I do not own Trolls or Trolls World Tour or Trolls Band Together or any of the characters in the franchise or the songs! And I especially don't own any of the songs I use from the movie or any other song I pick out in general! I also don't own the characters of Trollstopia! The only thing I do own are my O.C.s Melody Song, McJagger, Buckaroo, Stereo, and Twilight Tidepool; I.M. Rally owns her O.C. Aggie Galido, and Cheah owns his O.C. Finn Okazaki Tidepool. Now, strap in, ladies and gentlemen, and let's get on with the show!

John Dory and Bruce both shared similar surprised expressions to see their younger sibling and how much he had grown since they split.

Of course, Branch also almost couldn't believe how much Clay had changed compared to how much Bruce had changed; if he hadn't spotted the exercise bands, he probably wouldn't have recognized him. Clay appeared to have lost some weight and exchanged it for some height, making him appear to be the tallest compared to him, Bruce, and John Dory. Plus, his skin seemed a tiny dash more greenish compared to their regular teal color, and no longer did he have that same bright yellow sunshiney-colored hair, as it had become a marvelous shade of lime green and was wild and untamed, which played irony to how composed and serious that clay now appeared to be acting, a whole change to the middle child's previous bouts as the "fun one" when he was younger.

In surprise/stunned realization, Branch called out to the Troll, saying with hints of curiosity in his voice, "Clay"?

Bruce, after recovering from the surprise, eagerly approached Clay, saying to him, "Clay; hey, what's up, man"?

Clay saw Bruce, and he eagerly grinned, walking up to the purple-haired Troll. The two performed a handshake together while Clay replied back as the second-eldest sibling, "Hey! How you been, man"?

There had been no lost love between the two; Bruce and Clay were tight with one another and had been known to get into all sorts of fun shenanigans during their days of youth. Clay often came up with the schemes, and Bruce helped him place them into action. Together, they were undeniably unstoppable.

John decided to try and join the party, arms wide open and ready for a hug, as he declared, "Clay," and was ready to be greetd by the family's middle child of pure heart, kindness, and joy.

Except for one little factor John forgot? Clay still downright HATED John Dory, and while that couldn't be totally visible for one to notice right away, the cold look in Clay's eyes as he looked at John Dory, his voice kept monotonous, and simply stated, "hmm, John," which acknowledged his presence, but wasn't the warm welcome John dory expected.

John, meanwhile, was shaken by this; first, Branch wouldn't hug him (although he did get to lift him up earlier so playfully there was that acknowledgment), then Bruce basically ran by him and went to hug Branch instead of John and now, even Clay didn't even want to properly greet John Dory properly, much less, didn't even wanna hug him! What's a bro gotta do to get a hug around here?! Moreso, did his younger brothers dislike him so much that they didn't even want to show some brotherly love when he walked in to say hi after being away for so many years?

Meanwhile, Clay's demeanor changed back to its initial ecstatic state as he fist-bumped Bruce, saying to him, "Spruce! What do you know? It's been way too long, bro; you look very well. how the kids treating ya"?

"Eh, they are handful, but I love them," Bruce replied before mentioning happily, "And actually, I go by Bruce now."

"Bruce, oh-ho, yeah, I remember from the last letter you sent me," Clay responded, thinking that the change of name was very well-touched on for the second eldest sibling, and added while pretending that he had a tie on and was adjusting it, "Someone got fancy; I like it."

Bruce appreciated Clay's sly sense of humor and chuckled before playfully retorted, "Me fancy? Look who's talking; is that a sweater romper"?

Clay playfully fiddled with the straps of his romper while saying, "Well, like I say: you can make good use out of anything, even a sweater romper. Plus, you know me: when you co-run a place, gotta flex the drip," while popping his p at the end.

Viva quickly chimed in, adding, "Yeah, I'm the fun side of the operation, and Mr. Clay takes care of the boring stuff."

"Guilty," Clay admitted with a proud smile and a raised hand, chuckling at his own words.

Branch couldn't help but feel a small sense of deja vu seeing the chemistry between Viva and Clay, hearing how Viva seemed to handle all the fun things around here while Clay handled the boring things (to that was still such a surprise to hear straight from his brother's mouth), it sounded almost similar to the way that he and Poppy worked together! It was also as surprising to see Clay, who was rambunctious and always pulling pranks and behaving like the BroZone's resident wild child, so...mellowed, calm, collected, and mature. Mature: that was a word Branch didn't think he'd ever use to think of Clay; as far as it looked, Branch didn't has as much animosity about seeing him again compared to that of Bruce and of John Dory; as the middle child, Clay was always the one in the middle of things (literally, and metaphorically), and there was a balance of when he was funny and when he was focused. And like Bruce, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, especially when it came to the things that John Dory would say/do with him that rove the middle child nuts.

Then, Branch suddenly realized something after hearing what Bruce and Clay were talking about and asked, "Hold up, you two write letters"?

That got Clay's attention, making him turn his head and spot Branch standing by John Dory and Bruce, and he was very happy to see his youngest brother again, especially how much he's grown up since his diaper days. Excited, he ran over, saying, "Woah, Baby Branch?! No way"!

Branch shut his eyes and mentally and physically braced himself for what he knew was coming, but then, he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and saw that Clay had stopped, and while he was standing in front of him, Clay seemed to be restraining himself.

Clay had his hands balled up into fists, keeping himself from playfully pinching Branch's cheeks, and he took a deep breath, saying to himself, "No, not like this, Clay. You swore you wouldn't this; keep it calm."

Clay then faced Branch and, while he still smiled, stated while using one of his balled-up fists to offer a fistbump, "Hey, Baby Branch, how's it hanging? You've grown up so much since I last saw ya; Floyd's vest suits you really well."

Branch was internally shocked to see that Clay, unlike John Dory and Bruce when they first saw him, was not trying to baby him or mess with him as if he was still a little kid. He knew that Clay was dying to pinch his cheeks and see exactly how much Branch had developed since his baby days, but was, at the same time, also acknowledging that he wasn't so little anymore and wanted to greet him appropriately. It also was a nice gesture seeing that Clay had recognized the vets he was wearing used to be Floyd's and appreciated that it looked good on him.

