The perfect family harmony.

That was what they needed to get the former second to youngest Brozone member out of that glass that would take away his singing abilities for good.

It sounded easy when first told, but doing so would be a challenge they didn't expect, even before getting started.

Right now, the rest of the brothers and the two sisters were trying to figure out what they should do, causing small quarrels back and forth which began to waste time.

"Well what should we sing??"

"Does it matter? As long as we all sing together it'll get him out of there!!"

"Shouldn't we like- harmonize though? Since it's supposed to be a family harmony-"

"Singing together would be the same thing!"

"But would it though?!"

"Yes!"

"Guuuyss come on hurry!!" Floyd cut them all off from their debates quickly as he began to grow anxious, looking back and forth constantly.

"They're gonna come back soon!" He added.

Tiny somehow popped out of the baby carrier Bruce had for him and landed on his shoulder.

"Huh, strong baby-"

"Yeah come on y'all! Next thing you know we'll all end up in those glass thingies like Uncle Floyd waiting for our singing-ly deaths!! I'll never see my daddy again!!"

"Okay okay, family harmony," John pitched in, "let's just.. do anything!!"

"Anything??"

"Yup and we'll just keep going from there, now circle around-"

The trolls all glanced at each other for a bit before they began to space out and circle around the glass perfume bottle, and after doing so the square headed troll reached both his hands out to grab the nearest trolls', who were Bruce and Clay's hands with a slightly tight grip.

Clay looked down at their hands confused.

"What's this for?"

Meanwhile, Bruce snapped his gaze towards John with a whole different reaction.

"You're touching me why-"

But John proceeded to ignore the both of them and shouted out,

"Everyone hold hands!!"

They all did as he said (except Floyd of course) and reached out to grab the troll on both sides of them's hands.

Viva popped in between Clay and Poppy and held both of their hands.

"Hey sis, hey best friend." She greeted the two on her right and left sides with a wide smile.

"Hey hey!!" Poppy giggled and greeted back.

"Wassup girl." Clay smirked and nodded his head towards her.

"Is- Is this really necessary-" Branch asked John, holding onto Bruce and Poppy's hands.

"I'm the oldest so I decide how we do this-"

"Yeah whatever let's just get it over with-"

"ALRIGHT, is EVERYONE READY!!"

Despite how noisy John was being, the trolls all nod, keeping a slightly firm grip on each other's hands.

"Not so loud John!" Floyd mumbled.

"I mean, they'll hear us anyway won't they- cause we'll all be singing so the glass can shatter and- OW-"

Bruce smacked John on the back of his head.

"Quit wasting time!"

"Alright alright! I'll start and then one at a time so it's not super chaotic okay? On my count- three, two- one-"

I stared up at the Sun

Thought of all of the people, places and things I've loved

Branch sang the next verse.

I stared up just to see

With all of the faces, you were the one next to me

Clay sang the pre chorus, not able to stand in place as he began to move with the music.

You can feel the light start to tremble

Washing what you know, out to sea, yeah

Viva bumped him and winked, singing the last line of the pre-chorus with him.

You can see your life out the window, toniiiiight

Then, they all sang together in harmony.

If I lose myself tonight,

It'll be by your side

If I lose myself tonight

If I lose myself tonight, it'll be you and I

Lose myself toniiiiiight!

The glass began to crackle a bit, but not enough for it to shatter.

Floyd took notice of this and rested his hands above where the crack was, looking back up at the singing trolls.

"It's working, keep going guys!" He encouraged them.

They all began to smile and looked at each other, and continued on with their song.

Instinctively and without thought, Poppy let go of Branch and Viva's hands and skipped around, happily dancing while singing.

I woke up with the sun

Thought of all of the people, places and things I've loved!

Branch eventually went over to join her and danced with her, smirking playfully.

I woke up, just to see

Poppy giggled and booped his nose, and they both sang together:

With all of the faces, you were the one next to me!

The rest of the gang looked at each other after that, then just shrugged with smiles.

Eventually they started to let go of each other's hands, dancing their way through song and feeling the music as they sang.

You can feel the light start to tremble

Washing what you know, out to sea, yeah

You can see your life out the window, toniiiight!

But while this was all taking place, they failed to notice that their harmony.. wasn't freeing Floyd.

The crack was halfway through the glass, but it wouldn't fully break no matter how much harmony there was.

Floyd saw this and began growing anxious again.

"H-Hey guys? The glass?"

While the singing continued, they also turned their attention to Floyd after his concerned comment.

The crack would rise slowly but then go back down at the same pace.

John looked at the crack and concluded, "Hey, it's working! Keep going guys!"

"No, it isn't! It's not breaking all the way!"

"What??"

John stroked his chin for a second trying to think of how they can speed up the process, then thought back to the hand holding.

