"" I heard Katheryn ask as she lowered the guitar. ""

"Can it, Flash!" My mother shouted, causing Katie to jump. "I've seen everything that you have done. You don't have the right to talk to me!" She turned back around and glared daggers at Katheryn.

"" Katheryn gulped. I could see her legs starting to shake. "" I watched her turn around and look at Barb. "" she asked her desperately. Barb's face turned pasty white. She just shook her head and backpedaled all the way back to where King Thrash was sitting.

"Dude, you're on your own," she laughed nervously as she stole Katheryn's chair and sat down next to her dad. Katie sighed and turned back around to face my mother, who was now fuming with rage.

"What's best?!" my mother screeched as she began to raise her voice. I quickly grabbed Poppy's arms and dragged her off the stage where she would be safe. Then I got back onstage and watched as my mother began to unleash her wrath upon Katheryn.

"What you've done so far, has it really been for our kingdom, or has it just been to benefit your greed?! Would you like me to tell you about the long list of things you've done WRONG since you've become king?!"

""

"Oh for the love of- you really ARE A MORON!" She screamed at him. "You're as blind as a bat! Since we've been married, not to mention since your youngest daughter was born, you have-"

"" Katheryn spat at mother. I winced. Although I had grown to hate my father, hearing him say that hurt more than it should have. My mother saw the painful look on my face and was furious! You could practically see the steam coming out of her nose as she began marching towards Katheryn.

"I AM TALKING!" She screamed. "DO NOT INTERRUPT!"

Katheryn quickly clamped her mouth shut as she started to sweat buckets. The entire audience was dead silent as they watched the chaos unfold on stage.

"As I was saying before you RUDELY interrupted me," my mother continued as her voice became freakishly calm. "Since we've been married, not to mention since Roxanne was born, you have successfully done everything that a king and a father should NEVER do!" She started to raise her voice once again. "You picked favorites by favoring your eldest daughter over the younger one. You gave Katheryn everything she ever wanted! You practically spoiled her rotten! And while you were busy "preparing" Katheryn to take the crown, you never even lifted a finger for Roxy! You didn't even cry when I died! I think you were glad that I was finally gone, because now you could do whatever you wanted without me there to try and stop you. So, you forced Roxy to keep her hair short and dyed it so frequently I was surprised her hair didn't start falling out! You neglected her, forced her to wear uncomfortable clothes, and pretended like she didn't even exist. In fact, when she was finally brave enough to run away from home, you hardly even noticed she was gone! Katheryn was the only one who noticed her absence, since she was the one who watched her leave, and when she tried to tell you about it, for the first time in your life you told Katheryn to stay quiet! You didn't care about her one bit! If you were to die on that very day, you would've left Katheryn EVERYTHING and left Roxanne NOTHING!"

My jaw dropped. I looked over at Titus, who had the same exact expression on his face. He slowly floated over to me and brought his face close to my ear.

"You know, when you told me your dad was the worst, I thought you were over-exaggerating, or maybe bluffing. But now..." He sighed. "After hearing all of that, I take back all of those thoughts. You were right...you're dad was LITERALLY the worst."

"I don't think she's done yet," I whispered back to him with a smile on my face. "I think she's just getting started. But this is a personal family matter, so why don't you go stand over there so you don't get hurt. Check on Poppy for me, alright?"

Titus nodded and floated over to where Poppy was still laying down.

I was right about one thing. My mother was far from done. She crossed her arms and smiled cunningly.

"You know..." she started. "When I saw you get sick, I actually started laughing on the other side. I thought, "Finally! I hope his death is a slow and painful one, just like mine!" But of course, you, King Flash of the Hard Rock Trolls, the greedy pig, had the audacity to believe that it wasn't his time to die. So what did you do? You tricked Katheryn into making her think that her sister was dead in a ditch somewhere so that she would beg for you not to go, because without you, she wouldn't have any immediate family left. You broke her to the point where she would do anything to make you stay just a little while longer...even if it meant living on inside of her own mind."

The entire crowd gasped in shock.

"How long have you been walking around inside of her?" my mother continued. "How long have you been in control? HOW LONG has the real Katheryn been sleeping in the back of her own mind while you live out her life?"

Katheryn crossed her arms and looked down at the ground. "" she grumbled. " "

"And within the first 30 minutes of you taking control, you successful broke two hearts and injured a child!" She yelled. "You dragged Roxy back here and locked her up in a cage like she was some rare and exotic animal. Why did you do that?"

Katheryn scoffed and started to inspect her fingernails. "" She leaned over and stared at me with an evil smile on her face.

""

I shuddered. She then looked back at my mother, her confidence slowly returning.

""

"Then you should let her go..." my mother said calmly but firmly. "Let her live out the rest of her life in her own body. You're not supposed to be here anymore."

Katheryn stood up straight and stared my mother straight in the eyes.

"" she growled. "" She gave my mother a wicked smile as she aimed the guitar back at me.

"" She threw her head back and laughed psychotically. My mother lowered her head.

