Here's chapter 9! Longest chapter so far!
Disclaimer: I don't own Trolls.
Enjoy!
BornOnTheBreakOfDawn - Thanks for your support. I'm glad to know you're following my story.
mikaela2015 - Glad to hear you like it.
Butterflyruby144 - Well, you just have to continue reading this to find out, won't you?
The Grey Hero
Chapter 9: Search for the Team
Meanwhile, at the hospital pod, the troll children, including Lilly, were in bed though sleeping uncomfortably due to their rasping coughing and breathing. Their parents could only stay by their side with worry for their health. They couldn't bare to think that all hope is lost. There's still time for the medicine to arrive, but the blizzard is making that task very difficult.
Lilly's father Bright was consulting with Dr. Plum for some comfort to given to the ailing children. Even though they don't have the cure, at least some special treatment will ease their pain a little.
"Please, Doctor! It's the only medicine we're willing to give. If anyone could help, it'll be her."
Dr. Plum knew she couldn't do anything without the Anti-toxin, so she decided to let them. "Okay..." She finally said. Bright then opened the door, revealing Poppy standing there with a small basket.
"Here, so you can be careful," Dr. Plum gave her a protection mask to prevent from the sickness to infect her. Poppy took the mask and put it on her. The sickness didn't the affect the older trolls, but one can't be too careful.
Poppy then walked slowly towards the beds where the other kids lay. She gave out special 'Get well soon' cards she made form her scrapbook kit to each kid. Those who were awake were able to read it while those who slept, their cards were placed by their pillows to read later. She then made it to Lilly's bed. The sight of her sleeping uncomfortably made Poppy feel sad to the core. No troll should go through this whether they're healthy or not. She then ran her hand through Lilly's messy blue hair.
Lilly moaned and managed to slightly open her eyes, seeing Poppy in her sight. "Princess Poppy?" She said in a hoarse voice.
"I'm here, Lilly. You're gonna be okay," Poppy assured her as she gently held her hand.
"When I get better, will you read us a story?" Lilly asked.
"As many as you all want," Poppy answered. Lilly made a weak smile, but quickly fell asleep. Poppy sighed sadly and sat beside her, laying her head by the bed's edge with worry.
Outside, Branch watched sadly at this scene and felt warm tears in his eyes, though he kept them in place. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding which peaked his curiosity. He left the window and followed the banging as it led him to Mandy's workshop. Hidden from her view, Branch saw Mandy, the troll who made the sled for the children, working on something with a depressed look on her face. Once she's done, she picked it up and placed it with some others that are exactly the same on the wall. What Branch saw made him freeze: they were small wooden coffins!
Branch gasps in horror and leans in the wall, looking away from the coffins. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see more. "Lilly..." He whispered in fear of her fate and the other children. "No... it can't end like this. She deserves to live. They all do." When he couldn't stand to watch the scene anymore, he headed back to his bunker.
Cooper was waiting outside for him when he arrived. "So, what's the news?" Branch just looked away from him and went up to a branch to look at the Troll Village. "Your silence tells me that it ain't good. How bad is it?" he replied.
"Well, the team has the medicine, but they got lost in the blizzard somewhere," Branch muttered.
Cooper felt bad hearing the news, but then said, "Nothing more than that glory hogging troll Creek and his buddies deserve for being cold to you."
"Even so, they still have the only thing needed to cure the sick trolls. Without that medicine, they'll die!"
Cooper stared in shock, but then shrugged it off and sighed, "It's out of our hands, Branch. Let someone else handle it. Come inside. You don't want to freeze out here." He walked away from Branch and started packing some supplies into their respective places. Branch looked out a little longer until he went down the bunker.
After eating his dinner, he went to his room and fell asleep for the night. Before he fell asleep, he looked up at his photo of his grandmother. He places his hand on it.
"The children are getting worse and the team is lost in the storm. What can I do? If only you were here, Grandma. You'd know what to do." He then stared at his closet where there was a backpack, big enough to carry some supplies and a thick blue coat. It was then that an answer came to him. "I have the knowledge of the wild and supplies for heavy travel. But should I?" As he pondered, thoughts of Lilly, the other children, and seeing Poppy's saddened face kept playing over in his mind. He sighed and nodded. "I know what must I do. For their sake, I have to find the medicine. They might not want my help, but I got to try." He laid down on the blankets and fell asleep, having decided on his plan.
The next morning, Cooper woke up upon finding Branch packing supplies such as rope, food, a frying pan, tools, and even warm blankets in his backpack. "Morning, Branch. Sleep well?"
"Okay, I guess." Branch answered not looking away from his task. He grabs his jacket and put it on him.
"What's with the getup? Off to the woods for more firewood?" Cooper guessed as he got up.
"I'm going to find the medicine."
