Collect Food And Clean Water: Part One (The Perfect Distraction)

Author's Note: Hey all! So, this memory sequence became A LOT longer than I intended. It was just too fun! But it kind of worked out, so I just went with it. Hope y'all enjoy, because I sure did!

John Dory was frantically writing, his hand flying across the paper.

After they'd won that Battle of the Bands thing, he began going around to different places, asking if they'd let him and his brothers perform. And more often than not, he was turned down, with the excuse that he was "much too young" to be managing a band. Especially a band with members who were even younger than he was.

However, John Dory was nothing if not stubborn, and they needed this money. Things were starting to get tight, and if he could no longer afford to take care of his brothers… He didn't want to think about that. On a brighter note, it was pretty fun performing altogether like they were. He didn't want it to end. Therefore, he became one of the most persistent trolls he could possibly be, showing up to places with recordings of his brothers singing and practically begging them to give them a shot. And eventually, a few of them did.

Recently though, the unthinkable happened. A troll asked HIM to have BroZone come perform at an event they were putting together. BroZone would perform, they would get paid, it was perfect! This could be the big break he was hoping for. The only thing the troll asked was if John Dory would arrange a new song for it. If the troll approved of the song, BroZone would get to perform. So that's what John Dory was doing. That's what he had been doing for the past few hours.

He crumpled up another sheet of paper, tossing it behind him with increasing frustration. He had a song. He'd worked out the music, the lyrics, everything. But now, as he was trying to write it down to present to their potential employer, he was struggling. He could write the music; music was easy. But it was the words that were giving him trouble.

Every time he copied the song down, starting to write the lyrics, the letters would shift and move in front of his eyes, almost like they were floating off the page. His handwriting was forced and sloppy, and he wasn't sure if he was spelling anything right. More often than not, he'd have to erase the lyrics and start over, which after so many attempts, made the page look messy and unprofessional. No one would take him seriously if he handed in sheet music that looked like it was written by a preschooler. It had to be perfect. So he'd crumple it up, toss it behind him, and start again. And again, and again.

Why couldn't he just do this right?

"JD!" John Dory nearly jumped out his seat as he heard a voice call his name, whipping around to see Clay panting in his doorway. "JD! It's an emergency!" he said, and John Dory felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"What? What happened?!" he asked quickly, jolting to his feet as icy adrenaline seemed to shoot through his veins.

Clay took a deep breath, a grin stretching across his face. "Spruce is talking to a girl!" he exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

John Dory let out a breath, clutching his chest. "Oh my gosh, Clay…" he breathed, his body still hopped up on adrenaline. He leaned up against his desk, frowning. Clay had that look in his eyes, the one that said he had concocted some sort of complex plan that involved John Dory. But John Dory was busy; he had to finish writing this song…

He peeked down at the floor, at the now pile of crumpled up paper that lay beneath him. He felt… exhausted. How long had he been working on this? He knew he started last night, and took a break this morning to send his brothers off to school, but now Clay was back so… He shook his fuzzy head, bewildered. It didn't feel like he'd been at it for that long. Maybe that's why he couldn't write this stupid song. He needed a break. Plus, he'd hate to ruin his little brother's fun.

He turned towards Clay, putting his tiredness aside as mischievous excitement grew in his chest. "You're right, Clay," he said seriously, pushing himself to his feet. "This is an emergency. Gather the troops!"

Clay's grin widened as he excitedly motioned to someone out of sight. Floyd stepped into view, sheepishly holding a large bucket full of what looked like water balloons. "Way ahead of you," Clay replied with a smirk.

"Clay, you maniacal genius," John Dory said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He looked around, spotting baby Branch looking up at them all eagerly. John Dory lifted him up, setting the trolling in his hair and practically strapping him in before pulling his goggles down over his eyes. He peered around his room and grabbed a pair of Grandma's large, designer glasses she'd left behind the last time she visited, holding them up to Branch. "Put these on, B," he said as the trolling took them. "Things are about to get wild."

"Wild!" Branch exclaimed with a giggle, his hands clutching on to John Dory's hair as the older troll hoisted up the heavy bucket, walking towards the entrance of the pod with his other two brothers in tow.

"Alright Clay, you lead the way," John Dory said, to which Clay nodded enthusiastically. "And Floyd, I'm going to need you to hand me ammo, ok?"

"Are you guys sure about this?" Floyd asked, looking hesitant. "It seems a bit… mean."

"It's not mean," John Dory assured him, kicking open the door to the pod. "We're just helping mister 'Heartthrob' cool off a bit. It's our duty as his brothers." Floyd still didn't look entirely convinced, but John Dory could see the sparkle of anticipation in his eyes as he followed them.

