A/N: Requested by WeirdNCrazy on AO3, krisalyn598, and with ideas from Pixarchan. See the end for some explanatory notes, too. Enjoy!

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"I don't know... maybe we shoulda kept the other guy too?"

Veneer tapped the side of the diamond with a finger, peering inside at Branch as though the Troll was some rare species of animal in a zoo.

Velvet, who'd been carefully holding the diamond, tugged it away from him. "Watch it!" she snapped. "We don't want anything happening to him, unless we make it happen. Besides, Pink Lloyd over there was running out of juice. But something tells me that this little guy is gonna last a whole lot longer..." She smiled what looked to be a sweet smile, though Branch could tell it was laced with a dark menace that chilled him.

"Yeah, right," he growled at them, trying to think of a better comeback, wanting to say with confidence that he'd get out of there just fine. But he didn't, because he couldn't make that claim. He didn't know what the gang was up to, now that he'd been captured. How were they going to stop them?

"Backtalker, huh?" Velvet shook her head. "Too bad you can't be more quiet like your wussy brother. It would work out better for me!"

"And me!" Veneer chimed in. "Right?"

Velvet shot her brother a look. "Uh, yeah, duh..." she said, but it was so obviously insincere.

Veneer frowned at this. "You see!" he cried. "You see! I knew we shoulda kept the other guy, even if we were starting to wear him out. You don't wanna share!"

"Oh, shut up!" Velvet yelled at him. "I'm the one who said we should be singers in the first place, so it makes sense that I get to have the most talent, get it?"

Veneer got it, but he wasn't having it. "You're not being fair!" he whined, and reached for the diamond in her hands, grasping it tightly.

"Hey! Let go! Stop it!" Velvet said, struggling with Veneer for hold of the diamond for the next minute, while Branch was knocked about inside. Finally, Velvet came out as victor when she mustered enough strength to tear it away completely and knock her brother back at the same time.

"Idiot," she mumbled under her breath, then, with a wild look in her eye, she cradled the diamond close to her face. "I will not be denied what I deserve," she hissed. "And I will be adored." With that, she held the diamond readily up to her nose, preparing to inhale that sweet Troll essence that would no doubt make her (and her brother, she supposed) the most envied diva in all of Mount Rageous... and then, all of the world!

And she would've followed through, if it hadn't been for the shock that jolted through her when a scream bellowed through the air.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU FREAKS!"

Branch recognized that voice right away, too – he'd heard it just as loud as it had been when it called out at Bridget and Gristle's wedding, and he was stunned to find that it was his big brother, John Dory.

Wait... all of his big brothers!

Behind him, still decked in their not-so-form-fitting old outfits, were Clay and Spruce who, from the look of it, were ready to rumble. Alongside them were Poppy and Floyd. The Pop Queen had given the second youngest BroZone member back the magenta vest that belonged to him, while she'd taken to wearing the white shades that Branch had donned as a baby. Poppy frowned up at the dolled-creature, while Floyd too put on a brave face. It was a display of courage and determination on all their parts, though Velvet thought otherwise.

She began to laugh in an instant at the five little Trolls, finding them ridiculous, and when she didn't stop, John Dory, taking leadership as he'd most always done, spoke up.

"Excuse me," he shouted, "I believe you have something that belongs to us!"

"Or should we say, someone," Spruce pitched in with a huff.

"Oh, really?" Velvet asked sarcastically. "Sorry, guys, but this diamond – and everything in it – belongs to ME. So if you want it, you're gonna have to – "

"HIT IT!"

Velvet startled at the interruption, a part of her infuriated for having her victory spiel cut off, and a part of her confused for what started happening right after the Pop Queen had cried out the command. Because the five Trolls gathered together, and jumped right into a song-and-dance routine.

"Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't want to lose it again
But I'm not like them
Baby, when you finally
Get to love somebody
Guess what?
It's gonna be me!"

"Ugh, what the heck is this supposed to be?!" Velvet asked angrily, getting no response aside from more singing. She was going to turn away and disregard whatever nonsense was going on, when she noticed something happening. She had to blink to make sure that she was actually seeing correctly, and sure enough it was right there, clear as day. It was a sort of light that was glowing around the five, similar to when Floyd's talent had been sucked out, and it was sparkling and thrumming with energy as the routine continued. The lights were all a different color that coordinated to each Troll – a vibrant green, an alluring purple, an electric yellow, a tame magenta, and a bright pink. It swirled and sparkled in a way that had Velvet in awe, so much that she was taken off guard when the energy shot right out at her in a surprisingly powerful burst.

