A/N: A slightly altered take to the oneshot "Battle of the Bands" requested by tjtheblogger on Tumblr :)

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"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU FREAKS!"

Shock jolted through Velvet when she heard that voice boom out at her. She stopped, midway to inhaling that sweet Troll essence that would make her the most envied diva in Mount Rageous, when she'd been interrupted. She saw the blue-haired Troll within smile, and followed his line of sight below to where six little Trolls had just made their way over.

John Dory had been the one to call out, with a determined look on his face. Behind him were Clay and Spruce who, from the look of it, were ready to rumble. Alongside them were Poppy and Floyd. Poppy frowned up at the dolled-creature, while Floyd too put on a brave face. And, sidling up to Poppy was Viva, who had met up with the group and was just as prepared for the showdown as her sister. It was a display of courage on all their parts, though Velvet thought otherwise.

She began to laugh in an instant at the five little Trolls, finding them ridiculous.

Veneer, however, didn't laugh along with his sister. So far, he had been agreeing with everything she'd said, and it had succeeded in having them rise to fame, sure... but the cost it was coming at had disturbed him greatly. Floyd had been captured before this Branch Troll. And Floyd could've easily ran away, but he didn't. He came back to face them, even after the danger he knew he'd get into. Veneer suddenly stopped to think... would Velvet do the same sort of thing for him? He tried to avoid looking at Floyd, but he could feel the magenta Troll's gaze on him. And it was one of disappointment.

"Excuse me," John Dory 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 six 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 six, 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 couple of bright pinks. 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, 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.

Velvet narrowed 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 before he could continue saying what he wanted to say, Velvet had already shoved a microphone at him and grabbed one for herself. He sighed. Velvet would never listen to a word he said anyways. She hadn't when he'd tried to ask her if it was wrong to hold a living being hostage just to improve themselves in the limelight. She had just rebuffed him, telling him that if he really wanted the fame, he wouldn't be asking "stupid questions" like that.

I DO want the fame, Veneer told himself. It was all he and Velvet ever wanted. To be recognized. To shine like stars. To have their names plastered on every billboard and to top all of the charts. To be able to have enough money to buy whatever they wanted, when they wanted. But, every time he wondered if it was the right way to go about it, something else always came up. Like the way that his sister started to sing, elbowing him roughly in the ribs to join her so that they could gain the upper hand.

"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, like all of their other productions, was very flashy, an over-the-top deal. Because with Velvet, it had to be. It annoyed Veneer sometimes, but she seemed like she knew what she was doing... especially when he suddenly felt energy surging through him. 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. It flowed through Velvet too, and she 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.

And Velvet and Veneer sang back at them, determined to put an end to it. Or, at least the former did. Veneer was starting to wish this whole ordeal could be over with. Why couldn't they all just get along?

But back and forth the supercharged music went, both ends 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. In a loud, clear crescendo, the brothers, Viva, 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, but Velvet was quicker to react. 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.

Their musical 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.

"Hehehe, we're winning! We're WINNING!" Velvet giggled, clutching Veneer's arm and jumping up and down like an excited little girl.

"Yeah... woo-hoo..." Veneer half-heartedly replied. He glanced over at the Trolls, who were growing distressed. Floyd in particular was looking quite worn, and Veneer felt guilt at knowing that it was because of him. The power that he and Velvet had drained from Floyd was what had been helping them ride off the battle. It had been the reason for the magenta Troll's hair to turn white and his skin to have turned a strange, transparent color. Floyd had been the one to try and help Veneer, something that he had yet to tell Velvet, and this was how he repaid him? Holding his brother hostage in order to deplete him as well?

But just then, a new voice filled the air. And it was Branch's.

"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 on 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 six Trolls were inspired.

Poppy was the first of the six 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. Viva put an arm around her and joined in...

Then JD followed in after 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 didn't want to wait to find out. As soon as Branch had started singing, she'd grabbed her mike and was prepared to retaliate harder than before. "Come on, Veneer! We can beat them!"

But Veneer was no longer on the same page as his sister. He was fed up. These Trolls were working so hard to save their family member, and Velvet just wanted to continue to make things difficult for them. This time, he was not going to let it slide.

"NO!" he shouted to her.

Velvet gaped at him. "What?"

"You heard me. I said NO!" Veneer said firmly. He tossed his microphone on the ground and kicked it to the side. "I'd love to be famous with you, Velvet... but not like this." He shook his head and crossed his arms.

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." He looked over at Floyd, who had told him those very words at one point during his capture. That it was possible for him to be a great singer without having to use Troll essence. Floyd looked proud to see that Veneer was using his advice to stand up against his sister and grinned.

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

"That 'Troll' has shown me that I do have real talent within. And that we don't have to do this!" To hammer in his point, Veneer stepped away from Velvet and stood by the Trolls' side. "I don't want to be a part of this scheme anymore, sis!" he cried, and then joined in singing with the Trolls.

"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!

Velvet shrieked in anger. "Fine then, be that way! I always knew you were good for NOTHING!" She picked up her microphone and sang back, angry at her brother's betrayal.

"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 group still kept on singing.

Poppy and Viva sang like they never did before in all of their lives. John Dory gave it all his boldness, Spruce all his heart, Clay all his spunk, Floyd all his sincerity, and Veneer all his determination.

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

She 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!" She coughed suddenly over the unexpected interruption. 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. It was there that she realized that she was losing. Her gaze honed their gaze on her most precious possession.

The diamond!

She reached for it, and immediately drew back, giving 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 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. 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 saw before the force of the energy blasted her from the yacht they were on into the river below 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, Viva, 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 Viva, and lovably noogy-ing Floyd.

At his feet, the diamond pieces lay scattered by Veneer. Finally, the one item that had been the cause of all the turmoil had been decimated. He felt bad for his sister Velvet, but he would've felt worse if he'd let her continue on with her awful plan. Hurting someone and being a big phony were not the ways to accomplish anything.

He suddenly felt a presence beside him, and looked down to find Floyd. Veneer swallowed, twiddling his thumbs and feeling incredibly guilty.

"Hey, um... no hard feelings?" he asked, kneeling down and putting his hand out to show that he meant no harm.

Veneer was lucky in the fact that Floyd was not one to hold a grudge. The magenta Troll smiled up at him and accepted his hand for a shake. "No hard feelings," he assured.

The Trolls all breathed a sigh of relief. Things were back to the way they were supposed to be - as in, nobody being kept hostage as a talent slave! Which meant...

Branch and his brothers all exchanged glances with each other.

"Sooo... what do we do now?" John Dory asked.

Poppy shrugged. "Well, we could head back to Pop Village... I mean, 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. One glance at Viva and he knew that she too felt the same way as he did.

"I barely remember what it even looks like!" the Putt Putt Queen admitted.

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.