Arriving back at the country house, Viva and Lunella hopped off their hoverboard and joined the battle. The former fired a trio of explosive arrows that blew up the arriving army while the latter used a pair of mechanical boxing gloves that knocked her opponents down.
"Hey, L.E.S.!" Miles called out to his friend as he webbed a pair of Chanty Trolls, "Where have you been?"
"You left me behind, you dumbass!" Lunella shouted back as she launched her gloves at a pair of Party Crashers before slipping on another pair, "I had to hitch a ride with Livin' La Viva Loca here!"
"And you're glad you did, right?" Viva fired her arrow at a Siren Troll without looking...and hit the rim of a mirror...and hit said Siren Troll after bouncing off it.
"Ehh..." Lunella shrugged before pulling her along to safety.
Back at the orphanage, Branch tossed a grenade at his opponents before running back inside and ushering his allies along. Barricading the door, he reloaded his SIG-Sauer P226R and opened fire, aiding Callie as she fired her Colt MK IV Series 80. Meanwhile, an injured Harper and Archer were being tended to by Dr. Moonbloom, who shook her head in disbelief.
"You kids can't stay the right amount of careful, can you?" Dr. Moonbloom snarkily remarked.
"Not in this day and age," Archer chuckled as he turned to Harper, who giggled through her pain.
Branch and Callie emptied their handguns before leaning down to reload, letting Hickory and Dickory open fire with their shotguns and own pistols.
"That Captain," Callie turned to Branch, "She came through here and lended a helping hand before leaving."
"She left?" Branch looked at Callie, "Where did she go?"
"She said that..."she's here"."
"Who's here?"
Callie hesitated to answer before biting the bullet.
"It may be your Pop Queen..."
"Poppy...?" DJ gasped out.
"Hey, DJ," Poppy smiled awkwardly, "Sorry you had to see that."
Overwhelmed with joy that her second guardian was alive and well, however, CJ could not care less as she rushed and embraced Poppy, crying into her chest all the while. The Pop Queen returned the embrace as the others joined in as well, Namaari being the one exception out of pure awkwardness. Rolling her eyes and despite not knowing who this stranger was, Poppy used her hair to snatch Namaari and wrap her into the hug, which she slowly but surely melted into.
"You're..." CJ sniffled as she buried her head into her chest, "You're okay..."
"Of course, I am," Poppy ran her fingers through her hair, "I mean, I was trapped in another dimension for about a full month or so..."
"Perhaps another sordid story for another time?"
The group looked up from their embrace to find a female Troll slowly walking toward them in a menacing manner. She had sapphire blue eyes, thick blonde hair with pink tips in a downward swoop, and holographic fuzzy ruby skin. Her main outfit was a sky blue jacket with gold epaulettes above a white blouse with gold cufflinks, black leather pants with matching gloves, black boots with gold souls, and a black tricorn hat with a single blue feather, all of which were crystal clear hints that the female Troll hailed from the Chanty Tribe. If it was not enough, then the golden gripped sword that made an electronic sound and crackled with electricity as she drew it from her scabbard was more than a dead-as-daylight giveaway.
"I prefer my prize to remain alive before dead," Blue called out as DJ, Satin, Chenille, Trollex, Barb, and Namaari shielded the children.
Poppy, however, strutted forward and drew her own sword as she faced down her new opponent. The idea and sight of the kindhearted and happy-go-lucky Queen of the Pop Trolls brandishing a weapon while preparing to go to war should have remained a surprise for those who were associated with her and knew her personally. In addition, the facial expression she wore while performing this very deed (a death glare that betrayed the emotion of unbridled rage) was very scary and very unlike the gentle and benevolent Pop Troll they knew and love.
Poppy, however, was done playing nice in this situation.
"Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?" Poppy narrowed her eyes at the Captain, who was completely caught off guard. The furious yet resolute Pop Queen before her was now a far cry from the timid and weak Pop Queen her crewmates had described to her.
"If you want to fight, then fight me," Poppy continued as her sword began to glow blue, "And only me. Leave my friends out of it."
"Poppy, no!" DJ gasped, but Trollex-1 pulled her back as CJ tried to protest.
"Aunt Poppy, we just got you back!"
"It's okay, CJ," Poppy glanced over her shoulder to flash a comforting smile at her honorary niece, "I got this..."
"Oh, yeah," Satin chuckled to herself, "She's got this..."
Chenille briefly shot a questioning look at Satin, who merely grinned in response. She suddenly gasped in realization and returned the grin, much to the confusion of DJ, Trollex-1, Namaari, the children, and even Blue. The Captain watched the brief exchange between the two sisters, whom she suspected that they knew something she did not.
