The Land of Decisions and Choices
The Snack Pack are having breakfast at the Pop Diner before going to Harmonia College when they bumped into CJ Suki, Keith, and Priscilla.
"Hey kids, going to school?" Rose asked them.
"Yeah, we're on our way to school, and our teacher is going to bring a guest," CJ Suki answered.
"Ok, who is the guest?" Branch asked.
"She said it's a police officer," Keith added.
"I remember now, we used to have school safety programs where the school had a guest from the police force who would teach us about safety and awareness about disasters and dangers," Rose said.
"Can you tell us about it?" CJ Suki asked them.
"They taught us many things about how to be safe at home, at school, and many more," Poppy answered.
"The police here are knowledgeable about safety," DJ Suki said.
"And they are meant to keep the city safe," Branch added.
"We'll get you guys to school to make sure it's safe," Rose offered.
"Thanks guys," they thanked them.
The kids went to DJ Suki's car and drove to school. In the classroom, CJ Suki, Keith, and Priscilla are sitting in their desks when their teacher came with a police officer.
"Kids, meet Officer Leah," the teacher said.
"Hi officer," they chorused.
"Hey kids, I'm here to teach you all about drugs and its dangers," she said.
"Officer, what are drugs?" Priscilla asked her.
"Drugs are any substance (other than food) that is used to prevent, diagnose, treat, or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal condition. Drugs can also affect how the brain and the rest of the body work and cause changes in mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, or behavior," she answered. "But substance abuse is much worse, you see, when people abuse drugs, they block messages to their brain and when that happens, he or she or they don't know what to do."
"My cousin said that her classmates think that taking drugs is cool," one classmate said.
"And they were wrong, they end up acting like fools," she answered. "Those kids might have been influenced by peer pressure, or he's just unhappy, they're bored, or he thinks it might make him popular among the other kids."
"That makes sense," Priscilla gasped.
"But the problem is that when the drugs wear off, the one who is taking it hasn't solved it, he or she or they are still unhappy, or bored," she explained. "Soon, they take more drugs and soon, they don't know how to feel good or have fun without taking it. They won't feel like doing anything or worse, they live to regret it or they lose their lives."
"So that is why it's bad to overdose," Keith said.
"If drugs are so bad, why is everybody doing it?" another student asked her,
"They always say that but it's not true," she explained. "Compared to people who use drugs, anyone who refuses to take drugs is better off without them because they listen to the news, the advice of wise and sensible grown-ups like our parents, teachers, or police officers like us."
The kids listened carefully to the police officer as she explained everything about the dangers of drugs to them. After school, they came to see the Snack Pack, who are in Trollstopia Records after a day in college.
"Hey guys, what are you doing in the lobby?" Poppy asked them.
"We're doing a school report about drugs and why it's illegal," CJ Suki answered.
"Our teacher had Delta Dawn's police officer cousin, Leah, as a guest, she told us about drugs and their dangers," Priscilla added.
"What?" they gasped
"Yes, she also told us about people who sell those just to make a quick buck," Keith explained.
"My cousin really did a great job teaching kids about safety," Delta Dawn added. "We should do an anti-drug campaign."
"We should do that, Harmonia Falls must be protected and safe for all," Trollex agreed.
"Yeah, we can do an awareness campaign," Rose announced.
"Let's do this!" they all cheered.
So the Snack Pack and their fellow labelmates pitched in their awareness campaign and sent the text to everybody, including Barb and the members of Rock Zombie, who coincidentally were in the hospital. During their performance in Volcano Rock City, Barb got injured onstage and broke her leg.
"Shit, I can't even get out of bed because of this g-d cast," she groaned.
"Hey Barb, you gotta see this for yourself," Carol said as she showed Barb the text message in her phone.
"Harmonia Falls Against Drugs? What the fuck is all this?" Barb asked her.
"Trollstopia Records is setting up a program to teach everybody about the harmful effects of drugs," Riff added.
"Drugs?! But many rockstars took fucking drugs," Barb protested. "Widespread drug culture shit was perceived as common, and a way to escape reality."
