In the world of Trolls, telling your Hard Rock sister you're Alternative is like telling your conservative parents you're gay. Which is ironic, because Ash is gay. Enjoy the story!

While everyone else was getting ready for the concert, Barb had Poppy taken to her fortress and thrown into a prison cell shaped like a tooth.

“So Popcorn," Barb teased as she locked the door, “is being my best friend everything you could've ever dreamed of?"

“I am not your best friend."

“You don't have to be embarrassed," Barb assured her. “I get it, being queen can be kind of lonely."

Poppy then noticed the Queen of Rock looking out at her subjects in the audience as she got lost in thought.

“There's all this pressure to be a great queen," she continued, hugging herself nervously. “And instead of real friends, you're just surrounded by people who just tell you what you want to hear."

Poppy wouldn't say it aloud, but she knew exactly how that felt. She hears Trolls say many nice things about her, but she can never tell if any of them actually mean it. When Hickory said Trolls is Trolls, he was only telling her that because it was something she wanted to hear.

Barb turned back to the Pop queen and smiled. “You know, other than your terrible taste in music and clothing and general lifestyle, you and me are the same, Popsqueak."

“Uh– No, we're not!" Poppy denied.

“We're both queens who just want to unite the world."

“You don't want to unite the world," Poppy said, “you want to destroy it!"

“Nuh-uh! No way! No, I don't know who told you that," Barb insisted as Carol opened the guitar case. “Music has done nothing but divide us. Now that I have the final string, I can make us all One Nation of Trolls Under Rock!"

With that, Barb had the Pop string strung to the guitar with the other five strings, and its cheerful pink glow faded away as it turned the same rebellious red as the rest of the strings. Barb pulled the guitar out of its case, flipped it in the air, and held it to her waist. She chuckled in excitement.

“What are you gonna do?" Poppy asked nervously.

“Play the ultimate power chord, and then... You'll see!"

❤️☠️🧡🌺💛☠️💚🌺💙☠️💜🌺

Willow and Ash managed to succeed with the sneaking in part of the plan, but this was where the tricky part began: stealing the strings from Barb.

Once they reached the right wing of the stage, the two Trolls noticed four flying Angler buses carrying cages with chains as they were lowered onto pedestals surrounded by boiling lava. The cages opened at the bottom, dropping Delta Dawn, King Trollex, Trollzart, King Quincy, and Queen Essence onto them. They also noticed King Peppy, Cooper and Prince D being forced to the front of the audience, most likely because they were the leaders' families.

“Oh, my gosh!" Ash gasped. She knew Barb's plan would be terrible, but never expected this!

“Where do you think the strings are?" Willow whispered as they hid.

“I don't know," Ash admitted. “We'll just have to search the area until we find some– What kind of Rock Trolls are those?!"

Willow turned to see who Ash was talking about. On the stage she saw Biggie, Legsly, Smidge, Guy Diamond, a mini Guy Diamond, Satin, and Chenille dressed in ridiculous outfits.

“Those aren't Rock Trolls, those are my friends!" Willow realized.

“What are they doing up there?" Ash asked.

“You'll have to ask them."

Suddenly, they saw Barb's fortress lower its jaw. Barb stood in between the teeth, wearing a sparkly white jumpsuit with holes on the arms and legs, a black belt, golden spikes on the ankles, matching earrings, and an accessory on her sleeves that looked like a pair of wings. A fan dived into a lava pit as Barb jumped on the stage with a microphone in her hands, singing a powerful song.

So this ain't the end, I saw you again, today

I had to turn my heart away

While Riff was on drums and King Thrash played a keyboard, Biggie and the gang pretended to play their instruments as a spotlight shone on them. This wasn't their original plan, but they had to stick by this or they'd be in serious trouble.

Smiled like the sun, kisses for everyone

And tales, it never fails

In the audience, a Troll cried a happy tear and did the sign of the horns, his teardrop doing the same thing.

“Rock on!" it shouted.

You lying so low in the weeds

I bet you gonna ambush me

You'd have me down, down, down on my knees

Now wouldn't ya...