Cooper heard him and then started to laugh. "That's a good one, bro! For a second there, I thought I heard you say that you're going to find the medicine. No, seriously, what are you going to do?"
"I just told you, I'm going to find the team and bring back the medicine for the children."
Cooper shot up and exclaimed, "What?! You mean go out there in the freezing cold, search for the team which is led by that cold-hearted glory troll Creek, and bring back the medicine alive, if lucky?"
"That about sums it up. So, yes," Branch closes his backpack and hunches over his back.
"Are you insane?! If you think that this will help you get accepted by every troll, then you're crazy and I don't mean that in a good way!"
"None of that matters now, Cooper! What matters is saving those innocent lives." Branch declared as he then left the bunker.
As he started walking towards the village, Cooper still tried to talk him out of it. He knows that it was a bad idea and that he's dumb enough to even try it. "Branch, please! I'm begging you! Don't go crazy on me now!" Branch ignored him and continued on as Cooper tripped over a rock. He got up and stood on a hollow log. "This is foolishness! You will die a sad death fit for grey trolls! Oh, no offense." He suddenly fell through a hole in the log and slid down.
Branch walked down the hill and slid on a frozen stream, keeping his balance with a determined look on his face as Cooper's voice came from the hollow log near him.
"You will be frozen stiff by morning!" Cooper bursts out of the log in one piece. "When you are a big frozen stiff statue named Branch, don't come running to me!" He didn't notice two familiar trolls sliding towards him until it was too late. Cooper yelled in alarm and saw Biggie and Guy Diamond behind him as they all slid to a stop.
"Hey, Uncle Cooper! Where's Branch going?" Guy asked.
"Where is he going?! I'll tell you where's he going!" Cooper exclaimed. "He's going into the freezing coldness to find a troll he doesn't like to bring medicine back to a town that doesn't like him! Did I leave anything out?!" He answered, glaring at the other trolls.
"So he's leaving on a journey," Biggie said.
"And you know what that means, Biggie," Guy Diamond grinned as Biggie nodded in agreement.
"ROAD TRIP!" They cheered in unison while clapping their hands.
Cooper had a shocked expression on his face. He groaned as he pounded his head, "Oh no! That's what I need: more hitchhikers!"
Biggie and Guy Diamond clapped happily, "Yes! Count us in!" They shoved Cooper into the snow, landing near Branch. Branch grabs Cooper by his neck with his hair and dragged him to the window of the hospital pod where Lilly's room was. They both got onto a branch for a closer look and Branch releases Cooper.
"No common sense at all! You're acting like spoiled chil..." Cooper stopped before he could finish saying 'children' and looked through the window, and he saw Lilly and the other children laying in bed, coughing.
"This is why I have to help find the medicine," Branch started to explain. "Their lives depend on it and our generation will end. Without children, there will be no future for us and no one to carry our legacy. Not only that, but that little girl over there, her name is Lilly and she is the only child who was ever kind to me and didn't care that I was grey. She treated like I was a troll like her: happy and sweet. She is most in need of our help." He showed Cooper to Lilly, who was still in bed. As he looked at the poor girl, she was fighting to stay alive, but she's in so much pain as she struggled to breathe and coughed to keep her breath. "All I want is to help them and that is why I must do this task only I can do."
Cooper began to have second thoughts and glanced at Lilly one last time. Then he turned away and said with determination, "So, let's go get the medicine."
Branch, though happy at his decision, asked surprisingly, "Wait a minute. Now you're coming?"
Cooper began to walk down the path which leads to the village exit with Biggie and GD behind him. "Spending days in bitter cold, facing wild animals, risking death from exposure?" He then chuckled silent. "It's like partying with the Bergens."
Branch smiled at his friend, now fueled with courage and determination. "Then you might need these!" Branch then handed two scarfs, one green and red, to Cooper and Biggie while giving an extra brown coat to Guy Diamond, respectively. "Can't risk carrying frozen trolls on the way." They all marched down the path on a mission to save the village.
"Now, I'm not a fan of clothes, but I'll make an exception on this." Guy Diamond commented as he wrapped himself in his coat.
The small pack left the village as the sun started to rise.
About an hour had passed when Poppy had stopped by the hospital pod once again. She couldn't help but feel worry and fear for the sick little trolls in bed, fighting for their life.
She looked through the window to Lilly's room, and there she was, still struggling to stay breathing while coughing. Poppy sighed sadly as she laid her head on top pf her crossed arms. She struggled to keep herself from crying once again.
But then, as she opened her eyes, she saw some familiar hand prints on the window and on the windowsill. One looked like it was made by a llama troll while the other was similar to hers. Poppy places her hand on the said print and it matched even though it was half an inch bigger.
She then looked down and followed behind her. There she saw a bunch of tracks, one was bigger than the rest, two that were made by regular troll and the last one was quadruple, definitely from a llama troll. The tracks lead to the outer village, into the deep forests beyond it. No troll would be crazy enough to travel there, that is, no one except for one troll she truly know. She gasped as she realized who left the village.