"Just get yourselves out of here and find the others," Poppy commanded, "I'll take care of Captain Blue."
After a moment's worth of hesitation, DJ and the others nodded before making their escape, leaving behind Poppy and Blue to face off with each other.
"So...you know who I am?"
"Your reputation precedes you, Queen Poppy. The question is...will it save you from me?"
"Will yours?"
Poppy and Blue took a fighting stance with their swords as the standoff continued.
"What do you want?"
"I simply wish to right a terrible wrong."
"By waging death and destruction against those who don't deserve it."
"I will admit that I'm a killer, but out of necessity. Trolls like you spare those who are the most deserving of death. Trolls like me? They exterminate the root from where it stands."
Poppy knew Blue had a valid point. Many of the Troll Tribes members, those from Pop in particular, had a tendency to redeem their opponents that created the obstacles in their life. Only a fair few refused to see reason, and they were the fair few whose stroke of karma proved fatal for them. Creek was the notable exception because he survived his shared fate with the villainous Chef and found redemption on his own. Despite forgiving him for his role in betraying his own tribe to the Bergens, he was still a sore spot in her history, but at the same time she supposed she owed him a thanks. If it were not for him, then she would still be content with a black-and-white perspective of life and the eternal conflict between good and evil.
But Poppy will be goddamned if she did not try again and again.
"You're right...and I'm sorry."
Blue frowned at the Pop Queen agreeing with her admittedly flawed philosophy before she sighed.
"Yeah...me too."
. . .
. . .
. . .
With that, Poppy and Blue charged at each other with their weapons drawn.
Their respective swords clanging against the other, the clashing of steel echoed in the halls as gunfire and explosions rained down from outside. Both opponents in the duel were evenly matched. On one side, Poppy knew that as a pirate captain for (she presumed) 14 years, Blue had developed and honed the swordsmanship skills needed to rule her a crew of equally violent marauders. On the other, Blue knew that as the medium of the Six Strings and their powers, Poppy was ridiculously overpowered and placed her new abilities to good use. Blue's rage would get the best of her, Poppy's lack of skill would prove to be her detriment.
Neither of them would give up, however.
For their respective tribes.
Poppy parried Blue's strike with ease, sidestepping with ease and without effort. She then lunged at her in a focused counterattack, slicing the air and space between them. The Captain performed a flight of fancy flourishes, her way of feinting tactics getting to Poppy before the Pop Queen saw through them and worked to counter them. Before Blue could execute a riposte, Poppy grabbed the sword and swatted it away, narrowing missing her neck when she brought it down upon her. Blue switched from her left hand to her right hand as she blocked the strike before she kicked her away.
Managing to stay away on her feet due to her levitation, Poppy lunged forward again with her sword raised, her mind working to turn the tables on her opponent. She wanted Blue out of the way before she saved her friends, but she did not to kill or even hurt her in the process. Using her powers without the proper training (she believed she did not train well enough) risked the chance of losing control, so she minimized her usage and used the less-lethal ones.
Blue slowly realized this as she lunged at her opponent, betraying a slight smirk on her face as her sword clanged against hers. She was under the delusion that she was in control for the entirety of their duel thus far, a factor being that the Pop Queen was far too hesistant in claiming another life despite evidence to the contrary. She was only right for the most part. She was unaware that a specific Troll containing all the powers of the Six Strings could only do so much before they eventually stopped holding back.
As Poppy and Blue thrusted their swords at each other, they blocked the stab and grabbed the other's weapon, throwing it aside and out of reach. They then reacted quickly by drawing back-up knives and rushing each other. Slashing the air and stabbing empty spaces, they kept their distance from each other before they had to close it. Both grabbed the one's wrist and attempted to wrestle their blades out of their hands before they kicked each other away. Briefly retrieving their swords, Poppy and Blue hurled their knives at each other, which they deflected with an expertly timed sword slash. The swordfight continued for another brief moment before they were again disarmed of their weapon by their opponent, resorting to use their alternative weapons.
Poppy drew her Remington 870 as Blue drew her Beretta 90Two, the latter firing first as the former dodged out of the way and towards a pillar for cover. When Blue's Beretta locked empty, Poppy fired her Remington as her, who barely dodged out of the way and towards a pillar of her ow to reload; the blast tore open a wall in the hall as a result of her channeling her energy through her firearm. Shaking her head and lowering her energy levels, Poppy charged forward and fired her shotgun normally before it clicked empty. Blue took the opportunity to duck out and wrestle the shotgun away from her, Poppy returning the favor by grabbing the wrist of her gun hand and causing her to blindly fire over her shoulder before it locked empty again and was tossed away.
