A/N: Here's the final chapter! I almost forgot how much I love doing these adaptations. But I don't want to keep you all waiting too long for the next installment of the Flame of Happiness Trilogy. This week, I will be putting in some work and writing some chapters so I can update in a timely manner. I expect the first chapter to be on Friday or Saturday.
Neomoon585 – Yes, I do love to torture you with cliffhangers.
TAPDANCING GIRAF – If you had been surprised, I would've been surprised by you being surprised.
Cupcake – Yes, I'm quite satisfied with myself.
At the end of this chapter, I will post the winners of the poll I put up on my profile!
Chapter Fifteen – Home
The fire burned for an hour or two. But the rainclouds from before soon came through. Soon, a soft drizzle turned into a downpour that doused the wildfire. The Tank Trolls and Peppy hid under a collection of unburned mushrooms until they knew it was safe. The downpour transitioned to a steady rain, but the trolls paid no mind to the cold wetness as they searched for their missing members.
"Poppy!" Peppy shouted into the rain. "Poppy, where are you?"
"Grandma!" Branch called. "Poppy! Answer us!"
"Where could they be?" Creek wondered anxiously.
"They couldn't have gotten far." Branch assured. "We just have to keep looking."
Smidge popped up from a hole in some tree roots. "No sign of them here!"
"Nothing up here!" Satin and Chenille called from a tree.
Branch noticed Peppy's anxious look. "Hey, I'm worried too. But we'll find them. I'm sure of it."
"I hope you're right." Peppy said. "I just got her back. I can't lose her again." He looked down shamefully. "Plus, I have some things I need to say to your grandmother. We did not part on the best of terms."
Branch nodded in understanding. "Your daughter is an exceptionally strong troll, even with her disability. I'm certain she found someplace safe to hide."
"I can see how much she's grown." Peppy said. "I wish I hadn't stopped her from learning to adapt. I'm indebted to you, Branch, for teaching her. Thank you."
Branch smiled. Before he could respond, he heard Fuzzbert's panicked garbling. The green troll gestured with his hair for the others to follow him. The other trolls ran after Fuzzbert, and they were ecstatically relieved to see Poppy emerge from an animal hole just ahead.
"Oh we're so happy you're safe!" Creek said as the Tank Trolls enveloped her in a group hug.
"Very resourceful, Princess." Branch complimented.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Peppy inspected his daughter for any burns.
"I'm fine, Dad. But there's something wrong with Branch's grandma!" Poppy said. Branch lost all the color in his face when he heard this. Peppy followed his daughter into the animal hole, and his eyes widened when he saw Rosiepuff lying deathly still on the ground. He carefully lifted her into his arms and brought her out of the hole, where he had more light to better assess her injuries. He knelt down with Rosiepuff still unmoving in his arms.
Only Branch approached his grandmother, his tank-mates wisely staying back. "Grandma?" Branch gently shook her shoulder. "Come on, please don't do this to me. You have to wake up!"
"Rose?" Peppy couldn't hear a definite breath. Rosiepuff was covered in ash spots, and her bandages were singed. "Rosiepuff, please wake up. You can't leave. Not yet. You found your grandson, remember?"
Still, Rosiepuff didn't move. Branch collapsed to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threatened to spill out.
"Rosiepuff, please don't go." Peppy begged. "I didn't mean what I said back then. I was just angry, and I say stupid things when I'm angry." He glanced to Poppy. "I seem to have a habit of that. But you have to know I didn't mean it. You proved me wrong. You found your grandson, even after I broke my promise. I know I said a lot of things to you, but the one very truest thing I never said was that you are my friend." Peppy sighed, filled with regret. "I'm such an idiot. I'm an idiot and a jerk and paranoid and..."
"A cotton-headed ninny-muggins?"
"Yeah, a cotton-headed—" Peppy froze, and he looked down. Rosiepuff smiled tiredly at him. "You're alive!" Peppy laughed, pulling Rosiepuff into a hug. The Tank Trolls cheered, thankful they didn't lose anyone in the fire. Poppy hugged Branch, who looked like he would collapse from relief.
"I haven't had a friend like you in a long time." Rosiepuff said as Peppy helped her stand. She wiped away her happy tears. "I'm glad we literally ran into each other."
"Me, too." Peppy agreed. He stepped back to let Branch hug his grandmother, and he opened his arms for Poppy to jump into them. "Hey Poppy. Guess what?"
"What?" Poppy asked.
"I met a llama-troll." Peppy said.
Poppy gasped excitedly. "Really?"
Peppy pulled from his hair the picture of him, Rosiepuff, Cooper, and Harper. He chuckled at Poppy's slack-jawed reaction. "And you'll get to meet him and his daughter on our way home."