"Everyone back in the hand holding circle again! Maybe we need to stay close to it!"

The trolls all went back to their spots in the circle around the glass and continued to sing the rest of their song, but while doing so, the results stayed the exact same.

"Uhh guys, it's not working- why's it not working?!" Viva started to panic.

"I thought you said the perfect family harmony would work Floyd!" Bruce said impatiently, not at his brother, but at the fact that what they were doing that was meant to work was not working.

"I did! I-I don't know what's going on but I swear, there's no other way to break it!!"

"Well how do you know?" Asked Poppy.

"They told me," Floyd scooted up to the front of the glass again with his hands pressing onto it, "Velvet and Veneer, the two people who are keeping me in here? They told me while I was trying to convince them to let me out. I didn't know if it was a joke or not at first but it seemed to be working a little when you guys first started, maybe there's a certain way it has to be done!"

"UM, UH-" Clay flapped his hands around while trying to think of something, "how about we try singing louder?!"

"Are you nuts?!" Branch spoke up in a hushed whisper, "They'll hear us!"

"What're we gonna do?!" Poppy looked around to everyone with a worried expression.

Just then, Floyd's ear began to twitch, as if he was hearing something, pressing his ear against the glass.

"Uhh.. are those.. footsteps..?"

At that moment everyone silenced their concerns and panics to try and listen in on what Floyd claimed he was hearing, and they were indeed footsteps. It was a little easier for them to hear it since they weren't trapped in the glass like he was.

"..SING LOUDER!!!" John suddenly shouted.

Ridiculously enough, everyone actually began to sing louder after that, no longer dancing, just focused on trying to make the process of the glass breaking faster.

And unsurprisingly, it wasn't working in the slightest.

That was when one troll had enough.

"Oh forget this!"

Branch took a hammer from his hair and approached the glass frustratingly.

"Branch?"

"Branch no!!" Floyd exclaimed.

Not listening to any of the shouts around him, he began to whack the glass with his hammer many times but to absolutely no avail.

That didn't stop him though.

"Let, him, out!!"

With every word of exasperation he hammered, not even realizing or looking to see that his method wasn't working.

"Branch!!" Poppy and John would shout and try to stop him, seeing and sensing his tension and aggravation.

"Branch it's no use! I told you the only way to break it is for a perfect family-"

"Harmony!! I know!!" Branch would finally stop then, shoving the hammer back in his hair, turning his attention to his last oldest brother with a glare.

"Don't you get it?! It's not working for a reason! We STOPPED being a family a LONG time ago!"

Floyd didn't say anything but just stared at him with a shocked expression, and the rest of his older brothers would begin to share that shocked expression.

Poppy didn't necessarily look as shocked, just more upset while feeling bad for him.

Viva didn't know much about any of this, so she just sort of held a confused but of course also concerned xpression at best.

Tiny just held up his hand slowly and awkwardly,

"..am I the only one who thought the hammer would work-"

Branch calmed down a little after a few seconds, but still remained distressed, turning away from everyone.

"..we stopped being a family.. after.. after you all left me.. and never came back.."

And at that, all of Branch's brothers frowned, knowing he was anything but wrong.

"Aw man little bro.." John spoke up, walking towards him a little, "I.. I thought.. I thought during the trip we.. we were havin a good time.."

Branch replied to him, but still refused to look back.

"We were.. but it doesn't change what you did.. and how it hurt me.."

John stopped walking then and frowned once more, looking towards the floor.

Clay, Bruce and Floyd all gave each other similar glances, obviously feeling the same ounce of terrible right now.

"..do you.." Branch spoke up again, his voice beginning to break now, "do you even know that she's gone..?"

"What?"

"You never even came back to see her.."

"Branch, who are you talking abo-"

"Grandma's gone! She died a long time ago! She got taken away by a bergen when I was still just a kid!"

"She's.. gone..?" Clay would mumble.

All the brothers stared wide eyed after that, not even realizing how shocking that news would be to them, which would then cause them to feel much more guilty.

After learning all of that Viva would hold her hand to her heart with a devastated expression. The more she learned about Branch's story the more she felt awful, especially because she knew how it felt to be alone for so long.

"She was the only one I had after you guys left me, but then I was alone all over again.. for so long.."

All of them wanted to say something, but none of them seemed to know how to get their words out properly.

Bruce would gently start off with, "Branch I.. we.. we had no, idea.."

Branch would stay turned around while slowly crossing his arms.

"Of course you didn't, how could you have?" He croaked, wiping a few tears away, "You weren't even there."

The second oldest brother would frown and look down in response, holding his hands together, ashamed.

Poppy walked up to Branch quietly and placed her hand on his back, slowly sliding it up to his shoulder and rubbing it gently.

Branch looked back a little after that knowing it was her, then immediately pulled her into a tight hug, feeling her hug him back just as tight.