He found himself smiling as he reciprocated the fistbump while saying, "It's really great to see you again, Clay. I'm impressed to see that you've been helping to run this place."

"Yep; you're looking at the head chief of exits and security," Clay stated proudly, adding, "Nothing gets in or out on my watch."

Branch saw that in Clay's free fist, his fingers were twitching, and he knew why; he felt like as much as he didn't want it to make it look like he wanted Clay to baby him, he knew Clay couldn't resist the urge for too long. Even as a kid, Clay loved to toy with Branch playfully, and he could only go long before either playfully pinching his cheeks or tossing him around like he was a rag doll.

So, despite his resistance, Branch let out a small sigh before saying in resignation, "Go ahead, Clay; I know you want to."

Clay's smile beamed from ear to ear as he commented, "You know me too well," and he proceeded to gently, without causing pain, press into/pinch Branch's cheeks, taking in every detail of how much Branch has grown and changed over the years, all while a slightly embarrassed Branch mentioned with muffled cheeks, "Actually, it's Big Branch now. Or just Branch; Branch is fine."

"Come here, come here, oh yeah." Clay muttered playfully as he analyzed Branch before he stepped back, saying, "Sorry, man; tried to hold it back but couldn't help myself."

Branch, on the one hand, still felt a little flustered but had acknowledged that Clay at least was doing his best to treat him not like the baby of the family, and to that degree, he was grateful for it. Plus, while Branch will admit silently that he still had some animosity about Clay leaving that fateful night, he couldn't fully blame him as he knew how much Clay was very bothered by John Dory, and if he had to be really honest, John Dory caused more of that tense wedge between them all than his other brothers, and he knew Clay had been dying to have some much-needed space from John Dory.

Changing topics back to what he wanted to say next, he introduced Poppy to Clay, telling him, "So, Clay, this is Poppy, my girlfriend."

"Hi, Clay," Poppy eagerly greeted the lime green-haired Troll, saying as she gave him a quick hug, "So great to finally meet you."

When she let him go, she then asked while mimicking a robot dance, "Can you do the Rusty Robot for me"?

That question made Clay feel very, very, very awkward; it wasn't that he couldn't do the dance; oh no, he was more than capable of doing it. The thing was that, though...he didn't like to do it because that dance reminded him so much of that forced routine John Dory made him learn to bring out his "fun" side, and he didn't want that dance to bring back any bad memories from his band days.

So, while remaining truthful but covering some of his reasoning for not wanting to do the dance, he told Poppy with a sheepish smile, "Yeah, no, I don't do that anymore, okay"?

Poppy felt a little bit sheepish about asking Sich a broad question, replying shyly as she was worried that she might've made Clay feel uncomfortable, "Right, kidding. Ha! Can you imagine? I wouldn't ask you to do that after meeting you two seconds ago. Who would do that?

Clay then explained to Poppy, "Yeah, it's just that Fun Boy Clay is dead; I decided to drop it after coming here and taking up my responsibilities 'cause we gotta keep the place running well, running safe, and secure for all to live here efficiently and happily. I've become now, as you would say, "serious."

And Serious Boy Clay only does the Well-Oiled Robot," before proceeding to do a beautifully fluent, agile, vibrations robot dance with some modern twists of hip-hop mixed in with it, saying, "And it is no," before pretending that he was a DJ, making turntable scratching noises and using his hands to mimic scratching records, before delivering the beat with a simplistic, "fun."

Clay's new version of the robot dance was a little confusing, but in Branch's mind, he thought that as odd as it looked, it was a unique approach to Clay showing more of his fluent dance moves that weren't limited or rigid. It was a more thought-out moving expression of his skills as the top dancer amongst his brothers.

From Poppy's perspective, the new dance looked pretty fun, which made her point out, "I mean, that's still pretty fun."

"Yeah, same old Clay," John Dory added.

John Dory's comment made Clay feel very bothered, but he brushed it aside (as he wanted to have a very needed talking-to with the eldest sibling later) and quickly pointed out, "No, that's not true. If I was still fun, would I have chosen the admin building as my bedroom"?

Everyone turned their heads and saw the admin building, which looked like a rusty old shack full of mold, sticks, and loneliness; in some minds, one would even say that it looked almost like the house version of Branch's bunker, but not as big or deep. How on Earth could any Troll live in such a lonely, sad building?!

To many, the sight of a Troll living in such a lonely building was odd, sad, and frankly, almost disturbing, but to Clay, the feel of living in a building of authority made him feel safe, secure, and serenic. In his mind, being somewhere where he has the responsibility to handle things and be taken seriously was practically his haven. As such, he mentioned while making a solid point, "Huh? Huh? Asking the tough questions, guys. Asking the tough questions."

"Oh, right," Poppy commented to herself, realizing Clay made a solid point.

Clay then changed the topic, saying in a much happier tone of voice, "Anyway, I can't believe you all are here; man, how much time has flown, am I right"?

Then, he noticed that amongst the group of brothers, the tiny glitter Troll in Bruce's baby harness, and Branch's girlfriend, Poppy, there was one Troll missing: Floyd. Confused, and a little worried, he asked, "Wait, where's Floyd"?

Branch spoke up, replying, "That's why we're here; Floyd's been taken prisoner in Mount Rageous by superstar singers Velvet and Veneer..."

Then, he stated as everyone else, excluding Viva, said together with him in unison, "And the only thing powerful enough to free him is the perfect family harmony."

Tiny Diamond was a little shocked to see the older Trolls able to speak in unison about what they were doing, and truth be told; he hadn't really been focused on what exactly they were doing as he had mentally been focused on trying to show that he was no longer a simple baby Troll. In his confusion, he commented, "Okay, either they just made that up, or I have not been paying attention."

Meanwhile, Clay was shocked to hear that Floyd was captured, saying in concern, "What?! No, not Floyd! Why couldn't they have taken you instead, John Dory"?!

John Dory started to reply by saying, "Well, maybe it's-," before he realized what Clay had said and felt offended, shouting, "Hey"!

Clay then asked, "Wait, if he's been captured, then why haven't you just called the authorities? Unless...oh, he must be held in an impenetrable diamond prison; otherwise, why else would we need the family harmony"?

"Yeah...that," John Dory stated to confirm Clay's point, although he was still bothered by Clay's comment.