She yelped and fell back, right on Veneer who'd just managed to have gotten back up on his feet from their earlier scuffle, and causing them both to fall down again in a tumble of skinny arms and legs. She was relieved to find that she'd managed to hold onto the diamond, but her heart dropped when she gave it a quick examination. Right there, stretching like an ugly scar on one side, was a large, and quite deep-looking crack. Velvet made a noise of surprise and ran her finger over it, hoping it was just a horrible illusion, that her twisted dream was not at risk of falling apart at the seams...

... but found that it was very much real.

Taking note of the surprise on her face, the Trolls cheered, feeling the entirely opposite way of their rival.

"Oh! It's working!" Poppy cried.

"Thank goodness," Floyd mumbled. He knew exactly what it was like to be trapped inside that diamond, and it was not good.

"Darn right it is!" John Dory exclaimed, absolutely hyped. "Now we just gotta keep workin' it till that diamond breaks!"

"I hear that," both Clay and Spruce agreed at the same time.

Velvet meanwhile had recovered from the shock, and was now narrowing her eyes menacingly. "So that's the way they wanna play," she muttered, and in a fury she hauled Veneer up by the arm. "Get up already!" she growled. "Looks like we got ourselves a little Band Battle."

"A Band Battle?" Veneer echoed, "But I didn't even get a chance to finish touching up!" he whimpered, feeling self-conscious for his lack of vanity.

"Ergh, there's no time!" Velvet grumbled, shoving a microphone at him and grabbing one for herself. Her gaze locked in on the quintet who'd thought they had everything in the bag with their little rainbow-colored magic trick.

They'll see that they're wrong!

The two doll-like siblings began to get it on with their own number, their voices still riding off of Floyd's talent that still lingered in their system.

"Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something...!"

The production was very flashy, very over-the-top in both the song and dance department. Some of the moves were a bit absurd, given their very thin, limby build, but the siblings still went for it. They were not going to be upstaged by Trolls, not if they could help it. Velvet figured that if the Trolls had some kind of supernatural force that let their combined voices become strong and powerful, then what did it hurt to try it for themselves and see if she and her brother had it too? And it turned out her theory wasn't wrong. She could feel something surge through her and Veneer, but it wasn't the same colorful, friendly type of thing that had encompassed the Trolls. This was a dark kind, not only in the dull black and enchanting green schematic, but also with the wickedness that came with it. It was the way poison would look, if poison could be depicted in an abstract form. The pair of them grinned as their song blasted the Trolls back in a replica of what had happened to them moments earlier, only this time, the tables had been turned.

But the Trolls were as steadfast as they were musical.

"Don't give up!" Poppy ever optimistically urged them. "We can do it!"

The group sang again, determined to prove it.

"It's hard to say I'm sorry
It's hard to make the things I did undone
A lesson I've learned too well for sure
So don't hang up the phone now
I'm trying to figure out just what to do
I'm going crazy without you...

You're all I ever wanted
You're all I ever needed, yeah
So tell me what to do now
When I want you back!"

And Velvet and Veneer sang back, determined to put an end to it.

"Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused...!"

Back and forth the supercharged music went from both ends, one lively and positive, the other evil and negative. Both were vastly different, and both were putting up quite the challenge against each other. But it was when the Trolls pulled together on another one of their verses, putting every bit of heart and soul into it that things in the battle began to sway.

"It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you
But when we are apart, I feel it too
And no matter what I do, I feel the pain
With or without you!"

Resounding in a loud, clear crescendo, the brothers and Poppy succeeded in creating a massive sonic-like explosion. The diamond cracked significantly more, rooting out from its initial crack so that it formed smaller ones, like tree roots or branches.

The siblings noticed and gasped.

"Sis," Veneer said, "I think they're gonna – "

"NO, they WON'T," Velvet quickly cut him off. She adjusted her golden top better, straightened the loose emerald-colored curls on her head, and gripped the microphone so tightly that her knuckles turned far whiter than they already were.

"Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something!"

The counterattack, much to the Trolls' distress, superseded their song. The soundwave was violent and overwhelming, wracking the Trolls body with horrible electrical pulsations that blew them backwards. While nobody suffered a physical injury, it seemed that their resolve was weakened.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up," Floyd moaned, panting a little from exhaustion. It was taxing to have the doll-like siblings take away his talent, and its effects were proving themselves in his inability to keep up the Family Harmony for much longer.