Poppy looked to Rosiepuff and the Tank Trolls. "Can they come too? And live with us in the oak tree?"
"Are you kidding? Where else are they going to go?" Peppy asked with a smile. "They're family, after all."
"And this oak tree." Creek said. "Is it safe? Are there fun things to do?"
"You bet." Peppy nodded. "Come on. I'll show you."
Not only did Cooper and Harper guide the travelers upriver and back to Peppy and Poppy's home, they decided to stick around and visit for a while. Everyone in the neighborhood talked about what happened. After believing Peppy and Poppy were dead, the trolls practically begged for answers. The entire story was told several times, yet Peppy never grew tired of it. He was thankful he succeeded.
Peppy and Poppy did reach an understanding, and Peppy allowed his daughter to explore more (under Branch's or the Tank Trolls' supervision, of course). Rosiepuff adopted all of Branch's friends, and they all moved into a couple pods just a few branches up from Peppy and Poppy. Branch and Rosiepuff helped the Tank Trolls adapt to living in the wild. Soon, they realized just how much more fun it was living outside a tank.
All in all, life had improved greatly for the little family.
"I'm gonna win!" Peppy teased playfully, racing his daughter to school.
"Not this time!" Poppy stretched out her hair to grab a bush branch, and she launched herself over her father's head. "Wheee!"
"Heads up! Princess on the loose!" Peppy called.
Branch turned just in time to catch Poppy in his hair. "Nice flying, Princess."
"I beat Daddy here!" Poppy cheered, leaning on her crutches.
Peppy was a little out of breath by the time he arrived. "I really am getting old."
"You're not the only one." Rosiepuff laughed. "Now, Poppy, I need you to keep an eye on your friends. They can be troublemakers."
"Us?" Creek asked, gesturing to the Tank Trolls, who whistled innocently. "Never!"
Poppy giggled. "Don't worry! They'll love it at school!"
"Good morning!" Cooper called as he and Harper approached. "Harper's ready for her first day!"
"Great!" Poppy said, leading the kids off to meet with the other schoolchildren. "You'll love art class, Harper. We're doing finger and toe painting today!"
"Hey, look who it is!" North laughed as he, Axel, and Blossom came up to the adults. "Haven't seen you all week, Peppy."
"Just helping my new neighbors settle in." Peppy said.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rosiepuff." Blossom said. "And your grandchildren are so darling."
"Thank you." Rosiepuff said. "I think they'll enjoy living here."
"And your kid is quite the…..ah, colorful child, Cooper." North said.
"I still can't believe how you three met." Axel said. "Come on, be serious. Did you actually do all those things you said you did?"
"Pardon me."
The trolls looked up, and Axel, North, and Blossom gasped when they saw a trio of crocodiles before them. "Hello." Barnabas greeted. Axel fainted quite promptly.
"Oh, don't be alarmed." Steve said.
"We're just on our way to the river for the next step of the program, and we were hoping our mentor could come along for emotional support." Irwin added, looking to Rosiepuff.
"I would be delighted." Rosiepuff said. "Any interventions lately?"
"Nope!" the crocodiles said proudly.
"And just in case there's blood in the area, Steve and Irwin are prepared." Barnabas said with a sheepish smile. His friends each held up a wooden mallet, clearly prepared to knock their buddy unconscious if he ever went into another feeding frenzy.
"Very good." Rosiepuff nodded.
"All right, children!" Karma called. "We're off!" The kids waved goodbye to their parents as they walked off.
"Oh, wait! Miss Karma! I forgot something!" Poppy hobbled back towards her father. Peppy met her halfway, worried he had forgotten to give Poppy her lunchbox or something. But instead, she jumped up and hugged him. "Love you, Dad."
Peppy held her close. "Love you, too." He kissed her head and helped her back onto her crutches. He checked that her knee pad and boot were secure, and then ushered her off. "Now go have fun."
"Thanks! Bye Cooper! Bye Rosiepuff!" Poppy called as she left.
"See ya later, Little Pinkie!" Cooper called.
"See you after school!" Rosiepuff waved.
"Bye Dad!" Poppy waved one more time.
Peppy smiled warmly. For the first time, he was confident his daughter would be okay. "Bye Poppy."
A/N: How was that? I loved doing this adaptation! I'll be doing more after I finished Flame of Happiness. After checking the polls, the winner is…Moana! I know a lot of you have waited for that one, so I'll get some work done on that! Snow White, which was previously trailing, came up from behind and passed The Black Cauldron for second place. Now, I'm still interested in doing The Black Cauldron, but I do these adaptations to please my readers, so I'll start with Moana and Snow White.
Keep an eye out for the first chapter of The Flame of Happiness Trilogy!