"But not all rockstars didn't do fucking drugs, those who took drugs died early or they lived to regret it," Riff reasoned with her. "Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd tragically descent into mental illness and drug addiction, and Ozzy Osborne was able to overcome it while Amy Winehouse died of drug overdose, Janis Joplin died early, and Kurt Cobain committed suicide because of drugs."
"But what about dad?" Barb asked them.
"Barbara, I came to hate drugs because I regret something that I should've done earlier when I was in high school," Thrash said as he entered the hospital room.
"Dad, you hate drugs?" Barb gasped.
"Poppy and Rose's idea of an anti-drug program reminds me of my bandmate, Judd, he was my best friend," he told her. "We formed the band that I used to play in, we played rock together and had so much fun. He seemed happy when we're together but at home, he went through a lot of hard times, from his parents divorcing, to moving to a new place and going to a new school. Some boys in the new city told him something cool and then, he started to act like a fool."
"What do you mean by acting like a fool?" She asked him.
"He started to act strange, he couldn't focus in his new school, started acting out at his mom, and he started taking different drugs, such as smoking cigarettes or psychedelic joints, drinking alcohol, snorting cocaine, and intaking hard drugs," he said. "I tried to warn him but he didn't listen so in the end, he died."
"So, what you're all telling me is that these things that Judd did had taken his life?" Barb asked her.
"Yes, I got heartbroken when Judd died, when I came to visit Judd's family, his mother and younger twin siblings noticed me and told me about his death and what happened to him," he sighed out of sadness. "I cried during his funeral but as I grew older and became famous, I always remember that drug abuse is evil so I had to be careful when going to parties or when I host parties, I will not forget what happened to Judd."
As Barb was listening to her dad, a dream sequence flashed before her eyes. She dreamt of herself back in her adolescent days. She woke up to see that she is an awkward 11 year old. She had wild black hair with a red dip dye and a side shave, wearing a black leather jacket, a muddy pink grunge t-shirt, black ripped pants, and platform boots.
"Hey Barbara!" A younger Carol shouted at Barb when she, Riff, and Billy Reverb came close to her. She has messy blonde hair with dip dyed dark blue tips, wearing a muddy blue T-shirt, leopard print leggings and black boots. Riff, on the other hand, is wearing a large, punk T-shirt, black jeans, and grey violet sneakers with braces on his teeth and a baseball cap on his chin length hair. As for Billy Reverb, he had pimples on his shoulders, which is revealed through his muddy red tank top, black ripped jeans and platform boots with his black crimped hair messed up.
"Carol! Riff! Billy Reverb! What happened?" a tween Barb asked them.
"Don't you remember that we have a D.A.R.E report?" A young Riff asked her.
"I thought we did that already?" Barb wondered confusingly.
"But it is today," Billy said.
"Hi Barb!" A tween Poppy waved at her as she, Branch, Rose, and Cooper as tweens appeared to them. The ten year old Rose has her black hair in braids and pimples on her face, wearing gold earrings, a pink choker, a glittery black and purple t-shirt with a fur jacket, purple pants, and gold platform sandals. Poppy has red curly hair with pink tips, zits on her face, and she is wearing a green headband with a flower, a blue dress with holographic rainbow colored spots, a pink jacket, and matching sneakers. Branch, on the other hand has armpit-length curly hair in braided pigtails, wearing his signature green vest over a baggy cyan blue t-shirt, brown jeans, and gray blue trainers. As for Cooper, he is seen wearing a white t-shirt, a pink striped vest, and blue pants with brown shoes and his signature green cap.
"Poppy, guys, what are you three doing in my dream?" Barb gasped in horror.
"Don't you remember that it's the D.A.R.E program in our schools?" The tween Rose asked her.
"Oh," she sighed in reaction.
"We finished our report for today D.A.R.E," Poppy said. "I can't wait to share it with the class."
"Me too, I wanna learn about these so that I can help share this awareness to the world," Rose said.
"I heard about the dangers of LSD as well so I wanna know more about them through research," Branch said.
"I can't wait to learn that," the tweenage Cooper said.
Soon, a German shepherd with a blue collar appeared in front of them.
"Awww, you little cutie, are you here to join us?" Rose asked her.
