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Chapter Text

Few Things to Know About This Fic:

One - This fanfic is inspired by both movies, Trolls (2016) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010).

Two - Branch and his siblings are the only ones to have powers. The power they have is both ice and snow.

Three - Branch hallucinates his dead abusive parents whenever he is under pressure or in a bad position, and they usually torment him.

Four - While this fic is inspired by these movies, I took the liberty to add a few of my own touches.

Five - This is my first fic that I am posting here, and as soon as I know how to upload pictures, I'll add a few drawings I made for the main dragons.

Six - Some minor tags that'll only be used once or can't be found in the tags will be listed in the top notes.

Seven - I am not that good of a writer, so before posting any chapter, it'll go into an app that checks my grammar/punctuation and might miss a few things, so I deeply apologize in advance.

That's all, happy reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This place is known as: The Pop Village.”

A female voice said as a small troll-sized village appeared into view.

“A few days’ journey from Bergen Town, and twelve days into the unknown. Deep within the forest of happiness.”

Suddenly, there was a brief close-up of the village. The houses were just a few mushrooms and flower pots hanging from a few branches.

“Our species had lived here for a long time; however, every house is new. The reason for this is because we have a few pests.”

A claw was then seen taking a purple sheep up in the air, making it shriek as a troll used his hair to try and take it back

"Some trolls might have mosquitoes, dangerous diseases, or venomous plants, but not us. We have something that others won't believe. We have—"

A troll came into view. She had pink skin and eyes, along with a heart shaped tail, neon pink hair, red cheeks with many glitter freckles, and wore a crown of blue flowers and an equally blue dress. She was rubbing her eyes, clearly ignoring the chaos outside as she went to close the door to her house.

As she slowly held onto the door, a flash of purple fire was shot, intended to go inside the house. It made her screech as all sleep left her mind. She quickly closed the door and pressed herself against it, as if it would prevent the creature from entering. "Dragons," she whispered fearfully.

"Some trolls would leave. Not us, though. We are Pop Trolls; we thrive from violence, just like dancing, hugging, and singing."

Suddenly, the she-troll was seen running out of her castle, sometimes bumping into other trolls or almost tripping over rocks.

"And there's me: Princess Poppy, basic name, I know. My father told me my mother named me after her favorite flower. I find that very adorable."

Poppy then tripped on a rock, causing her to fall on her back. Suddenly, a glitter troll stood in front of her, letting out a war cry before saying, "Good morning, your highness." And suddenly, he was gone before Poppy could reply.

Once she got up and dusted herself, she kept on running, ignoring the chaos around her and being careful not to be picked up or eaten by a dragon. As a monstrous nightmare came by, setting the ground on fire, she was gently lifted up by a tail being wrapped around her waist, causing her to panic.

"What are you doing outside?!" a male voice said as he gently let her down.

"Ah yes. This is my father, the king himself: King Peppy. It was rumored that he started the rebellion against the Bergens as soon as I was born. And you wanna know what? I believe that."

"Get back inside!!" He commanded, pushing Poppy towards a building. "But dad!! I promise I can hit a—" She was cut off as Peppy closed the door in front of her.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈

"Oh look who we have here," a blue-skinned troll with forest green hair, black eyebrows, cyan eyes, and a purple-indigo nose said. "I thought you would be taken away in all this mess. Glad to be wrong.”

"This is John Dory, my father's right-hand man and ex-leader of BroZone. Eldest brother to: Branch, Spruce, and Floyd. While we're not dancing or singing, he, along with Clay and Floyd, are in charge of being blacksmiths. There are also rumors about how these brothers can manipulate both ice and snow. However, they can never find Spruce because during the Great Escape, the siblings unwillingly separated and only reunited a few years later."

"Nah, I don't think they'll want all of this," Poppy said as she motioned to herself. Before John could say anything, there were a few cries of "Fire!" outside. As the fire spread, a group of trolls ran up to put it off.

"These guys are the more 'respected and brave' group of trolls known. In my opinion, their job is a lot cooler than mine. This group is composed of: Biggie and his pet worm Mr. Dinkles, Creek, the twins: Satin and Chenille, and—"

A troll came into view as he threw a bucket full of water into the flames, only for it to be a waste of resources as a fireball landed behind him. He turned around and started to walk away.

"Branch~"

Poppy had seen the scene unfold in slow motion and let out a sigh, feeling her tail waggle. The slow motion that she saw the group move in quickly disappeared as she saw them all run towards where there was more water.

She stuck her head out the window with an amazed look in her eyes before she was pulled back in. "Where do you think you're going, young lady?" John asked her. "Aww, come on, Dory. Let me go out!! Let me do my mark!!”

John just rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "I'm too old for this," he whispered. "I heard that!!" Clay yelled across the room, trying to comfort a panicking Floyd who had a small gray snow cloud over his head, making dark magenta-colored snow fall on top of his hair.

John just cleared his throat. "Listen, Poppy, we both know that the only 'mark' you're making is here. Inside."

Poppy : "Oh? Well, that's a great mistake you're making, good sir. A great one indeed."

John : "Oh really?”

Poppy : "Yes sir!! You're keeping all of my excitement bottled up. And I may be no doctor, but that is bad news. Besides, their job is way cooler than mine!! Pun included!!"

John : "Poppy, I don't care that my brother's job is 'cooler' than yours, and frankly, I don't want to see you looking out the window towards him with lovey-dovey eyes doing nothing."

John then handed her a sword as she tried to deny what she was just doing. "Sharpen this sword up and stay here with them," he said, pointing to his brothers. He made himself an iced forest green armor. "I'll go and see if the king needs help." As he ran away, Clay shouted, "Bitch, are you crazy!! You're gonna get yourself killed!!" Poppy took that opportunity to quickly grab a weapon and started to run away.

"Come back here, Poppy!!" She heard Clay shout in a panic tone as she avoided all the lime green ice walls he created to prevent her from running away.

As she ran, she felt something. She felt that today she was going to prove the trolls wrong. She was going to prove herself worthy as a princess.

She was going to impress Branch.

One way or another, she had to.

She needed to.

Chapter Text

As Poppy ran towards the cliff, she saw a bunch of different dragons flying around, trying to take their sheep and destroy people's houses. She noticed her father throw a net, successfully catching two Deadly Nadders.

But, of course, she ignored it.

She just kept on running.

Running until she reached her destination.

When she arrived at the cliff and quickly set up her weapon, she looked around in the dawn sky and, almost with an excited tone, whispered, “Come on, give me something to shoot at, give me something, come on.”

Suddenly, she heard a familiar screech. “A Night Fury,” she whispered. “Perfect.” She then pointed her weapon towards the flying black spot in the sky and shot it. The recoil caused her to fall to the ground. Once she got up, she heard a painful roar coming from the beast itself.

“I hit it?” she asked in disbelief. “Woo-hoo, I hit it!” she shouted, raising her hands in the air and doing a small dance to celebrate her victory before asking, “Did anyone see that?” As she had her back turned to the cliff, she didn't notice a dragon slowly climbing up the cliff until it was too late.

As the dragon's muzzle was dangerously close to the girl, it let out a puff of smoke from its nose, causing her to turn and face it. With a deadpan and disappointed expression, she said, “Anyone but you.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Peppy was taking care of the two Deadly Nadders he had caught in his net when suddenly he heard his daughter's panicked and terrified screams. He let out a disappointed sigh before looking up and seeing Poppy being chased by a Monstrous Nightmare.

His gaze hardened; he was not going to let that slide.

“Take care of these beasts,” he demanded, but he was long gone before he heard a reply.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy found herself hidden behind a wooden pillar, using her long hair to cover and protect her skin from the hot flames that nearly licked both sides of her body. Once she no longer felt the heat, she slowly turned to her left, unaware of the dragon appearing on her right.

Suddenly, she heard her father's war cry as he punched the dragon square in the face. After a few more punches, Peppy had subdued the dragon and turned his attention to his daughter, an angry scowl on his face. “Hey~ Dad,” Poppy said, almost painfully.

However, before he could say anything, the pillar broke and fell to the ground along with the fire wheel (a design made by Branch himself.) As the wheel of fire rolled down the hill, destroying and setting several places ablaze, Poppy winced with every little scream she heard, her face filled with guilt.

“Let's get you back home,” Peppy told his daughter in an unhappy tone as he watched the dragons start to leave.

“Okay,” she began, “but I shot a Night Fury!”

Peppy : “Don't say stupid things, Poppy.”

Poppy : “It's true, Dad! I swear! I swear it's not fake like the last few times! I actually hit—”

Peppy : “Poppy, that's enough! Listen, I understand that you want to prove yourself, that you want to impress a certain someone, but lying is not the way.”

"I promise I'm not lying," Poppy said with desperation, wanting her father to believe her. "If we round up a search party, we can find it near the—"

"Poppy, we don't have time to look for your imaginary Night Fury, alright? It's almost winter, and we are running low on food and sweets. Not to mention all the damage that you and the dragons caused. There's a lot to fix." Peppy then turned to John and said, "Make sure she gets home. I have her mess to pick up."

As Poppy was being taken to her house, she heard a few giggles. Oh, did she know who they were. "'I shot a Night Fury,'" Satin said in a mocking manner before letting out a few cackles. Her twin laughed alongside her, "I'm so desperate for attention that I need to lie.”

Poppy felt a mix of emotions swirling inside her as she stood there, trying to maintain her composure. She knew that claiming to have shot a Night Fury was a bold statement, one that would naturally invite skepticism and disbelief from her friends. Yet, the way Creek and Branch reacted made her feel small and misunderstood.

Creek's polite laugh seemed to dismiss her entirely, as if her words were nothing more than a child's fantasy. It stung, but she tried to brush it off. After all, Creek had always been the kind to mask his true feelings with politeness, never fully revealing what he truly thought.

Branch, on the other hand, was more direct. His initial reaction was almost playful, yet laced with an edge that Poppy couldn't ignore. 

Despite the tension in the air, Poppy took a deep breath and decided to stand by her story. Whether they believed her or not, she knew her truth. And perhaps, in time, they would come to understand her better. Until then, she would hold her head high and continue to be herself, regardless of their doubts.

Poppy just rolled her eyes, ignoring the concerned look from Biggie as he tightened his grip on Mr. Dinkles. She also ignored Branch's hateful gaze.

"You know, lass, that's a lovely joke you made. Almost had me believing that you, out of everyone here, shot a Night Fury," Creek said with a small laugh. "What do you think of her prank, Branch?" As Creek said that, Poppy looked away. She didn't want Branch to call her a loser; her grip on her dress tightened.

"I think—" Branch started with a joyful yet hateful tone as a smile spread and he let out a few giggles. But when his brother intervened with just a look, it was clear that even Branch had his limits. That silent exchange between the brothers spoke volumes, reminding Poppy that sometimes, actions and expressions conveyed more than words ever could.

However, that was not what Branch was feeling. The look his brother gave him sent shivers down his spine.

It reminded him of the look his parents would always give him. No matter what he did to try and impress them when they were alive, they were ALWAYS disappointed in him.

"I think we should head home," he finished before he got up and twirled his axe.

"What?!" Satin asked.

"Why~"  Chenille whined.

Branch just let out a growl as his tail moved agitatedly. "Because our job here is done. And I don't know about you, but I've got better things to worry about than wasting my time here on nonsense."

He then took a deep breath before saying, "Besides, her father is right. She somehow managed to break one of my inventions that was pretty useful in this situation, and thanks to her, I have to redo it. So, thanks a lot, Your Highness. I hope my misery makes you happy," he said as he started to walk away with a scowl on his face.

That made Poppy flinch.

"Oh~ Would you look at that? You made Branch mad~" Creek told her before letting out a few giggles, which were abruptly stopped as John hit the back of his head. "Let's take you back home, Poppy," John said with a sad smile.

"A-alright," Poppy replied.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As they walked back home, the light of a new day appeared on the horizon. But Poppy didn't care; she just wiped her tears away. "Don't listen to them. They're just being jerks; they don't know any better," John told her.

"I guess," she replied before saying, "I just don't get it! Why can't my father just listen to me?"

"It runs in the family," John said with a deadpan expression.

"Why is he always so disappointed in me? I try everything I know! The only time I see him proud of me is when there are no dragons and we're just having fun, like a normal Pop troll."

John let out a sigh. "He's not disappointed in you; he adores you. It's just... difficult for him to show it. He wants to keep you safe. He doesn't want to lose you like he lost..." He stopped mid-sentence as Poppy held onto the door, her back facing him. She turned her head slightly towards him. "I just want to be like you guys," she said sadly, her tail wrapped around her leg.

She then opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her. "I'm sorry, little one," John said softly as he placed his forehead and hand against the door, letting out a sigh.

"But dragon killing isn't for you," John murmured softly, almost as if trying to reassure both Poppy and himself. He knew the challenges and dangers that came with such a path, and he wanted to protect her from them. Deep down, he hoped she would find her own way, one that didn't involve risking her life in battles that weren't meant for her.

Chapter Text

Peppy was in his meeting hall, a bunch of trolls gathered around waiting for his next move. “Alright,” he started as he stabbed a paper map, “one more round around this area. This time I am sure we'll find the dragons. We just have to, for the safety of our children's future.”

Suddenly, a troll raised their hand, “But sir, we had sent two boats already, but they have not returned. We cannot lose any more trolls to these beasts. They are basically like the Bergens: mindless and stupid.”

“Alright then,” Peppy said as he took a deep breath. “The ones who decide to stay behind will have to take care of Poppy.” That caused all the trolls in the room to raise their hands. “Wonderful,” Peppy said as he adjusted his shirt. “We leave at sunrise.”

Once all the trolls started to leave and the only ones left were Peppy and John, John got up from his seat and said, “Welp, time to tell my siblings I'm leaving.” But before he could go, Peppy stopped him. “No, not you. You're staying behind. I want you to take care of my daughter. Please.”

John saw the defeated look on the king's face and took a deep breath before letting out a resigned sigh. “Okay, I'll stay. Under one condition.”

Peppy : “Anything, my dear friend.”

John : “You let me and Clay train Poppy to kill her first dragon.”

That got a laugh out of Peppy. “Oh, John Dory, the comedian you are!”

John's gaze hardened as he stared at Peppy. “I'm being serious, Pep.”

“So am I,” Peppy said as he stopped laughing. “That girl wasn't made for this job. She'll get killed before she even enters the arena! Her heart is too kind, too pure. She isn't made for this world, and we both know it.”

“You may be right,” John said. “But if you don't at least teach her to defend herself like I did with Branch, then she will get hurt.”

“She won't get hurt!” the king shouted with anger and protectiveness. “She's my daughter. Mine. That means it's my job to—”

“Well, what if you aren't there when she needs you? What if you're dead and she gets hurt by a dragon because she doesn't know how to protect herself?” That caused the king to let out a sigh. “You're right. I should be more concerned for her safety. It's just that I can't—I can't lose her... I can't lose another one.”

John then put his paw on the king's shoulder. “With my weapon and fighting skills, along with Clay's knowledge of these beasts, she'll never be lost. That's a promise, old friend.”

Peppy just looked at the burning fireplace in silence for a few minutes, trying to come up with a decision. John started to sing as he got up from his seat, catching the old father's attention. “So things look bad, and your back's against the wall~ Your whole existence seems fuckin’ hopeless.”

John continued his song, standing behind the king. “You're feeling filthy as a dive bar bathroom stall, can't face the world sober and hopeless,” he said. “You've lost your way, you think your life is wrecked. Well, let me just say you're correct~”

“Wait, what?” the king asked in confusion as he turned to face John. But John carried on, ignoring the interruption. “You're a loser, Peppy. A loser, goddamn Peppy. You're a fucked-up little whiny bitch.”

“Hey!” the king shouted, having had enough of the insults. But John persisted, singing, “You're a loser, just like me.” 

Despite the harsh words, John's intention was to show solidarity and perhaps lighten the mood with a bit of humor, reminding Peppy that everyone has their struggles.

Peppy just let out a growl and gave him the middle finger as he said, “Thanks, asshole.” John just smiled at him and continued, “You're a screws-loose boozer, an only one-star reviewer. You're a power bottom at rock bottom. But you've got company.”

The king, fed up with the song, asked, “This is supposed to make me feel better?”

“There was a time I thought that no one could relate to the gruesome ways my family is damaged,” John said with sadness, remembering how his abusive parents left him and his brothers with their grandma because they always mentioned how they wanted daughters instead of sons. He just shook his head. “But letting walls down can sometimes set you straight! We're all living in the same shit sandwich.”

Peppy just stared at him and began to sing as he noticed his friend's eyes water. “I think Poppy sees me as a psychopathic freak.” That got a laugh from John. “And you think that makes you unique? Get outta here, man!”

John then took hold of Peppy’s outstretched hand as they began to dance. “We're both losers, Peppy. We're losers, it's okay to be a—”

Peppy : “Terrible overprotective father?”

John just shrugged. “Peppy, that's just fine by me.” 

In this moment of shared vulnerability and humor, the two friends found comfort in each other's company, acknowledging their imperfections and supporting one another.

Peppy let out a sigh, acknowledging his flaws. “I am a loser, John. A schmoozer and a dummy. But at least I know I'm not alone,” he said, letting go of John's paws.

John chimed in, “You're a loser,” and Peppy finished, “Just like me!”

“I have an appetite to be a better brother,” John said.

Peppy responded, “I got an appetite to be a good father.”

John encouraged him, “Go ahead, Peppy, sing that song, come on!”

Peppy declared, “I have to protect my family at all costs!”

John added, “My parents sold my soul to my grandmother. Now I'm on that parental leash.”

Together, they both sang, “I'm trapped and it gets worse with every hour!”

In this exchange, Peppy and John found solace in their shared struggles, expressing their desires to improve and protect their loved ones despite the challenges they face.

As the melody started to tune down into a slow piano melody, Peppy said, "You're a loser, John."

John nodded his head, "A loser, but just maybe if we—"

Both trolls then began to sing in harmony, "Eat shit together. Things will end up differently."

The melody picked up as they carried on their dance. "It's time to lose your self-loathing. Excuse yourself, let hope in, Peppy. Play your card, be who you are~" John sang before Peppy cut in and joined him for the ending verse of the song, "A loser, just like me."

Once the music died down, the two men started to laugh for a few minutes, only to die down slowly and be left in complete comfortable silence.

Peppy then took a deep breath and let it out. "I see your opinion. I understand it. So now I know what to do."

John : "Oh yeah? What is it?"

Peppy smiled as he proudly announced, "I'll allow Poppy to train in your arena," he decided.

"Fuck yeah!" John said, raising his hands in excitement. "I knew you'd come around!"

"But let me tell you this," the king said as he pulled John's jacket so they were just a few centimeters apart. "If I come back to find one— I repeat: ONE scar on her body, I swear on Charon's name, you're a dead man. Do you understand?”

John : "Loud and clear, sir."

"Good," Peppy said as he let go of John's jacket. "You're in charge of her well-being while I'm gone. So you better leave; I don't want to waste any more time."

"You got it, boss!" John said as he ran out of the building, leaving the king to dwell on his own thoughts. "Oh Poppy, I hope I come back to you alive.”

Chapter Text

After John left Poppy in her home, she quickly escaped through the back door. She was walking deep in the forest, following a makeshift map she had made to show where she thought the dragon had landed.

But she soon became frustrated and began scribbling all over the page, which wasn't even her’s. It belonged to Branch; she had ‘ borrowed ‘ it the previous week and was going to return it when she added something inspiring of her own. As you could guess, that time hadn't arrived.

"The glitter gods most definitely hate me," she said in anger as she closed the scrapbook. "Some people lose their colored pencils, others lose their scrapbooks. But no~ I have to lose a motherfucking dragon!" she shouted, hitting a tree branch and getting whacked in the left eye.

"Mother of all sprinkles!" she raged, feeling her tail move around. Suddenly, realization hit her. What was a tree branch doing all the way down here?

As she looked at the branch, with her good eye, she noticed that the tree looked as if something had torn it in half. She decided to follow the fallen tree's makeshift trail. Once she saw a hill, she started to climb up until she noticed what was behind the hill. It made her let out a gasp of fear, causing her to hide behind the hill again.

After a few deep breaths, she slowly raised her head to see what was there.

It was a dragon. 

But not just any dragon, it was the very well-known, very feared Night Fury.

"Oh my sprinkles, I did hit it," she said in disbelief. "I hit it," she repeated as she came out of her hiding spot with adrenaline slowly rising within her and put one of her feet on the dragon's snout. "I hit this ferocious beast, I am a Pop Troll!!" she exclaimed proudly.

However, she was pushed away from the dragon as he woke up and was struggling to free himself from the purple glittering net around his body.

That caused Poppy to let out a startled noise, and her tail quickly wrapped around her pink knife, which had flowers on the handle and a pink bow at the end.

As she held on tightly to the knife on top of her head, she courageously said, "I'll kill you, dragon. I will kill you and take your heart out." She heard the dragon let out a saddened growl.

"I will bring your heart back to my village so that I won't be considered a pushover and a waste of oxygen. I'll prove my worth!" she shouted with a crazy look on her face as she laughed, adrenaline kicking in.

"They will all treat me with kindness and love! I'll be known as the Pop Queen who took you down, so get ready to meet your end!" she raised her knife higher into the air, causing her to stand on her tippy toes. As she was about to stab the dragon, he just looked at her one last time before letting out a small whimper of defeat. The creature gently laid its head on the ground, defeated.

As Poppy saw the dragon's movement, she hesitated. She had never seen a dragon show so much emotion. And now that she was seeing it closely, the dragon had pink ears, paws, and tail, and magenta colored claws. However, the rest of its body was all black.

"Huh? He has pink?" Poppy asked herself. "He's just like me!!" Suddenly, realization hit her.

"I did this," she said, dread taking over her. "Oh sprinkles! I did this!!" As she shouted, she dropped her knife and felt her body shake as adrenaline left her body. "What type of troll am I? I am not like Branch. I am weak!! He was right," she said as she curled herself up, "I truly am a pathetic loud singing troll." She said sadly as tears dropped from her eyes.

As she was undoing the last rope, the dragon quickly realized himself and pinned the pink troll into the nearest rock with his magenta-colored claws. Poppy was caught off guard and started to panic as her breath began to pick up.

‘ Oh dear, oh sprinkles, this is it. I'm so done for. My father would be so mad!!’ she thought as she tried to catch her breath, staring death in the eyes. If it weren't for the fact she was fearing for her life, she would have loved this creature's eye color. It was a gradient light green that then turned blue. ‘This is what I get for being nice!! Never again!!’ she screamed to her internal mind.

After a few long and painful minutes of staring death in the eye, the dragon let out a blood-curdling screech that caused her whole body, as well as all her surroundings, to tremble in fear. After the dragon had finished his screech, he took his claws away from her throat and tried to fly away.

Key word: tried.

As she tried to catch her breath and stop looking like a ghost troll from the scare she had just experienced, she saw how the dragon was failing to fly away. But she didn't want to question that now; she felt her shaky body trying to rise up and her shaky leg taking a step forward before she let out a weird noise from her mouth as she fell face-first to the ground and passed out.

Chapter Text

Poppy found herself walking inside her castle and tried to avoid being noticed by her father. But with her shitty luck, her dad didn't even need to turn around to know it was her who started walking up the stairs.

"Poppy, can you stay? I need to talk to you. It's important," Peppy aid as he turned and faced her. "Uh, well, I also have something to tell you, Dad," she replied.

"Oh," the king started, "well, I will let you kill dragons." "I don't want to kill dragons," they both said in unison, which caused a laugh from the king. "Why don't you go first, my daughter?" he asked.

"Why don't you go first, Dad?" she asked nervously. "Oh, alright, your wish is granted. After a long talk and song with Dory, he managed to convince me to let you do dragon-killing training," her father replied.

"Oh, I should have gone first," Poppy said with disappointment. "Dad... I can't kill a dragon," she pleaded.

"Of course you can! You're my daughter! You're a Pop Troll!" her father exclaimed.

"No, I physically can't kill a dragon. Are you even listening to me?" she asked, feeling the music start.

"You don't want to kill a dragon? Why, Poppy?" her father asked.

"Why, well because—" Poppy started to explain.

"Look at you, as fragile as a flower," her father began. "Still a little girl, just a sprout." He took a deep breath. "You know why we must kill the dragons!!"

"I know, but—" Poppy tried to interject.

"That's right, to keep us safe and sound, dear," Peppy interrupted her. "Guess I always knew this day was coming. I knew that soon you'd want to join the dragon killers. I know your time has come. Trust me: father knows best."

"But Dad, can you just listen to me!! I know you want me to kill them, but I just realized that there's not enough doctor trolls or—”

"Father knows best, listen to your father, it's a scary world out there," he sang. "Here we go again," Poppy said while rolling her eyes.

Peppy : "Rumblehorn, The Zippleback, The Deadly Nadder, Stormcutter, Monstrous Nightmare, and The Royal Chef!!"

"The what?" Poppy asked but quickly shook her head as she tried again, "I could be a bread troll maker!! Or a jewelry troll, that could work, what do you think?"

"Father's right here," the king said, ignoring Poppy's opinions. "Father will protect you. Darling, here's what I suggest~ skip the drama, learn to defend yourself~ Father knows best."

"Yes, I know you'll protect me and think I'm capable of taking care of myself, but—”

"Father knows best, take it from your dad," he said as he handed her a sword, which she almost dropped. "You will carry our honor with you. You'll be the best Pop troll alive!! You will know all that you need to know, and before you know it, you'll be one of us," he continued.

Poppy looked at him, defeated, knowing she wasn't going to change his opinion anytime soon. Her dad then gently touched her cheek, "I'm just saying because I love you," he said.

He took a deep breath and gave Poppy a small kiss on her forehead, just like when she was a child ready to go to sleep, making her let out a few giggles. "Father understands. Father's here to help you. All I have is one request," he said.

"What is it, Dad?" Poppy asked.

"Just make sure you don't get killed, right?" Peppy responded, which got a disappointed sigh out of Poppy.

"Alright, Dad. I promise," she said.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me," Peppy said as he started to walk away to the ship that was waiting for him so they could leave for their destination.

"I'll leave now... Don't worry... I'll be back... Probably," Peppy said.

As he closed the door, he didn't hear Poppy say, "I'll be here... Probably.”

Chapter Text

" Welcome everyone to your first day at Dragon Training!” A very excited John said as he opened the metal doors to the arena.

“No turning back now.” Branch whispered to himself as he was the first one to enter, gripping his one-of-a-kind iced axe that he made with his own powers as he scanned the area along with everyone else.

“I hope my outfit doesn’t get destroyed.” Murmured Satin. That only got an eye roll from Branch. “I hope to get a nice clean cut, right here,” Chenille said as she pointed to her arm. “I want to tattoo it so I can make it pop with my designs.”

“You don’t have to tattoo anything if the scar is deep enough, idiot.” Branch told her. Chenille looked like she was about to say something until they heard a voice behind them say, “Yeah, a scar is so cool if it’s made from paints without any actual injuries.” They all turned and saw an awkward standing Poppy, holding on to her signature knife.

“Hey~ guys.” She said awkwardly, giving them a small hello motion with her hand. “Oh great, who invented you here?” Chenille asked her. Poppy was going to answer but got stopped by Clay’s voice echoing in the air. “Today you’ll be tough on how to defend yourself AND each other!!” Clay said in his matter-of-fact tone as he looked specifically at Branch. The other just rolled his eyes.

“Uhhh yeah question,” Creek said as he raised his hand.

John, with an ‘I’m so over this' look, asked, “What is it, Creek?”

Creek, with a joking voice, said, “Well, Poppy here already ‘shot’ a Night Fury. What is she doing here? Shouldn’t she be somewhere else to be… I don’t know… Praised?”

That got a few laughs from the group as they started to separate. Poppy felt her ears fall. “Don’t listen to them,” John said as he patted her on the back. “I’m sure you’ll do great.” As John was comforting Poppy, Clay started, “Today you’ll fight one of the most fastest dragons in the archipelago!! Can anyone tell me the fastest? "

Creek: “Monsters Nightmare!!”

Satin & Chenille: “Zippleback!!”

Poppy: “Gronckle!!”

Biggie & Branch: “Night Fury!!”

Clay let out a laugh, “Good job you two. You’re right!! But today we are learning about the weakness of a Gronckle!!” As he said that, John started to run towards the closed iron gate and started to open it.

“W-wait. Aren’t you gonna at least teach us first?!” A mortified Creek asked the two brothers.

That caused them both to let out a laugh, “We believe that you’ll be able to learn while you’re in action better than just sitting around and doing nothing. And besides, whoever does best during these exercises gets to kill their very first dragon in front of all the village!” John said as he looked towards Branch with a knowing expression, which Branch returned with a determined look

“ However, if you want some information,” Clay said, “I’ll give you some!!” He then turned to his elder brother to start naming a few dragons.

John: “Deadly Nadder!!”

Clay: “Speed eight. Armor sixteen.”

John: “The Hideous Zippleback!!”

Clay, who’d begun to smile: “Plus eleven stealth. Times two.”

John: “The Monstrous Nightmare.”

Clay: “Firepower fifteen.”

John: “The Terrible Terror!!”

Clay, whose smile became more wild like his hair as he kept on showing off his intelligence: “Attack eight. Venom twelve.”

John: “And finally… … the Gronckle.”

Clay: “Jaw strength, eight.”

John threw open the door, and a very angered Gronckle came out of it. Then the whole ‘Snack Pack,’ which was a nickname the group called themselves that Branch thought was the dumbest name out there, began to run around screaming in panic. However, Branch was looking around for one thing and that was a—

“In the first case scenario, if you’re being chased by a dragon, what is the first thing you need?!” John casually asked as if the group were not fearing for their lives.

“A doctor?!” Poppy asked in a panicked state.

“Plus five speed?!” Biggie asked scared.

“A shield!!” Branch said confidently as he used his ice to create his own, which had a scale-like design with a big blue dragon eye and held tight to his equally iced-made axe.

“That’s great, Branch!!” John shouted as he saw his brother run towards the dragon with an angered battle cry. “Just make sure to remember that using our powers in the arena is considered cheating!!” But of course, he was ignored as Branch was now next to Creek as Clay shouted, “Satin, Chenille! You’re both out. Because of your discussion over a ‘fashionable’ shield, you would have been dead in a real scenario!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As the twins left in disappointment, John went up to Poppy, who was struggling to lift up her shield. He went over and helped her quickly pick it up. “Thank you,” she told him.

“You’re welcome, now get in there!!” And quickly sent her running towards the danger. 

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Clay then commanded, “Those shields are good for another thing: Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon’s aim!!” As he introduced the idea, the group started to make noise by hitting their weapons against their shields. That caused Gronckle’s vision to become blurry and disproportionate.

Clay: “All dragons have a limited number of shots, how many does a Gronckle have?!”

Creek, shouting confidentially: “Five!!”

Biggie: “No, six!!”

John, with a proud tone: “Correct!! That means one shot for every single one of you. Make ‘em count!!”

John then saw Poppy trying to use her hair to camouflage herself with the gray wall. That just made him sigh: “Poppy!! What are you doing?! Come on!! Get in there!!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Oh Eirene help him.

