Chapter Text
John let out a yawn as Rhonda zoomed across the road while the rest of the family chattered behind him. His ear flickered, one hand on the steering wheel while another held onto his chair to keep him steady. The energy drain from Velvet and Veneer was still taking a toll on him, and he felt like he wanted to pass out right there and then… which is probably not a safe idea since he was driving.
Thankfully, the voices of his brothers and his sister-in-laws (and Tiny) kept him from entering slumber, allowing him to rub his eyes and keep his gaze on the road.
“Man, two weeks!?” Clay gasped. “You were in that thing for TWO weeks!?”
“Yep,” Floyd sighed as he leaned against Bruce on the sofa.
“How did you survive?” Branch frowned. “They don’t seem to be the type of kidnappers to feed their prisoners.” He scowled.
Floyd chuckled. “Crimp sneaks in some food for me, and sometimes Veneer drops some in the bottle for me to eat,” He sighed. “I’m kinda grateful that I survived that long,”
“That only means we have to fatten you up, Floyd,” Bruce chuckled, poking his arm lightly. “Though we need to take you to the nearest Troll Hospital first,”
“There’s one in Pop Troll Village!” Poppy offered as Tiny found himself napping in his aunt’s hair.
“Yeah, but I think Mount Rageous is far from the village,” Branch hummed. “And we need to get Floyd to the Troll Hospital immediately,”
“There’s no need to rush,” Floyd assured. “I’m feeling fine,”
“I don’t think we should wait,” Clay agreed with Branch. He turned to their eldest brother at the wheel. “Yo, JD! You think Rhonda could get to the Troll Hospital quicker?”
“Sorry, bro, I can’t rush Rhonda,” John Dory snorted. “Unless you guys want to make her grumpy, it's best to- Woah!”
A sudden turbulence caused the family to tumble, with Viva catching Clay before he could fall while Bruce kept Floyd steady on the sofa. John lightly swayed, but his balance kept him from falling as his eyebrows furrowed.
“Rhonda?” He patted the armadillo bus gently. “You okay, girl?”
“What happened, John Dory?” Branch was up on his feet and helping Poppy up. “Why did she stop??”
“I can't tell…” John hummed. “She seems to be sniffing around for something…”
“What could she be sniffing around for?” Viva tilted her head. “A bone?”
John frowned. “Easy there, Veev, Rhonda isn't–”
“Mayday! Mayday! Can you hear me!?”
All heads turned to the walkie talkie sitting on the shelf where a sticker of a flower was stuck to the wall. Floyd reached out to grab the walkie talkie, tilting his head. “Huh, what's this for, Johnny?”
John blinked. “Oh that's for–”
“I said MAYDAY! MAYDAY! THIS IS PEACHY IN A SITCHY!”
“Peachy?” Branch’s raised an eyebrow. Who was that?
John’s eyes widened. He immediately grabbed the walkie talkie from his younger brother, pressing the button on the side. “Talk to me, Peachy! What happened!?”
“Well… a bit of a mis- miscalculation at my p-part.” The static and wind echoing through the walkie-talkie made the voice unclear and stammer unintentionally. The others looked at each other, unable to tell if it was a boy or a girl speaking through. “You see, I climbed th-the highest peaks to parachute down! B-But I might have… forgotten something ess-essential…”
“Muses, help me…” John punched the ridges of his nose. “You forgot your parachute, didn't you?”
“…Yes.” A nervous laugh seemed to echo and cause the static to worsen through the walkie-talkie. “And now I'm falling really… really fast!”
“Oh no!” Poppy gasped. “We have to help them!”
“Already on it, Poppyseed,” John turned around. “Rhonda, go fetch Peachy! Quickly!”
Rhonda wasted no time zooming off, causing everyone to fall to the floor, with John gripping the walkie-talkie. The movement caused many of the things inside to wobble and shake. Bruce grabbed Floyd and carried him before a box almost fell on his brother.
“Woah, woah!” Clay yelped, slipping as he tried to get back up again.
John hissed and grabbed onto a shelf. He pressed the button. “Can you see Rhonda, Peachy?”
