Poppy tried desperately to get the bubble she was in to move toward the Funk Troll spaceship. "We have to get back down there," Poppy said, frustrated. "There's still hope. We can still fix this."

"Poppy, enough," Branch said. He sighed. "I've listened to you and done it your way, and now it's your turn to listen. It's time to get my sister and go home."

"Branch, I'm not like you," Poppy protested. "I can't just give up. Willow will be fine until we fix this. You wanted her safe, didn't you?"

"What about any of this is safe for you?" Branch asked. "She's with the Country Tribe. You don't think they're on Barb's list too? And I'm not giving up. I want to protect our friends and family. My family, who by the way, you made me leave behind!" Branch groaned in frustration. "She will be so mad when we see her again."

"I can't go home until I've proven myself as a good queen," Poppy argued back.

Branch stared back, unimpressed. "So that's what this is all about?"

"Why are you so upset?" Poppy asked. She didn't understand the turmoil going on in Branch's head.

"Because your dad was right," Branch said. "And Biggie was right and Queen Essence was right. And I've been backing you up even when you ignore them." He laughed incredulously. "I left my sister behind for you! She is alone, and in danger and I can't do anything to help her because we are so far away from each other." He sighed as the bubble finally settled to the ground and popped. "I abandoned her." Just like their brothers did. He shook his head. "But you never listen to me."

"Branch, what are you talking about?"

"You want to be a good queen?" Branch asked. "Good queens actually listen. You know what I heard back there? Differences do matter. Like-like you and me. We're too different to get along." Branch turned away. "Willow spent all our time with the Country Trolls listening and learning about their culture. We could have been doing that. We could have been learning about the others instead of shoving our music in their face. No wonder we were put in jail."

Poppy thought back to their friend Willow. She seemed the most excited about learning from the other Tribes. It was all she could talk about besides the potential dangers of their unknown enemy. She frowned when Branch began to walk away. They were different. Maybe too different. "We are really different," She said.

"So different," Branch confirmed.

"Completely out of harmony," Poppy continued, upset.

"Completely."

"I don't even know why we're friends."

"Neither do I," Branch said before he started walking away. He stopped and sighed. "So, why do I care about you more than anybody else?" He turned to face her. "Weird, right?" He sighed and walked away before looking to the sky. "Please be safe, sis. I don't know what I will do if you're not okay."

If anyone asked Willow, she'd deny it, but she was having fun with the Hard Rock Trolls. She knew their situation wasn't ideal, but she couldn't help it. Learning about rock music and its culture was something she had wanted to do, and she was able to help the prisoners.

King Trollex was pretty cool when he was fully hydrated. She managed to get him to talk about Techno music. If they weren't about to lose their music, she thought it would be fun to go to a rave with him sometime.

Trollzart was the conductor of the Classical Trolls. He was fancy and a little full of himself, but he was kind, and she enjoyed talking to him. He gave Willow an appreciation for music that didn't have words. They talked about how the tempo of music could give emotion to a song without there ever having to be words.

She avoided the Pop Trolls the best she could, however. She made sure they were taken care of, but she couldn't face them. They were captured because she had left with her brother and their queen. And she didn't even have their queen with her anymore.

Delta watched her interact with the other Tribes concerned. While Willow was still helpful and kind, it was easy to see how the Hard Rock Tribe influenced the young Pop Troll. Gone was the simple purple dress she had on when she started the adventure. She now had a plaid mini skirt, fishnet stockings, a bright red halter top, and a leather jacket. Her hair was straightened out and brushed to the side of her head. She had what Willow described as an industrial piercing in her left ear as well as a few small earrings on the right. She even got her eyebrow pierced.

Willow's Rock teacher, Val Thundershock turned out to be an extremely laid-back Troll. After Willow learned the musical aspects of being a Hard Rock Troll, Val insisted she learn more about the lifestyle and culture of the Hard Rockers. So when Willow asked about piercings, she was more than happy to take her to get them done.

Val grinned at the Pop Troll. "You look great, Pop Troll." She walked over to the Troll.

"Are you sure?" Willow asked nervous. "I know I said I wanted it, and I do. They looked great on other Trolls. You don't think they look stupid? Or are they too much?"

"Oh no," Val warned. "No self-doubt. Hard Rock Trolls are confident and comfortable in every choice they make." She chuckled and placed a hand on the Pop Troll's shoulder. "But don't worry, the queen will love it. You're practically a Hard Rock Troll now. You're just a little too bright to be born here." Willow grimaced at the thought. While she enjoyed the Hard Rock Tribe, she still wasn't fond of the whole 'make everybody Rock Trolls' idea. She was doing this so the prisoners would be taken care of.

One of the things that helped Willow the most was something Val called a 'rage room.' When she was able to relax around Val, she told her why she was there and not trapped with the rest of the Pop Trolls. Val saw how upset she was at the thought of her brother and friend abandoning her to finish their quest, and decided she could use a way to release any pent-up aggression, 'Rocker Style.' Throwing and breaking things with a hammer made Willow feel better in a way she hadn't considered possible. She made a note to make a rage room for the bunker if this ended well.