Branch hated the fact he was next to Creek; he didn’t know why, but he never really liked the man. There was something always wrong when it came to him that made his blood boil, especially if he was left alone with him for far too long.

“So~,” Creek started, “I’m opening my own yoga place so trolls can learn to relax. You look like you need some… Relaxing~” He said as he put his hand on Branch’s shoulder.

Yep, that was it.

That man was dead.

“Don’t you DARE touch me!!” Branch shouted as he took hold of Creek’s hand that was still laying on his shoulder before he twisted it behind the other’s back, getting out a pained whince. “I work alone,” Branch whispered in the purple troll’s ear as he summoned three ice daggers and stabbed Creek in his side, causing the other to let out a painful wince.

Branch then heard Clay shout, “Biggie, your out!!” Not noticing what his younger brother just did.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Branch!!” A panicked John shouted as he witnessed Creek purposely being thrown towards the incoming beast as it shot a ball of fire towards the purple troll, almost burning his hair off.

John let out a sigh of relief.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

“Creek!! You’re out,” Clay shouted. At least no one was dying that day.

The last two trolls standing were Poppy and Branch, standing next to each other. Poppy was full of anxiety, and Branch was full of adrenaline. “I guess it’s just us huh?” she asked him.

“Nope. Just you, Pop.” Branch said as he moved out of the incoming fireball.

Poppy wasn’t as lucky; she didn’t even have the chance to move as her shield was knocked out of her grasp, making her quickly chase after it, unknowingly catching the dragon’s attention, leaving Branch in the clear. “One shot left!!” Clay shouted.

As Poppy reached her shield, she was then unexpectedly pinned to the stoned wall, face to face with a dragon. Again. ‘ Not again!!’ she thought.

“Poppy!!” She heard a worried John and Branch? No, her mind must definitely be playing games with her as she’s about to die. Not cool, brain, not cool.

As Poppy saw the mouth of the beast lit up in a pale blue fire to kill her, a gust of wind slapped her face as she saw a lime green wall of ice appearing right in front of her as the beast shot its final shot into the ice wall, preventing death from taking her. That made her sigh as Clay wrapped his tail around her and moved her out of the way while JD started to move the beast back to its cage.

She then noticed that the beast’s light blue wings were iced. A very familiar gray color looking ice, it couldn’t have been Dory’s, his ice was a forest green. It couldn’t be Clay’s, his was lime green. So that only left one option: Branch.

Poppy then looked toward Branch, her eyes widened as she saw him have his hand stretched out with a look of relief and worry as he looked at her. Suddenly her eyes shined with realization: He was worried about her!! He didn’t hate her as much as he claimed!!

Poppy felt herself smile like a madman after almost avoiding death. Twice. She’s probably receiving a lot of weird looks from everyone else, but she didn’t care. She still had a chance!! Branch must have noticed her because he then put his hand behind his back and made himself look like nothing even happened as Dory shouted, “And that was strike six!!” He yelled as he pushed the frozen winged creature inside the cage.

“Remember everyone!!” Clay said as he unwrapped his tail from Poppy and faced her as he said, “A dragon would always, ALWAYS,” He got closer to her face as he whispered, “Go for the kill. Don’t you ever forget that. “

Chapter Text

“So why didn’t you?” asked a confused Poppy as she held onto the very weapon she had used to shoot down the Night Fury. She then picked herself up and started to walk towards the location where she thought she remembered the dragon had attempt to fly off to.

As she made it to the end of the trail, she saw an isolated cove. Nothing. Not even a single soul, dead or alive. Her eyes were then occupied by one single black gradient to pink scale. “Well, this was a waste of time.” she murmured to herself.

However, before Poppy could even turn to walk back to Pop Village, she saw the dragon blast past her. Attempting to climb up the rocks, only to be forced back down by gravity. As Poppy watched the Fury’s multiple attempts at escaping, she reached for Branch's survival guide, which was hidden in her hair along with extra scrapbooking materials. She made a pop-up version of it with colorful paper she had handy.

“Why can’t you just leave?” she asked herself as she saw the dragon fail to leave. Until she noticed more closely at what the dragon was missing. “Oh~,” she said in realization before drawing a small ‘X’ made out of red glittering crafting paper and clumsily gluing it on the dragon’s tail. “You have a missing part of your tail!” she shouted, causing her to lose grip on her blue scissors. As she kept trying to catch them, she was unsuccessful, and they fell deep within the lagoon, never to be seen again.

That caused the Fury to face the troll, and just like that, they were in an unbreakable gaze. Neither of them wanted to break it, and neither of them were moving, just staring at each other.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

“Alright then, can anyone tell me where my brother went wrong today?” John asked the Snack Pack as they ate their dinner in the great hall. No one answered. “I created my own shield instead of graving the ones that were already there.” Branch said, ignoring the disappointed looks from his parents who sat on the other table. 

“Oh, we haven’t noticed,” Channel spat with sarcasm. It made Branch slightly flinch as he noticed his mom agreeing with her. “Whatever!!” he shouted, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, ignoring the concerned looks John and Clay sent him.

 “What else did he do wrong?” Clay asked with a harsh tone, as his concern quickly vanished. ‘Typical,’ Branch thought as he gritted his teeth.

“I stabbed Creek, there!! Are you happy?!” he exploded. “Not much,” Creek said, rubbing his wound that was now covered in bandages. “That was very ‘uncool’ of you.”

Branch felt his eye twitch with madness as he could hear his parents mocking giggles towards him, and he had enough. He raised himself from his seat, causing the chair to almost fall, and planted his hands on the table so hard he knew they would be bruised tomorrow. “I don’t care about your definition of ‘cool,’ Creek,” he took in a deep breath as he let out a crazy laugh and looked at Creek with an equally crazy look that he knew his brothers were going to question later. But right now? He could care less. 

“But I don’t give two cupcakes about it!! You hear me?!” Creek was nervously shaking his head. That made Branch’s crazy smile widen as a few more giggles came out. “So you better shove that opinion of your right up your—”

“Wait, what?” Clay suddenly asked, confused. “What did you just say?”

However, Clay's questions were fallen into deaf ears as the door to the great hall slowly opened, catching everyone's attention as Poppy came in with a sheepish expression on her face. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked the group. That caused Branch to let go of Creek, dust himself off, and sit back down. "No. Not at all," he told her firmly.

"Oh~ Ok," John said awkwardly. Yep, Branch will definitely get questioned later. "Can anyone tell me what Poppy did wrong?"

Satin: “Show up with that hideous dress?”

Chenille : “She didn’t get eaten and now we have to pay the price of being her citizens when she becomes queen?”

Creek just shook her head: “No dear, there’s still hope for us. Maybe a miracle will happen sooner rather than later.”

Branch just glared at him: “She was out of practice, and quite frankly, out of place.”

John: “Good job, bro!! I’m proud of you!!”

As John said those words, Branch felt his eyes widened in surprise and saw the image of his parents glitch. Someone actually said they were proud of him. Him!! A colorless gray troll!! He felt the need to cry. No one had ever told him they were proud of him. The only reason why people even talk to him was to only disrespect or show their hatred towards him without even trying to hide it.

Which is why he needed to kill his first dragon in front of the village.

To show that he’s more than just a gray troll.

To prove to himself that someone could be proud of him. Even for a little while.

Which might have been the reason why he must of have saved the princess today. That’s why he tolerates her more than the others. Because she is also a version of himself, well, the more colorful and happier version of himself. His train of thoughts was cut off as Clay threw a book in front of all of them.

“This is the book of dragons. Here holds every secret that you need to know about all the dragons’ strengths and weaknesses. This baby is an actual treasure that I had read over twenty times during my ‘sad book club’ hangouts. I practically memorized it from front and back,” Clay said proudly. That only caused Biggie to raise his hand. “Go ahead, kid.” John said as thunder echoed in the background accompanied by the sound of light rain. 

“I also read the book, but not as many times as you, mister Clay!!” Biggie said happily. That made Clay smirk, “Well then I guess it won’t be difficult for some of you to read it then, I wish you the best.” He said as he started to walk out, leaving the Snack Pack alone.

“Reading? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chenille said disappointed. “While we’re still alive, young and beautiful? No thank you,” added her twin. “Why read a dumb book while we can just meditate?” Creek asked to on one in particular. “Well, I am sure Mr. Clay wants us to read it in order to understand dragons better, ” Biggie said, catching everyone’s attention, “Besides, like I told him, I already read this book and did y’all know that there’s this water dragon that sprays boiling water on your face? And there’s this other one that buries itself for like a week…”

As he keeps on rambling, everyone except Branch, who tried and failed to not look interested, kept on listening. Not caring what everyone else thinks.

“Well,” Satin started, “Big, that book actually sounded really cool and we might have given it a chance but~”

“You’d just ruined it for us,” Chenille told him. Biggie tightened his grip on Mr. Dinclkes, ignoring the twins’ sarcastic remark. Until Creek got up, “I don’t know about you guys, but I say: let Branch do all the reading!! Let’s get out of here. I wanna meditate," as he said that he started to leave the room, followed by the twins and Biggie as he kept on murmuring, “Oh and there’s this other one that has these spines that look like trees…”

But of course, no one really paid him attention.

The only ones left were Poppy and Branch. Again. Just like always.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“It looks like it’s just you and me,” Poppy told the other troll. She wasn’t really expecting a positive answer, heck, she wasn’t even expecting one until she heard Branch say, “I guess so.” That caused her to freeze and look at him in surprise. “You’re staying?”

“Well, knowing Clay, he’s probably going to give us a writing test on our knowledge in the book and I’ll be damned if I got a grade lower than you. Besides, I need a break.” he said in a deadpan expression. “O-oh well, I totally understand that..” Poppy said as she made room for Branch to sit next to her. He did. “So where do you wanna start first?” he asked her.

“Anywhere you want, honestly.” Poppy said as she fought back her tail trying to wrap itself around Branch’s. “Alright,” the gray troll said, “Read this one.” He said, pointing at a random dragon. “That’s easy!!” Poppy said confidently. “Oh really? Well then..” As fast as Branch pointed to the image, he closed the book, “How about now?”

“Uhhh,” Poppy stated. “It’s less ‘easy’ isn’t it?” Branch asked with a smug look on his face. “Nuh-uh it’s not!!” Poppy said, fidgeting with her pink hair.

“Well why don’t you give me some information on The Thunderdrum. Everyone knows at least one fact about these guys. So you should too.”

“Well~ I know a few.”

“What are you waiting for then?”

Poppy took in a shaky breath, “Dragon classifications: Strike class. Fear class. Mystery class.” She said, ignoring a few thunders outside as she kept on going, “This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools.”

“What else?”

“When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a troll at close range. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight,” Poppy finished and turned to look at Branch’s reaction. She let out a few laughs; he looked like a glowing deer stuck in headlights!! She was so scrapbooking this later, in his book. Branch cleared his throat and opened the book again to pick another dragon.

“Tiberjack,” he questioned.

“This gigantic creature has razor sharp wings that can slice through full-grown trees…extremely dangerous. Kill on sight.” She answered. 

"Scauldron," he asked with a slow, proud, and amazed smile appearing on his face. "Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous." She answered, suddenly the two jumped from their seats as thunder unexpectedly made itself known.

"Changewing," he continued.

"Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight," she added.

"The Gronckle, Zippleback, The Skrill, Bone Knapper, Whispering Death," Branch asked Poppy. "What do they all have in common?"

Poppy sent him a confident look. Branch slightly thanked the darkness around him for not exposing his blushing face. "Burns its victims. Buries its victims. Chokes its victims. Turns its victims inside-out. Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight. Kill on sight. Kill on sight…"

"One last dragon," Branch said, "Then we’ll call it a night."

Poppy just nodded in agreement. “The Night Fury," Branch told her.

"Uf, that’s a hard one there, sir. But I’ll have to say: Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

"And?"

"Never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

The rain had stopped for a while now, with only a few hints of rain falling here and there. Branch got up from his seat, stretching his back and hearing a few bones pop. He faced Poppy and said, “Welp, time to go to bed.” He let out an unwanted yawn as if to prove his statement. As he started to walk away he created a iced umbrella, just incase, he noticed that Poppy wasn’t walking with him. He asked her, “Are you coming?”

“Nah, I’m gonna stay for a few more minutes, y’know? To get more food for the brain,” Poppy replied. Branch knew that was a lie, but he was too tired to care, so he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Eh, do what you want.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

On a far away land, there was a boat. Its sails were the color that represented Pop Village as a whole : Pink. It also had a medium sized teal flower in the middle of it. It was Peppy’s boat. “ I can almost smell them. “ He said confidently. “ We’re almost there, I can feel it. “

He then took In a deep breath and commanded, “ Take us in!! “

The captain of the boat was then heard shouting : “ Hard to port… for Tartarus gates. “

And just like that, the first boat had disappeared into the foggy abyss.

Chapter Text

Poppy and the rest of the Snack Pack were back in the arena, but this time they were facing a Nadder. The obstacles were much harder than before, as they were all around the arena, stuck in a literal maze made out of ice.

Today, they were up against a Deadly Nadder. John, Clay, and Floyd, yes, Floyd he had decided to join his brothers in their training lesson and support them… from a safe distance, outside the arena, where it was 100% safe… maybe.

Floyd noticed how the Snack Pack was struggling around the maze. Heck, even Branch looked like he was struggling. So what did he do? He turned up the music on his radio, catching everyone’s attention, and then turned it back down. “Alright everyone! I’ve seen that you’re struggling right now.” That caused a giggle from his elder brother and a “What do you think?!” from Creek.

“I’ve thought it would be best if I hype you up with a song—a very old one. A song that only a true BroZone fan would know,” Floyd said as he looked at a hiding Poppy, who looked up at him with eyes practically shining.

The Nadder took that opportunity to use its weight and made a few walls fall down onto the Snack Pack, which they all avoided by splitting up. “Are you seriously wanting to take your sweet time choosing popsicle sticks with our name on them and ask us for lyrics while we’re running for our lives?!” a panicked Satin shouted. “Yes!!” Floyd confirmed.

Suddenly, the music, which was at its lowest volume, began to replay. Floyd started, “Are you ready? Ha!... It’s time for me to take it. I’m the boss right now. Not gonna fake it.”

“Oh, I know this one!” Biggie said proudly. Poppy was then seen running over to Clay as she asked, “You know, I just happened to notice the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? Or a sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?”

Suddenly, a blast managed to knock out the axe she was holding, and she quickly took hold of her handy knife.

Before Clay could answer her, Floyd shouted, “Satin, your next.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Satin let out a smile as she twirled away from an upcoming fire, “Not when you go down ‘cause this is my game. And you better come to play… I used to hold my freak back. Now I’m letting go.”

Floyd: “That was fantastic!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Clay then faced Poppy and quickly moved themselves out of the dragon’s claws. John then shouted, “Come on Poppy!! You’re not even trying!!” As the dragon flew away and the Snack Pack was waiting for today’s lesson, John shouted, “Today’s lesson, I am sure most of you didn’t listen to me explaining the first time. It's about: Attack!!"

He took a deep breath, “Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker and lighter.”

Biggie was seen running and hiding behind a wall as the Nadder threw its dark cyan spikes towards him. “I’m really questioning your teaching methods!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Floyd then pointed at Branch, “Alright bro!! You’re up!!”

Branch just rolled his eyes and played along: “I make my own choice. Bitch, I run this show. So leave the lights on, no, you can’t make me behave… Uh, huh, huh. So you say I’m complicated? That I must be out of my mind. But you’ve had me underrated~Rated, rated!!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Poppy then walked up to John as he shouted, “Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike!!” As Poppy was next to him, she asked, “Hey, so how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?” John rolled his eyes.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Floyd: “Biggie!!!”

Biggie made his hand into a fist and proudly yelled, “Yes!!... Uh, huh, huh, What’s wrong with being, What’s wrong with being, wrong with being confident?” As he sang, he ran around, trying not to be eliminated.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•  

John rolled his eyes, clearly tired of Poppy’s questions: “No one’s ever met one and lived to tell the tale. Now get in there!!”

Poppy ignores him: “I know, I know, but hypothetically…”

She was then pushed behind a wall by Branch as he shushed her by quietly whispering her name. That did nothing as the Nadder quickly spotted their hideout and once again.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•  

Floyd: “Creek, your up!!”

Just as Floyd said that, Creek snuck in front of Branch, saying in a confident tone: “Don’t worry babe, I’ll protect you.” He then began to sing, “it’s time to get the chains out, is your tongue tied up? ‘Cause this is my ground. And I’m dangerous. And you can get off, but it’s all ‘bout me tonight (Tonight).”

That made Branch cringe. However, he became angered as Creek missed his shot. He glared at him and, as he ran away, Creek said defensively, “The sun was in my eyes, Branch!! What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I could do that, but I don’t have time right now! And besides, I am the one defending you!! Who would you choose!! Me or a Nadder!!”

Branch then started to jump on top of the walls, being careful not to drop down. Even if he knew he could just create a snow bed, one could never be too careful, specifically on how high the walls are. “I chose the Nadder!!” He shouted towards Creek, knowing he would hurt his ego.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•   

Poppy was then seen murmuring to herself, in her own little world, unaware of the literal danger around her. “They probably take the daytime off. You know? Like a cat. Has anyone ever seen one napping?”

Floyd: “Poppy!!”

Poppy snapping out of her daydream in a panicked state: “U-uh…… Uh, huh Hey!! Uh, huh, huh, yeah… So you say I’m complicated. But you’ve had me underrated, You need not… Ahhhhh!!” She shouted as she had little time to move out of the falling wall in front of her, which had Branch on top of it.

“Awww~ Would you look at that,” Satin said with a loving look at the two trolls that ended up tangled up because of the fall. “Love at first fight, what a story to tell your future kids. Imagine one day their kid comes up to them and asks: Mommy, Daddy, when did you two fall in love?” Chenille asked with a childishly mocking tone before the two of them burst into a fit of laughter. “As if..” Satin said.

“Meh, he could do better.” John said with a deadpan expression as he faced the laughing twins, causing them to laugh even harder.

As the two tangled trolls tried to untangle each other, Poppy started with a worried tone, “Just… let me… why don’t you…” However, before she said her idea, Branch let out a frustrated growl as he ripped off his axe, along with her shield.

With one last battle cry, Branch spun around and, with his axe, which still had a piece of the destroyed shield attached to it, hit the Nadder square in the face. Making it back down with a few painful whimpers. “Good job Branch!!” Floyd shouted towards his brother. But he was ignored as the gray troll faced Poppy, who had curled herself into a ball and was just now quickly getting up to her feet.

Everyone’s eyes were on her.

“Is this some kind of joke to you?!” He spat towards her, anger clearly in his features. “What?” Poppy asked quietly.

Branch felt his ear flicker and his tail rattle. “Our parents’ war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you’re on.” He said as he remade his ice axe and threw his old one towards her. “You can keep that one… It’s just like you now: Useless.” He said as he and the others started to walk away.

Poppy felt her heart shatter as she held on tightly to the axe that stood next to her.

Chapter Text

Poppy was back in the cove where she had seen the Night Fury. This time, she was prepared. She held a shield (which she had definitely ‘borrowed' from John without his knowledge) and the beaten old axe that Branch had thrown at her.

In her other hand, she held a glowing blue fish with purple stripes. “Okay… where are you, dragon?” she asked as she moved around, her fight-or-flight reflexes fully engaged.

When she entered, the shield got stuck in the entryway, leaving her defenseless with just one axe to protect herself with.

As she walked, a dragon could be seen hiding among the distant rocks, looking like a predator ready to pounce on its moving prey. When Poppy approached the rocks, she noticed it staring directly at her. The sight made her freeze and gasp.

As the dragon descended from the rocks like a snake, it slowly inspected the fish Poppy held out for it to take. While the dragon examined the fish, Poppy was also inspecting the creature.

“You don’t have any teeth and look like a pink rose…” Poppy said in amazement. Her wonder was short-lived, however, as the once toothless dragon suddenly made sharp teeth emerge from its gums and devoured the fish in one bite.

The sudden movement caused Poppy to let out a startled screech as she quickly pulled her arm away. She glanced at her hand to make sure it was still intact. “Why, I’ll be! You should have a name. How about Rosethorn? Yeah, that feels right. Do you like it?” she asked.

The dragon, however, didn’t seem interested in names. Instead, it pressed itself closer to her, clearly demanding more food.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t have enough!” Poppy exclaimed apologetically.

The dragon backed up and regurgitated a half-eaten piece of fish, now covered in saliva, near Poppy’s legs. It licked its lips and gave her a ‘go on’ motion with its eyes. Poppy’s eyes widened as she realized what the dragon wanted her to do.

With shaky hands, she picked up the slimy fish, pulled it closer to her mouth, and reluctantly took a bite. “Mmmm~,” she mumbled as she forced herself to swallow it, barely managing to keep it down.

“D-delicious. I really liked it!” she said, trying to sound convincing. In truth, she didn’t like it one bit. The dragon, however, seemed satisfied. It looked at her with a proud expression before walking a few feet away. There, it created a small circle of pink fire around itself and lay down, smoke curling from its nostrils.

“Huh. Pink fire?” Poppy muttered to herself, intrigued.

A few minutes of silence passed before curiosity got the better of her. She cautiously reached toward the dragon’s tail, attempting to touch it.

The dragon let out an angry growl and started to run away. Startled, Poppy took that as her cue to leave.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•   

A few hours later, Poppy returned to the cove. She had brought her master scrapbooking kit and spread out a large piece of paper, almost half her size. She was working on a detailed sketch of her friend, the Night Fury. As if summoned by her thoughts, the dragon appeared beside her, studying her movements.

Once he was done observing, he picked up a fallen tree branch and began to mimic her actions. He doodled a series of lines, some parallel, others more abstract. After a few moments, Rosethorn finished his ‘drawing’ and dropped the branch, closing his eyes with a proud smile on his face.

As Poppy looked around, she realized she was surrounded by a web of lines.

As Poppy stood up, her foot accidentally pressed into one of the lines. This caused Rosethorn to growl softly. Startled, she quickly picked up her foot, earning a pleased low rumble from the dragon. After repeating this action a few more times and getting the same reaction each time, Poppy came to a conclusion: he wanted her to play a game with him! A wide smile spread across her face.

After several rounds of running around without any proper trail to follow, Poppy suddenly froze. She realized her back was pressed against Rosethorn’s chest, only a few centimeters away. The warmth of his body and the hot breath he exhaled onto her hair made her heart race. Quickly, she stepped out of the way, putting some distance between them.

Once she turned to face him, she found herself staring directly into his eyes. For a moment, everything else seemed to fade away. Without thinking, her hand began to move on autopilot, reaching toward him.

When she felt her hand rising on its own, Poppy quickly regained control of her body and stopped herself. However, after hearing a few low, non-threatening growls from the dragon, she took a deep breath and resumed her actions. She lifted her hand toward the beast’s forehead, unsure of what to expect.

She noticed the dragon hesitate, so she looked away, covering her eyes. With a mix of nervousness and excitement, she took one more step forward. Then, she felt the dragon’s muzzle gently press into her hand. Her eyes widened in amazement.

However, the moment was short-lived as Rosethorn suddenly pulled away and ran off.

Poppy felt a pang of disappointment.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•    

“And the beast tried to take my hand away… but the only thing it managed to take was my iced armor hand!” John recounted to the group, who were roasting their dinner over a small campfire near an abandoned catapult. “It must have been really refreshing because the next thing I knew, another one came by and tried to take my feet away!” John exclaimed, wiggling his feet for emphasis.

“That’s just a bunch of shit,” Clay said with an eye roll as he continued reading his book.

“Nuh-uh!” John protested, attempting to defend himself, only for Biggie to interrupt.

“Isn’t it weird to think that your ice was inside a dragon? Like, if your mind was still in control of your ice, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something. “Biggie said, directing his question to John.

John was about to respond when Creek cut in. “I swear, I’m so angry right now! I’ll avenge your beautiful ice and your beautiful armor. I’ll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight—with my face. After all, that’s what a good brother-in-law would do… right, Branch~?” Creek said, sending a few exaggerated kissing motions toward the gray troll.

That made Branch’s elder siblings cringe away in disgust.

Branch, however, didn’t notice. He simply rolled his eyes and nearly threw up his dinner when he caught sight of his father giving Creek a proud look of approval.

“Nuh-uh,” Clay began, clearing his throat to catch Branch’s attention. “It’s the wings and tails you really want. If it can’t fly, it can’t get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Poppy then let out a cough, drawing everyone’s gaze. “Well, about that… I was thinking. If there was any way to make peace with them—”

Her suggestion was met with laughter from the twins. “Peace?” Satin asked incredulously. “With brainless monsters?” Chenille finished before they both laughed again. This reaction caused Poppy to shrink back, making herself look smaller.

“Alright, I’m off to bed. You should be too,” Clay continued. “Tomorrow we tackle the big ones, slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare.” He suddenly spoke in a playful sing-song tone, “But who’ll win the honor of killing it~?”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Once Clay, Floyd and JD left, the Snack Pack remained, discussing who would be the one to end the dragon. This gave Poppy an opportunity to sneak away, unaware that she was being followed. As she entered the blacksmith’s place, she opened her scrapbook to draw a single dragon tail. With a determined look on her face and her tail gently wagging, she whispered, “Time to work.”

“’Time to work’ on what?” a voice suddenly asked, causing Poppy’s heart to sink into her stomach. She instinctively drew her knife and pointed it toward the intruder, only to let out a breath of relief when she saw who it was: Branch. He looked at her with a questioning expression. “What are you doing in my workshop?”

“Oh—uh, Branch! Hey, Branch… Hi. I—well, you see, I—” Poppy stammered, scrambling to think of an excuse. “I wanted to work on something for the biggest and loudest party ever thrown in Pop Village!” she suddenly shouted excitedly, spreading her arms wide and panting slightly from her outburst.

Branch raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think the idea of throwing ‘the loudest and biggest party that Pop Village has ever seen’ is a good one. Besides, it’s not just the dragons we have to worry about, but the—”

“Yeah, yeah, the ‘Bergen’s’ are still out there,” Poppy interrupted with a deadpan tone. “I always hear that from you. Don’t you have anything better to say?”

Branch felt his temper flare as a few veins metaphorically popped. “At least my siblings and I keep this village safe—unlike someone!” he snapped back.

“Well, at least I collaborate with the village whenever it isn’t about dragons or Bergen’s! When was the last time you willingly stepped foot into a party?” Poppy challenged.

At that Branch knew he had lost the argument. He sighed, forced to recall the couple’s life events he had disrupted—not once, but three times—during his rampages: their birthday, their wedding, and even the funeral of the clown troll. He definitely had a stern talk after that one. Rubbing his eyes, he felt his tail wrap around his leg and his ear twitch. “Solid burn, Pop, solid burn—whatever. Listen, Poppy, I’m not here to fight, alright?”

“Then what are you here for?” Poppy asked.

Branch took a deep breath, fidgeting with his paws. “I came to—to apologize.”

Poppy froze. “To what?”

“To apologize for what I said the other day. I’m sorry; I was angry and lost control of my emotions,” Branch admitted.

Poppy blinked in surprise, completely unprepared for the situation. Then an idea came to her mind. “Alright, I’ll forgive you.”

Branch looked hopeful. “Really?”

Poppy nodded. “Yes, on Eleos’s name, if you help me with something.”

Branch, now determined, replied, “Anything.”

Poppy then pulled out the piece of paper with the drawing of the tail that Rosethorn didn’t have and quickly hid the survival guide back in her hair. “Can you make this fan? It’s for the big and loud party I’m planning to throw once Dad comes back.”

Branch took the drawing from Poppy’s outstretched hand and quickly analyzed it. His eyes widened as he noticed a very familiar iced dagger drawn on it. “Is that my family crest?”

Poppy smiled happily. “Yeah, your family crest along with mine.”

Branch looked at her in confusion. “Why?”

With a grateful smile, Poppy explained, “Because you saved me… Remember? You saved my butt from the Gronckle. I wanted to thank you, but I know you’d hate any parties, gifts, or cakes I’d give you, so this was the only way… Do you like it?”

A few moments passed as Branch stared blankly at the drawing, causing Poppy to panic. “But of course, if you don’t like it, I can redraw—”

Branch interrupted, “NO! I mean, no. This one is fine. I like it, thank you.”

Poppy felt herself blush. “Oh… well, I’m happy you liked it!”

Branch, trying hard not to blush himself, said, “I’ll—I’ll make it on one condition.”

Poppy asked, “What?”

Branch placed the drawing down on the table. “I want to win.”

Poppy was taken aback. “What?”

Branch sighed. “It’s clear that you aren’t going to win the chance to kill your first dragon, but if by some miracle you beat the rest of the Snack Pack, I want you to let me beat you so I can kill a dragon in front of the village. To prove my worth. So, what do you say?”

Poppy, with an unsure yet determined look, stretched out her hand. “Deal.”

Branch took her hand and shook it. “Deal.”

Chapter Text

It was a new day, and Poppy was back in the cove, but this time with a basket full of fried fish of all kinds and colors. “Hey, Rosethorn! I brought you breakfast, bud! I hope you’re hungry.”

Suddenly, a dragon appeared next to her, wiggling with excitement as Poppy made the basket fall over, revealing all the different kinds of fish. After Poppy named a few of the fish, she pointed towards an eel. “And finally… a smoked eel.” Rosethorn took a few cat-like licks before letting out a loud roar, backing away and moving as if the eel was the most disgusting thing someone could offer him.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Poppy said hurriedly as she pushed the eel away, saving it for later. “It’s okay! I don’t like eel either. I think they’re gross.” As Poppy moved the eel far away from Rosethorn, the dragon immediately dived in and ate the fish as if he were starved. “Okay, you enjoy those fish. I’ll just be here… scrapbooking.” Poppy said as she pulled out the new prosthetic wing replacement that she and Branch had made with cheap material from her hair.

As she slowly tried to get onto the dragon’s tail, he kept moving it side to side, as if he could tell what she was planning. With a frustrated huff, she got on top of the tail, preventing it from moving. “It’s alright, everything is alright,” she reassured herself. However, she failed to notice how the dragon tensed and was now slowly turning to face her. “Perfect!” she shouted, admiring her work.

“I did it!” she shouted proudly, looking at her family crest: the flower, and then at Branch’s family crest: the iced dagger. Suddenly, before she knew it, both she and the dragon were in the air, flying. “Wait, wait, wait!” she shouted in a panic. As soon as the Fury flew up, it started to slow down and nearly fell into the small lagoon until Poppy reached for the prosthetic wing and yanked it open, allowing them to fly normally.

“It’s working! Heck yeah!” Poppy shouted, both excited and horrified. As Rosethorn continued flying upward with more speed, Poppy kept cheering herself on. It was working! However, Rosethorn noticed the small troll holding onto his tail and tried to shake her off. That was a big mistake. It caused Rosethorn to lose balance, and they immediately started to fly downward toward the lagoon.

Once they fell inside, Poppy quickly swam back up, followed closely by Rosethorn. “Yeah!” she shouted proudly as she swam back to the shore.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

“Today is about teamwork. Work together, and you might just survive.” John said to the Snack Pack, who held onto buckets of water and were paired up in groups of two: Branch and Satin, Creek and Chenille, Poppy and Biggie. Suddenly, the door opened, and as soon as it did, a pastel pink smoke engulfed the arena, making it hard for those outside to see all the action.