"Branch." She couldn't believe it; Branch was going out in the wilderness to search for the team to save her beloved trolls! She knew she had to find him, so she proceeded to follow the tracks, despite the danger.
Branch then took a sharp stone and scratches deep into the tree bark tree, creating a B on it. It's not grade A art but this would help him know the way back.
"Good work, Branch, my brother! You took on the roughest, toughest, meanest tree in the forest!" Cooper joked as he walked by him. "And you won. Heh!" He chuckled.
"If you're done entertaining yourself, I'm marking a trail." Branch said, rolling his eyes.
Guy Diamond ran to the tree and pretended to throw punches at it. Biggie then smiled at Guy Diamond when he realizes Branch's plan. "He's marking or trail. He's very clever."
"No wonder he's a survival expert," Guy Diamond agreed as he farted glitter onto the tree. "But a touch of glitter won't hurt."
"And here I've been dropping cupcake sprinkles. Yeesh" Cooper remarked, rolling his eyes as Branch marked another tree.
The small pack has been traveling for hours and for many miles away from their home. Through snow covered valleys to deep forests where they could see many mountains.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with... 'S'" Guy Diamond said, who was bored and wanted to entertain himself.
"Let me guess, snow?" Cooper said.
"You got it again!" Guy Diamond exclaimed. "You're good at this!"
"Of course I'm good. It's the same answer for sixty times in a row! Look around you, all you see is...SNOW!" Cooper yelled.
"I'm just trying to liven things up." Guy muttered.
They continued walking though the snow was starting to pick up the farther they traveled. Branch halted his team as he found something in his path. He began digging through the snow and found a purple comb in the snow. Only one troll would have this comb and Branch knew it. "Creek..." He said softly.
Biggie and Guy Diamond looked around for more clues and noticed some twigs had been broken off from the trees as if something ran passed through them.
"Hey, guys!" Cooper called them as Branch made another B on a tree.
"Come on!" Branch then found small traces of troll hair on some leaves. He knew they were on the right track. "Judging from these clues, Creek and his team passed this way."
"Boy, is he lost," Cooper stated, looking around.
Meanwhile, Creek was still leading his team to only one place: nowhere! He had no idea where he was or where he was going, but being the prideful guy he is, he wouldn't admit it to his teammates. He continued walking through the harsh weather until he stopped in exhaustion, breathing heavily.
"Creek!" Weed cried. "We're going in circles!"
"WHAT?!" Creek spun around and glared at the yellow troll.
Weed chuckled nervously. "Circles is a good thing, I mean. They're the perfect shape. No sharp edges, you know." He demonstrated it as he spun around, tangling himself in his reins. "It's just so circular!"
Aspen and Disco nodded, trying to smile cheerfully to lighten some foul moods. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with Creek. Seeing his pack mates beginning to doubt him has got him pressurized to try better.
"I know what I'm doing! You think I can't find my way home?!" Creek argued as he turn around. He scanned the area. "It's...It's this way! Come on!"
Creek pulled hard, making Weed spun around to get untangled from the rein, and he and his team started to run real fast.
"Whoa, Creek!" Creek's driver was taken by surprise by this sudden movement. He tried to balance himself on the sled. "Whoa! Slow down, Creek!" The driver cried, but Creek ignored his order and continued to run faster, despite not knowing where he's heading.
Suddenly, Creek's feet met air and started going down the slippery side of the hill. The whole team yelled in alarm and fear as they started sliding down uncontrollably downhill. Unfortunately, their driver wasn't so lucky as he took every blow from each side of the hill. The driver received some scratches and bruises from the blows. He tried to slow down with his hair on the trees, but it was futile as they all continued down, screaming in fear all the way. They finally stumbled on the bottom, each troll tumbling away in the snow, and finally, the driver fell from the sled with a yell before landing on the snow hard, knocking him out unconsciously.
Creek recovered from the fall, shaking the snow off of him. His reins were loosened and snapped off. "Oh, mate..." He shivered slightly cold from the snow and ride.
Disco bursts out of a snow pile with a moan. "Oh... I hit my head on something..."
"Yeah! My head!" Aspen shouted angrily, rubbing his head.
Luckily, no one on the team was seriously hurt, only for a few bumps and bruises. This can't be said the same for their driver who hadn't recovered. Ripple, the blue troll and one of the troll team members, notices their driver as he examined him.
"Looks like he's hurt bad, Creek," he stated sadly. Weed came over and shivered nervously, not knowing what this might mean for the team.
"What are we gonna do now, Creek?"
Creek didn't answered, but only shivered in his place from fear and the cold around him. With no driver, there's no way he could find his way home now. It was hopeless and there's nothing he could do about it.
Nothing at all...
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