A/N: This here was a tricky scene for me to write, but I think I finally got it. Enjoy!

LB the bookworm – That song was my own creation, based off a couple other songs I heard recently. More on that will be seen in another chapter.

Chapter Seven – Tarantapuff Trouble

Over the next couple days, Peppy and Rosiepuff wandered the forest, trying to find someone who could tell them where "Gristle Sr., 114 Glitter Avenue, Bergen Town" was. For the longest time, they didn't see anyone. When they did find a creature who didn't want to eat them, they couldn't say where Bergen Town was. It seemed that nobody knew of such a place. Then again, most forest creatures tended to stay away from anything bergen-related.

Peppy knew at once that Rosiepuff read off the address of the home to the bergen who took his daughter. Even if he had to travel to the ends of the earth, he would find her and bring her home and wrap her in the biggest hug. Peppy did remember those hurtful things they said to one another, and the fact that Poppy said she hated him. But he wouldn't let an argument be the last thing that happened between them. Peppy would give his own life to save his daughter. Before he died, he would make sure she knew how much he loved her.

However, if there was one thing that really started to get on Peppy's nerves, it was Rosiepuff. At first, he was happy to have some company on this otherwise lonely trip. After all, she was the one who read the thermos and gave Peppy his clue to finding his daughter. Maybe she would be useful in Bergen Town, too.

But as they traveled for the next two days, Rosiepuff's antics began to chip away at Peppy's patience. She would ramble on for an hour, mostly just talking to herself and repeating "Gristle. Sr., 114 Glitter Avenue, Bergen Town" so much that Peppy now had it committed to memory. He supposed it was exciting for someone with short-term memory loss to remember something at last, but hearing the same thing over and over again got annoying really fast. Not only that, Rosiepuff would sometimes break out into random bouts of singing and humming. Now, trolls loved to sing; but Peppy was so stressed and worried about his daughter that he couldn't even think about humming a tune. Even worse was when Rosiepuff would get herself into trouble—sticking her head into the small caves of dangerous creatures, getting tangled in brambles, and almost eating poisonous berries, to name a few things—and Peppy would have to save her. By then, he considered himself even with Rosiepuff after she saved his life. It was like looking after a rambunctious toddler. Peppy felt sorry for Rosiepuff before. Now that he spent three days with the woman, he began to think she brought this loneliness on herself.

Now I see why her family isn't around. Peppy sighed as he listened to Rosiepuff repeat the address over and over again. They must've turned tail and run as soon as they had the chance. Peppy noticed lights ahead, and he saw a group of fireflies flitting about the area. He jogged up to them. "Excuse me? Hi there! I was wondering if—" Suddenly, the fireflies flew away. Peppy chased after them. "Whoa, wait a minute! I just have to ask if you've…." Too late. The bugs were gone. Peppy sighed heavily. He inhaled slowly to calm himself when he heard Rosiepuff catching up.

"Hey, what's up?" Rosiepuff asked.

"Well, I was just thinking…" Peppy chose his words carefully. He wanted Rosiepuff gone, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "See, I think that this searching isn't working with us searching together. I know many hands make light work, but that's clearly not the case here. So I'm thinking we should go our separate ways. I'm sure you have better things to do than hang out with me, right?"

Rosiepuff blinked, and then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I do. Maybe we should split up. I mean, uh, you know…go away…from each other…"

Peppy sighed in relief. "Yeah, great. I just think that I can find my daughter just fine on my own. And you surely have places to be."

"Yes, of course." Rosiepuff said. "It's been fun and all, but…..you know…"

Peppy got a little worried. "I mean, it's not because I don't like you, but I don't think I need you here with me."

"Right." Rosiepuff blinked again. "Wait, do you not like me?"

"No! I mean yes. Uh, no?" Peppy cleared his throat. "I just…I don't want to be with you because I like you. It's a very…..complicated emotion."

Rosiepuff frowned a little. "Yeah….complicated…"

Peppy groaned. "I'm sorry. That didn't come out right."

"No, it's okay." Rosiepuff shrugged with a weak smile. "No one really likes me. That much I do remember."

Okay, now Peppy felt really guilty. "No, Rosiepuff, I just—"

"Hey you!" the fireflies had returned, and now hovered above the two trolls. One of them flew up to the trolls. "Miss, is this guy bothering you?"

"No. I don't think so." Rosiepuff looked to Peppy. "Were you?"

"No! Of course not!" Peppy chuckled. "But while I have your guys' attention, do you know where—" He jumped back when the lead firefly got in his face.

"We ain't talking to you, bud! We're talking to the lady!" the firefly flew over to Rosiepuff with a smile. "Do you like impressions?"