“Now, a wet dragon head can’t light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it up. Your job is to know which is which." Clay, who was outside the arena with Floyd, added. A few minutes later, the Snack Pack was completely separated by the thick smoke, putting them on high alert.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

“Razor-sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attacks, crushing its victims in its…” Biggie murmured to himself, gently squeezing Mr. Dinkles while he held his bucket with his other hand. 

“Can you stop that?” Poppy asked tensely.

That made Biggie back up. “Oh, sorry, Princess Poppy. I didn’t mean to.”

Poppy let out a sigh. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Meanwhile, Creek and Chenille held tightly onto their bucket of water. Creek was taking deep breaths to calm himself and avoid spilling the water. (It was not working.)

“I-if either of the dragon’s faces shows up, I’m gonna—” he said in a macho tone, trying to sound as if he wasn’t scared out of his wits. However, that act was cut short when he noticed a few shadows moving toward them.

“There!!” he shouted and immediately threw water at the approaching figures.

“Hey!!” a very pissed-off and wet Branch shouted as he emerged from the fog, followed closely by an equally angry and drenched Satin.

“It’s us, you idiots!!” she yelled before throwing her own bucket of water at them. “That’s for wetting this new dress!!”

“Well, it’s not our fault that you guys look like a dragon!!” Chenille shouted back in a mocking tone, causing a gasp from her twin.

Satin wasted no time retaliating. She pushed Chenille to the ground, laughing as she unleashed the infamous 'tickle twin attack.'

“Ok, ok!! I give!! You look nothing like a dragon!! I’ll take it back!!” Chenille cried out between fits of laughter.

That sweet, chaotic moment was quickly ruined as Creek turned to see a semi-pissed-off Branch glaring at him.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure. I find that quite attractive.” Creek said, causing the twins to freeze and look towards Branch, who had a crazy look on his face.

“I think it’s time to go.” Satin whispered to her twin.

“I think so too. “Chenille agreed. As they backed away, they saw Branch launch himself towards Creek as he proceeded to strangling him.Suddenly, Branch felt his ear twitch, making him slowly get off Creek. “Wait.”

But it was too late. All four of them were knocked to the ground by one of the incoming dragon tail.

A few minutes later, Poppy and Biggie entered the scene. “Are you guys alright?” Poppy asked the fallen group.

“Oh, I am hurt, so very unmistakably hurt!” Chenille joked as she rolled around on the ground. “Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now!” John was shouting from somewhere inside the arena.

“Look out!” Poppy shouted towards Biggie as one of the dragon’s heads appeared behind him.

“Eppppp!!” Biggie exclaimed as he threw his bucket of water at the dragon. Unfortunately, the dragon opened its mouth, releasing a pastel pink smoke. “Oh… wrong head...” Biggie gulped as a new head appeared next to him, emitting pastel blue sparks of fire. As the dragon’s smoke started to envelop Biggie and the other head prepared to ignite it, Biggie was seen running away in panic just as the explosion went off.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

“Biggie!!” a worried John called out, only to let out the biggest sigh of relief as he saw the blue troll running past him. He then turned and faced Poppy again. “Alright, Poppy!! Your turn!!”

Poppy used all of her strength to throw the bucket of water towards the dragon, only for it to land just a few inches away. “Aw, come on!! Why must I have weak scrapbooking arms!!”

“Poppy!!” she heard John call out in a panic as the dragon approached her. “You’ve got to be kidding me!!” she shouted in frustration.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

From outside the arena, Clay and Floyd watched with horror as they saw the dragon get closer to the princess. “Oh boy, this is it!! She’s done for!!” Floyd yelled as he closed his eyes and hugged himself tightly while his tail wrapped around Clay’s. “I knew I shouldn’t have come.”

Floyd then felt a hand lay on his shoulder. “Hey, everything will be okay. She’ll make it. Probably. I mean, she has John and Branch in there. She’ll definitely pull through.”Clay attempted to comfort him.

Floyd opened his eyes to look at his brother. “You promise?” Clay then extended his paw forward, uncurling his pinky. It made Floyd’s eyes widen. “Pinkie promise.” As Floyd intertwined his pinky with Clay’s, they heard the dragon hiss. They quickly turned back, and their eyes widened at what they saw.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Poppy was still alive! She was holding onto an eel and yelling, “Yeah, that’s it!! Fear my wrath!!”

“Huh, now would you look at that?” Clay asked in amazement. Floyd shot up from his seat and, with an excited tone, shouted, “I never doubted you, Poppy!!!”

After pulling out the eel from her hair, Poppy started to push the dragon back into its cage. Once the dragon was inside, she threw the eel in, receiving one last angered hiss as the dragon backed away towards the wall, as if the eel was going to kill it. “Now think about what you did, mister.” she said as she closed the iron door.

Once she was done, she wiped her hands on her dress with a satisfied look and then turned back towards a shell-shocked Snack Pack. “Well~” Poppy hesitated, “I will just—I will just go… now… bye!!” She said before waving them goodbye and bolting out of the arena.

Chapter Text

A few long, painful days and nights were spent working to build a harness that would be able to attach to the new prosthetic tail without Branch’s help. Poppy finally finished it.

She showed off her new invention to Rosethorn. “Ta-da! What do you think?” The dragon looked at her with mocking worry.

He then started to run away from her, but the princess let out a few chuckles. “Come here!” she playfully demanded as she chased Rosethorn around. “This is for your own good!”

Minutes later, they were both seen flying across the ocean. Poppy then tried to adjust the tail, only for her and Rosethorn to be sent falling back to the ground.

She felt herself fall into an open field. As she found herself making a dirt and grass angel, she heard a purr next to her. She sat up, and what she saw made her gasp.

“Aww,” she said as she saw Rosethorn purring and moving around like one of the three-eyed cats from the village. She took a piece of grass, inspected it, and quickly took out Branch’s survival guide. “Dragon-nip?” she read as she found a drawing of the same patch of grass she had. “Huh, interesting. ” she said as she wrote down her experience with a bright, sparkly pen.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

During dragon training, she pulled out the same dragon-nip. Testing out her theory, it worked. The Gonkle’s knees became weak. Everyone was amazed, everyone except Branch.

He was getting more and more suspicious. As the Snack Pack walked away, Poppy was asked multiple questions at once. 

Biggie: “Hey, Poppy, I never knew that a dragon could react to dragon-nip like that. Do you want to write a book about it with me?”

Poppy, shaking her head: “I would love to, but I’m already writing one… well, more like improving it. I had no idea that the plant was actually dragon-nip until I looked at it.”

Creek: “So you’re telling us you’re writing a new book about dragons?”

Poppy: “Nah, this book is already complete. I am just adding discoveries along the way.”

Satin: “Oh cool, who does it belong to?”

That question caused Poppy to stop dead in her tracks. “Uh… you know what? I think I left my knife back at the arena! Bye, guys!” she said as she walked away, getting a suspicious look from Branch.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy was scratching Rosethorn’s muzzle and accidentally scratched behind his ear, causing him to fall to the ground. She quickly noted that down in Branch’s survival guide. Back in the arena, she faced off against the Nadder again as it approached her.

As Poppy saw Branch approach, she quickly used the scratching trick, making the Nadder fall to the ground, leaving Branch staring at her in disbelief.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As Poppy sat down at the table to eat, she was quickly bombarded with questions.

Biggie: “Hey, Princess Poppy!”

Creek, amazed: “What was that? Was it like a new trick? A strategy? How’d you learn it?”

Chenille : “Poppy, you most definitely would come  first! Do you want Satin and me to make you an outfit? We’d be so honored.”

However, Poppy wasn’t paying attention to them; she was looking at Branch, who sat alone, glaring daggers at her.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

The next day, Poppy brought one of her mirrors to show Rosethorn his reflection. The light reflected off the mirror, creating a shining stream that made the dragon chase after it like a cat.

She quickly noted that down in Branch’s survival guide.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Meet the Terrible Terror!” John announced as a small door opened. Out came a green-colored, small dragon. “Ha!” Satin laughed.

Chenille, trying to stop giggling: “It’s as small as Creek’s pea-sized brain—” She was then interrupted as the Terror jumped on top of her. “Ow! I’m hurt! So very, very hurt!”

As the Terror bit her nose, it was quickly distracted when Poppy made her mirror shine with daylight. This caught the Terror’s attention, and it proceeded to follow the light back to its cage, which Poppy bent down to lock.

“Wow,” Satin said as she stood next to an amazed Branch. “She’s even better than you were.” This remark elicited a growl from Branch, whose tail wrapped around her feet and pulled, causing her to fall face-first to the ground.

He also had to Ignore the disappointed looks from his parents.

Chapter Text

A ship was seen getting close to the Pop Village’s docks. A very disappointed king stepped out, and as he stretched, John came out of nowhere and asked, “Did you find the nest?”

That caused the king to jump up, startled. “Dory! Don’t ever sneak up on an old man!” That only caused a few laughs from the others. “But no… I didn’t find it.”

John let out a sigh. “Well, at least that’s good, right?”

Peppy shook his head. “No… it’s not.”

John said, “Eh, well, cheer up, Pep! We’re going to throw the biggest and loudest party in a few days.”

Peppy replied, “But why? A party is only thrown when someone succeeds! I didn’t—I came back empty-handed.”

John smiled. “Well, that’s reason number one: you came back to us alive! And reason number two: Poppy is also being celebrated, along with someone from the Snack Pack killing their first dragon.”

Peppy looked at him with confusion. “What do you mean my daughter is being celebrated?”

After a few minutes of John telling Peppy how Poppy basically became a celebrity overnight and might be the one to kill her first dragon, Peppy seemed astonished. “It cannot be! My daughter is amazing. I never lost faith in her.”

John just gave him a deadpan look. “You literally told me she was going to die before she even stepped foot in the arena.”

That caused a sheepish laugh from the king. “You know what… let’s get back to that party idea. So why don’t you explain to me how the day will be set up?”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy was once again in the air, holding on to the instruction sheet she made in Branch’s survival guide. The pop-up instructions were on how to handle the new prosthetic she attached onto Rosethorn.

“Alright buddy, we’re taking this nice and slow.” she said as she followed the instructions one by one, making sure her ‘seatbelt’ was well and safely placed on her.

“Here we go, bud. Position three… No, wait! Four, yeah, definitely four.” she said as she pressed the pedal, causing the tail to flare. They rolled off into an arcing bank, gloriously lit by the late afternoon sun. Poppy then tucked tight against Rosethorn’s neck, thrilled that her harness and vest were holding.

The foot controls made the tail appendage quick and responsive. She watched Rosethorn’s every fluctuation, trying to match it with the prosthetic. Poppy sized up a target – a towering arch of stone rising from the sea.

“Come on, Rose, come on. We got this,” she said as they made a perfect turn. “Oh yeah!” she shouted proudly, but her happiness was short-lived as they crashed into an oncoming rock formation that they couldn’t avoid.

“Sorry…” she said in a painfully awkward tone, only to have the same incident repeat again. “I’m so—” She stopped her apology as she felt Rosethorn hit her face with his ear.

“Yeah, I deserved that.” she said numbly. After a few more practice attempts, Poppy lost track of the drawn direction sheet, which caused them to lose their way and start falling. Poppy then noticed Branch’s survival guide slipping from her grasp.

“No, no, no, no, no!” she yelled, panicking. Sweet dear Uranus, she was SO dead! If this fall didn’t kill her, Branch surely would. Relying on her instincts, she somehow managed to steady Rosethorn’s flight without the cheat sheet and quickly used her hair to try and catch the falling book.

She then let out a sigh of relief as her hair caught the book, which was now being safely tucked away. As she calmed down, she realized they were flying upwards without the need for any instructions. “Heck yeah!” she shouted excitedly.

Rosethorn then let out a happy squeal as he shot a blast of fire into the sky. “Aw, come on.” Poppy said dreadfully as the pink fire started to move closer to her face.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

The two friends landed on a nearby beach where they caught fish for dinner.

Poppy was frying her own fish when she saw Rosethorn practically throw up the fish head he had just eaten. “No thanks,” she said, pointing to her own. “I already have mine.”

Suddenly, a few Terrible Terrors came in, trying to see what they could steal for food. As they tried to take away Rosethorn’s fish, one of them decided to throw fire at it, only for it to be returned. Poppy and Rosethorn just stared at them, amused.

However, they weren’t so sneaky, as Rosethorn managed to catch one of them slowly coming out, hiding inside a fish. Before the Terror could get far, Rosethorn quickly devoured the stolen fish, sending the Terror a smug look. That caused the Terror to let out a ‘threatening’ growl.

This only made Rosethorn look at it with an unamused stare and shoot a small firebolt right into the Terror’s mouth, causing it to inflate like a ball. The Terror quickly started to cough out smoke from its mouth as it ran away, looking quite sick.

“Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?” Poppy asked before she took out Branch’s guide, wrote that information down, and slowly closed it. She then gave her fish to the Terror that cautiously walked towards her.

“Oh, you can have this,” she said as she handed it her fish. “I already ate a while ago.”

After the Terror devoured the fish in one gulp, it went up to her and curled up next to her, just like a cat. Poppy was amazed and said, “All the things we thought about you guys are wrong. So very wrong.”

Chapter Text

Poppy was back in her room, doodling a few more drawings of Rosethorn in Branch’s journal. She was so focused that she didn’t hear the door slightly open or her father’s voice trembling in the quiet room.

“Hello, Poppy!” he said in a happy tone.

“Oh, hi, Dad!” Poppy replied nervously as she quickly got up. Her hair quickly devoured Branch’s book as her ear twitched. “You’re back! It’s great to see you!”

“Yes, it’s great to see you too, dear. I heard about the big and loud party you’re planning to throw—along with something else~,” he said in a sing-song tone.

“O-oh, really? W-what did you hear?” she asked nervously.

Peppy : “Well, that my daughter has become famous for beating the other tolls in the arena!”

“O-oh, well, you know how it is… hehe. Just read a few pages from the Book of Dragons overnight and BOOM—I know all this cool stuff.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. I only came here to give you this.” Peppy said as he pulled out a pink Hug Time bracelet that had a yellow string wrapped around it.

As Poppy put it on and absorbed the yellow string, Peppy continued, “It was your sister’s hair. You know, Viva?”

Poppy looked at him, shocked. Of course, she knew who her sister was! She had been told about her as she grew up.

“I have one similar to that,” Peppy said as he raised his hand, revealing the same yellow hair string wrapped around his own Hug Time bracelet. “And so does Clay. But enough about that—I wanted to give it to you because… well… that’s how she would have wanted it. Do you… like it?”

“I love it!” Poppy yelled as she wrapped her arms around her father and twirled him around, her glazed eyes threatening to spill tears. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Peppy said as he was freed from the hug and started to leave the room. “Make us proud that day, okay, Poppy?”

Poppy then made a finger gun motion towards her dad with a nervous smile. “You know it.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

It was the final day of training. Everyone in the village had gathered outside the arena, even Peppy, who stood next to John. The Snack Pack was facing Gronkle once again. Everyone was running around, trying not to get eliminated while attempting to gain the chance to kill their first dragon.

Branch found himself next to Poppy behind a barrier. “Stay out of my way, princess,” he spat. “I’m winning this one. Remember our deal.” he said, looking at her with a crazed gaze.

“Please, by all means.” Poppy said as she got out of Branch’s way and made a butler-type salute.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Branch then send her a smile and turned towards the dragon and quickly ran towards it. “This is it. This is definitely it.” Branch said as he took a quick look at the audience. He saw his parents sitting on a bench. They looked PROUD; they were cheering him on! He was not going to disappoint them. He was not going to waste their time. He was going to prove his worth.

“You go, son!” his dad cheered.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy saw Branch practically teleport next to the dragon. She wasn’t going to break the deal she made with him. But as the dragon came towards her, she saw the proud look from her dad. That made her sad; she knew what she had to do now. Besides, she didn’t want any blood in the arena. ‘I’m sorry, Branch,’ she thought as she quickly did the same trick she did to Rosethorn that made the opponent go numb on the ground. That caused a cheer from the crowd and a livid look from Branch.

Branch was then seen thrashing his axe around; he was livid. “No, no, NO! You disgusting daughter of a bitch! You are a traitor!” he shouted, angry tears falling from his eyes as he faced the crowd, looking for his parents, only to find them looking at him with hateful and disappointed expressions as they began to vanish. He felt his breath start to quicken as he heard Peppy yell out, “We have decided: Poppy will be chosen to kill her first dragon!”

As Branch heard that, he felt himself go numb. He saw his brothers run towards Poppy, congratulating her, while he was left clenching his fist in rage before hitting the wall next to him, leaving shards of ice in the wall as he withdrew his hand. But of course, no one noticed as he left the arena.

Except he was wrong—someone did notice his actions, and boy, did she feel terrible.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Branch had arrived at his bunker, holding tightly to his chest. The rage inside him was too much to bear. It hurt.

Everything hurt.

His breathing hurt.

His eyes burned with tears.

The pain was too much; his eyes blurred, his ears rang, his chest tightened. He was panting, trying and failing to get the much-needed air into his lungs. ‘Even a simple dragon’s death I couldn’t manage… fucking pathetic.’ he thought to himself.

He raised his head, eyes widening as he imagined his parents, full of disappointment and hatred. “We don’t even know why we came down here,” his mother said disgustedly. “It was all a waste of time. I always told you you’d be nothing great in life.” She took a deep breath. “But of course, you don’t listen!”

“Why are you only appearing to me?!” Branch shouted. “Why do you only make my life miserable and not my other siblings?! Why me?!”

His ranting was cut short as his father slapped him. “How dare you talk to your mother that way?! The only reason we picked you was because, while your brothers,” he said with a disgusted tone, “are also a disappointment, at least they made a name for themselves. The only reason they keep coming back is because of you!”

His eyes widened In shock before they hardened. “You’re lying. I’m not holding them back.”

His mom just chuckled. “Oh really? Well, what about this simple task that you failed, huh? What about it?”

Branch felt his hands tighten. “I’m going to prove to you that I’m worth something.”

His dad let out a wicked laugh. “Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?”

Branch felt himself shiver in rage as he whispered with a deadly tone, “ Am going to kill every single one of her hidden friendships. “

*******************************************

Suddenly, music began to play. “Doesn’t she know who she’s dealing with? Think I’ll let it go? Forget and forgive,” he spat as he started to get up from his fallen position on the ground.

Branch: “The rage in me.”

His dad: “Yeah?”

Branch: “Is terminal.”

His mom: “Yeah?”

Branch: “There’s no remedy.”

His dad: “Yeah?”

All: “But to freeze ‘em all.”

He started to move around his soundproof room, his parents’ gaze never leaving him. “I still got a job to do, my mission’s incomplete.” Suddenly, the dinner he had on the abandoned catapult with the Snack Pack came to him. “only a traitor could consider making peace. The princess has to pay for what she did that moment, for what she took away~” he sang as he heard his father’s maniacal laughter and saw him fly towards the ceiling.

Branch quickly followed him, creating a slide made out of ice. “Storm’s coming, I can see the clouds.” As if on cue, a few clouds appeared, and snow started to fall from them onto the floor. “No running’s gonna save her now. And hard rain’s gonna fall down like gravity, like gravity~”

As he made stairs to get down from the ice slide, he created shards of ice and threw them at a few of his mirrors, glass falling to the ground like rain. “Eye for an eye since you owe me a debt! Blood demands blood, gonna get my hands wet! The flood’s coming, now you can bet on tragedy, like gravity~”

As he managed to reach the ground, he quickly manipulated the ice slide—now stairs—to look like a giant snowflake floating above him, only for it to shatter, making it look like snow as they fell to the ground and the air became much harsher and his surroundings hard to see. “You think you’re Pop’s great savior? Will you still be when I return the favor?” He then created a small figurine of what he imagined a Night Fury would look like.

“Take the one you need, make you watch them bleed,” he said as he punched his way into the ice dragon’s chest, the ice slowly melting and mixing with Branch’s blood. “Will you break thinking how you couldn’t save him?”

“Wishing you were there when they needed you, the only soul who’s ever completed you. Maybe then you’ll get a little heated too and understand why this is what I need to do!” he said as he saw his parents giving him an approving look. “Storm’s coming, I can see the clouds. No running’s gonna save you now. And hard rain’s gonna fall down, like gravity, like gravity~”

“Eye for an eye since you owe me a debt!” he started as he heard his mom yell proudly, “Yeah!” He then decided to end his song as he saw his parents slowly vanish. “Blood demands blood, gonna get my hands wet!” He felt the ongoing snowstorm slowly cease, the wind returning to a natural state, along with the temperature, which at some point was way below zero. “The flood’s coming, now you can bet on tragedy, like gravity~”

*******************************************

As Branch panted in exhaustion, he took a gulp. He had never pushed his powers this far. As he looked around, the only things he saw were snow, ice, and broken glass. He heard the door slightly open, revealing one of his siblings. “Hey, Branch, I just wanted to—” However, Floyd stopped mid-sentence as he saw the disaster around the room and a livid, crazy-looking Branch staring at him.

“You know what? I’ll… I’ll talk to you later, bye~” Floyd said nervously as he quickly closed the door. As Floyd ran towards his other brothers who were in the kitchen, he yelled, “I think Branch is planning to kill someone.” That caused JD to choke on his barely made coffee. “What do you mean?!”

“Well, I—I was going to congratulate him for his failed attempt at killing the dragon and…” When Floyd was done, everyone had an equal amount of shock written across their faces. “Fuck,” Clay said. “That idiot! He knows that overusing our power is dangerous! He could pass out from exhaustion!” JD shouted in panic. “We should have definitely talked to him before it became this bad,” John added.

“I know! Let’s just hope he doesn’t do anything—” Before Clay finished his sentence, they saw Branch running towards the elevator. They tried calling his name, begging him to stop. But he didn’t listen. Branch didn’t listen to their pleas.

He had one goal in mind.

And he was going to complete it.

If they liked it or not.

Chapter Text

“Leaving, we’re leaving and never coming back!” Poppy yelled, panicked as she looked around, Rosethorn nowhere in sight. Suddenly, she heard an axe being sharpened—a very familiar axe. She felt her color palette slowly draining as she looked up and saw the one and only: Branch. “So you’re leaving and not coming back, huh? I wonder why?” he asked with a crazy laugh at the end as he faced her.

Poppy: “O-oh Branch! W-what ar-are you doing here?”

Branch: “Oh, you know… looking for something to kill. However, I don’t think you care, considering the fact that you BROKE OUR PROMISE!”

Poppy flinched as she slowly backed away from the crazed-looking troll and realized the exhaustion he didn’t even try to hide, as well as the frost slowly forming on his legs, “Are you okay?” She asked him.

Branch let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. “Why do you care, promise breaker? Now, what are you doing here?” he asked, twirling his axe around threateningly.

“I want to know what you’re doing here. Are you training with someone? Who is it? No one gets this good overnight, especially you,” he said with venom in his voice.

“Uh, well, you see—”

Suddenly, they heard movement coming from a bush, and Poppy’s eyes widened in terror. As Branch tried to push forward, Poppy attempted to hold him back. While she was trying to hold him back, she tried to come up with an excuse. “Alright, alright, you caught me! I’ll come clean. I’m actually working on the invitation guest list and cards! Silly me!” she laughed nervously. But, of course, Branch didn’t believe her.

Branch, fed up with her lies, quickly took hold of her hand, twisting it behind her back. While he made sure not to dislocate it, he twisted it enough to cause her pain. “AAAUUGGHH! Why would you do that?!” she asked, pain evident in her voice.

“That was for the lies,” he said before picking up his axe and dropping the handle towards her stomach. “And that’s for everything else.”

Suddenly, a low growl was heard from within the bushes as an angered dragon emerged, ready to defend his friend. “Get down!” Branch demanded as he trapped her in a small ice prison cell.

“Branch, wait!” she yelled, but of course, she was ignored.

As the dragon came closer to the threat ahead, Branch let out a chuckle. “So this is a Night Fury, huh?”

“Branch, please! Just let me explain!” she yelled desperately. However, she was once again ignored as Branch tightened his grip on his axe and music began to play. “This isn’t the time to start singing, Branch!” she yelled, mainly because the music gave her the heebie-jeebies. Branch just ignored her as he froze the entire ground around them, causing the dragon to lose its balance and its paws to become frozen to the ground. “No!” Poppy screamed.

That prompted him to walk towards her, staring at her with hatred as he began to whisper-sing, filled with rage along with the music that kept playing, “I’ve been watching you for my entire life. I hate the air you breathe, your foolish decrees, your words so contrived.” He paused for a few moments as he held onto the bars of the ice prison that separated them.

“And I hate the way the townspeople are gathering outside. They hang on every breath, cling to your chest, home to your heart full of pride.” He let go of his grip on the ice, ignoring how tired he was feeling.

“Branch—” Poppy was cut off as Branch continued, “The book told us to beware the Fury's, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wishing for untimely death or demise. Or am I just wishing I could be like you? That the people would see me too as worthy and not just weak.”

Branch  looked at her and continued with sincerity, “Oh, it’s not true, I don’t wish harm upon you. From birth, we’ve been like mates of different mothers within the spirit of the same womb. May the gods strike me down if I forsake you. Poppy, you’re beautifully made, and to you, I’m forever grateful.”

Was it bad timing that Poppy found herself blushing? Yes. Did she care? No.

“I’ll never forget that you showed me how to make art, and I know the friendship you showed me came from a pure and noble heart. I tolerate you, and if you want, I’ll call you Queen. But why do I lie awake each night thinking, ‘Instead of you, it should be me’?”

That caused Poppy’s blush as she thought, ‘He wants to be royalty? I mean, I could make that happen. No, Poppy, wrong time! Think, Rosethorn needs you—find a way out.’ She then noticed a loose piece of ice. ‘Perfect.’

Branch didn’t see what she saw because he was now walking towards the dragon, dragging his axe on the ground behind him while maintaining eye contact with the Fury. He gripped the axe so hard his knuckles turned white. “Something wicked this way comes, and as I set to face it, I’m unsure. Should I embrace it, should I run? What motivates me? Hatred? Is it love? What’s more wrong; that I too wish to be great or that my mother wished she’d had a daughter?”

Poppy stopped her escape plan when she heard that question. What did he mean by that?

“And even if I can’t be the one,” Branch took a deep, heavy breath as he raised his axe above the Night Fury’s back. “Maybe I could at least help make way for her until the day that she comes! Maybe my name could also be known, that I helped return good to the trolls and restored greatness to Pop!” he said as he brought his axe down, causing the dragon to let out a painful roar.

The roar was then joined by Branch’s maniacal laughter as he harshly ripped the weapon away from the beast’s back. However, Branch wasn’t content; the wound wasn’t deep enough, so he positioned his axe once again. But he was thrown off balance by pink hair that wrapped around his hands. “No!” he shouted as he landed on the ground.

His bloody weapon was taken from him and thrown a few feet away. “Branch, please!” Poppy shouted, tears of desperation rolling down her cheeks as she stood between them. “This isn’t the way! Let me just—”

She then received the same treatment she gave Branch, but unlike him, she landed onto a soft mound of snow as Branch landed on top of her. The two of them were fighting for dominance.

“Branch, Branch, Branch, Branch! Branch, Branch, Branch, Branch! Branch, Branch, Branch, Branch! Branch, Branch, Branch, Branch!”

Those cheers sent shivers down Poppy’s spine because she knew it couldn’t have been either of them, and it couldn’t be Rosethorn either, as he was still trying to free himself from the ice prison that held him captive. So… who was cheering for Branch?

Branch : “My name is Branch, and my heart is heavy. So with my heavy heart, I’ll guide this axe into the heart of my enemy. My whole life, you were a princess and friend to me. Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy. I, too, have a destiny. This death will be art. The trolls will speak of this day from near and afar. This event will be history, and I’ll be great too. I don’t want what you have; I want to be like you.”

As he said that, he punched her in the face, leaving her on the ground, holding her bruised cheek. She saw him slowly walking back towards Rosethorn, creating a small ice dagger with the intent to strike again. Poppy wasn’t going to let that happen. She used her hair to reach for the axe that was only a few feet away and quickly grabbed it as she bolted towards Rosethorn.

However, he wasn’t the target she was after. Her target was still singing as he walked towards her friend, and it looked like he was on the last verse.

“I always knew I could be the one, though I feel the endless pain of being, and I am scorched by the sun. Of humble origins and born of the cursed gender, my name is Branch, but my parents will call me son!” Branch sang the last verse, causing the music to finally end as he raised his dagger.

“No!” he heard Poppy yell. However, before he could turn around, he felt something hit him hard on the back of his head. It was his axe, he realized, as he slowly looked towards Poppy. His vision was blurred, but he could clearly see Poppy holding onto the back of his axe, keeping the dangerous part away from him.

He felt himself giggle, which caused the pain to intensify. His ears rang, and his vision became even more blurry. “W-why?” he asked in a broken voice.

“Because killing him isn’t the way,” Poppy told him, her voice filled with defeat and concern. “And besides, you hurt him.”

Branch’s vision slowly began to clear, but the pain in his head and the ringing in his ears persisted. “Who is ‘him’?” he asked her, his voice laced with both venom and exhaustion.

“Rosethorn, this is Branch,” she began, introducing the now-freed dragon that was glaring daggers at him. “Branch… this is Rosethorn. He’s a… friend. You scared him.”

Ignoring the pain and Poppy’s protests as he tried to get up, Branch stood. His vision was fully clear, his ears still ringing, but the pain had subsided. “I scared him?!” he asked incredulously. This prompted a low growl from the dragon, causing him to flinch. “You’re crazy,” he said, preparing to run away before pausing to reflect on his life up to that moment. “Well… more crazy than me.”

And with those words, Poppy watched as he ran away from the still-frozen scene, heading straight towards the Pop village. “Welp, we sure are dead,” Poppy said. She then noticed Rosethorn slowly waddling away from the scene. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

Chapter Text

Branch kept on running, ignoring the fatigue that slowly crawled up his bones. Ignoring how his bones begged him to stop. He didn't.

He was going to tell King Peppy about this, no matter what.

However, Branch didn’t notice a claw reaching down for him until it was too late.

As he jumped over a log, his hand was gripped tightly, but not tight enough to hurt him. Before he knew it, he was levitating off the ground. “Oh, Soteria. Oh, this is it! I am so dead; JD is going to kill me!” Branch yelled in a panic as he desperately tried to free himself from the dragon’s grasp. Heck, he even tried to stab it to be let go at some point.

Suddenly, Branch was dropped onto the very top of a pine tree. The tree bent down due to the weight it was under. Branch dangled from the treetop as he held on for dear life. “Poppy! Get me down from here!” he demanded.

Poppy: “Branch, please, give me a chance to explain! Everything we know about these wonderful creatures is wrong!”

Branch: “I will not listen to a word you say! Do you understand?!”

Poppy: “Then I won’t speak; I will just show you instead… Please.”