"But we gotta sing the perfect Family Harmony!" John Dory exclaimed. "Remember? You yourself said it was gonna be the only thing that's powerful enough to shatter a diamond. Don't you wanna save him?"

"Of course I do!" the magenta Troll replied, feeling a pang of worry far greater than before for his younger brother.

"But Floyd's right, dude," Spruce pointed out. "We're literally doing everything that we can, we're giving everything our best shot!"

"What more can we do?" Clay asked, going off of the purple Troll.

Poppy thought about this too. What more CAN be done? No way did she want her boyfriend to go out like this, trapped, made to suffer, and at the clutches of two awful folks who were there to – in the words of their song – use and abuse him!

But then Poppy heard a voice, and for a second, she thought an angel had descended from the heavens, having heard her internal plea for help and there to give her advice. It was no angel, however, but to Poppy it was as close of a second as one could get. Because it was Branch's voice.

"Let me take you to a better plaaaace,

I'm gonna make you kiss the sky tonight

Yeah if you let me show the waaay,

I'm so excited, to see you excited!

Take you to a better place (yoo hoOooOo)

And baby you can love me all the way

We're flying up to outer spaaace,

I'm so excited, to see you excited!"

From within the cracked diamond, his voice carried on strongly, and the brothers and Poppy recognized the tune that he was belting out so beautifully. It was BroZone's most popular hit single, the one that had risen them to fame and destroyed them, the song that had been a blessing and a curse all mashed together in a single glorious melody.

And it was just the inspiration that the Trolls needed.

Poppy was the first of the five to add her voice in the mix. While not an official BroZone member, she still knew the exact words of the song by heart, and sang them with much heart put into it. JD followed in with her...

.. then Spruce...

... then Clay...

... then Floyd...

... who joined with the others harmoniously so that they were creating a heart-stopping sound... But there was still a question on their minds - would it be that perfect Family Harmony?

Velvet and Veneer didn't wait to find out. As soon as Branch had started singing, they'd grabbed the mikes and retaliated harder than they'd done so far with their song.

"Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something...!"

The dark magic was strong and wild, and struck against the Trolls' harmonious one, entangling it in a mess of twisted energy. It was difficult to tell which of the two sides were winning with how stunningly chaotic things became, the rays fighting and wrestling, good against bad, in a heated struggle for dominance.

But the Trolls still kept on singing.

Poppy sang like she never did before in her life. John Dory gave it all his boldness, Spruce all his heart, Clay all his spunk, Floyd all his sincerity.

And the doll-like siblings were giving it their all too - all their spare stolen talent that is, which was rapidly being depleted.

The pair took no notice until Veneer's voice suddenly cracked and became pitchy at a key note in the song.

"Some of them want to use you, some of them want to be ab -ACK! UGHCK CAH!" He coughed suddenly over the unexpected interruption, and Velvet gave him an annoyed stare.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded harshly, but suddenly found her own voice faltering with a rough cough. In a panic, she tried again quickly, opening her mouth and willing her vocal chords to cooperate, but what came out was less than stellar.

"Some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abu-UGHCK ACCK HAK!"

With horror, she realized that they were losing. She and Veneer looked at each other, thinking the same as they honed their gaze on their most precious possession.

The diamond!

Both hands reached for it, and both hands drew back, the siblings gave a sharp cry for the sudden, electric ZAP that had erupted from Branch's enclosure. Velvet suddenly regretted not having inhaled his talent right when she had the opportunity. It was as though the Troll musical magic had created a forcefield, preventing her and her brother from even laying a finger on the diamond.

Then the most marvelous thing happened.

And that, folks, was the accomplishment of impossibly fabled perfect Family Harmony.

It was exactly as mystically glorious as the brothers remembered it, with all of the colors and light and absolutely in-sync sensation that coursed through their veins. The Family Harmony was something completely new to Poppy, but it was incredible to her. She'd felt the same light-and-airy way that she'd felt earlier in their adventure as she'd sang with Viva in Putt Putt Village, when the sisters had been over the moon for their reunion. Now that she, the brothers, and Branch had all banded together, there seemed to be no stopping the Trolls. Their magic pulsed and glowed, stronger than ever and - if one looked closely enough - it could be sworn that it formed the image of one great, big ethereal apparition of a Troll... One who, in the climactic moment of the band's union, blasted out a massive burst of pure, bright, rainbow-colored energy. The last thing Velvet and Veneer saw before they had to shut their eyes from the scorching light was the diamond, rippling and snapping, and then making the telltale CRRRRRAAAACKK! that indicated that it had broken completely.

