Poppy, Branch, and the others knew that the battle for the Strings had to end right now before anyone else could be transformed into Rock Zombies, but Poppy, Branch, and the others knew that the way to end said battle was incredibly easy as it was incredibly difficult for entirely different reasons. While the others all knew that the Strings had to be destroyed in order to prevent Barb's usage of them, Poppy's group especially also knew the truth was much more harsher to imagine. A sacrifice must be made. A sacrifice made certain and almost inevitable. One life...over a billion more.
As Guy Diamond and Sky Toronto fought Bash alongside Harper and Archer, the both of them noticed who appeared to be a zombified Biggie being tackled by and subsequently battling Cooper, much to their horror. So horrified were they that they failed to notice Harper and Archer being overwhelmed by Bash, who raised his machete to deliver the killing blow. Before he could, however, he was stopped by Adora, who blocked the blow with her own blade before sparring with him for a brief moment, and Catra, who kicked him away before delivering rapid-fire punches and choke slamming him into the ground. Gia stabbed Bash's own knife into his stomach to further subdue him.
From behind the drumset, Dr. Plum and Karma attended to Satin, Chenille, and Diogo while Nova Swift, Growly Pete, and Riff provided cover fire. Recovering from their traumatic gaze, Guy Diamond and Sky Toronto returned to the fight and helped Moxie battled a zombified Mandy and Aspen while Cooper and Prince D battled a zombified Biggie. Moxie was none too pleased about having to fight her former friends, a sentiment echoed by many of the occupants on the battlestage who were on Poppy's side. The feelings of the K-Pop Gang, the Reggaeton Girls, and the Latin Trolls were mutual in regards to Tresillo and Wani.
Gia picked up a spare rifle and helped DJ and Trollex fend off a group of Party Crashers. She never gave any thought, but it actually felt really good.
"Gia!" DJ fired a shot over Gia's shoulder, saving her from an ambushing Party Crasher, "It's about time! What are you wearing?"
"Nova Swift's version of a Rock Troll costume, apparently," Gia looked absolutely embarrassed to be there in person, "Honestly, you would think that one of the world's most famous fashion idols would know a thing or two about Rock Troll fashion."
"In my defense..." Nova herself fired a spare pistol, "I was only working with what I had!"
"I'm sure you did," Gia doubted her as she emptied her rifle into a nearby Party Crasher and tossed it away in favor of a fresh, fully loaded one.
Ripley and Bella both watched each other's backs as they used an aluminum bat and a crowbar respectively to fend off the machete-wielding Party Crashers. Bella used the curved end of her crowbar to literally sweep them off their feet, while Ripley used the straight end of her bat to bash the faces and kneecaps in. Satin and Chenille were close by firing their commandeered rifles, often switching positions.
"SATIN! CHENILLE! DUCK!"
The twins did just that as Ripley hurled her bat into the face of another ambushing Party Crasher, knocking her down while splattering blood everywhere. She slid over to retrieve it just as Val slid over and fired two crossbow bolts into another Party Crasher's face. She fired three more into another's chest before reloading and continuing her rampage against the Party Crashers, much to the astonishment of the twins.
"Um...when did that happen?" Satin tilted her head.
"Eh, we probably missed something," Chenille shrugged in response.
"Girls, not the time," Gia took up another loaded rifle before firing back, aiding Val in her one-Troll killing spree.
Smidge used her hair to lasso a trio of Party Crashers away from the battle and saw the guitar aiming at her love interest. Despite knowing exactly what the Ultimate Power Chord did, she mustered up the courage to leap into the line of fire and take the full blast.
"MILTON!"
"SMIDGE!" Milton Moss cried out in horror.
Encased in a molten cocoon not long after, Smidge emerged as a Rock Zombie just as quickly and charged at Poppy's alliance. She ended inflicting more damage than the efforts of the zombified Biggie, Aspen, Mandy, Tresillo, and Wani combined. Even more surprising, it took more than just the twins to take her down.
Poppy, Branch, Hickory, Prince D, Riff, and the rest of the Tribe Leaders both met in a location far from the battle.
"This has to end now," Delta Dawn reloaded her rifle.
"I couldn't agree more," Branch reloaded his pistol, "But how?"
"You know how, Branch," Poppy reloaded her pistol and fired back, "The Strings need to be destroyed."
"No, there has to be another way."
"I'm afraid there isn't, Branch," Hickory reloaded his shotgun and fired back, "We can only stall for so long."
"Poppy, I can't let you do this."
"Branch..." Poppy smiled and place a single hand on Branch's shoulder in an act of reassurance, "I'll be fine. It's like Barb said: Pop has done nothing but divide us. I think it's fitting that Pop rights this wrong...before any more Trolls get hurt."
At these words, Barb fired the guitar again, this time striking Guy Diamond, who dove in the way to prevent his son from being struck.
"DADDY!" Tiny Diamond shouted for his father, now a Rock Zombie, who then charged at his former friends with a murderous glint in his eyes. He was tackled by Nova Swift, Gia Grooves, and Sky Toronto before he could get too far, however.
Legsly was not far behind, shielding Dr. Plum and Karma before the two could be interrupted with their surgery. She used her legs to kick Satin and Chenille away, who were currently battling Smidge, before she was tackled from behind Holly Darling and Lownote Jones.
Witnessing this, the Tribe Leaders plus Hickory winced in pain before sighing in resignation.
"We don't have a choice, Branch," King Quincy sadly noted.