Willow spent two days with Val and the prisoners before she saw Queen Barb again. When she entered the room above the stage, Queen Barb looked at her in approval. "Now that's a Hard Rock look," she grinned. You look better than I could have imagined. I wasn't expecting the piercings, though. It's kind of hot."

Willow touched one of the earrings, concerned. "Heat usually means infected, right?" They didn't feel warm, but maybe they were red. Were they getting infected? She was taking care of them like she was supposed to.

Queen Barb tilted her head, confused before she laughed. "Funny and cute. Almost forgot you were a Pop Troll." She noticed Willow had a bass strapped to her back. "You know how to play that?"

Willow blushed at Queen Barb's comment. Cute? Nobody her age called her cute. It made her feel awkward. Ignoring the feeling, she nodded. "Yeah, Val was teaching me and I kind of figured it out. She got me this when we learned I was enjoying it."

"Well, let's see how good you play," Queen Barb suggested, grabbing her guitar. She began playing "Smoke on the Water, " a simple song but one that could show how well Willow understood the bass. She motioned for Riff to join in. Willow closed her eyes, listening to the beat, and began to follow along. Barb grinned when Willow started playing.

(Queen Barb)

We all came out to Montreux

On the Lake Geneva shoreline

To make records with a mobile

We didn't have much time

Frank Zappa and the Mothers

Were at the best place around

But some stupid with a flare gun

Burned the place to the ground

(Barb, Willow, and Riff)

Smoke on the water

A fire in the sky

Smoke on the water

Willow looked at Queen Barb's approving face and smiled relieved. It felt like she just passed some unspoken test. "Willow?" Willow froze as the voice spoke. She turned to see Poppy trapped in a prison cell, her face full of betrayal. "What are you doing?"

Queen Barb waved Riff away. "Go get your drums set up," She said sternly. She placed an arm around Willow's shoulders and walked over to the Pop queen. "Willow here made some new friends," She told Poppy, grinning. "You know, after you left her behind." She gestured to Willow's face. "You hurt her in ways you can't even imagine." She had spoken to Val a day before and learned just how upset Willow had been.

"Why is she here and not with the other prisoners?" Willow asked Queen Barb, her fists clenched. She turned to Poppy, tears in her eyes. "And where's Branch? Or did you leave him behind too?"

"I want her to have a front-row seat for the concert we're putting on," the Rock queen shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't warn you she was here before we started playing." Willow nodded in acceptance of the answer.

"I didn't leave him behind," Poppy protested. "He left me. I think he's going back to Lonesome Flats. You know, where we thought you were?"

Willow scoffed. "You mean where you left me behind after making a jailbreak?" She glared at Poppy. "Delta was only going to keep you in there for a couple of hours! You're telling me you couldn't wait that long? Queen Barb came and picked us up the next day!" Poppy flinched at the tone. She should have known Willow would be mad at her, she realized. She never had a problem voicing her displeasure before.

"Willow, I'm sorry," Popy cried. "I never should have left you behind. Maybe if I hadn't, this could have turned out differently."

Willow shrugged, feeling defeated. "What does it matter now?" She asked, tears streaming down her face. "With you here, Queen Barb has all the strings. Pretty soon, we'll all be Rock Trolls." Poppy gasped as her friend's colors drained away in front of her.

Queen Barb rested a hand on Willow's shoulder, concern on her face. "You good?" She asked. When Willow gave the affirmative, she nodded and patted her shoulder. "Why don't you check on the prisoners? The concert starts in a couple of hours and I want you on bass tonight." Willow nodded and left the room, bass in tow.

With Willow gone, Queen Barb rounded on Poppy. "You know, I wondered why Willow wasn't visiting the Pop Trolls in prison, but if talking to you for such a short time did that to her, I think I get it." She began to tune her guitar.

"She didn't go grey from talking to me," Poppy protested, angry. "She went like that because you're getting rid of all music. She loves our music and she loves Country. I don't know how she feels about the others, but knowing her, she probably loves them too." She closed her eyes. "I know I haven't been a good friend to her, but I know she doesn't want all of music to die."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Queen Barb denied. She looked up from her guitar. "Once I make all music Rock, everything will be better. Everyone will be united and Willow can stop feeling guilty over things she can't control. You'll see soon enough." Queen Barb was confident her plan would make the world a better place. It had to.

Willow waved a tired hand at the guard when she made it down to the prison cells. They had all gotten used to her appearing by then and just gave her the keys when she arrived. She looked at the newest arrivals, the Funk Trolls, and smiled sadly. "Hey, Cooper. Cooper's family." It was a surprise the day before when she learned Cooper was a Funk Troll. She was grateful for the chance to learn about their music and way of life. They were understandably cautious around her, seeing as she looked a little too much like the Hard Rock Trolls that imprisoned them. It didn't take much conversation with Cooper for them to realize she was just as much a prisoner as they were. The only reason she was free was because she was just one Troll, and she couldn't do anything when her weapons were taken from her.