Rosiepuff blinked a few times in confusion. "Um…sure….."

"Okay boys! Just like we practiced!" the firefly rejoined his flock, and the fireflies moved to form a shape that looked like a tall spider. "What are we?"

"Oh! I've seen one of those." Rosiepuff thought carefully.

"We're a type of spider…" the lead firefly guided.

"It's a tarantapuff!" Peppy snapped.

"Hey! Let the lady guess!" the lead firefly snapped. The fireflies moved again to form a round creature with large legs and buggy eyes.

"Wait, don't tell me." Rosiepuff tapped her foot.

Peppy fake-coughed out, "Hill monster."

"Saw that!" the lead firefly said. Peppy shrugged innocently. The fireflies moved again, taking the shape of a crocodile. "Mouth full of teeth!"

"Snake!" Rosiepuff immediately hit herself for misspeaking.

"Close enough!" the lead firefly laughed. The fireflies morphed into a couple trolls doing a tango, humming along a song to go with it.

"Wow. They're good." Rosiepuff mused.

Finally losing his temper, Peppy shouted, "Would someone please just help me?!"

The fireflies changed their shape until they looked like Peppy. "Would someone please just help me?" the lead firefly mocked. The other fireflies and Rosiepuff laughed.

Peppy fumed. "Look, you little—"

"Blah blah blah!" the lead firefly mocked, blowing a raspberry.

Peppy sighed curtly. "Fine." He turned and marched off, his cane stabbing into the ground.

"Hey!" Rosiepuff jogged after him and stopped Peppy. "Hey sourpuss, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Peppy repeated. "I guess you wouldn't understand, given your condition, so I'll explain it slowly. You and those morons are having fun with your silly games, yes? Sure, whatever. Meanwhile, I am miles away from home with a troll who barely remembers her own name and probably doesn't even know why she's out here!"

"That must be frustrating." Rosiepuff said with a smirk.

"And right now, my daughter is out there, somewhere." Peppy said.

"Daffodil, right?"

"Poppy."

"I knew that."

"And I want to find her more than anything, but no one in this entire forest is going to help me!"

Rosiepuff smiled. "I'm helping you, aren't I?" Peppy didn't answer. Rosiepuff didn't drop her smile as she walked back to the fireflies. "Excuse me, fellas!"

"Is he bothering you again? Do we need to beat him up?" the lead firefly asked.

"No, of course not!" Rosiepuff laughed. "He's fine, just a little stressed. He recently lost his daughter, Sunflower. I don't suppose you guys know where we can find 'Gristle Sr., 114 Glitter Avenue, Bergen Town'?"

"Bergen Town? Sure!" the fireflies changed to form a big sign that said "Bergen Town." "Todd and Chad have relatives down there, don't you guys?"

"Sure do!" Two fireflies piped up.

"Hey! They know where Bergen Town is!" Rosiepuff called to Peppy, who hurried over. "So can you tell us where to go? We've been traveling quite a long way."

"I'm afraid you've been going in the opposite direction." The lead firefly said. "You're a long way from Bergen Town."

"Great." Peppy groaned.

"But the good news is there's a quick and easy way to get there!" the lead firefly announced. The fireflies formed a map with a pathway. "You want to take the Hyacinth Highway. It's a major traveling path that all the animals take to get long distances. Nice, big path next to a river and lined with hyacinths. Can't miss it." The fireflies made an arrow and pointed in one direction. "It's that way. You're just going to follow that for about…uh, what? Like a hundred miles or so?" The other fireflies agreed. "It's going to take a couple days, but that little baby will take you right by Bergen Town."

"That's great! Thank you!" Peppy sighed in relief. "Thank you guys so much! Come on, Rosiepuff!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Rosiepuff laughed, following Peppy. "Thanks again, guys!"

"Oh, Miss, one more thing." The fireflies created a path that split into two directions. "When you get to the fork in the road, go down the darker path. It's longer, but safer."

"Darker path at the fork in the road." Rosiepuff repeated. "Got it! Thanks!" She ran to catch up with Peppy. The two trolls ran through the forest. Peppy was happier than he felt in days. Finally, he was on the right track to finding his daughter.

When they came to a fork in the path, though, the trolls stopped abruptly. To their left was a dark path with several dead trees and creepy-looking plants. To the right was a brightly lit path with round, colorful flowers that looked like giant clovers.

"Well, let's go." Peppy said. He and Rosiepuff started walking, but he stopped. "Wait, where are you going?"

"We have to go this way." Rosiepuff said, gesturing to the dark path.