An awkward silence hung between the two as Poppy reached her paw toward Branch so he could take it. He didn’t. Instead, he smacked it away and made himself comfortable next to Poppy, avoiding any possible contact. “Alright, get me down now.” he demanded. Poppy then went down and whispered into the dragon’s ear, “Rosethorn, down, gently, please.”

At that command, Rosethorn stretched his wings, preparing for takeoff. After a moment, he launched himself out of the tree, slowly hovering in the sky. “See? Nothing to worry about.” the princess told her backseat passenger, clearly missing the mischievous grin from the dragon. “I guess you’re RIGHT!” Branch screamed in terror as Rosethorn began flying upwards at an impossible speed, causing him to quickly hold on to Poppy like a lifeline.

“Rosethorn! What is wrong with you?” Poppy asked, shaken by the unexpected events. She then turned back to a screaming Branch and tried to apologize.“I’m sorry! He’s usually not like this! I swear!” Suddenly, the dragon stopped mid-flight and began to roll around, plummeting toward the ocean below, eliciting more screams from Branch. However, some of them were choked screams as they were dunked into the water that awaited them.

“Rosethorn! What are you doing?! We need him to like us!” Poppy exclaimed as the dragon began flying upwards to repeat his actions. Branch held on tighter to her, so much so that she thought she might burst. She also noticed how he closed his eyes tightly and buried his face in her neck as silent tears began to fall. Her heart broke, and just as she was about to demand the dragon stop once more, Branch spoke up with a broken voice, “Okay! I’m sorry! I am so very sorry! Just get me off this thing! Please!”

Hearing the troll’s apology, the dragon immediately slowed down, eliciting one last yelp from the grey troll as they neared the clouds. Branch opened his eyes and stared at this new world in wonder. Slowly, he started to detach from Poppy and began to reach out to touch the clouds above.

“Wow,” he whispered softly as they began to levitate upwards to a place high above the clouds, where no troll had ever been or seen before. “Alright, I’ll admit. Aside from the heart attack you almost gave me, this is pretty cool.” he said, resting his head on Poppy’s shoulder, causing her to tense and blush. “Well, when have I lied?” she asked nervously. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Branch’s ear twitched, and he quickly became alert.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Do you hear that?” he asked Poppy. “Hear what—” Suddenly, Rosethorn let out a growl and began changing directions as if being pulled toward a different location. “Whoa, whoa, where are you going?!” Poppy asked in a panic, trying to steer back to the village. But she was ignored. After a few minutes of flying, they approached an urban town populated with very familiar creatures Branch thought he would never see again.

“Bergen’s.” Branch whispered, automatically tensing and preparing to defend himself. However, he then heard Poppy slowly whisper, “Dragons.” in the same tone. As they looked more closely, their eyes widened with horror. They saw some dragons carrying livestock, glowing sheep, fish, and other living animals. But others? They were much worse.

They carried trolls—living trolls. Some trolls were crying and begging for their freedom, while others remained silent. However, both the dragons and trolls appeared unusual. This was something the two pop trolls noticed immediately. The dragons seemed as if they were under mind control, as though someone else was controlling them. And the trolls? They looked different. They didn’t resemble regular pop trolls at all.

They looked different—oh, so different. From the way they dressed to the way their hair was styled. “What type of trolls are they?” Poppy asked. “Honestly? I don’t know.” Branch replied. After a few minutes of flying past Bergen town, they reached the borders and quickly entered an abandoned house on the brink of collapse. A faint red light filtered through it.

As they cautiously moved inside, the atmosphere felt eerie and unsettling. The structure creaked under the weight of time, and shadows danced across the walls. They noticed the source of the red light: a mysterious object glowing in the corner. It seemed to pulse with energy, casting an ominous glow throughout the room. As they approached, they couldn’t shake the feeling that this discovery was just the beginning of something much larger and more dangerous than they had anticipated.

As Rosethorn managed to break free from his mind control, he hid behind a Bergen-sized cooking pot. They then saw a Bergen laughing like a lunatic. “Is that really how I laughed?” Branch asked, slightly cringing. Poppy just shrugged and, in a nonchalant tone, said, “More or less.”

“YES! YES! Bring them all to me!” the Bergen yelled as dragons continued dropping animals and trolls alike into the pot. “Finally! I’ll be known as the great Chef I am!” the Bergen declared, looking down at the frightened trolls. Her expression shifted from happiness to pure rage as she raised her hands to grab hold of a dragon flying nearby.

Both Branch and Poppy flinched as they heard the dragon’s bones crunching, as if they were nothing. “You pathetic beast! I clearly told you to bring ME POP TROLLS, not this useless garbage!” the Bergen yelled, roughly shaking the pot. The Bergen then grabbed a handful of dragons and shoved them into her mouth, eating them as if they were mere treats.

She then pulled out a knife and slowly sharpened it, saying, “The only way I can become a royal chef is to collect more trolls. More specifically: Pop trolls. And in order to do that—” As she spoke, music began to play. “You gotta be kidding me,” Branch said, rolling his eyes.

“Welcome to your life,” the Bergen started, looking at the caged trolls. “There’s no turning back, even while you sleep, I will find you.” She moved toward a few wooden carvings of pop trolls. “Acting on your best behavior, turn your back on mother nature. I want to rule the world.”

The Bergen then looked at a picture of another Bergen, someone who wore a crown and appeared to be in power despite their age. “It’s my own design~ It’s my own remorse, help me to decide, help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever… I want to rule the world.”

Turning back to the wooden Pop Trolls, the Bergen took a handful and gazed at them as if they were real. “There’s a room where the light won’t find you. ” she said, tightening its grip on the wooden trolls while facing a wall covered with a map marked with ‘x’s on every place it had presumably visited.

One mark was dangerously close to Pop Village.

“Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down. When they do, I’ll be right behind you.” Suddenly, a very brave—or perhaps foolish—troll shouted, “You won’t get away with this!” Branch’s eyes went wide. That voice was very familiar.

The Bergen turned to face the captured trolls, who all moved away from the one that had spoken up. Branch felt his breath catch in his throat. “Branch?” Poppy asked, her voice laced with concern. But he was too focused to respond. The Bergen seemed enraged, raising its hand above the troll who dared to speak as it continued singing, “So glad I’ve almost made it. So sad you had to fade it. I want to rule the world.”

As the Bergen’s hand descended, threatening to squash the trolls below, an ice globe suddenly surrounded them, protecting them. Both Branch and Poppy gasped in surprise. The ice was a deep purple, a color that seemed familiar to Branch. The attack was so sudden that it caused the Bergen to tumble backward, clutching its injured hand. It carelessly wrapped a dirty towel around it.

Ignoring how it began to mold.

Branch hoped it would get infected.

“I can’t stand this indecision,” the Bergen spat, holding a knife in front of the ice globe. “Married with a lack of vision. I want to rule the world. Say that you’ll never, never, never, never need it. One headline why believe it? I want to rule the world.”

As it prepared to crack the ice, Branch found himself yelling, “Spruce!” It was an instinctive reaction, one he immediately regretted. He had blown their cover, and now everyone—trolls, animals, dragons, and the Bergen alike—turned to face them. Shit. However, it was all worth it when his elder brother looked at him with confusion and recognition, whispering, “B… Branch?”

There was no time for a reunion as the Bergen quickly reached for them. Rosethorn tried to fly away, with Poppy controlling the prosthetic. “All for freedom and for pleasure. Nothing. Ever. Lasts. Forever. I will rule the world.” But before the Bergen could reach them, they managed to escape.

As the Bergen watched them fly away, she raged, grabbing all the trolls that didn’t look like pop trolls in a tight grip and consuming them in one bite. With a satisfied smile, she walked away, leaving the ice pop troll behind.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Branch : “We need to go back! He’s still alive! We can still save him!” Branch broke the silence, his voice filled with urgency.

“No, we could have been eaten by her! We could have been dead!” Poppy yelled back, her voice tinged with fear and frustration. Her words made Branch pause. With a defeated sigh, he reluctantly agreed, resting his chin back on her shoulder.

The weight of their narrow escape hung heavily between them. They both knew they needed a better plan if they were going to rescue Spruce and the other captured trolls. For now, retreating was the safest option, but their resolve to return and fight another day was stronger than ever.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

Once they returned to the cove, a very tired Poppy dismounted Rosethorn first and hesitated before offering her hand to Branch, recalling the last time she had done so. To her great surprise, Branch actually took it. As he slowly got down, the entire frozen cove began to thaw.

“That was for kidnapping me and offering me a ride,” Branch said with a hint of playfulness. Then, in a moment that left Poppy stunned, he gently and quickly placed a peck on her lips, causing her to blush redder than a marker. “And that is… for everything else.”

After kissing Poppy, Branch gave Rosethorn a gentle pat and then quickly took off, leaving behind a stunned and flushed princess. The unexpected gesture lingered in the air, adding a new layer of complexity to their relationship as they prepared for the challenges ahead.

Chapter Text

A few days passed since the flight. Surprisingly, there were no dragon attacks, which some counted as a blessing.

However, for two trolls that knew a bit too much, it was considered dreadful. Poppy was seen jumping and singing around with a carefree expression, giving the trolls she saw pass by a party invitation. The Snack Pack was right behind her, copying her every move.

While Poppy seemed happy, she was also anxious. Why? Well, because it might be the biggest party out there. Today would be the day when she was going to kill her first dragon. So she was determined to make this party so bright and hyped that the other trolls would be too tired to even stand straight.

After the Snack Pack climbed on top of each other, creating creative designs with their hair, they were left panting from exhaustion. Suddenly, clapping came from behind them, catching everyone’s attention.

Branch was sitting under a mushroom next to Clay, holding some sticks he had been sent to collect. “Wow, guys… Really cool.” he said sarcastically. Poppy must not have noticed his sarcasm as she responded, “Aw~ thank you! I thought we weren’t as loud as I wanted, but thanks for the reassurance.”

Branch just rolled his eyes. “Listen, I don’t know about you… but I think this party is a bad idea. Like I told you—”

Poppy interrupted, “A bunch of times. Yeah, yeah, I heard you loud and clear. But listen, this timing is PERFECT! There are no dragons present, no danger in the air! We’re allowed to have fun! And… you should too.”

She handed him an invitation, which he opened to reveal a pop-up version of himself along with his brothers, all happily creating snow. Sprinkles flew onto his face as the pop-up card opened. He then heard Clay coo over it, which caused him to drop it on the ground and step on it, making the others flinch back.

Branch then pulled Poppy close to him as he cleared his face covered of glitter and said, “We both know very clearly WHY there are no dragons attacking.”

Poppy scoffed, “Oh really? Why?”

Branch replied, “Because the Bergens—”

That caused the Snack Pack to groan in disappointment. “Here we go again,” Satin said as she looked at her nails. “Just when we thought he would stop with the dragon talk, he goes back to his original roots.” Creek added, causing Clay to wrap his tail around Branch protectively and push him behind him as he glared at the purple troll. “So what? At least he cares about all of you. To be honest, if I were treated like him, I would have stopped caring and protecting all of you.”

Clay then turned to Poppy and spat, “I don’t know what you two are hiding.” He took a deep breath as he saw the two of them flinch. “But we’re not coming to your party—not me, not Branch, not Floyd, and most certainly not JD. So if you’ll excuse us.” he said as he started to walk away, only to be stopped by Branch pulling on his tail. “We’re not going to your party, Poppy,” Branch said, “but we’ll be there for your first dragon killing. Good luck.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

It was nighttime. Everyone was happy, singing and dancing, having a blast. Glitter trolls were connecting with each other to create disco balls, while part of the Snack Pack was on top of a caterbus, throwing balls of glitter to the trolls below. DJ Suki was managing the music and just having a good time.

The lively atmosphere suddenly quieted as Poppy took hold of the mic, tapping it a few times before she spoke. “I would like to thank everyone here for participating in this party. This day means a lot to me… to all of us. The reason being: my father.” she said, looking toward the old troll with love and admiration.

“He was the one who helped us find freedom from the Bergens.” Poppy continued, her voice filled with emotion. As she spoke, she glanced over the crowd and felt her heart throb when she saw Branch and his siblings, separated and guarding the area. Just as he promised, he was there for her first dragon killing. “Thank you, my daughter.” Peppy said as he took the mic from her and faced the crowd.

“Not only is this day celebrated for our liberation, but it will also be celebrated because my daughter, Poppy, will kill her first ever DRAGON!” he shouted, causing an uproar from the crowd. Glitter balls flew into the air along with a firework shaped like her.

However, unknown to them, someone heard, someone saw.

Poppy looked at the crowd cheering her on, feeling a wave of nervousness. She was so overwhelmed that she didn’t quite remember how she ended up outside the arena. Trolls were pressing themselves against the bars, trying to get a better view. In her anxious state, she didn’t notice a peculiar gray troll walking closely toward her.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Peppy sat in his throne with a full view of the arena. Next to him sat John, Floyd and Clay. “If you had told me this day was going to happen, I would have never believed it!” Peppy said in a joking tone.

“Yeah, but here we are, aren’t we?” JD replied to the king, who responded with a smile.

“That’s correct, my friend, and I am so proud of her. Just like you should be proud of your own,” Peppy continued. John just shook his head. “I am,” he replied.

“Good.” the king said as he patted John’s shoulder.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy flinched as she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, only to relax when she realized who it was. “Branch! Don’t ever do that again.You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Ignoring her complaint, Branch asked, “What’s your plan now?”

Poppy faced him with determination. “I will show them what I showed you.”

Branch looked concerned. “But what if it doesn’t work? What then?”

Poppy replied, “Well… at least I’ve got you… right?”

Branch reassured her, “Of course.”

Poppy continued, “Just promise me that… if something goes wrong—”

Branch interrupted, “They won’t get to Rosethorn.”

Before they could continue talking, Floyd appeared in front of them. “Poppy, you’re up. It’s your turn. Good luck.” As Poppy entered the arena and the entry gate closed behind her, Branch pressed himself further against the gate, alert and ready to jump into action if Poppy needed his help. “Show ‘em how it’s done, Poppy!” yelled a very proud Satin, who, along with the rest of the Snack Pack, was cheering her on.

Poppy picked up her old trusty knife along with a shield that was just lying around. “I would have gone with the axe.” murmured John to himself as Floyd sat back in his seat, but no one listened. Poppy then saw her father sending her a supportive smile, which she returned with a nervous half-smile before turning to face the closed iron gate in front of her. “I’m ready.” she said to herself trying and failing to sound confident.

The door opened, and the crowd grew quiet. As soon as the doors opened, a blast of purple fire appeared, followed by an eggplant-colored Monstrous Nightmare, coated in purple flames. It tore out of its cave like an angered bull as the crowd roared and jeered. The dragon climbed the walls and chains of the enclosure like a bat, hissing at the provoking crowd and blasting fire.

The dragon then spotted Poppy and descended, leering and licking the flaming drool from its lips. The crowd fell silent, bracing for the big bloodshed they anticipated. With the Monstrous Nightmare’s eyes locked upon her, Poppy deliberately dropped her shield and knife, stepping away from them. The dragon paused, confused.

“What is she doing?” Peppy asked in confusion and concern, to which Clay shrugged. The dragon was seen walking toward her, sniffing her. “Come on, Pop,” Branch whispered from his position, ready to take action. As the dragon kept getting closer to Poppy, she said softly, “It’s okay… I’m not one of them.”

The crowd gasped in disbelief at Poppy’s actions. “Stop the fight.” Peppy said as he began to rise from his seat. “No! You all need to see this!” Poppy insisted, stretching her hand out toward the dragon’s muzzle. “They aren’t what we think they are.” Peppy, concerned for her safety, walked toward the arena, banging on the metal and shouting, “STOP THE FIGHT!”

The sudden noise startled the previously calm dragon, causing it to roar and launch purple fire toward Poppy. She screamed and began running around the arena, chased by the flammable Nightmare. “POPPY!” Branch shouted in desperation. He grabbed his axe and used it to pry the gate open slightly so he could get inside.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Meanwhile, Rosethorn, who had been napping, was awakened by Poppy’s screams. He started clawing at the rocks, trying to break out, but was struggling to succeed.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy tried to retrieve her knife, only to watch it get blasted into pieces. “No…” she whispered sadly, remembering it as the first gift her father ever gave her. As Peppy moved closer to the gate, he heard a worried John yell out, “Branch!” Floyd closed his eyes in fear, Peppy’s eyes widened when he saw Branch inside the arena. “Poppy!” he yelled, creating an ice hammer and throwing it at the beast to divert its attention. The dragon turned and began chasing him instead.

“This way!” Peppy shouted as he tore open the gate, stretching out his hand to catch the two trolls. Branch was lucky; he managed to reach safety. But Poppy wasn’t so fortunate. Just as she was about to jump into her father’s outstretched hand, the Monstrous Nightmare unleashed a burst of purple fire, blocking her path. She let out a yelp as she watched her dad shield Branch from the oncoming flames with his hair.

Suddenly, the Nightmare managed to knock Poppy down and pinned her to the ground with its massive peach-pink claws, earning a yell of distress from her. “No!” she heard Branch yell, which was then accompanied by a very familiar screech. “NIGHT FURY!” the crowd announced, urging everyone to get down. A pink ball of fire shot through the railing, creating an opening.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

The Fury began to fight with the Nightmare, doing everything it could to keep Poppy safe until the Nightmare was knocked out. Poppy ran toward the Night Fury, pushing him out of harm’s way. “Rosethorn, please, please leave,” she begged. But before her dragon friend could flee, ropes were thrown around him, preventing him from flying. “No, no, no!” Poppy yelled, but Branch pulled her away.

“Don’t hurt him! Please!” she begged her father, but as always, she was ignored. Peppy looked down at the dragon and demanded, “Put it with the others.”

However, before the other trolls could respond to Peppy’s command, they began to feel the ground slightly tremble beneath them. Giant footsteps were getting closer and closer, causing everyone to freeze in place. Suddenly, yellow glowing eyes became visible as a huge creature made itself known.

“Bergens.” Branch whispered in fear, recognizing the familiar threat that had once terrorized their kind.

Chapter Text

Suddenly, everything erupted into chaos as the Bergen opened its fanny pack and mind-controlled dragons came flying out. “Oh, no, no,” Poppy said as she got out of Branch’s grasp. She began to run around, screaming at the top of her lungs, “BLEND IN! BLEND IN!” She then saw a panicked Biggie running around asking, “Has anyone seen Mr. Dinkles? I can’t find him!” He was so distracted he didn’t notice the Bergen slowly reaching down to get him.

“No!” Poppy yelled before throwing herself towards the bigger troll, successfully hiding behind a mushroom. “We’ll find Mr. Dinkles later, but right now I want you to blend in. Do you understand?” she asked. Biggie just nodded before covering himself with his own hair, suddenly hearing a small “Meow” from his back. Poppy didn’t stick around for the small reunion as she ran out, looking for more trolls to save.

She then noticed Cooper with a few little ones trying to find cover and was quick to aid them, but Floyd got in the way as he shouted, “I got this one, Poppy! You go help the others.” And so she did. She noticed the twins being stopped but quickly let go as Clay intervened; however, he wasn’t as lucky as she was. He got caught.

“Clay!” she heard Floyd yell, which caused him to also get caught. Cooper was also caught in the process.

Poppy then saw Creek slowly being taken, so she threw her hair at him to hold onto, which he did. “Don’t let go!” she screamed. “I promise I won’t!” Suddenly, ice froze the Bergen’s hand, causing it to drop him.

Poppy then looked towards the source of the ice and let out a sigh of relief—it was Branch. When Branch saw her, he gave her a small salute before running off to who knows where. She then saw Smidge and DJ being taken.

Then she saw her dad hitting the beast’s toe, saying, “Bad bergen, bad.” Her facial expression changed to horror as she saw the Bergen’s hand reaching out for her dad. “DAD!” she yelled, quickly performing the same maneuver she did with Biggie and getting them out of harm’s way under a mushroom, keeping them safe.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

What seemed like an eternity later, though in reality it was just a few minutes, the trolls started to show themselves. Peppy was the first one to come out of hiding. “Secure the dragons!” he ordered the de-camouflaged trolls, who also managed to camouflage the Nightmare and Fury with their hair and were slowly taking them away.

Peppy then looked at Poppy with disappointment and started to drag her back home as he said, “We need to talk. Now.”

It was just beginning to sunrise when Poppy was thrown inside her home by her angry father. “What were you thinking?!” Peppy asked furiously, directing his anger towards a defeated Poppy who lay on the ground with tears burning in her eyes. “Papa,” she whispered in a child-like, broken voice.

“I was expecting you to be great!” He took a deep breath. “But you, you disappointed me! You proved me wrong.”

Poppy : “I know, Dad… but I swear—”

Peppy : “Was everything I’ve been told a lie? A humiliation? A prank?”

Poppy : “No, I know what I did wrong, and I know who I dragged down with me—”

“Someone else KNEW?!” he roared in rage, making her flinch. “WHO ELSE KNEW ABOUT THIS, POPPY?!”

“B-Branch did,” she whispered so softly it was almost inaudible.

“WHO?!” the king demanded.

“BRANCH KNEW, OKAY?! HE KNEW… He knows,” Poppy yelled out, defeated. The king then growled as he started to walk away from her. She quickly got up and began to panic, saying, “Please! Just don’t hurt Rosethorn or Branch! If you need to be angry, please let it be me!”

The king stopped and faced her once more, looking livid. “The dragon?! That’s all you care about?! Not the people you almost hurt or let the Bergen TAKE?! BUT YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT A DAMNED DRAGON?!”

Poppy : “He didn’t mean it either! He was just protecting me! I swear—”

Peppy : “I cannot believe you still side with those creatures! They killed HUNDREDS OF US!”

“AND WE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM!” Poppy yelled back. “They are only defending themselves, gathering food or other trolls to not be eaten!”

That caused the king to pause. “What do you mean?”

“Their nest isn’t out at sea where we think it is… it’s… it’s outside of Bergen Town.” Realization hit her like cold water; she had just told her father where the dragons were. Peppy then pointed an accusing finger at her and asked, “How do you know?! Tell me!”

“I don’t know! Rosethorn knows; only dragons that get mind-controlled know where it is.” A moment of silence passed. An idea popped up in the old troll’s head, and he started to walk away. “Oh, no, no, no! Dad,” Poppy began to chase him again, trying to stop him and look at her as she pulled on his hand. “Please don’t do this.”

She then spoke more desperately, trying to make herself heard, “It’s not what you think it is! I promise you! You can’t win this one!” But of course, she was ignored, which caused her anger to flare. “For once in your stubborn life, would you just listen to me?!”

That might have been a poor choice of words, as she was pushed harshly to the ground. “Can you stop that?!” the king asked before he faced her one last time. “You disappointed me to no end today… You befriended them, you pitied them, you are no Pop Troll. Atë has consumed your mind, girl.” He then looked away from the hurt expression on his daughter’s face as he held onto the open door.

“You are not my daughter.” And with that, he closed the door behind her. Unbeknownst to him, Poppy just lay there alone, tears finally falling down as she held onto her aching heart.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

And unknown to Poppy, as soon as the king closed the door on her, his anger quickly dissipated as the reality of what he had done hit him so hard that he stumbled back, instantly regretting his actions.

“Hey, Pep, you alright?” a concerned John asked.

“Y-yes,” he replied, clearing his throat. “Prepare the ships and get the Fury inside. I have an idea that will finally take us to our destination.”

Chapter Text

Poppy was seen on the river’s docks, the river that took them straight to Bergen Town—the river where her friend would be taken.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. She knew now what she needed to do.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Branch was just minding his own business. Really, it wasn’t like he was sitting at his table looking at the crumpled-up invitation Poppy had given him a few days ago. Of course, he wasn’t. “Wow, we got you sulking like a pathetic man now?” his father asked, ending the peaceful silence.

“I just don’t get why you decided to keep the princess's secret. After all, you almost had it. You could have killed it, but no—Branch here was swayed with just one, ONE flight. Tch, pathetic.” Branch was about to tell his father to shut up until he heard some knocking.

That startled him, causing him to drop the invitation as he shoved it with the other invitations he’d kept hidden. That was a mistake; they all began to call out to him, shouting his name. “Should have known.” His mom snickered, but he didn’t pay any attention to her, causing her to glitch.

As he finally caused all the invitations to quiet down and shoved them back into the hidden drawer, he then heard the princess calling out to him, knocking on his door. “Don’t you dare open the door,” his father threatened.

At some point, Branch would have listened.

At some point, he would have obeyed.

But now? He could care less about what his parents say about him.

When he went to open the door and shoved her inside, he saw his parents glitch out of existence. “What do you want?” he asked Poppy, annoyed. “Branch, listen; they took Rosethorn. They are going to where he had taken us. We need to stop them!! I have a plan. I already gathered the Snack Pack towards the arena. I just need you. Please.”

Branch just looked at her unamused: “Oh really?”

Poppy: “Yes!! Please!!”

Branch: “You see, Poppy, I really, really wish to help you. But I can’t.”

Poppy: “Why?! They’re your friends!!”

Branch: “Nuh-huh, there, your friends. JD is already on his way to free my other siblings, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, he told me to stay here, and here is where I’ll stay.”

Poppy: “But what if you die here?!”

Branch just let out a sarcastic laugh before he pulled down a lever with his tail, showing off to Poppy all the materials his brothers and he had collected over the years. Leaving Poppy amused, “Do you really think I’ll die with all this? These are materials that would last me and my brothers for the next years to come!!”

Suddenly, the elevator made a stop, and Branch got off. Poppy quickly followed. “Alright. I get it, but Branch, I need you… You were right. The party shouldn’t have been that loud. I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

“Congratulations!! Want a medal?” Branch asked with sass.

“It’s just… I don’t know what to do now. What do I even do?” Poppy asked him.

“Well, I have an idea. Why don’t you scrapbook them to freedom?” he asked her.

She then looked at him with an unamused glance. “Solid burn, Branch. Solid burn,” she told him.

He just shrugged.

Poppy then got up in the elevator, knowing she wasn’t going to get through him. “Alright then, see you later.”

Branch then saw her slowly elevate. However, before he could let out a sigh of relief, Poppy’s head appeared, “Hey Branch~ can I just borrow something?”

“What? “ he asked her, completely annoyed.

“Your bunker!!” she yelled out as she let out a bunch of trolls swam inside an ocean tide. As Branch saw all the trolls with a mortified expression, he went towards Poppy. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Well, didn’t you tell me you had supplies for the years to come?” she asked him.

“Yeah, for me and my brothers. To them, it’ll last like… a few weeks!! JD is going to kill me!!”

Poppy just laughed as she walked towards the elevator once more, “Well, I guess me and the Snack Pack better hurry up then, huh?”

As she got on the elevator and held the lever with her tail, she looked at Branch with a devilish smirk as she began to count down, “Three… two… one.”

Suddenly, everyone’s hug time bracelet turned on as Poppy began to go up the elevator, ignoring Branch’s panicked yells.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

A small ship was seen passing the old Troll Tree. Peppy was giving orders around the base as John came next to him, “Listen, Pep, some of us want to know what’s the plan. You do have one… Right?”

Peppy didn’t answer as he looked towards the exit of Bergen Town. “Yes,” he finally responded, “Keep moving forward. No troll left behind.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Poppy slowly opened the cell that kept the Nightmare in captivity. “If you’re planning to kill us, I think that’s the Gronkle would be a better option,” Biggie said as he held on to Mr. Dinkles.

“None of you are going to die,” she said. “So what’s—”Creek started but was cut off as a painting, out of breath, shaky voice asked, “S-so wh-what’s the p-plan?”

Everyone turned and saw Branch. He looked like he’d been through a hugpocalypse. “Mate, you look terrible,” Creek said.

“O-oh yeah? Well, why don’t you try getting out of a bunker full of trolls while trying not to get caught in a hug death trap?” Branch spat and then glared at Poppy. She just sent him a sheepish smile as she saw him roll his eyes and stand next to Biggie.

“So?” he asked her.

“Stay together and keep your weapons high,” Peppy ordered his people. “We’re almost there.”

He said as they were now getting closer abandoned house on the outskirts of town.

Poppy stepped back, giving the Nightmare room to walk around. He had an eggplant-colored exterior that became a deep purple at the end of his wings, a yellow interior with peach pink claws and horns.

Poppy slowly raised her hand towards the dragon, who slowly followed her as she directed him towards the others, staring at them with awe and wonder.

As the Snack Pack stood close to the Nightmare, Poppy slowly reached for Creek’s hand.

“Lass, what are you doing?!” A panicked Creek whispered-shouted at Poppy. She only shushed him. “It’s ok. Trust me,” she told him.

As she put both of their stretched-out hands on the Nightmare, she let go, leaving Creek in complete control. She then started to run towards a few items.

“W-where are you going?!” Creek asked her.

She then got out a few saddles and gave the other trolls a sheepish grin. “Well… if you’re planning to ride them, you are going to need something in order to keep you comfortable, right?”

Chapter Text

The Snack Pack started their journey, following the river in silence. Until: “What are y’all going to name your dragons?” Poppy asked the gang as she took the liberty to ride the Deadly Nadder with Branch behind her.

Biggie then spoke up, “Well, I was thinking—”

“Why would we name them if we’re just going to let them free after all this is over?” Branch asked.

“Wow mate, way to be optimistic,” Creek said sarcastically. Branch just rolled his eyes.

“But anyway, Poppy, you’re right… I was thinking of calling mine Havoc.”Creek said as he turned to look at Poppy. 

That caused a laugh from Branch. “Isn’t that ironic?” he asked.

“Well~ I—” Satin began as she pointed at her dragon. “I’m thinking of calling mine Shimmer, because their scales shimmer under the light. What about you, sister?”

“Oh, well, I was thinking: Sequence!” Chenille said. That earned a cheer of support from the group.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Branch deadpanned.

“I was thinking of calling mine Mr. Blueberry Muffin. Muffin for short,” Biggie said as he gently touched the Gronckle’s ears.

“That’s the spirit!” Poppy cheered. “What about you, Branch?”

Branch let out a dramatic sigh. “Frost. You happy?” he asked.

“Very.” Poppy responded, slightly rubbing the Nadder’s neck. And just like that, they fell back into comfortable silence.

Until music began to play.

“Really?” Branch asked.

Poppy then began to sing, “I really hope we can do it. ‘Cause they’re all depending on us. I know that we must leave the only home we’ve ever known and brave the dangers of the forest. Saving them before they’re eaten. I mean, how hard can that be?”

Biggie then looked up at the sky: “Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue, and there’s a butterfly!” he said as he pointed at a purple butterfly.

Branch then chirped in with sass, “Well, isn’t that a super fantastic sign.”

Poppy continued, “It’s gonna be a fantastic day.”

Satin added, “Such marvelousness it’s gonna bring, got a pocket full of songs that we’re gonna sing, and we’re ready to take on anything! Hooray!”

Poppy then let out a laugh, “Some super fun surprise around each corner~ Just riding on a dragon, we’re gonna be okay. Hey! We’re not giving up today! There’s nothing getting in our way. And if you knock, knock us over, we will get back up again, oh! If something goes a little wrong, well you can go ahead and bring it on. ‘Cause if you knock, knock us over, we will get back up again. Whoa oh oh oh oh, get back up again, whoa oh oh oh oh.”