"Then you've left me no choice." She stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. The whole stadium started to shake as five more spirits appeared in front of me. Surprisingly, I recognized all but two. My mother started to speak:

"I am Renee, former Queen of the Hard Rock trolls, here to protect the harmony troll and MY daughter from the likes of you!"

"I am Marin, former King of the Techno trolls, here to protect her majesty."

"I am Beta Bart, former Mayor of the Country trolls, ready to serve."

"I am Sebastian, former Conductor of the Classical trolls, here to aid the harmony troll in her time of need."

The other two introduced themselves as well as they swore to protect me from danger. Katheryn growled. "" she said in a sing-song voice. ""

My mother laughed. "Of course not, hun," she said. "Because we're not the one's who'll be stopping your reign of tyranny." All six of the spirits turned around simultaneously to face me.

"She will."

As they all reached forward and placed their transparent hands on my shoulders, I could feel all of my strength rushing back to me. I looked down at my hands to see that my skin was returning back to it's original color. As a tingling sensation began to ripple up and down my forearms, one by one, all six of the spirits faded away. I started looking around frantically, trying to figure out where they went, only to hear my mother talking to me inside of my own head.

"We are still here, pumpkin," she told me calmly. "Together we will give you the strength to defeat your father once and for all." I closed my eyes. I could still see them somehow.

"How are we going to do that?" I asked her cautiously.

"We need to get ahold of that guitar," she said. "Although I was married to him for less than a decade, I learned a lot about him, including what his most prized possession was."

"What is it?" I asked. "The guitar?"

"No. The Hard Rock string." I was stunned.

"B-But I can't destroy that! If I do that, Rock music will be gone forever."

My mother lowered her head. "Sometimes, a queen has to make sacrifices in order to do what's right. It'll be...difficult, but I know you can do it."

"W-What about-" I started to ask, but my mother quickly interrupted me.

"Don't worry," she reassured me. "You're sister will be fine. As for your father..." She smiled mischievously. "Our ancestors have a special place on the other side for trolls like him. He won't be able to hurt you, your sister, or anyone else ever again."

I smiled. Thank goodness for that. Suddenly, my mother's eyes widened in shock.

"Open your eyes! Take off your gloves and cross your arms out in front of you. Hurry!"

In an instant, my eyes flashed open to see Katheryn starting to play the power chord again with an insane look on her face. I quickly pulled off my gloves and, as the musical blast headed straight towards me, I crossed my arms out in front of me. As my arm bands flickered back to life, they blocked the blast from hitting me. I could feel my pixel heart flickering back to life as well. Katheryn's eyes widened.

"" She growled. "" She played it again, but I blocked that one as well.

"Start walking towards her," I heard my mother tell me. I kept blocking every blast my sister threw at me as I slowly but surely began to approach her. Once I realized I was within two feet of her, I lunged forward and grabbed onto the guitar with both hands. She snarled at me as we quite literally started to play tug of war with the instrument.

With no way to use my hands to pry hers off the guitar, I held my breath and slammed my foot down as hard as I could on her toes. As she screamed out in pain and loosened her grip on the guitar, I picked up my other foot and kicked her as far away from me as possible.

With the guitar now in my possession, I just stared down at it, not sure what to do next. I closed my eyes again and looked at my mother. "Umm..." I mumbled. "Which one is the Hard Rock string?" I asked.

"It should be the red one, sweetie," she said sweetly. I frowned as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face.

"Mom...all of the strings are red..."

"Oh...then..." my mother stuttered. "I guess it's the one closest to you then."

I chuckled a bit as I opened my eyes and began to tug at the string. I tugged at it as hard as I could but it would break loose. It was stuck on that guitar pretty well. I even tried to grab it with my teeth and rip it in half, but to no avail.

"" I heard Katheryn screaming like a madwoman behind me."" As I began to tug even harder at the string, I turned around and almost pissed myself. Katie was running towards me on all fours like a wild animal. Without thinking, I let go of the string, raised the guitar over my head, and whacked her as hard as I could.

The two of us yelped out in pain as the instrument made contact with the top of her head, sending her face first into the ground. Her body started twitching as a black liquid slowly started to seep out of her mouth, only for it to go right back in. It was unbelievably disgusting, but I couldn't get distracted. I closed my eyes once more and looked at my mother. She gasped and pointed at my chest.

I looked down and froze. A large, white crack had begun to emerge from my pixel heart, almost like I was made of porcelain and had accidentally been mishandled. It stung a bit, but not too much.

"It's stuck, mother. I can't get it off..." my voice trailed off as I looked up and saw all six of the spirits staring at me with tears in their eyes. I suddenly understood what had to be done.

"Please..." my mother's voice was shaking. "You don't have to do this..."

"It's the only way..." I answered her. She sighed.

"I know..." she whispered as tears fell down her face. "We won't try to stop you, but I hope you know what'll happen if you do decide to go through with this..."

"I have a feeling I already know..." I whimpered as tears began to prick my eyes as well. "But it'll be alright, mother. Sometimes, these sacrifices are necessary in order to move forward."

