Dang it! 2 days late! I wanted to upload this when it was November 4 because originally I made this as a celebration of "Trolls" 1 year anniversary. Why do my sisters cry out for so much attention. They even take my phone and computer away. Oh well, that's life. Anyways I'm very happy at the how this story started off. Thank you all. And special thanks to Saphira Winters for being the first to favourite and follow this.
ABBA1906 - thank you and here you go.
Jpbake - yea I know. You can imagine how embarrassed I was when I started sobbing in lunch while listening to the soundtrack. It took me a while but I figured out why. Almost all the musicals plots are started by people. Slavery was caused by a person, wars was caused by a person and even a ghost, it's still technically a person. You will always have someone to blame, and you have at least a little control in your life. As for SpongeBob, the plot isn't started by a character but a natural disaster. Something they have zero control over, and have very little hope for. They have no one to blame to make them feel better. I can relate a lot because I have a huge fear of natural disasters. The fear started when I experienced my first big earthquake in California when I was 5 or 6. I nearly had a heart attack. So watching one of my childhood character try to cheer up his friends with my favorite childhood song " Best Day Ever" so they can all die happy and united instead of angry, fighting and blaming each other because they are all about to die from my worst nightmare!... It really got to me. I don't like talking about natural disasters because I can't help but feel like I'm next. I guess you can say SpongeBob the Musical helped me cope with my fear better. I need to go into a lot more detail for you to fully understand but hey… you're here for a story! Am I right!?
BananaQUEEN13 - Thank you! I love musicals! And I'm glad you liked it because I have a list of songs I'm ready to use for this story.
Shadow - storm119 - thanks! And I was going to have Branch blue but then I had second thoughts. Since the theme to this is finding a purpose, I wanted to make Branch turn blue when he feels he found his purpose.
Saphira winters - no need to wait any longer! Here it is!
TAPDANCING GIRAF - thanks and I can totally see you as a lama troll like Cooper.
Chapter 2! Here it is!
2 years later
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Poppys scream almost shook the whole troll tree. In a second, Branch jumped through the window and barrel rolled into Poppy's room.
"What is it!? Where are they!?" Branch swung around a frying pan to protect Poppy from any danger that dared to hurt her. Before he can react, he was tackled into a tight hug from a flash of pink.
"Our wedding day is only 3 days away!" Poppy shoved the calendar into Branches face.
"Poppy you do this at least once a week," Branch pushed the calendar down.
"And you always fall for it," Poppy smirked.
"Only because I'm afraid that one day you will be in danger," Branch swung his pan back into his hair.
"Awe, you worry too much, you know that?" Poppy giggled and planted a kiss on his cheek. She then went into her closet and started digging.
"Don't tell me you still have things to move out of here," Branch crossed his arms and leaned on the wall.
"Unless you want to move into a crowded pod with me…" Poppy came out with piles of boxes and dropped them on the bed"... All this has to go!"
"I still think we should move into my bunker after we're married," Branch opened up the box and took a look inside.
"You know we can't. I have to stay in the troll tree with my dad to rule the kingdom. The future queen and king can't be underground forever," Poppy explained as she started to carry some of the boxes down the tree with Branch behind her. Branches heart nearly stopped at her sentence. Future queen and king! For many years now, he prepared himself for the upcoming day but he just wasn't sure. He already felt a lot of pressure about the wedding and the fact that they will be announced as the new rulers of the troll kingdom after it was not helping. They walked towards the bunker and entered. Poppy happily skipped her way down the stairs while Branch tried to balance the boxes he had.
"This is sooooo exciting! Just think! In a few days I will finally have someone to call my husband!" Poppy giggled.
"Yea… I'm just… beaming with joy!" Branch nearly dropped the boxes but caught his balance quickly. Poppy happily opened a door in the bunker and ran in. Inside the room were dozen of boxes. Some mainly had toys or board games. Stuff that Poppy kept as a kid," Say Poppy, don't you think it's time we got rid of some of these things."
Branch let out a breath of relief when he dropped the boxes.
"Sell!? I could never! These are my treasures! Stories untold!" Poppy put down her boxes next to a pile of other boxes. She accidentally hit the pile and caused it to tumble down. Poppy screamed and covered herself as the pile fell on top of her.
"Poppy!?" Branch gasped. He ran to the pile and started throwing the boxes aside until he found Poppy," You ok?"
He helped her out of the pile.
"Maybe I do have too many…. Things…" Poppy wobbled around. Branch held her and sat her down so she wouldn't fall and hurt herself more.
"Why don't we sort some of these things out," He took out a plastic bag and opened it," Everything you want to sell put it in this box, everything that is trash, you'll put in here to throw away."
"A trash bag? Throw it away? Come on Branch, have some respect for these things," Poppy took the box," They hold a place in my heart."
"Really? How about this old clock?" Branch picked up a clock that seemed to stop ticking.
"It's only missing one gear. I'm sure I can sell it to someone who can love it as much as I did," Poppy grabbed it and put it in the box.
"An arrow without the bow?" Branch took out a arrow.
"It can still be useful," Poppy grabbed it and put it in the box to sell.
