"Listen up, everybody!" Poppy called. "I have a super fun announcement I'm sure you would love to hear!" The Trolls in the audience started cheering. "Our annual Halloween Scare Championship is coming up!" Poppy threw her hands in the air.
The Trolls cheered, whistled and clapped. "You all know what that means! One Troll is going to win the Halloween Championship for 'The Best Scare!'"
"The what now?" Branch asked Guy Diamond.
"The Halloween Scare Championship is an even Poppy hosts every year," Guy Diamond replied.
"She's been hosting it since she was ten!" DJ Suki added.
"Basically, whoever can scare her the most wins and they are pronounced Halloween Champion," Guy Diamond finished.
"I just like calling them the Scare Queen. Or King. Ya know," Cooper said.
"Scare her?" Branch checked. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Biggie answered. "Turns out, Poppy likes being scared."
"At least when her life doesn't depend on it," Satin said.
"Too true," Chenille added.
"Scare her, huh?" Branch muttered.
"Contest starts tomorrow so get your scare game on and get out there!" Poppy finished. The Trolls went wild as Poppy raised her open palms to get the crowd excited. "Now go have fun!" Poppy exclaimed. The Trolls cheered. Poppy walked off of the mushroom.
"How was that?" Poppy asked, rejoining the group.
"Is that rhetorical?" Branch asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.
"You always know what to say, Branch!" Poppy laughed.
"Scare you?" Branch asked. "Tell me you're joking."
"Joking? Why?"
"I never knew you liked being scared."
"Only when my life doesn't depend on it!" Poppy replied confidently.
"You've been hosting this since you were...oh, I don't know...ten?" Branch asked, waving his hand in a small circle.
"Right again!" Poppy said, pointing at him.
"How come I never heard of it?" Branch finally asked.
"You didn't? I thought you would've seen those fliers, or heard the announcement, or even heard them talking about it!" Poppy cried.
Branch paused for a moment. "Hey! Have you heard about the Halloween tournament to scare the princess?" a Troll asked.
"I did!" a second replied. "I'm totally participating! How about you?"
"I don't know. I'm not a big fan of scaring kids." Branch continued to walk past them, avoiding eye contact. They're bigger and much brighter than he is. Plus, he killed his grandma. Maybe he'll hide in his bedroom for the rest of his life...
"Uhhh...nope! Never heard of it!" Branch replied, nervously smiling.
"Weird," Poppy said. "Oh well. You've heard of it now, right?"
"Yeah," Branch answered. "So...what are the rules of this contest?"
"You want to join?"
"No...just hypothetically speaking if someone wants to join that's not me."
"Hmm, okay," Poppy eyed him suspiciously. "Say if this hypothetical person wants to join then they have to scare me the best. When I get scared, I crown then Halloween Scare Champion."
"That's it? No sign up?"
"No...? Do you want one?" Poppy asked.
"No! I just...expected one, that's all," Branch replied quickly.
"Okay," Poppy smiled. "Good luck!" she waved as she walked away.
"I SAID HYPOTHETICAL!" Branch retorted.
"You guys gonna join this year?" Copper asked once Poppy was out of earshot.
"Nah," Satin and Chenille said.
"I wish," DJ Suki replied. "I'm just not good at scaring anyone."
"Same," Cooper replied.
"Nope," Guy Diamond sang.
"Really guys?" Branch asked. "If you're not good at scaring someone, work together!"
"I thought you weren't getting in on it," Biggie said.
"I said that to get her off my back," Branch explained.
"Do you have an idea, Branch?" Biggie asked.
"I think," Branch replied. "Let's head to my bunker! We need to planstorm!"
"What?" Guy Diamond asked.
"Planstorm," Branch repeated. "It's like brainstorming, but for a plan, so...planstorming."
"Oh."
Branch moved the rock to his bunker and invited everyone inside. Once they were all in, he closed the door. "Okay..." Branch muttered, running down a hall to get paper. He came back, led them to the elevator and pulled the stick down.