“Affirmative!” The voice confirmed. “I see her– woah, woah!”
The armadillo bus suddenly leaped, sending everyone up before landing back down. John instinctively swung his hair at Branch and Clay, letting them land on the strands while Floyd fell onto Bruce. Poppy held onto her hair, careful to not wake up Tiny as she landed on her side while Viva landed on her back with a hiss.
“Is everyone okay?” John asked.
“Yep!” Poppy rubbed her arm.
“All good here!” Viva gave a thumbs up.
“Could be better…” Clay groaned while Branch rubbed his head.
“Mm,” Floyd slowly got up, reaching an arm to his older brother. “You alright, Bruce?”
“Mhm, fine enough…” Bruce groaned, accepting the helping hand. He chuckled. “You weigh lighter than a sack of potatoes anyway- gah!” He yelped as he was dropped. “Hey, I was joking!”
“Hmph!” Floyd huffed as he took back his hand.
John chuckled and shook his head before he rushed out the door. He made it to Rhonda’s face, and he snickered as he saw an arm in her mouth.
“Looks like you could use some help there, huh, Peachy?”
“Nah… not really,” The Troll chuckled, her voice muffled but still clear enough for him to hear. “It’s kinda warm in here,”
John raised an eyebrow. “Is it still warm if she swallows?”
“Noo! Rhonda, don’t swallow!” The Troll patted Rhonda. “Spit, girl! Spit!”
Rhonda obliged, letting a goop of glitter saliva trail after the Troll spat out. John laughed, taking out a towel to wrap around her . The Troll sighed in relief as she took the towel to wipe away the saliva.
“You alright there, Peachy?”
“Yep!” Bright orange hair with a streak of blue-green stuck out from her head, tied in a ponytail as she flicked some of the saliva off. “Just a little forgetfulness, is all!”
“Just a little, huh?” John looked unamused.
“Hehe,” The Troll grinned. “Come on, that was fun,”
John sighed. “Peachy…”
“JD!”
The pair turned around to see the others run over. Poppy was at the front with Branch, eyes widening. “Oh! Hi! You must be Peachy!”
“Yep!” The Troll grinned. “Full name is Peach Blossom, but yeah, you can call me Peachy!”
“You alright, Peachy?” Floyd asked. “You said that you went parachuting… without a parachute,”
“That’s really dangerous,” Clay frowned. “What were you thinking?”
“Hey, hey! I thought I had it!” Peach Blossom defended. “But it turns out I got my little brother’s backpack instead, which is… uh… embarrassing…” Her face flushed, rubbing the back of her head as her short tail wrapped around her leg. She turned to John. “Sorry to worry you, Papa,”
“PAPA!?” The brothers’ jaws dropped. Viva and Poppy both gasped in unison.
“Oh oops, I knew I forgot something…” John muttered before chuckling, patting Peach Blossom’s shoulders. “Bros, Popstar, Veev, this is Peach Blossom, my oldest daughter. Peachy, these are your uncles and aunts,”
“WHAT!?” Peach Blossom gasped before squealing. “OMG! I HAVE UNCLES AND AUNTS!? YOU’RE PAPA’S BROTHERS!? EEEEEEE!!” She dashed towards Bruce, shaking his hand. “HI! You must be Uncle Spruce! It’s nice to meet you!”
“Woah, woah!” Bruce had to keep himself from tumbling. Peach Blossom had… quite a grip. “Ah… it’s nice to meet you, Peach Blossom, but I don’t go by Spruce anymore. I go by Bruce,”
“Woah, Uncle Bruce?” Peach Blossom’s excitement didn’t falter. “Cool name! I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you!” She turned to Clay, shaking his hand next. “Hello! You’re Uncle Clay, right!? The Fun One from the Brozone!?”
“Ugh…” Clay groaned at the title. It didn’t surprise him that his oldest brother would chatter about their band days… “Sorry, kiddo, I don’t do fun anymore. Now, I’m the Serious One. Serious Uncle Clay!”
“Oh?” Peach Blossom tilted her head. “What makes you so serious, Uncle Clay?”