“I’m marching along and I got confidence. I’m cooler than a pack of peppermints. And I haven’t been this excited since…I can’t remember when!” Creek sang along. “I’m off on this remarkable adventure, just riding on a dragon—”

Branch then cut him off, doubt slowly starting to overcome him, “What if it’s all a big mistake? What if it’s more than we can take?”

Creek then looked at him as he sang, “No, we can’t think that way ‘cause I know that we’re really, really, really gonna be okay!”

Poppy then began to sing, “Hey!” That caught Branch's attention. “We’re not giving up today! There’s nothing getting in our way. And if they knock us over, we will get back up again, oh. If something goes a little wrong, well you can go ahead and bring it on, ‘cause if you knock us over, we will get back up again!” She sang as she sent him a smile, which he returned.

After their song finished, it was finally nighttime. “We should stop pretty soon.” Branch warned the others.

“Yeah… let’s just fly for a while more,” Poppy suggested. “After all, we’re almost there! Just a few more minutes!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

A few minutes later, Branch noticed something stranded near the river. “Hey… Pop, isn’t that one of our boats?” he asked, causing the Snack Pack to look down at the broken, stranded boat.

“Probably,” Biggie said.

“Let’s check it out!” Poppy suggested as she maneuvered the Nadder, immediately diving down.

“POPPY!!” Branch yelled, quickly holding on to her for dear life.

Once they landed and examined the boat, they could, in fact, confirm it was theirs.

“What happened?” Branch asked in disbelief.

“Were we too late?” Biggie asked sadly.

“Guys, come check this out!” Creek called, prompting everyone to run over to where he was.

What they saw was a large, wet map. The map had two lines—one in pink and the other in red—each leading in different directions. The pink path looked quite familiar.

“Is that…” Branch started.

“The outskirts of Bergen Town? Yes." Poppy finished.

“But why would they change it?” Branch asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Probably because they found a different route?” Biggie offered.

“But where? Why?” Poppy asked.

“Maybe the Bergens moved.” Branch suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

“But why leave the boat?” Satin questioned. Their questions were soon answered as a deafening roar came from the waters below, shaking them all to their core.

“Scauldron.” Branch whispered as he and the others quickly ran to their dragons and took off into the air, fleeing from the danger below.

“Someone please tell me that you got the map.” Branch said once they were a safe distance from the river.

“I did! Right, Mr. Dinkles?” Biggie replied, holding up the crumpled map.

“Biggie, you genius!” Branch exclaimed with genuine happiness.

“Thank you! And check this out, guys! There’s a note on the back! We should read it!” Biggie told the group excitedly.

“So~ we’re stopping?” Branch asked Poppy.

She nodded with determination. “We’re stopping for tonight,” she confirmed as she slowly began to lower Frost. “But we keep going as soon as the sun rises. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!” most of the Snack Pack shouted in unison.

“Good. Why don’t we land there?” Poppy suggested, pointing to a flat area nearby. “It looks safe to me.”

Branch was about to say something, but Creek quickly cut in, “Sounds good to me. Let’s go, guys.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

And just like that, they found themselves in the area, setting up camp and building a campfire while Branch scouted the surroundings. Once the trolls were sitting by the campfire, Branch returned and took his seat next to Poppy. “Everything is secure; however, I still think someone should stay up to keep watch.” he said.

“ I’ll do it!! “ , “ It’ll be me. “ Both pink and grey trolls said in sync. That caused them to look at each other. “ What? “ Branch asked her. “ Well~ “ Poppy said with nervousness. “ You’ve done so much for us already!! I feel like it’ll be appropriate if we let you rest… until morning, that is. “

Branch wanted to argue, but he knew better. He really did need this rest. “ Alright. But first I think it is best if Biggie read’s us a ‘ bedtime story ‘ don’t you think? “

Poppy’s eyes widened in realization : “ Oh yeah… BIGGIE GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND READ US THAT NOTE!! “

Chapter Text

Biggie got the note out of his hair as his tail wagged at an excited pace. “Alright, this was definitely written by John.” That caused Branch’s ears to perk up. “How do you know?” he asked the dark blue troll.

“Because it has his initials in the ‘signed here’ part,” he responded with a deadpan expression. “Oh…” Branch said, feeling stupid.

Biggie then cleared his throat and started to imitate JD’s voice, “To whoever troll is reading this—”

“He doesn’t sound like that!” Branch interrupted.

“Does too,” Biggie responded before he began again:

“To whoever troll is reading this,

We’ve been attacked by a Scauldron. Some lives were lost, and others are quite injured. The point is: we are low on numbers. I’ve tried to convince Peppy to go back. He always says: No troll left behind or we’re so close, I am not stopping now.

But what I am really trying to point out is: we need reinforcements. If this note doesn’t arrive in time, we’ll be as good as iced.

Please tell Branch that I love him and to keep on living. No matter what.

With love and regards, the last passengers of the Floral Boat.”

After Biggie was done reading the letter, nobody had the chance to speak as it was snatched from his hands, making him yelp. As Branch took the note from his hands, he quickly wrapped himself in his leaf blanket.

“Oh, Branch,” Poppy said, her heart throbbing as she saw Branch tighten his grip on what was probably the last note from his brother. Silent tears fell from his tightly shut eyes, and whimpers were barely audible. Were his eyes flashing from normal to a full blood red? No, that can’t be right.

“Why can’t Oizys just give him a break?” Creek asked, this time with actual sadness and sympathy.

“I don’t know.” replied Poppy, taking her eyes off Branch.

“No wonder he’s slowly turning insane. I mean… I would too if I couldn’t get just one break.” Chenille  said as she looked at her saddened twin.

After a few silent seconds, aside from Branch’s whimpers, Poppy felt herself light up. “Guys, I have an idea.” She then got out her guitar and slowly began to play a melody. This melody was a lot different from the others that would randomly appear.

This one was calm, this one was sincere. “Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again~ Because a vision softly creeping ~Left its seeds while I was sleeping~”

Branch then opened his eyes to wipe his tears away as he heard Creek begin to sing: “And the vision~ that was planted in my brain, still remains within the sound~ of silence. In restless dreams, I walked alone.”

Satin continued: “Narrow streets of cobblestone ‘Neath the halo of a street lamp. I turned my collar to the cold and damp, when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night and touched the sound of silence~”

Chenille joined in right after her twin: “And in the naked light, I saw ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never shared. And no one dared disturb the sound of silence~”

Biggie added: “’Fools,’ I said, ‘You do not know? Silence like a cancer grows~ Hear my words that I might teach you. Take my arms that I might reach you.’ But my words, like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the wells of silence~”

Poppy noticed how Branch was fighting sleep, just like a baby troll would when their mother is singing them to sleep. Suddenly, realization hit her. They were singing him to sleep.

Her smile grew.

He needed this.

He needed this song.

He needed this lullaby.

He needed to be sung to sleep, at least this one time.

He needed her.

And she? She needed him.

So what does she do? She finishes the last verse of the song as she starts to walk to her sleeping tent, which is next to his. She sees the others doing the same: “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made. And the sign flashed out its warning in the words that it was forming. Then the sign said, ‘The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and Tenement halls’ and whispered in the sound~ of silence.”

She then puts her guitar down, lets out a yawn, and says, “Good night, guys.”

“Good night, Poppy!” they reply.

A few minutes later, she feels herself starting to doze off. But she fights that temptation. She needs to guard tonight. It’s her duty as princess to keep everyone safe.

Suddenly, she felt Frost’s tail hit her gently, causing her to look at Branch’s dragon. “What is it, bud?” she asked him tiredly. He just let out a low growl and motioned his head towards her pillow. “Can’t bud,” she replied. “I have to guard the camp today.”

He then made the same motion again, this time more stubbornly. “Why do you want me to sleep so bad—”

She then looked like a deer caught in headlights as she figured out what he was trying to say. “Oh~ so you want me to sleep so you can guard the camp?” This caused a few happy chrips from the dragon.

“Okay, you win,” the princess said as she dropped herself into her surprisingly comfy, leaf bed. She gave the dragon a few pats on his leg and whispered, “Good night, Frost.”

She then pulled out a small painting she had framed of Rosethorn and said, “Good night, Rosethorn. Please be safe.”

And then Poppy fell asleep.

Chapter Text

The gang found themselves at the entrance of Bergen Town. The only problem? There were a lot of entries.

“Why don’t we just fly upwards?” Satin asked.

“Too risky. We’ll get caught.” Branch responded.

“I hate to admit it… but he’s right.” Creek said, which was the reason why they were now on the ground instead of flying up in the air.

“Then which tunnel should we take?” Biggie asked as he rubbed his chin.

“THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO ENTER!”

That caused all the trolls and dragons to jump at the sudden booming voice, to the point that the dragons quickly surrounded their riders and prepared to defend them with their lives.

“W-who’s there?!” Chenille asked.

“Show yourself!” Branch demanded, slowly raising his axe. “I won’t ask again!”

There was laughter that echoed from every direction.

“FOOL! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN SCARE ME?! ME?!” the voice bellowed.

Branch just tightened his grip on his weapon.

“We don’t want any trouble, Mister Loud Voice! We’re just trying to find our way into Bergen Town!” Poppy yelled as she stepped in front of Branch, blocking his view.

“WELL, IN THAT CASE… YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE! LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF AS…”

Suddenly, a cloud with purple hands and legs appeared from the sky and slowly walked toward them.

“Hi… I am Cloud Guy! Nice to meet you!” the cloud introduced itself. The Snack Pack exchanged looks of disgust, their expressions mirrored by the dragons.

“Oh… well, I’m Poppy.” the princess said politely, clearly trying to hide her own feelings.

“Pleasure,” Cloud Guy said as he shook her extended hand. “So! What’s this about wanting to go into Bergen Town?”

“That’s none of your business.” Branch snapped, venom clear in his tone.

“Oh~ but it is! You see, y’all are walking on my territory! AND, not to mention, I know which tunnel to take!”

“Perfect. So why don’t you tell us?” Branch asked, looking ready to argue further.

That caused the cloud to laugh. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you… but you must do something for me.”

“What do you want?” Branch asked the cloud.

Cloud Guy : “Well~ I was thinking you could give me a high five? You know? To make Daddy happy?”

Branch : “Absolutely not.”

“Aw~ come on! Just one! Look, just like this—” As he demonstrated, Branch rolled his eyes. “Yeah~ no. I’m not going to do that.”

This elicited some disappointed groans from the Snack Pack.

“Come on, Branch!” Biggie begged.

“Yeah! Don’t be dramatic! It’s only one high five, Branch! The other tunnels lead to certain death!” Poppy exclaimed, desperation evident in her face and tone.

That caused Branch to sigh. “Alright, but just ONE.”

As Branch was about to high-five him, the cloud moved his hand away, causing Branch to almost fall. “Too slow!” the cloud mocked, eliciting a few giggles from the gang and a “Classic.” from Poppy.

“What?” Branch asked in an angry tone.

“What you heard, kind sir. But alright, I’ll give in. Just a small fist bump.” the cloud said as he extended his closed fist toward Branch.

“Alright.” Branch agreed, but once again, he was tricked. The cloud started making different shapes with his hands, causing the gang to burst into laughter.

But Branch didn’t care. He then saw his parents appear, who at some point had been barely visible and hard to see, suddenly appearing very clear and bright as they laughed at him.

Just like everyone else.

He then felt pure rage take over him. Ignoring his parents, who were beginning to glitch away, he tossed his axe behind him and took a battle stance before letting out a war cry. A smile appeared on his face as he saw the white cloud turn gray and begin to rain. The cloud looked at him with fear before quickly running into a tunnel.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“That’s right! You better run! I’m going to kill you!” Branch shouted, chasing after him and ignoring the frantic shouts from the others, begging him to stop or at least slow down. He didn’t care—he just kept running until they all stopped right outside a tunnel.

“We’re here!” the cloud announced.

That caused Branch to halt abruptly, making the others collide into him.

“Where?” he asked the cloud, ignoring a few painful groans from the group.

“Bergen Town!” Cloud Guy said as he proudly showed off the town to the gang. They then noticed they were on top of the Troll Tree—a dead Troll Tree.

“Well, I had fun while it lasted,” Cloud Guy said as he slowly began to disappear inside the tunnel. “We should definitely hang out again… unless you aren’t: DEAD, DEAD, DEAD.” His voice echoed ominously on the last three words as he vanished.

“Okay~,” Satin said.

“That was weird,” Chenille finished.

Everyone was mesmerized, staring down into the dark abyss of the tunnel until Biggie spoke up: “Uhhh, guys…”

That snapped them all out of their trance, and they turned to look at him.

“What?” Creek asked, annoyed.

“Look~” the blue troll said, pointing into the far distance. Once the gang saw what he was indicating, they all let out small gasps.

“Bergen Town.” Branch said as he placed his iced axe on his back.

“They look so… miserable.” Poppy said as they noticed the townspeople singing. But their songs sounded depressed, tired, and unhappy.

“Just like Branch.” Creek joked, letting out a laugh.

Branch then created a dagger and pointed it at the spot where Creek had last been stabbed. “Wanna repeat this incident?”

“N-no,” Creek responded.

Branch : “Good. I may be becoming softer, but I am not afraid to wound you again… got it?”

Creek : “Got it.”

Branch : “Good.”

“GUYS!” Poppy suddenly yelled, making everyone jump. “We’re not here to fight! We’re here to save our friends and make it home safely, not injure one another. Now come on…”

A determined look crossed her features as she looked forward toward the castle that was a few feet away from them—their new destination.

Poppy : “Let’s get our friends back.”

Chapter Text

A saddened Bergen sat on his throne, guarded by his two guards as a maid vacuumed the floor. “Oh, Barnabas…” he spoke up, catching the attention of the maid and the crocodile. “You’re my only friend in this depressing world!”

He then looked up at a portrait of himself with his now-deceased father. “My father was right… I’ll never, never ever be happy!” he said as he pulled on his green hair in sadness.

“NEVER SAY NEVER!!!!” a deep, scratchy female voice boomed, breaking the silence and peace, causing the guards to tense up.

“Who’s there?!” Todd, one of the guards, demanded.

“I AM… . . .” Suddenly, a plant near the door was harshly thrown to the ground, revealing the once-royal chef.

She began to slowly walk toward the young Bergen king. “Sire… I know how you must feel—all empty without having the privilege of feeling happy.”

Gristle : “What are you doing here?! Didn’t my father banish you from the kingdom for what you let happen? You should be punished!”

Chef : “Listen, Sire, I have spent the last few years in the wilderness—cold, hungry, and alone—with only one thought in my mind: How could I let you down?”

Gristle : “Well? What do you want? My father told me to never, NEVER, let you back in unless you found a troll. And it seems you haven’t, so—”

“Oh, but I have!” the Bergen said. “And a lot more!” she added as she opened her fanny pack. Trolls of different colors came out, singing their small hearts out.

Gristle looked at them, astonishment across his facial features, along with the rest of the Bergens in the room. “I have a lot more of these creatures in a pot,” the ex-chef confessed, catching everyone’s attention. “And a few of eyes, ” she said as she stared at the magenta and lime green-haired trolls with a hungry look in her eyes.

Chef : “Have ice powers!”

“What?!” Gristle asked in both amazement and shock.

“What?!” the maid whispered, as if mocking the Prince, but with genuine curiosity.

Chef : “Yes! They’re siblings, you see. They had been blessed by Khione herself. I have caught three of them, but something tells me there are still more out there! Imagine how you’ll feel once you eat them!”

Gristle : “But… wasn’t I promised to eat Princess Poppy?”

Chef : “Well, you can eat her after you eat these siblings. Do you want to see them?”

“Yes!!” Gristle shouted in excitement.

“Good,” the ex-chef said.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈• 

They arrived at the old, unused kitchen where a pot was waiting for them. “Here they are, Sire,” she said as she opened the pot and harshly threw the trolls into a cage, causing them to yelp.

“Oh…” Gristle said as he noticed a deep purple-haired troll step in front of the weaker and more scared pop trolls, creating an ice hammer twice his size. “Is that—”

“One of the siblings? You are correct!” She then opened her fanny pack and threw the other caught trolls inside. One caught his attention as the siblings reunited and caught up. He focused his eyes on the lime green, messy-haired troll.

Gristle : “H-hey, Chef?”

The Chef rolled her eyes. “Yes, Sire?” she asked the Prince.

Gristle : “W-what’s his name…? I feel like I remember him from somewhere.”

Suddenly, he and the lime green-haired troll made eye contact. Gristle sent him a curious and gentle look, while the troll returned it with a death stare. And then, a flashback hit the young king.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

The little Prince had sneaked out of the palace, tears rolling down his cheeks, his father’s harsh words echoing in his head: “You’re so useless! You’ll never know what it feels like to be happy. Such a disgrace!”

That was the reason he was even out here to begin with—he wanted to find one troll, just ONE. Then, he heard crying coming from a dying pod. His eyes widened. A troll!

He quickly went toward the pod, carefully and quietly climbing the tree in order to not get caught by the troll.

It was difficult to see due to his height, but he saw a small troll with yellow hair cascading down his shoulders and back to the pod’s floor.

Maybe if he managed to be friendly enough, he could trick him and eat him! “Hi there! Why are you crying?” he asked the saddened troll, wiping his own snot and tears in the process.

The troll jumped, quickly creating an ice dagger and holding onto it as if his life depended on it. “Wow, I didn’t know trolls had powers.”

“They don’t,” the troll spat.

“Then what is that?” Gristle asked, pointing at the ice dagger.

“That is none of your business!” the troll sassed back.

“Oh well, let me introduce myself I’m: Prince Gristle! Who are you? And why are you still here? Shouldn’t you, I don’t know… have left?”

The troll : “I got blocked off from any exit. I also lost my brothers, which left me no choice but to come back—not that you care.”

Gristle : “Oh… Well, wanna be friends?”

The troll : “Why would I be friends with you?” the troll spat. That angered the young prince.

“You know what?!” Gristle raged as he shoved his hand inside the pod, successfully catching the troll. “You’ll be super delicious and taste just like peppermint!”

He yelled out as he squished the struggling troll, suddenly opening his mouth, ready to devour him. That was… until both of their eyes locked on each other.

The troll was scared, shedding tears.

Just like he was a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, he couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t eat him.

So he put the very confused troll down. “I’m sorry,” Gristle began. “I can’t eat you.”

“Why?” the troll asked.

Gristle : “Because… when I saw you… I saw myself.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈

As the flashback ended, Gristle opened his eyes, shock written over them as he heard the Chef ask, “So~ do you suggest bringing Trollstice back, Your Majesty?”

“What?” he asked her, confused, as he broke eye contact with the lime green-haired troll that was still examining him. “Well, I heard you mumbling something about ‘bringing back Trollstice,’ so I wanted to know if—”

Gristle : “Yes… I want it back. On one condition.”

The ex-Chef’s smile grew into a menacing one as she tapped her fingers together. “Anything, Sire.”

“I want this troll,” Gristle said as he pointed at Clay, “to be fully immune from any Trollstice gathering and to be locked in my room.”

The ex-Chef closed her eyes and nodded before opening the cage and snatching the troll up, ignoring the cries from the others calling out to him. “Of course, Sire. Whatever you demand.”

Chapter Text

Clay felt himself being put into a small cage. Light suddenly assaulted his eyes as the bedroom light turned on. “Hey~ I know these circumstances are terrible… and you might not remember me—”

“Of course I remember you,” Clay spat toward the Bergen. “You’re Prince Gristle, the only Bergen to never eat a troll.”

“That’s not true!” the prince defended himself as he gently placed the captive troll down on his desk. “We were friends once! I helped you escape!”

Clay : “Oh really?”

Gristle : “Yeah! Do you not remember?”

Clay looked at the prince with an ‘I’m forced to listen to your ranting because you kidnapped me and my friends, and I have zero idea what you’re yapping about’ type of look.

“Oh well… How can I prove that we were friends back in the day?”Gristle asked.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Clay said as he played around with his nails. “If we were true friends, I would have given you something. If you find something I give to my very closest friends, I’ll believe you.”

Gristle took that as a challenge. He immediately began to look around his room, murmuring, “Where is it?” over and over again, leaving a bored Clay to watch him as he leaned on the cage, tail rattling and ears twitching.

He was then startled as the prince shouted, “I found it!” The Bergen speed-walked towards the caged troll. “Here!” the prince said as he handed Clay a book, a scrapbook titled ‘My First Bergen Friend of Two Years.’ As Clay took it from the prince’s hold, he stared at it mesmerized.

“What… I made this?” Clay asked the prince. He didn’t need any confirmation as he saw himself and the Bergen on the cover, hanging out like actual friends, as if they weren’t predator and prey.

“Yeah… I made it into a bracelet after you left. I always had hope that you’d come back! And you did!” Gristle said with a happy smile. “Now you can actually tell me your name and we can go back to how it was! Just us being friends.”

Clay tightened his grip on his old scrapbook that held who he was before The Great Escape, before… before all this unwanted trauma. “No. We can’t be the same as we were. “ he said as he gritted his teeth.

“Why not?” Gristle asked the other troll, tilting his head in confusion.

Clay took a deep breath as music began to echo around the room, catching the prince’s attention. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. Things got worse when I left here. You don’t know what I’ve been through. I’ll never tell you what we’ve been through.”

The lime green troll started as he looked back at the prince. Seeing the curiosity in his eyes, he decided to tell him his name. “My name is Clay from Brozone. But I am not working in the band anymore! That job had no payment for me,” he said, crossing his arms and letting out a huff.

“Does that mean you should’ve been hesitant? Instead of just accepting it?” the Bergen asked him, still confused.

“That was my parents’ band, so therefore I have no say in it. Whether I wanted to join or not. And then the Great Escape happened,” he said as he placed the scrapbook down and yelled, “I’d better quit now, to hell with this!”

He then pointed towards Gristle's mouth, “This ‘elevator’ going down to my grave. In your room, look around, not a sound can escape. Freaking out, I’m how many hours away? Feels like I’ve been here for days.”

Gristle then looked around, trying to lift up the troll’s spirits. Out of nowhere, he spoke up, remembering a new pizza place that had just opened, “There’s this free pizza restaurant we can go to hang out and catch up. I’ll make sure you don’t get eaten, tho.”

“An ex-Bergen chef with a powerful gaze. Locked in a coffin, bound like a slave. Counting the troll plates coming out to her face. Has she found any way to get out of her cage?” Clay asked the prince, ignoring his request. However, Gristle spoke up. 

Gristle : “Maybe.”

Clay, caught off guard: “What?”

Gristle: “She’s not so bad! Clay!”

Clay: “Yes?”

Gristle: “Just stop, relax…” He then looked sadly out the window. “Sorry that I can’t help you out.”

Clay offered him some motivation: “Yes, you can, I’ll tell you how.”

Clay then faced the young Bergen prince, ready to try and play a mind game on him so he could escape. “Can’t you help but feel like I don’t belong here?”

The prince shook his head, falling for the trick. " I know you wanna leave, you just gotta leave.”

Clay: “You know that something’s going wrong here,” he sang as he motioned to his surroundings.

Gristle nodded, feeling his skin crawl, hearing the Chef’s voice echo in his head: “And she’s watching me, now she’s onto me.”

Clay: “Go and find out what’s been going on here.”

Gristle: “Has my progeny caught up to me? Can’t help but feel like I’m a pawn here. Is that honesty why they all even talk to me?”

Clay then looked inside his old scrapbook, finding a few pages dedicated to his brothers as he remembered a few tales he had told the prince. “Remember the band?”

Gristle' smile grew. “Yes, I do! Spruce, John, Floyd and Branch too.” He then remembered the other caged trolls being protected by the siblings. “But who the heck are the rest of them? And why were you protecting them?”

Clay gave him a stern look. “I sense that you’re quite dense—”

Gristle, offended: “Hey!”

Clay, ignoring him: “But I guess a simple guidance will get you through.”

Clay then did a few drawings of the trolls that he knew the prince didn’t recognize. “This here is King Peppy; he beats dragons with his bare hands!” He then pointed to another drawing and said in a very proud tone, “This is Poppy. She’s the troll princess and one of the kindest trolls I’ve met.”

Suddenly Clay points at another pink troll but unlike Poppy she had yellow hair. “This… Princess Viva, Poppy’s elder… She was my everything…”

Clay felt tears burn in and, his chest hurting. ‘There’s something with the air quality. ‘Cause I’m breathing hard, and it’s hard to see. All these designs are monstrosities! Why would a Bergen need lots of teeth? I’ll try not to walk into the jaws of beasts. Either that or a spring lock chomping me. Is there any troll alive who can talk to me?’

Clay’s mind raced with these thoughts as he held onto his aching chest, trying to calm down his breathing.

Gristle noticed the small troll having a panic attack. He didn’t know what to do in this situation as he shivered and hugged himself, trying to contain any warmth his body could offer him. The temperature began to drop, and the windows slowly started to cover in lime green frost.

He needed to say something before he became a bergencicle. “I did not know how awful this memory could be!” He spoke up, trying to not get himself frozen.

Clay didn’t hear him as he was in a trance, asking: “Am I part of them? Are they part of me?”

Gristle tried again: “You’ll do a phenomenal job here.”

Clay looked at him with a sense of him not entirely being present in the moment: “I don’t know what she pretends to be!”

Gristle was going to say something else, trying to at least change the conversation, until Clay spat with anger, “You don’t know a nightmare until you’ve seen into my dreams.” His panic slowly died down, and a smile appeared on the Bergen prince’s face. “I’m touched you’ve opened up to me.”

Clay just looked tired as he looked away from Grisel: “I’m walking out of that front door, to go home with a little bowl of popcorn. Where there are no monsters—just me and my sad book club—”

Gristle : “Then why do you keep on returning?”

Clay shouted in anger, raising his hands in defeat: “You’d think by now, we’d all be learning!”

Suddenly, there were a few heavy steps indicating someone was approaching the prince’s room. “Sire~” A playful yet menacing sing-song voice echoed throughout the walls, making both the Bergen and troll freeze. “Oh, it’s Chef,” the prince sighed in relief as he dusted off his clothes.

“Goodbye, Clay! I hope we can chat after Trollstice.” That made Clay freeze, and then he began to panic, throwing himself against the bars of the cage with a loud clang. “Wait, wait, wait! If you kill them… I would never forgive you!”

That caused Gristle to stop and face him with a betrayed and hurtful look. “W-what?” Clay was about to repeat himself when the door opened, and Chef came in. Her smile was wide, but there was a sense of evil attached to it.

It looked fake.

That wasn’t a real smile.

Chef : “Sire, I found you! I was hoping to take you to find the perfect bib for Trollstice, since, you know, you’re bringing it back.”

“No!” Clay shouted with desperation, making the prince close his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw Chef send the troll a disgusted look, which quickly changed back to her original smile as she noticed him watching. She sang, “Can’t help but feel like you belong here.”

Clay glared daggers into one of her eyes, as if he were going to stab it and rip it out of the socket, only to then watch it bleed. Chef noticed this and had to hold back a shiver.

She knew this troll wasn’t going to do it; he was in a cage.

But then that meant another might take the liberty to do it. She shook her head, fighting hard not to reach for her left eye.

“But I wanna leave, I just gotta leave,” the troll said as he faced away from her and looked at the prince. “You know that something’s going wrong here, and she’s watching us, now she’s onto us.”

That made her scowl. How dare it try to manipulate this poor excuse of a prince—not that she was doing the same exact thing. But unlike the troll, she intended to succeed.

“Come find out what’s been going on here,” Gristle  told the troll. However, she noticed the troll’s eyes widen, as if he were being reminded of what he had said a few moments ago.

“Has your progeny caught up to you?” the troll asked the prince, and Chef noticed a heartbroken and conflicted look in his eyes. No. She was going to stop this.

She had gone far enough.

She wasn’t going to lose to a pathetic troll.

She was a Bergen!

She was superior!

“You know you’re nothing but a pawn here,” she told it before starting to shove the prince towards the door, harshly shutting it behind them. “Come along, Sire. It is considered bad luck to ‘play with your food.’ Why don’t we get you something nice to wear for this special day?”

“Oh… Sure, why not?”

“That’s the spirit!” Chef replied as she pulled the prince along. However, she didn’t hear the prince’s last words as they left the palace, thinking of the trolls, “Am I part of them? Are they part of me?”

Chapter Text

The gang managed to get into the castle, camouflaging their hair like fire to avoid being spotted. They paid attention and were ready for action if their friends were ever brought out. “This is pointless!” Creek said, his dragon growling in agreement.

“I know, but we need to be cautious and not get caught. Otherwise, everything will go to shit.” Branch responded without even making eye contact with Creek.

“Just like how you casually let your only living sibling run off and get himself killed?” Creek asked Branch, causing most of the gang to gasp.

“What is wrong with you?!” Poppy whispered sharply towards Creek.

 “But it’s true!” he responded in a nonchalant tone, as if he didn’t care how his hurtful words would affect Branch.

 “That’s sick… and not in a good way,” Biggie said, and the twins agreed with him.

“If you think we’re taking too long, then why don’t you go and save them?” Branch asked Creek.

Creek shrugged. “I bet you’d love that, huh, Branch?”

Branch’s eye twitched. “Yeah… I’d love that very much.”

Creek began to walk towards his dragon, ignoring Poppy’s pleas to stay behind. “Alright, but my blood is on your hands if I die.”

Branch felt his heart hurt. “Fine… See if I care.”

Creek responded, “Sheesh, no wonder people consider you soulless and uncaring blessed by Hades himself. Too bad the people who cared for you are probably dead, and I was the only one willing to accept you if you agreed to date me. But alas, you also lost me.”

As Creek climbed onto his dragon, savoring the hurt look in Branch’s eyes, he gently tapped his dragon’s neck. “Come on, Havoc, let’s go and save the others.” And just like that, he was gone.

“Don’t listen to him, Branch,” Poppy said, trying to comfort him. “You’re not alone. You’re not soulless. If you were, you would still have me.”

Branch sent her a grateful look and was about to thank her when he noticed a maid carrying a silver platter. “Hey, guys… didn’t Branch say that our friends would be carried toward us on a silver platter?” Satin asked.

“Oh yeah,” her twin replied.

That earned an eye roll from the grey troll. “I was being sarcastic.” he muttered.

But of course, they didn’t listen. They quickly mounted their dragons as Poppy called out, “Let’s ride!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

That’s how Branch now found himself in a maid’s room; too much had happened at once. First, they found their friends being offered to the prince, with Clay not among them. Then Creek was caught and subsequently eaten. And now? Their friends were taken to this maid’s room.

Realization hit Branch: Clay wasn’t with them… Oh Phobos, Clay wasn’t with them.

And here was this Bergen singing some stupid sad love song, as if nothing was happening, as if a murder hadn’t just occurred. But what could be expected from these creatures? However, a great shock overcame him as he saw the Bergen begin to cry.

She shed actual tears.

As if she was truly upset.

Only to quickly fall asleep, ignoring the dishes she had been ordered to wash.

“Thank Elpis, you guys are alright!” Branch heard Poppy yell as she uncovered the cage containing the others. Before he knew it, Branch was right next to her, trying to stop them from singing and alerting the Bergen until…

“Bitty B!” He turned to look at Spruce, who looked different.

Branch: “Spruce?”