Once the elevator ride ended, Branch shuffled off and went to one of the cubbies in the wall to pull out some pencils. He led the group to the nearby table, threw the papers on it, pulled out some red string and placed the pencils on the table.
"Okay..." DJ Suki started, "what's the plan?"
"I think I have something, but I'm going to need all of you."
"All of us?" Cooped asked, excited.
"Yeah. All of you."
"Sweet!" Chenille exclaimed.
Branch quickly scribbled an idea onto a paper and paste it to the wall, with the string. "So it starts out like normal, that way she won't expect it."
"So far, so good," Biggie said.
Branch drew a bush on another piece of paper with some written instructions. He used the string to connect it to the first paper. "When she isn't expecting-"
"So far, so good," Biggie said.
Branch stared at Biggie for a second. "When she isn't expecting..." Branch stopped for another one of Biggie statements, which never came, "right when she's the most comfortable, that's when it happens," Branch continued.
"When what happens?" Guy Diamond asked.
"The scare," Branch said. "I was thinking something like this..." Branch scribbled some written notes and small doodles on the scattered papers and pinned them up with the string. He put one hand on the papers, tied together with string, unorderly, and held out his other hand as he explained. "So, Cooper, you can be here and wait for my signal. DJ, you will be here." He tapped a paper with his finger. "Biggie...I already explained yours, Guy Diamond, you will help Cooper. Satin, Chenille, you two will be a major help with more than just the scaring."
"What about Mr. Dinkles?" Biggies asked, holding up the worm dressed as a bat.
"Uhh..." Branch scanned his papers. "Unless he can howl really well, I don't think he-"
A large howl sounded through the bunker, echoing across every wall. Mr. Dinkles 'ewed' when he was done. The bunker was silent for a minute as they stared at the worm. "I stand corrected," Branch said, shocked. He wrote on another piece of paper and pinned it up next to a bush.
After a little more explaining, Branch slammed his hands on the table, knocking over his cup of coffee he had gotten halfway through. "Everyone got it?" he checked.
They all agreed at the same time. "Great. Let's put it to action in a few days," Branch finished. "And now, I need a new cup of coffee."
A few days passed like normal. Singing, dancing, hugging, and, best of all, preparing for Halloween. Troll Village is covered in paper bats, fake spiderwebs, napkin ghosts and paper mache Troll skulls. Even a few scary plants made of paper are in the assortment of decorations. Only a few of the spiderwebs have plastic spiders in them.
Poppy wrapped up a Halloween Eve party, as she called it, before Branch came over with a broom. "Hey, uh, Poppy?"
"Yeah, Branch?" Poppy asked, holding the dustpan.
"It's getting kind of late, plus, it's Hallow's Eve, so I figured, maybe I should walk you home tonight," he suggested.
"'Hallow's Eve?' Who calls it that?"
"That's not the point!" Branch cried, embarrassed.
"You know I'm just teasing you, Branch," she said, waving a hand and bending down for Branch's pile of orange and black confetti.
Branch didn't answer and swept the confetti into the dirt pan. "You know, that would be a good idea," Poppy said, picking up the dust pan and throwing the confetti into a toothed bin. Once it landed inside, the bin grew eyes and slowly ate the confetti. "I would love that, Branch."
"R-really?" he stammered back.
"I mean, if you're too scared, I can walk you back home," Poppy teased, smiling.
"No!" Branch cried. "I'm not scared! Halloween isn't even that scary!" Poppy smiled. "All right, let me just pick up this streamer." She bent down, picked up the streamer, and fed it to the bin. The bin ate that too.
"Okay, let's go."
Branch walked Poppy out of the party area, Poppy taking down some lights as they did so. "Where did everyone go?" Poppy asked finally. Branch scanned the are. "Huh. They must have all gone home already."
"On Halloween Eve?" Poppy asked. "Who goes home that early?"
"It is Hallow's Eve," Branch shrugged.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Poppy asked, putting her fists on her hips.
"Haven't you heard?" Branch asked.
