Chapter Text
The cell was cramped. Trollzart guessed the dust and dirt that made him sneeze were the results of the under-maintenance and laziness of the Rock trolls. Cuffs made of some sort of heavy metal obstructed his ability to fly. It made him feel smaller than ever, and he was already very tiny. He shook his head as he assessed his surroundings.
As much as Trollzart hated being separated from his tribe, seeing the somber eyes of other trolls gave him at least a little hope. 'They must be the other leaders,' he decided, noticing the lopsided crown adorned on a tall troll with layers of blue fur and silver foil that sparkled like his baby soft skin who sat next to another with a similar build, 'Maybe we can work together to escape. But I do not know how to approach them with the idea. They are total strangers after all. And who knows if they're willing to talk peacefully after all of... this?' Tidbits of memories resurfaced as he recalled the tale of the six musical strings.
There were six different main genres of music, including classical himself. The vague descriptions of the ancestral trolls came to mind as he studied each of the figures in the cell.
Starting with the crowned one, she must've been a Funk troll. The other one beside her also had the distinct foils intertwined within his furs, long necks and legs that were folded gracefully as they whispered quietly to one another.
The troll to his left had a centaur appearance, a characteristic only Country trolls possessed. She seemed to be threading her hands through her extravagant auburn hair, most likely as a source of comfort. Her face was stoic, a hardened glare burning into the floor beneath her. A little hand poked out and tenderly held the shaking palm of the Country troll. Was he starting to see things?
Trying to focus, Trollzart then looked towards the Pop troll, he presumed, that stared at all the other trolls with wide-eyed fear. He seemed like he needed a thorough combing as his messy pink, white-streaked hair and mustache appeared frazzled and in need of some TLC.
The Rock trolls he already had a pure hatred for, their leader Queen Barb destroying the very place he'd kept watch over for decades. He still remembered the burning smell of ashes and flames entering his lungs brutally as he was taken away from his home, battered and bruised.
His brows furrowed, as he scanned the room again for the last troll leader in the cell. Then, he spotted a faint neon glow in the far back. The only other tribe left was the Techno trolls. But why was he in the dark?
Trollzart prepared himself, and with a slight tremor in his voice he called out towards the Techno troll, "Are you alright back there?"
He heard chains rattle and shuffling from both the other leaders and the Techno troll. Once he got a look at the other's condition, Trollzart held back a gasp.
The entire left side of their figure was bandaged crudely with red stained gauze, and he looked to be in terrible discomfort. It was a wonder how they weren't groaning out in pain, or made any noise within the time he'd spent in there so far. He also had an additional cuff around their tail. Trollzart thought that to be an example of the cruelty of the Rock trolls. He was already gravely injured, and they still put extra cuffs on the poor troll. The troll's hand rested on something that dully glowed pink on his chest. Trollzart wondered what he was hiding.
"Y‐You're talking to me?" The Techno troll whispered with a hoarse voice, as Trollzart nodded in sympathetic confirmation. "I-I'm so sorry we've had to meet like this, its been a tough week. The name's Trollex, King of the Techno trolls."
"Don't fret with such apologies when you are in such a state, King Trollex," Trollzart softly replied. "I am Wolfgang Amadeus Trollzart of the Classical trolls, but please, refer to me as Trollzart."
The funk troll duo who observed the conversation wearily seemed to huddle closer together, before the blue one spoke out.
"We are the royalty of the Funk tribe," she bowed, best as she could with the chains on. She sent a small loving gaze to her husband. "I am Queen Essence, and this is King Quincy."
The Pop troll leader froze at the sudden eye contact from the other's in the cell who awaited his introduction. It never came. Only a look of what Trollzart assumed to be shame washed over his features as the Pop troll sluggishly looked away.
The Country troll softly clicked her hooves, letting out a small huff of annoyance. Her face softened as she eyed the bandages on Trollex. "You're lookin' mighty worn slap out I'll tell ya. I'm Delta Dawn, Mayor 'n Sheriff of Lonesome Flats, Country trolls territory. Mind explainin' what happened to ya hon'?"