Poppy felt as though she owed him this hug more than anything, she pushed the idea of him going to see his brothers so much she didn't stop to think about or realize how horrible it really was for him, she already knew the story about his grandma, so of course knowing the story of his brothers abandoning him made it worse.

She wanted him to know she completely understood him and that everything he was feeling was anything but invalid.

Floyd stared at the scene heartbroken, and right then and there wanted to make things right, trapped in a glass or not.

"Branch.. Branch I-"

"Well, well, well!" A new and much louder and intimidating voice joined the scene.

All the trolls gasped and looked over to see whoever it was.

"I knew I was hearing noises!" A tall female, Velvet, who resembled a doll with a ponytail walked inside the room, her large hands clasped together.

All of the trolls except Floyd all gave equally confused or stunned looks. They didn't know what to expect of his so-called kidnapper, but it most certainly wasn't this.

"I thought I may have been deceiving myself for a second but nope! You all really did decide to come see your little friend's performance! Or possibly join him.." She mumbled the last part.

"What?!"

"Come on in bro, we do have visitors!"

A few seconds later, Veneer, the male counterpart who also resembled a doll and looked just like his sister like any brother would, except with a few characteristics of her own like his quiffed up hair, entered the room.

He didn't seem as eager as his sister, but he didn't seem too worried about what was gonna happen either.

"Let him go now, this isn't the way!" Bruce stepped up, shouting at them.

"Oh it isn't? Is there another?" Velvet asked, leaning down and cupping her hand around her ear as if she were ready to hear what they were about to say next.

Poppy stepped up next.

"Yes! We can-"

"AHP, TOO BAD, DON'T REALLY WANNA HEAR IT, YAAAAAWN-"

Velvet leaned back and dramatically pretended she was yawning and fanned her hand over his mouth.

Viva scoffed and put her hand on her hip, standing next to her sister who was rudely interrupted.

"For real?! What a jerk!"

Velvet stopped and slowly looked over and down at Viva with a blank expression, who was immediately regretting her words.

Her and Poppy held hands nervously as she slowly leaned down towards the girls, getting uncomfortably close to their faces.

Quietly, she said,

"Think I'm a jerk huh? Well then you're definitely not gonna like me after what I'm about to do."

Viva and Poppy then looked at each other, worried about whatever he could mean by that.

Seconds later, after the most unnerving staring contest ever, Velvet stretched back like nothing happened and called over to her brother,

"WE READY OVER THERE BRO?"

Veneer didn't respond at first, and it almost seemed like he wasn't paying attention to anything that was happening, playing with his hair quietly.

"..VENEER!"

"Hm?" He answered, picking his head up, then immediately caught on to what was happening,

"Oh oh, yeah, yeah ready yeah."

He walked over to the perfume bottle and picked it up, ready to push the button aka the pump.

"No," Branch mumbled, shaking his head.

"Perfect, now the show can CONTINUE! HIT IT!"

"DON'T!"

Veneer pushed down on the pump of the perfume with full force.

"AH-u-ugh-" Floyd exclaimed and began to wobble, putting his hand on the glass for better support to stand up.

Veneer would flinch then cringe after this, not enjoying it as much as he believed he would've before.

"FLOYD!" The trolls all shouted.

"Oh isn't it just beautiful, soon all this pulchritudinous talent will be right in the palm of our hands! VEE, IT'S NOT ENOUGH, WE NEED MORE, HIT THAT BUTTON OVER THERE!"

Veneer looked over to a button that read "Maximum power," that would be connected to the bottle and would take full force after the pump was yet again pressed.

"But shouldn't this be enough?" He looked back over at his sister with a slightly unsettled expression.

"Said who?"

"Me!"

"Oh, no one? That's exactly what I THOUGHT!"

Velvet quickly walked past him.

"Fine then, if you're not gonna do it then I'll just have to do it mySELF!"

She pushed down on the button unhesitatingly, and with a smirk she looked over at Floyd, who could barely even let out a noise due to how much energy was being taken away and out of him.

At this point the poor troll could barely stand up anymore and fell to his knees, panting.

"NO FLOYD!" John shouted, reaching out to his little brother.

"Please let him go!" Poppy begged.

"You're taking more than just his singing abilities, you're taking the life out of him! He could die!" Branch yelled.

"Die?! Vel we can't-"

Velvet quickly turned to her brother, who just chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh dear, dear trolls and brother, we need every ounce of singing abilities from this troll we can get, and if that means taking some.. or you know, maybe all if it ends up coming to that, of the life out of him then so be it."

"Vel, this isn't what we planned, we're supposed to be singers not murderers!"

"Well I guess we're just gonna have to be murderers today huh Vee?!"