"Heard what?" Poppy questioned.
"You haven't heard about the Legend of Hallow's Eve?" Branch cried. "Are you kidding?"
"Uh...no?"
Branch gasped. "How could you, Queen Poppy, never heard of the Legend of Hollow's Eve?" Branch asked in a strange tone.
"What are you getting at, Branch?" Poppy asked sternly.
"It's after midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark," Branch started singing. "Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart." Branch pointed ahead of them to a shiloutte of a large hound-like creature. A howl ensued and the hound jumped away.
"You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it. You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed!" Another howl sounded, causing Poppy to stop in her tracks.
"'Cause this is thriller! Thriller night. And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike." The hound came up again, this time closer. Poppy squeaked and moved closer to Branch. "You know it's thriller, thriller night. You're fighting for you life inside a killer, thriller tonight."
Thunder struck, followed by lightning. After the flash of light, the hound was gone. "W-where did it go?" Poppy asked.
"Are you scared, Poppy?" Branch asked.
"Nope! Of course not!" she replied quickly.
Poppy's hug time bracelet lit up with a pink flower. She closed it. Branch's opened shortly after. "You hear the door slam, and realize there's nowhere left to run," Branch continued. "You feel the cold hand hand, and wonder wonder if you'll ever see the sun."
Poppy felt a hand touch her shoulder from behind her. She flinched and turned around to see no one. She slowly turned back around to face Branch again. "You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination. But all the while, you hear a creature creeping up behind. You're out of time."
Poppy flinched from those last words as the hound reappeared, closer than before, and footsteps sounded behind her. The footsteps sounded like a huge horse, or perhaps a Bergen. She turned around to see nothing, turned back around, and covered her gasp as the hound was gone again.
"'Cause this is thriller! Thriller night. There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl." Poppy squeaked again as a giant silhouette emerged from a nearby tree and peered down at her. From what she could see, it has about twenty seven eyes, each one bright and glittery. She counted the eyes again but couldn't see the rest inside the tree.
"Thriller! Thriller night! You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight."
Branch circled around to Poppy's back and bent down, out of her view. "Night creatures call, and the dead start to walk in their masquerade." He circled around her, low, slowly rising as he did so. "There's no escaping," Branch bent down at the beginning of the sentence, then rose back up, hands above Poppy, fingers poised to strike, "the jaws of the alien this time. They're open wide. This is the end of your life."
Poppy covered her mouth as Branch sank back down to his height. "They're out to get you. There's demons closing in on every side." Glowing figures of Trolls emerged, along with a large silhouette of a cyclops bird. "They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial. Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, all through the night." Branch pulled in closer to Poppy, covering her from the Troll ghosts and the bird. "I'll save you from the terror on the screen. I'll make you see..."
Branch pulled away from Poppy and into the light of the moon. Branch took on the appearance of a zombie. "That this is thriller! Thriller night!" He stepped closer to Poppy according to the beat of the song, causing Poppy to back up. "'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try. Thriller! Thriller night! So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller, thriller here tonight!"
He backed away from Poppy, back into the light. Poppy came closer to him, out of instinct. "'Cause this is thriller! Thriller night! Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try. Thriller! Thriller night! So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller..."
He pulled close to Poppy, too quick for her to move. "I'm gonna thrill you tonight." He grabbed Poppy's hands, held them close to himself, then pushed off of her, twirling, as he joined the group of ghost Trolls, the hound, and the bird. "I'm gonna thrill you tonight." They all began moving closer.
"The foulest stench is in the air. The funk of forty thousand years," came a deep voice. Branch and the ghosts began walking closer, snapping. "Thriller night, thriller," Branch sang.
Poppy stepped backwards, stopping instantly when she heard a crunch sound. She looked down, relieved to see it was a leaf, turned around, and stopped in her tracks. There are ghosts behind her too. "And grisly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom," the voice spoke again. "And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver."
"I'm gonna thrill you tonight," Branch sang as the group enclosed around her.
"For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller," finished the voice.