"Do... D-Do any of you have water..?" Trollex coughed, frowning at the sight of blood that clung onto the crook of his elbow. Delta stuck her hand into her thick curled hair and fished out a small canteen of water. She kicked the container over to the Techno troll, who greedily drank up all of the remaining water. Humming gratefully and now rehydrated, Trollex slid the canteen back to the Country troll, "I can't thank you enough Sheriff Delta. Now... uhm, do you want me to start from when I got thrown in here? Or.. Or when she..."
They trailed off, dragging his hand across his left arm covered from his shoulder blade to the tips of thier fingers in gauze and picking at a loose end. He was careful to still cover the faint glow emanating from their chest.
Trollzart put a clenched fist to his lips in quiet consideration and thought, "If it's not too much to ask, perhaps from when she arrived at your domain?"
The Techno king nodded dolefully, taking a deep breath before fidgeting with the chains that bound him to the cellar floor.
"W-Well, it was only my second ever rave hosting, as the week before had been my coronation," Trollex softly spoke, getting used to the fluidity in his voice they'd lost over the course of the past week due to water deprivation. "Guess being one of the youngest Techno kings ever recorded isn't all it's cracked up to be."
The Classical conductor noticed the slight frown that encompassed Trollex's features at the last whispered sentence. The Techno king gripped at the chains, and continued on.
"There was... this giant vessel that reminded me of those dreadful angler fish that prowl around the depths of the abyssal zone, some of the deepest, treacherous waters we know. At first I even speculated that they actually were giant angler fish. I had ultimately decided to abruptly end the rave, swimming up to the mysterious intruders.
"We Techno trolls hate the very thought of violence, so when Queen Barb appeared I was taken by surprise. I was ready to defend my home from some giant predatory fish. Scare them away like we usually do. Not- Not an army of Rock trolls. I hadn't even known that there were even other kinds of trolls until recently, when she herself had ranted to me about the various tribes whilst having a one-sided conversation with me. How we were so easy to conquer. To... d-destroy. Break.
"My best friend, Beat, had advised me not to hand over the Techno string. Of course, as the object was what I had sworn to protect, I refused. She... hadn't liked the rejection."
Trollex gave a shuddered sigh and fiddled again with the frayed edges of another loose wrap on his injured arm.
"It felt like pure magma enveloped my entire left side. Utter agony flooded my senses as Beat plucked the string from my grip and threw it at Queen Barb. I had never seen him so distraught. The last thing I could see of my home was the royal DJ booth split in two, the coral cared for generations dying and graying, and my people, including Beat, who were herded into a different vessel. I haven't seen them since. They were so, so afraid. "
Trollex looked around, seeing the other leaders who were at a loss for words. The Pop troll looked to be almost in tears.
"Even she seemed surprised at the damage she had done to me, according to Beat. I was taken into this cell, and bandaged by one of the Rock trolls on the verge of unconsciousness. The pain was so immense that I wanted to fall asleep, but they kept waking me up to dress my cuts and burns. I was awake the whole time they prodded and poked at my wounds.
"Apparently, Queen Barb hadn't expected to injure me so greatly. She wanted 'friends' all under Rock, and she didn't want the same mistake done to me to you all, like I was some sort of damaged goods. She needed her 'friends' to be in 'top condition'. The day after I was brought in she said she was 'sorry or whatever'. I didn't answer. She... She doesn't deserve one after what happened."
The cell was quiet.
"Come hell or high water, when I get outta here, I'm a kickin' her with my hind legs with all I got! Y'all better believe it when I say I'm madder than a wet hen!" Delta growled, crossing her arms as her displeased expression morphed into one of more frustration and anger at the unjust treatment. Trollzart voiced his agreement, as the other leaders - even Pop - nodded along.
Trollex gave a watery chuckle, their head falling back onto the wall he resided against as they reveled in the comfort of having others once again for support, unknowingly exposing the neon pink pixel heart on their chest that beat quietly. It was almost split in two.