“I deal with the boring stuff,” Clay chuckled. “Like taxes and whatnot,”
Peach Blossom’s smile still stayed as she nodded. “Oh, okay! That still sounds like fun!” She giggled, but before Clay could argue, she turned to Floyd, shaking his hand. “Hi! You’re Uncle Floyd, right!? Your hair is so cool! Is the white color new?”
“Oh! Um…” Floyd kept his balance from the shake. “Well…”
“Easy, Peachy, Floyd’s a bit fragile right now,” John gently told his daughter off.
“Oopsie! Sorry, Uncle Floyd,” Peach Blossom slowed down her handshaking.
“It’s okay,” Floyd smiled. “It’s nice to meet you,”
“It’s nice to meet you too!” Peach Blossom giggled. “I’ve heard your music all over! I’m such a fan!”
“You know my music?” Floyd blinked.
“Yeah!” Peach Blossom chirped before pointing at her parent. “Papa collected a few of your albums growing up, so it was impossible to not listen!”
“Hehe, what can I say?” John gently leaned against Rhonda, arms crossed on his chest. “I did my best to support you, Floy-Floy,”
“Aww, thanks, Johnny,” Floyd beamed.
Peach Blossom turned to Branch and grinned, shaking his hand. “Hello! You’re Uncle Branch, right!? Or would you like to be called Uncle Bitty B?” She joked.
“Haha, no thank you,” Branch shook his head, giving his big brother a look that only made the older Troll snort. “Uncle Branch is fine,”
“Okay! Uncle Branch!” Peach Blossom chirped. She turned to Poppy beside him. “Is this my Aunt!?”
“Yep!” Poppy grinned. “I’m Branch’s girlfriend, so technically, yes! I’m your Aunt Poppy!”
“And I’m Clay’s girlfriend!” Viva jumped into the conversation. “So I’m your Aunt Viva!”
“Aunt Poppy and Aunt Viva!” Peach Blossom cheered as the three of them jumped into a group hug. “It’s so amazing to meet you all!”
Branch hummed, moving away to let the girls be. He turned to John and frowned. “Why didn’t you tell us you had a kid?”
“Kids,” John corrected. “And I was planning to… after we get Floyd to the Troll Hospital and made sure nothing’s wrong with him,”
“Oh right, Floyd!” Bruce picked up his younger brother. “We still need to get you to the Troll Hospital!”
“Hey, hey! Put me down, Bruce!” Floyd whined.
“Troll Hospital?” Peach Blossom parted from the hug. “Is there something wrong with Uncle Floyd?” Her ears lowered.
“It’s a long story,” Branch sighed.
“A story we’ll tell on the way,” John moved to the door. “Come on, missy, I need to make sure you’re okay too,”
“Oh! Okay!” Peach Blossom happily skipped inside the armadillo bus.
Clay crossed his arms as the girls followed after them. He turned to his brothers. “Do you really think John would actually tell us about his kids?”
“Hardly… though I wouldn’t blame him,” Bruce sighed. “We still haven’t had our talk, remember?”
The... talk?
Branch blinked and looked between the two older Trolls. “The talk?”
“...” Clay folded his arms. “We… agreed to talk with you and John about, you know, staying at the village and all…”
“...Oh,” Ah… that makes sense.
“We also wanna talk about, you know… the fight and the band…” Bruce shifted a little. “But let’s make sure Floyd is okay first, alright, Branch?”
“Right,” Branch gave a nod.
“I can hear you guys, you know?” Floyd spoke up, his body draped on his older brother’s shoulder.
“We know,” Bruce snorted before he walked off, with the other two following behind him.
“Wow!” Peach Blossom giggled. “You braid so well, Aunt Viva!”
“D’aww, thank you!” Viva beamed.
“Your scrapbooks are amazing, Peachy!” Poppy oohed as she grabbed one from the pile on the floor. “Did you make all of this!?”
“Yep! Since I was three!” Peach Blossom chirped.
“That’s really artistic, Peach Blossom,” Bruce chuckled.
“Thanks, Uncle Bruce!” Peach Blossom grinned. “I’m very talented!”
“He’s definitely your kid, JD,” Clay snorted.