Bruce then asked Clay, "So, what do ya say, man? I know it's been a while, but you in to help us save our brother"?

Clay's eyes narrowed in determination before he answered, "I'm in," before adding, "I'd also like to volunteer to keep track of our expenses. Just 'cause I think you're gonna need somebody to be on top of that."

"Expenses? We don't even have any money," Branch pointed out with an unsure shrug.

"True, but those two "superstars" could be committing fraud for all we know, so someone's gotta keep a look out for tax evasion, and luckily for us, I'm also a licensed CPA," Clay proudly admitted.

Bruce, while impressed, mentioned unsurely, "Yeah, I don't think you'll get any pushback on that front."

The main point, however, was that now, they had Clay in tow and ready to head up to Mount Rageous to save him! And now, time was of the essence, with Branch saying, "Great, but if we're going to get to Floyd in time to save him, we need to leave for Mount Rageous, like, now."

However, before anyone could say anything or start heading to the door, Viva then chimed in, saying, "You can't leave now; you just got here. Why don't you stay a little longer"?

She then grabbed Poppy's hand and pulled her along with her while saying, "Come on; let me show you around."

Poppy was more than happy to get a special tour of the golf course and was already awaiting Branch to follow her.

Just then, Poppy's Hug Time bracelet went off, and with a chime, it meant only one thing!

"Hug Time," Viva exclaimed as she hugged Poppy, who happily hugged her back.

John Dory looked at his brothers and had his arms out wide, ready to hug them.

Branch was still very hesitant about being near John Dory and flinched back, Bruce didn't want to be near John Dory either and kept his distance, and Clay crossed his arms and told him bluntly, "Yeah, no," which greatly disappointed the now very offended John Dory.

As Viva and Poppy were enjoying the Hug that they were sharing, Viva's eyes wandered to Poppy's Hug Time bracelet, and she couldn't help but admire how beautiful it looked, asking Poppy, "Aw, so cute; where'd you get that hug time bracelet"?

"My dad gave it to me," Poppy replied, showing off the bracelet a bit so that Viva could get a better look.

Viva gazed at the bracelet before telling Poppy, "Okay, this is so totally random, but I used to have one just like it."

"Oh, really," Poppy asked, curious as she was intrigued to find out, while Branch and his brothers came over to see what both girls were doing/talking about.

"Yeah, it had this really special trick. I could do; when I brush my finger around the petals of the flower on it, the flower will go and let off this beautiful light and produce this light melody along with it."

Poppy's eyes lit up wondrously, the Pop queen letting out an amazed gasp while saying, "OMG, that's so cute! I don't think I've ever tried that with my Hug Time bracelet."

"Oh, it's super easy," Viva happily responded before asking Poppy if she, "Can I see that"?

Poppy was more than happy to take the Hug Time bracelet off her wrist and place it onto Viva's wrist, and to her surprise, it fit Viva perfectly! Amazed, Poppy pointed out, "Wow, it fits you perfectly."

Viva gazed down at the flower of the Hug Time bracelet, commenting a "Yeah," in response before something about the bracelet seemed to click in Viva's mind. She moved her wrist a bit to give it a closer inspection before noticing the light and deciding to try the trick that she was talking about. Viva curiously lifted up her finger from her other hand and, gently touching the petals on the Hug Time flower, moved it in a circular pattern, making the flower petals emit a glittery, light pink light and producing a beautiful, tiny, but cheerful melody that metaphorically screamed pure happiness.

Poppy, seeing Viva do this, was astounded, but at the same time, also curious as while this trick was such a cute gesture, she didn't know about it yet..Viva did. The boys were just as confused as Poppy was but silently watched to see what would become of this.

As for Viva, she recognized the light, and she recognized the melody; this Hug Time bracelet matched the same one that she had back then. But how? And for this Troll's father to have given her new friend a Hug time bracelet that looked just like hers did and have it do the same thing that her bracelet used to do...something was turning in her mind, and she had to dig a bit to see if what Viva was thinking of...truly was reality. Her face gave way to a stunned shock, taking all of this in, before she looked up at Poppy and asked her cautiously, "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again"?

Poppy, figuring that she hadn't introduced herself yet to Viva, stuck her hand out in a friendly manner to offer an eager handshake and replied, "I'm Poppy."

The stunned look on Viva's face slowly morphed in curiosity and shock, Viva narrowing her eyes and looking the Pop queen up and down, almost like...something about her...made her seem recognizable to Viva. Confused, surprised, yet curious, Viva muttered a quiet "Poppy," the name somehow clicking to her...much to the confusion of Poppy herself.

She slowly approached Poppy, her eyes narrowed, wanting to get a closer look at her while Poppy felt a little bit hesitant about how close Viva was getting to her, backing up slightly while the boys stepped to the side, letting Viva and Poppy have some room to sort things out.

After Poppy had taken a few steps back, the confused look on her face turned into a hesitant smile, mainly because she had now no idea what was going through Viva's mind.

Viva, in the meantime, seemed to recognize something amongst Poppy; slowly, she brought her hand up and gently brushed back Poppy's bangs, eyeing the pink/magenta color in the Pop queen's eyes, all while Bruce, Tiny, Clay, and Branch were all, on the one hand, confused by what was happening, yet now also concerned about this too.

The gears in Viva's head were now spinning, and what she was thinking of seemed to be now completely possible, but she needed to ask a daring question in order to prove that she was right. So, trying to jump back the conversation, sounding casual yet cautious, she asked Poppy, "Okay, um, another totally random, weird question, but..is your dad...King Peppy"?

Poppy, still a little unsure about what was happening, figured that minimal talk would help keep things from being less awkward, so she answered as honestly as she could, "Uh, yeah"?

That response did it for Viva, who now was resisting the urge to break down into an open sob, but had an emotional/excited look on her face, shock overwhelming her body, as the biggest smile developed on her face as she grabbed Poppy, pulling her into a swinging hug, and exclaimed giddily, "You're...oh, you're - alive"!

Poppy was all for hugs, but as much as she was enjoying this hug right now, she was also racked with confusion. She figured that it might help get some solid answers if she went along with it, commenting as she got swung around, "I'm alive."

Viva, meanwhile, was ecstatic, emotional, and everything else in between, as she then placed Poppy down, telling her, "This is unbelievable! I never thought I'd see you again"!