"Vel-"

"You know what Vee, I'm getting pretty tired of you distracting me, we're a few seconds away from being finished. We were supposed to be in this together and we were, but now all of a sudden all you've been wanting to do is whine whine WHINE!"

Velvet mashed her hand on the button once more.

"P-Please stop.."

Floyd wheezed, holding his throat and feeling as if his vocal cords were slowly being ripped away from him.

"Almost there, almost there, almost theeeree-"

"WAIT!!!"

Branch shouted as loud as he could, holding his hand out.

"Oh for the love of- ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I'LL BITE- WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"What if.. I could trade you something worth much more than Floyd's singing talents?"

The grayish-blue troll took steps forward. Despite feeling scared on the inside he was more than willing to step up for his brother who was about to say hello to his deathbed.

Velvet raised her eyebrow at this, then looked back at her brother who just shrugged, then turned her attention back to the troll.

"I'm listening.."

Branch took a deep inhale and closed his eyes for a few seconds, then slapped his hand over his chest lightly, opening his eyes back up.

"Me."

Of course, immediately, this caused commotion amongst his peers.

"Branch!!?!" Poppy exclaimed.

"What??"

John said in disbelief.

"Nah Branch come on man."

Clay shook his head.

"No way dude!"

Viva shook her head as well along with her hands.

"You can't!"

Bruce added.

"Nuh uh Uncle Branch, don't do that!"

Tiny crossed his arms.

"You huh?" Velvet replied, then began to stroke his chin, "hmmm.. that depends, sing me a quick little tune and we'll see if you're more valuable than Floydie boy in here."

"N-No, Branch, don't do it-" Floyd coughed out, shaking his head slowly.

"..Alright."

Branch cleared his throat and took a few steps forward, and began to sing.

Much to the dismay of his troll peers, not because he was singing, but because of why he was singing.

And unfortunately, to the liking of Velvet, who stroked her chin in interest slowly, enjoying the sound of his voice.

After Branch finished, Velvet nodded then slowly started to smirk.

"Ahh.. marvelous.."

Then Branch just waited for a bit.. he waited for her to say-

"It's a deal."

"No!!" Poppy would immediately exclaim hearing this.

The Blue-Grayish troll crossed his arms.

"Release Floyd first.. then you got me."

Velvet looked over at Floyd, who was hardly able to stand up but was staring out at the scene taking place right now, holding a worried expression.

After some thought she felt after seeing what potential Branch had, and since Floyd was merely close to not being alive at this point, she had no reason to be hesitant.

"..fine."

She shortly removes the weakened swirly haired troll from the glass and puts him down a little ways from the others.

"Floyd!" John shouted and ran over to him, and the others eventually followed behind.

They all immediately went to his aid and helped him up, holding him and consoling him.

"We gotcha," Clay wrapped one of his arms around him and Bruce held the other on his other side.

Branch was watching the scene for a bit, checking on the current health of his brother, until Velvet called out to him:

"Come on in, Branch." Velvet smirked and opened the glass for him to go inside.

This was it, he was going to suffer the same fate as his brother, except probably much worse.

But he was more than willing to do it.

"Branch, y-you can't do this.." Floyd slightly wobbled in his brothers' arms, looking towards his only younger brother.

Branch was faced away from him and the others and didn't turn around, but still replied:

"Yes I can, and I will.. you left me my life once and I never thought I'd see you again.. I'm not going through that a second time."

Branch took more steps towards the glass bottle.

"And if this is what I have to do to make sure that doesn't happen.. then so be it."

"Branch!" John called out to him as he walked.

"Branch?! No no no no Branch what're you doing?!"

Poppy ran over to him and tried to grab his arm but he gently pulled away and entered the glass diamond, and as quickly as he entered, it closed on him.

"BRANCH!"

Finally he turned around, but he didn't say a word and would only smile.

Seeing this Floyd would try to move on his own despite having so much energy taken out of him, and he would take small and shaky steps forward.

"Branch, look y-you don't need t-"

"It'll be okay."

Branch would put a hand on the glass as Velvet raised it up towards herself.

"Branch please!!" Floyd croaked, reaching out to him.

"No!" Poppy began tearing up and shaking her head right along with her pounding heart.

"I love you guys."

Velvet would not say anything and proceeded go set up their mechanism to begin the process all over again.

"Branch, get outta there man!" Clay ran forward now as well, his voice slightly trembling, "L-Let him outta there!"

"Branch!" Bruce joined in on the commotion hurriedly and worriedly.

"Let my uncle OUTTA there!" Tiny stood on Bruce's shoulder and tried to chime in as well.

Velvet simply ignored all of them and turned his attention to her brother.

"Alright Vee, the moment we've been waiting for, let's do it." She said in a low voice.

"Vel.."

"What Vee, what is it now?!"

