Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls.

"Thank you all for waiting!" Buttercup said. "So sorry for all the unexpected noise, but that's how it goes sometimes!"

Poppy just blinked, stunned speechless. Noise? I didn't hear anything! Then again, I was in the "Quiet Room" again.

"Alright, everyone! You know what comes next on Guess and Choose Love! It's finally time for our little lady to choose a curtain! So!?" Buttercup turned to Poppy, smiling. "What's it gonna be, Queen Poppy!? Is it Bachelor Number One," she asked, shining a spotlight on the first curtain, "or Bachelor Number Two!?" A light appeared on the second curtain now as well.

Behind the second curtain, Creek sighed, looking down. No, I'm pretty sure this whole thing's a set-up to help Poppy get back together with her new boyfriend. Hmm... Wonder when and how that happened?

While waiting for Poppy to choose his opponent as her love interest, Creek wondered when those two might have gotten together over the last few months. He also decided that Biggie owed him more than a month's worth of doing his chores.

"The choice is yours! So let's help her make a good one, everyone! Who do you think!?"

The audience started shouting out their advice.

"Number 2! He sounds more fun!" one troll shouted.

"Number 1!" came another.

Two more trolls shouted, "Two!"

"No, 1! He's funny and sweet!"

Behind the first curtain, Guy slipped up behind Branch, pulling a key out of his hair.

Branch thought he was going to be sick. He really, really didn't want to hear this. He closed his eyes, bracing for the crushing rejection he knew was coming.

For the sake of the show, Poppy pretended to think about it. "Well, gee. I don't know," she said in a monotone. "They're both so wonderful. I couldn't possibly decide." She grinned slyly, her tone getting more lively as she said, "But...if I had to choose, I think I'd go with Bachelor Number 1!" She smiled wide.

Behind the curtain, Branch's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that—why was she choosing him?

"Wait, what!?"

Suddenly Guy was in his face, unlocking the chains so quickly that Branch wasn't even entirely sure what order he did it in. As the curtain started to open, Smidge pulled Branch out of the chair and tossed him to stand front and center, right where the curtain was opening. She then darted off the stage as Guy sat on the chair, covering the whole thing with his hair to create the illusion that this was one of Buttercup's red, heart-shaped chairs instead of something a bergen dungeon master would use.

"And there you have it, folks! Queen Poppy has chosen this fine, young troll to be her brand new boyfriend!" Buttercup said, gesturing at Branch. "Let's hear it for her!"

Everyone started cheering. Poppy stood by with a sly smile as Branch looked around, startled. First he looked down at his feet, wondering how he'd gotten up and moved; then he looked over his shoulder, wondering where the chair had gone and when that monstrosity had appeared in its place; then he turned his wide eyes on Poppy, still surprised that she had actually chosen him. Couldn't she tell who she was picking?

Poppy giggled a bit and ran toward him, her arms open for a hug. "Come here, Branch. Ya goofball." She threw her arms around him lovingly as more cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Uh..." On impulse, Branch hugged her. He still had no idea what was going on here, but he wasn't going to complain about it...he thought. At least he wasn't chained to a chair anymore.

The crowd cheered more, but Smidge interrupted them as she leaped out dramatically, crying, "Hold up! This ain't over yet!"

"That's right!" said another invader—Cooper. He'd crept up onto the stage, stopping next to the second curtain. "Let's see who's behind curtain number 2!" He pulled the curtain back with his mouth.

Buttercup covered her mouth, feigning shock. "Oh, goodness! A couple of party-crashers! Whatever could this be all about!?"

As Buttercup spoke, Poppy let go of Branch and looked around curiously. With the curtain pulled back, a startled Creek was revealed as Bachelor Number 2, sitting in one of Buttercup's chairs.

The audience gasped. For them, it hadn't been as obvious who the two bachelors were. "Creek!?"

"Poppy chose Branch over Creek!" one cried. "I knew it! She does love him more!"

"Well, after the Giver, was there really any doubt?" his friend asked.

Exasperated, Poppy put a hand to her head and muttered, "Ugh, you guys. That's not how it works!"

Branch stared, taking the scene in for a moment, before saying, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"That's right, folks! Poppy chose the village hermit over the most popular troll of all time! Guess that shows ya what her tastes are, huh?" Smidge said with a smug grin, waggling her eyebrows.

The audience laughed at the joke.

"Gee, thanks, Smidge," Branch said, voice just oozing with sarcasm.

"Just what kind of a sick joke is this!?" Creek demanded getting to his feet. "Biggie told me he hadn't known Poppy was going on the show when he told me I was going to be in it!"

Biggie, Satin, Chenille, and DJ all joined the others on the stage, DJ smiling proudly.