Trollzart quickly realized this, as he rapidly asked, "Trollex, whatever happened to your heart?"
The Techno king registered the concerned eyes all burning through him, thoughts on rapid fire as they looked at his uncovered chest, exposing their fragile heart.
"C-Consequences." He whimpered, remembering the back of a spiked guitar and searing hot pain. "I-I swear it's not as bad as it loo-"
Trollex suddenly cut himself off, inhaling sharply as the heart pulsed off its usual 128 beat. They curled up as much as he could with their chains and bandages.
Trollzart tried to flap his jittery, twitching wings as a way of expressing his nervousness, only limited and confined because of the cuff-links he wore. "Trollex..."
Said Techno troll shook his head dejectedly, slowly shutting their eyes as he took deep breaths, fins swaying side to side delicately. The erratic beating stopped, and so did the panic that washed over the entire cell.
"'M fine..." Trollex murmured, much to the distraught of the others.
"Trollex! That was- That was practically your heart almost split in two! Your life on the line and you dismiss it so casually?" King Quincy exclaimed, holding his wife's hand in his own for solace.
"It's not like this hasn't happened before," Trollex hummed, earning distressed looks from the other leaders. "I'll fix this once I get out. I just... I need to get back to Techno Reef, my home. And fix the booth. Please don't worry yourselves over somebody you've just met, I believe it won't be like this for long if I just ask Queen Barb nicely. She's been getting a hold of her emotions as of late, and her angry outbursts at me have been less and less frequent."
Before Trollzart could say anything, the Pop troll leader cleared his throat, having finally made up his mind as to what he wanted to do.
"I-I'm King Peppy, former king of the Pop trolls," Peppy stuttered, "I was... I was scared based on silly ancient accounts recorded in scrapbooks. Please, King Trollex, what may we, or simply I, must do to help ease your pain? We all are stuck in here together, after all."
Trollex blearily readjusted his eyes to the room at the sound of the new voice, blinking curiously, but still downtrodden about the cracks that adorned their pixel core. "King Peppy, I'm afraid there's nothing anyone really can do to help me sort this out. I'd need the royal DJ booth, and it's... it's..."
He stared, dazed and dull-eyed at the wall in front of him. A tear slipped down their freckled cheek as memories he vividly recalled washed over them leaving him breathless with the burdening amount of grief over what they couldn't protect, and couldn't do.
He looked back at their cell mates, who watched in immense concern. "The coral would take ages to regrow, and ironically the only thing that could help speed up the process of recovery is my heart, which is... y'know." They gestured to their chest with their good arm.
"Well—" Trollzart was cut off, much to his annoyance, as a door on the other side of the barred walls slammed open. The bang caused almost all the leaders to flinch except for Trollex, who was unfortunately used to the repeated actions occasionally disturbing his sleep or just out of pure, sick amusement from the spare guard or two. He never understood the enjoyment somebody could get out of almost bringing them to tears with the sudden noises when he first arrived. They could still hear laughs of the various Rock trolls that giggled past his cell in his nightmares that reoccurred on the daily nowadays.
Queen Barb had entered the room, a smirk on her face as she assessed the furious looks sent her way by the various leaders contained in the cell. She wore a sparkling new outfit, a vast contrast to the dirt and grime that caked onto the prisoners.
"ROCKERS!"
Barb held up a hand signal, as trios of snickering Rock trolls led the leaders one by one into separate, tall and narrow spaces. They all protested, even Trollex albeit weakly, as they were shoved onto slightly raised platforms in the center of each area.
"Are you ready to rock?~" she laughed, striding off to prepare for her grand entrance of her great performance. Before leaving entirely though, Barb sent a sickeningly fake smile at Trollex, who clung to the wall beside him for support. They looked ready to topple over, still aching from their injuries and not yet used to the release of the cuffs that bound them for days on end.
"Sorry, fish stick, but we'll be the best of friends when this is all over, yeah?"
Trollex shook with such shame and fear she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.