"Dance plague?"
Poppy just asked this, completely mystified as to what Branch meant.
He only turned his head slightly her way, as he pushed down the lever of his elevator and the lift started to descend, his family and her family all stuffed on it.
"Looks like we're getting closer," Floyd said with a smile and wink to Viva who smiled softly back, before dashing her eyes away, a small blush skimming on her pink cheeks.
"Yes." Branch finally added back to Poppy, looking at everyone who was crowded together in his lift, "A Dance plague... it's happened before... ONCE before."
"Before when..?" Poppy asked back quickly, not giving the air even one-second silence.
Branch lowered his eyebrows, adding as the lift finally hit the bottom floor.
"HERE."
He walked off the lift, Poppy following quickly behind and the rest of the trolls dispersed away from the elevator to get some breathing space and room.
"Do you really think this is a plague?" John Dory asked, almost demanding to know from the harshness of his voice, "Maybe the other trolls just ate something funky."
"No," Branch said back and went over to his bookshelf, pulling out a big scrapbook and laying it on his closest desk.
Poppy came to his side, Floyd to his other side.
The book was opened and the pictures in it quickly told the story of what came before... of history nearly forgotten.
"You see," Branch said, pointing at the pictures and how they progressed to tell a story, "Back hundreds of years ago, the plague infected hundreds of trolls."
Poppy's and Floyd's eyes skimmed over the pictures as Branch turned the pages to show more of the hidden history.
"After the tribes of trolls separated, it was the Pop Trolls that got infected. But this book doesn't say how it was defeated."
"Well, why not?" Poppy snapped, bewildered.
"No one knows," Branch said quietly back to her before closing up the book and putting it on the shelf again.
"This is ridiculous!" Poppy only went on then, looking up the long deep vertical tunnel to the world above, and she only frowned disheartened.
"You doing okay?"
Viva blinked wide open her eyes when she heard Floyd ask her this, as he was at her side and she shook off her worry, admitting to him quickly.
"Yeah! I mean, it's not like I'm not used to hiding or anything,"
The two laughed at this, but Clay looked her way and Viva stopped quickly when she caught his gaze.
She cleared her throat quickly, turning away from Floyd and only walking nervously over to her sister.
"Hey," Floyd then said to his brother, waving at him weakly and Clay frowned a little, looking hurt for some reason, before he finally waved back.
But it felt more like a cold wave goodbye as he also went to the lift and looked up at the world up above too.
"How are we to know what is even happening up there?" John Dory demanded to know and Branch came over to a long binocular pull-down device, looking through its glass glass and seeing the world on top.
He watched carefully, seeing so many Trolls dancing in exhaustion, so many of them having no choice but to rap themselves to death.
He swallowed deeply in fear before Bruce came over and tapped Branch on the shoulder, asking without words if he could take a look for himself.
Branch nodded and stepped aside, Bruce gazing through the device to the world up above.
Soon, all the trolls in the bunker took turns in looking up above, many of them realizing that this was actually real.
There was a plague... and it seemed to be affecting everyone.
After the truth was seen by all, the two families tried to find ways to distract themselves. Branch stayed near the binoculars though, to keep an eye on the plague up top, but Poppy and her sister Viva had huddled together near their father.
"This can't be real!" John Dory droned out, as Branch swung the look-out device away and turned to look at his oldest brother, "We've only just gotten the BAND together!"
"We've only just gotten the FAMILY back together," Floyd proclaimed just then and John Dory felt his heart hurt at this statement.
Floyd was right... family was more important than just a band.
"Yeah..." John Dory agreed weakly, and only cupped together his blue hands awkwardly, before dropping them back to his sides and he came away, over towards the kitchen... Floyd gave a warm soft smile at Branch and his baby brother smiled sadly back.
"But what about my family?" Bruce asked out loud, seeming to panic in himself, "My wife! My KIDS! THEIR PINK EYE!"
"As far as I can tell," Branch said back to him calmly, his index finger skimming the books on his shelf before he pulled out another one for answers, "There seems to be no history of inter-species infection of this Dance plague."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Bruce cried out relieved, dropping onto a warm couch and closing his eyes in relief, "I'll be home by tomorrow..."
"Or maybe a month," Branch told him nervously, reluctant to get out his words.
"A MONTH?!" Bruce gasped, his chest suddenly going up and down in pure terror and worry.
"Easy, Bruce, easy now!" Clay said immediately to him, running over to his side and placing his hand on Bruce's shoulder to calm him, "You'll get home soon." Clay then turned his angry gaze over to Branch, who stumbled back surprised by the look his brother gave him.
"Er, yeah!" Branch said back quickly, nodding his head in a heavy lie, "Everything will be fine."
He then walked off out of the room so no one could see his worried expression. Poppy, however, followed behind him and touched his upper arm, saying to him in concerned words.
"Hey, Branch... is that true?"
He turned around to look at her and Poppy gasped when she saw the tears growing at the side of his eyes.
"Poppy..." He whispered out now, and took her hand, holding it tight, but still in trepidation, "I'm so scared how long this might be..."
Poppy gulped weakly after hearing his words and the two just held each other in a scared hug.
