𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓭 | 𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓼 |𝓑𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓱 𝔁 𝓯𝓮𝓶 𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓵 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 {𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴}

𝓣𝓮𝓷. 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀.

𝓑𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓱 𝓟𝓞𝓥:
Poppy, Hickory and I keeps a close distance to Cooper, we are racing in the heels of. I for one, is struggling to keep up the pace as we weave through the chaos of the Funk Troll encampments. All around us, Trolls dart frantically in every direction, some sprinting with wild urgency, others soaring overhead in bursts of rhythmic flight. "Assemble the Crew!" Queen Essence's yell is announcing, and with her mouth attached to the end of a horn, the air vibrates with its pulsing beat. At first glance, the order seems to be: to collect musical instruments - guitars, drums, tambourines - grabbing whatever they could on their way. But something about their movements feels too deliberate, too coordinated. But it soon comes to my realisation, that the instruments is just a facade, disguising the actual weapon inside. "I'm gonna make sure you get to safety!" Cooper yells back at us with a turned head, his voice is barely cutting through the rush of wind and chaotic sounds around us. Before we can process his words, he halts to a sudden stop. Poppy running in front of me is forced to have a fast reaction, plating her heels into the ground to avoid crashing into his back. Which I soon follow up on, to avoid crashing into her, and Hickory behind me. In front of Cooper's feet, embedded seamlessly into the flooring, is a built-in keyboard. He bounces upon the glossy keys, each note beneath his feet releasing a musical tone that echoes through the space. Like clockwork, those damn bubbles return. But this time, it's no ambush, Cooper being the one who made the call. The soft surface surrounds our panting frames, imprisoning us once more. Hickory has gotten one of his own, while Poppy and I share one. "No! No! Let me help you!" Poppy's calls to Cooper is muffled by the walls of our bubble encasing us, the bubble continuing to rise us further away from the ground, answering his silent command.
"Branch!" A silenced voice echoes through my ears - faint, distorted - but unmistakably calling my name. My pulse quickens, my body twisting around inside the shimmering walls of the bubble, scanning every inch of the chaotic scene below. This floating prison, disguised as something harmless, starts to drift upward toward an opening in the cavern ceiling. Just before it carries us completely out of reach, something - or someone - catches my eye. Amidst the crowd, one figure stands still, in between the storm of motions. Her Golden skin reflecting in the fragmented light, vivid red hair. My breath stilling. That face, those eyes... Juniper.
But, her appearance has changed, hardened. Her familiar features is now framed by glinting jewellery, jagged with spikes. Her clothing is no longer soft, playful fabrics but something darker, layered and torn with wide holes carved into it like scars. She hasn't just been changed, she has transformed. And still, her gaze is locked with mine. "Juniper? Juniper!" I shout her name, first in disbelief, then in desperation for her to hear. I slam my fists against the bubble's slick surface. I know from experience it won't burst, but that doesn't stop me from trying. Poppy's head snaps towards me at the sound of her sister's name. Without a word, she joins in, kicking, punching, both of us throwing ourselves at the unbreakable shell. Without warning, every light around us cuts out. The world beyond the bubble vanishes into black. The hum of energy dies, the view over the Funks preparing their battle against Rock and my glimpse upon Juniper is swallowed by the dark. But even in the dark, I don't stop. I keep fighting.
The pair of bubbles are blown out into the open, and the sudden brightness of the outside blinds me. Her presence was far, hard to catch, but I can feel it in my gut. That was her. I know it was. Now, I'm only drifting farther and farther away. My fists lose their strength as the anger from within is draining, slowing against the surface until they fall still, slumping back to my sides. A single tear slips free, tracing a path down my cheek.

———

𝓘𝓝 𝓣𝓗𝓔 𝓑𝓔𝓕𝓞𝓡𝓔: 𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥.
"It is completely nuts to realise I'm not an only child any longer. Now, I have a baby sister! My gaze fell upon that photo, for the first time a few days ago, and now you're right here beside me!" Barb, still being in disbelief, is retelling the story out loud for what must be the fifth time in the past hour. Each time, her voice carries the same confusion, as if saying it aloud might somehow make it make sense.