Bruce: “It’s Bruce now, actually. Also, it’s great to reunite with you again. I thought you’d be dead!”

Floyd practically jumped in excitement. “We’re uncles now, Branch! Can you believe that?!”

Branch: “Really?!”

Floyd: “Yeah! I can’t wait for us to meet them…”

As Floyd looked around, he noticed something—someone was missing. “Where’s JD?” he asked Branch. Branch just closed his eyes before looking away and handed them their elder brother’s note. “I’m sorry… I couldn’t stop him.” His eyes tightened as he heard his siblings gasp.

“No… Don’t tell me…” Floyd began, tears falling down his face.

“He’s dead… isn’t he?” Bruce asked. Branch wanted to deny it, but he knew it was true. Their brother, their big brother, was gone. “I’m so—”

“What are you doing outside the cage?!” a new voice boomed, making all the trolls freeze. It was the Bergen. “Run…” Bruce said, and then the room erupted into chaos, with the Snack Pack getting on top of dragons—wait… dragons? Bruce looked at Floyd, giving him a look that said, ' You’re seeing this too, right?' Floyd just sent him an astonished look, confirming they were both witnessing the same thing.

“It couldn’t be…” they heard DJ say. “They made peace with those beasts,” Smidge added.

“Wait!!” That made everyone turn to face Poppy. Since when did she have the guts to yell at a Bergen? “You’re in love with Prince Gristle.”

“What?! Who told you that?!” the Bergen shouted. Poppy then moved the purple curtains, revealing the Bergen’s poorly made art peace of her and the prince, which she immediately covered and said, “Excuse me, that’s not mine! ”

Poppy then moved a piece of the curtain, revealing a wedding picture with both of the Bergens’ faces, causing the Bergen to sigh in defeat. “You’re right… but he would never listen to me. After all, I am just a maid.”

“What if he doesn’t know that you’re a maid? What if he thinks you’re this new total babe?” Floyd suggested, rubbing his fingers on his chin thoughtfully.

The Bergen : “But what ‘total babe’ would dress like a maid?”

“We can dress you up!” Poppy exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement. “In a bodysuit!”

“With lots of glitter!” the twins shouted.

“But what about my hair?” the maid asked, holding onto her white, uncared-for, short hair. “No one would like this hair.”

“Well, we’ll fix it,” Bruce offered as he showed off his hair. “If you let us out, uh—”

“Bridget. I’m Bridget,” the Bergen introduced herself as she began to unlock the cage, gently letting out the other caged trolls.

“Well, that’s a pretty name,” Floyd said as he was set down.

Bridget: “You think so?”

Floyd: “I know so.”

Poppy: “Alright, but you have to do something for us as well.”

Bridget: “Anything.”

Poppy was about to speak before Floyd stepped next to her, pulling out a picture of Clay. “This is my brother, Clay. The prince took him away from us. We don’t know if he is alive or if he’s dead. We need him back.”

Poppy: “But what about—”

Branch: “Creek is dead. We saw him get eaten. There’s nothing else we can do.”

Poppy just lowered her head, knowing he was right, but the reality still hurt. “Alright!! I'll do it!!” Bridget yelled excitedly. “Alright everyone!! Hair we go!!” Floyd yelled out to the crowd.

And so, the trolls and Bridget began to sing, as if they weren’t part of a very messed-up food chain and were good friends—until, “Wait!!” Bridget yelled, making everyone stop. “Why isn’t this one singing?” she asked, pointing at Branch.

Floyd: “Oh, he really doesn’t like to sing…”

Bruce: “Why?”

Bridget: “Yeah, why?”

Floyd: “We don’t know… But after we reunited from the great escape, he was just… grey and didn’t sing. He never told us why.”

Bruce: “Oh… Well, then let’s just leave him alone and carry on…”

Poppy walked up to Branch slowly, pulling him gently. “Come on, Branch!! Help us out!!”

Branch: “No… I’m… I’m good.”

Bridget: “So you’re telling me this plan won’t work?”

Branch then looked at her with his head tilted. “What are you—”

“Oh, you’re right!! It’ll never work!!” the Bergen said as she threw herself onto her bed. The trolls gathered around her, trying to comfort her.

“Oh, haven’t we seen this before,” Branch heard his mother whisper in his ear.

“Possibly in a dragon defeat,” his father chimed in. Branch just rolled his eyes as he began to walk away.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“What the hell is wrong with you!” he heard an angered Poppy speak. But he ignored her as he got on top of his dragon. “Come on, Frost… to the window.” As his dragon flew towards the window, he could hear Poppy get on top of Biggie’s dragon. With a roar, they followed him.

Once he got down from Frost into the window, looking down towards Bergen Town, he heard Poppy shriek. Frost positioned himself protectively between them, raising his tail spikes, ready to attack. “Settle down, Frost!” Branch told the dragon, who immediately obliged.

“Why won’t you sing?” Poppy asked as she passed Frost who was warily looking at her as she reached Branch's side.

Branch just sighed. “Because I don’t want to.”

Poppy: “There must be a reason for it.”

Branch: “There is.”

Poppy: “Why don’t you tell me then?”

Branch: “Because while we’re slowly becoming friends, I’m not just going to tell you my traumatic backstory.”

Poppy: “So trauma was the cause of you not wanting to sing?”

Branch: “Yep,” he said, popping the ‘p.’

Poppy: “Oh, well, you can always talk to me… I can help you—”

Branch: “Nope.”

Poppy felt herself flush with anger. Usually, she would put up with Branch’s difficult behavior, but right now they needed to find Cree— Clay, they needed to find Clay. Creek was gone, and they had to focus on finding their friend. She watched as Branch slowly walked away.

She wasn’t going to let this slide.

She was going to stand up for herself.

Poppy: “Well, you’re going to sing whether you like it or not!” she said as she reached for his wrist, managing to grab it and aggressively pull him back, almost making him fall as he was forced to look her in the eye. She ignored the whine of discomfort and hurt he let out.

Branch: “No. I don’t think so,” he said, trying to pull away from her grasp, only for her grip to tighten.

Floyd the nervously interrupted, sensing this wasn’t going to end well : “P-Poppy, I think it’s best if we just—”

Poppy: “No!! Come on, Branch, why won’t YOU JUST SING?!”

Branch had had enough of Poppy’s pressure. He couldn’t take it anymore, so he exploded. “BECAUSE SINGING KILLED MY GRANDMA AND EVERY. SINGLE. DAY MY DEAD PARENTS COME TO BUG ME TELLING ME IT’S MY FAULT, OK?!” He shouted, his voice trembling with anger and sorrow. “There you have it. You got what you wanted. Now, fuck off.”

As he was finally able to free himself from her grasp, he quickly backed further into the end of the window. He heard Floyd ask, “Wait… Grandma got eaten?”

Bruce followed up with, “You see our parents’ ghosts?”

Branch then saw Poppy sit next to him as she asked, “How did singing kill your grandma… What song was she singing?”

Branch took a deep breath, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. “Before the great escape, JD ended the band and my brothers decided to leave,” he explained, his voice cracking.

Floyd and Bruce both whined in response, their faces reflecting their shock and sadness.

“I was left alone with my grandma,” Branch began, his voice filled with a mix of sorrow and nostalgia. “I was singing, so distracted by the music that I didn’t notice the Bergen coming. Until it was too late. I heard her screams, saw her being taken away to never be returned to me… to us.”

He took In a deep breath, trying to compose himself. “But at least that got my siblings to stay behind with me… to not leave me… until the great escape.”

Branch stopped for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts. “In the great escape, we got separated. I had to live alone until I was ten when John was the first one to appear back in my life. Then Floyd, then Clay, who then left for five years to look for his friend that got taken by a dragon one night and then returned after he assumed her dead, and lastly Bruce.”

As he finished speaking, he heard the others sing a melody. But he was too heartbroken to care or pretend to listen to it.

Which was why he was caught off guard when he was tangled up group hug. Being squished by everyone, he heard an apology from Poppy. He wiggled himself out of the embrace.

Branch: “Alright… I’ll help out. But no singing, got it, Pop?”

Poppy nodded her head determinedly. “Alright… Everyone, hair up! We got work to do.”

Chapter Text

After Bridget was transformed into this new ‘total babe,’ she looked at herself in the mirror. She had a pink and black checkered jumpsuit, a hot pink handbag, white platform high heels, and colorful glittery hair with a white streak going down her right side.

But she didn’t care about that.

“You look beautiful,” she heard. Who she believed to be Floyd whispered in her ear. “Thank you.” she whispered back.

“Now let’s get going!!” She heard Poppy yell happily.

Bridget found herself walking among the empty and sad streets of Bergen Town. She looked very different from a regular Bergen. She looked… colorful.

Once she came across a store, she looked inside and saw him: Prince Gristle. He was mad, yelling at this poor bergen for whatever reason she didn’t know. “He’s so handsome..” she heard herself whisper.

“And you’re so beautiful!! Now go in and get him!” Poppy encouraged. That caused her to start panicking. “W-well what if I mess everything up!!” she said as she gently played with the white streak of her fake hair. “Nonono, you won’t. We’ll all be here for you, right guys?”

Smidge and DJ began: “Yeah!!”

Copper and Guy Diamond added: “Of course.”

And after a few more had agreed, Bridget took a deep breath: “Let’s do this.”

Poppy: “That’s the spirit!! Just remember, we’ll be here with you. To help you.”

Bridget: “Thank you, gurl.”

Poppy let out a giggle: “Of course!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“This is so frustrating!!” Gristle yelled out as he pulled on his bib. “Well, Your Highness, do you want to know how your life could be less difficult?” the chef asked.

“What?” Gristle said, facing her.

Chef : " Well, you’re still a child. A child with too much to bear upon your shoulders. I was thinking… It would be best if I take over as queen. Take away your responsibilities. Let you have fun and do all the good stuff children do. What do you say? Make me queen during Trollstice, and you’ll have every troll you want. Plus…”

" Plus what?” Gristle asked her.

Chef : " You’re father would be so proud of you to hand over the crown to someone a lot more worthy,” she said as she caressed his shoulders. “What do you say? Make me queen and blow all your troubles away?”

“Well, when you put it like that—” Gristle  began, but another voice interrupted their conversation. “H-hey there, I’m looking for something nice to wear for T-t-trollstice. Can y’all help me?” Gristle looked up, his eyes widening at the most beautiful sight in front of him. She was the best thing to happen to him after this stressful day.

“Well, to me, you don’t need to look for something nice for Trollstice. You already look beautiful to me,” Gristle said as he knelt in front of her and gently took her hand, giving it a slight kiss on her palm. “And who might you be, dear? Are you new? I’ve never seen you around these parts before.”

Bridget felt her heart flutter as Gristle got back up. “Oh yes, I am new. Just moved in yesterday, hehe.”

Gristle asked, “Oh, well, what would your name be?”

At that, Bridget began to panic as she looked around, “Um, my name is, huh~”

Poppy then spoke up: “Tell him your name is… Lady… Um—”

Guy’s auto-tuned voice came in: “Glitter!!”

Smidge: “Sparkles!!”

Branch, rolling his eyes: “Seriously?”

Bridget heard a lot of good names being passed around; however, the awaiting look in the prince’s eyes made her panic, and she just spawned all the names she just heard without even thinking, “My name is: Lady. Glitter. Sparkles. Seriously.” As she said ‘her name,’ she saw Gristle send her a confused look but quickly shrugged it off.

Gristle : “Well then, my Lady Glitter Sparkles, since you’re new… Do you want me to give you a tour?”

“ Are you… asking me out on a date? “ She responded.

That made Gristle blush a deep red. “O-only if you want it to be. I’ll be delighted.”

Bridget : “Well then… Let’s go out.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

The music was blasting, lights were flashing, everything was so alive—felt so alive. (Even if it was just the two of them in the skating rink.) But she didn’t care; Bridget was having the time of her life!!

For the first time in her life, she felt acknowledged.

She felt wanted.

Right now, they were taking a break from skating. “So, what do you want to eat?” Gristle asked her. “Well, I was thinking of pizza? Is that alright with you?”

Bridget : “Oh, most definitely!!”

When their order was put in front of them along with their extra cash, Gristle started a small conversation. “So, I was thinking…”

Bridget : “Yeah?”

Gristle : “I was thinking of letting my Chef have the crown. I am tired of ruling my kingdom, but as soon as I turn eighteenth, I’ll challenge her for it."

Bridget gave him a confused look. “What do you mean challenge?”

Gristle : “Well… While I am giving up my position peacefully, when I’m done with my break and feel like I am worthy to rule or find her unworthy of ruling, I or someone else from the lower class can stand up to her. An example could be a troll or something like that.”

Bridget : “Oh~ so other species can take over?”

Gristle : “Yeah. Which is why I need to be a great king. And a nice one at that too. It’s just too much pressure.”

Bridget : “I see… “

“Well enough talk about politics!! Let’s eat the pizza is getting cold.” Suddenly, as they both reached for their own pizza slice, their hands touched. Making them freeze.

They both felt something growing in their hearts.

However, they didn’t know what it was.

They just looked into each other’s eyes.

Unmoving.

Until Bridget smacked his hand away from the slice, making him let out a startled cry. As he gently rubbed his hand, he whispered, “Fascinating.”

As Bridget gulped down her pizza, she heard Poppy say, “Say something nice. Compliment him.”

“I like your back.” Bridget blurted out.

That caused a confused sound to come out of Gristle and a few giggles from the dragons who were also hiding in Bridget’s hair.

“No, not that!!” Poppy whispered-yelled.

“But I do like his back!” Bridget whispered back, causing Gristle to give her a  more puzzled look.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Why don’t you compliment his eyes? You could say… um…” Poppy trailed off as she glanced at the prince’s eyes, cringing slightly at the sight. “Or maybe his ears…” The cringe deepened. “Or his teeth…” She stopped herself, the internal cringe becoming unbearable.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

However, she didn’t notice that Bridget was repeating her words over and over again like a record player about to malfunction. “Are you making fun of me?” the prince asked, slowly getting agitated. As Poppy heard that, she began to panic.

Her plan was falling apart.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Oh, by Erato’s sake!!” Bruce said as he gently pushed Poppy out of his way and got himself comfortable before clearing his throat, looking towards the prince. He slowly imagined his wife, Brandy, instead of him.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Bridget was panicking. She didn’t know what to say. She was losing, until she heard a voice—a calming, fatherly voice ringing in her ears—and she quickly began to copy it. “YOUR EYES!! Your eyes look like deep pools of water… that if I stare at them too long, I won’t be able to escape. And that’s just fine with me.”

She then took a deep breath. “Your smile… It’s like… a bright sun, shining down from the heavens onto the mortals… who are lucky to receive it at least once.”

“Wow… no one ever told me that before,” Gristle said as he touched his cheek. “Do I really have a nice smile?”

Bridget shook her head. “Of course!!” She then looked down. “Listen… I got to tell you something. This day has been the best day of my life… Dare I say, the happiest.”

“Yeah… Mine too. It’s because happiness is inside here.”Gristle said as he got close enough to show her his pendant.

She looked at it with disappointment. “Oh that’s—”

“Let me clarify. Happiness is inside here.” the prince said as he opened the pendant. A purple troll came out of it, panting as if he didn’t get enough air, shaking, and looking panicked and ready to start crying.

“Creek?! “ Bridget could hear all of the trolls shout in relief.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

 “He’s alive?!” Branch yelled out, a tornado of emotions overcoming him. He was alive!! Branch would never have thought that seeing Creek would make him smile, but here he was: smiling.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“How nice...” Bridget said, clearly uncomfortable.

“Please, I’m begging you, help me.” The purple troll pleaded as he struggled to free himself from Bergen’s grasp, only to be shoved back into the pendant.

Gristle : “I also have another one locked up in my room. I wanted to know if you’ll like to see him?”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Floyd quickly pushed Bruce out of the way as he whispered, “Ask him what his name is!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Bridget: “Uhh what’s his name?”

Gristle : “Oh, his name is Clay!! We used to be best friends!!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

That caused the trolls to gasp again—not only was Creek alive, but so was Clay!! “Thank you, Philophrosyne,” Branch whispered. “I appreciate your kindness.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“I think we should get back to what we were originally supposed to be doing today. What do you think?” Grisel said as he got off the couch, reaching his hand over to her so she could take it. Bridget took it, and once again, they were back on the ring, having fun until…

“Sire,” the chef said, rolling her way towards them as the music stopped, making them also stop. “It seems I have found you with a ‘friend’ of yours.”

Gristle: “Yeah! We were just having a bit of fun! I would like to introduce you to Miss. Lady Glitter Sparkles.”

The chef looked at Bridget, examining her: “Oh hello there… You look oddly familiar. Say, are you from here?”

Bridget became nervous and gently fidgeted with her white streak. “N-no, Che— ma’am, I-I’m new.”

Gristle: “Yeah, and she’s going to be my guest of honor during Trollstice and your coronation!!”

At that, the Chef looked at him with a malevolent smile. “Oh, your highness, I am honored!! Me, a simple royal Chef? Having the crown? How delighted!! I cannot wait!! And I’ll make sure to make room for our… ‘special guest.’” She said as she sent Bridget a menacing look.

That caught Bridget off guard as she looked at Gristle with a fearful look in her eyes. “I-I’m your p-plus one?” Grisel didn’t seem to notice as he said, “Of course!! You’ll be sitting right next to me at all times…” He then noticed her fearful eyes. “Unless you don’t want to—”

“I would love to!!” She quickly shouted.

And after a few minutes passed, Bridget was getting overwhelmed by the hateful look the Chef was sending her to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out, ignoring the prince’s plea to wait up. Once she was as far away as possible, she broke down.

Chapter Text

Bridget burst open the doors of her room, landing on the bed as she turned back to her normal self. “That was so fun!” Bridget said as she let out some giggles. “I never thought I would have the best day of my life!”

“Well, that’s good to hear! I am really happy for you, really!” Poppy said as she patted the bergen’s cheek. “I guess I need to thank you… all of you… especially you,” Bridget said as she looked towards Bruce.

The older troll of the bunch just shrugged. “Eh, that’s what you get for literally being the ‘heartthrob’ of the band. You get experience~ ,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows, making his siblings send him disgusted looks. “You are so gross.” Branch said with a playful, disgusted look.

“Say what you want, but my wife tells a different story~” Bruce responded.

“OKAY!” Poppy interrupted. “We know that both Creek and Clay are alive. We need to find a way to save them, and we need to go NOW.”

As they were running towards the open door, Bridget closed it, blocking their path as she panicked. “Wait, wait, where are you going? You still need to help me become Lady Glitter Sparkles just until tomorrow… please!”

 Poppy looked at her with sympathy. “I’m sorry, but we can’t help you be someone you’re not. Besides, you two seem happy; you just need a little push.”

That caused the Bergen to shake her head as tears streamed from her eyes. “No! I’m just a pathetic maid; he’ll never notice me! Oh, this date was one of the worst days of my life! Thanks for nothing!” she yelled out as she threw herself on her bed, ignoring the booming voice of the Chef, whose demands rained down on all of them, making the room shake.

Chef : “You useless good-for-nothing! Clean an extra plate! The prince is inviting a plus one, so get a move on!”

Poppy felt her heart break and was about to go and comfort the poor girl, but Branch stopped her, saying, “Poppy, we need to get Creek. Come on, we can fix this later.”

“Alright…” she whispered. “Let’s go get Creek.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

After a few long minutes that felt like hours (and a deadly crocodile chase later), they finally had him—or more specifically, the pendant where he was being held. “Are you ready for this?” Branch asked Poppy as she held onto it, ready to open it. “Yeah.” And just like that, they opened it.

It was empty.

No troll in sight.

NOTHING WAS THERE!! 

“No…” Poppy said, her eyes widening as she felt her body begin to slightly shake. “Nonono.” She heard Branch say in an unbelievable panic that caused her to break out of her own that was slowly forming. She held onto him as he fell to the ground, taking her down with him, but she didn’t care.

“Whywhywhy? Why?!” Branch kept yelling. Why must everything happen to him? True, he didn’t like Creek, but he still wanted him alive. He then felt Floyd wrap him in a hug as he whispered, “I’m sorry, B, we’re too late.”

“Actually…” A voice spoke up, making them, along with their dragons, look up at a Bergen. “You’re just in time,” the Bergen said as she dropped a cage onto them, effectively trapping them.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As they were placed on a table, Branch had calmed down, staring daggers at the Bergen. “It’s so good to finally meet you… Princess Poppy,” she spat Poppy’s name with so much hate that the look in her eyes couldn’t compare. “I really hope to make you and the other trolls the guests of honor during Trollstice. Really, I do. After all, you trolls never miss a party.”

“Well, good luck trying to find the others!” Poppy yelled out confidently. “You might have caught us, but we’ll never, NEVER tell you where the others are hiding.”

“Eh, you don’t need to, ‘sweetie.’ I already have inside intel,” she said as she unzipped her fanny pack, never breaking eye contact with Branch. But Chef noticed that Branch wasn’t looking at both of her eyes.

He was focused on her left eye.

As if calculating it.

As if measuring it.

As if he was making his next move.

She had to be careful with that one, not that he stood a chance. “It was quite adorable to see you break down like that. Honestly, it caught me by surprise… I never thought trolls could break. I thought they were all happy and smiling.”

Branch only glared at her with a threatening and hateful look as he used Floyd to help himself stand up. He never took his eyes off the Bergen as he began to speak in a low whisper, “I am going to kill you…” His grip tightened on the metal bars as he continued to stare at the Bergen before letting out a dry laugh. “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow.” He took a deep breath.

“But nothing is going to change that,” he told the stunned Bergen. “Nothing,” he finished, sealing his deadly promise. “So go ahead, live while you still have time… live because I’m only letting you. But as soon as I’m out of here, you better pray I don’t find you.” As he finished, the Chef only blinked a few times before rolling her eyes dismissively.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Suddenly, Creek was placed on the table, meditating. “You’re still alive!” Poppy yelled out in excitement, trying to reach for him to give him a hug. “Indeed I am,” he responded as he opened his eyes. Suddenly, everything made sense to Branch. “He’s selling us out!” he yelled in anger, wrapping his hair around the purple troll’s neck, choking him.

As Creek struggled to break free and the others attempted to get Branch to let him go, Poppy commanded, “Branch! I’m sure we can figure this out! Give him a chance!”

When she said that, Branch released Creek’s neck, noticing a few bruises forming from how tightly he had gripped him. He saw Creek barely dodge a Nadder spike that his—the dragon—shot. “Thank you, Poppy…” Creek said as he took a deep breath and gently touched his neck.

Creek then looked at the Snack Pack, his friends, his dragon… His own dragon looked at him with betrayal, but what could he do? Nothing, unless he wanted to get eaten. He wasn't Branch, not by a long shot. Oh, how he wished he had paid attention in class.

He took in a painful breath as he looked at Poppy; she must have connected the dots as she looked at him with betrayal. That was something he would live with for the rest of his life. It hurt too much. “I’m sorry… I’m… I’m,” he could feel his heart break and tears threatening to fall. “It’s either me or them… I’m sorry.”

Poppy : “No! Creek, please, there must be another way!”

“THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!” he yelled out, his voice cracking before he took in a deep breath and music began to play. But this song was different; it sounded a lot harsher than pop. But he didn’t care, he wanted—needed—to sing.

To at least give them a bit of hope.

Or to at least make them understand he didn’t have a choice.

“This isn’t what I’ve wanted. You’re the one who’s haunting me. You are the eyes inside of me, staring back at me… There’s nothing left to lose, there’s nothing left to prove. Surrender the village, it’s all you can do, yeah."Creek sang, his voice heavy with regret and pain.

Poppy looked at him with desperation, as if she could somehow change his mind. “Whatcha got? Whatcha want? Whatcha need? Can I be your savior?” she pleaded.

Creek just shook his head, his expression filled with sorrow. “Everything’s gonna crash and break.”

Poppy, practically shaking the bars in an attempt to free herself, cried out again, “But I know—yeah, I know. Whatcha got? Whatcha want? Whatcha need? Can I be your savior?”

Creek repeated, his voice quieter but resolute, “Everything’s gonna crash and break.”

Poppy yelled out with desperation, “Your Savior!!!”

Chef had enough of the bickering and, without warning, grabbed Creek by his hair, dropped him into her fanny pack, and closed it. This earned a small, ”No!!” from the princess. Since the music was still playing, Chef decided to add a little something of her own. “It’s time to redefine~ Your deophobic mind. Don’t hesitate, no escape from secrets on the inside~ There’s nothing left to lose, there’s nothing left to prove. Surrender your happiness, it’s all you can do, yeah!!”

And just like that, Chef was gone, heading to capture the unwary trolls, and Poppy couldn’t do anything to stop it.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Chef found herself alongside other prepared Bergen’s, ready to capture all the trolls. She then took out Creek, who had somehow stolen the princess’s cowbell at some point, and said, “Do your magic.” Creek just gulped as he shakily held up Poppy’s cowbell.

Watching as the Bergen’s went and hid.

Watching as the other remaining trolls were about to walk into a trap.

Watching their cheer turn into confusion as they only saw him, the trolls called out his name in bewilderment.

Honestly, he was grateful that King Peppy and JD weren’t there.

Their betrayed looks would hurt a lot more than the others.

As the trolls saw the Bergens approaching, they began to scatter, trying not to get caught by the beasts. Suddenly, as Creek cried, he felt something warm inside him break, and a gust of tranquility filled him. To his horror, he looked at the panicking and running trolls, they began to slow down.

Their bodies reflected the opposite of their faces; their faces were filled with confusion and horror as they were effortlessly caught. A chilling thought crossed Creek’s mind. His powers… his powers had activated, hadn’t they? But why?! Why now?!

Why did the string choose him? It only chose trolls who would protect the village, not betray it. Why was he considered worthy by the very pop string itself?

The gods must hate him, don’t they?

To activate his powers in these circumstances, he couldn’t help but let out a watery laugh. He deserved it; he brought this upon himself. This was his karma for betraying his people: getting his powers during a traumatic event.

Great, just great.

Then he heard the Bergen’s’ deep, raspy voices singing together in harmony. It sent shivers down his spine as he listened to their macabre song. “It’s time to redefine~ Your deophobic mind. Don’t hesitate, no escape from secrets on the inside. There’s nothing left to lose, there’s nothing left to prove. Surrender your happiness, it’s all you can do, yeah!!” The Bergan’s sang along as they caught the now slowly and relaxed trolls. Their deep voices sounded like something from beyond the grave.

A beautiful torment.

Hell in life.

The angels of death.

And then Creek knew no more.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

JD felt something was off. He didn’t know what it was, but his older sibling and parental instincts were kicking in. “Pep, we lost a lot of men… Poppy might be right… We can’t win this fight!! We need—”

“I am the eyes inside staring back at you. I am the eyes inside staring back at you, They need, They need me, yeah..” the king responded, his eyes glazed over as he walked towards the dragon in a somewhat trance filled by anger.

Torch held tightly by his paw.

“You should be grateful you’re still alive. You’re our only way to take us to the mastermind pulling the strings. It’s such a shame we were attacked by one of your kind… But no matter, you’re the only thing that matters. You’re our golden ticket. Now work!!”

And with a painful groan, the dragon, which John heard Poppy call Rosethorn, let out a growl. That hurt John. He knew he shouldn’t get close, but he did. He patted the beast, causing it to look at him. His eyes were dilated. Wait… dilated? He just shook his head.

“I’m sorry…” An idea came to mind. “If you help us find your master or whatever… I’ll let you go… Even if I’m looked at as a traitor. What do you say?” John asked as he slowly stretched his hand, reaching out to touch him, but slightly stopping. Waiting on the dragon to make the first move.

He did.

Rosethorn put his muzzle in John’s hand, closing his eyes.

“No!! You all need to see this!! They aren’t what we think they are!!” Poppy’s voice rang in John’s mind. “Was this what you wanted to show us?” John asked himself. Suddenly, he saw the dragon’s pupils constrict as it growled protectively. “W-what—”

He was then jerked away from the dragon by Peppy.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” Peppy asked, rage filling his eyes as he dragged John away from the tide dragon and harshly threw him inside a room deep within the ship. “Poppy was right… We were wrong about them!! They mean no harm—”

Suddenly, John felt the king slap him across the face so hard that he lost his balance but quickly caught himself against the wall.

At that moment, the king wasn’t his friend.

The king was his father.

The king was his mother.

John looked up at Peppy, seeing not just a leader but a figure of authority who demanded obedience and respect. The realization hit him hard; this was more than just a disagreement—it was a clash of beliefs and values.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

John guessed he was still in shock from the action committed as he felt something click. He looked down, and his eyes widened in terror. These were handcuffs. But not just any handcuffs—they were the type designed to forbid him from using his own powers.

A creation of his own flesh and blood.

To hurt him.

To hurt them!!

“W-who gave you these?” John asked his friend—the king. “WHO GAVE YOU THESE!!” As he screamed, he was slapped again, and the king yelled, “YOUR PARENTS DID!! They made them and gave them to me if one day you or any of your siblings stepped out of line…”

“So what if I stepped out of line?” John asked, beginning to laugh slowly. “You can’t keep me here forever, you know!! I’ll scream until I can’t, and people will hear. They’ll ask who did this, and I’ll say it was you!!”

His laughter grew louder, almost manic, as he stared at the king with defiance. The tension between them thickened, a battle of wills unfolding in the confined space.

That caused the king to chuckle, but he quickly backed down as he saw John glaring at him. The boy’s eyes were not their usual color; they were a glowing deep forest green. That made him shiver—the boy was losing control of his own emotions. He needed to keep him busy or else, gods forbid, this rage would burst out.

“Well, it’s a good thing this room is soundproof,” the king said.

John’s eyes widened in pure fear. “Don’t worry, my friend… Everything will be over soon.” As the king stepped out and began to close the door, he heard a now normal colored eyed panicked John yell out, “Wait, don’t leave—” and just like that, the door was closed.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

King Peppy and his army made it inside the castle. Their boat was now hovering in the air. “Where to, Cap?” a troll asked him.

“How about that door?” he asked, pointing to a slightly opened door.

“Alright!! Everyone get ready,” the troll responded.

The group moved cautiously towards the door, weapons at the ready, prepared for whatever lay beyond. The tension was palpable as they approached the slightly opened door with their flying ship.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Clay gave up.

He couldn’t force the door open.

He tried using his ice.

His hair.

Nothing.

So he just sat there with tear marks on his cheeks and blood-red eyes from the amount of crying, threatening to shift colors. But he wasn’t going to let that happen. His throat was sore from screaming. “Whatcha got? Whatcha need? Everything’s gonna crash and break. Whatcha got? Whatcha need? Everything’s gonna crash and break,” he whispered to himself as his tail wrapped around his feet.

Suddenly, his ear twitched as he heard something close by. It sounded like another troll! “Hey! I’m here!” he yelled out with all his might, his throat hurting, but he didn’t care. He noticed a flying boat turning towards him.

He saw King peppy!

He was saved!

But where was John?

He’d just ask about that later.