The Snack Pack's eyes widened as Barb turned to them. Biggie heard a “Psst!" and turned his head to find Ash mouthing the lyrics to them. Barb eyed him suspiciously.

“BARRACUDA!" he screeched, smashing his guitar.

Barb laughed. “Bam!"

“Hey! Look, Daddy!" Tiny Diamond said excitedly. “I'm a rock star!"

Feeling victorious, Barb threw the microphone into the audience and raised her arms into the air. In a flash of lightning, the guitar with the strings appeared before all of them, and Barb grabbed it as it hovered above her.

“Electricity must be cheap around here," Willow figured.

“Okay, Willow," Ash said. “I'm gonna distract her, you try to take the guitar from her."

“You're the boss," Willow replied, turning invisible. Taking a deep breath and praying this would work, Ash slowly made her way on stage.

“Give it up for your former leaders!" Barb announced, spotlights shining on all of them. “Funk, Country, Techno, Classical... and worst of all, Pop!"

Poppy heard the Rock Trolls booing as her cage was turned and a blinding light was cast on her.

Barb pulled out her guitar pick and held it high. “Who wants to see what the ultimate power chord can do?!"

As the crowd in front of her cheered, Barb tuned the strings so they would be in perfect shape. Unbeknownst to everyone, she wasn't entirely sure if it was going to work, but she didn't come all this way for nothing.

“Barb!" a familiar voice called out. Barb turned to see Ash right center.

“Ash!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her adoptive sister. “I was so worried about you! What were you thinking, running off like that?!"

“I know, I'm not proud of it," Ash admitted. “I just wanted to help her. By the time I found her, her entire body turned black, she had these fangs, there was this crazy storm... I was lucky I made it out of there alive."

Poppy's eyes widened as she heard this. She knew exactly who Ash was talking about.

“Ash, it's not your fault she was a monster," Barb assured her.

“I should've known better," Ash continued, her eyes watering. “She was a Pop Troll, all they ever do is hurt others. They stole our strings, ruined everything... Even my own parents abandoned me!"

“Hey, it's okay," Barb said in a hushed tone, wrapping her arms around her. “They're the bad guys, not you. Look at me, you're not a Pop Troll."

As Barb comforted Ash, Riff noticed a thread in the carpet being pulled by itself. Then, it began moving around like it was stuck on someone's foot and they were trying to get it off! He immediately felt suspicious about what was going on.

“You're right, I'm not," Ash said, pulling away. Closing her eyes for two seconds, she then blurted out, “I'm Alternative."

“What?" Barb gasped, not believing what she just heard.

“Uh, Barb?" Riff warned, pointing to the seemingly open space behind her. Barb turned around to see what Riff was talking about, but before she could notice the thread, she felt something pull on the guitar and struggled to hold onto it as Willow turned visible again.

“Let go, you little freak!" Barb barked at the Pop Troll as they fought for the strings.

“You want a piece of me?!" Willow growled, attempting to kick her. Despite wearing a dress, she really knew how to fight.

Poppy couldn't believe what she was witnessing! Not only was Willow here to help, her curse was finally broken!

Eventually, Willow gave Barb a minor burn on the arm. Not enough to cause serious damage, but at least causing her to let go of the guitar. Feeling victorious, Willow lifted it in the air.

“I am invincible!" she shouted. Suddenly, she heard shouting and noticed a couple of Rock Trolls grabbing Ash. Now that she was distracted, Barb snatched the guitar from Willow and smirked. Willow fired a blast at her adversary, only for Barb to play a chord that caused it to fire back at her! It wasn't the ultimate power chord, but since Willow's body was encased in ice from the neck down, she was completely harmless.

“Your strength is also a weakness," Barb pointed out. “Didn't you know that?"

“Let me go!" Ash spat at her captors. Barb approached her with an angry scowl on her face.

“After sixteen years of protecting you, raising you, teaching you, loving you, you just turn against me and say you're Alternative?!"

“It's who I am, Barb," Ash declared. “You can't change who I am."