"A compass that won't even point north?" Branch opened the compass. The arrow was spinning around like crazy.
"It's… nice to look at," Poppy placed it in the box.
"This string?" Branch held up a single piece of string from the jewellery box.
"I can still use that," Poppy took it and put it in her hair. Branch rolled his eye's at this.
"Just please… promise me you'll have at least half of this place empty," Branch was pretty much begging now.
"A quarter," Poppy insisted.
"Deal," Branch shook her hand. Before Poppy can get started she brought up another topic.
"Oh, and by the way, my dad wants one of us to help with the wedding planning at King Gristles castle,"
"What for?" Branch asked.
"Something about decorating and the catering. Just a few edits," Poppy started taking items out.
"And you want me to go help," Branch wasn't asking but assuming.
"Well I am gonna be busy here aren't I?" Poppy smiled at him. Branch sighed and started his way up the stairs," Good luck honey. Love you! and tell my dad hi for me!"
"Will do!" Branch answered back.
King Gristles castle
Peppy was rushing everywhere trying to check everything off his list.
"Cake has been ordered, check. Tables and chairs check! Guest seating list?... Where's my guest seating list!?" Peppy looked under his clipboard.
"Here," Branch took it out of the soon to be former kings hair.
"Oh, thank you Branch," Peppy laughed and placed it back in his papers," How's the moving with Poppy so far?"
"Good so far. She already stuffed two of my rooms from my bunker with a bunch of boxes," Branch explained.
"Yea that's my girl. Always treasuring her things," Peppy gave a low laugh and started to walk around again.
"What is it with her and keeping every little thing?" Branch wondered out loud.
"Ever since she was a little girl she always saw her belongings as something alive. From a doll to a simple drawing. She felt that if she were to throw one away then that belonging will feel depressed and worthless," Peppy explained. As they walked around, Peppy handed Branch a paper with a list of things," May you please help me out with these things?"
"Sure, that is why I came," Branch nodded yes. He looked over the list. First up, check the catering. He went to the kitchen to see a bunch of trolls running around with plates of food," Um… is everything alright in here?"
"Branch! Thank goodness! Here," A random troll handed him a pile of ingredients," We need help with the pizza! Do you mind mixing in the first ingredients?!"
"Uh…."
"Great thank you!" The troll left. Branch stood there still trying to understand what just happened. He shook it off and placed all the ingredients on the table. In the pile was a paper that had the instructions.
"Ok… Let's see… some flour, water…" Branch started mixing in the ingredients. Everything seemed to be going well for a while. After adding the rest of the ingredients he started to pour in the yeast. As he did, a troll came wobbling pass him. He was balancing a large pile of dishes.
"Need help?" Branch let go of the yeast and let it fall into the pot. He grabbed some of the dishes and walked them to the sink. While he was away, the douge in the pot started to rise faster than usual. It was inflating like a balloon and started to spill out of the pot.
"Thank you Mr Branch," The troll thanked him for helping with the dishes.
"AH! The yeast!" A female troll shouted. Everyone turned to the direction of the yeast spilling out of the pot.
"Uh oh," was all that Branch can say right now. He ran to the pot and slammed the lid over it. The force the yeast was giving was enough to start making the pot shake.
"What do we do!?" A troll shouted.
"Uh… We..." Branch was having trouble on coming up with a solution. The pressure of the pot was too much for him at this point. The yeast started squeezing out of the edges of the metal pot. He eventually let the lid go sending it away into the air from all the pressure. The yeats started crawling all over the floor and taking over half the kitchen. The lid landed into the shelves and shattered half of the dishes. One by one, the dishes started rolling and falling out until there was only one left that was rolling across the shelf and headed towards Branch. He caught it and looked around the room. Nothing but shocked and sad expressions everywhere.
"Hehe…. We still got one!" Branch held it up only to accidentally smash it against the shelf. Before he knew it, Branch was pushed out of the kitchen by a yeast covered troll and a broom. He slammed the door shut leaving a disappointed Branch. He sighed before looking over the list again. Help with the flowers. This should be easy. He went to where a orange troll with green hair was. She was covered in plants and was cutting flowers into beautiful arrangements.
"Hey, Karma is it?" Branch asked.
"Yes that's me," The girl smiled. She grabbed some supplies and handed them to Branch," I'm sure you're here to help right?"
"Yes, yes I am," Branch sat down.
"Good. I need you to cut the thorns off of these roses and cut off about 5 inches from the stem," She explained. Branch immediately started his work. While he cut, Karma was making small talk with her future king," Nervous about the wedding day? It's only 3 days away."
"Nervous? Nah," Branch fibbed. He wasn't nervous about marrying Poppy, but he was terrified about being king after the ceremony," Poppy and I have been together since teenagers. She's a wonderful troll with the brightest personality I've ever seen."
"She is something. Have you learned your vows yet?" Karma asked.
"Of course I have. I've been practicing them since last week,"
"Really? Let's hear them then," Karma told him. Branch froze in some fear. He tried to gather his thoughts together first before attempting his vows.