The next few minutes felt like opening and closing his eyes. First, he was in the cage, and now he was on top of the boat, looking around for his brother. “Hey, King Peppy… where is John?” he asked, causing the old man to freeze and begin to stutter. “O-oh, w-well, he’s back home—”

“Poppy, are you crazy?!” They heard Branch’s voice yell out. Wait… “BRANCH?!” Clay found himself taking control of the flying boat. Branch and the others were here?! They had been taken, and apparently Poppy was in trouble. His baby brother’s voice sounded scared.

They needed to act. Now. While they still had the chance. They had to.

Chapter Text

John kept trying to reach for the door, his shackles attached to the floor with a small chain that didn’t even let him get close.

He gave up.

He gave up trying to escape.

Gave up trying to call out for the king.

Gave up on crying.

Gave up on everything.

“Well, giving up was always the best solution you chose~” a very familiar feminine voice spoke up.

“W-who’s there? Show yourself!” he demanded, silently cursing himself for stuttering. While he knew it was alright to stutter, his parents would always beat him when he did so.

They called him weak.

They called him useless.

They called him imperfect.

Old habits die hard, he guessed.

“What did we say about the stuttering, boy?” a male voice spoke up. John’s eyes widened as his dead parents appeared. Suddenly, he remembered Branch’s voice and what he had admitted making it the reason why he went to kill something out in the wilderness once he’d returned all tired and ready to pass out at ungodly hours of the night. Rage consumed every inch of his tiny body.

“Why, Branch?! He’s just a kid! Why push him over the limit?! He almost froze himself to death after using his power…” Suddenly, everything clicked.

“You were the reason why he lost control… weren’t you?” he asked the hallucinations, his eyes threatening to shift colors.

“Of course we did,” his mother said, a wickedly proud look in her eyes. “We had to step in. You were doing a terrible job at raising them anyway. Always making them imperfect.”

“But what would we expect? If you want something done perfectly, you have to do it yourself—even if that means raising your own kids or having someone stab you in the back,” his dad said with rage, glaring at John as he mentioned the last sentence, trying to make him remember that horrible night when everything went so wrong.

That pissed John off. “Those aren’t your kids. They’re mine. I took them to school, I changed their diapers, I fed them, I kept them safe. They’re not yours,” he said, glaring at his unamused father. “And most definitely not yours,” he added, looking at his mother. “They’re mine.”

His parents just clapped, their faces nonchalant. “Well, good to know… Not that we cared,” his mom said, proceeding to sarcastically say with coldness in her voice, “Want a bloody medal?”

John : “I wanted your love. Your acceptance. My childhood.”

“And we wanted absolutely perfect children… But apparently, we can’t get what we want now, can we?” his father said.

“I guess not,” John replied before something clicked in his mind—something that would definitely trigger them. “But you wanna know what I got that you didn’t and desperately missed out on?”

“What,” his mom asked.

John : “Their love, their friendship, and best of all: their trust.”

That caused both of his parents’ gazes to harden. Ah, he hit a nerve. “How. Dare. You,” his father said in a slow and dangerously low volume.

“We have given you everything you wanted in life! The only thing we wanted was for you to be perfect, and this is the thanks we get?!” his mother raged as crocodile tears began to fall. Oh, so now they were the victims. “We wanted you to marry a beautiful, perfect woman and have perfect children. A perfect family—”

John : “Well, that’s not what I want! And you’d—you’d NEVER spoiled me rotten.”

His dad : “Lies! We treated you like a golden child! Even went through the effort to create that band you so desperately wanted—”

“You mean YOUR band… I never even wanted the band to form! But you greedy bastards wanted the money so badly that you didn’t care what we thought. Honestly? I’m grateful for the Great Escape. If it weren’t for that moment, I would have lost all connections I had with my siblings.” He looked at his parents.

They appeared shocked, as if they thought he wouldn’t talk back. He hated to say it, but he wasn’t Branch; he wasn’t afraid to disappoint these people. Why should he be? He barely even knew these strangers claiming to be his parents. “And why did you make these chains for them?” he raged.

That caused his mom to laugh. “They’re not for them, sweetie~” she said in a fake motherly voice.

His dad quickly nodded as he said, “Yes, we didn’t want to traumatize them anymore—”

“You already did!” John yelled at him. How dare he say that? How dare he claim he didn’t want to ‘traumatize’ them when they had already done so effortlessly? A smirk of satisfaction appeared on John’s face as his dad was quickly silenced. But his small victory was short-lived as his mom spoke once more.

“They were only made for you… So you can take all the punishment that they can’t. Even if you or they aren’t at fault,” she said with a shrug, glaring at him as music began to play. She then started to sing. Her voice sounded like chalk on a green board, making John cringe away. Even if he admitted he was just thinking about that because he hated her, anyone else might think she sounded like a siren. “You’re the strong one, you’re not nervous.”

Her singing tone sounded like she was trying to hype him up. But he knew better; he knew she was mocking him. And so did his father as he opened his mouth. “You’re as tough as the crust of the Earth is. You move mountains, you’d move churches if we forced you to. And you glow, ‘cause you know what your ‘worth’ is.”

John couldn’t help but glare at them as he struggled against the shackles’ tight and hurtful grip, determined to give them a piece of his mind. “I don’t ask you how hard the work you give me is. Got a rough, indestructible surface. Diamonds and platinum, I find ‘em, I flatten ‘em. I take what I’m handed, I break what’s demanded—”

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” his father teased with an uncaring look in his eyes as his mom laughed.

John felt the shackles become heavier than they already were. But he didn’t care; he was going to make them listen. “But under the surface, I feel berserk, like a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus—”

His mom Interrupted mockingly, “Under the surface, was Hercules ever like, ‘Yo, I don’t wanna fight Cerberus?’” She even added air quotations, clearly not taking this seriously. But John would make her take it seriously.

Then his father joined in, singing along without a care in the world. “A flaw or a crack, the straw in the stack that breaks the camel’s back, what breaks the camel’s back?”

John clenched his fists, feeling the weight of the shackles pulling him down further. He needed to think of something—something to say that would finally make them listen to him. Something that would force them to see how deeply they had messed him up. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

“The pressure is like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop, whoa. Pressure that’ll tip, tip, tip ‘til you just go pop, whoa, oh, oh. ‘Give it to your brother, your brother’s older,’” he sang with raw emotion, his voice trembling but firm, cutting through their mocking tones like a blade.

As he said those words, their eyes widened with recognition. John couldn’t help but let out a sadistic chuckle. Those were the same words they used whenever they didn’t want to be what they were supposed to be: parents. “Give him all the heavy things we can’t shoulder. Who am I if I can’t run with the ball? If I fall to—”

Then, suddenly, he felt the ship come to a stop, as if it had parked. He also noticed something strange about his parents—they seemed frozen, reliving their lives in some kind of trance. Their eyes still held a faint glimmer of presence, but it was clear they weren’t fully there anymore.

John didn’t care. He took the opportunity to move around, noticing how the shackles that once weighed him down now felt lighter. It was as if all his stress, all his bottled-up emotions, were finally being released. Each step he took felt like reclaiming a piece of himself, a piece they had tried so hard to take away.

The only sound In the room was the painful scratching of the shackles against the wooden floor, accompanied by the haunting melody of the music. John kept singing, his voice heavy with emotion, each word cutting deeper into the silence.

“Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won’t let go, whoa. Pressure like a tick, tick, tick ‘til it’s ready to blow, whoa, oh, oh. ‘Give it to your brother, your brother’s stronger see if he can hang on a little longer. ‘Who am I if I can’t carry it all? If I falter…” He paused, taking in a deep breath as his chest tightened. When he looked up, he saw something unexpected—a sadness in his parents’ eyes.

It wasn’t mocking or dismissive this time. It was raw, almost vulnerable, as if they had just realized the weight of their actions. The realization of how bad they had been, how terrible, how cruel.

For the first time, their expressions weren’t filled with pride or indifference. They were filled with regret. And yet, John couldn’t bring himself to feel pity for them. Not yet. Not after everything.

John felt his inner child slowly beginning to heal, rejoicing in the freedom he was finally experiencing. He had always wanted to confront them but had been too scared. Now? Now he didn’t care what they thought. He was in control, and they knew it too. That’s why they kept letting him yell at them. And he was grateful because he still had a lot to say.

John : “Under the surface, I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry something’s gonna hurt us. Under the surface, the ship doesn’t swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is. Under the surface, I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this? Line up the dominoes, a light wind blows . You try to stop it tumbling, but on and on, it goes!”

His voice echoed through the room, each word carrying the weight of years of suppressed emotions. His parents’ faces showed signs of realization and regret, but John wasn’t done. He needed to let it all out, to make them understand the depth of their actions and the impact they had on him.

The shackles felt lighter with every word he spoke, as if his burdens were being lifted one by one. This was his moment, his chance to reclaim his life and his identity. And he wasn’t going to let it slip away.

Then his mom interrupted him, but unlike before, she didn’t sound confident or mocking. She sounded scared, as if she feared saying something wrong would make John yell at her more. Which he would, either way. She sang in a hesitant, almost pleading tone, “But wait! If we could shake the crushing weight of these expectations, would that free some room up for joy or relaxation, or simple pleasure?”

How dare she?!

John felt his glare harden and his smirk grew wilder, colder, more sadistic. How dare she offer that now, when they were broken, instead of when they were whole? The audacity of these people! But he just shook his head, signaling to calm himself down and denying her offer. He didn’t need it anyway; it was just like her: dead and useless.

“Instead, you measure this growing pressure. Keeps growing, keep going, ‘Cause all we know is—”His voice cut through the air with a fierce determination, refusing to be swayed by their sudden change of heart. He had come too far to let them off the hook now. This was his moment to reclaim his power, to show them the depth of their failures and the strength he had found within himself despite them.

Then he heard a few small distressed yells that made both of his parents look around nervously, as if they knew something he didn’t. But he didn’t care. He wasn’t done—not by a long shot.

“John—” his dad said with concern, as if he wanted to warn him about something that was coming. But John just glared at him, quickly silencing the nervous and worried man.

This glare must have been familiar to his dad, as he quickly and painfully looked away. It was the same glare that man had given John whenever he stood up to him to protect his siblings or question his authority. It usually meant a terrible beating that would leave John bedridden for days. And now, he was using it on the same man who had invented it. How poetic—and ironic—was that? John couldn’t help but laugh.

John : “Give it to your brother, it doesn’t hurt him, and see if he can handle every family burden. Watch as he buckles and bends but never breaks—no mistakes!”

Then he saw his mother attempt to speak up, desperation clear on her face as the screams of devastation outside grew louder and more frequent. But he didn’t care; he had lost that ability a long time ago.

“I am not done,” he venomously told his parents as he began to sing once more. “Give it to your brother and never wonder if the same pressure would’ve pulled him under. Who am I if I don’t have what it takes? No cracks, no breaks. No mistakes, no pressure.”

As the song finished, he heard huge Bergen steps drawing closer. Then, in a sudden flash, he saw his parents disappear and heard Branch’s pained, blood-curdling yell—something he never wished to hear again.

A huge Bergen hand came crashing down on the boat, breaking it in half. The floating vessel shattered and immediately began to fall towards the water below, taking him down with it.

“No!!” he heard himself and his mom yell out as he pulled on his shackles. But it was pointless. The water was quickly rising to his waist. Was this how he was going to die? Drowned, chained, and alone?

Man, his life sucked.

As the water reached past his shoulders and oxygen became scarce, he slowly came to a realization. “I never got the chance to become a better father than mine…” And just like that, he took one last breath before the water robbed him of the final bit of oxygen the boat allowed him to have. “I would never be able to find myself a wonderful mate.” Those were his last thoughts before he felt himself vanish.

Vanished into nothingness.

Vanished into darkness.

Chapter Text

She felt like a failure. Her father was right. She was no daughter of his.

She was a disappointment.

She was nothing.

She was never going to be a good queen.

She would always be the laughingstock of the village.

Those thoughts kept running through her head. She let out a sob, ignoring Branch’s concern. Why must he worry about her? Didn’t he hate her? Why worry now—now that she was going to be the reason all the trolls would die?

More sobs escaped her lips. She looked down, and her hot pink paws suddenly turned gray. As she glanced around, her eyes widened. Everyone else was starting to turn gray, one by one, as if they were flames being extinguished.

She noticed Branch looking around, his eyes widening in horror as he realized he wasn’t the only gray troll anymore.

“I’m sorry!” Poppy yelled out, catching everyone’s attention and making them look at her. “This is all my fault. If it weren’t for my desperation to be wanted, to be loved like you all love my father, we wouldn’t be here.”

She broke down, wailing and crying, not caring anymore. She noticed a few trolls looking at her with pity as she felt herself collapse to the floor. “I was just so tired. Tired of being known as the laughingstock, the good-for-nothing. I wanted to prove myself, but all I did was put all of you in danger. And we still don’t know if my father is alive. I hope… I hope he isn’t, so he doesn’t see the disappointment his daughter has become.”

Suddenly, an overwhelming rush down memory lane occurred. But some of these memories seemed… wrong, as if they hadn’t happened yet. And for the ones that did, they brought comfort. She then had the urge to look at Chenille. She had the same look as Satin, and Poppy couldn’t help but think: Did she have something to do with this? Could it be possible that the twins were developing their own powers? She needed to know! But right now, she was too sad to care, so she let that excitement fade.

After a few minutes of silence and feeling her paws dig deep into the golden pot that the Chef had put them in, as if it were their only salvation—it wasn’t, and she knew that, but it didn’t stop her from trying—the twins left her side. She didn’t blame them; they tried their best. What she didn’t expect was for a familiar voice to speak up. “But you did prove yourself.” She looked up with wide eyes to see who said that. It was Branch.

“What do you mean?”

“You proved what every Pop Troll was afraid to do! You not only somehow found peace with the dragons but managed to make two Bergen’s feel happiness without eating a troll!”

That caused a few surprised gasps among the other trolls. Bergen’s feeling happiness without eating a troll? Was that even possible?

“Yeah… but only for a little while,” she replied.

“But that ‘little while' will forever go down in history. That you, a mere troll—”

“Hey!”

Branch ignored her. “Managed to befriend not only a dragon,” he said as he patted Frost, “but you also managed to befriend a Bergen!”

Poppy’s hug-time bracelet went off.

She saw Branch stretch his arms as if wanting a hug, and the others’ bracelets began to activate.

She looked at him with a bewildered expression. Branch wanted to hug her? Why?

But she didn’t care; she looked away from his outstretched hands, closing her bracelet. “Aw, come on, Poppy… Don’t make me start singing.” That made her giggle. “I doubt it. I thought you said you’d never sing,” she told the other gray troll.

“Oh really? Why don’t you watch me?”

And just like that, Branch began to sing ‘True Colors,’ which caused every troll to look at him in surprise. Especially Poppy—she didn’t expect someone as tough and guarded as Branch to have such a beautiful voice. She felt herself blush.

As Branch reached out for her, she didn’t even need to think before holding onto his paw. When she joined the song, she saw her colors return. Then she saw Branch’s colors return as well. She, along with everyone else, let out a few gasps. It was clear: Branch was beautiful.

His true colors emerged. His body was a stunning teal, and his hair was an even darker, more beautiful shade of blue. He looked amazing!

Once they finished singing, a voice suddenly yelled out, causing them to flinch. “Idget! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“It’s Bridget! And I’m doing what I should have done from the start!”

As Poppy heard Bridget’s voice, she noticed the top of the pod being unscrewed. “And that was to LET THEM GO!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Bridget had been ordered to deliver the captured trolls to the location where Trollstice was about to begin. As she got closer and closer to the room, she could hear the Bergen’s chanting for trolls, eager to taste them after years of being denied. With every step she took, her guilt grew heavier than it already was.

Athena, please help her understand: Was this really a good choice? Would she betray them just like that after all they had done for her?

Once Bridget entered the room, she saw the Chef sitting on a throne that clearly wasn’t hers. As she reached the middle of the room, she saw Gristle sitting next to the Chef, an empty plate beside him, awaiting her—or should she say Lady Glitter Sparkles.

“Hello there, everyone!” Gristle began. “We are gathered here today not only to celebrate our first Trollstice in a long time but also the crowning of your new queen: Chef!” Cheers erupted around the room. Gristle removed his crown and gently placed it on the Bergen’s head.

“I, Prince Gristle, step down from royalty and crown you, Chef, as our new ruler!”

“Oh, thank you, Sire! And as a thank you for making me Queen, my gift to you: Trolls!”

As the new queen yelled out, she motioned for the maid to come forward. “Idget, give me those tasty trolls for me to prepare!”

Bridget held tightly to the cart, not moving a muscle. “Idget…” the new queen warned.

“No,” Bridget responded, her knuckles turning white. She knew now what she must do.

“What did you say?” the Chef asked.

“You heard me,” she said as she quickly took hold of the pot and began to unscrew its cover.

“Idget! What do you think you’re doing?!” Chef raged.

“It’s Bridget! And I’m doing what I should have done from the start!” She pulled open the pot and gently tilted it in the cart, watching as the trolls began to walk out. She saw the twins, Biggie, and Branch ride on top of their dragons. As she yelled out, “And that was to LET THEM GO!”

She could see the infuriated look on the Chef’s face. “NO!” she raged as she stomped her way toward Bridget, raising her hand, ready to strike her. As Bridget shivered in fear, she heard the new queen yell out, “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN CHANGE ME?! YOU! A FILTHY MAID!”

As she was about to land her final blow, she howled in pain, clutching her hand as she saw Nadder spikes stopping her hit. She then looked at her attacker.

How DARE he smirk at her!

As she raised her hand and dangerously whispered, “Are… you… challenging… ME?!”

But before she could do any damage, she heard a few gasps. “Lady Glitter Sparkles!” the Chef heard Gristle yell out.

“What?..” the Chef asked in an angry whisper.

Gristle saw everything; he saw how a simple maid became the love of his life, how the one he thought was the one to hold his heart was a simple maid. And you know what? That didn’t change a damn thing. But the thing he needed to know was— “Why?” he asked the beauty in front of him.

“Why did you change yourself?”

“Because she thought you would never love a simple maid like her,” a hot pink troll responded, getting in front of everyone in a protective manner. Oh, so she must be the ruler of the Poppy Trolls. “Hi…” she started out awkwardly, “I’m Poppy, and I’m here to tell you—you’d felt happiness before.”

A random Bergen spoke up, ”But you need to eat a troll in order to be happy… don’t you?” he asked with uncertainty.

“No!” Poppy found herself yelling and then proceeded to explain to the others around her what Bridget and Gristle experienced. “Oh well, I thought I was just eating too much pizza..” the ex-king replied as Poppy was done with her explanation.

“Me too!” Bridget said as she held onto the ex-prince’s hand. “Very well then… I changed my mind!” Gristle said as he looked towards the angry-looking Chef. “I am canceling Trollstice and bringing peace among our people! Trolls no longer have to live in fear!” The place erupted into cheers.

“NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT! I AM THE QUEEN!” Chef’s voice raged out as she looked towards Branch, stretching her hand out and using all of her power to put the Nadder under her control. It worked. Her smile widened as she heard the panicked yells of the blue and pink troll, who was desperately calling out to him.

“And I’ll make sure there’s Trollstice every day and every hour! Happiness can only, only be achieved my way!” As the Nadder got closer and closer within her reach, her eyes showed an ambitious and crazy look. A purple fire blast came out of nowhere, causing her to lose control.

However, in her downfall, she managed to knock that teal troll off his dragon, making him let out a panicked scream. Her wicked smile widened as she saw him fall. She licked her lips; she could already taste him and his icy potential. She wondered if she ate him, would his powers become hers? There was only one way to find out.

“NO!” She then saw a very familiar purple troll fly by, catching the other before his fall. “NO!” She found herself yelling out. “CREEK!”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Creek found himself trapped inside the Bergen’s fanny pack. He was just there, ready to be disposed of, when he heard a panicked Poppy yell out, “BRANCH!” His eyes widened.

Branch was in trouble!

He needed to act. Now.

As he somehow found himself on the tray the other trolls were put in, his eyes widened in panic. Branch was slowly falling to the Bergen's outstretched hand. When he turned, he saw his dragon, his friend, run towards him, signaling behind his back as if he knew what Creek was planning to do.

“Thank you.” He quickly got on top of him, flying as fast as possible, shooting at the outstretched hand, flying towards a now-falling Branch, trying to catch him. “Did you get him?!” He yelled out in a panic. Poppy would definitely kill him if he didn’t.

He then heard a few growls of approval, causing him to look down only to be met with Branch, who sent him a grateful look. “Thank you, Clementia,” he said as he then gently lowered himself, Branch, and Havoc down. He then saw Poppy running towards them, hugging Branch (practically suffocating him).

Creek then turned towards Chef, who was still staring at him. “Our deal is off, Chef. I’m not working for you anymore.”

“Oh, so you’re challenging me now?” Chef sneered.

Before Creek could reply, the ex-king stepped in front of her. “Chef! Hand over my crown! It was a mistake to give it to you! I should have known—”

“Silence, peasant!” Chef yelled, cutting him off. “YOU are in no position to make demands. Guards! Take this heathen and his ‘lady’ for daring to challenge me!” She then locked eyes with the prince as he and Bridget struggled against the guards holding them.

“You two have gone against the crown! Therefore, your punishment is: DEATH!”

As the two Bergen’s were being dragged away, Poppy quickly yelled out, “I CHALLENGE THE CROWN!” Her words caused the guards to stop and the room to erupt in gasps. Chef, however, just laughed mockingly.

“All right, you little rat,” she said, pulling out a machete and pointing it toward Poppy. “What do you want if you ‘win,’ troll?”

“I want their freedom,” Poppy said as she pointed toward Gristle and Bridget. “I also want our freedom,” she added, motioning toward the other trolls.

“Poppy, are you crazy?!” Branch yelled out, but his words were ignored.

The Chef let out a macabre laugh. “All right then… Pick. Up. Your. Weapon.”

Chapter Text

It grew deathly silent, with the trolls, Bergens, and dragons alike waiting for the princess’s weapon choice. Poppy looked at Branch’s axe and then turned to him, as if asking for his permission to take it. He didn’t say anything; he just nodded and passed it to her.

She then walked up to Branch and took his axe, causing a loud ‘shing’ to echo around the room. “I am ready,” she said, confidence written all over her face and body language.

The Bergen smirked. "Alright then, you go first, lower class.” Poppy got on top of Frost. Her eyes suddenly spotted one of their boats hovering on top of the clogged sink, water slightly spilling over it.

She saw her dad looking right at her, very slowly shaking his head as if he had heard the whole conversation. “I’m sorry…” she mouthed. Her father must have seen it, as he and the other trolls began to get out of the boat, running towards them.

She then tore her gaze from her father and returned it to someone unworthy of her presence. “Alright then… let’s go,” she said. As she shifted her focus away from her father, she noticed Rosethorn chained down. A plan began to form in her mind.

She urged Frost to fly—soaring high up—dodging the Bergen's hand that she swung at her. Frost retaliated with several blasts of fire aimed at the Bergen. Some struck her face, others hit her body or clothes. Finally, Poppy managed to land a direct blast of fire into the Bergen’s left eye, causing her to stumble and become temporarily blinded.

In those precious seconds, Poppy passed the running trolls. Music began to fill her ears as she paused. Then, with commanding resolve, she began to sing at the mesmerized trolls: “My people, the rest of our fleet waits at the tray. And if I am defeated, they’re as good as dead.”

She then pointed to the angry Bergen. “Straight ahead, that is who I am fighting. No backup, no chance for support, so draw out your hair and hide. My foe must be thwarted right here and now. I’ll show you how great my will to survive is!”

Poppy then landed on top of the boat, right where Rosethorn was held. She grabbed Branch’s axe and quickly cut through the tight ropes. As she saw her dragon stretch his wings, she let out a satisfied growl. She patted him and said, “Good to have you back. Now come on!”

As the duo began to fly upwards, a hand came crashing down, almost missing them. However, the boat wasn’t so lucky. The hand managed to break it in half, causing it to fall into the water below. “NO!” she heard her father yell as he watched the boat fall. She knew she would have to worry about that later.

As Poppy flew back, she passed her people and saw hope in every single one of their eyes. Suddenly, she realized what was at stake if she lost. As she made eye contact with Branch, she saw him mouth something.

It was one word.

But it was enough to fill her with the determination she needed.

The one word was: “Go.”

And she would. She would go.

She turned herself and Rosethorn, ready to strike as she sang, “Six hundred lives at stake. It’s just one life to take. And when we kill you, then my journey’s over.” She sang as she commanded Rosethorn to shoot fire directly into the Bergen’s open mouth, letting out a scream filled with rage.

As Poppy watched the Bergen swallow the fire and quickly spit it out, accompanied by a few coughs that left blood dripping from her chin, she heard Branch yell out, “No dying on me now! Defeat is not allowed! You must live through this day, so fight, fight, fight!”

She then commanded Rosethorn: “Surround her!”

The crowd below echoed in sync: “Surround her!”

 Poppy recalled the lessons she had with JD and Clay, “Attack from behind, keep distance in mind, and stay in her blind spot. Strike her heels.”

 The crowd chanted: “Strike the heels!”

 An evil smile began to form as Poppy petted Rosethorn: “Show her that we’re deadly!”

Poppy then heard Clay shout: “Exhaust her!”

 The other Bergen’s joined the trolls in unison: “Exhaust her!”

Clay continued to yell directions to Poppy, “Don’t let her get close! She’s strong but she’s slow! She can’t land a blow if you’re out of reach. Find a breach, stand up and fight for your life!”

Poppy listened to Clay’s directions and urged Rosethorn to shoot blasts of fire at her opponent, preventing the Bergen from landing a single hit. The Bergen was forced to cover herself with her hands, which were now starting to bruise.

Then everyone—trolls and Bergen’s combined—began to sing together in a beautiful, heavenly chorus, cheering Poppy on, “Six hundred lives at stake. It’s just one life to take, and when you kill her, then our journey’s over.”

She then heard Creek yell out: “Push forward!”

The singing grew louder and more desperate, “No dying on us now. Defeat is not allowed. You must live through this day, so fight, fight, fight!” Poppy looked down at her people, their faces full of hope, just as she had seen before. But then she glanced at the Bergen’s, noticing that their expressions mirrored those of her own people. Yet, something caught her attention—her father was nowhere to be seen. Where was he?

That small distraction proved to be a big mistake. She didn’t notice that the Bergen had recovered and raised her hand once again. This time, the Bergen successfully struck, knocking the princess off her dragon and causing both to fall.

“Poppy!” she heard Branch yell out in panic as he saw her plummet. But before he could do anything, she landed painfully in the tray, right in front of the Chef. “Enough!” the Chef shouted as she brandished her machete.

Aligning it right up to Poppy, Branch slowly began to realize the danger as he whispered, “She’s got a machete.” Panic hit him as he started to run towards Poppy, hoping to save her before it was too late. “SHE’S GOT A MACHETE!” he yelled out, hoping Poppy heard, but he wasn’t close enough.

WHERE WAS HE?!

WHERE WAS THE POP KING?!

WHERE WAS PEPPY?!

“You’ve hurt me enough,” Poppy heard the Bergen queen speak up as she wiped her bleeding nose with her right hand while holding the machete with her left, as if to prove a point.

The Chef declared: "Six hundred lives I’ll take. Six hundred lives I’ll break. And when I kill you, then my pain is over. You’re dying here and now. Escape is not allowed. You won’t live through this day—now die, die…”

And then it all happened so fast. Too fast. One moment Branch was running to reach Poppy, trying to save her, and the next he heard her blood-curdling screams of pain. His eyes widened as he saw what the Bergen had done.

The Bergen had used the machete to cut Poppy’s left foot. Branch couldn’t move. He saw too much blood coming from the one person he had managed to befriend. He watched as she started to hyperventilate, using her hands to try to stop the bleeding, but it was clear she didn’t know what she was doing.

Her eyes shed tears of pain, her body shook, she started to look pale—losing energy, losing strength, losing the will to live.

“NO!” he yelled out as a powerful surge of emotions shot through him, propelling him once again to race towards her. “POPPY!” he heard Bridget yell out, panicked. But he didn’t care. He had one goal and one goal only: to reach Poppy.

However, if Branch had taken a moment to look down, he would have noticed that wherever he stepped, ice began to cover the platter. It quickly spread from the platter to the cart, then to the floor below, and from there to the walls, windows, tables, and finally the ceiling.

If Branch had noticed, he would have seen how both trolls and Bergen’s shivered due to the sudden drop in temperature. If he had noticed, he would have seen a very wet king holding his equally drenched big brother, both recovering from their near-death experience in the now frozen water.

If he had noticed, he would have seen his own feet becoming frosted from the overuse of magic. But he didn’t; his focus was singular—he wanted, needed Poppy. He needed to help her, to heal her, TO AVENGE HER.

As Branch finally reached Poppy, he immediately got to her side, holding her as she passed out in his arms. “POPPY!” he heard himself yell before he began to freeze her foot, trying to prevent any more blood loss. Suddenly, JD ran up to him with a tourniquet, quickly wrapping it tightly around her foot.

This allowed Branch to slowly unfreeze her foot, and then he heard the Bergen call out, “I am sorry for this interruption,” she spat with venom and hatred. “But I assure you… Trollstice will still continue!”

Branch felt his blood boil. How dare she?! HOW DARE SHE?! Suddenly, he gripped his axe, the one stained with Poppy’s blood. He felt his anger rushing through his veins, pumping in his heart.

Begging to come out.

Begging to take control.

And he did.

He obeyed.

He let it all out.

“I CHALLENGE THE CROWN!!”

The tension was palpable, and everyone could sense that something monumental was about to unfold. The stakes were higher than ever, and the outcome would change everything.

Chapter Text

After Branch declared that challenge, he and the Chef suddenly locked eyes. The tension between them could even be noticed by the dead. There was a tense moment of silence until the Bergen let out a soft yet menacing chuckle. “What do you want if you win?” she asked him, the same question she had asked Poppy.

Branch couldn’t help but imitate her laugh in a mocking manner as he held onto a passed-out Poppy as if she were his lifeline. “An eye… an eye for a leg,” he mumbled with such hate, such malice that it made the Bergen shiver.

“Pick. Up. Your. Weapon,” the Bergen ordered the teal troll, who, in return, cracked his knuckles. After he was done cracking his knuckles, he reached for the same axe Poppy had chosen. As he stood up, he handed over Poppy to John, who was sending him a ‘please don’t do this’ look, but he ignored it.

He also ignored the look of confusion in the Bergen’s eyes. It was clear she wasn’t expecting him to pick up a bloody axe. But bloody or not, Branch would still choose it. “This is the axe I am going to use to kill you,” Branch told his confused enemy, who in return just rolled her eyes. “Whatever, troll,” she spat.

“Branch, are you crazy?!” Branch then heard a worried JD ask. “Did you not see what just happened?” But Branch barely heard him. His anger was too much; his vision was flashing from his normal view to blood red.

He could hear his heart thumping with rage. It hurt, but he didn’t show it. “Branch?” his brother worriedly asked, but again, he was ignored. Branch felt his body shake—shake with such anger that it was threatening to burst.

Fingernails itching, wanting to see some blood on them.

His grandma always told him about this type of anger before.

She said only vengeful people were able to feel it.