"Guys, aren't we supposed to touch that filthy mutt?" Barb asked them warily.
"It's alright, as long as it doesn't have rabies," Poppy assured her.
"Why do you have to hate dogs?" Branch wondered.
Then, the dog noticed Barb's report in her bag and grabbed her.
"Hey! The dog got the report!" Barb shouted as they ran through the streets until they came to a strange world. Upon their arrival, three shadowy figures were watching on the screen.
"Danny! Potential customers!" An older male voice said.
"Kids," a boy's voice responded.
"How old are they? More like ten or eleven?" The woman's voice wondered as her assistant read the manual, which is revealed to be for drug pushers.
Soon, they left the trailer, wearing weird mascot-like costumes. The older, taller individual is dressed as a rabbit, the female wore a bear costume, and the smaller one wore a flower costume.
"Let's go, we have merchandise to sell," she said.
"Yeah!" The smaller individual agreed but he was being abused by it.
The tween versions of Barb and her friends were walking through the forest, looking for the dog.
"This place is creepy," Poppy said.
"Let's just find that dog and get out of here," Barb said.
Soon, the same trio appeared before them.
"Hi ya boys and girls!" The man in a rabbit costume shouted.
"Who are you?" Rose asked them warily.
"I am the magic rabbit and I'm here to bring you all to a fun world of happiness and joy," he answered.
"Have you seen a dog with our friend's bag?" Branch asked them.
"No, but I got something better," the female pusher said as she unfolded the curtain, revealing a theater, filled with anthropomorphic cigarettes.
"May I introduce you to a wonderful world of cigarettes!" The duo announced as they showed three adults that were smoking.
"Meet Nicotina, smoking Jim, and Cool Rex!" The pushers' leader said. "As you can see, smoking makes you an adult!"
Barb was amazed but the other five were wary about it.
"Also, it makes you slim, attractive and generally cool," she added as the duo started smoking.
"Wow, that lady is beautiful," Poppy gasped when she looked at the woman
"But look closer," Rose said as the lady smiled at them, revealing her rotting teeth.
"Ugh! Gross!" Cooper gasped.
An anthropomorphic cigarette went up to the kids and they yelled "No Thanks!" but as Barb was about to reach out for one, Billy Reverb stopped her.
"Hold on! Tobacco is one of the worst things for your body," Billy informed her. "It's filled with poisonous substances like nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. They harm your body like narrowing your blood vessels, your heart becoming more exhausted than ever, and turning your lungs black. Lots of smokers get cancer and have to get a lung renewal, because they smoke so cigarettes are not cool. Lots of people die from tobacco everyday, and you can see a lot of labels on every pack of cigarettes to warn you how deadly they are."
Soon, they heard the dog barking from the forest.
"It's the dog, let's go!" Branch shouted as they left the outdoor theater and went on their way.
"Wow, you sure learned these from D.A.R.E, didn't you?" Barb asked her.
"Yeah," Rose answered.
Soon, they saw the dog leading them to a nearby tavern with a thatched roof.
"Branch, you go first," Poppy told him.
"Not!" Branch refused as Rose opened the door, revealing the same trio again.
"Hi again kids, it's drinking time!" The leader said as the anthropomorphic bottles of beer and alcoholic drinks appeared with them. "Wanna be popular? Alcohol can make you feel good and more fun to be around!"
"Gross!" Poppy gagged when she was grossed out from the smell around them. Barb was amazed again but Poppy was able to get to her.
"Yeah, but don't be fooled by peer pressure, alcohol may make you seem the life of the party but in real life, you look stupid," Poppy warned her. "Tobacco, coffee and alcohol may be legal but they can take a serious toll on your health, drinking too much can harm you mentally and physically, it destroys your liver, cardiovascular system, digestive tract, immune system, and the nervous system, making you lose coordination, and have trouble thinking. Alcoholics have blackouts as well, the booze starts controlling their personality. The commercials make drinking look glamorous but in reality, hospitals and jails had a lot of people who let alcohol ruin their lives."
Branch gasped when he heard about
"How about...." the female pusher started but Rose stopped her.
"That's enough! Let's find that dog," Rose said as she dragged them away and left the tavern.
