sucking the color right out of him! And if that wasn't enough, it turned out that it wasn't just the color that they were extracting...
The first glamoured creature cleared her throat and went through the Do Re Mi musical scale without a hitch, smoothly and elegantly, her voice not faltering or cracking or pitchy even once. In addition, her voice sounded oh so eerily similar to his brother's, almost like somebody had just changed the pitch of his voice, because the rest of it sounded very much the same. And that's when it hit John Dory. No, it couldn't be... could it? Maybe it's just in my head, he his initial thought was confirmed when the second creature did the same as the first, inhaling and then belting out a few notes that were flawless in their nature, his voice too sounding quite similar to Floyd's.
Oh my word... This CANNOT be happening... they're actually stealing his talent! The teal Troll shook his head, flabbergasted. Now I've seen everything!
He wasn't the only one having a reaction. The two glamoured creatures beamed, exclaiming happily between each other. Within the crystal, Floyd had the entirely opposite reaction from them. He groaned, slumping on the crystal's floor and looking quite dazed, like he was suddenly lacking energy. But the creatures paid no mind. They cackled and toted the crystal bottle right over the vanity table. John Dory snapped out of the shock and hurriedly ducked behind some of the bottles of hairspray and makeup right as they placed the object down and then scurried off, muttering something to each other about putting on a great performance.
John Dory could scowl. What posers! They were really going to nab someone else's talent to make themselves look good?! He could sock the two of them in the jaw if he could – that is, if the fight was more fair, because they were certainly much bigger than him. About Bergen-sized. But he knew what a Bergen looked like, and they really didn't look like Bergens. Regardless, he knew these two weirdos were not gonna get away with this!
John Dory kept huddled in his hiding spot for another moment or two, ensuring that they were really gone, before he cautiously stepped out. Up close, he caught sight of the crystal bottle object a few paces away, and Floyd within it, looking a little sickly. JD shuddered. He didn't know what that sensation was like, to have your literal talent sucked right out of you, but he knew that he really did not wish to find out. It was bad enough his little brother had to be put through it.
"Psst! Floyd!" JD called out for him. He wasn't sure if the Troll would be able to hear him through the thick glass of the crystal, but he was relieved when Floyd almost immediately responded.
He perked up, and darted over to the side wall of the crystal. "John Dory!" he cried. The magenta-haired Troll could feel relief fill him. When John Dory had managed to slip away from the creatures while he got captured, Floyd had assumed that with the past drama that BroZone had had, JD would've simply hightailed it out of there and never looked back. Every Troll for himself! he'd recalled his eldest brother say, right before the teal Troll spitefully said goodbye to him, Spruce, Clay, and Branch and walked out of their lives for what seemed like forever. But John Dory clearly had not run away. He'd stayed behind. Which meant...
He really does care.
He'd acted like he hadn't that day years ago, but deep down, Floyd had always known he had.
But Floyd couldn't dwell on that now. There was a more urgent situation happening.
"Shhh!" John Dory said, raising a finger to his lips in a hushing motion, and approaching the outer wall of the crystal so that he and Floyd could stand as face-to-face with each other as they could. JD assessed the situation and shook his head. "I don't think you need me to tell you that this is SO wrong!" Then he looked at Floyd in concern. "Are you hurt?"
Floyd looked himself over, and shook his head. "I'm fine... for now," he added at the end, grimly. Both brothers knew that if things continued like this, Floyd would definitely not be alright by the time the two glamoured creatures were done with him.
"Don't worry," JD said, "I'm gonna get you out of there, pronto!" He cracked his knuckles and bent his neck some in what looked to be warm-up. "You might wanna stand back," he warned Floyd.
Floyd was confused, but did as told. "Um, okay, but what are you – "
"YAAAAAAAA!"
John Dory ran back and then charged at the crystal, colliding against it with all his might. The crystal wobbled a bit on the desk, but then stood right back in place, not a crack or break to sport. John Dory on the other hand fell back and moaned. "Owww..." He rubbed his forehead, knowing that a bruise would probably be forming sometime. Still though, he wasn't going to give up.
He grabbed a large hairspray bottle, carefully balancing it in his arms, and then wacked it against the crystal surface as hard as he could. The crystal stood as still as a rock, while the hairspray bottle, and John Dory along with it, vibrated wildly from the force. Again, though, he was not going to give up.
Though, he quickly came close to it.
The teal Troll did all he could, trying to kick and punch and even bite at the crazy-firm crystal that was holding his brother hostage, but nothing came out of it, except an overly exhausted John Dory who was puffing for air by the end of it all.
He lay flat on his back on the tabletop and panting, his eyes falling on the small opening at the top of the crystal.
"Bro, you sure you can't, maybe, I don't know, squeeze through that?" John Dory asked, pointing up at it.