Was this what it felt like to be possessed by Lyssa? Wanting to scream until he couldn’t anymore? Wanting for Chef to bleed until she died? Damn it all to hell then. “You can be the one to throw the first hit,” the Chef said as she licked the machete she used to cut Poppy’s leg. That only angered Branch more.

Branch felt his energy leave him. He ignored his beating heart. “You’re now listening to Camp Vamps Radio, bitch,” Branch started as music began to play in the background. However, before he could throw his hit, that sentence seemed to anger the Bergen as she was the one to act first, smashing down the machete with a strong force onto the wooden table, which Branch quickly dodged.

Now it was his turn.

He was the one to attack.

“Sippin’ blood like I’m a vampire, taste like codeine, drippin’ on me. Masquerade, now where’s the deadline,” he whispered, singing as he quickly froze the machete to stay embedded in the table, preventing it from being taken out. That only elicited an angry yell from the Chef as she tried to squash him as if he were some kind of bug. But he wasn’t going to back down that easily.

“Playing bloodlines, where’s that clapback? Feel like Dracula, the way I scare you.” Then, as the Chef landed her hand on the table, Branch used that opportunity to quickly slice her finger clean off her hand. A smile of satisfaction crossed his face as he heard the Bergen’s painful yell. She clutched her now-missing middle finger, and Branch saw red. This time, a new wave of rage consumed him as he began to smell the coppery scent of blood.

He wasn't himself anymore. He wasn’t himself as he watched the now decaying Bergen finger slowly mold and rot. Blood, tissue, and skin were gone, leaving a perfect bone where a finger once stood. But he still sang, “Cry for help but I can’t hear you. Now you’re part of my blood omen, getting high off serotonin.”

As Branch saw the Bergen back away from the table, he felt his own body rush towards her, ignoring everyone who called out to him, begging him to stop. He wasn’t going to stop; he had made this Bergen a promise, and he never broke his promises, so damn him if he started now.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Chef was panicking. She held onto her slowly rotting finger. She needed to treat this immediately, or else she would slowly start to rot from the inside out.

“Alright!! You win!!” she yelled out, hoping the blue troll would listen. He didn’t; it was as if the charging troll wasn’t in control. Chef saw him pick up speed—a speed, determination, and will to kill that she had never seen pop trolls possess. Then she noticed his eyes, which were now fully red. Red like blood. Oh, she was fucked.

She then noticed the music becoming more aggressive, less like typical pop troll music. What the hell was going on? “Masquerade, masquerade, masquerade, masquerade. Catch your skin right on my fang. Masquerade, masquerade, masquerade. Soon you’ll know what is my name. Masquerade, masquerade, masquerade, masquerade. A Bergen’s soul is what I crave.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As Branch finally reached the end of the table, he began to run faster, not caring that his heart hurt, not caring that his energy was draining, not caring that his legs and arms were now fully frosted. He didn’t care he was going to finish this.

So with that said, as he got to the edge of the table, he didn’t stop. He began to run towards the open space, quickly morphing the ice beneath him into a spiral slide that kept going up and up until he was once again face to face with a frightened Bergen who couldn’t move anywhere else, trapped in the middle of his icy creation.

“Seek them out now one by one, dropping bodies like a nun.” As he said that, he manifested multiple ice daggers that quickly surrounded her, leaving no part of her safe if Branch decided to unleash them. “One axe and a few daggers slide through your skin like your own machete. I think I’m not done; please just stay a while.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Then the daggers all plunged deep into Chef, making her fall to the ground, howling in pain. Her pierced organs began to fail her as they started rotting.

Her bones, which were also stabbed, began to rot and decay so quickly that she could feel them leaving her. As every bone in her body vanished, her body lay there, unmoving and stiff.

Waiting for death.

As her gaze became blurry and began to fade, the music still roared with hatred and the need for vengeance. He wasn’t done yet, was he? “Walk around like I can’t see. I’ll fly like a bat, can track your tracks. They see my face, get a heart attack!”

However, as Chef fell to the ground, awaiting death, she didn’t notice the red-eyed troll’s ice slide being broken by her, causing it to collapse like a row of dominoes. But unlike her, Branch was prepared; Frost was there to catch him just in time before he fell.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As he watched his ice collapse on top of the fallen Chef, Branch made a small gesture, and in response, the shards of ice grew larger and heavier, pressing down mercilessly on the defeated Bergen. She fought hard to keep her eyes open, but it was clear she was losing the battle. Good. He still had a promise to fulfill. He didn’t care that his energy was failing him or that his heart ached with every beat.

He had a promise to complete.

Especially with all the cheers he was hearing.

From trolls, Bergens, and even dragons.

He needed to end this.

Now.

So he jumped—leaping out of Frost’s saddle and aiming directly for the Bergen’s face. His axe was ready, held firmly in front of him, its blade quickly sharpening and growing to the perfect size to rip out an eye in one clean pull. As he descended, his voice carried through the chaos, singing with venomous determination: “Sioux, get it together, I’m losing my mental. They’re talking about you, I am planning to kill you. I feel it deep within, it’s just beneath the skin. I must confess that I feel like a monster. I feel it deep within, it’s just beneath the skin. I must confess that I feel like a monster.”

The air around him seemed to freeze as he closed in on his target, his axe gleaming with icy malice. This was it—the moment he would finish what he started.

And just like that, Branch landed on top of the Bergen’s face, his axe striking directly into the middle of her left eye. With one strong, merciless pull, he ripped it out, eliciting a long, agonizing cry from Chef.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her misfortune.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Her left eye had been torn away completely.

She could barely comprehend the pain, but she felt every nerve, every piece of tissue, and everything inside the eye being violently ripped from her skull. Trembling with agony, she reached for her left eye, hoping against hope that it was still there. But it wasn’t. Instead of feeling her eye, her fingers touched the hollow cavity where it once rested.

And then she felt it—the rot.

The empty socket began to decay, slowly dissolving as the icy curse spread through her body.

With the only eye she had left, Chef looked at the troll—the troll who was going to dethrone her. He was still laughing, a maniacal laugh that echoed through the room like the sound of someone completely unhinged. She could see it in his eyes—those blood-red eyes that burned with fury and madness. He truly wasn’t all there anymore.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Sippin’ blood like I’m a vampire, taste like codeine, drippin’ on me. Masquerade, now where’s the deadline? Playing bloodlines, where’s that clapback? Feel like Dracula, way I scare you. Cry for help but I can’t hear you. Now you’re part of my blood omen, getting high off serotonin.”

As Branch finished ripping out her left eye, he raised both his axe and the eye it held high into the air, displaying the yellow-and-red orb for everyone to see. Trolls, Bergens, dragons—all eyes were fixed on the gruesome trophy. He wanted them to take one good, final look before he destroyed it.

“Sippin’ blood like I’m a vampire, taste like codeine, drippin’ on me,” he sang again, his voice dripping with venom as he ignored the weakness creeping into his body. His energy was draining fast, his heart pounding painfully in his chest, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t done yet.

Out of nowhere, multiple daggers appeared, shimmering with icy precision, surrounding him like an arsenal of vengeance. The air grew colder, heavier, as Branch prepared for his next move.

All of the daggers targeted that one eye. “Masquerade, now where’s the deadline?” As he asked that, the daggers rushed to their target, piercing the eye deeply.

Eye liquid cascaded down like rain, covering Branch, but he remained unfazed. “Playing bloodlines, where’s that clapback? Feel like Dracula, way I scare you. Cry for help but I can’t hear you. Now you’re part of my blood omen, getting high off serotonin.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As Chef’s gaze became blurry and began to fade, the music died down. Her only remaining eye felt heavy as the will to live slowly left her.

With her eye slowly closing, she saw her killer—the teal troll panting, on the verge of passing out. A wobbly chuckle escaped her lips as she uttered her final words, struggling to speak as her mouth decayed painfully. She whispered, “I’ll… take… you… with… me… to… hell.”

“I’d… like to… see you… try,” the troll responded, his voice steady despite his exhaustion.

In that moment, both knew the battle was over, but the war within them would rage on.

Then, with one final act of vengeance, Branch drove his axe deep into Chef’s heart. Her mouth opened wide, desperate to scream, but no sound came out—only silence.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As he ripped the axe from her chest, blood gushed out like a relentless fountain, drenching him from head to toe. Bergen blood mixed with frost, sweat, and eye fluids, painting him in a macabre tapestry of battle. But Branch remained unfazed. She could tell—the anger, the vengeance, the adrenaline, and the primal need to kill were slowly leaving him.

Now covered in frost, sweat, eye fluids, Bergen blood, and burdened by a hurting heart, Branch watched as Chef’s last remaining eye closed for good. Dead. She was dead. The tyrant who had haunted so many lives was finally gone. And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Branch could see the world more clearly, brighter than before.

But clarity came at a cost. All the adrenaline and strength drained from his body, leaving him weak and trembling. His axe, still slick with blood, became too heavy to carry. It slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground as exhaustion overtook him.

Through the haze of fatigue, he saw Floyd running toward him, panic etched across his face. “Branch!” Floyd yelled, his voice frantic, his steps hurried. The teal troll swayed on his feet, barely able to stand, as Floyd reached him, grabbing hold of his shoulders to steady him.

Branch could no longer support himself, so he was grateful when his brothers flocked around him like protective mother hens. “It’s over… It’s over…” he reassured them, feeling his heart slowly giving out.

“What’s over?!” Bruce asked in a panic, holding onto him tightly to prevent him from falling.

“The war… It’s over… I’ve won.” And with those words, everything went black for Branch. Yet, even in the darkness, he heard them calling for Biggie. Why were they calling for him?

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Biggie was terrified. He had just witnessed his best friend, Poppy, being defeated by the Bergen and losing her leg. Now she lay there, passed out. But as he watched Branch challenge the Bergen, a surge of energy coursed through him, making his eyes widen with shock.

He looked at Poppy, and an overwhelming need to reach her and heal her took hold. But why? He didn’t have any means—until another powerful surge of energy erupted within him. It burned inside, desperate to be released, but how?

In that moment of desperation, Biggie realized that this energy might be the key. He focused on it, willing it to flow through him, to find a way to help Poppy. The energy responded, building up until it felt like it would burst. With determination, Biggie reached out, hoping against hope that whatever power he had discovered would be enough to save his friend.

“Big?” he heard a worried John call out to him. Wait… how did John get here? Biggie’s mind was spinning, but as he looked at John, he saw something in his eyes—a silent plea, an unspoken understanding that Biggie was supposed to do something. But what?

Another surge of energy hit him, stronger this time, and his gaze shifted to Poppy. His hands moved on their own, reaching for her bloodied leg. “Heal her.” John whispered softly, his voice steady yet urgent. Those two words shattered something inside Biggie—something that had been dormant until now. He suddenly understood. He knew what he needed to do.

Without hesitation, Biggie nodded and moved closer to the passed-out princess. The energy within him surged again, leaving his body as he placed his hands over her wound. A warm, glowing light emanated from his palms, enveloping Poppy’s injured leg. Slowly, the bleeding stopped, and the wound sealed itself. Her leg was still cut off, but the pain and danger were gone. She was safe—for now.

“Biggie!” Another frantic voice called his name, snapping him out of his focus. He turned to see Floyd, panic written all over his face as he held onto a passed-out Branch. “Help!” Floyd pleaded, desperation thick in his voice.

Biggie didn’t hesitate. He nodded firmly, knowing exactly what he needed to do. The energy within him flared once more, ready to be used. He rushed toward Branch, his hands already glowing with the same healing light. Whatever this power was, it wasn’t just a gift—it was a responsibility. And Biggie was ready to use it to save his friends.

Chapter Text

Poppy let out a gasp. She quickly looked around her; she was in an unknown area.

Everything around her was in shades of blue and white, with a beautiful forest-like scenery where everything was so alive, bright, and happy. She had read in some books that if you were in uncertain areas, you would feel a sense of discomfort. But that’s not what she felt. She felt at peace.

Then the sense of déjà vu hit her. She’d been here before. “Where…”

“Welcome to Elysium, my child,” a heavenly yet motherly voice spoke up, almost like a warm blanket covering you on a cold night. Wait… Elysium?!

“Am I dead?!” Poppy asked as she quickly got up. Suddenly, pain erupted in her left leg. She looked down, and her eyes widened. Her left leg was nearly transparent. And then she remembered everything. “No…” she said, defeated. She still hadn’t even told Branch she—

“Of course not, my child, ‘tis not thy time.” Huh… Old English? Well, Poppy didn’t know much on this topic because there weren’t many books in Troll Village, but somehow, she could understand everything.

“If it’s not my time,” she spoke to a small troll-like light that kind of reminded her of a glitter troll, “then why am I here?”

“To reward thee, of course!” the voice responded with happiness.

“Why?” Poppy asked in confusion.

“Well… not only didst thou prove thyself to thy people, but to all of Elysium as well, so it felt appropriate to reward thee,” the motherly voice said.

“Now hie thee, for there is not enough time. Name something that thou hast always wanted from deep within thy heart.”

“What I’ve always wanted…” Poppy murmured to herself. What did she want? There were a lot of things she wanted, like gaining respect and love… but she guessed she had already worked for that. Wait… she knew two things she most desperately wanted.

“Can I meet my big sister Viva?”

The light didn’t have any facial expression, but Poppy sensed a look of sadness. “I am sorry, my child, yet her time, just like yours, hath not come.” Wait, so she was alive?! Poppy could jump in excitement. “Will I ever see her?”

“I am sorry, yet I cannot betray that information; thou might need to find it yourself.”

“Oh…” Poppy said with disappointment. She then noticed herself becoming transparent. “Hurry, child, before thou miss this opportunity,” the voice urged.

“Oh, um…” Poppy panicked. “Can I see my mom? I’ve heard wonderful stories about her from Dad. I just want to meet her. You know, if that’s possible?”

The troll made out of light nodded. “All is possible in Elysium, princess.” Suddenly, the light-shaped troll began to glow—glow so much that Poppy had to shut her eyes and cover them with both hands. “Thou may open thy eyes now.” the voice commanded. So Poppy did; she opened her eyes.

And she felt the need to cry.

Her mother was standing there, arms outstretched as if waiting for a hug.

Without even thinking, and ignoring the pain in her foot, Poppy raced forward like a rocket and practically dove into her mother’s embrace.

“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you!” Poppy cried out, tears of overwhelming happiness streaming down her face.

“Neither can I, my child,” her mother said as she gently took hold of Poppy’s chin, lifting it so their eyes met. Poppy cried even harder as her mother gave her a loving and proud look.

“I am so proud of whom thou hast become, of whom thou art, and of what thou hast achieved,” her mother said warmly. Then, Poppy felt herself beginning to fade away. She was returning to the mortal realm now.

“No matter what happens, Poppy, remember: I shall always love thee.”

And then, Poppy knew no more.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Branch’s eyes opened.

He wasn’t at home.

He was somewhere unknown.

He had a lot of mixed emotions, but two stood out more: comfort and fear.

Where was he?

He observed his surroundings; there were hints of blue, white, and black. Like an abandoned wasteland. Suddenly, dread filled his whole being. Was he dead?! And if so, where was he?

“Welcome to the Fields of Asphodel, my child.” Old English? Fine, he could deal with that. He understood it anyway. “Why am I here?!” he voiced as he began to walk, but then he heard chains clinking. His eyes widened as he looked down. His hands were trapped in shackles. He tried to activate his power, but—

“Thy powers be of no worth in this place, my child; they shall avail thee not.”

“Why won’t they work?!” Branch yelled back to the haunting yet warm voice. “We desire not that the wrath within thee should roam amongst us.”

“So what, chain me down and pray that I don’t find a way out—is that it?! Also… am I dead?”

“Verily, nay! We merely desire to feel secure. And rest thee assured, thou art not departed. Thy time hath not yet arrived. Not yet, I say.”

“Then why am I here?! What purpose do I still need to fulfill?!Why can't I just rest already?!”

“Thee lack any intent hither; thy parents, however, ‘tis a diverse story.”

“My parents?” Branch asked, and suddenly he had to cover his eyes as a bright light overwhelmed his senses. Once it was safe to open his eyes, his gaze hardened as he saw who was standing in front of him. “You,” he whispered with such hatred that he saw the two trolls flinch.

“Branch, listen…”

“I don’t have to listen to ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY!”

“Then I won’t speak. Just… let us show you… please,” Branch heard his dad beg. He never heard that man beg. He shook his head.

“I won’t. Now let me go.”

“Branch,” his mother said gently. “We’re not here to fight.”

“Then what are you here for?” Branch asked the woman. He then looked down and saw that the two trolls both had chains all over their bodies, some heavier than others.

However, he couldn’t help but gasp as he noticed that in each of their chests, right where their hearts were, lay a large wound. A very familiar color of ice was stuck inside, covered in their blood, making the color almost indistinguishable. “Why…”

“They are our sins and mistakes, son, and the ice represents our death—how we pushed you all so much until one of you snapped and… stabbed us in the heart,” his father admitted. “We have to fix every single one—from the biggest to the very smallest—in order to earn our redemption and the ability to enter heaven. We’re not going to ask for forgiveness because we know we don’t deserve it, but—”

His father and mother raised one of the big locks around their hearts.

“One out of five. This one is yours. We’re not showing you this to make you feel bad or to seek forgiveness. But we want to show you that these burdens are heavy on us… and we’re tired, so very tired,” his mom said, tears—real tears—falling from her eyes.

“And we’re so sorry. The damage is already done, that we know. But please, give us one more chance.”

“If I give you a chance… you won’t show up in my life again? You won’t tell me what to do, how to do it, and who to marry?”

“I’m sorry,” his father said, “but we will still appear in your life. However, this time, we will do better. We’ll give you good advice. We will let you marry whom you wish to marry, and if you don’t want to marry anyone… that’ll be fine with us as well. We just want you and your siblings, whom we will also appear to make amends with, to be happy. All of you. Just say—”

“Yes,” Branch said as tears began to fall. “That is all I ever wanted.” His mother then reached for the shackles, tearing them away with no effort, and Branch took that opportunity to jump into his parents’ waiting arms. They wrapped each other in a hug, their tails connecting with one another.

“Thank you, Branch,” both of his parents said. “We’re so proud of you.” And then Branch knew no more.

********** 

Translation - 

Poppy's Conversation : 

“Of course not, my child, ‘tis not thy time.” =

“ Of course not, my child, it is not your time yet.”

“To reward thee, of course!” =

“Of course, I want to reward you!”

“Well… not only didst thou prove thyself to thy people, but to all of Elysium as well, so it felt appropriate to reward thee,” =

“Well… you didn’t just prove yourself to your people, but to all of Elysium too, so it seemed fitting to reward you.”

“Now hie thee, for there is not enough time. Name something that thou hast always wanted from deep within thy heart.”=

“Hurry now, for time is short. Name something you have always wanted from the depths of your heart.”

“I am sorry, my child, yet her time, just like yours, hath not come.” =

“ I’m sorry, my dear, but her time, just like yours, hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Thou may open thy eyes now,” =

“ You can open your eyes now.”

“I am so proud of whom thou hast become, of whom thou art, and of what thou hast achieved,” =

“I am so proud of who you have become, who you are, and what you have achieved.”

“No matter what happens, Poppy, remember: I shall always love thee.”=

“No matter what happens, Poppy, always remember: I will always love you. “

Branch's Conversation Translation:

“Thy powers be of no worth in this place, my child; they shall avail thee not.” =

“ Your powers are of no value here, my child; they will not help you.”

“We desire not that the wrath within thee should roam amongst us.” =

“We do not wish for the anger within you to wander among us. “

“Verily, nay! We merely desire to feel secure. And rest thee assured, thou art not departed. Thy time hath not yet arrived. Not yet, I say.” = 

" Indeed, no! We just want to feel safe. And rest assured, you are not gone. Your time has not come yet. Not yet, I tell you." 

“Thee lack any intent hither; thy parents, however, ‘tis a diverse story.” = 

" You have no intention to come here; your parents, however, have a different tale. " 

Chapter Text

Poppy let out a gasp as she woke up for the second time, only to find herself back in her room. She was back! She noticed that she was in her bed—a pale pink bed with white comforters.

Suddenly, she heard a bark, and before she knew it, a very excited Rosethorn dived onto her bed, wagging his tail as if he were a dog. “Ok, ok, it’s nice to see you, bud—OW!” she yelled as she felt Rosethorn step on her left leg. Then she remembered what had happened.

She took a deep breath, ready to see how bad it was.

It was a pink wooden leg that greeted her. “Huh… Not bad. Not bad at all,” she whispered to herself. The leg was the same color as her skin now: a light pink. Wait… “Rosethorn!” she yelled out in panic. “You’re in my house! In my pod! My dad is going to kill you! How did you even get in without—I don’t know—the whole town noticing?!”

A low grumble escaped Rosethorn as he looked down at the ground, appearing sad. Poppy felt a wave of guilt wash over her and quickly stood up, taking a step toward him, only to stumble.

However, before she could fall completely, Rosethorn stopped her fall, catching her with his muzzle. “Thank you, bud… I’m sorry,” she said, giving him some affectionate pats.

She then heard carefree laughter echoing from outside the building. What party were they throwing?

As she held onto Rosethorn, she began to walk toward the door that led outside.

She hesitated.

Was she ready for this?

Rosethorn then let out a few encouraging growls.

“Thank you, bud.” With that, she pushed open the doors, her eyes closed as they made contact with the sun for the first time in who knows how long.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As her eyes became accustomed to the light, they widened. She saw her people and dragons bonding as if they were long-lost friends. Yep, this is it. “I died during the operation and entered The Elysian Fields, didn’t I?”

“Of course not, my daughter.” She then faced her father, King Peppy, who looked at her with a proud yet troubled expression. “My daughter… listen, about what I said. I am so very proud of you. You’ll always be my daughter.” Poppy felt tears run down her face. “I apologize for not seeing what you wanted to show me. I apologize for you not wanting to show us all of this—” he said, gesturing to the scenery beneath them.

“It’s alright, Dad, really—”

“Look who’s awake!” Poppy looked at who interrupted her; it was Bruce and John walking up to them. It was John who spoke up between the two. “You and Branch gave us all a scare,” Bruce said.

“Wait. What happened to Branch? The last thing I felt before I lost consciousness was something wet. What happened?” A worried Poppy asked.

“Oh yeah, why were you wet, JD?” Floyd asked, who, along with Clay, had just appeared out of nowhere. This caused both the King and John to nervously look at each other before looking away.

“Well,” John said, “it was an accident—”

“It was all my fault,” Peppy admitted, making everyone look at him.

“I was driven by too much envy when I saw John here,” the King said as he pointed at John, “touch and befriend Poppy’s dragon. Rage took over me. I locked him up in a soundproof room and left him there, chained to the ground with chains that forbade him from using his power.”

“You son of a bitch!” Clay yelled. “You’re telling me that if you didn’t go and save him, he would have—”

“Drowned? Yes. Which is why I went and risked my life to save him. I apologized profusely, and I was forgiven.”

“You don’t deserve his forgiveness,” Bruce said with hatred toward the elderly king.

“I know, but—”

“POPPY!” Another voice interrupted, making everyone jump. It was safe to say they were not expecting it. Then Poppy saw a very familiar blue troll carrying a package two times his size and holding another small one for dear life.

“BRANCH!” she yelled.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

As Branch ran up the stairs without even breaking a sweat, Poppy was impressed; she couldn’t even go halfway down before needing to stop and catch her breath.

“Wow there, little B,” John said as he patted his panting brother. “It was just a few weeks ago that you woke up; take it easy!” But, of course, he was ignored as Branch handed Poppy the largest package first.

“Here, open it!” he said excitedly, his tail wagging. “I made sure to use tough leather this time, so if you get into trouble, it will be difficult to rip.” Poppy looked at him in confusion before she opened it.

It was a tail.

A tail that the Bergen had ripped off Rosethorn at some point. “Thank you,” Poppy said breathlessly.

“And that’s not all! Here,” he handed her the smaller package. As she opened it, she couldn’t help but gasp. It was her knife—the one Havoc had distroyed. “Oh Branch, thank you!” she exclaimed as she wrapped both herself and Branch in a tight hug.

“It’s the least I can do after the way I treated you… treated both of you,” he said, looking between Poppy and Rosethorn before playfully punching her on the shoulder, causing her to stumble in surprise.

“Aww, come on, Branch!” she yelled. “I thought we were on good terms!”

“We are,” Branch responded.

“Then why did you—”

“That was for scaring the living daylights out of me after you nearly died.”

Poppy looked at him in surprise. “Oh, Branch, I—” She was cut off as Branch pulled her into a brief kiss, causing her eyes to widen. Once he let go, she was so stunned that she heard the trolls around her laugh. “And that… that’s for everything else,” Branch said, his gaze avoiding hers.

As she snapped out of her trance, she noticed a blush forming on his cheeks. She let out a chuckle as music began to play. “Yay! The end credits are here!” Smidge shouted as she ran around, leaving a very concerned Poppy and Branch.

“Umm… Okay~,” Branch said uncertainly. Before he knew it, all the trolls began to sing in unison—a chant, to say the least. It started something like this: “Praise all nations, magnificent in the ages. And praise my soul, magnificent in the ages.”

Floyd took this as his cue to sing out, “Happy nation, livin’ in a happy nation. Where the people understand and dream of perfect man. Situation leading to sweet salvation. For the people, for the good, for mankind brotherhood~”

Smidge jumped in briefly, singing as she dashed away once again,“We’re traveling in time!”

Branch took hold of Poppy and looked into her eyes as he sang the next part of the song, “Ideas by trolls, and only those will last. And over time, we’ve learned from the past. That no princess is fit to rule the world alone. A troll may die, but not your ideas.”

Poppy chuckled as she found herself with Branch on top of a very large flower, their tails intertwined. She marveled at how one simple friendship between a laughingstock and a dragon had become a great legend. “Happy nation, livin’ in a happy nation, where the people understand and dream of perfect man. Situation leading to sweet salvation. For the people, for the good, for mankind brotherhood~”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

Smidge found herself holding onto the flower that both the princess and Branch were standing on. With all her might and strength, she lifted the flower up.

“We’re traveling in time.” Smidge said with a proud smile.

“Tell ‘em we’ve gone too far! Tell ‘em we’ve gone too far!!” Biggie panicked as he watched how high the flower had risen, closing his eyes in fear and worry for his friends’ safety.

“Happy Nation!” the trolls below the flower yelled out, clearly ignoring the larger troll as he let out a frightened shriek.

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

“Come through, and I will dance with you~,” Branch said, holding out his hand to Poppy, his intentions clear in his eyes.

“Tell ‘em we’ve gone too far!!” Biggie begged once more, his voice trembling. The two trolls atop the flower couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, their joy echoing across the scene.

“Come through, and I will dance with you~,” Poppy replied as she took hold of Branch’s hand. As they began to sway along with the song, Biggie yelled out one more time: “Tell ‘em we’ve gone too far!!”

Their laughter grew uncontrollable, causing them to lose their balance and tumble into the flower. As they calmed themselves down, both repeated in unison: “Come through, and I will dance with you~.”

•┈┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

They sat there in comfortable silence for a moment, enjoying the peace. Branch eventually stood up and stretched, a few bones popping audibly. Turning toward Poppy, he extended his hand once again.

Poppy smiled and took it, allowing Branch to lift her up effortlessly. He guided her to the very edge of the rose petal, where they both sat back down, their feet dangling below.

“Would you look at that,” Poppy said softly, breathing in the happy atmosphere around them. The view was breathtaking, filled with the vibrant colors of flowers and the joyful energy of trolls singing below. It was a moment neither of them would forget.

“Yep, and who would’ve thought all this was your doing? To be honest, I would have laughed in your face if you told me you did all of this a long time ago,” Branch said with a teasing grin.

“Har, har, very funny,” Poppy replied, deadpan.

“But it’s true,” Branch defended himself, causing Poppy to laugh.

Poppy then sang one last time, “Happy nation, livin’ in a happy nation. Where the people understand and dream of perfect man. Situation leading to sweet salvation. For the people, for the good, for mankind brotherhood~”

As the two trolls looked toward the setting sun, Branch rested his head on Poppy’s shoulder, and she gently placed her head on top of his. They listened as the trolls below chanted one last time: “Happy nation, Happy nation, Happy nation, Happy nation.”

As they finished singing, Poppy reached for her hair. “Hey, listen…” Branch looked at her without changing his position. “Yeah?” he asked.

“Here,” she said, handing back his survival guide.

“Oh, so you took it. Huh… mystery solved,” Branch remarked, causing Poppy to laugh nervously.

“Open it,” she urged, her nervousness replaced with excitement. Branch opened it and gasped as he saw new information about different types of dragons.

“Oh, Poppy…” he said, mesmerized.

“I know, I’m awesome,” the pink troll replied in a cocky tone.

Branch just laughed as he put his survival book back in his hair, where it belonged. “You are. Thank you, but next time, please ask me and don’t steal it. Got it?”

“Got it!” Poppy said with a giggle, which made Branch giggle as well.

With that, the song came to an end, leaving only a few cheers and the sound of clapping hands echoing around them.

Because they were, after all, living in a happy nation.

And they wouldn’t change it for the world.

Chapter Text

Music Playlist:

“Loser, Baby” from Hazbin Hotel

“Mother Knows Best” from Disney’s: Tangled

“Confident” by Demi Lovato

“Like Gravity”(Leaked) from Hazbin Hotel

“Brutus” by The Buttress

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears

“Get Back Up Again” from DreamWorks’: Trolls

“Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

“You Belonged Here” by TJ Music

“Savior” by Skillet

“Surface Pressure” from Disney’s: Encanto

“Survive” from Epic: The Musical

“Masquerade” by Siouxxie Sixxsta

“Happy Nation” by Ace of Base

Songs Total: 14

Credits to the songs go to their respective owners. I own nothing. Even if this note seems unnecessary, I just want to make it clear that I claim no ownership.

Hopefully y’all have a new playlist or add on’s to your own playlist! I really do enjoy listing to all these song’s! And I hope you did too!

How The Dragons Look Like: 

Keep in mind I am not much of an artist so my bad if my drawings don't look good but I think it'll be best for me to do them then to use ai right? 

Rosethorn : 

Rosethorn's Fake Tail:

Frost : 

Mr. Muffin : 

Havoc: 

Shimmer & Sequence: 

Shimmer is the pink one and Shimmer is the blue one 

How To Befriend A……… Bonekapper?

Sneak Peak:

“John, are you alright?!” a panicked Branch asked as he raced to his elder brother. “Are you hurt?”

John rolled his eyes, brushing off the concern. “I am fine, baby bro. It’s just that… I know who did this,” he said with hate, his heart-shaped tail rattling in anger.

“WHO??” Branch demanded, his voice filled with rage and an unmistakable need for vengeance. His eyes shifted to blood red, burning with fury. “Who did it?!” he insisted again. “I swear I’m going to—”

“A dragon,” John said sternly, cutting him off.

The Snack Pack froze, staring at John as if he had suddenly lost his mind. Branch’s blood-red eyes quickly reverted to their normal color, the rage in them replaced by sheer confusion.

“A what?” Satin asked hesitantly, her voice breaking the stunned silence.

Will be released next Thursday at 10:00am