"It is unbelievable, i give you that. Only a few months ago, my dad informed me, that he really isn't my dad - by blood at least. I haven't been able to shake it since, and look at me now, I'm sat beside my big sister!" I keep the story alive, even though we've gone over it more than once. Maybe repeating it helps me process it too. Still, there's a quiet relief in the air as we get along surprisingly well, now that we are a family that has found their way back to each other. Since being forced into separation for years. Watching the scenery roll by, we're seated side by side on the edge of her ride, its oversized mouth unzipped and hanging open, giving us a full view of the outside. No longer soaring through the sky, it is now scurrying along a winding path. "Uh!" Suddenly, Barb gasps and snaps her head toward me. The shift is so sudden it jolts me out of my thoughts. "We should jam and scream the lyrics of our favourite songs!"
"That sounds great, Barb! But, I have a question." She waits for my mentioned question, leaning her weight onto her arms slightly behind her. "What do you want to do with the Musical Strings? Destroying the different Tribe's passion, homes and music doesn't seem like the best option." I express my thoughts with a certain carefulness, choosing each word like it might be the one that sets her off. A part of me still believes she would push me off this ride, if I say the wrong thing. Her gaze shifts forward again and her face turns unreadable. She stays silent for a long moment, the air between us growing heavier with every second. Then finally: "Destroy? I'm going to bring back the harmony there once was. If we're not capable of getting along with different music, we might do with the same!" I open my mouth to speak, but before a single word escapes, I'm caught off guard as an electric guitar lands in my lap. My hands automatically clutch it just as Barb grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. 🎵All Aboard!🎵 I barely have time to react before she's already holding a guitar of her own, her fingers slamming down on the strings, along with her voice shouting her song to a start. 🎵Crazy! But that's how it goes.🎵 One by one, her crew joins in - drums and bass - each instrument crashing into the rhythm like a wave. Whatever silence there was between us is gone now, drowned in song. 🎵Millions of people, living as foes.🎵 Mid song, Barb shoots me a glance and nods towards the guitar still clutched awkwardly in my arms, encouraging me to try it out. I look down at the instrument, then back up at her, confusion written all over my face. I do not have the faintest idea on how. She catches the hesitation plastered upon my face and just shrugs, her grin unfazed like it doesn't matter. 🎵Music, has kept us apart! It's time for the hard Rock revolution to start!🎵 Barb leans back and lets herself fall, just like that, tipping off the edge of the ride in a full free fall. My heart jumps into my throat by her action as I rush it the edge, but before I can panic, a roar of engines rises from below. A sleek motorcycle shoots up from beneath, catching her effortlessly. I snap my head back just in time to avoid getting clipped as it surges upward, leveling with the ride's edge. She reaches out and yanks me onto the seat behind her, as she has full control of the steer. I circle my arms around her in a desperate grip. She glances back with a smirk, then points to the guitar now strapped across my back.
Slowly letting go, I shift it around to my front, my fingers dancing upon the thin metal strings, the vibration buzzing through my fingertips as I press down with uncertainty. 🎵No Spats, to tiffs, no fighting-🎵 I cut myself off with a wince as a metallic clang rings out, I'd pulled too hard on one of the strings, the sound that was created being anything but delightful. "Yeah sis!" 🎵When everyone's the same, I'm going off the rails on a Crazy Train.🎵 Barb finishes her song just as the motorcycle arcs back toward the ride. We land with a smooth jolt, returning to where it all began. Without hesitation, I unstrap the instrument from across my torso, setting it aside quickly. One failed attempt is enough. I don't plan on touching one again.
"So what do you think?" She sets her guitar aside, eyes still on me, waiting for my response with anticipation. "I'll never touch an Electric Guitar again!" I can't help but let out a soft chuckle as she bursts into laughter, even if it's at my own expense. She is clearly amused by how quickly I am ditching the guitar, my angst towards it has made her day. "Maybe a guitar isn't the instrument for you." Once calm, a grin still lingering, she drapes an arm casually across my shoulders, guiding me back inside. Behind us, the mouth-shaped entrance zips shut, sealing out the wind and the world outside.
———
She leads me into a bedroom tucked away at the back of the ride. I sink down onto the very bed, surprisingly soft and bounce slightly as the thick, cozy blankets shift beneath me. "So. How is it to be Princess of Pop?" Barb decides to creative small talk, while her back is facing me, her head buried into a drawer in the search for something unknown. She slams it back shut, before opening the one beneath as she didn't find it in the one above. "Pretty normal. We're singing and dancing on a daily basis, without the use of electricity." Swinging my legs back and forth over the edge of the bed, I speak with a certain excitement in my voice, one I didn't except to get as I relive my life back home. Or, as it used to be. "Pop Trolls also does this thing everyone participates in. Once every hour, our hug-time bracelets chime, and the activity is hiding within its name." I wrap my arms around myself in a self hug, the movement feels small but comforting. The action reminds me of how many hug-times I've missed out on. I have been ignoring the soft chime and the dim light blooming on my wrist once every hour. Being among the Rock Trolls makes me miss the quiet kind of affection I would get from Poppy. All of the empty noise, the energy, the music. It is exciting, sure, but it will never compare to a warm hug or a hand to hold when the music stops. I wasn't expecting to crave that so much, but I do. I miss Poppy, my friends - and I definitely miss Branch.