Floyd gave him a look. "Dude, I don't think even Baby Branch could've fit through that." Then Floyd blinked, as the mention of their younger brother made a thought come to mind. "Wait a second... John Dory!"
JD snapped to attention, standing back up and listening intently.
"There is only one thing that is powerful enough to shatter a diamond..."
John Dory thought about it a second, and then snapped his fingers. "A jackhammer!"
"What? No!" Floyd said. "I'm talking about something else. Something that doesn't involve brute strength..." The magenta-haired Troll gave his brother a look that said, "Really, really think about it."
And John Dory did. He pondered the thought greatly. What in the world could Floyd be talking about? He scratched his head and tapped his fingers against his chin, thinking hard. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes lit up and he looked at Floyd. The two were on the same wavelength now, and Floyd nodded in affirmation before John Dory even said the words.
"The perfect Family Harmony!" John Dory let out a little laugh of astonishment and grinned. Wow! Why didn't he think of it before? It would be perfect...ly impossible! John Dory's face fell, the smile that had grown on there disappearing the next minute as he gave it some more thought and then voiced his concerns. "Floyd, we were only able to accomplish the Family Harmony once," he pointed out.
Floyd shrugged. "If it can happen once, it can happen again," he stated confidently.
John Dory wasn't so sure. He remembered what it was like when the Family Harmony had happened, back when they'd been kids. It was almost ethereal, like something beyond this world they were in. He remembered how bright the colors were around them, how loud and strong their voices had been, how perfectly in tune he'd felt with himself and the others. Would he be able to accomplish that for a second time? And that wasn't the only thing...
"But Floyd, if I have to do the Family Harmony, I can't do it alone..."
"I know," Floyd said. "Which means..."
The gears turned in John Dory's head, and he looked right into his brother's eyes, finishing the sentence. "I have to find the others."
Floyd nodded. "Exactly."
John Dory looked down at the ground and scoffed in disbelief. "Spruce... Clay... Branch..." He thought about the purple, yellow, and blue Trolls as he mumbled their names aloud. "Floyd, what makes you think they're gonna wanna even do this? We all hate each other now..." He looked down at the ground in shame, feeling that deep, deep regret he had harbored for years really eating at him now more than ever.
Floyd could see the look on John Dory's face and he sighed. "JD," he said softly. "I don't hate you. And, um... you don't hate me, do you?"
John Dory looked at him. "Of course I don't, Floyd! I don't hate any of you guys!" he blurted. "But they probably hate me. They don't ever wanna see me again... especially Branch!" He felt he did all of them wrong, yes, but Branch in particular was left confused and hurt, his young-self unable to have understood the full capacity of what had gone down that night they all broke up.
"You don't know that, JD," Floyd said. "Look, we were young, and we all said some stuff we didn't like to each other. But time has passed. They could feel different now. I mean, you do, don't you?"
"Yeah..." John Dory said, uncertainly.
"Then you gotta hold on to that hope and give it a shot. Please..." Floyd had a light plead in his voice, his hands coming up to the glass wall of the crystal that separated him from his brother. John Dory could see the worry and fear shining in his eyes. Fear that if JD didn't give the plan a go, he could very well meet his end. And John Dory did not want to live with that knowledge, knowing that he could've saved his brother but didn't. So he glanced back at Floyd, determination written all over his features.
"Don't you worry, little bro. This is what you got big brothers for." He straightened his snow coat and better adjusted the goggles on his head. "I'm gonna go and get the band back together. We'll sing the perfect Family Harmony. And we'll free you. You'll see!"
Floyd shot him a grateful smile, but then got serious again. "Please be careful, John Dory."
"Pfft, yeah, don't worry, bro, I got this. Rhonda and I do," JD assured.
Floyd raised an eyebrow. "Err, who's Rhonda?" he asked.
"I'll introduce the two of you once you're outta there," John Dory replied.
"Good luck," Floyd said.
John Dory gave him a sharp nod and then placed his hand on the glass where Floyd's was, the closest thing that they could do to a hug. Then John Dory was off, darting away from the vanity desk and to the open window. He gave Floyd one last assuring wave and then jumped down to where Rhonda, his trusty caterbus, was awaiting.
Rhonda trilled when she saw him, and then gave a questioning purr at the expression on his face. He looked at her seriously and patted her side. John Dory let out a breath he'd been holding and braced himself for what was to come.
"We got a lot of work to do, girl."
A/N: It seems Velvet and Veneer were conceptualized as Bergens, but from the way that they look in the trailer, they really don't seem like it. Until we find out what exactly they are (even if they are perhaps a different *type* of Bergen, though I personally doubt this), I will refer to them as creatures
Also, John Dory's caterbus's name being Rhonda was something mentioned in the leaked pages of one of the Trolls Band Together activity books