"Sorry, Creek," Biggie said, "but I had to get you on the show somehow!"

"Branch and Poppy have been so miserable ever since the fight!" Satin added.

"And Branch doesn't like telling anyone what's bothering him," Chenille said.

"Right! So we had to find some way to get him to talk! So Guy and I figured, what better way than to force him onto Buttercup's match-making show!?" Smidge said, arms spread in a cheery gesture.

"Sorry, dude, You're just not her type," DJ apologized. "And, uh, no offense, but, after what you did, I don't really wanna see ya with her that way either."

"Boy, ain't that the truth!" Cooper said, tossing his head. "Branch is better for Poppy, hands down!"

"That's right, Creek. Just because we forgive you doesn't mean we're going to trust you again so easily. Especially not in dangerous situations," Chenille told him, thinking of all the madness Poppy tended to get herself caught up in—madness that she wouldn't survive without Branch there to help out. "We're forgiving, not stupid."

Creek deflated as he thought about that. "Oh..." He sighed. "Well, I guess I deserve that..." He walked off, looking dejected.

Concerned, Poppy watched him go. However, she had bigger fish to fry right now—she'd check on Creek later. For now, she turned back to her kidnapping friends, glaring in annoyance. "Nice trick, you guys. That one was so funny, I forgot to laugh!"

Branch crossed his arms, shaking his head. "There was never any chance of Poppy getting honeyed and feathered, was there?" he asked.

Poppy's eyes widened in shock, and she turned to him. "What!?"

"And there's our show, everyone!" Buttercup wrapped things up for the audience. "Thank you all for coming, and I hope to see you again next time! Good night!"

The trolls cheered and vacated their seats, leaving the Snack Pack on the stage to resolve their issues.

Buttercup turned to them all, smiling, and said, "Well! I think I'll give you all some privacy, then. From the sound of things, you're going to need it!" She took off then before she could get caught in the fallout.

Poppy watched Buttercup before turning back to her friends. She glared at them as she waited for an explanation.

"Okay, normally I'd say blame Satin, but, for once, it wasn't her fault," Chenille said. Then she pointed at Smidge and Branch's former chair as she added, "Blame them."

Poppy blinked and looked at the seemingly normal chair in confusion. "Uuuhhh..." She raised a finger, trying to find the words for her question.

"Oh, yeah," Branch told her, a lame look on his face and his arms crossed once again, "that's not the chair I was in."

Suddenly he knew where Guy had gotten to.

Concerned, Poppy turned to him. "What?" She looked at the chair again.

Biggie looked uncomfortable. He really didn't want Poppy knowing what kind of chair they had put Branch in. "Ah, Branch..."

"You remember when we had to punish Cooper, and Gristle took us down to the dungeon?" Branch went on, seemingly not concerned about the Snack Pack's problems.

"Oh, my ga!"

"Aah!" DJ cried, waving her hands in front of her. "No, don't—"

"Yyeah... What about it...?"

Satin and Chenille looked at each other, resigned. It was only a matter of time before Poppy found out exactly what they had done, after all.

"I just spent 2 hours chained to a Bergen torture chair," Branch answered.

Longer, actually, considering that show had taken more than 30 minutes even without the lengthy breaks between segments.

Poppy's eyes bugged out, practically popping out of her head. "You what!?"

At that moment, Bridget came running over, looking very concerned. "Hey, uh, guys? Remember how I said we needed to talk?" she asked.

Satin and Chenille sweat.

"Is this a good time?"

The twins looked at each other and sighed.

"Sure, why not? We might as well get it all over with at once," Chenille answered.

Poppy stared at the bergen, her eyes wide, as Guy retracted his hair and came over to join the others in being lectured. DJ walked over to Bridget as well.

"Uuuuh... Did I miss something?" Poppy asked, looking at Branch.

He just shrugged. "I'm guessing it has something to do with what they just did."

Poppy blinked and turned her attention back to the crowd around Bridget, curious.

Bridget looked at Branch and Poppy and said, "Okay, first... Are you two still fighting? Satin and Chenille told me you were mad at each other."

That was a good question. Poppy looked at Branch in concern, now wondering the same thing herself. "Branch?"

"Uh...I already forgave her for that," Branch answered Bridget.

"Yes, but, Branch, weren't you present for what just occurred?" Guy asked him. "Poppy had a golden opportunity to choose Creek, and she chose you instead!"

"That's right, Branch! I mean, you were both right there, and Poppy chose you, not Creek!" Biggie agreed.

"Yeah, in a show you guys set up!" he countered.

"We didn't tell Poppy who to choose, Branch!" Satin told him.

"That's right! She didn't even want to be here any more than you did," Chenille added.