My mother gave me a small smile as she gave me a kiss on my forehead. "I am so proud of the woman you have become..." she choked out. Then, she cleared her throat. "But now, since this is the path you are choosing to take, the six of us will leave your fate in your hands."

As I watched her back away from me, her and the other five spirits slowly began to fade away, until I was left all alone again.

"I love you, my little ray of sunshine."

"I love you too, mom..."

As I felt their spirits leave me, I could feel myself grow weak again. But, I tried to hold on to as much of my strength as I could in order to do what was right. Destroy the strings, and restore balance to the world. My eyes flashed open as I stared down at the dreaded instrument. Without hesitation, I raised the guitar over my head and slammed it down as hard as I could, but I only managed to crack it a tiny bit.

A sharp pain unlike anything I had ever felt before erupted in my chest. I could see multiple white cracks branching out from my pixel heart now. I fought back tears as I lifted the guitar back up and slammed it back down again. This time, the painful cracks branched out to my legs. I could see Katheryn slowly start to sit back up as she stared at me in horror.

"" she asked shakily. I ignored her and kept going. As I brought it back down again, the painful cracks branched out to my arms. I looked over at Trollex, who was still standing on his platform as a rock zombie...I prayed we'll get the chance to meet again someday...

"" I heard Katheryn scream in a desperate attempt to stop me as she staggered to her feet. But I wasn't going to stop. As I brought it back down a fourth time, the cracks had made their way up my neck and to my face. The bright light that was emitting from them was almost blinding. I lifted my right hand up shakily in front of me. I knew I was never going to see them again...but this was a sacrifice I was willing to make for them...Titus...Trollex...Katheryn...I hoped they knew how much I loved them...I loved them so much that I would do anything to set them free...

As the tears finally began to pour down my face, I took one last look at Titus...the love of my life...I wish I could've spent more time with you, but unfortunately, I guess that'll have to wait for some other sunny day...

His once vibrant smile quickly dropped into a look of horror as he recognized the expression on my face. It was like he knew what was going to happen next. Both he and Katheryn quickly dashed towards me as I raised the guitar up over my head one last time.

"Stop!" he screamed. "You can't!"

"Forgive me...my love..." With one final yell, I slammed the guitar on the ground as it shattered into pieces in my hands. There was a loud boom as a wave of color rushed through the audience, almost sweeping them off their feet. It sent both Titus and Katheryn rocketing backwards as chunks of the stadium began to fall around them.

All of my pain suddenly melted away as I closed my eyes and let my body relax...I finally felt like I was at peace with myself, and could finally accept my fate with open arms...

------

When I opened my eyes, Roxy was nowhere to be found.

"Roxy?" I called out frantically as I looked around for her. Everything around me was colorless. However, everyone who had been previously turned into a rock zombie was now back to normal.

"Hello?"

There was a loud clattering noise that was coming from a pile of rubble on the stage. "Is anybody there?!" I heard a voice shout frantically. "I can't see anything! Somebody turn on the lights!"

I quickly floated over to the pile of rubble where the voice was coming from and pulled Roxy's sister, Katheryn, out of it. Her hair and eyes were now back to their original colors. At least, I think they were... She groaned as she held her head up with one hand.

"What happened..." she asked as she looked around with a confused look on her face. "Where...am I?"

"Mom?"

Katheryn turned around to stare at Barb as she slowly approached us. Katie squinted at her for a brief moment, then went bug-eyed.

"Barbara?!" She whisper-yelled. "Is that you?"

"Yes, of course it's me," Queen Barb replied, completely stunned. With a look of shock in her eyes, Katie turned back to me.

"How long was I out?" she asked. "The last thing I remember was..." Her voice trailed off as she gasped softly. "Roxy!"

The two of us began calling out for her, but we didn't hear anything respond. There was nothing but bitter silence.

Suddenly, almost as if hearing our cries had woken her up, I saw a soft, pink light pulsating at the bottom of a different pile of rubble.

"There!" I yelled as I quickly began to float over to it. However, Katie was faster as she zoomed past me and started digging through the pile at a rapid pace to get to the source of the light.

"Sister! Can you hear me?!" She yelled. Still no response.

I made sure to stay a safe distance away from her, since she was just throwing whatever she picked up to the side wildly.

Once she had reached the bottom of the pile, she froze, then reached her hand in and pulled something out of the rubble.

In that moment, I felt like I was going to pass out. In her hand...was a pixel heart...pulsating ever so slightly to a nonexistent beat.

"What is this?" she asked me. "Where is my sister?"

Tears trickled down my face as I slowly floated towards Katie. "That...that is her..." I felt my entire body going numb. Katheryn was starting to get worried.

"Where's...the rest of her?" she asked cautiously.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said shakily. I didn't want to admit where she was or what had happened to her, but I knew it was true. I never thought the next two words would ever be something I would say so soon about my darling wife...maybe when we grew old together...but not now...not like this...

"She's dead."