"Hey, Willow!" Cooper greeted his friend. He frowned in concern. "Are you okay?" She was just as grey as her brother was over a year ago, so something bad must have happened.

King Trollex moved to the door of his cell to look at Willow. "You don't look so good, Sweet Beat."

"Oh sweetie," Delta voiced her concern when she saw Willow's gray complexion. "What happened?"

"Poppy's been captured," Willow admitted leaning against a cell. Who's it was, she couldn't say for sure. "Queen Barb has all the strings now." She laughed as she felt her tears running down her face. "I was so sure she and Branch would be able to keep the last string safe. They just had to stay away for a little longer and maybe I could have gotten the other strings away."

She furiously wiped her face. "And now Poppy's captured and Branch is on his way to Lonesome Flats because he thinks I'm still there. By the time he realizes, everything is going to be Hard Rock." She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Poppy thinks I've betrayed her, and I may as well have." She gestures to her new outfit. "I'm 'practically a Hard Rock Troll'," She repeated Val's earlier words in irritation. She scoffed. "I should have done more."

"What could you have done?" Delta asked from behind her. Willow looked at Delta confused. "What have you not done that you think you could have?"

"Yeah," King Trollex nodded. "You're just one Troll. The fact that you stuck your neck out to make sure we were all at least comfortable was more than enough."

Cooper and his twin brother Darnell nodded. "This has been the comfiest imprisonment I've ever had," Cooper said grinning. "And I've been in some pretty comfy prisons."

Willow cracked a smile. "I don't think the fungeon counts, Coop." She sighed in defeat. "You make a good point though." She looked back to Delta. "Can I have a hug?"

Delta nodded. "You look like you need one." Willow unlocked the cell and stepped inside before being enveloped by Delta's arms.

The group was silent before they heard crying coming from Delta's arms. "I miss Branch," Willow cried. "I hate that he and Poppy left me behind. I hate that everyone's music is going away, and I hate that I can do nothing about it! It's not fair. I just started learning about all these different people and music and it's all going away."

Delta held the girl as she cried. The stress of the past few days finally getting to her. "It's okay, hun. You just feel your feelings right now. It'll all work out in the end."

"No it won't," Willow said miserably. She held on tighter. "Gonna lose my brother, my friends, and my music." Delta hummed in response. She held the Pop Troll in her arms and looked at the concerned faces of the other Tribe leaders.

"This is bad," Cooper said, concerned. At his brother's confused expression, Cooper explained. "Willow doesn't cry. At least, not in public." "So this isn't normal, is it?" Darnell asked, gesturing to the still-crying Troll. Cooper shook his head.

"The poor thing," Queen Essence said, standing beside her boys. "Is there anything we can do?" King Trollex looked on in concern as he couldn't do much from his cell.

"I've never seen her gray before," Cooper admitted. "Her brother was like that for over twenty years though. He'd be the best person to talk to about that."

Delta looked down at the Pop Troll and then back to the other leaders. "I think I have an idea. She opened her mouth and did the one thing she could think of at the time. She could sing.

(Delta Dawn)

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Tollex sighed in relief when Willow stopped crying. He hated hearing how upset she was. He decided to join Delta in her song.

(Delta and Trollex)

Lay down your head and close your eyes

And when they open, the sun will rise

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Cooper looked at his twin brother and the two nodded in unison.

(Delta, Trollex, Cooper and Darnell)

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you

When they finished singing, they noticed Willow had finally calmed down and had fallen asleep. "That doesn't look comfortable," King Trollex said grimacing at the awkward position Willow found herself in. Delta adjusted her so she was sleeping on her back. "Should she be sleeping?"

"She's had a hard enough day," Delta said, frowning. "And it's probably not going to get easier." She sighed. "The guards will probably start moving us in an hour, so we'll let her sleep until then."

The group nodded. They'd let their friend rest. The night was still young and she'd need her rest.

Meanwhile, in a balloon, Branch was floating with the bounty hunters who were sent to capture him and Poppy. The K-Pop gang and the Raegetone trio were joining him in his effort to put a stop to Queen Barb. He looked towards Lonesome Flats sadly. "Sorry, sis. You're going to have to wait a little longer." He looked towards his target determined. "I have to stop Queen Barb first."

So Willow is stressed. And gray. But don't worry! She may be feeling a little defeated right now, but she'll be okay. This chapter was difficult for me to write. Big emotions can be hard to write sometimes for me. I hope you enjoyed it though. I think I have a couple more chapters to do and this movie will be over. Then it's Trollstopia! Afterward, it's the last holiday special and the movie everyone has been looking forward to. I'm so excited!