John Dory led Willow to his armadillo bus. She had asked who the armadillo bus belonged to, and he was more than happy to brag about his pet. "This is Rhonda," he grinned widely. "She's my baby." He helped support Willow as she got closer. "Careful, she's a little excitable."
Willow's smile radiated warmth as she leaned against the cheerful armadillo bus. "Hi, Rhonda!" she greeted the armadillo with a gentle pat on its face, to which Rhonda responded with a loving nuzzle. "She's precious!" Willow's affection for the armadillo bus was palpable in her voice, creating a comforting and peaceful atmosphere.
Rhonda churred happily as the Troll in front of her paid attention to her, being careful not to knock her down.
While Willow was getting acquainted with Rhonda, Branch pulled Barb and Trollex to the side. "Can you guys do me a favor?"
"What do you need?" Barb asked, an eyebrow raised at her girlfriend's brother.
"The bunker is a nightmare right now," he admitted sheepishly. "I know Willow wants to go home now, but she's going to freak out if we bring our brothers into our bunker, and it's as messy as it is now." Branch's concern for Willow's comfort and well-being was evident in his words.
Trollex looked at Branch and grimaced. "I don't know, Dubstep. Leaving Willow so soon after we just got her back? I don't like it."
"I know it's not ideal," Branch admitted. "But trust me. She may not mind right now, but when we get home she will be too stressed thinking about the mess to heal properly." He looked at where his little sister was cooing at the armadillo bus. "Come on, the last thing she needs is more stress."
Trollex looked at his girlfriend and sighed. "He's not wrong, Barbed Wire," he said, wrapping an arm around Barb. "She's been through a lot."
"And we know how she gets when stressed out," Barb nodded in agreement. She looked at Branch. "Alright, dude. We'll help get your place cleaned up."
Branch sighed in relief. "Thank you." He looked at the two royals. "Get together with Synth, Biggie, and Holly. They've been in charge of caring for the bunker while I'm out. And try to get a hold of Lownote. It would be helpful if he got the elevator fixed before we get there so Willow and Floyd don't have to climb into the hole to get to the elevator."
Trollex nodded and looked at Branch. "Got it, man." He smiled. "Don't worry; we'll get your place up and ready for Willow and your brothers."
"Thanks again," Branch smiled at the two royals. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."
"Of course," Barb grinned, leaning against Trollex. "You know we'd do anything for our popstar." She looked at Trollex and stood up. "I'm gonna call Riff so we can take the angler bus to Pop Village. You let Willow know we're taking off, alright?"
"Sure," Trollex hugged his girlfriend before following Branch to where Willow sat on the yacht's floor and petting Rhonda. He grinned at his smiling girlfriend. "Hey, Sweet Beat. How are you feeling?"
"Angel Fish!" Willow grinned up at her boyfriend. "I'm in a bit of pain, but I think I'm doing good." She gestured to Rhonda. "Isn't Rhonda just the cutest thing? I love her."
Trollex smiled. "Yeah, she's pretty great, isn't she?" He sat down beside her. "So Barbed Wire and I need to leave once she gets the angler bus down here."
"Where are you going?" Willow furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "I thought you'd be riding with us."
"We wanted to get some things taken care of in the bunker before you get home," Trollex said, wrapping an arm around her to comfort her. "And while we take care of that, you'll bond with your family. Doesn't that sound nice?"
Willow frowned and rested her head against Trollex. "I guess so." She looked up at him, her eyes reflecting her uncertainty. "You guys will be there when we get home?" She was anxious about being separated from Trollex and Barb.
"We'll be there," Trollex assured. He helped Willow stand up and hugged her. When Barb finished talking to Riff, Trollex let her grab Willow, and he turned to the brothers. "We're gonna put her in Rhonda. Where's a good spot for her?"
"Set her on my bed," John Dory nodded at the three. "It'll be the most comfortable for her." He nudged Floyd. "Why don't you go ahead and get some rest, too, bro? I bet you could use some rest, too."
Floyd nodded and moved to follow his sister and her partners into Rhonda. "That sounds good. We'll be taking off soon, yeah?"
"We'll be right behind you, bro," Clay smiled. When Floyd entered Rhonda, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Okay, we should talk about what happened earlier before we get in there."
"What's there to talk about?" Branch raised an unamused eyebrow at his brother. "You all made it clear you didn't want to be a family again. We can drop you guys off on our way to Pop Village." He looked at John Dory, his tone slightly accusatory. "Don't worry about sticking around after you drop us off. I'm sure you and Hickory will be thrilled taking off for the mountains." The tension in the air was palpable, the unresolved issues between the brothers hanging heavy.
John Dory ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I did say that, didn't I?" He looked at his brothers. "I'm sorry, guys. I wasn't thinking when I said all that earlier today. The truth is, I've missed you guys. I hate how long it's been since I've seen you guys, and I would have loved to sing campfire songs and roast marshmallows." He looked to the ground and smiled sadly. "I can't believe I've missed so much of your lives."
"We weren't exactly the best at keeping in touch," Bruce admitted, crossing his arms. "We don't know anything about what happened to Floyd these past few years."
"Not to mention how John Dory and I know nothing about Willow," Clay added. "Or what you've been up to, Branch."
"It would be nice to be a family again," John Dory smiled hopefully. "What do you say, bros? Do you think we can try being a family again?"
"I don't know, John," Clay shook his head. "When we left, there was a lot of bad blood between us."
