“Why couldn't we go kick some heinie with those other guys?" Dickory whined. Both Yodeling Trolls were in Poppy's pod, and Flower sat in her high chair waiting for her lunch to be served. “I don't wanna stay here and babysit this little gör!"

“She's not a gör!" Hickory protested, preparing Flower's meal. “Look at her. She's adorable!"

Dickory just watched in disgust as Flower picked out a little of her own earwax and attempted to use it as fingerprint.

“You're just saying that because she likes you more than me," he complained.

“Only because you're full of yourself," he pointed out. “Besides, she likes you, too."

“Then how come she turned down a strudel from me?"

“She was trying to share it," Hickory answered. “Does it to me, too. Watch."

To further explain, the taller Yodeler offered the toddler princess a spoonful of bite-sized fruit pieces, but she pushed it away and said, “Yours!"

“See?"

“You're just doing it wrong," Dickory said, taking the spoon from him. Little did he know wanting to share food was just something all Pop Troll babies did. “Look, little mädel, if you don't eat, you won't get your dessert!"

“Yours!" Flower insisted, pushing the spoon away.

“Yours!" Dickory huffed, pushing it back.

“Yours!"

“Yours!"

“Yours!"

“Yours!"

“Yours!"

“Yours!"

Both Trolls fought over who would get to eat when suddenly, they both pushed too hard causing the spoon to bounce all over the pod until it landed in Dickory's mouth!

“Yours!" Flower cheered. Hickory just snickered.

“That's it!" Dickory shouted, spitting the fruit out. “You can stay here with the baby, I'm going to kick butt!"

“Nein, Dickory!" Hickory pleaded. “I promised Poppy and Branch we'd look after her. And we both know how you get when you're alone."

“Well, do whatever you want, but I'm not staying here!"

Hickory watched as his little brother ran out of the pod, yodeling as he left Pop Village. He groaned in frustration.

“Branch is gonna kill me."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Dickory!" Hickory shouted as he wandered through unfamiliar territory. “Where the heck are you?! Dickory!"

“Dicky!" Flower shouted, sitting on Hickory's head. His alpine hat rested on the tips of her purple hair. “Hey-eee-oooo!"

Hickory chuckled. “Not bad."

As the princess covered her blushing cheeks, they heard the familiar sound of smooth jazz. Hickory put gumdrops in his and Flower's ears as Chaz, one of the most feared bounty hunters in all of Trolldom, showed up playing smooth jazz music.

“Well, what do we have here?" he said with a smirk on his face. Hickory pulled the gumdrops out. “Last I heard, you were supposed to protect the Pop princess, and you brought her into the dark, dangerous wood."

Hickory glared at the Smooth Jazz Troll and said, “My brother ran away again. Have you seen him?"

Chaz shrugged as they began to hear a more catchy, upbeat tune. Five slender Trolls with colorful hair and giant bangs slid in.

“Hey, boys!" Wani greeted as the rest of the K-Pop Gang giggled. “And little Flower! I didn't expect you here!"

“Hewwo!" Flower cooed as Kim-Petit grabbed her and gave her a big hug.

“We can't stay, we're just looking for Dickory," Hickory informed them. Flower and all five of the K-Pop Trolls groaned sadly. Suddenly, all of them heard reggaeton music. Tresillo and his señoritas were the last to arrive.

“Well, look who finally showed up!" Baby Bun teased.

“I kept telling you, just pick a face paint color and let's go!" Marimba scolded Tambora.

“I'm not the one who mixed up our earrings!" Tambora pointed out. The K-Pop Gang laughed at their bickering.

“Trouble with the trio, Tracey?" Wani said coyly. Tresillo just rolled his eyes.

“Quiet, you two!" he shouted at the señoritas. “You're embarrassing me."

“She started it!" both Trolls said together, pointing at each other.

“Guys, please!" Hickory exclaimed. “Have any of you seen Dickory?"