"I'm gonna thrill you tonight," Branch finished. The ghosts, Branch, and the hound closed around her. Branch then removed his head. Much to everyone's surprise, she screamed. Once she did, the group backed away from her.
"Poppy, are you okay?" Branch checked. Poppy panted for a bit before she laughed. "Wow, Branch! I thought you weren't getting in on this!"
"That's what I said!" one of the ghosts said. The Troll removed the fabric to reveal Biggie, absent of Mr. Dinkles.
"Where's Mr. Dinkles?" Branch asked.
"Mr. Dinkles?" Biggie checked. Branch replied with a nod. "Isn't he on my back?" Biggie turned around. "Nope," Poppy said.
"Mr. Dinkles!" Biggie called. The worm came out of a bush. "Ew."
"Mr. Dinkles!" Biggie cried, grabbing the worm.
"I only said I wasn't getting in on it because I didn't want you to be suspicious," Branch said to Poppy.
"I knew that you were gonna do something, Branch, but...not like...this!" She threw her arms out in front of her. "How did you pull it off?"
"Well, Satin and Chenille made the costumes-"
"The ghost fabric and Copper's cloak!" Satin exclaimed. Copped jumped in and threw off his cloak.
"And did my makeup," Branch added.
"Its a special kind of makeup that only shows in light. The only problem is it only works once," Chenille explained.
"What about the thunder and lightning?" Poppy asked.
"That was Guy Diamond and Biggie," Branch answered. "Guy Diamond did the light using this." Guy Diamond held up a large disco ball, colored half black, with his hair. He spun it, pointing a mirror at it, causing the light to flash.
"And I did this!" Biggie exclaimed. He grabbed a pair of symbols, held it up to a megaphone, and crashed them, closing the muffler with his hair.
"We were the ghosts," DJ Suki said, pulling off her sheet.
"How did you glow?" Poppy questioned.
"Lights," Satin and Chenille said at the same time. Satin grabbed Chenille's ghost suit and turned it inside out to reveal a string of white lights.
"How about the bird?" Poppy asked, pointing at the bird shadow.
Branch pulled out a light from his pocket and pointed it at the bird. It is a fake bird, made of paper material. It's not colored. "Why do you have that?" Poppy asked Branch.
"It was for the Bergens," Branch replied confidently.
"How about your head?" Poppy asked, shuddering.
"Oh, this?" Branch asked, picking up the head from the floor. "This is just paper." Branch crushed it.
"All of this was your idea, Branch?" Poppy asked.
"Most of it," Branch said. "Mr. Dinkles howled on his own accord. Copper came up with the idea of the wolf-thing. DJ wanted the thunder. Chenille thought of my fake head. Satin-"
"That. Was. INCREDIBLE!" Poppy exclaimed. "I have never seen anything like that in my life!"
"Wait, really?" Branch asked, smiling.
"Yes!" Poppy said. "That was great!"
The next evening, Poppy walked on top of her mushroom. "I have great news!" she exclaimed.
"Ooh! She's about to announce the winner!" one Troll said.
"I hope it's me," another said.
"I have the winner of the Halloween Scare Contest!" She held up a vampire cape. "Drum roll, please!" She pointed at DJ Suki. DJ Suki began beating n the back of a blue beetle.
"Branch! Get up here!"
"Go on, Branch!" Biggie said.
"Get up there!" Satin and Chenille said, pushing him forward.
Branch joined Poppy on the mushroom. "Branch is our Halloween Scare Champion!" Poppy exclaimed. She put the cape on Branch. "He won last night with a wonderful show!"
The crowd cheered and applauded. Branch scanned the crowd. He smiled. Poppy grabbed his hand and raised it into the air. "Three cheers for our champ! Hip, hip!"
Instead of finishing with 'hooray,' the crowd cheered louder and whistled. Poppy let go of Branch's hand and turned towards him. "Good job, Branch. You won!"
Author's Note
So, this story was based off of something my sister and I thought of a while back. I just thought it'd be fun to write it out! I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!