Harper sprinted through the forest, tears of anger and sorrow clouding her vision. She eventually slowed down and rested against a nearby tree. There were times when she had to take over as leader and make tough choices and there were times when she knew that the choices she made resulted in more turmoil. It may not make sense because she was younger than the Trolls she had to lead, but she was one considered wise beyond their years. She never got to know her parents (or parent) well, so she had to improvise during her childhood. Before she became Queen, Poppy was the closest thing she had to a big sister figure or even a mother figure. Whether or not she cared because she was a member of royalty, she didn't know. What mattered was that she nutured her, she supported her, and she loved her.
After all, while I was ultimately the one who followed my art...Poppy was the one who got the ball rolling for me. Oh, how I hated myself for it. I still do.
SNAP!
Harper's ears perked up and she took off running again and continued doing so until she stumbled through a group of giant banana leaves and fell. Tumbling down the hill and landing on her face, the Pop/Maker Troll glanced up to find a group of rainbow-colored, feathered Trolls hustling and bustling as they passed flashlights and lanterns around. Slowly pushing herself up, she brushed the sand off her and looked around in awe.
"Are you okay, Miss?"
Suddenly, a red feathered, brown-eyed Troll donning a navy blue formal military uniform, a sheathed sword, and a holstered handgun approached Harper with the intent of assisting any Troll he encountered.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Is this a lockdown?"
"I'm afraid so. Although I'm not entirely sure what we're up against other than they're presumably hooded Trolls."
"Believe me, they're not."
Captain Gabriel's eyebrows knitted together, "You know who's attacking us?"
"They're called Party Crashers. They're goblin-like creatures have the ability to disguise themselves as fellow Trolls."
Proceeding this information, Gabriel nodded in understanding and beckoned a fellow guard over to verify her identity.
"Make sure you check everybody."
The guard nodded and rushed off as Gabriel turned back to Harper, "How do we know we can trust this information?"
Harper sighed and nervously rubbed the back of her head.
"My boyfriend's a Party Crasher..."
. . .
"Huh."
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Creek continued opening fire on any retreating Party Crashers with the help of his acquired arsenal. He had no patience whatsoever and no intention of continuing this shootout further. This was nothing but a waste of time even if he enjoyed knocking down his enemies by a few pegs. Alas, this particular shootout was dragging on for far too long and needed to end now.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A trio of Party Crashers were suddenly blown back by a shotgun blast. The perpetrator responsible turned down the corner and came face-to-face with Creek.
"Took you long enough," The Pop/Guru Troll chuckled. The figure unhooded to reveal an equally amused Party Crasher younger than the ones he encountered.
"My bad," Archer Pastry reloaded his shotgun, "I was caught in traffic."
"I'm sure you were," Creek reloaded his rifle.
"I was! These Latin Trolls know how to adjust to lockdowns pretty well!"
"Hmm..." Creek turned to open fire on incoming Party Crashers, "Right. Okay then."
"Speaking of which, did you happen to see Harper arrive?"
"No."
. . .
"Are you telling me the truth?"
. . .
"No."
Having dispatched most of the Party Crashers who attempted to break in further, Poppy, Branch, and the others waited expectantly for Creek to return as the former remembered what Chenille said.
"Chenille..."
"Poppy?"
"What does Barb have in plan for me? What did Creek say?"
"All that I know is that Barb is planning to turn you and possibly all of the Tribe Leaders into Rock Zombies."
The Tribe Leaders exchanged fearful and confused glances, not knowing what the term meant but knowing it meant nothing good.
"Rock Zombies?" Prince D approached.
"From what Creek said," Chenille continued, "Rock Zombies are the brainwashed shells of our former selves, mind-controlled to serve the Rock lineage and destroy those who resist. Why Barb plans to do so is to presumably break the tribe denizens' spirits and have them comply if they were next."
Poppy was filled with horror, anxiety, and disgust, wondering if Barb was far worse than Chef and formerly the Bergens. She had felt especically bad since she was learning this from one of her equally happy-go-lucky friends.
"But how will Barb perform this deed?" Trollzart flew up beside her.
"My best guess is she'll need the Strings."
"Which brings me to my next question," Delta Dawn turned towards Poppy, "Why did you give up the Pop String to Barb, sugar?"
Everybody turned to Poppy in shock, as the Pop Queen looked appalled and began digging through her hair and everywhere in search of the MacGuffin.
"No... No, I didn't."
"She didn't give up the Pop String to Barb, Mayor Delta."
Everybody turned again to find Harper and Captain Gabriel enter the room.