They looked around for the dog until they came to a weird throne where a female anthropomorphic joint was seen sitting on it.
"Ugh, that smell is coming from there!" Rose gasped when she saw the duo smoking marijuana joints.
"Excuse me, have you seen a dog?" Carol asked her.
"A dog? I only remember what my mind told me may be an illusion of this dog you're after," the joint answered dreamily. "But it wasn't this real dogness, there is a difference."
The joint kept on spewing out nonsense, making Barb notice something is off around the place.
"Guys, what is she talking about?" Barb asked them.
"She's talking nonsense because she is stoned, she's on cannabinoids," Branch said. "It is usually a recreational drug that was used by ancient civilizations for many years but it has some effects too, it cause relaxation and altered perception, increase heart rate and blood pressure, and make you feel relaxed and happy, but can also cause lethargy, anxiety, paranoia, and psychosis. Everything important about you vanishes and leaves you an empty shell of the person you used to be.L
"What is amazing about marijuana is that they give us a way to using hard drugs," the joint said as she pressed a button and a trapdoor opened below them. As Rose pushed Poppy, Branch, Billy Reverb, and Cooper away from it but Barb, Carol, and Riff fell into it. They found themselves surrounded by shadowy figures that were addicted to something.
"Wanna try some cocaine? First snort is free?" the duo asks them from behind.
"Give them the cold shoulder!" a pair of tweenage voices said as a ginger haired boy and girl with fair skin appeared. The boy is wearing a red T-shirt with jeans and sneakers while the girl's hair is tied in pigtails, wearing a pink blouse, sneakers, and denim overalls appeared before them. Barb, Riff, and Carol did as she told them and soon, the cocaine was blown away. Soon. The pushers' leader gasped in shock as he panicked and lit up a crack pipe in desperation. The kid in a flower costume, Danny thought of something as he watched him fall into addiction while his female partner felt bad about something.
"Iggy, after hearing these kids saying that drugs are not good for you, should we stop it?" he confessed.
"Shut up! What do you know? I never felt better," he said.
"But you're not feeling better, you need help because you're my brother," his partner, revealing to be his sister, said.
"No way! I don't need help! I.......eeeeuuuu..." he said as hs cracked down. "Actually, cocaine may make you happy, sophisticated, and a better doctor, and it will help you forget your troubles at home."
"Yeah right, it makes you a jerk!" the girl said. "Cocaine is more addictive than any drug, it causes heart attack, stroke, respiratory issues and paranoia but Crack is much worse."
"Try a little, just to see..." the leading pusher tried to convince Barb to try it but the girl continued to interrupt him.
"Girl, I know someone who was hooked on it," She continued. "Our older brother got addicted to it and even stole items from our parents to pay for it, and in return, he got severe mental health issues, respiratory problems, and cardiovascular issues and in the end, he died from it. Cocaine is one of the most addictive drugs, don't even try it."
When Barb was offered cocaine, she threw them away and one of the two tweens found an exit.
"Let's go!" The boy shouted as he led Barb, Riff, and Carol away but Danny sneaked away and joined them. Soon, they were able to reach the school, where they caught up with Branch, Poppy, Rose, Cooper, and Billy Reverb.
"Guys, you're alright!" Rose gasped as the two groups finally reunited.
"How did you escape?" Branch asked Barb.
"These two helped us escape," Barb answered as she showed them the twins.
"It's nice to meet you," Poppy squealed.
"There's no time, we have to find the report and get to school on time," Rose said as they walked through the sidewalk to school.
"Did you see the dog that stole Barb's report?" Carol asked them.
"Yeah, the dog helped us rearrange it," the female twin answered. "We also included a topic about hard drugs."
"Hard drugs? What is that?" Branch asked them.
"Well, first is methamphetamine or meth, they cause you severe dental problems (meth mouth), skin sores, heart issues, and violent behavior," the male twin answered. "Then, there's ecstasy, which causes dehydration, hyperthermia, heart problems, depression, and anxiety."
"Acid or LSD can make you see stuff that wasn't there, lose your mind, and cause psychosis, flashbacks, anxiety, and unpredictable behavior," the female twin added. "When anyone uses heroin, they end up with high addiction potential, overdose, infectious diseases, and severe withdrawal."
