A Brother's Love

Jail Break

The moment between Floyd and Branch was cut short when they heard a loud crash coming from outside. The two of them ran outside along with Delta to see what was happening. A few country trolls gathered to see what was going on. And sure enough, someone was breaking out Poppy and Biggie from the jailhouse. But Floyd knew who that troll was. "Hickory!?" Floyd shouted.

Hickory turned to face a shocked Floyd, but he also saw Delta's angry face and didn't want to stick around to be her next victim. Poppy saw Branch who was clutching Floyd's hand tight. She wrapped her hair around him and then threw him onto the makeshift shed and Hickory made a break for it. Delta and her posse charged after them; Floyd quickly hopped on his creature bike and chased them. Delta even sicced her niece on the pop trolls to catch them. They ran through the cactus forest. The four of them managed to lose Clamper by making her fall into a mine shaft but the country trolls were on their tails.

Floyd drove his bike towards Branch, determined to get his baby brother back. But the bike hit a rock, bucking Floyd off and he went flying onto the makeshift sled. The country trolls were gaining on them; Delta had Growly Pete use his mustache as a lasso. Growly Pete's mustache grabbed Branch by the ankle and started pulling him off the sled. Branch couldn't help but giggle as he felt the mustache tickle his ankle. Floyd grabbed Branch's arm to save him. He knew Delta's heart was in the right place, but this was getting crazy. Suddenly, Clamper popped out of the ground and chased them.

But Poppy saw that they were heading for a cliff. "We're not going to make it!" Poppy shouted.

Branch saw Clamper jumping towards him, but he used his hair to grab Clamper then used her to chop Growly Pete's mustache off him. But the plan backfired when the sled went flying over the cliff with the five of them hanging in midair over the river below. "Well. I hope Pop trolls can swim." Hickory said before they all fell into the river.

Moments later, Floyd, Biggie, Poppy, and Branch were on the shore sputtering and coughing. Floyd helped Branch up from the ground then he started fussing over his little brother making sure he wasn't hurt. "Floyd, I'm fine. Really. I'm ok." Branch assured.

Floyd was grateful that his brother was alright. But then he glared at Poppy who didn't notice him. Hickory came running still soaking wet and he was relieved that Poppy and her friends were ok. He shook himself dry but when he saw Floyd, he nearly wanted to bolt for it. Floyd looked at Hickory who was stuttering with his words, "Floyd, darling..."

"Hickory, what in the name of Muses were you thinking?!" Floyd screamed, making Branch flinch. He had never seen Floyd lose his temper.

"It seemed like a good idea," Hickory said, trying to reason with Floyd.

Floyd marched over to Hickory; Branch thought Floyd was gonna hurt Hickory, but he did something so unexpected. Floyd pulled Hickory close and then kissed him. Hickory was surprised by the kiss, but he melted into it. Branch was at a loss for words while Poppy thought that they were super cute. Floyd pulled away from Hickory "Never do anything like that again." Floyd stated.

"No promises, darling. But I might do it for another kiss." Hickory stated making Floyd blush like a schoolgirl.

Poppy decided to thank Hickory by giving him gumdrops, but Branch was more in questioning Hickory and how he knew his brother. But when Poppy finally noticed Floyd, she looked surprised to see another pop troll. "Hi. I'm Queen Poppy! How do you know Branch? Are you friends?" Poppy asked.

"Oh. Branch is my little brother." Floyd said, calmly.

That set Poppy off like a firework; she pounced onto Branch yelling at him how he never told her about Floyd. Floyd rushed to Branch's rescue and pulled Poppy off of him. He then hugged Branch and rubbed his back a little to calm him down. Floyd could tell that Branch didn't like being touched so roughly or without permission. When Branch calmed down, he looked at Hickory. "Why are you helping us? How do you know my brother? What's in it for you?" Branch asked.

"Branch!" Poppy said then turned to Hickory. "I'm sorry about my," She looked at Branch for a second, "Associate." She then looked back at Hickory.

"With all due respect, Queen Poppy. My little brother can ask my boyfriend questions if he wants to." Floyd said to Poppy.

"He's your boyfriend?" Branch asked Floyd.

Floyd gave Branch a little smile and then kissed him on the forehead. "Yes, my little angel. Hickory is the love of my life. I may be Pop and he may be Country, but I love him no matter what. He makes me happy. But you are important to me too." Floyd said to Branch.

Poppy suddenly remembered where she had seen Floyd before. "I know you. You're that guy from Brozone! I love Brozone! They're my favorite band!" Poppy exclaimed.

"Now I get why you left the boy band days behind, my rose," Hickory whispered to Floyd.

"Okay, okay. Don't tell me. Um, you're not the Heart Throb."

"Uh, that's your option."

"The Fun One? No, you're too uptight."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not the Leader either. You don't look that old."

"Okay, a lot of assumptions you made about someone you just met thirty seconds ago."

"Wait, I got it! You're Floyd, the Sensitive One!"

Branch couldn't help but let out soft giggles that only Floyd heard. "You like seeing me suffer, Bitty B?" Floyd said, teasing Branch.

Poppy had to cover her mouth and then let out a loud muffled squeal. Branch, Biggie, Hickory, and Floyd flinched when Poppy covered her mouth to muffle her scream. Branch looked terrified, looking around to make sure no one heard them. Floyd quickly hugged the youngest and rubbed his back to calm Branch down. "It's okay, Baby B. Calm down."

Poppy fanned her face, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Branch's brothers are in BroZone, Floyd called him Bitty B, how did I not notice before?! Branch is Bitty B! Oh, sweet cupcakes!" Poppy rambled.

Poppy finally calmed down then she pulled out the map and told everyone that they needed to head to the Funk Trolls before Barb did. Hickory knew that the quickest way was traveling by river. Within minutes, Hickory had built a giant raft big enough for all of them to ride on and he even built a cappuccino machine. Poppy and Biggie ran towards the raft while Branch stood there with his mouth open. Branch still didn't trust Hickory, but he still walked onto the raft with his arms crossed and pouting. Floyd chuckled at Branch's reaction; he knew that Hickory was doing all that to impress his little brother.

They all began to travel on the raft down the river. Floyd was happy to have his little brother back, but he didn't seem to like Poppy. He let Hickory steer the raft that way he could catch up with Branch. He didn't just notice Branch's grey colors; he saw how small and skinny his baby brother was along with the huge bags under his eyes. He wanted to ask Branch about what happened in the past twenty years and ask him if their grandmother was still around. But Branch didn't seem to be in an answering mood. Floyd decided to wait until after they were done dealing with Barb to ask Branch about the last twenty years.

While Poppy, Biggie, and Mr. Dinkles were enjoying themselves, Branch sat down looking down at his reflection in the river. Floyd walked over to Branch and sat down next to him. "Hey. Are you ok? Not going to join your friends?" Floyd asked.

"I just want to focus on the threat. Poppy isn't taking this mission seriously. Not to mention she isn't listening to me." Branch complained.

"Branch, sweetheart. I know that Barb is our big priority. But right now, you can relax. I'm here now. I'll protect you." Floyd assured Branch.

Branch smiled a little hearing Floyd say that.