"It was Mandy..."
"HARPER?!" Poppy shot up and disrupted the work of the doctor performing surgery on her, "What are you doing here? What do you mean that Mandy gave up the Pop Strings?"
"When Vibe City got destroyed, Mandy, Moxie, Aspen, and I went to look for you on this island and that's where we found the Pop String," Harper explained, "I... I had a plan to prevent Barb from using the Strings, but...Mandy took the Pop String and told us to run."
"But...why?" Pennywhistle hopped out of Meadow's hair and into her hands.
"I don't know," Harper shook her head, "but...I think she's going to destroy the strings."
Everybody in the room exchanged horrified and shocked glances once more, but Poppy was lost in contemplation.
Destroy the Strings...? But without our Strings, we lose our music! Why would Mandy...?
Her eyes widened in realization the same time as Trollex's, "No... She won't."
Everybody turned to Poppy now in confusion.
"Poppy, what do you mean?" Branch didn't like where this was going.
"I... I'm going to destroy the Strings. If the Strings are destroyed, so will our music. But Barb won't turn us into Rock Zombies."
"But we'll lose our music," Delta Dawn deadpanned.
"Two birds, one stone," DJ Suki nodded in understanding, "I still don't like where this is going, Poppy."
"Neither do I," Trollex, whose wounds had healed, swam over, "Queen Poppy, I think this idea of yours is off from the very start."
"You're right, King Trollex, but I have to try. If we don't stop her, then who will?"
. . .
"But can you survive long enough to actually destroy the Strings?"
"What are you talking about?"
Trollex huffed before explaining, "I had a vision. A few nights ago, before Barb attacked my home, I had a vision that somebody died trying to stop Queen Barb from destroying all music by...destroying all music."
"Was...was that somebody Queen Poppy?" CJ asked hesitantly.
"I wasn't sure at first, but...listening to Poppy's plan, now I am."
Everybody exchanged dreadful glances once more, this time between Poppy and Trollex. Trollex, whom they weren't sure was telling them the truth or not, and Poppy, whom they felt complete sympathy now knowing why the Techno King was dead set against the Pop Queen's plan, weren't feeling well themselves.
"And..." Wani frowned, "You didn't tell us this fact beforehand?"
"To be fair..." Meadow shrugged, "The circumstances were not exactly proper."
"It doesn't matter right now."
Everybody turned towards the door once more to find Creek hoisting up an injured Archer, "What matters is that everybody here needs to be attended to."
"And possibly get jacked up to the point of euphoria," Archer woozily stated.
Harper's eyes widened at the sight of her injured boyfriend and charged over to tightly hug him, hitting him on the shoulder a few times as her grief was punctuated with every hit landed.
"You...are...a...stubborn...idiot."
"Yeah," Archer chuckled before returning the hug despite his injuries, "But I'm your stubborn idiot."
Harper laughed through the tears and delivered a few pecks on the cheeks, sending Archer into a tizzy. All the while, Poppy and Branch exchanged weirded out glances.
"Are we..."
"Nope."
"Young love is as beautiful as it is confusing," Camila rested her arms on both their shoulders, "But at least they don't have to get married in the future."
"Creek, was it?"
The Pop/Guru Troll turned to find Queen Essence and King Quincy cautiously approach him. It was clear from the get-go that they both had reservations about him, especially this particular Troll was the very same Cooper had talked about when detailing his first adventure to his family and the...specific role he played. However, they were willing to give him a chance if that meant they would be reunited with their son again.
"Did you happen upon our son during your arrival here?"
Creek sighed solemnly, "Your son gave the Funk String to Queen Barb so the Rock Trolls would not bring further harm to your people. We'll get him back."
Devastated by the news given to them, Queen Essence and King Quincy nonetheless nodded in understanding.
"But that means..."
Kim-Petit and Riff exchanged heartbroken glances.
"Barb's mission is accomplished."
"Hopefully, we can do so without causing any more destruction...unlike what happened to Pop Village..."
Poppy, Branch, and the other Pop Trolls turned to Creek upon hearing this.
"What?" Poppy walked towards her former love interest, "What do you mean, Creek? What happened to Pop Village?"
Creek refused to say nothing else at first before explaining further.
Holding on tight to Mr. Dinkles, Biggie sprinted through Troll Forest in order to reach to his home, blissfully unaware of the situation at hand.
"Everyone! Everyone!" Biggie exclaimed happily, "We're back...!"
His eyes now focused exclusively on what was in front of him, Biggie gasped in absolute horror.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Pop Village...was destroyed.