"Again," asked a confused Poppy.

Since it now became clear to Viva that she knew exactly who this Troll was and why she was so familiar, and that all these years being away might've made Poppy's memory a little faded, she jogged her memory by first saying, "Poppy, it's me, Viva."

Poppy stood there, a little confused still, her arms up in a hesitant shrug, not fully clear on it yet.

Then, Viva said the 3 biggest words that were gonna rock Poppy's world, "I'm your sister."

Clay, being the only one of the boys who wsn't as confused by all this, had a happy grin to see that Viva finally revealed about being Poppy's sister, while Bruce, John Dory, and Branch were shocked! Branch thought that JD's earlier revelation back at the wedding was a surprise enough for everyone, but now, he was feeling just as surprised to find out that Poppy had a long-lost sister that HE didn't know about, and truth be told, he was more shocked to see that Poppy was all the moe stunned to be realizing she had a sibling herself!

Meanwhile, Poppy felt like she was gonna faint in shock, or her head was gonna explode in disbelief; Viva...was her sister?! She had a sibling?! Gears now spun in Poppy's head as the Pop queen exclaimed, "My...My what"?!

Meanwhile, as Poppy was in shock to find out about her long-lost sister, Laguna and her friends were exploring the rich evergreen forest of "no return", walking down the path that Pop-Pop advised them to follow as they made their way through a patch of thistle bushes and thick oak trees. the plant life in the forest was vibrant, luscious, and could house all sorts of animals if one took the time to explore it fully.

Laguna was currently using a stick to cut away the extra brushes of the bush so that their pathway could be clear and easier to walk through.

What no one seemed to catch on was the pair of royal blue eyes that seemed to follow the Trolls the further they went down the path that wound around in the forest.

"Dang, these forest plants are ayy lot thickuurr than we thought they be," Buckaroo commented as a branch fell forward and hit them in the nose, making the detective push it away to pass by it before rubbing their nose.

"It feels like we're walking through a jungle," Aggie mentioned, pointing to the vines that grew from above on some of the trees.

"Remind me again what we gotta find in here to get to the Catacombs of Music," Val asked curiously while pushing away leaves that were falling from above.

As the Trolls trekked deeper into the forest, the pair of royal blue eyes followed them, seen from the perspective of a shadowy figure that leaped from tree to tree, following the group.

Laguna replied, "According to the digital map on King Quincy's remote, we have to look for a blue-and-pink marigold; it'll greet the path that'll take us straight to the Catacombs of Music," before she turned her head and asked King Quincy, "Um, your majesty, do you mind"?

"Not at all," Quincy responded while taking out the remote and pressing the button, which activated the same light beam that showed the electronic version of the map, allowing the Trolls to see where they were trying to go.

"There's the flower picture on the map, but it doesn't say where exactly it is," Dante commented in confusion.

"As long as it's not in another flower field where we get either eaten or kissed or punched, I'm good," Melody stated, shuddering slightly while saying, "I do not want to go through that again."

"Why not? Maybe if we find another punching flower, it'll knock some common sense into you," Barb stated jokingly.

"Oh, shut up, Barb," Melody replied with a playful/annoyed eye roll, prompting a chuckle out of the Rock queen.

Meanwhile, Trollex noticed that McJagger was looking rather nervous for some reason, prompting him to ask, "Hey, you feeling a'ight, McJ"?

McJagger shook his head, retaining his nervous trance, while answering, "Uh, yeah, I'm ok, just a little nervous is all."

"What'cha nervous about," Essence asked curiously.

McJagger replied, "Well, i just realized that if we end up finding Laguna's mom, this is gonna be my first time meeting my soon-to-be future mother-in-law. What if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn't approve of me dating Laguna? What if I say the wrong thing or do something that makes me look weird"?

McJagger's nervous rant caught Holly's attention, making the Country ambassador turn her head and tell the anxious Funk Troll, "Easy sugar, take a deep breath, ok? It's all gonna be faane."

Trollex, seeing the Funk Troll feeling nervous, added reassuringly, "Yeah, Holly's right, McJ. I'm sure that Twilight Tidepool is gonna love meeting you."

McJagger's worries didn't seem to ease up as he said, "How can you be sure? For all I know, the second I say, "I'm the lucky man who's dating your daughter," all hell could break loose"!

"Whoa, whoa, easy bro," Synth, now catching wind of McJagger's freakout, stated calmly, telling him, "What have you got to worry about? You're a loving, caring boyfriend AND a first responder. If Laguna's mom is as great as we've heard, she's gonna love ya."

"Synth and Trollex are right," Essence commented, saying, "While it is understandable why you are feeling nervous about this, all you just have to do is stay calm and be yourself, and you'll make a good first impression."

Aggie added, "Plus, if she sees how happy you make her, and how happy Laguna is around you, there's no doubt that she'll be supportive of your relationship with her, just like how my parents support my relationship with Trollex."

Hearing the advice made McJagger feel a little better, allowing him to take a deep breath in and out, saying, "Yeah, I guess you guys are right."

Suddenly, Delta seemed to stop walking, standing still for a moment, which prompted Buckaroo to ask the mayor, "Hey, ya good, boss"?

Delta looked around, saying, "Somethin' ain't raheet, here."

This made the whole group stop and look around, with Stereo asking, "What's going on, yo? Is everything ok"?

Low-Note Jones suddenly felt something behind him and turned around, but saw nothing, making him say, "Low-Note Jones is getting an uneasy feeling about being in this part of the forest, baby."

The sounds of the trees' leaves rustling made Trollzart look up, but saw nothing aside from moving tree branches that swayed from the breeze, making him comment, "It feels like we are being watched."

"Eithuurr that," Delta started to say before a sharp rustle of the bushes behind them made everyone turn their heads and see a bush moving, causing the mayor to add, "Aw, somethin's followin' us."

Aggie flew over to the bush and looked inside it, saying, "Nothing seems to be in here."

Laguna suddenly heard the sound of twigs shaping, her ears twitching as she commented, "Wait, now I'm hearing something."

Everyone looked around, trying to see where the sounds were coming from or who was making them; was it an animal? A person? A Bergen? Or what?!