The brother would sigh and look the other way, rubbing her arm. He didn't want to continue with this, his sister was taking things too far, but there was no way of convincing him like he'd hoped.

"..nothing."

"That's what I thought." Velvet rolled her eyes then looked back at Branch with a smirk, hovering her hand over the button that would do so much more damage.

"Bye bye, troll."

Suddenly, despite everything he just endured, Floyd would get this random burst of energy that would push him to scream:

"I'M SORRY!!!"

At that moment, Velvet mashed her hand on the button and Branch would immediately be grasped and deprived of not only of his voice, but himself.

"NO!"

Poppy, not thinking anything of what she was doing, immediately tried to run over to where her boyfriend was. She didn't even care how far she was from him, she just wanted to be near him.

"Poppy no!"

At the moment John and Viva were closest to her, so they quickly grabbed her to stop her from doing anything rash.

"LEMME GO!" Poppy struggled in both of their grasps, panting and crying, "I HAVE TO SAVE HIM!!"

"Poppy.." John started while trying to continue holding her back, "you.. we.. we can't-"

"YES I CAN! JUST LET ME-"

In the midst of all of this, the maximum power started to take its affect on Branch, giving him worse effects than any of it had on Floyd.

Velvet seemed to be enjoying every second of this and couldn't help but shout,

"YES!! YEEESSSSS!!"

"No.. NOOOOO!"

Poppy began to struggle more in her sister and her boyfriend's oldest brother's arms as she couldn't bare to continue to watch him suffer like this, and she eventually ended up releasing herself from the grasps and got a few steps closer, until someone else grabbed her once more.

"Poppy get back! It's too dangerous!" Bruce was now holding her by both arms, she really couldn't move now.

"I DON'T CARE!" Poppy shouted, "I DON'T CARE I DON'T CARE!!"

The queen would eventually stop struggling and just whimpered quietly while tears proceeded to coat and gleam her face.

"Poppy.." Viva walked over to her slowly.

"I LOVE HIM..! I CAN'T LOSE HIM.."

"Almost thereeee.." Velvet nearly had her face pressed against the glass as she watched Branch get so much taken out of him.

"Vel.." Veneer would start again, rubbing his hands together nervously, "I think we shou-"

"SHUSH!" Vel held a finger to his face from behind, not wanting to hear anymore of what he had to say.

Branch lost his balance completely and just fell limp against the glass entirely, panting heavily but quietly.

This really is it..

That was the last thing he'd think to himself before-

"No no no," Floyd mumbled, feeling sickened that he couldn't do a single thing to get his baby brother out of there.

"Andddd DONE! HAHA!" Velvet retrieved the glass bottle and put it down in front of her,

"IT'S DONE! WE'VE FINISHED! WE HAVE IT!"

Branch eventually stood up on his own for a few seconds, which gave Poppy and the others a tiny bit of hope.

"Branch..?"

But not before he fell to his knees and then on his side, no longer conscious.

Everyone gasped quietly at that. The fact that their Branch was quite possibly gone, they couldn't even register properly in their heads.

"No.." Clay said quietly.

Bruce balled his fists and took a few steps forward, demanding in a low tone,

"Let, him, out."

Velvet just shrugged at that.

"Sure, we have no more use of him anyway."

She proceeded to take Branch out the glass, putting him down in front of the trolls.

"Branch!!" Poppy was the first to run to him as the others quickly followed behind.

They all kneeled down to him and were all agape at how pale and lifeless the previously blue-grayish troll looked laying there.

"By the way, if he ever wakes up, tell him I said thanks!" Velvet laughed and carried the glass bottle with her as she left the room.

Veneer was following behind her but stopped to look back at the trolls who were all surrounded by Branch, worried and terrified looks on their faces.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled, frowning as he began to turn back around to leave with his sister.

Poppy picked him up swiftly but gently in her arms and shook him lightly, tapping on his cheek.

"Branch? Branch??"

Floyd was knelt next to her and he couldn't believe what he was looking at.

"No.. no no no baby bro come on.. please.."

"Oh man Branch you can't, y-you just can't.."

"How could someone be so cruel?!"

"Uncle Branch..?"

Branch was completely unresponsive, laying there in his girlfriend's arms, weak and limp.

Poppy bit her lip to the point it would probably come close to bleeding and whimpered, before she completely lost her composure and began sobbing over Branch's body, gripping his vest.

In response to this and the entire situation in general, everyone looked down in silence and despair.

"I-It's.. it's all, my fault.." Poppy spoke while crying which of course made it a little difficult for her to speak normally, "if I'd just let you stay back at troll village, we'd.. this.."

She couldn't even finish her sentence as more painful sobs would escape her throat, pressing her face into her love's chest.

Viva would look over at her heartbroken sister after hearing this, furrowing her eyebrows in a heartbreak of her own.