"I'm so sorry, dear," Queen Essence sorrowfully rested a paw on Branch's shoulder.
"Branch..."
Branch turned to Poppy, who flashed him a reassuring smile.
"We have one chance to fix everything. To correct this mistake. To right this wrong. I'll be okay."
"But..." Branch feebly protested her attempt at a heroic sacrifice, "But what if...?"
"I'll be fine," Poppy cupped his cheeks, "At this point...nothing can hurt me. I...just feel you."
Branch couldn't help but smile at Poppy's undying optimism. Even when faced with a dire situation, she couldn't give in to the bleakness of it all. For sure, it was a stark contrast to the situation with the Bergens.
"I hope so," Branch nodded in resigned understanding, "I... I love you, Poppy."
Poppy rested her head on Branch's, barely whispering under her breath...
"I know..."
The both of them remained in that position for a moment more. Hickory, Prince D, and Riff smiled in proud acknowledgement, while the Tribe Leaders wanted to aww at the heartwarming spectacle but didn't out of fear of ruining their special moment.
When they pulled away, Poppy and Branch glanced up from their hiding position. The alliance was all but overnumbered and surrounded, and those remaining resorted to commandeering discarded rifles and pistols. Those who were zombified (Tresillo, Wani, Biggie, Smidge, Guy Diamond, and Legsly) fought alongside the Party Crashers and gained them a slight advantage. However, Poppy's group wouldn't give up just yet. They were certain that the Pop Queen would come up with one more, foolproof plan to save the world. Little did some of them know...this one more, foolproof plan was just that: the plan of a proved fool.
("The One" by Alan Silvestri) [1:27 - 1:57]
Poppy and Branch exchanged certain looks with each other and then with the Tribe Leaders, who nodded in understanding. With a final battle cry, they all charged into battle with the intent of clearing a path for Poppy. Hickory fired his shotgun, Delta Dawn fired her rifle, Riff fired his automatic rifle, the Funky Family plus Trollzart threw punches and kicks, Trollex fired his two pistols, and Poppy and Branch dual wielded their swords and pistols.
Despite the overwhelming forces of the Rock Trolls and the Party Crashers subservient to Barb, Poppy managed to make her way to Barb, whom she engaged in a wrestle for the guitar for once more. This time, for the fate of the Trolls...for the fate of the kingdom...for the fate of the world...Poppy was determined to win.
Real harmony takes lots of voices...
. . .
Real harmony takes lots of voices...!
. . .
Real harmony takes lots of voices!
. . .
DIFFERENT VOICES!
Finally managing to pry the guitar away from Barb, Poppy rushed towards center stage, tightly gripping the instrument by its neck. With a final lung-wrecking scream of determination, she raised the guitar over her head before slammed it hard into the ground.
BOOM!
("Poppy Destroys The World" by Theodore Shapiro) [0:45 - 1:02]
A much larger shockwave exploded from the Strings as they all snapped in half and the raw energy coursed through Poppy's veins. The Pop Queen still held on through the pain, her eyes closed to fight it. It was because of her closed eyes that she failed to notice a smoke of rainbow colors discharging from the Strings: the remnants of the energy that failed to enter Poppy. The smoke explosion engulfed the entire auditorium and its occupants before suffering a rewind of sorts, taking all the colors of the Trolls with them. While many of the Trolls closed their eyes to drain out the blinding lights, a fair few screamed and shouted in immense pain as their true colors were being sucked away.
Every single one of the Trolls became grey or dark grey, while the zombified Trolls reverted back to their normal selves while turning grey. Once the smoke explosion rapidly reached center stage, it now whirled like a tornado around Poppy, who was overloaded with the power of the Strings. It now had nowhere left to go...but up.
BOOOOOOM!
The remaining energy was forcibly ejected from Poppy, shooting upward and creating a final explosion that saw any remnants of color transformed into little sprinkles that slowly rained down upon the audience before disappearing into the unknown.
Remaining in a standstill, Poppy looked at her work well done.
Poppy had did it.
Poppy had destroyed the Strings.
Poppy had saved the Kingdom.
Poppy had saved the World.
Poppy...couldn't breathe.
As many of the Trolls took notice of their ultimate fate, Poppy now took notice of her badly burned hands still clutching the guitar's neck, the only remaining intact piece of the instrument, which she promptly dropped. Resisting the urge to throw up, she instantly wished she had done that instead.
Poppy coughed up blood in place of bile, making her more sick than before. Not helping matters was that her throat was beginning to itch, her body was beginning to ache, and her mind was beginning to panic. Her legs were about to give out and drop her onto the ground.
"Poppy...!"
A voice called out for her from a distance as she did fall backward. Poppy surprisingly didn't feel the impact on the back of her head.
In fact, she didn't feel any pain.
She didn't feel anything.
She felt nothing...but cold.
"Poppy...!"
That same voice called out for her, only much louder than before. Suddenly, whatever vision she had was now obscured by...
"B... B... Br... Bran... Branch..."
His lips were moving, but she heard nothing. His expression was one of horror, panic, and despair. His hands reached her face, cupping it as his eyes began to tear up.
Oh, my God. Am...I dying? Is this what dying feel like? I... I... I didn't feel so good...
Branch's lips moved again, this time the words exiting out of his mouth much more decipherable than before.
"I love you...!"
Poppy's own struggled to open, move, and respond, but finally...
"I love you too..."
With one final breath, Poppy slipped away from Branch and became one with the ashes of time...