"Not a chance." Peppy said. "We're taking the lighter path."

"But those fireflies said to go down the dark path." Rosiepuff said. "I remember: they said it was longer, but safer."

"I doubt you remember anything from ten seconds ago." Peppy said. "Are you even looking at that path? We won't last two minutes in that death trap."

"I really think we need to go this way." Rosiepuff insisted.

"And I really think this conversation is over." Peppy countered.

"Come on, just trust me." Rosiepuff said.

Peppy raised an eyebrow. "Trust you?"

"Yeah. You know, trust?" Rosiepuff said. "It's that thing that friends do."

Peppy wouldn't say it out loud this time, but he didn't really consider Rosiepuff a friend. He looked past her. "Hey look! What's that?"

Rosiepuff spun around. "What?"

"Oh! It went that way!" Peppy pointed down the brighter path. "Come on!" He ran towards the bright path.

"But wait! I think we….." Rosiepuff glanced down the darker path. "Hey, wait for me!" She ran after Peppy.

The brighter path did seem safer. Everything was lit and the two trolls could see where they were going. There didn't seem to be anyplace for anything to hide. Soon, they came to a hill and looked down.

"Look! There's the Highway." Peppy pointed to a path next to a river a short distance away.

Rosiepuff heard a hiss, and she turned to see a teeny-tiny spider sitting on a rock next to her. "Well, hello there."

"See? This is why we listen to me and not go down the long, dark path." Peppy said proudly.

"Are you lost, little fella?" Rosiepuff asked. "Where's your mama?" She tried holding out her hand to the spider, but the arachnid bit her. "Ouch! Geez, I was just trying to help!"

Peppy turned and gasped. "Rose, that's a tarantapuff!"

"Bad tarantapuff!" Rosiepuff scolded.

Peppy ran over and swung his cane, knocking the spider away and into the bushes. "Here, let me see."

"I'm fine." Rosiepuff said.

"Just let me see." Peppy looked over her bite. "Okay. Not too bad. That's okay. The good news is tarantapuff bites aren't poisonous. It's the webs we have to worry about. Let's just be thankful it was a baby, this time." The two continued on, sliding down the hill and going through the bushes at the bottom. Upon emerging on the other side, the two trolls gasped.

"Peppy…" Rosiepuff gulped.

"We're in Tarantapuff Territory." Peppy realized.

There were spiderwebs all around them. In fact, there was one in the bushes right above them, and a tarantapuff snarled at them. The two trolls ran for it, ducking under and weaving through webs and other spiders. They managed to hide, waiting for the spiders to move on.

"I just remembered that I don't like spiders. What do we do?" Rosiepuff asked.

"I don't know." Peppy said. "This is so bad. I don't know if there are many places for us to hide, and we can't touch the webs or it will let them know where we are."

"Well, let's try this way." Rosiepuff tried going through some taller grass, but she suddenly shouted in surprise.

"Rosiepuff!" Peppy pushed the grass aside just in time to see Rosiepuff pop up in front of him. She fell down again, landing on top of a mushroom which bounced her back up.

"Try it! It's fun!" Rosiepuff laughed.

Peppy stared at the mushroom. In fact, there were lots of them going right through Tarantapuff Territory. "Those are Trampoline Mushrooms. Of course! Hey, Rosiepuff! I have an idea. We're going to play a little game."

"Now you're talking!" Rosiepuff cheered. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to play Let's-See-Who-Can-Hop-Out-of-Tarantapuff-Territory-the-Fastest." Peppy said. "Very simple rules: you can only touch the Trampoline Mushrooms, don't touch the spiderwebs, and don't get caught by a tarantapuff. Okay?"

"Yep! Ready, go!" Rosiepuff bounced away.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Peppy jumped down and ricocheted off the mushroom to follow her. The trolls bounced off the mushrooms, practically flying through Tarantapuff Territory. They successfully dodged spiderwebs and the few tarantapuffs they passed. Most of the other spiders didn't come down fast enough to catch them. Rosiepuff laughed and whooped, having a great time. Peppy was still quite anxious.

"Come on, slowpoke!" Rosiepuff called. "You're about to get beat by an old lady!"

"Coming!" Peppy gulped. "Okay. I can do this. We're just having some fun and trying to not die. I'll be okay. I just need to focus."

"Yeah, focus or I'll make you eat my dust!" Rosiepuff goaded.

Peppy smiled genuinely this time. "Oh I don't think so!"

The two of them continued their bouncing, often landing on the same mushroom and bouncing even higher. They didn't see any more tarantapuffs, but there were still plenty of poisonous webs to avoid. But, for once, Peppy was actually having fun. He forgot his worries and simply focused on playing this impromptu game.

