A/N: For all those concerned, Creek will show his true colors, but not necessarily in the way you're expecting and also not entirely in this story. We have a sequel for this (again written before TWT came out, but we've been tweaking it, too).
Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls.
It was a good thing for Poppy that Branch was leading. They flew past a snake and a nest of tarantapuffs, both of which Poppy would probably have flown into without Branch. However, getting comfortable enough to start singing was probably not the brightest thing she'd ever done—her song attracted a hungry bird that tried to eat them both. Some quick maneuvering on Branch's part (with Poppy following his lead) got them away from the creature, though.
Somehow this all happened in the course of only ten minutes.
"Wheeew! That was a close one!" Poppy said just after they'd lost the bird. She still had a smile on her face, much to Branch's annoyance.
"Yeah. You know, if you had listened to me when I told you not to sing, maybe we could have avoided that last one!" Branch answered sarcastically.
"Aw, come on, Branch. We got away okay! You really need to lighten up and have a little fun for a change."
"While getting eaten by a bird sounds like a blast, Poppy, I'd rather not." Looking down ahead of them, Branch saw a slew of holes in a small hill. Off in the distance, Bergen Town. The root tunnels were below them.
"Hey. I never said—"
"Never mind," Branch cut her off, steering his flyer bug toward the ground. "Land."
"Huh?" Poppy looked down and understood. "Oooh... Coming!" She dove after Branch.
The two trolls got off the flyer bugs, and Branch sent them back home—they wouldn't be of any help from here on out. With that dealt with, he started inspecting the root tunnels, trying to find the right one.
"So one of these tunnels leads to the Troll Tree?" Poppy asked.
"That's right."
"There's so many of them. I wonder which one?"
Crouching down to check out one of the holes, Branch answered, "I don't know."
Suddenly a loud, booming voice said, "Choose a hole wisely... For one will lead to Bergen Town, and the others...to certain death." Death echoed a couple of times.
Branch jumped up and whirled around in search of the speaker, pulling out his machete again. "Who said that!?" he demanded.
Poppy looked around nervously, worried about what Branch would do to whoever it was. He wasn't exactly the friendliest guy around right now, and his paranoia was even worse than it had been ten years ago.
"Whoa, whoa. Cool your jets, Lemon Vest!" the voice said again. "It's just..." Suddenly a cloud popped off the side of a nearby hill, opening his eyes. The cloud was wearing white socks with red stripes on them and nothing else. "Me," he said in a voice far less severe. He walked off the hill and headed over to them, saying, "Just your friendly, everyday cloud. And I just wanted to—"
"Friendly everyday cloud?" Branch cut him off, pointing the machete at him accusingly. "Yeah, sure! Then what was that about 'certain death?'"
Poppy ran up to Branch and grabbed his arm, trying to get him to lower his weapon. "Branch, wait!" she cried, pulling down on his arm.
"Hands off, Poppy!" Branch said, trying to pull away from her. "We can't trust this guy!"
"But how do you know that if you don't even ask!?" she countered, still pulling on his arm.
The cloud put up his hands, looking cool. Apparently he didn't mind having a sharp object pointing at his face. "Yeah, so chill out, Spaztic Pout! I just wanted to warn you not to go down the wrong tunnel. No need to act all sour-wour," he said with a sly grin.
Branch lowered his weapon slightly, cautious. "Oh, really? That's all?"
"See? I told you! He might be able to help us find the right one!"
The cloud pointed both index fingers at them with a wink as he said, "Correct-a-mundo, Sunshine. I know exactly where to go."
"Great!" Poppy said with a cheerful bounce.
"No, that's okay," Branch said, pushing Poppy away from the strange cloud. "We're fine, thanks."
Poppy gave an awkward laugh and said quietly, "Branch. I know you've got some serious trust issues right now, but he's trying to help us. You can see that, can't you?"
"I don't like the looks of him. I mean, who wears socks with no shoes?" Or spoke in threatening undertones to total strangers. Branch gave the cloud a suspicious glance.
The cloud was picking his teeth as they spoke. Seeing Branch looking at him, he waved.
"He seems to know what he's talking about," Poppy said. She looked at the deadly weapon Branch still held and sweat. She stared at it for a moment before, laughing awkwardly, she yanked it out of his hand and tossed it aside.
"Hey!" Branch protested.
