Chapter Text
“We’re almost to Mount Rageous!” John Dory exclaimed as they neared the city. From afar, the lights of the city emerged through the clouds.
“A little over the top isn’t it?” Branch asked as the lights came more into view.
“Rageons tend to be over the top.”
“How will we know where they are?” Clay asked trying to peak through the windows, “The place is huge compared to us! We’re like ants in a cornfield compared to that place.”
“Good old Rhonda has the scent! That letter that was left to me has the scent of the two Rageons we’re trying to find. We find them. We find Floyd.” JD smirked proudly.
Suddenly, Rhonda halted, the Trolls were confused at her sudden maneuver, “Hey, what gives!” Branch said loudly.
“She’s… picking up something I think… Rhonda?” JD grew curious, but she remained completely still. She made a noise and bolted the opposite direction.
“Rhonda no! To Mount Rageous! Rhonda!”
But nothing stopped her. She had picked up a scent, it was the scent JD had showed her before, she knew it was. Rhonda ran quicker and quicker…. Suddenly she came to halt and settled down.
One by one, the Trolls unmounted the armadillo bus. JD went around and looked at Rhonda straight in the eyes. “What gives girl? Mount Rageous remember? Velvet and Veneer?”
“John look!” Clay motioned. The Trolls looked around to find themselves surrounded by mist. Trees were overhead. The mist slowly evaporated to show a clearing that lead to a river bank…there! That’s when they saw a motionless figure…. It looked like…
“It’s a Troll!” Poppy exclaimed as she got closer. The others followed her lead. Growing closer and closer, the little figure became clearer… the small Troll kneeled next to a larger body, his hands folded over his knees, a sad look in his eyes.
“FLOYD!!” Branch ran straight for his brother. Floyd turned around to find himself being engulfed in an embrace by each of his brothers. “Floyd oh my gosh! You’re out! You’re free!” Branch held him tighter. Floyd let the sadness melt away for a moment as he let Branches love just engulf him, one by one he felt their love…. His family was back again… they were alive, they were safe.
“You guys are alive… you’re okay… I went back and… everyone was gone.” Floyd cried.
“We’re here, bro. We’re good. And we’re together again. Let’s go! Let’s go now! We’re to close to Rageous for your own good.” JD pulled Floyd’s arm, but he hesitated, he stalled.
“No! No I can’t! I can’t leave him.” Floyd said pulling away. He walked over to a bigger figure laying on the ground. The Trolls hadn’t noticed, they thought it was just something there… not an actual person. The rest of the Trolls got closer.
“Oh my gosh.” Poppy gasped, “It’s… it’s a Rageon.”
“Not just any, I know that stringy hair. That’s Veneer. Floyd how’d you escape him.” Bruce said.
“I didn’t. We escaped together. He’s hurt, he’s hurt bad.” Floyd walked up to the boys chest… there was blood… “I tried to cover it with what I could, but he’s still bleeding out. He’ll die.” Floyd jumped down attempting to pull on the boys sleeve causing him to move a little. “Please, what can we do? I need to save him.”
All the Trolls looked to Floyd in confusion. Why would he want to save him? This was his captor, the one who imprisoned him and had been torturing him. Why?… All but Bruce thought that. Bruce automatically knew the tone of voice Floyd carried, the hurt in it… this was much more.
“….Hustle Time.” Bruce said. The Trolls looked at him.
“What?” Branch was the first to ask.
“You guys said the Bergens are our friends now right? Hustle time to them. Bring them here. They have something big enough to carry a Rageon.” Bruce stated.
“Really?” Floyd asked with a glint of hope in his eyes.
“You’re seriously thinking of helping him?” Clays voice sounded. “Isn’t he like the bad guy in this story?”
“No! No he’s not. Trust me. I’ll explain everything, just please help me save him….. please.” There was a desperation in Floyd’s voice.
“I’ll help you!” Poppy exclaimed.
Bruce crossed his arms and nodded, “I second that.” He turned to face the rest of his brothers. JD let out a long sigh.
“Rhonda girl get over here. Let’s see if we can move this big guy away from the water bank first.”
Between them and Rhonda, the Trolls pulled Veneer as far off the river bank as they could, as deep into the brushes that his weight allowed him. He was loosing blood quickly, they thought he couldn’t get any paler, but he was, everything about him began to loose color.
JD, Clay, and Poppy went off with Rhonda to find the Bergens…all they could hope is that they wouldn’t be too late.