Clay led them to the edge of the branch, which was overlooking another smaller branch just a little ways below them. "There!" he said, pointing, and indeed, there was Spruce, talking to a young female troll.

"Attaboy, Clay," John Dory said, holding out his hand. "Floyd, balloon me. The big one." Floyd did as he was told, smiling eagerly. "Alright, and now we just line up the shot…" John Dory said, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Then, he reeled back, chucking the water balloon directly at his brother. They watched as it arched through the air, with almost scarily accurate precision, before slamming into the back of Spruce's neck, completely soaking him head to toe.

"Bullseye!" John Dory exclaimed, Clay and Floyd letting out cheers by his side. Even baby Branch joined in, letting out a joyful "Bullseye!"

Spruce whipped around in shock, his eyes landing on his brothers. "What are you idiots doing?!" he shouted, hair bristling with rage.

"Back away from our brother!" John Dory yelled back at the girl, Floyd handing him another water balloon. "He's trouble!"

"You're trouble!" Spruce shouted, dodging as John Dory threw another balloon at him. "Knock it off!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go…" the female troll said, a polite smile on her face. "Your brother is kinda… intense. Good luck!" She spun around, leaving Spruce standing soaking wet and alone on the branch. John Dory took this as another great opportunity to douse him with another water balloon. He threw it, and without even looking, Spruce caught the balloon with his hair, turning around, his eyes blazing.

"Oh my troll, he's armed!" John Dory shouted, grabbing a bunch of balloons in his arms. He watched as Spruce's hair stretched up, pulling the younger troll onto the same branch as his brothers. "Take what you can and retreat!" John Dory said quickly, shoving water balloons into Floyd's arms and pushing his brothers to run. He felt baby Branch pull at his hair, laughing as he echoed JD's voice. "Retreat!"

"You guys are dead," Spruce yelled after them, but as they raced away, John Dory could see the grin beginning to stretch across his face. "Get back here!"

John Dory took off, Clay and Floyd both hot on his heels, as Spruce chased them around the tree. He did his best to try and hit Spruce as they ran, but his brother was a lot more agile than he looked. Clay and Floyd were hardly any help, but they did their best to toss water balloons as well, mostly just laughing as they sprinted by his side. Finally, Spruce wound up his arm, chucking the water balloon he'd caught at John Dory. To his credit, the balloon did meet its mark, exploding in the middle of JD's back, but Spruce had just tossed away his only leverage, and John Dory whipped around with a devilish smirk.

Spruce seemed to realize what he'd just done, his face falling. He looked between his brothers with wide eyes, before turning around and racing away.

"Get him!" John Dory yelled, the tables now turned. Spruce ducked and weaved through different trolls, heading towards their pod. John Dory raced after him, breathing heavily. This was becoming way more physically involved than he thought it was going to be.

Finally, he caught up to his brother, leaping on top of him and tackling him to the ground. They rolled around for a moment before John Dory pinned him, grinning in triumph. Floyd walked over as well, still holding a fair amount of water balloons. "Whoo!" he breathed, reveling in the annoyed look on his brother's face. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson, Sprucie."

"I was going to help her study!" His brother complained. "Besides, she's only a friend!"

"Hm, well, lesson learned anyways," John Dory huffed, letting his brother sit up. He pushed his goggles up, pulling baby Branch down from his hair as he looked around. "Wait, where'd Clay go?"

"What are you doing? You almost knocked me over!"

All three brothers turned to see a small, female troll holding Clay up by the back of his vest like he weighed nothing, her eyes blazing angrily. John Dory immediately recognized her pink skin and curly yellow hair, wincing slightly. That was King Peppy's oldest daughter, and it looked like Clay had run right into her.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, putting her free hand angrily on her hip. But Clay just stared at her, his face flushed a deep blue.

"Wow…" he whispered, blinking incredulously. John Dory looked over at Spruce and Floyd, and it was clear they had the same idea, their faces breaking into grins.

"Sorry about my brother, princess," John Dory called, standing up and grabbing a water balloon from Floyd. She turned towards them, anger fading away as she slowly let Clay back down to the ground. John Dory tossed the balloon up and down in his hand, smiling at his brother. "We'll take care of him for you."

"Wait, no no, don't leave me here with them!" Clay pleaded with the young princess.

She smiled, taking a large step back. "I would run if I were you," she said cheekily, grinning as Clay's eyes widened with fear. He shot one look towards his brothers, then took off as they followed behind him in hot pursuit.

Once again, they were racing around the tree, trying to catch their brother. John Dory could feel his body beginning to tire, but he didn't care. He was too caught up in the fun. He pushed forward, having lost Clay and scanning around for the skinny troll.

Suddenly, water balloons began to rain down on them, and John Dory looked up to see Clay had found the stash they had left behind, now tossing them down rapidly. One caught Floyd on his back, soaking the small troll as Clay let out a triumphant cry.