“Uh, yeah I can," Barb pointed out, holding up the guitar. “'Cuz, you know, I have the strings, I control all music."

“Don't you dare hurt her!" Willow shouted, confusing Barb.

“Hurt her? What are you... Wait, I don't believe this." Barb began laughing, and the rest of the crowd laughed with her. “You-you think the ultimate power chord is gonna kill everyone!"

“Isn't it?" Willow asked nervously.

“Of course not!" Barb answered, walking around Willow in a circle. “Did you really think I'd bring the entire Troll World together just to kill them all?"

“Now that you mention it, that would be a pretty stupid move," Willow admitted. “But if it doesn't kill anyone, what does it do?"

“You're about to find out," Barb replied with a smirk on her face. “Let's start with the one who started it all!"

The Rock Trolls cheered as Barb prepared the guitar, aiming for Poppy.

“No, no!" she cried as Barb began playing the ultimate power chord... only for something to land in her face. She smacked it off to find a four-hundred and fifty-six page instruction book titled You And Your Balloon, and looked up to see who could've thrown it.

“We coming, Mommy!" Poppy heard a familiar voice shout. It was Flower! But who was “we?" She looked up and noticed searchlights shining on Sheila B the flower balloon. On board were the K-Pop Gang, the Reggaeton Trolls, and face she knew all too well.

“Ha! I guess a giant, comprehensive manual does come in handy!"

“Bla-dow!" Tiny Diamond shouted as Guy Diamond smiled. “Just in time!"

“Branch!" Poppy exclaimed happily.

“Well, isn't that puke?" Barb said sarcastically. “Poppy's little boyfriend came to crash the concert! Too late, Branch!"

Not wasting another moment, Barb let out a powerful blast from the guitar as Poppy covered her eyes in fear. Willow broke free from her icy prison and created a force field around Poppy to block the strings' power.

“Willow, what are you doing?!" Ash shouted.

“Saving Poppy... I hope!"

Branch knew Willow wasn't powerful enough to hold it off for long. So, he jumped out of the balloon and just when Willow lost the strength to fight back, he managed to get in the right spot to protect his queen from the ultimate power chord. When Poppy opened her eyes, she saw Branch taking the hit, sacrificing himself... for her!

“Branch!" she cried, reaching out for him.

Willow had landed flat on her back with her legs straight up in the air. When she noticed something that looked like cooled lava form around Branch's body, she rolled over to get out of the way before it fell on top of her. Once Willow sat up, she stared in horror at the sight. What did Barb do to her friend?

“No!" Poppy muttered, feeling as though she could cry. The rest of the Trolls were either curious or worried about what was going on.

Still on board with the rest of the bounty hunters, Flower looked over the balloon's basket and began to feel scared.

“Daddy?"

Suddenly, the structure began hatching like an egg, orange light shining through the cracks. It bursted open, revealing Branch wearing tight pants and spiked wristbands, his body covered in tattoos, multiple piercings in his ears, and his hair longer and more wild-looking. His eyes, covered in black makeup, glowed red.

“Branch!" Poppy gasped as Barb eagerly looked on.

After moments of silence, Branch did the sign of the horns and bellowed, “ROCK ON!"

The Hard Rock Trolls cheered on as the rest of them gaped in horror.

“Oh, sick!" Barb said ecstatically. “It totally works!"

“Who's ready to get rippin' tattoos everywhere but our faces in case we still need office jobs?! Rah!"

“Well, what do you know?" Willow said quietly. “He's still a dork."

Poppy couldn't believe what was happening. “You're turning everyone into rock zombies?!"

“Yep," Barb replied smugly. “I can't wait to party with you, Poppy!"

With that, Sid Fret clipped a cable onto the back of Barb's jumpsuit and she was lifted into the air by a flying Angler bus, taking the guitar with her.

“Okay, new plan," Willow decided, flying up to Poppy as Barb struck the other leaders, turning them into rock zombies. “Poppy, over here!"

“Willow!" Poppy said happily. “How did you break your curse?!"