“Ha-ha, funny,” John rolled his eyes but gave a smile. He turned back to the front. “By the way, Peachy?”
“Yeah?” Peach Blossom looked over.
“You’re grounded,”
“WHAT!?” Peach Blossom gasped. “But why??”
“The parachute incident earlier?” John tilted his head to raise an eyebrow.
Peach Blossom pouted. “No fair…! I’m 19, Papa! You can’t ground me!”
“I can and will ground you, even in your 30s,” John chuckled, shifting his gaze back to the front.
“You’re 19?” Branch blinked.
“Yep!” Peach Blossom smiled. “Just turned 19 this year!”
“Woah…” Floyd’s eyes widened. “That means… Johnny, you had Peachy only a year after leaving the Troll Tree?”
“Uh-huh!” John nodded, his face reddening slightly. “I met someone, married him and had my first twins!”
“You’re married!?” Branch and Floyd gasped.
“First twins!?” Bruce and Clay’s jaws dropped.
“How romantic!” Viva giggled.
“Wait, you have a twin, Peachy?!” Poppy’s eyes lit up.
“Yep!” Peach Blossom brought out a picture, and they gathered around to see the image of Peach Blossom beside a taller boy with dark blue-blue green hair with streaks of light blue and blue eyes, though his eyes and tail were a different shape to John Dory’s, and compared to Peach Blossom’s outfit that fit an adventurer, the boy was wearing a black sleeveless sweater, with the rest of his clothes the same color as his sweater. “His name is Clockie!”
“It’s Aquarius,” John corrected. “His name is Aquarius, but Peachy loves to call him Clockie to annoy him,”
“It’s because he always carries a watch with him!” Peach Blossom snickered. “And about ten clocks so he doesn’t forget what time it is,”
“Ten clocks?” Poppy snorted. “Sounds like something Branch would do,”
“Sounds like something Clay would do too,” Viva laughed.
“Wait, wait, go back!” Branch shook his head. “John Dory, you’re married!?”
“Yep, I am,” John removed his glove and raised his hand to show the golden ring around his finger. “I’ve been married for 19 years now,”
“Wow!” Floyd immediately went over, gently taking his hand. “Congratulations, Johnny!”
“Such a shame we missed it,” Bruce sighed. “Then again, you all missed my wedding too, so I guess it’s fair,”
“At least we have Clay and Branch’s weddings to look forward to!” John grinned.
“J-John Dory!” Branch’s face reddened to the tip of his ears as Clay and Viva turned away from each other with red faces while Poppy hid her face in her hands.
“Ooh! Aunties! Uncles! Can I be a bridesmaid at your weddings!?” Peach Blossom turned to her aunts. “Pleaseeeee!?”
“Woah, woah, too early, Peach Blossom,” Clay coughed. “Viva and I have only been dating for a few months,”
“And Poppy and I just started dating last month,” Branch added.
“But we’ll definitely be having you and your siblings at our wedding!” Poppy recovered with a smile.
“YAYYY!!” Peach Blossom cheered.
“Alright, now let’s go back to the other thing,” Bruce turned to his older brother. “First Twins?? You had more twins??”
“Two sets of twins,” John smiled and swiveled his chair around. He took out a wallet to reveal five pictures, each a picture of a different Troll. “Peach Blossom and Aquarius are my first set! Had them when I was 20,” He pointed at the two top pictures, showing Peach Blossom in full adventurer gear while Aquarius was in black gear and black eyeliner. “Peachy’s the older twin, and Aqua is the younger twin,”
“Nooo, Papa!” Peach Blossom’s face reddened. “Not those pictures!”
“What’s wrong with the pictures?” Viva asked.
“I took them during their birthday,” John snorted. “I update it every birthday, so don’t worry, Peachy, no embarrassing pictures,”
Peach Blossom sighed in relief. “Phew! Thank the muses,”
“That’s for later,”
“Nooo! Papa!”