Branch, also blinded by the light, had hardly realized what had happened, barely getting a sense of where he was, at least until he felt himself surrounded by Poppy and his brothers.

"WE DID IT!" Poppy cheered, squeezing Branch in a tight hug. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT! Oh, Branch, I'm so glad you're okay!!"

"Oh, Poppy!" he cried in relief, holding her just as tightly and never wanting to let go. He'd been fearful that he could never have her in his arms again, but that fear could now rest at ease.

His older brothers were just as pumped as the Pop Queen. "WOO-YEAH!" John Dory shouted. "She's right – we did it, we owned it, we brought the house down! Or at least that evil diamond... WOOOO!" He made his rounds with the brothers, chest-bumping with Spruce, double-high fiving with Clay, and lovably noogy-ing Floyd.

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

Veneer looked mortified for what had happened too, and helplessly scurried to pick up as many pieces of the diamond that he could. "M-maybe we can fix it?" he stammered to Velvet. "Like, if we got some glue or some tape or, um, or..."

Veneer rambled on about what he thought might work, but Velvet wasn't listening. Her gaze was fixed 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. One thing and one thing only crossed her mind then and there, and before she knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed the diamond piece, raised it above her head, and charged 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 someone as it was – was John Dory, 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 eldest BroZone brother fell to the ground, stabbed.

The brothers gasped in shock.

"JOHN DORY!!"

Branch was the first to rush to his side where he'd landed, sprawled and wincing. "John Dory..." 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. 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. He suddenly felt awful for every bad thought he'd had about him, for every time he'd itched to slap the smug grin off his face throughout the journey and every time he'd wanted him to leave again with his idiotic goggles and never come back into his life. Branch wished he could take it all back now, and not have to kneel there, witnessing his brother's death.

Poppy was also shook, her brain trying to catch up with what had happened. Branch was going to save her life. Branch had been the one about to take the blade straight on. Her Branch, who would be lying there in pain, at least, until the turn of events that had resulted in the eldest BroZone brother choosing to step in instead.

Suddenly, John Dory began to shift, mumbling something that sounded a little bit like Branch's name, but it sounded strained. He tried again, and this time managed to be coherent.

"Branch, I... I..."

"Wh-what?" Branch replied shakily, trying his best not to let his voice waver in the midst of it all. There was a lump the size of all the Troll kingdoms combined in his throat, but he refused to break down. For Floyd, though, it was no problem at all. He'd already let fresh tears fall down his face, and was clutching on hard to Spruce who was closest to him. The purple Troll was trying his best not to tremble too much, while Clay had gone ashen in the face with alarm.

John Dory spoke again. "I... I think... she needs... to work on her aim..."

Branch blinked at him. "Huh?"

Suddenly JD grinned at him, rolled over, and lifted his arm to show that the diamond blade sitting snugly in the crook between his arm and body.

Before any of the Trolls could react, Velvet beat them to it.

"WHAT?!" she cried. "Impossible!"

But it was not impossible, not with the way that JD slid the diamond piece out without so much as a scratch on his skin to show and smiled smugly. Then, something strange began to happen. The diamond piece glowed, hovering in the air.

"Uhhh, sis?" Veneer suddenly said, but Velvet already knew what he was referring to, when she saw the other shattered diamond pieces hovering up in the air, too, also glowing.

"What the fu – ?!" Velvet started, but was cut from her obscenity when the diamond pieces, all floating around them, emitted a beaming blast that looked very similar to the Family Harmony that had shattered it in the first place, causing her and Veneer to scream.

"AAAAGHHHHH!"

When everything had settled, the Trolls saw the two were nowhere in sight.

"What the... where'd they go?" Clay asked out loud.

"Does this answer your question?!"

He was spooked by the sound of Velvet's disembodied voice, but then he and the others noticed something that they hadn't before. The diamond had reconstructed itself, and was sitting not too far from where they were. And, trapped inside of it and experiencing a taste of their own medicine, were Velvet and Veneer, shrunken down so they were Troll-sized and unable to escape.

Still, Veneer asked his sister, "How are we gonna get outta this scrap, sis?"

Velvet pounded the glass walls and screamed at her brother. "SHUT UP!!!"

The Trolls chuckled at the two, with John Dory snickering loudly. "Heh hehe, I guess they got theirs, huh? Fooled 'em good with my act, too, right?"

Clay, surprisingly, was not in his typical jokey mood. He frowned at the teal Troll.