"But it would be nice having the family around more often," Bruce admitted, crossing his arms. He looked at his brothers. "I've missed you too, guys."
"So what are we going to do?" Branch asked, crossing his arms and looking at his brothers. "Obviously, you guys aren't going to stay with us forever, but it would be nice if you stuck around a little."
"How about we wait to make big decisions until our siblings recover?" John Dory suggested. "That way, nobody feels bad for whatever choice they make."
"We're going home first," Branch muttered, uncrossing his arms and looking to the floor. "We made the bunker, so there's plenty of room for you guys, and you're welcome to stay there for as long as you want."
"I won't be able to stay for very long," Bruce warned. "I have a wife and kids I'll need to get home to eventually."
"Of course," Branch nodded. "The last thing we'd want to do is keep you away from your family."
Before the four brothers could say anything else, Trollex and Barb exited the armadillo bus. "Alright," Trollex crossed his arms. "Willow's resting now, so we'll be heading off." He glared at the brothers. "The only reason we're leaving Willow with you is because Branch is here. If this were up to us, we'd take her far away from you all." He narrowed his eyes at Bruce. "I don't care how good of friends we were in the past."
"You guys have got to figure out how to get along," Barb added, crossing her arms. "I don't care what your issues were growing up, but you cannot drag Willow into it. She's dealt with too much already."
"The point is," Trollex continued. "We're not leaving her with you because we trust you to be adults and care for Willow. We're leaving because we don't have many other options. But know this," he stepped to the brothers threateningly. "If Willow returns to us in worse condition than she's in right now, there will be hell to pay."
"We get it," Branch assured with a nod. "Poppy and I will be here to ensure nothing bad happens to her." He walked over to the two royals. "I'm thinking of stopping by one of the other Tribes and getting a doctor to look at her and Floyd before we make it home. I don't know if you noticed, but she looks pretty banged up. And I'm not just talking about her getting drained like she was."
Barb nodded, her brows furrowed. "Yeah, she was leaning pretty heavily on us, and she was definitely limping. Good call, man." She looked up to see her angler bus hovering above them. "And there's our ride." The angler bus landed, and Riff ran out. "What's going on, man? You look a little freaked."
"Your Rockness," Riff stopped in front of Barb. "King Trollex. Your people are here. The angler buses are just outside the city. What do you want to do?"
"Oh yeah," Barb's eyes widened in realization. I forgot about them." She looked at her boyfriend and grinned before turning to Riff. Bring them in. I have a message for these Mount Rageons." Riff nodded and returned to the angler bus to inform the others. "Make sure we have some of those star cameras on us in a few minutes," she suggested, looking at Crimp. Everyone is going to want to hear this."
"Oh!" Crimp startled before nodding. "Of course." She gathered star cameras as they watched the angler buses fly into the city.
"Just how big of an army does she have?" Clay asked, wonder in his voice as he saw the amount of angler buses fly down into Mount Rageous.
"She is the Queen," Branch reminded them. "So it's pretty massive. And then there's the Technos they probably brought with them." He chuckled. "Just be glad she's on our side."
The brothers, Poppy, and her sister watched as the Trollex and Barb climbed onto their angler bus and joined the others in the sky above Mount Rageous. "These cameras are on, right?" Barb's voice could be heard over the speakers. The group looked up to see the Rock Queen on the screens. "Good." Barb grinned before moving away from the camera to stand by Trollex. "What's up, Mount Rageous? This is Queen Barb of the Hard Rock Trolls and King Trollex of the Techno Trolls. We gotta message for you."
"Recently, two of you dared to take two of our people," Trollex said, crossing his arms. "You all are lucky the two Trolls that were taken made it out alive, or there would have been dire consequences." The normally relaxed Troll glared into the camera. "This better not happen again."
"And to show you just what will happen if it does," Barb raised an arm, her guitar in hand. "Rockers! Techno Dudes!" The cameras panned out to show the angler busses open up to see a variety of Rock and Techno Trolls, instruments at the ready.
Trollex grinned darkly at the camera. "Rock music is pretty powerful on its own," he said casually. "But recently, we learned our DJ equipment amplifies the energy their music produces." He narrowed his eyes and lifted a hand in the air. "Here's what'll happen the next time you take one of ours."
With a swipe of his hand, Barb struck a chord on her guitar, followed by the rest of the Rock and Techno Trolls. The force of their music took down one of their buildings and the bridge closest to the yacht their girlfriend was on. Barb grinned at the destruction and gave a salute to the camera. "Later."
Clay watched as the angler buses took off with the royals in tow. "Man, am I glad we're not their enemies," he muttered as he walked into Rhonda.
Bruce nodded in agreement and followed. "I'm just glad Trollex usually isn't that mad. He's the chill one in their relationship."
Poppy giggled and grabbed onto Branch as they followed her sister into Rhonda. "At least they're on our side," Branch muttered. He smiled at his sleeping sister. "And they're doing this all for Willow, so at least we know they care about her."
John Dory nodded and climbed into the driver's seat. "I don't know about you guys, but I've seen enough of Mount Rageous. Let's get out of here." The people of Mount Rageous were kind enough to get them off the yacht and onto the main road, where they drove out of Mount Rageous.
Once they left the city limits, John Dory grinned and turned to face his brothers. "Alright, B. Where's this doctor you were thinking about taking our siblings?"
I love protective Trollex. And that he's usually super chill unless his girlfriends or people are in trouble. Where do you think Branch is going to take them? Anyway, thanks for reading everyone!