Everyone glanced at each other.

“Not that I can recall," Gomdori replied.

“Shh, shh, shh!" Chaz shushed her. “Do you hear that?"

All eleven Trolls heard loud music, and whoever was playing it was drawing near.

“It's the Party Crashers!" Tresillo said in alarm. “Remember the plan, everyone?"

“We split them up and lead them to the traps," Baby Bun replied. “Won't be easy, though. There are dozens of them."

“Well, we got something they don't," Wani reassure them all. “Although I'm not quite sure what it is."

“No time to figure it out," Tresillo said. “We gotta split!"

With that, Chaz, the Reggaeton Trolls, and the K-Pop Gang ran off, except Kim-Petit, who was still gushing over Flower's cuteness.

“Kimmie, get over here!" Gomdori shouted. Kim-Petit gave Flower back to Hickory and followed her fellow K-Pop girls.

“I'm in charge, I say we go right!" he heard someone shout.

“My right, or your right?" someone else asked. Hickory held Flower close to him and hid in the bushes as the Party Crashers showed up, riding a massive, greyish-blue mammoth-like beast.

“Slamm-Oh, we're facing the same direction," Bash pointed out. “My right is your right!"

“Oh, so sorry, Bash," Slamm-Oh replied. “My bad, my bad."

Just when Bash was about to take over the reigns, the Party Crashers heard giggling coming from the trees.

“What was that?" Pow wondered. Bash narrowed his hazel eyes to get a better look, but all he saw was five bright colors moving around from branch to branch.

“Hi, there!" a voice whispered. “Do you see me?"

“I can see you!"

“Come follow me!"

“Okay, gang," Bash announced. “Since this forest has never been explored by anyone, perhaps the best thing to do is stay together. We'll just have to keep moving, like sharks. Stop, and we'll all drown."

“Do I have time to pee?" Smack asked, raising his gloved hand.

“No!" Bash spat, slamming his sunglasses against the ground. He growled in frustration. “Well, if you hurry."

With that, Smack climbed off the mammoth and ran off to do his business.

“Anyone else?" Bash asked the rest of them. Everyone but Pow got off and ran into the bushes. “Probably for the best, so there will be no further interruptions until we find this Black Rock."

“Yeah, we don't want that power falling into someone else's hands," Pow agreed. “This is your destiny, Bash!"

“Our destiny," he corrected, taking her hand. “If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have made it this far."

“Oh, you don't mean that," Pow said, blushing.

“Of course I do!" Bash insisted. “You mean a lot more to me than you realize. I guess what I'm trying to say is–"

“Achoo!"

“Gesundheit," Hickory whispered to Flower, silently praying they weren't heard.

“We're not alone," Bash realized. “You stay here, I'm gonna have a look around."

“Tiny, little word of advice, Bash?" Pow offered. “Just... be careful who you trust."

“I'll be fine," Bash assured her, and went down the trail. Pow jumped out of the mammoth, curiously approached a bush, and pulled the branches apart, revealing Hickory and Flower.

“Uhh... Guten tag?"

❤️☀️🧡🌙💛☀️💚🌙💙☀️💜🌙

Smack pulled up his zipper and prepared to head back to the mammoth when he heard... smooth jazz? He noticed a pair of vine curtains pull themselves back, revealing Chaz playing his saxophone with a seductive glitter in his eyes. Rose petals blew through the breeze onto Smack's cheeks.

“Pretty music..." he said dreamily, and began following the Smooth Jazz Troll into the forest.

Slamm-Oh, meanwhile, helped himself to some berries in a bush, much to the concern of some of his fellow Party Crashers.

“Dude, take it easy!" said one of them. “Those could be poisonous, or something."

“Don't tell me how to eat!" Slamm-Oh replied with his face stuffed. “I'm a Party Crasher, I eat what I want, when I waaaaaaa ehhhhh."

