AN: I am sorry if I took too long to bring you a new chapter for this story, but I have decided to focus on other works I have, all while organizing my ideas for "Trolls: BroZone". I hope you enjoy this chapter. I just have to say that I was able to fix the timeline issue regarding Trollstopia and Band Together.
Synopsis: After Branch realized that his bonding time with John Dory had made him spend less time with Floyd, he tries very hard to reestablish the connection the two of them had back in the day. But when he fears that can undo the progress in his relationship with John Dory, Branch tries to divide his time equally with both brothers, only to find himself in a very uncomfortable position.
Poppy had decided to take Viva to one of the best places in Pop Village, and by extension Trollstopia. She was guiding her older sister, as she had her hands covering Viva's eyes, with the latter being excited about the all thing.
"We're almost there, Viva" Poppy said.
"Oh, I can't wait to see... well, whatever you want to show me!" Viva exclaimed, literally trembling in excitement. "Come on, Poppy, hurry up! I think I will literally explode, if I have to wait any longer!"
That caused Poppy to drop a laugh and then they stopped and the younger sister said:
"Okay, here we go... One... Two... Three..."
And she uncovered Viva's eyes and, when the latter saw where they were, she released a very high-pitched scream of excitement. They were in front of the entrance to the Hug Fest Theme Park.
"Oh, I can't believe this!" Viva exclaimed. "This is fantastamazing! I didn't know Pop Village had something like this!"
"I knew you would like it" Poppy said.
"Like it?" Viva asked. "I love it! Oh, this is even better than the things we had on the Hole N' Fun!"
"And to enter it..." Poppy started, as they reached the entrance booth, where they saw Biggie and Smidge about to enter.
When they saw the two of them giving hugs to the troll at the entrance booth (with Biggie practically almost crushing the entrance troll with his very tight hugs). Seeing that, Viva got even more excited.
"And we pay with hugs?!" she asked. "That's the best thing ever!"
"I know, right? And guess what..." Poppy said, as she took out a pair of coupons. "I have coupons... for fifty hugs each."
That caused Viva to gasp hard and then take a deep breath and say calmly, before escalating the voice of a more excited tone:
"Little sister... I am only going to say this once... You are... the best!"
"I can't wait to show you the attractions!" Poppy said, as they advanced towards the entrance booth. "Especially the Big Squeeze. I mean, it is the best attraction by itself... but R and B are tinkering on a new update that is going to make it even better."
"Oh, that sounds excitastic!" Viva exclaimed, explaining after seeing her sister's confuse look. "It's exciting and fantastic."
That caused Poppy to chuckle and say:
"Oh, Viva, you always come up with the best made-up words."
After they entered, they went to the Big Squeeze where they encountered a group of trolls, waiting with great expectation for R and B to finish the upgrade on the attraction. After they had done the final adjustments on the control panel, R said:
"Okay, every troll, the upgrade is done."
"And it's going to bring the Big Squeeze from the best attraction to an even better attraction!" B added. "And yeah, it is that awesome."
And the two sisters did their especial high-five.
"R, B!" Poppy called, as she and Viva approached. "Oh, I can't wait to see the upgrades you did."
"Oh, and you are going to love them" R told.
"We added some new features that will give those who seek a much exciting ride a total new experience" B continued.
"Yeah, we call it... The Big Recoil!" R revealed.
That statement caused both Poppy and Viva to get thrilled, as they stomped quickly with their feet.
"Can we try it?" Poppy asked.
"Sorry, Poppy, but we already have a pair of trolls to test it already" R told.
"Oh, bummer..." Viva said, disappointed. "I really wanted to try it out."
"Don't worry, Viva, we can go up next" Poppy said. "Oh, by the way, who are the two trolls that are going to test it."
"That would be us" a voice said.
Poppy recognized that voice anywhere. Turning around, she and the others saw as Branch and John Dory advanced through the crowd until the front. They were walking with great confidence, as the other trolls looked at them with great admiration.
"Why are they walking so slowly?" Viva asked to her sister with a whisper, as she saw the two brothers walking in a slower pace.
"Oh, that's slow-motion walking" Poppy replied to her as whisper. "They are trying to give more drama to their entrance."
As they arrived to the front of the crowd, they went to normal walking and Branch said to John Dory:
"I have to hand it to you, JD. That was actually quite fun."
"I told you walking in slow-motion was a great idea" John Dory replied, while giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
"Branch, this is quite surprising!" Poppy said, approaching her boyfriend. "I didn't know you would test R and B's upgrade. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, it's not something I planned..." Branch said. "John Dory convinced me to do it."
"Branch and I have been making up for lost time" John Dory said, as he put an arm around his little brother shoulders. "And what better way to do it than doing some great stunts?"
"Branch and John Dory have been helping us testing some of our inventions" R said.