Suddenly, Barb felt something hit the back of her head, causing the Rock Queen to fall down face-first, showing that stuck to the back of her head was an arrow made of honey.

Everyone gasped in shock while Val immediately ran to Barb, helping her up while saying, "Barb! Are you ok"?

"Eh, I'll live, but what the heck just hit me," Barb asked while reaching for the back of her head, pulling off the honey arrow and inspecting it. She sniffed the end covered in honey and gave it a lick, tasting the honey before saying, "Not exactly my choice of weapon."

"Where'd that even come-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," Dante started to say before screaming as he dodged another incoming honey arrow, the arrow missing and hitting a tree that was near McJagger and Quincy.

The Trolls all looked at one another before they saw a flurry of honey arrows being sent their way, making Aggie shout, "It's an arrow ambush"!

"Run for it," Trollex shouted as everyone ran as fast as they could, trying to dodge the flurry of arrows that came raining down in a mad storm.

Arrows landed on the side of the plants, trees, flowers bushes, all while the Trolls were trying to dodge them as best they could.

"We gotta get out ov here fast," Buckaroo shouted as arrows zoomed by their head.

"Forget get out of here; we gotta hide out, yo," Steroe shouted in panic.

"Where on Earth are we gonna hide to dodge these arrows," Val asked out loud while ducking her head to dodge a flying arrow that zoomed past her.

Suddenly, in the distance, Quincy and Essence found what looked like a large brush of bushes that seemed big enough to hid everyone, shouting in unison, "Head over that way"!

As the Trolls all ran toward the brush, Melody tripped over a tree root and fell, tumbling into a small bush full of pink flowers and orange magnolias.

Meanwhile, everyone else had ran over to the brush and went inside it, dodging what seemed to be the last flurry of arrows that was sent their way.

"Phew" they all sighed in relief together.

"That was close," Quincy commented while catching his breath.

"Ayy lil' too close if ya ask me," Holly stated while pulling out one arrow that had gotten caught in her tail, throwing it off to the side.

"Yo, those arrows came flying at us so fast, yo," Stereo exclaimed while keeping one hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"At least we're now safe in here ayn' not gettin' pummeled outsaade by arrows," Delta stated reassuringly.

Suddenly, there was a SNAP, and in but only a millisecond, everyone felt something rise from below their feet, and they all wound up getting caught in a gigantic net that held them tight in it like fish.

Back outside the brush, Melody climbed out of the bush, spitting out a flower that got into her mouth, before shouting, "Wait up, guys, I'm coming," while running towards the brush of bushes.

Once she entered, she looked around, shouting, "I'm here guys," before looking around, seeing that she appeared to be the only one inside. Getting worried that something happened to her friends, she called out, "Guys? Where are you"?

"Up here, Melly," Val's voice could be heard shouting above.

"Look up, Mel," Aggie's voice followed afterward.

"We're up here, baby," Low-Note Jones' voice followed.

"Help," Synth's voice followed on.

Melody looked up and gasped when she saw her friends were all caught and tangled in a net, everyone struggling to get free.

"What happened, guys?! How'd you get up there," Melody asked in disbelief.

"We walked into this area we thought would be safe, and this net ensnared us from below our feet," Dante replied while struggling to find an opening in the net.

"It all happened so fast, and now, we're stuck up in this tangled net," McJagger shouted while trying to untangle his legs.

"Get us down, Mel," Barb shouted while squished under Trollzart, Holly, and Trollex, adding, "Someone's butt is in my eyesocket"!

Melody nodded in response, saying, "Don't worry, guys! I'll get you down in a second"!

Suddenly, there was another SNAP sound, and the Pop/Rock Troll turned around before gasping, her eyes widening in fear at what she saw.

Facing in front of her, with a bow and arrow (honey arrow) locked and loaded, ready to be fired, was a cyan blue female Troll who looked to be a few inches taller than Melody, who had cobalt blue optic fiber-like hair styled in a slicked back shoulder length with bangs that swooped over the right side of her face, royal blue eyes, dark blue nose, and gold pixel-like freckles on her cheeks. She was wearing a dark blue tank-top crop, where a yellow squared-Techno heart was seen shining right through it, with bright blue sweatpants that had a gold bow tied up, and navy blue swimming flippers on her feet. Sticking out in the back, to the Trolls' surprise and Melody's shock, was a pair of Techno tailfins, each of them having 3 gold dots at the ends of the fins (like the dots on Laguna's fins).

Melody gulped in fear, scared that the arrow was gonna be fired at her, and cautiously took a step back, but saw this new Troll take a step forward in response.

The Trolls in the net all watched in concern that this new Troll was gonna hurt Melody, who just wanted to help them get out.

Then, the new Troll spoke, saying in a strict tone of voice, "Sino ba kayo? Bakit ka naglalakad sa gitna ng mga bahaging ito ng kagubatan"?

The sound of the threat was very...peculiar. Not in the sense that this Troll thought that they were dangerous, but what she said was very...confusing. No one had a clue as to what she was saying at all, especially since the language she was speaking in was brand new.

"Uh, can someone translate that? What'd she say to Melody," Barb asked in confusion.

"I don't know: that's a new language I've never heard before," Laguna admitted.

"I don't know that dialect, so it's a mystery for me too," McJagger confessed.

Melody had never heard this language before and was very confused by the way it sounded, but for some reason, she seemed to...get it. She looked up at her friends and told them, "Uh, guys, this Troll just called us strangers, asking who we are, and what we are walking among these forest parts"?

Everyone in the net gasped in surprise while the new Troll's eyes widened in surprise: this person she was staring down...knew what she was saying?

"Wait, how do you know that's what she said," Val asked Melody, raising a curious eyebrow.

Melody looked up and replied while giving an unsure shrug, "Uh...I can...understand what she's saying"?

"Hot dang; y'all ken understand huurr, Mel," Holly asked in confusion.

Melody shrugged, answering, "I don't, or at least I don't think I'm supposed to, but I just seem to...get it somehow. I don't know what she's speaking in, but somehow, I'm able to understand it."

The new Troll then spoke again, saying while lowering the bow and arrow, "Naiintindihan mo ba ang Tag-a-Troll"?

Melody seemed to understand this phrase, asking, "Is that what the language you're speaking is? Tag-a-Troll"?