"Branch!" Poppy snapped, annoyed with him. Honestly, how paranoid could one troll be?
Branch groaned and held his hands up in a placating manner. "Okay, fine!" He turned back to the cloud and asked, "Which way do we go?"
"Whoa, whoa! Easy, tiger! Where's the fire?" the cloud asked. "And you should really introduce yourself to someone you just met. My name's Cloud Guy. And you are?" He looked straight at Branch, waiting for an answer.
"Just answer the question!"
"I'm Poppy!" she answered, waving cheerily as she got in front of Branch. "And this is Br—"
Branch grabbed the princess and covered her mouth.
Cloud Guy put a hand to his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Hmm... I don't know... You're acting awfully suspicious, stranger... How do I know if I can trust you?" he asked Branch. "Maybe I should take my business elsewhere." He turned to leave, acting as if Branch were the dangerous one.
"Hold on! How do I know you can be trusted!?" the gray troll countered.
Cloud Guy turned and gave him a sly grin as he answered, "How, indeed. Eh? Eh?" He waggled his eyebrows at Branch.
Officially exasperated, Poppy cried out, "Arah! Branch! His name's Branch! And he's being very paranoid right now!" She gave Branch a look of severe irritation.
"Poppy!"
"Sorry, Branch! But I don't really feel like dying today just because you're too scared to tell someone your name! Get perspective already!"
Cloud Guy just grinned, enjoying the show.
Branch growled. Darn it! She's right...
If it was a choice between certain death and a weird cloud knowing his name, the logical choice was to actually tell the cloud his name.
"Sorry about that..." Poppy said to Cloud Guy. "Branch is...a little antisocial right now."
"Ah... No problemo, Poppelemo," the cloud answered, messing up Poppy's name so it rhymed. "I'll take you to the right tunnel. Let's just shake on it to make it official." He held out a hand to Branch, obviously expecting him to do it.
Branch glared at the cloud. He wanted to smack that hand away, but, remembering what Poppy had said about getting some perspective, he reached out to shake the cloud's hand. Cloud Guy smirked and held Branch's hand firmly.
"What are you—" Branch started.
Suddenly Cloud Guy started shaking Branch's arm so hard the troll went with it. He shook Branch up and down about six times before letting go. Branch fell on the ground, flat on his face, and the cloud started laughing.
Branch knew he shouldn't have trusted that thing!
He sat up, demanding, "What was that for!?"
Cloud Guy crossed his arms dismissively and said, "I don't know what you're talking about. You know, you really need to lighten up, old buddy, old chum, old pal! You've been real grouchy ever since the day we first met!"
"You mean today?"
"That long, huh? Some people never change." The cloud moved over to Poppy, leaning against her side with a sly grin, and asked, "Am I right? Huh? Huh?" He elbowed her conspiratorially, making her laugh.
"Oh, you," Poppy giggled.
Branch got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Okay, this has been a real blast, but I think it's time Poppy and I headed out." Silently he added, I'd rather take my chances in the tunnels.
"Aw, but Branch... This guy's hilarious!"
"Why, Poppy. I try." Cloud Guy sighed, then continued, "I'm glad somebody remembers all the good times we've shared so far." He wrapped an arm around Poppy's shoulders, a smile on his face. "Like, remember when we first met, and I tried to warn you about the root tunnels, but Mr. Sunshine over there was all like, 'Kill the suspicious cloud,' and I was like—"
That was the last straw. Branch picked up his machete and, pointing it at Cloud Guy, commanded, "Get your hands off her, cloud!"
The cloud let go, eyes widening, and turned gray. Rain water fell from him.
Poppy looked between the two boys, concerned. It looked like this was about to get ugly. "Uuh... Branch?"
He charged. Cloud Guy leaped into the air and started running and screaming.
"That's right, you'd better run, cloud!" Branch yelled as he gave chase.
"Branch!" Poppy cried, chasing after him in an attempt to stop him. "No, wait!"
"How about I show you how I greet people I've known for a long time!?"
"Branch!"
Cloud Guy ran into one of the tunnels, trying to get away from Branch.
"No! Wait!" Poppy cried, chasing the two into the tunnel.
"Get back here!" Branch bellowed.
"He's just a cloud! Not a growlbeast!" Poppy was seriously worried—she'd seen Branch's lethal side already and was in no hurry to see it again. He's not seriously gonna kill an innocent cloud, is he!?