"Yeah, and they are actually quite the great test subjects" B added.
Flashback...
R and B were wearing their lab coats and goggles while holding clip boards. They were testing a new high-powered scooter that John Dory and Branch were about to test, with the former guiding it. They advanced with the scooter at high speed and jumped with the help of a ramp.
Another flashback...
John Dory and Branch were now testing a high-powered paraglider for the two funk troll sisters.
And another flashback...
John Dory and Branch were now helping R and B on their research on the multiverse and they came back from a universe with a gasping look after being pursue by a dangerous creature.
Present...
"That was a fun morning..." John Dory sighed, nostalgic.
"That sure was..." Branch agreed.
"Wait... you did all that in a morning?" Poppy asked, surprised.
"Sure did" John Dory replied. "And now we are going to test the best attraction ever! Let's go, Branch."
The older brother went for the seats, the younger one prepared to follow him, but Poppy called him:
"Branch, I have to say that I am quite surprised you are doing this. I thought you hated to try new things."
"Well... I have to admit that without your constant insistence, it's pretty hard for me to try anything out of my comfort zone" Branch said. "But... John Dory has always been the daring thrill-seeker of the family and... well, I am trying to repair our brotherhood now that the big issue between us is solved. And I have to admit... spending time with him has been quite great. He is pushing me to try things I would never dare to try on my own and..."
But he stopped, when he saw Poppy with tears on her eyes, all while trying to contain a big smile. It was as if she was trying to prevent herself from letting out a big demonstration of happy cry.
"Are you okay, Poppy?" Branch asked. "You're doing that thing where you want to happy cry but you don't because you know when you start you almost can't stop your tears."
Taking a deep breath and cleaning the tears on her eyes, Poppy said, smiling:
"Yeah... it's just... it feels so great to see you try to be a better troll, all while bonding with your brother. It just makes my heart feels so warm..."
"Okay, you don't have to make it sound so dramatic..." Branch commented.
"Says the one that agreed on a slow-motion walking" Poppy replied, causing both her and Branch to share a laugh.
"Hey, Branch, what are you waiting for?" John Dory called. "Let's try this thing."
"Coming..." Branch replied, as he went to the Big Squeeze.
With the two brothers on the seats, they were hugged by the mechanical hands and soon enough they were going up to the top of the attraction.
"So... how does this new feature works?" Poppy asked, as she and Viva approached R and B.
"Well, it's actually quite easy" R replied. "We made an adjustment on the cords that are connected to the two trolls on the attraction, giving them a much bigger elastic property and therefore a much greater rebound."
"Because of that, once the cord recoils, the upward jump is much bigger than the original height and then allows a much bigger fall, before the second rebound brings the trolls back to their seats" B continued.
That explanation caused some confusion to both Poppy and Viva who traded looks, before the latter asked:
"And that means..."
But R and B just pointed up to where Branch and John Dory were, as they were getting ready for the jump.
"Let's do this!" John Dory exclaimed, as he put on his skiing goggles. "Ready, little bro."
"As ready as I can be" he replied.
It was then that the mechanical arms holding them let them go and the two brothers started to fall, with John Dory screaming a shout of exhilaration, while Branch did the same, but also with a bit of terror. They reach the end of the cord and soon it rebounded, causing the two brothers to go back up. However, unlike it usually work with the Big Squeeze, they went up really fast until they passed the seats and went even higher, much to the amazement of the trolls down on the ground, with Smidge exclaiming Oh my Guh!.
Once they reached the highest point, Branch and John Dory turned to one another and share a fist bump, before going down again. Like previously, the two shared a great excitement during the fall, before reaching the end and rebound again, this time going to their seats, with the mechanical arms hugging them again. After the seats came down and the two brothers were let go from them, John Dory gave his excited shout, while making a hop and a punch in the air, and said, pulling up his goggles:
"Now that was a true thrill! I feel myself trembling in excitement!"
"I have to admit it was quite enjoyable" Branch said, as he tried to calm down his racing heart.
"And we also added a photographic feature on the upgrade to take a picture on the trolls, once they reach the highest point" B told. "Look, Branch and JD's is already done."
And a photo came out from the ejection slot where the two brothers were fist bumping. John Dory took it and exclaimed, while looking at it:
"Oh, this will look amazing on your baby scrapbook, Branch!"
Branch took the picture from John Dory and told him, while blushing, while the older brother made a teasing smile:
"Okay, could you please not talk about the baby scrapbook at loud?"
"You know, sis, I am quite satisfied with the results we got from this test drive" B told her sister.
"I totally agree" R replied. "I was twenty per cent certain that the cords would not be strong enough for such a strong recoil."
"I was on the fifteen per cent" B told. "I know, I am the optimist of our sisterhood."
"What?!" Branch asked, a little offended. "You told us you were almost certain this was safe!"