Bruce and Branch remained with Floyd. The little Troll never left the Rageons side. His brothers marveled how attentive he was, he was trying to sooth him, trying to wake him up.
“I don’t get it.” Branch said.
“I think I do.” Bruce responded. He saw the hopelessness in his brother’s eyes as he sat there by Veneers side. Bruce had so much to say and so much to ask, but he knew right now wasn’t the time. “We need to be here for him Branch. I’m sure he’ll explain everything one day, but right now, let’s just be here for him.”
Hours upon hours passed. The Trolls did everything they could to keep Veneer from bleeding out of his wound. The boys breathing began to grow staggered, and Floyd began to grow more hopeless.
“No. No. No. No. I can’t loose him! I can’t. Is there anything else we can do?” Floyd said.
“We’re doing our best. We have to wait for the others to come back.” Branch reassured.
Floyd threw his hands in the air, “We’ve waited to long! Look at him!”
“Floyd. Freaking out is not going to help him. We have to be calm, for him.” Bruce said. This seemed to calm Floyd down a bit, but he was growing weary… Veneer was so close to death….
That’s when they heard the sound.
Looking up they saw a vehicle approach. At first they were hesitant, but then they a familiar face popped out.
“He’s taller than we expected! Hopefully he fits in the back.” King Gristle stated.
Floyd never left Veneers bedside. He remained by the drawer staring down at the boy. Bruce walked in and saw everything. Floyd had not left his bedside since they arrived. There were times where he asked JD to take him back, something about seeing if she followed, he assumed he was talking about the kids sister. Bruce hopped up and sat next to Floyd.
“You doing okay, little bro?”
Floyd shook his head and remained silent.
“They say he’s stable. He’s going to make it Floyd.”
“He’s not waking up.”
“He will. He will.”
“When?”
“Floyd I…”
“When is he going to wake up Bruce!! When! You don’t understand, you don’t.” Floyd buried his face in his hands.
“I think I understand a little more than you know. I know that look. I have it when my kids are hurting.” Bruce said. Floyd looked at him, confusion on his face.
“What? Kids? Bruce, he’s not my…”
“But you see him that way, don’t you? Something happened back at Rageous. You wouldn’t just protect or feel this way about anyone who’s held you captive.” Bruce told him.
Floyd fell silent. He stared at Veneer… they patched him up, gave him liquids, now it was just a waiting game. If Floyd hadn’t tried to abandon them, leave them like he would’ve, then maybe this would have never happened…. The twins would have never have to spend those months of torment under that vile woman, “I promise I wouldn’t leave them… and I almost did… I blamed them for something they knew nothing about…I told them that they weren’t my….family.”
“Keep going.” Bruce said.
“…. After leaving, I tried coming back, but everyone was gone. I found my way into Rageous, well, Under Rageous. I was caught, but then…they let me go, they saved me. It’s rough down there…so I stayed with them, hoping one day I could find a way out and bring them with me. We…. We…”
“Became family.” Bruce finished. Floyd looked at his brother, then at Veneer.
“We did…. And I messed that up.”
The brothers stayed a moment in silence before Bruce decided to speak, “I’ve seen you passionate bro, but never like this. These guys are 100x your size, yet you don’t see that, you see the kid in them still. The way you were looking at him at the river bank, here in the hospital… the same love I look at my own kids with.” Floyd opened his mouth to protest, “Don’t deny it. In your own way, you’ve adopted these two as your own…. It may take awhile for the others to understand, but I’ll help you with that. As a father, we want to guide are kids in the right direction. Sometimes that won’t happen, sometimes they’ll mess up…. But as a parent, we got to be there for them when they do. Fatherhood ain’t easy, bro, but it’s a beautiful journey.”
Floyd stared at Bruce, then turned his gaze towards Veneer… Bruce was right. Unknowingly he had began to see these two as his own. Maybe that’s why he got so hurt and upset when he found out what the Mistress was doing. He had felt betrayed… but in the long run, Floyd was the one to betray them. Now here he sat, waiting for Veneer to wake up… hoping Velvet would’ve followed…
“What do I do now?” Floyd asked.
“Learn and wait. This kid will wake up… and the girl will make it out. We’ll find a way to help her, I promise you. Besides, if she had you in her life, then that means she’s a fighter. One thing at a time, little bro.”
Floyd wipes the tears that had unknowingly been falling. But for the first time, he wasn’t crying because he was sad…. He was crying because for the first time since all this happened..Floyd had hope.