"That's sounds so sugar sweet, bleh." Barb gags in a joking matter, breaking into a soft chuckle afterwards, which succeeds in shaking me out of my homesickness. "You guys don't have hug-time?"
"No. Rock Trolls jam together, not hug or- whatever you Popsqueaks do to waste your given daylight." I start to feel a little bad for them. They have never known the quiet joy of a hug from a new Troll every hour, every single day. That simple but constant comfort they're missing out on. But I decide not to ask any further on the subject. What Is there to say, anyway? 'I'm sorry for you?' Definitely not.
A small silence settles between us, the only sound coming from Barb as she rummages through the various closets and drawers, tossing clothing onto the floor without much care. "So, about our lives.. What have you been doing, while being on this little adventure? I did receive the letter you and the Queen send me." She breaks the silence between the sound of fabric rustling and hangers flying around her ears. But neither of us decides to mention it, she just saved me from beginning a new topic. "Well, we swung by Lonesome Flats. Poppy, Branch, Biggie and I preformed a Rad medley for the Country's. They put us behind bars!"
"Behind bars, like, in jail?! That's insane, man." Barb twists her upper body back to face my figure settled upon the bed, a shocked expression frozen on her face as i laugh up. "For doing a Rad Medley? whatever that means." "It is a pop Mash-up. Branch was having his doubts, at first. But, he always does."
"Who's Branch? Your boyfriend?" She snickers, clearly meaning it as a joke, even if there was some truth behind it. I just chuckle along, letting the moment stay light. Then, with a sudden bounce where she is stood. "Ah, ha! Found it!" She turns around, revealing her eyes lightened up as she has finally got a hold of whatever she's been digging for. She is extending a skirt and a matching top to me, with a smile showing triumph. She slowly adds in the matching accessories: A belt with a skeleton buckle in front, head band with spikes and jewellery, a purple hair tie that matches the rest, and leggings. I wouldn't even go that far to call it leggings, it is just holes with stuff threads braided together. "What do you want me to say about that?" I quirk an eyebrow and ask, my gaze fixed on the little costume she's holding up for me to see. Her expression is bright, clearly waiting for some kind of reaction from me. "Well, it is your new style." She tosses her whole handful straight into my lap. "What's wrong with the dress I'm already wearing?"
"It's not too bad." She tilt her head towards the left, eyeing me up and down. "You simply need a taste of Rock, now that you are one of us."
———
Barb slips out of the room, giving me more than enough privacy to change. I take my time, eventually stepping in front of the full-body mirror tucked in the corner. For a moment, I just stare, giving my best try on ignoring the cracks spreading through the glass. To be honest, it's not that bad. The change in my style suits me. I look decent - maybe even good. I grab a curling iron from the nearby dresser and begin lightly touching up the ends of my hair, still put up in a ponytail, now with a purple scrunchie that's matching the rest.
"How do I look?" I call Barb back into the room, curiosity tugging at my voice as I ask." You look... ROCKING!" The moment she steps in and her eyes lands on me, her jaw practically hits the floor, blinking like she's not sure she's seeing me right. The silence stretches for a beat, before her expression shifts into a smug approval. "And just in time. We're here!" She leads me back outside, her grip firm but steady upon my wrist as we step through the now unzipped mouth of the ride.
The light stings a little, after being inside, but my eyes quickly adjust - and then I see it. The familiar metal plate. The one that took off with my sister and boyfriend, and left me behind. "What are we doing?" I glance over at Barb and ask with a light chuckle. It hovers in the distance, just as I remember it, only now... it is here again. Or maybe we've searched it out. Either way, my chest tightens. Whatever this means, it's not by accident.
"We're getting that String." With a devilish smirk, Barb leans in, her reply barely said above a whisper. Before I can press her, the engines around us roar to a new life. The other Rock Tribe rides jolt forward, picking up speed all at once. The sudden surge makes me stumble, grabbing onto the edge to steady myself. As we close in on the Metallic plate, Barb and her crew each grab a guitar, they march toward the opening that leads into the structure, the same one that once took everything from me. "Stay here." Barb orders sharply, facing me with a stern eye, clearly not joking around, as one by one, the others leap into the opening ahead. "Wait no! I'm coming with you!"