"Yes, we did" R confirmed, smiling.
"And we meant it" B added, also smiling.
"Fifteen to twenty per cent of failure is not exactly almost certain" Branch replied. "What am I saying... I am talking to the ones that left a time loop machine turned on for months."
"Wow... one accidently causes a time loop where only those in the entire Troll Kingdom remembers about and they get immediately haunted by it" B said.
"Yeah, you should have seen when Lownote accidently opened a dimensional portal and caused some of his snug-a-lot's doubles to pass through during one of King Quincy and Queen Essence's shows" R told. "It was crazy!"
"An adorable and huggable craziness..." B sighed.
"Oh, relax, Branch" John Dory told, as he put his arm around his younger brother's shoulders. "Everything went well and that's what matters."
"Besides, we have installed some safety measures in case the cords would break" B told.
And so Branch sighed and smiled, saying:
"I guess..."
"Okay, guys, who want to be..." R started to ask to the other trolls.
Before she could finish, Poppy and Viva quickly run to the seats and the former told:
"What are you waiting for?"
"Yeah, let's do this!" Viva exclaimed.
That caused the others to chuckle and so R went to turn on the Big Squeeze, causing the seats to go up, while Poppy and Viva shouted with great enjoyment.
After the two sisters came out of the Big Squeeze, the two of them, Branch and John Dory went to the marketplace, so they could have a treat together.
"Oh, that was the most fun I ever had since... well, the last time I had the most fun, which was not that much long ago..." Viva said, as she and Poppy watched their picture. "But my point still stands."
"Yeah, R and B totally outdid themselves with that" Poppy said. "Who knew that it was possible to make the Big Squeeze even more fun?! I am so jealous you two were the first to try it."
"Well, it was John Dory that gave the idea to make that upgrade on the Big Squeeze" Branch told. "So basically the credit needs to go to him."
"When you spend two decades experiencing the most thrilling challenges, you get to have a very different perspective of what thrilling means" John Dory said. "However, I do like that now we get to interact with other kind of trolls, because I get to try things that I've never... But what is that?!"
He was talking about a booth run by Demo who was selling the Hard Rock tribe's unique half-troll-sized jello that was both delicious and dangerous, since it would actually try to eat the troll who had to eat it first. Of course, being eaten by jello only meant that the troll would be inside and be able to eat it from the inside.
"A food that tries to eat you?" John Dory asked. "That is both thrilling and ironic... I love it! Branch, do you want to get one?"
"Uh... sorry, I already tried it... and it's not exactly my cup of tea" Branch said. "But you can go ahead and..."
"Oh great!" John Dory exclaimed. "I see you in a bit, little bro."
And John Dory run towards the booth.
"Wow... John Dory really is intense" Poppy commented. "Are you sure you and your brothers don't have a Rock troll in your family?"
"No kidding..." Viva said. "After living with Clay for a long time, I have to admit I never imagined someone on his family would be like this."
"To be honest... I've hardly ever seen this side of John Dory when I was a baby" Branch told, as he saw his brother trying to eat the Hard Rock tribe's jello. "The John Dory I got to meet was more... responsible and grounded, even if bossy and a bit vain and stressful. But for what my brothers told me, he used to always try to have them try extreme sports in order to build team spirit so they could better perform on stage. They would always vote against it... And they even said they once tried to change his nickname for The Wild One, but that never sticked."
"Wow... to think that you can get to know a troll and still they get to have a secret side... it's crazy!" Poppy exclaimed, turning then to Viva. "You don't have a secret crazy side that I don't know about, do you?"
"Are you kidding?" Viva asked, teasingly. "I know we only know each other for literally a few weeks, but you should know by now that your big sister is all authentic in everything she does."
The two sisters shared a laugh. Seeing them laughing together, Branch couldn't help but be glad for Poppy to be able to now experience what truly meant to have a sibling and share a bond with them. But now that thought came to mind, Branch got an idea.
"You know what, I think John Dory will take a while with that jello" Branch said, as he watched his oldest brother basically fencing the jello with a spoon. "Maybe I could try and find Floyd and spend time with him in the meantime."
"Oh, he is right there" Poppy said, while pointing to a table nearby. "I am quite surprised you didn't notice him right away."
Turning to where Poppy was pointing at, Branch was expecting to see his favorite brother so the two of them could spend time together, but he got to feel his expectation being broken like a window being hit by a ball when he saw that his brother was not alone on the table drinking a smoothie. He was... with Creek... and the two seemed to be getting along greatly.
"My favorite brother... is having fun... with the troll I dislike the most?!" Branch asked.
AN: I know what you are going to think... No, I will not ship Floyd and Creek. At least that is not my intension. I just thought that Creek would be the best troll to push Branch into the hard situation I am planning to put him on. Either way, I hope you have enjoyed the beginning of this new chapter.