"But he or she can also get hepatitis or AIDS for sharing needles," Rose informed them.
"Then, there's ecstasy, which causes dehydration, hyperthermia, heart problems, depression, and anxiety," Poppy said.
"Yeah, let's not forget Phencyclidine, which causes aggressive behavior, severe hallucinations, seizures, respiratory issues," Branch agreed. "Or Fentanyl addicts having memory loss, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, and those who overdose in Methaqualone end up with overdose, and respiratory depression."
When they get to the school, they caught up with the Snack Pack, who were also tweens.
"Guys, you're here on time!" A tweenage Satin cheered.
"Yeah, but we need to look for Barb's report," Rose said.
"But who are those two?" Biggie asked him.
"These twins helped us find our way here,"
"Guys, look out!" Danny shouted as everybody ran into the school building.
Soon, the group peeked at the door window to see the leading drug pusher and an army of anthropomorphic drugs appeared in front of them.
"Ready to try the good stuff everybody?" The drug pusher asked them.
"Don't be fooled!" the young woman in a bear costume shouted as she appeared outside the school building
"You traitors...." He growled before shifting his mood. "Well, if you can't decide to try them all, go ahead boys!"
The anthropomorphic drugs are about to attack the school but the same dog started barking at them, which scared the army.
"They're scared of the dog!" Barb was in shock.
"C'mon Rose, remember what grandma told you," Rose groaned to herself.
"Danny, Heather, get over here!" The leading drug pusher shouted.
Danny and the woman, named Heather, shivered in fear until one of the twins turned to them.
"He doesn't have any power over you, you can do whatever you want!" The twins chorused.
"Power, that's it!" Rose gasped in realization. She looked around for the power, only to see a giant cattle prod and broke its protective glass with Carol's skateboard. Then, she took it out.
"C'mon guys, let's get them!" Branch shouted as he, Poppy, Rose, Cooper, Barb, Billy Reverb, Carol, Riff, and the twins took the giant prod and carried it together. Rose looked at Heather and Danny as she and the group were holding the prod together.
"Take a good look, that could be your future on drugs!" Rose said with a loud voice as the leading drug pusher took off his mask, revealing his twitching eye and he is going crazy as the dog continued to bark at them and the anthropomorphic drugs
"Danny, Heather, we need your help!" Branch pleaded as the two, who joined their side and as the dog opened the doors, they flung the cattle prod at the army and electrocuted them to death. All of the alcohol, cigarettes, joints, and the drugs were electrocuted and destroyed forever as all of the school watched the attackers get incinerated. Finally, all that is left is a pile of ash, blown away by the wind.
"We did it!!" Poppy cheered as everybody shouted with joy.
"I finally understand now, drugs don't have power over you unless you let them," Barb said. "I'll never, ever, ever do drugs."
"Well said," The dog spoke, much to the shock of the other tweens. Soon, the spirit of a young man appeared before them. He is tan skinned with grayish spiky hair and he wears a gray t-shirt, a black leather vest, matching denims, and platform boots.
"Who are you?" Barb gasped in shock when she saw him.
"I'm your dad's old bandmate," he answered.
"You're Judd?" Barb asked him.
"Yes, I didn't get to say goodbye to your dad one last time because I underwent withdrawal treatments but I didn't survive," he said. "I came to regret what I did because I realized that overdosing on drugs is not the way to escape from problems. I should have talked to Tiago about them and he'll help me."
"Yeah, dad regretted it, he could've helped you earlier," Barb responded as she broke down and cried.
"Are you, Barbara, Tiago's daughter?" The ghost asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"It's alright, Barbara, you mustn't blame yourself about your dad, we all do our best, sometimes it just happens anyway, even to me," Judd told her. "And maybe, you are chosen to remember what happened to me, so that you will not let the same thing happen to everybody else."
"Thank you Judd, I will use your story to spread the word about the campaign," Barb said as the flash of light brought her back to reality and Barb snapped out of the trance.
"Barbara, you sure listened to my story about Judd," Thrash said.