The new Troll, who seemed also to know/understand English, nodded in response.

"Oh, so that's what that language is called: Tag-a-Troll," Aggie commented, impressed to hear such an amazing language.

"But how come Melody is able to understand it," Trollzart asked in confusion.

"Yeah; none of us have ever heard Tag-a-Troll before, unless Minuet knows that language and maybe taught it to her," Stereo suggested as a possible theory.

"This is quite strange, but perhaps we'll know more if we see them talk a little longer," Essence suggested as the Trolls in the net all watched and listened closely.

Back on the ground, Melody tried asking the new Troll, "Can you also speak English"?

The figure looked confused before asking, speaking in Tag-a-Troll, "Tinatanong mo ba ako kung marunong akong magsalita ng Ingles"?

Melody nodded in response, saying, "Yes."

Then, the new Troll replied, "Of course, I can speak English; I just use Tag-a-Troll when I'm being serious."

Melody then replied, "Well, if you're gonna be "Serious" could you try doing it in English? Aside from me, the others can't understand what you're saying."

"That's the point; it adds more to the threatening persona, when you're facing enemies," the Troll replied.

Suddenly, Melody seemed to notice something about the new Troll and approached her, looking deep into her eyes. The two stared at one another for a moment, sharing a blink, before Melody suddenly seemed to... recognize her.

Melody thought back to when she was in the flower field and saw a pair of royal blue eyes hidden away in a bush that seemed to be staring at her. They both blinked at one another before the figure seemed to quickly disappear.

Realizing that this Troll had the same pair of eyes that stared her down at the flower field before, the Pop/Rock Troll gasped in surprise before she commented, "It's you! You were the one I saw in the bushes at that flower field by Bubble Swamp"!

The Troll staring back at Melody realized the same point, her eyes widening in response before she stated, "Oh yeah, I was there earlier. Was making flower chains till I heard a THUD and low-and-behold, saw you recovering from whatever sent you flying. Us Mixed Trolls have to look out for each other after all."

"Well, that is true in the sense of-," Melody started to say before she suddenly stopped, realizing what the new Troll had just said, and asked in confusion, "Wait a minute, Mixed Trolls"?

"Yeah, Mixed Trolls," the new Troll replied, adding, "You're a Mixed Troll, correct"?

Melody didn't seem to understand the question, giving an unsure shrug while shaking her head, which showed that she didn't get what the Troll was referring to.

The new Troll then clarified, "You were born with two biological genres of music; Pop and Rock. right"?

Melody's jaw dropped for a moment before she asked in disbelief, "How could you tell that I'm Pop and Rock"?!

The new Troll grinned while saying, "Well, number one, you got the vibrant, bright colors, natural happiness, and friendliness of Pop, but you also got some behavioral aesthetics and attributes of Rock. And number two for how I could tell? 'Cause Mixed Trolls can always tell when another Troll is mixed like we are; since you have biologically two genres of music within you, you are a Mixed Troll. Just like me."

She then showed off her tailfins, saying, "I'm a Pop/Techno Troll, just as you are a Pop/Rock Troll. But instead of calling us by our genre names, we say that we are mixed, hence the name Mixed Trolls."

Melody felt like her mind was gonna blow in shock; she never even knew that Trolls like that even existed, much less, Trolls that were just the same as she was as this stranger was! Overcome with shock and excitement, she smiled, saying, "Sweet guitar picks! I-I can't believe this; I always thought I was the only kind of Troll with mixed genres in my DNA, I never thought there'd be Trolls out there just like me"!

Melody then approached the stranger, saying to her, "Wait, I have a bunch of questions! Since you're Mixed, is it true that you sometimes lean towards one genre of music than the other? Does it affect your diet? What kind of instrument do you play"?

The stranger let out a small chuckle and answered, "Well, first off, it does happen sometimes, but I often keep a better balance between Pop and Techno equally. Second, yes, surprisingly, I'm more of a pescetarian/vegetarian when it comes to food, but i also have a sweet tooth. And I play turntables, ukelele, and the celeste."

"The celeste? Cool," Melody replied happily before pointing out, "By the way, I love your hair! The optic fibers are so pretty and the thickness of them together goes well with the way you have it styled."

The stranger appreciated the comment, saying, "You can thank my genetics for it; I got the optic fibers of Techno, and the thickness of them comes from the Pop side of me. And if anyone's got good style here, it's-,"

Val then interrupted the moment, commenting, first sounding sweet, "Well, this is all so great to be learning about. Now, can we get back to the part where you," before shouting, feeling visibly annoyed and angered, "Let us out of here"?!

"Val, calm down; shouting is not gonna make anything better," Aggie reminded Val, which got the Rock ambassador to calm down a little bit.

Quincy then spoke up, asking the new Troll, "Could you please let us out, miss? If we were trespassing near your home, we apologize for doing so. We're only just passing through this forest."

The stranger looked up at the Trolls in the net before asking, her eyes narrowed back into a suspicious glare, "Give me one good reason why I should let you free; for all I know, you Normal Trolls could just be waiting for me to let down my guard so you can then tease and bully my kind and strip me of what I have left, attacking me physically and verbally."

"Attack ya? Naw, we wouldn't attack ya; we're naace folks," Delta pointed out.

"Yes, we would never do anything of such vile acts," Dante added on, feeling taken aback.

The new Troll rolled her eyes, responding sarcastically with, "Yeah, right, and Scorchions live in trees; I know you, Normies, and I know your kind too well to know how you act with Mixed Trolls, and I'm not gonna let you bullies roam freely. The only one I trust out of all you lot, with the exception of Melody here since she's a Mixed Troll, is that rainbow one 'cause she's a Magic Musical Troll, and unlike you Normal Trolls, her kind at treats us with kindness," while pointing to Aggie.

Aggie quickly spoke up, saying, "Wait, miss...uh...whomever you are, you have to believe our friends, they really are nice people; they wouldn't bully anyone or take anything form you, honest."

"Don't you know anything, MMT," the new Troll quickly shot back, saying, "Your "friends", they don't care about other Troll kinds; all they care about is themselves. But I've never believed in them."

Aggie and the other Trolls in the net all had concerned/nervous looks, wondering if there was gonna be any way to convince this new Troll to let them go free.

