A/N: Anonymous request on Tumblr :)

Basically an AU of the AU I made where Branch switched himself out for Floyd. Text from "Battle of the Bands," "Redeemed," and "Mission Accomplished" (all oneshots from my fanfic collection Trolls 3.0) were utilized, as I think that things would mostly be going the same way as I had wrote it, except for some minor changes

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"No..." Velvet whimpered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Her hands shook as she grabbed the cracked pieces of the diamond that had scattered all around her on the ground, and uselessly tried to piece them together.

Veneer in the meantime looked rather thoughtful. Finally, the one item that had been the cause of all the turmoil for the Trolls had been decimated. And he, for one, was glad.

But, before he could start mentioning this to his sister, and before she could even take notice of the contented expression on her brother's face, her vision honed in on a larger piece of the diamond that had broken off, perfectly shaped as a dagger would be... and then flitted her gaze to the celebrating Trolls to the side. One thing and one thing only crossed her mind then and there, and she grabbed the diamond piece, raising it above her head and charging at the Trolls with a piercing cry.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! "

Much happened in those next few seconds, all at once. Poppy shrieked at the sight of the maniacal doll-like creature heading for them, and Branch shoved her behind him out of instinctiveness to keep his girlfriend safe. He expected to feel the blade pierce him, but was shocked to find that something had taken the blow full on instead, shielding him.

That something – or some one as it was – was Floyd, who'd jumped in the way with a cry of "NOOO!"

In a horrific scene, like something that someone would see only in a nightmare, the BroZone brother fell to the ground, stabbed.

The brothers gasped in shock.

"FLOYD!!"

Branch was the first to rush to his side where he'd landed, sprawled and wincing. "Floyd..." he said, more quietly this time. He was stunned to see that his older brother would do something so stupid as to blatantly put himself in danger. Hadn't the Troll had enough, having been trapped in that diamond and weakened with the power of his talent being sucked out? But... he did it to save ME, Branch realized, seeing that maybe his older brother's reasoning wasn't all that stupid. It was honorable, if anything, and something so true to what Floyd would do. And the blue Troll wasn't the only one mortified over the incident either.

Veneer's jaw dropped, beyond horrified of what his sister had done. His sister, who, in her insensitive manner towards the band's sensitive one, was actually celebrating, cackling and nudging him with amusement for her seeming victory. But her victory would not be long-lived, not if he could help it.

Having had the last straw, Veneer turned to the cameras that surrounded them, speaking boldly and clearly for everybody to hear. "Listen up, Mount Rageons!" he called. "We are... FRAUDS!"

His admission was met with a number of gasps from the throngs of fans who had shown up to witness the performance - including the gasp of his own sister, who had been cut off from her celebratory mood.

"WHAT?" she growled.

"Don't 'what' me, sis! You and I have literally been torturing little Trolls. Just look at what you just did!" He turned the camera towards where Floyd was laying in pain with his brothers surrounding him, the diamond shard jutting out in an ugly manner.

The Mount Rageons gasped once again, and that's when the shouts began.

"Velvet did that?!"

"She's not a popstar - she's a murderer!"

"My illusion of celebrity has been shattered!"

Velvet shoved her brother aside and pleaded into the cameras. "Don't listen to him! He's a liar! I, um... I plead the insanity defense! Yeah!"

Veneer rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, sis. You knew exactly what you were doing. Just like you did when you were trying to change who I was. And there's nothing 'insane' here except for you thinking that I want to become famous with you like this!"

Velvet's cheeks were turning crimson. "How else are we gonna be famous?!"

Veneer had an answer for that. "We just have to practice. It might take time, but that's how it is. Fame doesn't just come overnight. You have to work at it, and have the right people by your side."

"That Troll has been getting to your head!" Velvet hissed.

"That 'Troll' has shown me that I do have real talent within. And that we don't have to do this!" He spared a glance at Floyd, and felt worry prick at him. The Troll looked in worse condition than ever. When he was able to catch Branch's gaze of the four brothers that surrounded him, he whispered an urgent "Go," hoping that they would get him the medical attention he needed whilst his sister remained distracted.

"It's like I don't even know who you are anymore," Velvet whined with disgust.

"Yeah, you do," he stated firmly, "you just never cared. Which is why I don't care to know what you think about this!" He snapped on a pair of handcuffs to her wrists, and she gasped.

"Veneer! What did you do?!"

"What has to be done sis," he said matter-of-factly, snapping a pair of handcuffs to his own wrists. Extending his arms out towards two approaching guards, he said, "Officers, I think we need to serve our time."

The crowd cheered as the pop-stars were led away, elated that justice had been served.

But things, however, were not so jubilant on behalf of the Trolls themselves.

Frantically, the brothers laid Floyd down atop of the couch within John Dory's caterbus, the Troll groaning as Branch, Clay, Bruce and JD surrounded their brother in a semicircle. Poppy and Viva stood off to one side, watching with wide eyes and giving the guys their space.

"Oh my gosh..." Clay murmured. "What do we do? "

Branch took the lead on that. "First things first, we need to get this outta him." He gestured at the very obvious piece he was referring to, trying not to grimace too much.

Hurriedly agreeing, each bro held the magenta Troll down while Branch gripped the diamond shard and tugged. It slipped out easily, the tip tinted a deep scarlet color. With hesitance, he looked down at Floyd, bracing himself for the worst. But, to his relief, Branch was able to determine that, while injured, his brother's wound did not run as deep as he'd imagined. But it didn't mean that they were out of the woods just yet.

"Quick, get me some gauze," he urged. He managed to take the next minute in cleaning the area and applying the appropriate bandages.

Floyd, however, had stilled.

"Floyd?" Branch called, uncertainly.

"Come on, man, wake up," Bruce coaxed. He grabbed onto his leg and shook him, but the Troll felt like deadweight.

"We need you, brother," John Dory whispered.

"Oh, no...," Clay murmured, when his brother still did not respond.

Branch bent down close to Floyd's ear, speaking softly into it. "I built the hideout, Floyd... Just like the plan I drew..." A hand went to his leaf vest, where, in its inner pocket, the drawing was safely stowed away. "Well, except for the ten-story waterslide," he amended.

A moment of silence passed after that, John Dory, Bruce, Clay and Branch silently mourning the painful loss of the gentle magenta-haired Troll.

Until...

Eyes slowly fluttered open, and a soft recognizable voice asked, "But... how will we shower?"

The Troll squeaked in surprise when all four of the brothers replied with a scream of "FLOYD!" and was subsequently crushed by arms squeezing him in a tight hug.

"You're alive!"

"Oh, thank goodness!"

"We thought you were a goner for good!"

Floyd chuckled but then winced. "Oof, not too tight, guys," he said apologetically, gesturing at the freshly-bandaged injury.

"Whoops, sorry man!" JD replied with a sheepish little chuckle.

The three elder brothers bombarded him with phrases of relief insead. Branch in the meantime remained clung at his side, not wanting to let go, making sure that this was real.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he told him genuinely.

Floyd grinned at him, sweetly ruffling the blue-haired crop of hair atop of head. "Hey, um guys?" he asked the brothers. They immediately perked and listened in. "Do you think we could be a family again?"

Branch exchanged a look with the others. They knew just what he was thinking, so he spoke up for all of them. "Floyd, we ARE a family." And with that he went back and wrapped his arms around him again.

Seeing it as the perfect moment, Viva grabbed Poppy and led them over to the boys with a cheery shout of "GROUP HUG!"

And as all seven Trolls snuggled against each other contently, they knew that it was finally time to go home, together as one true family.