"Poppy, this is anything but your fault, you didn't know any of this would happen! Don't you dare blame yourself!"

Poppy sniffled and kept her face pressed into Branch's chest but still responded to her sister.

"But I love him so much Viva.. I can't help but blame myself.."

There was a bit of quiet after that. No one really knew what to say anymore, truly there was nothing to say. Only their expressions and body language could do the talking forward from this moment on.

That was, until..

"No."

Hearing this silence breaker, everyone would look over at Floyd, who had his hair covering his face since he was looking down at the floor.

He would then slowly look up and away from it, his face coated with tears of his own.

"It's my fault. If I'd just been a better brother to Branch and continued being there for him, he'd still be here. Heck, when Branch came into our lives, he changed everything for me, and I felt so much more at home.. so, how could I just so easily leave someone who means the entire world to me..? I'm a terrible troll."

The rest of the brothers quietly frowned hearing this then proceeded to look at each other, thinking about the second to last thing he said intently.

"..it's not right!" The emo troll slightly raised his voice, banging his fist on the ground with the little bit of energy he still had, "I should be the one lying here, not him!"

"Floyd, don't say that.." Poppy mumbled quietly to him.

"Yeah, Flo.. you know what,"

Everyone would then turn their attention to John, who stood up from where he was, and proceeded to wipe away tears of his own.

"It's my fault. If I'd been not only a better leader but a better role model and especially big brother to you guys, none of this would've happened. We'd all still be together, and Branch wouldn't be like this.. so if anyone's a terrible troll,"

He slapped a hand on his chest aggressively.

"It's me."

"John.."

Floyd was about to speak up, but John shook his head in refusal, not wanting to hear a single protest or disagreement.

Bruce wouldn't stand for this. He couldn't listen to his brothers blame themselves when he knew he had a part to play as well.

"No way," it was his turn to stand up, "I neglected Branch the most, but it was more than him just 'being a baby' and thinking he was 'getting in the way' or was gonna get in the way, don't you guys remember when I would get jealous when trolls claimed that he stole their hearts because that was supposed to be my title?"

John chuckled slightly at that, still holding a sad tone,

"Yeah.. you would not let that go man."

"I know.. now my heart's breaking knowing I won't be able to fix any of that."

The second oldest brother shook his head ashamedly, looking away from everyone slightly.

After a few seconds of more silence, the last brother spoke up on his own past mistakes.

"Well.. I was no better!" Clay stood up now too,

"I would always make fun of him and joke about how he messes up everything, that's probably why he thought that.." the light green haired troll thought back to when his youngest brother would say 'I ruined everything,' after their final and failed performance.

"I kept putting those thoughts in his head.. what was wrong with me?"

Viva frowned at this. Every ounce of this was obviously making her sad, but she definitely wasn't used to seeing Clay so upset. He was usually so goofy and fun loving.

Poppy on the other hand, would proceed to have a surprised but saddened expression holding her face. As sorry as they were, she understood more as to why Branch was so upset with his brothers rather than just them leaving, and wished she would've tried to get to know more about the situation before.

"Heh.." Floyd started again, licking his lips, "I think we all were pretty terrible brothers to Branch, weren't we."

"Not only to him, but to each other. What happened wasn't his fault, and it wasn't fair that that's how it was made out to be." Bruce added.

They all nodded in agreement slowly, regretting everything that happened before and hating that they couldn't take any of it back.

"We shouldn't have left.. we should've tried to fix things.."

Floyd leaned down to Branch and pressed his forehead against his gently, closing his eyes before tearing up again.

"I just wish we had more time to tell you how sorry we are.."

Just then, Floyd felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder, and he looked up slowly to look over at Poppy, holding a soft and sympathetic smile. There was still sadness behind such, but it was still sweet nonetheless.

"You may have messed up, but.. a real brother would realize that and do all that he can to try and make it better.. that's more important than you think."

Floyd smiled a little being told this, happy knowing Branch had such a kind and supportive girlfriend.

After that, she would lean down to Branch as well and place a soft kiss on his forehead, hugging his body close to her as the sobs returned, only now they were quieter.

Frowning, Floyd slowly wrapped his arms around her and Branch, hugging both of them.

The others would see this and went on to do the same, holding one another in a small circle, with nothing but love for the one they missed.

Everybody needs inspiration, Floyd would start.

The others would then look at him and at each other after, knowing what they had to do next.

Everybody needs a song, Poppy sang a line after him.

A beautiful melody,

Then Viva.

When the nights are long,

Then Clay.

'Cause there is no guarantee,

Bruce followed after.

That this life is easy..

John sang a slightly higher note.

They all stayed close together while holding their heads down as they sang.

Yeah, when my world is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I, I, I look at you

When the waves, are flooding the shore and I can't

Find my way home anymore

That's when I, I, I look at you

They all went quiet after that, keeping their heads down in silence.