Melody then stepped forward, saying, "Look, miss...um...I'm sorry, I don't know your name; we haven't really gotten to introduce ourselves."

The new Troll looked at Melody, her gaze softening a bit before she replied, "I'm Lizzy, Lizzy Aqua Song."

Melody nodded in acknowledgment before saying, "Understood, so, Lizzy, I get that you probably don't trust my friends, and whatever reason you have for it, I get it, you know? If it's something that had to do with the past, then I understand that the incident must've made you feel mistrustful towards them, and I'm sorry if that is the case. But a lot of time has passed since those days, and a lot of things have changed since then."

"Like what," Lizzy asked her, her tone of voice bitter and stoic.

Melody replied, "Well, for starters, these Normal Trolls, whom you call bullies, they have all come together and have reunited in harmony and friendship; we've all learned to acknowledge each other's differences and have grown to appreciate each other's music. And ever since we've gotten to all become friends, they've been nothing short of nice to each other and the other tribes. The leaders have all been doing their part to help increase diversity and equality amongst the tribes, and Aggie, ever since she came and we got to learn about her tribe, the Magic Musical Trolls, she's been helping us strengthen and form new friendships that we've been so grateful to have, some I've been so grateful to have."

Lizzy listened closely, though her suspicions still didn't go down.

Melody continued, saying, "I don't know what history that the Mixed Trolls have with the Normal Trolls that would have you feeling mistrustful towards them, and to that degree, I'm sorry that you have experienced it firsthand, but what I can tell you, honest to goodness, is that these Trolls, whom you have trapped right now, are some of the best friends i could ever ask for. They are truly good people, and if we want to settle this, can't we at least just hear out what happened? After all, not to say that this would be a misunderstanding, but at least if we know better what happened before, then we could try and make things better between us."

Lizzy looked at Melody before looking up at the Trolls in the net before back at Melody, asking her, "Are you really sure about this"?

"I know these Trolls as well as the next person you would probably meet, and if you trust me as much as you trust Aggie, then her words would also show you the same truth as I'm telling you, as well as the truth from my friends' mouths as well. Just...give them a chance, ok? You don't have to trust them yet if you don't want, but wouldn't it be more fair to at least have them listen and understand? And in return, you can listen and understand them too."

Lizzy let out a small exhale through her nose before she replied, her tone of voice showing resignation, "Alright, fine. I will tell you Trolls about our history, and why us Mixed Trolls don't trust the Normal Trolls."

She then loosened the string from which the net was being hung and lowered it, slowly loosening the net and allowing everyone inside to climb out of the tangled net and placed back on solid ground again.

Everyone gathered over by Melody as Lizzy began to explain things, starting with, "So, as you Trolls might know of already, you know about how the ancestors founded the 6 strings and created music, and I'm gonna assume that your MMT friend here has told you the history involving the Magic Musical Trolls as well, right"?

That question earned a round of nods, which allowed Lizzy to continue, saying as she pulled out a paper scroll that showed a picture of a female Pop Troll, a male Classical Troll, and a little Trolling that had traits from both the mother and father, "One day, a Pop Troll and a Classical Troll met, and they fell in love with each other. Soon after, they got married and started a family, but when their child hatched, the child was neither solely Pop nor solely Classical; it had the bright colors and round ears of the Pop Trolls, but the glittery skin, curly hair, and wings of the Classical Trolls. No Troll had ever seen anything like it happen before; it was as if the child was a mix of both its parents' genes of music."

She then pulled out another scroll, showing pictures of more different kinds of Mixed Trolls, ranging from Country/Rock to Techno/Funk, etc., explaining, "Soon after, more Normal Trolls decided to cross-romance with Trolls from other tribes, and this led to many moreTrolls with mixed genres of music being born, many of them showing different traits from the different genres of music from the 6 main tribes. This gave birth to these kinds of Trolls having their own tribe name: Mixed Trolls."

"Woah," everyone said in surprise.

"Hot dang, that sounds so wonderful," Holly commented in awe.

"It was," Lizzy replied, showing a small smile as she added, "The mixed Trolls loved getting to embrace the different combinations of music they represented, as well as other genres too. They were happy for a while, until..." and her smile became a frown before she added, "The Normal Trolls started to see Mixed Trolls as...different."

"In a good way," Synth asked hesitantly.

Lizzy shook her head before explaining while showing a new scroll that had a picture of some Normal Trolls frowning while some Mixed Trolls looked sad and scared, "The Normal Trolls started to see Mixed Trolls as...freaky. Between the different attributes and the type of music combinations, the Normal Trolls began to see them as too different to live with them. this led to the start of some deep-seated bullying, treating them as outcasts, like they didn't belong with them, despite being in the same division. The worst of it came from...the Normal Troll leaders' ancestors."

The normal Troll leaders all had agape expressions, shocked to hear that their own ancestral line was responsible for causing a Troll tribe to feel so bullied and mistreated.

Lizzy then showed a scroll of the Normal Troll leaders' ancestors, explaining, "They instigated the bullying behavior, making the Mixed Trolls feel outlawed and purposely excluded like we were nothing short of misfits. This went on for years, and the conflict only grew worse as the Pop Trolls obsessed over the strings, wanting Pop music to be supreme over the other genres. That day, when they tried to steal the strings, that was the last straw, and as the Troll tribes separated and went to live on their own, so did the Mixed Trolls. they went far away and made a new home out here in this forest, which became our sanctuary, and since then, no Mixed Troll had ever seen a Normal Troll...until today at least."

Everyone in the group was stunned to their very core; to think that their own kind, who once wanted to give life to a series of Mixed Trolls, suddenly just turned on them and bullied them into feeling so alone and outcasted from their own friends and families...it was awful!

Melody was the most shocked to be hearing all of this; she had experienced bullying firsthand growing up, but it wasn't as bad as what the ancestors of ther Mixed Trols had to deal with, and it was so...upsetting to hear of what they had done back then. It made all the more sense to see why Lizzy was distrustful towards her friends.

Lizzy then stated as she pulled out another scroll that had a picture of the mixed Trolls and Magic Msicla Trolls together, "The only Trolls who did treat the Mixed Trolls with kindness was the Magic Musical Trolls; they didn't care about if they were Mixed or not, the MMTs loved seeing Mixed Trolls embrace their music and express their differences with them. In return, the Mixed Trolls forged great friendships with the MMts till the day that everyone separated. But to this day, we still hold the MMTs to a high degree of respect and friendliness."