Slamm-Oh lost the ability to talk. Then, he couldn't even feel his own limbs and collapsed.

“Well, you did warn him," a Party Crasher pointed out. “Look at him, so pathetic and helpless."

“Do you think he can hear us?" wondered a girl. “We should check his breathing."

“Why don't we scare him?" a guy suggested.

“That's for the hiccups!"

Although he was paralyzed, Slamm-Oh could still see and hear, and noticed the Reggaeton Trolls sneaking up on them. He tried to warn them, but all he could do was grunt.

“He's trying to tell us something," one of his friends observed. They all looked up and noticed the three bounty hunters climbing down to the rhythm of their beat.

Bash searched the forest for the rest of his gang, but there was no sign of them. Instead, he found himself surrounded by five sleek Trolls with brightly colored hair, playing cheerful music as they giggled.

“Look girls, it's him!" Wani said excitedly. “You are the leader of the Party Crashers, right?"

“Yeah, who's asking?"

“We are the K-Pop Gang," Baby Bun answered. “And we're here to take you to the Black Rock."

That was a lie, of course. Barb told Wani and her girls everything they needed to know about Callisto's creation, and only a sucker would actually let someone like Bash get it.

“You don't say," Bash said, remembering Pow's advice. These weren't the Trolls he faced in the past, but the way he saw it, they were still Trolls. “And, uh, how much farther is what I seek?"

“Not too far," Gomdori answered. “Just follow us, and we can take you!"

After pretending to think it over, Bash nodded in agreement. The K-Pop Gang giggled at each other and led the leader of the Party Crashers to a clearing.

“In that cave!" Ari said, pointing to a dark, spooky cave. Noticing leaves completely covering the ground, he cautiously took a light step and felt the emptiness beneath his foot. He knew exactly what these five ladies were planning.

“Thank you, K-Pop Gang," Bash said, sounding grateful. “You've been most helpful."

Just when the K-Pop Gang thought they won, Bash let out a loud whistle and they all felt the ground quake. The mammoth-beast was charging at them. As it grabbed Bash with its trunk, the five Trolls backed up nervously and fell into their own trap, tangled in vines coated with strawberry syrup.

“But how?!" Wani exclaimed in disbelief.

“Clearly, you guys don't know who you're dealing with," Bash replied, snapping his fingers. The rest of the Party Crashers showed up with the Reggaeton Trolls in their clutches. “Just tell us why you're here, and nobody gets hurt."

“Technically, we're already hurt," Tambora pointed out.

“Bash, look what I found!" Pow shouted, holding Flower by the hair with one hand and dragging Hickory, his wrists binded in old chewing gum, with the other. Flower tried to break free but Pow's grasp was too firm.

“Well done, Pow," Bash praised. “You captured the queen Troll's pwecious wittle baby."

“I'm not a baby!" Flower protested. “I'm the Pwincess of Pop! And you won't win!"

“We'll see about that," Bash said, tapping her nose. Flower tried to punch him, but to no avail. “We certainly don't need to ask who sent you, but I wanna hear the truth about why."

“What makes you think we'll tell you?" Hickory asked.

“Slamm-Oh, grab your paint gun!" Bash shouted.

“Bad news, Bash," a Party Crasher alarmed. “Slamm-Oh ate poisonous berries, they paralyzed him."

Bash rolled his eyes and ripped the paint ball gun off Slamm-Oh's belt. He fired it at a tree, causing a branch to break off, and a disheveled Dickory falling off with it. His body was coated in mud and leaves, and one of the straps to his pants broke off.

“Oh, you messed with the wrong Yodeler, you barbarians!" he growled, and attacked a tall, skinny Party Crasher. Just as he was biting on his frill, a paint ball was fired on him, turning his butt purple.

“Dicky, no!" Flower shouted as he collapsed.

“Dicky, yes," Bash repeated with a sinister grin. “I'll do that to all of you if you don't tell me why you were sent here."