Until.. things weren't so silent anymore.

Floyd would slowly open his eyes as he thought he heard something.

"Hey.. hold on,"

Immediately, Poppy opened her eyes as well and looked over at him, curious.

"Guys I.." Floyd pressed his hand against Branch's chest lightly again to be sure that it was real,

"I.. I felt his heartbeat!!" He cried out, looking at everyone then right back at Branch.

"What??" Bruce said.

Poppy quickly leaned down to press her ear to his chest to try and listen for his sweet, familiar heartbeat that she knew very well, and Floyd moved his hand out of the way for her to be able to do so.

Once she was able to hear and confirm his beautiful heartbeat was there, she gasped quietly and moved back, looking down at him with pure shock.

They started to notice that he wasn't super pale like he was before either, giving them a lot more hope and anticipation.

"Branch? Talk to us!" John said to his little brother, scooting closer to him.

"Branch..?" Poppy mumbled quietly, holding his cheek with a gentle stroke of her thumb.

Everyone else waited and waited for a response from their fallen troll, hoping to hear his voice again that they all missed and adored so much.

Their prayers were all answered when they heard three soft coughs leave his chest, and his eyes began to flutter open slowly and delicately.

"Augh, ugh.." Finally, his eyes would begin to open all the way,

"Guys..?"

It didn't take long after this graceful moment for every single troll in the room to have a wide smile on their face.

"Oh BRAAAANCH!!" Poppy squealed and hugged him tighter than what she was before.

"Oh, OH my GOD THANK the trolly GODS!" Bruce held a hand to his chest, exhaling heavily as he wiped a few last minute tears away.

"BABY BROOOOOOO!!" Floyd shouted out, joining in on Branch and Poppy's hug.

"WOOHOOOOO YEAAAHHHH!!" John clapped his hands loudly and aggressively while jumping, throwing a fist in the air afterwards.

Viva smiled wide at the scene, incredibly happy to see that Branch was miraculously brought back to life.

"AYEEEE HE'S BACK HE'S BACK HE'S BACK!!" Clay jumped around as well and eventually picked up Viva while jumping around, hugging her in the process.

Viva was immediately caught off guard but still laughed and hugged him back with the same energy, cheering as well.

"AWE YEAH! Welcome back Uncle B!"

Tiny nodded, hopping onto his shoulder and eventually his hair.

"I.. I'm back..?"

Branch said, not believing at first, but slowly began to come to terms with it as he watched all the people he loved around him cheer and hold him tight.

He just couldn't help himself with all of it, he had to smile.

Just a little.

"YOU'RE OKAY YOU'RE OKAY I THOUGHT I LOST YOU!"

Poppy held his arms and kissed him all over his face rapidly, but came to a stop as soon as one of those kisses hit his lips.

Branch would suddenly stare at her wide eyed after that sudden course of action. Neither did he move or say anything after this.

Poppy realized what she did seeing his reaction, and immediately her flush faced with heat as it was no longer Pink, but a Bright Red.

"Um, uh, I uhhh-"

Branch still didn't say anything,

But now he was moving.

One of his hands gently grabbed her hip and pulled her closer to him, and he leaned in to kiss her on the lips again, but with more passion and love.

"OH- I'm dying- it's so beautiful!" Bruce fanned his face watching the scene before him.

Tiny nodded and crossed his arms, whistling out to them.

"EEEEE AWWWWW!" Viva squealed, holding her hands to her face.

"YEAAAHHH get it little bro!" Clay waved his fist in the air while smirking.

Branch pulled away slowly but still stayed very much closer to her and murmured something only she could hear.

"If I get more kisses like this one I'll probably die more often," he joked with a small smirk.

Poppy giggled and held a grip onto his vest and murmured back,

"You better not."

She pulled him into one more short but sweet kiss and pulled away, leaning against him happily.

Branch smiled at his girlfriend and continued to hold her close. The whole time he wasn't really paying attention to anything around him, until the cheering and shouting around them got slightly louder.

He then came back to reality and sighed, rolling his eyes a little.

"Right, I forgot there's other people here-"

Poppy giggled and put a kiss on his nose.

"It's okayyyyy."

Everyone except Poppy who was still holding onto him, took a few steps away from him to give him some space as he seemed like he was going deep into thought about something.

"But.. how? How am I back?"

Viva tapped her chin thinking about the question to at first herself, then out loud.

"Hmm.. wait.. the song.. our love.. ahh, our family harmony!!"

"Huh?" Everyone looked over at her, waiting for her to explain what she meant.

"The love for Branch must've been so strong it brought him back to life! In order for the family harmony to work, you guys had to rebuild what you all lost, which was each other and your little brother, and you did just that by realizing how wrong you were! That's what family is all aboouuuut! Not about being related to each other, it's about wanting to be there for one another no matter what!"