Poppy walked up to Branch, a lame look on her face. "Yyeah, Branch. In fact, they tied me up and gagged me to get me here. I take it they showed you the lovely group photo we all took?" she questioned, rolling her eyes.

Branch slapped his face.

"Oh! So you kidnapped both of them?" Bridget asked the others, startled.

"Yeah!" Cooper answered, smiling. "I mean, we only needed help holding Branch! Poppy's easy!"

"Yeah! She's so easy, a cavetroll could do it!" Smidge agreed. "It's Branch who almost broke free and ruined all our plans for the two of them!"

Okay. Clearly I've gotta fix that if they all think a cavetroll could do it, but... Poppy put that aside for now as she turned her attention to more important matters—uncovering the full truth of what was going on with her and Branch. "And speaking of... Branch? What did Creek have to do with what you said back there? You're aware he's not my boyfriend anymore, aren't ya?" She gave him a lame look, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Branch crossed his arms, stubborn as ever. "Show's over. I'm not under oath. And who said anything about Creek?"

Poppy punched her hands onto her hips and leaned over, glaring at him. "Branch!"

"But, Branch!" DJ cried. "You, like, totally beat Creek back there in a battle for Poppy's heart! It was so tight!"

"Yes! Just as the brave hero Titan would to aaaaanythiiiing for his darling Winter, you, too, heroically stood up to your archenemy and protected Poppy from him!"

Poppy blinked, completely lost by this point. "Uh... Guy—"

"What are you talking about!? All that happened here is Satin and Chenille chained me to a chair and let Smidge hold Gary hostage for two hours!"

Seriously, that was the most dramatic and least accurate description of that whole mess Branch thought he'd ever hear.

Poppy whirled on her small friend. "You took Gary, too!? Smidge!"

She couldn't believe this. How cruel could they be!? Gary was Branch's only company for the ten years he'd lived in his bunker!

"What? How else did you expect us to get him to cooperate? You weren't in our hands anymore!"

This answer earned a glare from Poppy, who was irritated to find that she couldn't think of any answer to that. It really was the best way to get Branch to do what he didn't want to—hold Gary hostage. Even if it was very untrolly.

"Uh... You guys are really acting strange..." Bridget said, fidgeting.

"We know," Chenille sighed.

"Speaking of, how is Gristle doing at getting the bergens to act more like trolls?" Satin asked.

"Oh, well... We can talk about that later," Bridget said, sweating.

Bridget didn't really want to think about it. Before the last Trollstice where they'd made friends with the trolls, Gristle had tried hosting several events under the name of an organization he'd deemed "Bergens Unite." However, each had ended in miserable failure, sickness, and occasional violence, so he had given it up.

With the Snack Pack acting the way they were, Gristle had restarted Bergens Unite activities and added 5 years of community service to the possible punishments for crimes. This second change seemed to be a modification on his "bergen justice will be just like troll justice" idea from earlier—sharing was a thing, and you'd get five years of community service for not sharing items that the king specifically said to share. It had led to some issues already, with bergens bringing complaints about their neighbors not sharing their TVs or their lawnmowers and Gristle having to decide on a case by case basis whether the item in question should be shared. The only things that were always meant to be shared—and had, therefore, led to community service when bergens inevitably failed to do so—were public spaces, like parks, playgrounds, and arcades.

There were already three children currently serving five years for refusing to share the slide at a local playground...

"Come on, Branch!" Cooper groaned, startling Bridget from her thoughts. "You can't be that slow!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Branch said, his tone warning Cooper to watch his next words.

"Poppy loves you, dude! And she's trying to make it up to you! Just give her a chance!"

Poppy sweat. She looked away, rubbing her arm.

Smidge chimed in, "Yeah! Why do you think she said that choice was easy!? Because she wanted off the show so bad, she just chose the curtain closest to her? She didn't even open it! One of Buttercup's assistants did!"

Branch groaned. Why didn't these guys understand? This proved nothing! Poppy had just chosen him while on a show where she, obviously, had figured out who was behind the curtains. She'd been trying to convince him she loved him since the fight. Was this supposed to be some big, huge reveal for him?

"Branch, Poppy chose you!" Biggie said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Yeah, Branch. Doesn't it?" Guy asked, holding up a drawing of Titan and Winter dancing in the moonlight as they looked at each other romantically.

"Yeah, Branch. Don't it?" Smidge asked.

"Yeah, Branch!" Cooper said.

The twins asked, "Doesn't it!?"

"Well, dude?" DJ started, "Don—"

"Cut it out!" Branch demanded, throwing his arms up in the air. "It's not like she didn't already know who was behind the curtains!"

"Yes, and she chose you!" Satin reminded him.