"Dad, I wanna spread the story about your bandmate to the campaign," Barb told him.
"You want to tell his story?" he gasped.
"What made you change your mind?" Riff asked her.
"I had a dream where me, Riff, Carol, Billy Reverb, Popsqueak, Rosethorn, Branch, and Cooper were tweens and it involves talking, giant drugs with faces, arms, and legs, costumed drug pushers...." She explained. "I learned how drugs claim thousands of lives."
"Yes, each year, more youth become involved in drugs and each year, they ended up in the grave," Thrash agreed.
"I agree, those stuff are dangerous, they can kill, we will not mess with them," Riff agreed. "At best, anyone who mess with it live to regret but at worst, they won't live."
"Maybe we can ask Rose to make a comic about it," Carol suggested as she texted Rose about it.
"Yeah!" Barb said. "That way, we can spread the lessons about drug awareness."
As soon as Barb is finally discharged from the hospital, everybody from Trollstopia Records arrive to bring her home. As they slowly walked through the room, Barb noticed a room with drug addicts being treated as they went through withdrawal.
"I'm glad that the drug addicts who were rushed to the hospital are getting medical help," Barb sighed in relief.
"But there's another thing," Rose said.
"What is it?" she asked her.
"The road to recovery for them is gonna be a difficult one," Rose answered.
"Yeah, the pain of withdrawal is hard but losing friends or loved ones to drugs is even harder, like your dad's friend," Branch added.
"Maybe we should do something for them, but what?" Poppy wondered.
"We should have a donation for the campaign," Barb suggested.
"Barb, you got us a great idea for the Harmonia Falls Against Drugs campaign, we can distribute fun comics to all the kids in the city to learn about drugs and how to avoid them," Rose said.
"Really?" she asked her.
"Yes, Carol gave me your idea," Rose answered.
"Yeah," she sighed. "And besides, drugs don't make the problems go away, it only makes it worse but I really don't need it, even though rock is about sex, drugs and fucking rock n roll because I already have what I g-d need, my dad, you guys, our fans, and everybody I love."
"Yeah, but there are others who need help in learning to say no to fucking drugs, we just have to lend out a helping hand when they get pressured by their peers," Branch added.
"They also need love too," Lownote Jones agreed.
"And faith," Cooper said.
"We can help spread the word," Poppy squealed with delight.
"Let's do this!" Rose shouted,
"Yeah!" They all cheered.
Then, a concert was held in the stadium as each of the music artists, bands and groups in Trollstopia Records perform for the crowd. As a finale, the Snack Pack and their labelmates appeared onstage as Rock Zombie led them in the center.
"Thank you for coming to our campaign," Barb said. "Please donate to our cause to help these people in need who are going through withdrawal and in keeping our city safe and drug-free for citizens of all ages, that means all of us. Tonight, we're gonna sing to inspire you all to never give up on anything or anyone by turning to something else that would only destroy you, just keep on running until you reach your goal and your dreams."
As soon as Barb's lead guitarist started playing, the keyboardist played her keyboard, Riff started banging on the drums and Carol played her bass. Barb started to play her guitar in front of the crowd and sing while the others sang along with her.
I kept the right ones out and let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
There were times in my life when I was goin' insane
Tryna walk through the pain
When I lost my grip and I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave, but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired of livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I would die
It's amazing
With the blink of an eye, you finally see the light
Oh, it's amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
Yeah, it's amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight
That one last shot's a permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey, not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings, yeah
You have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk, oh yeah
Well, I was out on the street just tryin' to survive
Scratchin' to stay alive
It's amazing
With the blink of an eye, you finally see the light
Oh, it's amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
Oh, it's amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight
The desperate hearts, desperate hearts
It's amazing
With the blink of an eye, you finally see the light
Oh, it's amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
Oh, it's amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight
The desperate hearts, desperate hearts
So from all of us in Trollstopia Records to all of you out there
Wherever you are, remember
The light at the end of the tunnel may be you, goodnight
This is based on the video of the same name, but its just a dream sequence that Barb went through to understand what is going on. Plus, this one is gut-wrenching because this is a hard topic to talk about.
Amazing belongs to Aerosmith.
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