After hearing that, Branch would look over at his brothers who were more than happy to know that he was back, then back down at himself.

"Wow," Poppy stood up while helping Branch up, and then walked over to her sister with a warm smile,

"well said Viva."

"Really? Thanks! It's kinda funny coming from someone who hasn't really gotten to experience what having a real family is like most of her life, right? I mean I had Clay, but, you know." Viva chuckled and smiled a little as she rubbed her arm slightly.

"Well," Poppy leaned in to hug her gently, "now you have all of us."

"Aww," Viva hugged her back, squeezing her and leaning on her shoulder a little,

"Thanks sis." She mumbled a little quietly.

Branch smiled at the two, but it slowly went away when he heard someone call his name.

"Branch?"

He turned around to see Floyd, along with the rest of his brothers behind him, holding yet sorrowful expressions on their faces. They were of course happy he was back, but that wouldn't take away from all the pain they've caused him.

John would begin to start talking, stuttering a little, not able to fully get the words out since there was so much he wanted to say.

"We.. we wanna.. I wanna.."

Floyd nodded towards him and put a hand on his shoulder and continued for him.

"There's just.. there's no words that can truly explain how sorry we a-"

But then, suddenly, he nearly flew back as his baby brother threw his arms around him, not daring to let him finish that sentence.

Floyd didn't dare to finish his own sentence either after this, just standing there as he immediately melted into his only younger brother's arms, feeling his lips begin to tremble.

"You guys brought me back.. you proved how much you cared.. that's all I wanted.. that's all I ever needed.."

Branch's voice would shake and croak as he said this, squeezing and holding the brother who was closest to him closer to him, a tear or two slipping their way out of his tightly shut eyes.

Floyd didn't know what to do with his arms for what felt like the longest time, until he felt them subconsciously reach to touch his baby brother's back, rubbing it gently.

Those rubs would then turn into a loving squeeze, holding onto the fabric of his vest as he hugged all those twenty years that he couldn't get back into him, burying his face into his shoulder, whimpering quietly.

"Oh baby bro I.. I'm so, so sorry.. I missed you so much I really did..!" Floyd wouldn't let go of Branch for anything, not ever again.

"I missed you too.." Branch mumbled back, sighing quietly with ease as he felt his older brother rock him gently in his arms.

John would watch the two hold each other tight and pouted his lower lip out, feeling something about to leak out of his eyes again.

"..SCREW IT, I'M FINISHING MY SENTENCE!! I'M SORRY!!" The eldest brother ran over to his two younger brothers and hugged them both tight.

"I WAS AN ASSHOLE!" John exclaimed, squeezing them tighter as he began to sob out loud.

Branch and Floyd couldn't help but laugh despite both of their faces being coated with their own tears.

"It's okay Joh- OOP- OKAY- LITTLE TOO TIGHT-" Branch said, reaching a hand to his brother's square head and patted his cheek to try and get him to loosen up.

"Make room square head!" Bruce ran over to them and joined in on the hug with a smirk, "These are my brothers too, I get to choke them as well!"

"Please don't-"

Floyd said quickly.

"MY TURN! HYAAA! Funny Clay's BACK BABY!" Clay jumped on top the pile, earning laughter from all of the brothers including himself.

"Incoming chokehold!" Bruce would say jokingly as a threat, but he actually just wrapped his long hair around his brothers and pulled them closer to him and each other.

"Awwwww!!" Poppy and Viva squeal, holding each other.

"..think we should run away just like when we were kids?" Floyd murmured to Branch with a small smirk, who was starting to become just as suffocated.

"..nah I'll just HEYYY OKAY GUYS MIGHT WANNA LET ME GO BEFORE I DIE AGAIN-"

Right then and there they all let go and backed off, Clay falling on the ground since he was on top.

"OOF- Come on man don't even joke like that- I lost my ego for the next twenty minutes!"

Clay got up and readjusted himself.

"That's all you care about-" Bruce side eyed him.

"No, 'course not! But it was still traumatic-"

Branch rolled his eyes playfully, but then thought about something.

"Wait, guys, our voices- Velvet and Veneer! Who knows what they're doing right now!"

Everyone looked at each other worriedly, remembering the two that caused all this.

"You're right.. they could be up to something terrible right now." Floyd looked over at Branch, still holding a worried expression himself.

He remembered as well that they had not only his essence but now Branch's, which meant they probably had much more of an advantage now!

"What can we do?" Viva asked Branch while walking up to them.

"We have to find a way to destroy it so they can't use it for any bad deeds." Branch set what needed to happen straight, hitting his fist on his palm.

"Right.. but how?" Poppy said.

Branch crossed his arms and stroked underneath his chin for a second, then he smirked.

"With a little family harmony, of course."