Viva saw this, as she stood away at the open door, and turned around, walking sadly and quietly back into the living area space. She picked up a string of lace and started putting candy rings through it, her eyes just gazing emptily ahead.
The memory of the old abandoned theme park she had hidden in for most her life.
The continuous fear.
The fear always deep in her heart. Until Poppy came and showed her the truth of what the world was like now.
And now? That whole wonderful world had disappeared...
Would she lose everything all over again?
As she went to pick up another candy ring, she felt someone's hand and she turned to see it was Floyd, who was smiling at her kindly.
"Thanks," She said to him, nervously, quickly sporting a smile before it fell again and she only wiped her eyes as she felt tears well in them.
"Everything will be okay," Floyd told her, placing his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off quickly as she took a step away and added, barely nodding her head.
"Yeah... I know..."
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hide her worry and Floyd handed her the candy rings before saying to her again.
"Believe me... if I could survive an evil talent-sucking kidnapping... well, I can handle anything."
"I'm not you, but..." Viva said back to him, her voice empty and pained. Floyd pulled a concerned look, before touching her pink hand again and adding with the softest of smiles.
"But you took charge of a whole tribe of trolls, and put yourself out there to protect them from the Bergens!"
"Yeah..." Viva uttered back, looking at Floyd's warm eyes again and she felt her heart begin to drum a bit faster now, as she said back timidly, "From a threat that wasn't even there anymore,"
"Give yourself some credit," Floyd said back to her and she finally looked at him with sincere truth in her gaze, smiling as she nodded.
"Yeah... maybe I will,"
The two smiled to one another before a voice butted in.
"You okay, Viva?"
Floyd quickly stepped back from Viva as Clay asked this in the distance, walking over in a bit of a march to Viva and she smiled at him quickly, nodding to her best friend, her heart fluttering at seeing him approach.
"Oh, yeah... I am."
"Has Floyd been telling you scary tales?" He asked with a soft smirk, glancing at his brother annoyed, before back warmly into Viva's eyes.
"No. He's actually been trying to cheer me up."
"Great..." Clay said, and touched Floyd's upper arm, nudging his head to the distance so he could talk to his brother privately.
Floyd nodded to him, waving goodbye to Viva and she gave half a wave back in return.
Floyd's heart was beating fast in joy that he had gotten to talk to the pretty pink troll till he was snapped out of the moment by Clay who just asked him harshly.
"What do you THINK you are doing?"
"Huh?" Floyd drawled back to his brother confused.
"You hitting on Viva?"
"I was just trying to comfort her,"
"Yeah, so you can get into HER HAIR!"
Floyd gasped when Clay accused him of this and he shoved his brother away harshly as he answered.
"I'm NOT like that."
"Floyd, YOU don't get it." Clay told him then coldly, and Floyd glared back his way, folding his arms in annoyance, "Viva is a VERY sensitive person... YOU CAN'T GO BREAKING HER HEART!"
"I'm NOT LIKE THAT!" Floyd said, repeating his words again. He then shoved past Clay who grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving him.
"I'm HER best friend." Clay said to him coldly and Floyd finally sighed turning to look his brother back in the eyes, "And I know when someone is getting too close to hurt her,"
"I would never hurt her..." Floyd just said back to his brother, nudging his touch off of him again, "I wouldn't hurt a fly,"
Clay glared at him, hurting himself inside as Floyd walked away in angry steps, waving goodbye to Viva as he left the room and Clay turned his upset gaze over to Viva... his heart hurting hard.
For some reason, for the first time... he was feeling things he had never felt before.
Feeling things for Viva.
After catching his brother talking to her and trying to cheer her up... he felt...
JEALOUS!?
He saw Viva's eyes drift over to his own and he smiled sadly, waving at her and she did the same too... before sighing heavily in herself and dropping her candy bracelet, leaving the room too.
He hoped she wasn't leaving to find Floyd... because even if he wasn't feeling things for her now... he would still hate to see her with another.
With his brother...
"So it really is true..." Poppy said to Branch, the two of them discussing the plague alone by themselves.
"Yeah..."
"You really think it could be a month?"
Branch nodded his head, gulping in pain as he replied to her in all his truth.
"Poppy... it could even be so much more..."
She looked into his shining eyes, eyes filled with worried tears he would not let himself shed.
She took both his hands in hers at that moment and told him back with all her own honesty.
"Okay... as long... as long as we're together, we'll get through this."
Branch's eyes flittered weakly to the ground then, letting go of her again and only stepping away with a shuddering shiver.
"We will... get through this...? Won't we, Branch?"
He was so quiet before nodding his head weakly and told one of his first lies ever.
"Yes, Poppy... we will..."
She smiled back barely, nodding her head in agreement but the two both dashed their eyes up above where the voices of Trolls rapping so loudly in pained tunes, could be heard.
The infected trolls that were right over the bunker.
Hopefully, they would never find a way in.
Hopefully... the plague would leave...
But Branch's heart bet in fear... as this was the first time he begged for hope.
Not just for him.
But for Poppy.
For his famliy.
He had everything to lose and nothing to gain...
Nothing.