Spotting a SIG-Sauer P226R with several magazines in Poppy's left holster, Blue snatched it away as Poppy herself kicked away and drew her Glock 17. The both of them performed a press check on their pistols before they charged at each other again. Engaged in a close-quarters gunfight, Poppy and Blue made no attempt to keep their distance as they exchanged gunfire and fired bullets in close proximity of each other. Kicking each other away once more, they fired shots and reloaded as one ran towards the other.
Eventually, Poppy and Blue ejected their magazines and ejected the one round in the chamber before throwing messier punches at each other, a consequence of drawing out their battle longer than they needed to. After a few minutes, they fell near their swords, which they took up and engaged in a brief but brutal swordfight. Her patience running thin, the Pop Queen went on the offensive this time, violently clanging her sword with Blue's as she drove her opponent back.
Unfortunately, her rage led to an opening that resulted in Blue shifting her opponent's weapon away and drove her own into her abdomen. In turn, when that moment occurred, Poppy grabbed Blue's arm and snapped it, causing her to scream and let go of her grip of the sword. The Pop Queen then drew her own sword and drove it into the Captain's chest.
The fight finally over, both opponents fell over as they accessed their injuries. Poppy slowly pulled out Blue's sword and laid it aside before hovering her hands over the wound. Her hands glowed blue and allowed for the wound to heal itself before closing back up. Taking a moment to heal her own injuries, Poppy spared a glance at her opponent and gasped in horror. The Captain began coughing blood as a result of the supposedly fatal stab and caused her to realize what she had done. Shaking her head, she got back up to her feet and slowly pulled her sword out of Blue's chest despite her own protests.
"N-No..."
"I'm not going to let you die, Captain."
Feebly protesting did not do the Captain any favors, so she calmed down and reluctantly allowed Poppy to heal her own injuries with no further complaints. As her powers admittedly worked wonders, Poppy noticed a few things about Blue. Namely, her eyes were now switching from sapphire blue to violet purple, her thick blonde hair with pink tips was slowly but surely transitioning to fully pink, and her holographic fuzzy ruby skin began to glitch.
"It's a disguise..." Poppy murmured to herself a little too loudly.
"No, it's not..." Blue shook her head in denial a little too quickly.
"Captain Blue, let me help you."
"There's no helping me, Pop Troll. Ugh...I'm fully capable of helping myself."
As if on cue to disprove her point, Blue stumbled down the moment she stood up, a consequence of her twisted ankle acquired during the brutal fight. Poppy managed to catch her, looking on as the Captain groaned in disapproval.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because you said yourself: I'm a Pop Troll," Poppy smiled.
Blue shook her head, "But I have done many unscrupulous things to you and the rest of the tribes, not the least of which was lying to you all about my secret identity."
"Maybe you can start amending by telling me?"
"Fat chance."
"It'll probably do us a great service if you do...and maybe we can find the universe you originated from and send you back home?"
Blue stopped dead in her tracks and shot Poppy a death glare, the Pop Queen cursing to herself for seemingly overstepping a line. Recognizing her altruism and desire to help, though, the Captain's hardened expression softened as she sighed.
"There's no need to, Poppy. My universe...it's gone."
Poppy was taken aback by the revelation as Blue held back her tears.
"My universe is gone...because of me. Because I was too young. Because I was too naive. Because I was too blind to see the true monster in front of me. I promised my friends and family that I would do everything in my power to protect them with the ones I was given...and I failed."
Blue then willingly collapsed onto her knees and buried her face into her hands, harshly sobbing as gunfire and explosions rang out outside. For a majority of the journey to find the fabled Six Strings, she maintained a calm and collected (almost stoic-like) expression throughout, never letting her emotions get the best of her. Even watching that brother and sister die in front of their own people and most of her supposedly "loyal" crewmates commit an act of mutiny was not nearly enough to break her facade. Watching her true self ascend back to the surface with a vengeance, however? It was too much for her to properly handle.
Poppy was not one to let a friend suffer alone, however, and leaned down to Blue's level. After a moment spent rubbing circles on her back, she helped her back on her feet and pulled her into a hug, one that the Captain ultimately melted into as she continued sobbing into her shoulder. The Pop Queen held her tight and smiled throughout it all.
"It's pointless, Poppy. It's too late for me."
"It's not pointless...and it's never too late, Blue."
Blue blinked before she briefly pulled away, "My name isn't Blue."
"Oh? It's not?" Poppy smiled with a slight sarcastic edge, something Blue noticed right away with a knowing smirk. Hesitating to answer, Poppy only gave her a look of reassurance, silently telling her to take her time.
Eventually, "Blue" took a deep breath and replied:
"My real name...is Amethyst. Amethyst van der Troll..."