John snickered before moving to the next two pictures. “Then my second set of twins; Onyxite and Opalite!” He pointed to the next two Trolls; One was a female Troll with curly purple-blue green hair with a streak of orange. Her eyes were indigo, identical to Bruce’s eye color, with a scar running down one side of her face while her purple-blue tail was a little shorter than regular Pop Troll tails. She wore similar clothes to Country Trolls, a rope equipped on the belt around her black dress. “Onyx is the older twin and she’s… really reckless,” He looked over at Clay with a snort. “Honestly, she easily replaces you as “The Fun One”, bro,”
“Good to know the title’s in good hands then,” Clay chuckled.
“Fun is an understatement,” Peach Blossom scoffed. “She’s a daredevil. I’ve seen her ride wild animals and fall, laughing maniacally,”
“Eh, you know that’s just how she is, Peachy,” John snorted.
“Wild animals?” Branch blinked. “Where do you live exactly, Peach Blossom?”
“Technically, Clockie and I already moved out after turning 18,” Peach Blossom clarified. Her uncle’s furrowed eyebrows made her sigh. “Willingly. We wanted to explore a new life, don’t worry, Uncle Branch,” She crossed her arms. “Anyway! Our family lives in Lonesome Flats!”
“Lonesome Flats?” Poppy gasped. “John, you married a Country Troll??”
“Kind of?” John shrugged. “He isn’t a Country Troll biologically, but since he identifies as a Country Troll, I suppose you can consider him as such. He has two legs though, not four,”
Identify as a Country Troll… Branch hummed. Why does that sound familiar?
“Opalite is the younger twin!” John Dory’s voice shook him from his thoughts as he pointed at the second Troll; It was a female Troll with wavy yellow-orange hair with a streak of blue green. Her eyes were closed, an old scar visible across her face. She wore almost full white, along with a white pearl necklace around her neck while she wore a white pearl earring that contrasted to Onyxite’s black pearl earring. Her yellow-orange tail was the same size as her twin sister’s while she held a wooden staff in her hand. “My little angel,”
“Wow!” Viva oohed. “She’s so beautiful, John Dory,”
“I can see the nickname really suits her,” Bruce grinned at his big brother. “Are you sure she’s your daughter, JD?”
“Hey! She is very much mine!” John Dory pouted. “I carried all of my kids’ eggs, thank you very much!”
“How old are they?” Clay asked. “They don’t look that much older than Peach Blossom and Aquarius,”
“They’re 17!” Peach Blossom chirped. “Only two years younger than us!”
“So they’re still at Lonesome Flats?” Branch questioned.
“Yep!” John nodded. “Don’t worry, bros. When we make sure Floyd’s okay, we can head over to introduce them to you all!”
“I am okay…” Floyd lightly whined.
“Not taking the chances, bro,” John snorted. He moved to the last picture. “And this is my youngest; Star Pond!” The picture showed a male Troll with spiky hair similar to John Dory’s, the color rose pink-blue green with a streak of orange. His eye and tail shape was similar to Aquarius; with Star Pond’s eyes having some pink in his eyes while his tail was pink-orange. He wore a cozy blue and yellow, short-sleeved sweater while he wore black pants. “My little baby boy!”
“Aww! He’s so cute!” Poppy cooed. “How old is he?”
“He’s 14,” John smiled. “But he’s still my little baby!”
“Huh,” Clay narrowed his eyes. “Your genes are strong, JD. Unless your husband also has blue skin, each and every one of your kids have your skin,”
“Right?” Peach Blossom laughed. “Dad gets pouty every time he sees that none of us had his skin, but he still says that we’re as beautiful as Papa, so he doesn’t mind it,”
“Your Dad’s such a charmer,” JD giggled, blushing slightly.
“More like a simp,” Floyd whispered with a giggle to Bruce, who couldn’t keep in the cackle.
John’s ear flickered, and he snorted. “Haha, very funny,” He kept the wallet. “You guys will love him! He's a great guy, promise. He and his brother may seem kinda intimidating, especially his brother, but they’re really good Trolls to hang around with,”
“And what’s the name of this Troll?” Branch tilted his head.
“It’s–”
“We’re here!” Peach Blossom cried out as Rhonda skidded to a stop. “We’re at a Troll Hospital!”