"No you're not, Juniper. I've been growing up without you by my side, I'm not willing to risk living the rest of my life ahead of me, without you in it." She Hangs back to argue with me at the side, and watching the rest of them disappear inside. Barb then inhales a sharp breath, casting one last glance over her shoulder at me - a challenging one - before she steps forward, the last one to enter.
"Let me help you!" I shout after her retreating figure, but it's useless, she's already out of from my view. Still, I won't let her warnings or smug threats stop me. Something similar never has.
I step up to the edge of the open entrance, heart pounding, eyes locked on the flying plate ahead. I brace myself, legs tense, ready to make the jump, when. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" One from the Crew calls out to me from behind, their voice cutting through the wind rushing around my head. I pause, then slowly turn to face the source with a tight grimace. Their gaze is fixed on me as expected, brows slightly furrowed with confusion. "Uh.. I'm!.. The Princess of Rock, I can do whatever is pleasing me." I puff my chest outward with a sudden confidence - at least pretending it is present. "Besides.. Barb asked for me to come along..." The lie is dripping from my mouth and the guilt hovering. I've never lied to anyone before, and now I'm not able to stop since I got the taste of it. The Troll who has such a high interest in my doings, just shrugs me off, giving me the right to leave without any further questioning or suspicion hiding beneath. That was definitely easier than I thought it would be. Rockers simply don't give a care.
With a determined shrug, I leap onto the Floating Metal Plate and slip inside. The interior is nothing like I've imagined, it's more chaotic and alive with motion. Trolls who must call this place their home, flies past my ears from all different directions, preparing to protect what belongs to them, against the battle my people might have started...
The sound of the wailing alarm is blocking my hearing. Shadows fleeing between the beams - Rockers, no doubt, moving with stealth. I'm ready to follow them when my eyes catches on to the Citizens again. One of them looks just like Cooper. My best friend, if Branch and Poppy doesn't count. I freeze once I see him getting chased, three figures on his tail. Poppy, Branch and... Hickory. My stomach twists. That Traitor. It all clicks. Barb must've sent him. He somehow knew she was after me - that explains why he had a reason to push me overboard. I scan the area, heart pounding faster than usual, which happens a bit too often for my liking.
Cooper jumps onto a piano embedded into the floor, pressing down several piano keys, the melodies triggering the return of the familiar bubbles. This time they have been created by Cooper. One engulfs Poppy and Branch, without having the knowledge that they might kill one another, if they're forced upon the other's entertainment. While they're steeped off of their feet, another one sweeps Hickory off of his. The bubbles carry them upward to an opening in the ceiling. Without thinking, I sprint after them, desperate to reach Branch before he's gone for good. "Branch! Branch!" I repeatedly shout his name, in an attempt on catching his attention, but I certainly catches Cooper's. "Juniper?"
His question fly past me as I race by, but I'm not intending on answering, my eyes are locked on Branch, who's slipping away from me again. Honestly, I'm surprised he was even able to recognise me beneath all of this makeup and hairspray. 
"Branch!" I shout his name one final time - and by some stroke of luck - that's the one he hears. He turns inside his floating prison, eyes sweeping the ground below, until they land on me. He sees me. Really sees me. Maybe like Cooper, he recognises me despite everything. His mouth moves, but he's too far for me to hear the spoken words. Then, he starts pounding his clenched fists, taking turns against the bubble's clear surface in an attempt to break free. Poppy notices and is quick to join in.
All of a sudden, unexpectedly, the lights overhead cuts out. I glance up and spot Rock Trolls on the Roof on the outside. From what I can see from down here, as I'm on the inside, it looks like they've pulled the plug. The source to all electricity. They're playing dirty!
The bubbles eventually reach the escape hole, getting sucked through and officially out of my reach. One by one, the Rockers emerge from their hiding spots around the place. I catch Cooper's eyes and offer a silent apology, a genuine one, before turning with the tail between my legs and run. As I glance back, I catch Barb's glare locked onto my fleeting figure, tracking my every step. I'm letting her watch. I don't care if she sees me disobeying orders - what they have been doing for several days isn't right, not to Trolls who've done nothing wrong. She won't silence the protest that's building inside me.
I keep running, not planning on stopping, until I reach the rock Tribe's floating ship outside.