"Give it up, pal!" Rosiepuff laughed. "There's still some spring left in these old bones!"

"Oh, you want to see a spring? Watch me fly!" Peppy landed perfectly on another mushroom, flying clear over a spiderweb and ricocheting off more mushrooms as he disappeared.

Rosiepuff laughed. "Don't get too cocky! I'm still right behind you!" She tried to bounce after him, but she shouted in surprise when a tarantapuff popped out from hiding and stepped in her path. She whipped her hair across its face and landed safely on the ground. She dusted off her skirt, not seeing another tarantapuff sneaking up behind her.

Meanwhile, Peppy didn't hear Rosiepuff's shout as he continued to bounce, right out of Tarantapuff Territory and to safety. The Hyacinth Highway was just ahead. Peppy cheered. "Yes! One point for the father!" He jumped happily, a wide smile on his face. "Look at that, Rosiepuff! We did it!" Peppy turned, but he didn't see Rosiepuff beside him like he expected. He looked to the wall of spiderwebs that marked off Tarantapuff Territory. "Rosiepuff?"

After a tense moment, Peppy heard Rosiepuff's scream echo from Tarantapuff Territory.

"Oh no." Peppy sprinted back into the spider-infested land. He decided to forgo the Trampoline Mushrooms and simply run, scanning the area for a familiar green-haired troll. "Rosiepuff! Rose! Where are you? Answer me, please!" He heard nothing, though, and grew more frantic by the second. What could've happened to her? When did he lose track of her? Peppy thought she was right behind him. He jumped over rocks and scooted around webs. When he looked up, he gasped.

Rosiepuff was unconscious, bound in webbing and stuck to one of the spiderwebs. One of the tarantapuffs scuttled towards her, ready to eat.

"Hey!" Peppy grabbed a thorn off a nearby flower and used his hair to pull him towards the spider. He swung his cane and knocked the spider away, and then used his hair to push the spider right off its web. Peppy hesitated, and then climbed onto the poisoned webs to reach Rosiepuff. If he stayed on the webbing too long, he wouldn't survive to help her. He cut the webbing away and used his hair to lower them both down to solid ground. Peppy gasped at the sight of a nasty spider bite on Rosiepuff's shoulder, courtesy of one of the tarantapuffs.

Rosiepuff moaned a little, opening her eyes only halfway. She looked loopy from the poison. "Am I disqualified?"

"No, not at all!" Peppy said, desperate to keep her awake. "But you have to stay awake if you want to win! Come on, stand up." But Rosiepuff was too weak, so Peppy draped one of her arms around his shoulders and hoisted her to her feet, letting the injured troll lean on him for support. Rosiepuff's head lolled, and her eyes shut. "No, no! Stay awake, Rose, please." Peppy scrambled for an idea, anything to keep Rosiepuff from falling asleep and dying. "Where does Gristle Sr. live?"

That jolted her awake a little. "Gristle…...Senior…Glitter Avenue….Bergen Town…"

"Good. Keep repeating that." Peppy said as he pulled her along. "Wouldn't want me to forget that, would you?" He looked up and saw more tarantapuffs heading for them. Now that one of them was injured, it would make killing and eating them so much easier. Peppy used his hair like a whip to keep the spiders away. When one got too close, he'd smack it with his cane. All the while, he kept pulling Rosiepuff along as fast as he could while she muttered Gristle Sr.'s address over and over again.

It only got worse when the tarantapuffs began shooting their webs at the trolls. Peppy couldn't stop the webs. He just made sure none of them got in his eyes. Soon, he could see the exit, and a clear shot to the Hyacinth Highway. Still, the tarantapuffs relentlessly pursued and attacked them.

Rosiepuff grew limper, and Peppy readjusted his grip on her. "Stay awake. Stay awake." He was almost there. The exit was blocked by just a bit more webbing. So delirious from the poison and the adrenaline in his system, Peppy decided he had nothing to lose and plowed right through the webbing. The tarantapuffs tried to follow.

But before they could, the bellow of a loud, large creature made them freeze and then scurry away in fear. Peppy pulled Rosiepuff as far as he could before his legs gave out and they both collapsed. Peppy panted, his vision blurry and his muscles shaking. He looked to Rosiepuff weakly shaking her.

"Rosiepuff…..Rose, wake up!" Peppy pleaded. "Come on….please wake up…stay awake…" His own strength failed, and Peppy fell fully to the ground. He looked up at the sound of footsteps, and he saw several shadows approaching them.

Then, it all went dark.