As if in answer to her thoughts, Branch yelled, "I'm gonna kill you!"
"Ah! Run, Cloud Guy!" Poppy cried. He can't be serious!
Suddenly Cloud Guy stopped, raising his arms above his head as he turned to the trolls with a smile on his face. "Ta-dah! We're here!"
Branch and Poppy both stopped, looking around, stunned. They were out of the tunnel and appeared to be standing on top of a tree.
Cloud Guy walked toward them, still smiling, saying, "Whew. You guys are a lot of fun." He eyed Branch's machete, looking a bit nervous, then walked right by, smiling again. "I gotta go. Got some cloud stuff to do. Catch you on the way back?" He turned back to the trolls as he stopped, hovering over the tunnel entrance. "Unless..." His expression turned serious. "You die die die die..." he said, each repeat of "die" quieter than the last, as he sank down into the tunnel.
Poppy looked around in awe. "The Troll Tree."
"Bergen Town," Branch whispered.
The two moved to the edge of the tree carefully and took a look out at the town. Poppy quickly noticed an issue—each and everyone not only looked horribly depressed, but they were doing things that would certainly make them feel worse.
A little girl walking along was dragging a kite on the ground. When it caught on a rock, she pulled it lose, tearing it. A couple of the adults were engaging in a very weird behavior—one kicked the other in the butt before turning around and letting the guy he'd kicked give him a wedgie. A woman was trimming the flowers by snipping off the petals and leaving just the stems, and she even managed to cut the head off a flamingo lawn ornament. A man with flies buzzing around his face kept hitting himself in the face with a flyswatter. Another bergen walked along, tearing pages out of a book instead of actually reading it. But the worst was the man who was burying himself in a shallow grave with a headstone reading "Here lies me."
"Wow... They're as miserable as you..." she observed to Branch. It was hard to believe that anyone could be so messed up that they'd actually make themselves feel worse like that.
Branch gave a start, then looked over at Poppy. Did she seriously just compare him to the bergens?
Poppy looked at Branch's hand and gave the machete a lame look—he was still holding it!?
Branch followed her gaze to the weapon before putting it away.
Smug, Poppy nodded and said, "Uh-hmm... That's what I thought. Now come on!" She got up and started off. "Let's go find our friends and return to Troll Village!"
"Your friends and no!" he countered as he followed.
"Aw, come on, hero. You belong with us!"
"Save it."
Meanwhile Guy and Biggie were running...from Smidge.
"YAAAAAAHHHH!" she bellowed, chasing the two around the tank in apparent fury.
Ever since she'd gotten some advice from Chenille, Smidge had been showing the two of them she was upset with their behavior by attacking them when they flirted with her. By this point, both twins were watching the show.
"Well, that's not exactly what I meant..." Chenille said, a little concerned as she watched this.
"But it's working, isn't it?" Satin pointed out.
"Aaaahhh! Smidge! W-what are you chasing meeeee for!?" Guy cried as he ran. "Biggie's the one who started it!"
"I am not!" Biggie, running right beside him, protested.
"That can't be right..." Bridget said as she observed the strangely comical scene.
"Hmm... Might be about time for you to step in, love. It doesn't really look like she got the gist of what you were trying to say."
DJ, Cooper, and Fuzzbert all looked at Chenille. They were in full agreement with Creek and thought it was high time the advice-giver step up and put a stop to this nonsense. For her part, Chenille agreed, so she headed over there as Bridget started debating whether she should try to stop the biting troll from injuring anyone else.
"Hey, Smidge! Can I talk to you for a second?" Chenille asked.
"Aaaaahhh—" Smidge suddenly stopped and, smiling naively, turned to face Chenille.
Chenille beckoned her over, a smile on her face as well. Smidge walked over to her, which gave Guy and Biggie a chance to stop running and catch their breath.
"Oh, thank heeaavens..." Guy said, hugely relieved. "I—" He fell on his back, exhausted, and was out like a light.
"Oh!" Biggie went down as well.
Still smiling naively, Smidge stopped in front of Chenille.
"Hey, Smidge? Remember when I told you to let them know you're upset?" Chenille asked.
Smidge threw her arms up and answered, "Oh, yeah! It's working great! They haven't fought over me in hours!"