"Yeah, okay, and what else was she going to do!? She knows I don't like Creek, and she's trying not to make me upset with her!"

"What?" Poppy asked, looking at Branch in concern.

Was that what he thought she was doing? Just trying not to make him unhappy?

He gave a start, eyes widening as he realized what he had just said...and in front of Poppy. He turned to her slowly. He wasn't sure whether he expected her to be angry that he figured her out, that he was denying her what she wanted, or that he was accusing her of something like that. All he knew was she was bound to get mad at him for this one.

"You think I chose you just so I wouldn't upset you? Branch. Stop and think about that a sec. That show was meant to find me a boyfriend. So, no matter who I chose, I'd be upsetting someone 'cause someone would be walking off broken-hearted." She crossed her arms, looking a little bored, and added, "And, since you know Creek's a friend, too, you ought to know I don't want to hurt him, either."

Branch crossed his arms, turning away from her a bit, and muttered, "Don't know why you're still friends with him in the first place."

Poppy walked up and put a hand on Branch's shoulder, smiling at him. "Branch. I chose you instead of Creek because I don't love him as much as I do you."

He looked at her, surprise evident on his face. "That's why?"

Poppy nodded, giving him a loving look. The Snack Pack swarmed around the couple, and they and Bridget were all smiling reassuringly. Apparently they all agreed.

Branch smiled. He looked from Poppy to everyone else, then back to the queen. "Poppy..."

"I'm sorry if you thought I liked Creek more. But I'm over him. I just didn't want to tell you until you were ready to let me back in. See, the reason I didn't want to come on this show was 'cause Suki over there told me I'd get a new boyfriend out of it. But I don't want a new boyfriend, Branch. I want you. You and only you, and nothing's gonna change that."

Branch teared up. "I—I'm sorry I've been so difficult lately. What I did with Creek was wrong, and I should have just admitted it sooner."

"Oh... Branch..." Poppy hugged him—he looked like he could use one right now. "Apology accepted."

Branch hugged her back, smiling.

"Aw..." the Snack Pack and Bridget said.

"It's so beautiful," Biggie said, hugging Mr. Dinkles. "Isn't it, Mr. Dinkles?"

"Meep!"

"So...does this mean you two are back together?" Bridget asked.

Branch looked at Poppy. She gave him a loving and hopeful look. It was up to him, after all. She already knew she wanted things back to normal.

The teal troll looked back at Bridget. "...Yeah. We are."

All of their friends cheered, thrilled to hear it.

Poppy's eyes brightened with excitement, and she put on a huge smile. "Oh, Branch! Come here!" She pulled him into a tighter hug than before.

Really, she wanted to kiss him, but the audience was too big for that. She didn't mind, but she wasn't sure how comfortable he would be with that. Just because he was saying they could pick up their relationship where they'd left off didn't mean he was suddenly eager for public displays of affection, and she wasn't taking any chances on scaring him off right now.

"Whoa!" Branch laughed a bit, hugging her again.

It turned out it was a good thing Poppy didn't kiss him. The Snack Pack chose that moment to dog-pile them both, wrapping them in a group hug. Even Bridget joined in, being gentle with her tiny friends.

Branch endured for a few seconds before he said, "Okay, guys, I think we've hugged enough for now."

He was still building up his tolerance for group hugs, although he was getting used to it...and he didn't really mind them as much as before. It was, apparently, only a matter of time before he might actually like them.

Everyone let go, and Poppy said, "Right! Well, now that that's settled. What did you want to talk about, Bridget?"

"Oh!" Bridget started, jolted back to her own reality. "Well, Satin and Chenille were acting so much like bergens that Gristle decided to try to get the bergens to act more like trolls...and it's not really going so well..."

Everyone looked at her, curious.

"What do ya mean by that?" Cooper asked.

Meanwhile in Bergen Town, Gristle had an angry group of bergens at the laundromat to clean the pizza stains out of their best clothes. The sign on the laundromat read, "Bergens Unite! Laundry Day!" Unfortunately there was a serious problem...as usual.

"Uh... Thank you all for coming..." Gristle said, sweating nervously. "A-as you can see, there's clearly not enough washers to go around, so—"

The crowd started pushing and shoving, each trying to be first.

"Quit shoving! I'm first!" one said.

"Out of the way!"

"No, you get out of my way!"

Gristle waved his hands in the air, trying to get control. "No, no, no! Don't fight over the—"

The angry crowd started gathering around him.

"Ah! Stand down! Stand down!"

But nobody listened, and Gristle was soon buried in a mob of angry, fighting bergens who wanted to wash their clothes all at the same time. Barnebis just sat off to the side, watching this event lamely.

Bergens Unite was a terrible idea, and only Gristle would be stupid enough to keep trying it.