"Well, Ever since we kids, I always felt something special about you…. I felt… like I belonged with you. That you were the one that I…. I…" Branch was trying to concentrate on his vows but the truth was that he had none. There was so much to say in just one vow. So many strong feelings he had to express. How do you fit such feelings in one or two minutes? How do you tell your love exactly how you feel without sounding so sappy or embarrassing yourself? How would his vows sound like 10 years from now? How….
"Branch!" Karmas scream suddenly snapped Branch out of his thoughts. He shook his head and looked down at what he was doing. All the roses either had stems that were half an inch long or he snipped the pedals off them.
"Oh! Karma! I'm so sorry!" Branch started gathering all the roses together," I didn't mean to…"
"Maybe you should help someone else out," Karma snagged them away from him. She threw all them into the trash," Now I have to order 12 dozen more roses!"
Feeling the guilt start to pressure him, Branch walked away.
"Branch, how are things going?" Peppy asked him as he passed by.
"I think I should send Poppy to help out instead," Branch answered without even stopping or looking at him. He hopped down the stairs before Peppy can even try to ask why. What kind of king would he be if he couldn't even help a girl cut flowers or help to cook.
In Branches bunker
"You haven't even cleared out a third of the room?" Branch looked around the place. Poppy only had one small box filled.
"Sorry. It's just hard to part with all my childhood memorize," Poppy hugged the box tighter to her.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands," Branch started looking around the place.
"Not anything too valuable please!" Poppy followed him around as he started placing items into a box.
"How much junk do you have?" Branch threw in broken toys like a plastic wand, a jar of marbles, a big music box.
"Not that!" Poppy suddenly screamed almost making Branch drop the box in shock.
"Not what?" Poppy dove into the box and moved everything around until she took out the music box. She opened it to reveal a gold book with a lock.
"My fairytale book," Poppy squealed and took it out. She hugged it tightly in her arms.
"You still have that? After all these years?" Branch was surprised.
"Of course! I always loved reading these stories before I went to sleep. My mother use to read them to me too you know," The princess sighed," Whenever I read this it almost felt like I was actually in the story. Sometimes it felt so real that I still believe that I was inside the story."
"Well I'm sure someone's kid would love to have it," Branch suddenly said. He took the book and was about to put it into the box.
"You can't sell that!" Poppy snagged the book out of Branches hands.
"It's old and rundown, Look," Branch placed a finger on the lock," You can't even open it. You lost the key remember?"
"So, there are other ways to open it," Poppy held it tight. Branch leaned back on the wall and crossed his arms. He waited to see what Poppy can do. Poppy looked behind her at all the boxes and junk. She stumbled towards a box and opened it. Inside were office supplies like paperclips. She took one out and unfolded it. She stuck the silver colored metal into the lock and jiggled it. With every second she got more annoyed that the lock wouldn't open. She slammed the book onto the table and kept trying to jiggle the thing in. She threw the paper clip across the room and took out a pair of scissors and started cutting the lock.
"Still waiting," Branch sarcastically said. Poppy wasn't even trying anymore. She started slamming the book against the boxes," Why don't you just sell it? You probably read the whole thing like hundred times already."
"Six hundred ninety five times actually," Poppy stopped to tell him then went back to trying to open it. Branch shook his head at her actions.
"Poppy, if you keep going like that your going to…"
Before he can finish his sentience, Poppy ripped the lock off by accident. Her shocked face was plastered across her face as she looked at the lock in her hand.
"... Rip it," Branch finished his sentence plainly.
"Well….. At least I opened it," Poppy set the lock down. She looked at the tear she caused. The cover had a large missing piece and some of the pages were now torn.
"You can keep it now if you like," Branch once again started filling up the box," I'm not sure if anyone will want it now."
As Branch kept packing things into the box, Poppy had her eyes glued on the tear. Something seemed odd to her. The tear seemed to have some small gold colored sparks coming out.
"Is this thing electrical?"
She wondered out loud. She took a closer look but nearly jumped back when the sparks almost reached her face.
"How could it be electrical? It's a book," Branch answered her. Poppy wasn't too sure. She slipped her fingers between the cover and the pages. She pushed it open slightly to peek inside. Besides the sparks things seemed normal. She opened it a little bit more, still nothing. Maybe this wasn't anything to worry about she thought. She pulled the book open completely.
"AH!" Poppy gave out a short scream before suddenly stopping. Branch quickly turned around in response to her scream.
"Poppy?" he saw that she had disappeared. He cautiously looked around the room," Poppy where are you?"
He started to think she was playing with him or it was a false alarm like the other times. He walked around trying to see if she was hiding behind the boxes.
"This isn't funny Poppy! Where are you?" Branch called out to her again. There was zero sign of Poppy anywhere. He then felt something beneath his foot. He looked down to see Poppy's fairytale book completely closed. He picked it up and looked at it. Poppy wasn't lying about this being electrical. Why was there sparks coming from the lock?
"What's happening?" He thought out loud. Without a second thought, he opened the book. The last thing he saw was a bright flash of gold…..…..
Things should be getting started now. I was originally going to make it the key that had to activate the book but the tear was the best I could go with. Hope to see you all next time because I am excited to write the next chapters! See you all next time. Next chapter will be longer. I promise.