Well, of course not. How were they going to fight over her when they were busy running from her?
"Yes, well, about that... I meant you should use your words, not, you know...that..."
"What?"
DJ sweat and looked at Smidge. She clarified, "Uh... I think she means this whole violent chasin' thing. It's a little too...rough."
"Yeah, Smidge. I think she wanted you to tell them what they were doing that was upsetting you, not chase them around the tank," Satin added.
Chenille nodded and finished, "It's called 'conflict resolution,' not 'conflict creation.'"
"Oh."
That actually made a lot more sense, come to think of it.
"And besides all that, love, I think they got the message about an hour ago," Creek said as he spared the two sleeping trolls an amused glance.
Smidge put a hand to her chin, thinking. "Hmm..."
"So, you see?" Chenille asked. "You can stop now."
Fuzzbert spoke in his own language, causing Cooper to feel the need to translate, "Fuzzbert says you should talk to them now and tell them which, if either, you like and why."
Smidge thought about that for a moment (choosing to ignore the fact that Cooper seemed to think Fuzzbert needed an interpreter). "Yeah. I guess you're right." Rolling up her (imaginary) sleeves, she marched right up to the sleeping trolls and bellowed, "WAKE UP!"
Guy and Biggie shot up, screaming, and took on defensive poses. If Smidge wanted to assault them again, they were ready to run. Smidge stood there, hands punched onto her hips, and glared at them both.
"W-why, hello, Smidge..." Guy stammered. "W-what's up?" He laughed awkwardly.
Smidge crossed her arms and started tapping her foot.
"Is...this about our behavior?" Biggie asked hesitantly.
Smidge pointed a finger at them as she glared daggers at the fighting fools. "I'll tell you what it's about! Guy, I am not interested! I like guys who like me, too!"
Guy gasped, horrified. "Y-you mean—"
A serious look on her face, Smidge turned to Biggie. Biggie looked at her, feeling a bit nervous now. Was he about to get turned down, too?
Smidge narrowed her eyes at him. Then, her expression never changing, she opened her arms wide for a hug. Biggie smiled and hugged her—he was the chosen one, and he knew it then and there.
"Wwhat!?" Guy cried, indignant. "She couldn't mean that—"
Smidge grabbed Biggie's face and pulled him down to her level, saying, "Come here, you sexy devil! Let's get this party started!" And, that said, she fanned her hair out over the both of them.
"Nnooooooo!" Guy cried, sliding across the floor on his knees, arms above his head and a pained look on his face. He was being rather dramatic about it all. Suddenly he got to his feet, smiling, and said, "Aw, well. Can't be helped." He moved to DJ then, taking her hand romantically, and said, "DJ, my dear, I'm sure by now you've noticed that the bergen won't leave and we're at her mercy. So, if we want to survive, there's only one thing we can do. What do you say? Shall we tear things up for safety purposes?"
DJ sighed, knowing he was right—Bridget had been here the entire time, so they didn't even have a chance to try to escape, even if they could think of a plan. "Sure..." she said, sounding bored.
Guy danced around in excitement and said, "Yyes! One ruby troll, coming riiiiiiiight up!" He fanned his hair out around DJ and himself.
Creek nodded his approval of this arrangement. "Yes, very good, mate. After all, we wouldn't want to wait too long now, would we? I mean, her aura's almost too unsynchronized for that."
"Uh, Creek? Do I even want to know what that means?" Chenille asked.
Satin and Bridget both looked at him in confusion, although he didn't immediately notice the bergen's attention was on him.
"It's simple, love. Every lady troll has a special aura that tells them when they're about ready to give life to a new young one. This aura stays in place for several days each month, and should a lady synchronize with a gentletroll at that very moment, then it's almost a guarantee they'll have a child soon after." He turned to the twins and continued, "Ladies, you were both in the midst of your Aura Cycle when you synchronized with me, therefore you were both prepared. Although, Chenille, you were a tad bit closer than Satin at the start of that, so, naturally, I went for you first." He looked at the ball of teal hair and said, "Smidge just entered her cycle sometime this morning, so her timing couldn't have been better." Then he looked at Guy's sparkly hair ball and finished, "And Suki was on the last day of it, so she's really quite lucky she agreed to it today. Otherwise she'd have to have waited an entire month for her sexual aura to return, and who knows what could happen to her before then."