Lizzy then placed the scrolls away before saying, "So, there you have it; that's basically my tribe's history, and everything in between."

Melody stepped forward towards Lizzy and pulled her into a hug, saying while hugging her, "I am so sorry that this happened; I can't imagine how hard it must've been for the Mixed Trolls to have been bullied for so long. I know how much it can hurt, but to have had it go on for years and in the manner that they did it? I can see why you'd feel this way."

Lizzy then stepped back from the hug, her hands placed onto Melody's shoulders while saying, "You have nothing to be sorry for; it was just the actions of the Normal Trolls, and their selfish ways at the time."

Then, Barb, Delta, Trollex, Quincy, Essence, and Trollzart stepped forward, with Quincy first speaking up, saying, "Lizzy, on behalf of our tribe and on behalf on our ancestors, we'd all like to say that we are so sorry for what had happened to your tribe's ancestors back then."

"We apologize for the actions and the consequences that they had brought upon you and your people at the time," Essence added.

"We ken only imagine the hurt ayn' angurr ayn' animosity y'all must've been feelin' from what happened ayn' knowin' the history of it," Delta added before mentioning, "Ayn' there's naw excuses ov why they did it."

"I wish that we could turn back the clock of history and prevent it all from occurring, but while that may not be possible, we do wish that we can make amends for what has been done already," Trollzart stated.

"The past is past, but we know that there is still much to be done to fix things, and we'd like to start now, if that is ok with you," Trollex stated.

"I can speak from experience about doing regretful things that have hurt a lot of people, and I know that while we can't change what's already been done, we'd like to make a new step forward and try to make things better between all of us," Barb mentioned.

Aggie then stepped forward, saying, "Yeah; we'd love to be your friend, Lizzy, if you'd still want to be friends with us."

Lizzy looked at the Normal Troll leaders and Aggie before looking over at the rest of the group, who all gave acknowledging nods in agreement with what the leaders had said.

She then looked at Melody, who said to her, "They really are great friends; the best."

Lizzy then approached the Normal Trolls, saying to them, "You guys are apologizing for something that isn't even entirely your fault; it was the fault of your ancestors of the time, yet you still are apologizing for it and want to make things right between us"?

She then showed a genuine grin and added, "You guys are alright; guess things really have changed over the years."

"They sure have, yo, and we'd love to tell ya more about it," Stereo commented cheerily.

Lizzy smiled before saying, "Well, I'm still getting used to you guys, so, as long as I can feel mentally adjusted to being around Normal Trolls again, then we could talk about it all you guys want to."

"Feel free to take as much time as you need, baby," Low-Note Jones responded,d shooting a wink at the Pop/Techno Mixed Troll, who looked a little confused by the gesture.

"Just roll with it; it's what Low-Note Jones does all the time," Melody told Lizzy in a whisper, causing both mixed Trolls to snicker.

Val then realized something and asked, "Hold up, Lizzy, what'd you say your last name was again"?

Lizzy looked up at Val and replied, "Uh, Song. My last name is Song. Does that remind you of anything"?

Melody was then taken aback, saying, "Wait, your last name is Song? My last name is Song too"!

"It is," Lizzy asked, a little surprised to be hearing this.

"Yeah," Melody replied, explaining, "It was my birth name when I got adopted when I was just an egg."

"You're adopted," Lizzy asked afterward.

Melody nodded, saying, "Yeah; from what my adopted mother had told me, I was rescued from a river during a storm when I was an egg by my adopted father at the time: Ballad Bill. He brought me home, and he and my mom raised me, and soon, I hatched and was welcomed into the family. I...never found out about my biological parents, or even if I had any biological relatives or siblings; the only thing i have close to it, is Val, who's my adopted older cousin."

Val shot up the Rock hand sign, declaring, "S'up"?

Lizzy was then processing something in her head before she then asked, "Would you...happen to have a picture of your egg"?

Melody fished through her hair before pulling out a small picture, saying, "Here it is! This was the day my egg was brought home."

Lizzy looked at the picture and saw the image of a hot pink egg with dark purple jagged stripes and a tuft of lavender hair with a pink highlight that was frizzy and stuck upward. The minute that her eyes gazed at the egg, she let out a gasp dropped the picture, and stumbled back, looking up and down at Melody.

Melody was a little confused, asking, "Is...something wrong"?

Lizzy's eyes widened, but her stunned facial expression remained as she said quietly, "It's you..."

"Uh...what," Melody asked inquisitively, her eyebrow raised to match her confusion.

Lizzy's facial expression slowly changed from stunned to surprise, her mouth forming a big grin while she said, "I-It's you, of my Troll, it's you! I-," and began to pace, saying, "Oh my Troll, I can't believe it! I thought you were gone or dead or worse! I never got over the guilt of losing you that night we had that bad storm, and-"

"Woah woah woah," Melody quickly interrupted, asking, "What do you mean, "you thought I was gone"? What are you talking about"?

Lizzy smiled and replied as her tailfins flicked happily, "You may not know because you were only an egg when we met but...you're my little sister."

"What," Aggie and the Normal Trolls exclaimed in shock.

"Holy haybales," Buckaroo declared in surprise

"Melody has an older sister," Aggie exclaimed in disbelief.

"Her sister's a Mixed Troll! Which makes logical sense, but is still just as shocking," Laguna shouted in shock.

"Melly's got biological family," Val exclaimed while clutching the sides of her pigtails.

While everyone else reeled in shock, Melody didn't seem to process the news right away, saying, "Uh...I'm sorry, I think I might've misheard you. Did you just say that-,"

"Yes," Lizzy replied, her smile big and wide as she stated clearly, "Melody...we're family. I'm your big sister, and you're my little sister."

At that time, the news now hit Melody like a ton of bricks, and she gasped in disbelief, her head feeling like for a second time today that it was gonna blow! Her jaw dropped, and she let out a huge gasp before suddenly feeling overwhelmed, falling backward and fainting on the spot in front of Melody.

"And I thought I was the one who usually fainted in disbelief," Dante, while still surprised, pointed out.