“I'll tell you later," Willow replied, freezing the lock to make it shatter. “We need to find a way to get the strings without getting hit by the ultimate power chord."

Poppy thought about this for a moment before realizing something. The best way to get the strings was to get hit!

“Rock and roll!" Clampers yelled, popping out of Delta Dawn's hair after turning into a rock zombie. Barb landed on the stage and struck a pose.

“Dude!" Riff gasped, slightly lifting up his hat.

Before doing anything else, Barb felt something hitting on her leg. She looked down to notice little Flower trying to punch her with all she had.

“Aw, look at this little princess!" she gushed, grabbing her by the back of her dress. “Reminds me of my own baby sister. Until she grew up and turned against me, of course. Who knows, though? Maybe I can raise this one right."

Barb held her finger close to Flower's nose and she just tried to bite if off, Barb dodged her attempt and laughed.

“Shouldn't be too hard, you're already pretty aggressive..."

“Willow, I have an idea," Poppy whispered. “It'll involve your magic."

“Babe, you name it, I'll do it."

After messing with Flower, Barb heard a creaking noise and looked up to see Poppy escaping. Willow turned invisible just as a spotlight shone on the Pop queen.

“Not so fast, Popsqueak!" Barb shouted. She turned to Branch with a sinister grin. “Hey, boy toy! It's mullet time!"

“No!" Flower cried out. Branch snarled at Poppy, got down on all fours, and used his hair to hold on to her. Barb put Flower aside and played the ultimate power as the little princess ran up to grab her father's face. “Daddy, stop it! Please, Daddy!"

Despite his red, blurry vision, Branch somehow managed to see the terrified expression of his little girl.

“Flower?"

But it was too late. Barb had Poppy blasted back into the cell, and it was knocked down by the force of the ultimate power chord, and Poppy vanished in a cloud of smoke. Flower hid behind Branch as Barb looked on. Once the smoke cleared a shadowy figure emerged with glowing red eyes, her hair tied up in a messy black ponytail. Poppy's friends and family stared in shock.

“Who wants to party without smiling?!" she shouted, doing the sign of the horns. The Hard Rockers cheered louder than ever.

“Finish them off," Barb ordered, tossing the guitar over to her. Flower wanted to stop this madness, but Branch grabbed her shoulders as Poppy began playing the ultimate power chord and aimed the guitar at her father and the Funk twins. Right in front of them, Willow appeared, staring straight into her eyes as a red light glowed from her hands. Poppy winked at her friend and turned to Barb, her eyes returning to their normal pink color.

“What are you doing?!" Barb exclaimed in disbelief. “You're supposed to be a rock zombie!"

“Gumdrops," Poppy said, pulling them out of her ears. “Soundproof and delicious."

Everyone groaned in disgust as she ate them.

“She learned that from watching me!" Hickory shouted in his fake accent.

“Yay, Mommy!" Flower cheered.

“Give me that!" Barb yelled.

“I'm not gonna let you do this to anyone else!" Poppy said in defiance. “A world where everyone looks the same and sounds the same? That's not harmony!"

“Hey, Barb?" Riff called out, and someone cast a light on him. He waved at the crowd sheepishly. “Hi. Maybe Queen Poppy has a point. If we all look the same, act the same, dress the same, how will anyone know we're cool, or something?"

The other Rock Trolls began thinking Riff may be right. After feeling their grip become loose, Ash broke free from her captors and ran up the stage. Willow flew up and landed next to her. Ash took Willow's hand and stared at Barb with a determined look on her face.

“A good queen listens," Poppy said, looking back at her friends and daughter. Biggie and Flower smiled at her proudly. “Real harmony takes lots of voices."

But Barb refused to listen, she tried to snatch the guitar, but Poppy dodged her.

“Different voices!" Poppy shouted, raising the guitar over her head and smashing it to pieces, which let out a colorful shockwave. Then, there was this terrible screeching noise as the whole world had its colors drained out.

And then, there was silence.

This is probably the longest chapter in the entire book. Next one is the last, B-T-dubs.

Until then, rock on. 🤘