“I was just here for that idiot!" Hickory insisted, gesturing to his brother.

“I see. And the rest of you?"

The rest of the group held their ground. They weren't going to let these creatures win. But just when Bash prepared to fire at them...

“Wiwwow has the Wight!"

Everyone turned to face the little princess in surprise. Flower didn't want to betray her parents, let alone all of Trollkind, but couldn't stand the thought of anyone getting hurt.

“Wiwwow has the Wight," she repeated, “to destwoy the Bwack Wock. Or someone fulled of hatwed will take it."

“So, they're going to destroy what belongs to me," Bash said. “Never thought the Trolls would be the type to rain on a parade."

“Bash, look!" Pow alarmed. They noticed something shimmering in the shadows. Pow handed Hickory over to another Party Crasher and went with Bash to look at a dagger, silver light shining through it. They looked up to find a group of Trolls flying overhead in the direction the dagger was pointing in.

“Mommy! Daddy!" Flower shouted. Pow just covered her mouth with a clawed hand.

High above, Branch briefly stopped the flyer he was driving and looked around. Poppy turned hers around to check on him.

“Pops, did you hear something?" he asked worriedly.

“Babe, I'm the queen, I hear everything," Poppy answered. “And, no."

Poppy just flew off to rejoin the others. Branch prepared to follow, but still felt a strange feeling, and no one noticed the tiny flicker of red light in his eyes...

“So these rocks are the path we need to take," Bash realized.

“If we hurry, we can still get there first!" Pow said excitedly.

“What would I do without you, Pow?" Bash replied, patting her head. “Everyone, listen up! The queen and her friends are following these to find the Black Rock, so we gotta get there before they can destroy it with this Light the Pop princess says my dear cousin-in-law has. Any questions?"

“Yeah, where's Smack?" a chubby girl with freckles asked him.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The Party Crashers found Smack slow dancing with an angry Grossum while Chaz played his saxophone. Bash fired a paint ball into the bell, causing the Smooth Jazz Troll to collapse, with what the other Trolls hoped was red paint leaking out of his nose. As Smack woke from his trance, the Grossum attacked him only for Bash to shoot green paint at it. The Grossum ran off in terror.

“It's okay, Flower," Kim-Petit said soothingly to the sobbing toddler, hoping to calm her down. “It'll be okay."

“I did this," Dickory said regrettably. “If I hadn't snuck off, Hickory wouldn't have come after me and bring the gör with him so she'd rat out on us. Say whatever you want, this was my fault."

“No one's arguing with you," Hickory pointed out, still upset. Flower would've been, too, if she knew what a gör was.

“So, the girl with the gap in her teeth, is that your girlfriend?" Wani asked Bash curiously.

“What, Pow?!" he exclaimed. “Where would you get such a crazy idea?!

“Well, I assumed, since you say a lot of nice things to her–"

“Yeah, because we're close."

Wani smirked. “How close?"

“Look, we are just friends," Bash insisted, growling at the K-Pop Troll. “Don't try to convince me otherwise!"

“Bash, what are we gonna do about all of these other Trolls?" Pow wondered, gesturing to the bounty hunters.

“We can't risk anyone finding out what happened here," Bash declared. “They're all coming with us."

“Thmart mood, Bath," Slamm-Oh agreed, his speech still slurred. “Hey-Hey, I can talk again!"

“Bash, what were you talking about with the blue-haired one?" Pow asked.

“Nothing!" Bash lied. “There are rules to war, Pow. The number one rule: don't get along with the enemy."

While everyone else began following the daggers, Slamm-Oh tried to stand up, but since Bash ruined his belt, he ended up tripping over his own pants.

For those of you who are curious, “gör" is German for “brat." So feel free to hurt Dickory as much as you please.

If you have anything to say, please feel free to say it, and leave a vote while you're at it.

Until next time. 🤘