"John Dory, that was not funny!" Clay shouted. "And trust me, I know funny!"

"You scared me, bro," Floyd blubbered, still trying to get his waterfall under control.

"You scared all of us," Spruce admitted, letting out a breath of relief and dabbing at the beads of sweat that had perspired on his forehead.

"We thought you were a goner!" Poppy chimed in.

Only Branch didn't say anything at first. He looked at John Dory incredulously, and then decided to speak.

"Why... did you do that?" he asked, getting awful images back of when their Grandmother had sacrificed her own life to save Branch from the Bergen Chef. Only, his Grandma hadn't made it out of that one alive.

JD shrugged. "Hey, dude, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for your fam than for yourself. Something I wish I knew a long time ago..."

He glanced at Spruce, Clay, and Floyd, who got exactly what he meant.

John Dory offered a tentative smile to Branch, which, he was glad to find that the blue-haired Troll returned.

Poppy's gasp interrupted their moment. "Oh my gosh, you guys, look!"

She pointed down at their chests, to which they noticed for the first time that they were sporting brand-new hair-matching vests that fit them perfectly.

"Whoa..." Clay said, and then looked down to find that he too had a yellow vest that fit him much better. Spruce and Floyd's were no different.

"Ah, no wonder I can breathe better!" Spruce said, recalling how tight his old vest from his teenage years had been squeezing him throughout the entire performance.

"But where did these come from?" Floyd wondered, his fingers grazing over the sleek material.

"It must've been from the Family Harmony," Branch guessed, remembering how when Barb's world tour had concluded with all the musical tribes singing together, the magical moment causing rainbow-colored outfits to transform upon Poppy and some of the other tribe leaders.

"Aw, maaan, mine's ripped!" John Dory moaned, showing that part of it was sliced, due to the diamond blade. He looked at them hopefully. "Hey, you think we can sing the Family Harmony again and get it fixed?"

Branch gave his brother a look like "Really?", but it was Poppy who actually responded. "Hmm... you know, I've got a couple of fashion friends who could probably sow that up once we get back to Pop Village," she said, thinking about Satin and Chenille. "Well, um, that is... if you wanna go back?"

She scanned the brothers' faces, who seemed to be a little doubtful at her suggestion.

"Back to Pop Village?" Spruce asked.

"We haven't been there in years..." Clay mumbled. It wasn't even in the same place, with how they'd all learned about the relocation into the forest after King Peppy's evacuation on that one Trollstice.

But it was a homecoming long in the making, and one that Branch - who stood silently in between Poppy and Floyd with bated breath – was hoping that they'd go for.

Luckily, his brothers' thoughts were right on the same track.

"Sure, we'll go!" John Dory said, speaking up for the band. "But only on one condition..."

"What is it?" Floyd asked curiously.

JD grinned slyly at his magenta-haired brother. "That none of us ever see another diamond again!"

And everybody laughed, sharing the same exact sentiments.

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A/N: Ngl, I was a little afraid to tackle the climax of the movie, and even writing it now I'm not fully confident 😅 For my version of it, I wrote it according to my oneshot "The Trade" (ch 7) in which Branch gives himself up to Velvet and Veneer to switch places with Floyd. Velvet to me comes off as the more controlling of the two siblings, so that's why she is the one more adamant about the diamond and the singing powers. Sweet Dreams Are Made of This is one of the songs listed for the TBT soundtrack, and I think it could work as a Velvet and Veneer song. I also think in the battle, we'll get not only one song from BroZone, but maybe a whole boyband hits mashup (kinda like how Trolls World Tour did the Many Hits mashup!) Not sure of the new song "Take You To A Better Place" is something BroZone themselves is going to be singing (or if it is going to be used for something else) but I included it as their No.1 hit song, since it is an original and it also sounds like the song playing at the beginning of Trailer 2 when BroZone was coming onstage.

I've thought for a while what the climax of the movie may be like, and the thing that came to mind (for me at least) was the ending of MLP Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks. In the finale Battle of the Bands, the musical powers "fight" against each other, with the Sirens winning at first and then the Ponies prevailing with their combined song-powered magical light-being (in this case, a unicorn) blasting the magic diamonds that the Sirens had. An episode from a Scooby-Doo show did sort of the same thing with a band battle sequence (Mystery Incorporated episode 44 "Dance of the Undead" in case you're curious which specific one) I'm sure if the movie goes this route, it will be much cooler - it's a little challenging to put on paper what may look awesome onscreen, but I did my best in that respect, and also in trying to include the ideas of my requesters :3