"So you're saying you can tell us when we might get pregnant?" Satin asked. If he could tell them when they could expect to have eggs, that would be something. She wasn't sure what use it served, but it was a skill, she supposed.
"Wow! That's really useful," Bridget added.
Creek grinned proudly, enjoying the praise. "Aw, shucks, love. It was—Wait, who said that?"
The trolls who weren't currently "synchronizing" all looked up at the bergen, stunned.
Bridget gave a sheepish wave and said, "Uh, hi. Sorry, that was me."
Everyone just stared at her for a long time before Creek finally asked, "Come again...?"
Branch told Poppy that the others—if they were still alive—would probably be somewhere in the castle, most likely in some kind of enclosure specially prepared for breeding. Since that made sense to Poppy, the two trolls sneaked into the bergen castle, staying up high to avoid being seen.
When they heard footsteps, they stopped in an old fashioned torch and ducked down, Poppy using her hair to imitate fire. Two bergen guards walked below them, and, hearing the steps retreating, Branch and Poppy peeked to see if the coast was clear. Seeing that it was, they grabbed a chandelier and swung across to a ledge on the other side.
"So where do you think my friends are?" Poppy asked, having given up on the idea of calling them "our friends" again in light of how they'd probably greet Branch.
"If I had to guess, I'd say...in a bergen's stomach."
Poppy's eyes widened. "Hey, I thought you were the one saying they might be being kept alive for—ugh...breeding?" There was nothing right about that. "So gross!" she muttered. "Aanyway... You also said that we might find them in some breeding ground somewhere! So where's all this renewed negativity coming from all of a sudden?"
"Poppy, the idea that they're alive was yours," Branch countered, turning to her. "If the bergens haven't eaten them by now, the only reason is they're breeding them for more food."
"Ugh. Could you please stop saying that? It's really grossing me out," Poppy said, covering her mouth with both hands. She thought she might hurl if they kept talking about this.
"Not talking about it doesn't change the facts, Poppy," Branch answered, brutal as always.
Below them, Bridget walked by with her nose in a book. As she walked, she said, "Okay, trolls need clean, warm environments with play places and party supplies for their young. One wrong move can kill the trolls or turn them gray... Gray?" She stopped walking and read that section for a bit. "Okay, being gray means they'll make you sad if you eat them. Chef wouldn't like it if I let any of the trolls turn gray. I'd better see what I can get for the trolls that will make them happier."
Currently her tank was empty, save the trolls and some food and water. She had been instructed to make sure they mate before giving them anything fun that would distract them from their mating. Now that all of the girls were ready, however, it was time to get that tank set up for happy trolls. Bridget started walking again, frantically talking to herself about where she might find troll care supplies.
Poppy stared at that bergen, eyes and mouth wide in horror and disgust. Branch was right. Her friends were being used as livestock.
"Huh. Guess you were right—they're being kept alive for now," Branch whispered. "Sounds like she's the keeper."
Poppy nodded rapidly, her face seemingly frozen in that horrified look. Branch looked over at her before jumping down from the ledge. Poppy blinked, then watched as Branch bounced off a small table and onto the strap of the bergen's apron.
"Oooh..." Poppy said quietly. She leaped down and used her hair to swing from a lamp, then somersaulted through the air, landing on the other loop in the bergen's apron straps. She gave Branch an awkward grin.
Unaware of her two hitchhikers, Bridget walked into a room labeled "Troll Care." It was a complete mess—dust and cobwebs covered just about everything, and, as Bridget opened the boxes to find what she needed, she coughed.
She found boxes filled with medical supplies and a variety of strange tools she didn't have names for. She also found a box labeled "In case of Troll Tree shortage" and took a look inside. There were party supplies, seeds, cloth, and various other materials in there. There were even tiny baking supplies.
Bridget coughed as she looked through that box. "Oh, wow, look at all this stuff. I'm sure my trolls will like something in here." She picked up the box and headed out.
Poppy turned green, looking seconds away from vomiting. Branch covered her mouth and put a finger to his lips. There were multiple reasons he didn't want her doing that right now, and the fact that they were riding on a bergen was only one of them. Poppy also happened to be facing him, meaning he'd likely get a faceful of sick, too.
Poppy swallowed the bile as the bergen walked through the kitchen and through a door leading to a long spiral staircase—and, hopefully, her friends.