"Floyd's been hit!" John Dory exclaimed dramatically, scooping the now soaking wet troll up into his arms. "Stay with me, Floyd! We need you brother!" Floyd giggled, his eyes crinkling shut as he laughed.

Suddenly, the image of his brother seemed to flicker, shifting to something else for just a moment. John Dory blinked with confusion, squinting his eyes. Floyd looked a lot older, his skin cold in John Dory's arms. His face was expressionless, his body practically translucent as he lay completely still. John Dory felt a sinking feeling in his chest, his hands beginning to shake as terror flooded through his veins. What was happening? This… this wasn't right… Then, just as suddenly as it had started, his brother shifted back, laughing as John Dory set him down.

What was that? John Dory thought, blinking a few times. Was he seeing things? He quickly shook his head, trying to focus back on what was happening. "Here, Floyd, take Bitty B," he said, setting baby Branch in Floyd's arms. "I will avenge you!"

Suddenly, the image flickered again. This time, it was baby Branch. His brother seemed to darken, his colors blinking out for a moment, before coming back, giggling like nothing had happened. John Dory reeled back, his smile shifting into a terrified grimace. No, this wasn't how it happened, it wasn't–

"John! We're losing him!" he heard Spruce call, and he quickly shook his head, turning around and running after his brothers. Spruce and Clay were racing along the upper branch, while John Dory tried to follow on the lower one. But for some reason, he was struggling to keep up. His head felt fuzzy, his body unsteady as he sprinted along the branch. He tried to keep his eyes on his brothers, but his vision was going blurry. He was losing them.

Again, his world seemed to flicker. Where Spruce and Clay were running, he could swear he saw them disappear, before reappearing a moment later. But no, that couldn't happen, that couldn't possibly happen. His brothers were fine; they were safe. This wasn't how any of this happened, it couldn't be real, so why–

John Dory stumbled, crashing to the ground with a thud. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He tried to push himself back up, but he couldn't move. He couldn't feel his legs…

He turned around, looking behind him. Gray was seeping up his skin, his legs splintering as the dark color overtook them. They seemed to crumble, falling apart into shards on the ground.

Oh… John Dory thought, his swirling head unable to feel anything as the chill crawled up his back. That's why… His vision went black, and he felt his head slam down heavily on the ground.

It was a dream.

John Dory woke up laying on the floor of Rhonda, groaning. This is why he didn't use the hustle feature that much. It always gave him crazy dreams.

Well, no more crazy than usual, he thought, huffing in irritation as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, swaying a bit as his body adjusted to being back in his own dimension. He massaged his forehead, feeling a headache beginning to pop up. At last this dream was mostly nice. At this point, he'd take it.

He thought back to that memory, of him and his brothers bouncing around the tree with water balloons. If he was remembering correctly, he did actually pass out that day. Grandma was not happy. She gave him a whole lecture about overexerting himself, which he thought was completely unnecessary. But after that, she was around a lot more.

He stood up, peeking outside. They had indeed reached Pop Village, and in great time too. It looked like it was about mid afternoon. Rhonda moseyed her way over to her log shelter, flopping down with a huff. John Dory quickly climbed out, giving her a few snuggles before looking around. He purposely kept his gaze away from the pod standing untouched next to them.

"Alright, John Dory," he said aloud, rubbing his hands together. "What are we going to do…?"

Clearly, the best way to keep his mind off of things that seemed to dampen his mood was for him to work. Do something that consumed every bit of his thoughts so his brain wasn't able to think about anything else. It had worked great at Bruce's restaurant, so now he just needed to find some way to do the same thing here. If he could prevent his mind from thinking about these things for long enough, maybe his body would just naturally reset, and the gray would go away.

That seems like a stretch… his mind seemed to chastise, but John Dory just shook his head. Well, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas.

But what could he do? There wasn't anything to do around here, that was for sure. He'd have to go look around Pop Village.

Suddenly, he perked up, pulling out the small, weathered page from his jacket. That therapist had told him to get out more, right? He ignored the first two steps, skipping right to the third: Collect Food and Clean Water. An idea stirred to life in his head, and he felt a smile grow on his face as his ears began to twitch excitedly. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

He would stock up on food items for Branch's Bunker.

He tucked the page back into his coat with a grin. It was perfect. Branch was always out foraging, collecting and restocking food for his bunker. But this time, John Dory could go do it for him. He would help his brother, follow his routine, get out like the therapist said he should, and this provided the perfect distraction from his problems! Plus, spending time in nature was like, healthy or whatever, right?

He spun around on his heels, ignoring the feeling of dread settling in his gut as he practically forced his body to stride cheerfully along the path.

This would work. It had to.