He pulled out one of the draws, picking up a face mask and strapping it around his mouth and nose.

"Branch..." Poppy said to him quickly, as she hurried after him as he headed to the lift, "Please don't do this!"

He looked at her blankly, replying as if hurt.

"But... you said if we found a way to stop this... you'd..."

"I KNOW what I said." Poppy said back in pain within, "I know..."

"So, I have to check... unless?" Branch dared to gesture and Poppy closed her eyes, uttering out weakly, her arms straight down on both sides of her body.

"Yes... I will marry you,"

He blinked at her, so very puzzled with her words.

"Please, just don't go back up there. I... I love you,"

Branch felt a thumping in his chest as his heart sped up in ecstasy.

"I know you do," He finally said back to her and stepped on the lift, pulling down the lever and beginning to be lifted up to the world above, "But I have to prove I'm the troll you're worth loving,"

"BRANCH!" Poppy screamed for him and he saluted her softly as he disappeared from her sight. She held so very still then, tears streaming down her cheeks as she uttered again, heartbroken.

"..Branch..."

~x~

"Clay?!"

Viva's voice could be heard echoing all across the small bunker, as the blonde-haired pink troll was looking for her friend, best friend, "Clay?! Where are you?"

"Viva?"

"Poppy!" Viva called to her sister as Poppy approached her, still crying heavy tears, "Why are you crying?" She asked her quickly, before gasping and shaking Poppy like a doll, "Did you and Branch BREAK UP?!"

"No..." Poppy whimpered, shaking her head weakly, still hurting so much inside, "He went up there... to see if things were safe,"

"By HIMSELF?!" Viva yelled, absolutely shocked to hear this.

"Yeah," Poppy confirmed, nodding her head so very timidly and Viva ran to the lift, pushing down the lever so the lift would come back down to them.

"What are you doing?" Poppy asked quietly and Viva turned her head with a swish of her hair, back in Poppy's direction.

"We're going up there to find him,"

"N-no," Poppy uttered afraid, and held her sister's hand, saying to her still in so much pain, "I don't want to lose you either,"

"Remember what you told me, Poppy?" Viva then said to her, and Poppy only looked back at her, her eyes so sore from the tears she had shed, "The world isn't as scary as we think... there is always hope, YOU taught me that."

Poppy looked at her slowly, really seeing into Viva's eyes and her sister's soul.

Viva was so afraid to leave the old carnival park. She had been so very scared of the bergens.

But there was a difference now.

THERE was actual danger on top in Pop Troll land. Branch could get infected, MIGHT get infected... then how would Poppy cope?

Could she cope?

She just wanted to go up there and be with the troll she loved.

"By the way, have you seen Clay?" Viva then asked suddenly out of nowhere and Poppy glared at her annoyed for so quickly changing the subject.

"No." She said back sternly, cocking an eyebrow up and folding her arms annoyed, "Why?"

"He said he'd be on the floor above this bottom one..." Viva said on quickly, not picking up at all Poppy's defensive stance, "I have to find him,"

"Okay then," Poppy said, nodding her head weakly and Viva gave a warm but scared smile back. She got on to the platform that had descended to the bottom ground but just before she started her descent up to the next level, she felt someone else come on the lift with her.

Her jaw just dropped open, her eyes wide in surprise to see it was Floyd.

"Going up?" He asked her weakly, that perfect twinkle in his ruby eyes.

...his beautiful ruby eyes.

She almost felt delirious gazing at him, but she snapped back from her stare and shook her head quickly, saying once she had her bearings back.

"Floyd... why are you here?"

"I have to make things clear to Clay."

Viva looked at him perplexed till he added on with a soft smile, "I have to tell him the truth..."

"Which is?!" She asked and he only chuckled quietly, winking at her and her cheeks went bright red in blush.

"I think you know what,"

Viva's little heart was beating quickly as his blue hand brushed against her pink hand, and the two smiled awkwardly at each other as the lift went up a floor.

When it reached the next floor, the two pulled away from each other nervously as Viva began exploring around the rooms, yelling out in dire need.

"CLAY! CLAY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She checked every room, every crook and canny, before feeling like her heart was jumping up nearly to her throat in pure fear and worry.

"Viva, Viva, calm down!" Floyd told her, following behind the troll and she nearly had worried tears beading at the corners of her eyes, "He'll be here, he will."

"But HE'S not!" She cried to him, and began to head to the lift, to go higher up and closer to the top floor which was the top to Pop Troll's land.

"Viva, STOP!" Floyd begged her suddenly, pulling her away from the lever and she only struggled against him, her legs kicking furiously about as he was holding her at her waist, her arms caught in his grip as well.

"I did it!" She suddenly began to cry, finally dropping to the floor on her knees as she cried so heavily, "He did it! HE WENT UP TOP BECAUSE OF ME!"

"I..." Floyd said back to her honestly, swallowing before finishing, "I know..."

"We have to go up there!" Viva blubbered, stuffing her face against Floyd's chest, "We've got to!"

"We'll work out some plan downstairs, okay?" Floyd told her with soft comforting words, but his own heart felt weak and scared of this newly discovered info, "We'll figure out what to do."

She only cried against him as he pEt her weakly on the back.

"We will... we will."

~x~

Branch looked to his left, he looked to his right.

The sky was bright with a noon sun. The sky clear baby blue.

But the whole troll kingdom... it was silent.

His eyes swished side to side, making sure it wasn't an ambush.

He was used to being afraid. But over the last few years, he had grown brave.

Now he was used to facing his fears.

For himself... and for Poppy.

He tensed up, flinching into a fighting pose when he heard some shuffling in the bushes away.

"Who's there!?" He yelled in a demand, picking up a stick and snapping it in half to create pointy spears at its ends, "WHO?!"

"Man, you gotta be popping, with the gear your shopping!"

Branch crooked his eyebrows up slowly confused, realizing to himself what that troll must be saying.

"YOU'RE RAPPING!"

"Man, you think fast! It'll be a pity you won't last."

"Cooper...?" Branch whispered out then, slowly stepping back when the long-necked troll came out of the bush.

Branch gulped in fear.

Cooper was dancing, doing the shuffle, but he looked so exhausted like he hadn't slept in days.

"C'mon, my troll Branch! Give me a chance!"

"You're infected!" Branch yelled at him and as Cooper began to get near him, Branch did a backflip away from him, using his dark head of hair to latch onto a low-hanging branch.

He pulled himself up to it, just peering down at the ground below... more and more trolls slowly coming out of the shrubbery and looking up at him half dazed in themselves.

"Huh!?" Branch said in a gasp to himself and watched as they danced in exhaustion toward the tree that he was up in now.

"How did you get infected?"

"All I remember," Biggie then said, dragging his body forward, his deep blue skin now completely grey, "Was eating yummy Fanta..."

"Fanta..?" Brnach whispered now, looking around to see what that was, "What Fanta? What's WRONG WITH YOU?"

"YOU!" They all called from down below, now suddenly beginning to climb the tree.

It was then that Branch noticed something.

Bit marks...

They had been BITING each other.

"GET AWAY!" He yelled, jumping from his branch to a vine a few centimetres away.

But as he swung to the next vine to escape, he felt a huge whip of hair around his body and he yelped as he was slammed to the ground.

He tried to get out of the rope of hair that was caught around him, as the trolls began to surround him and he begged.

"SOMEONE! STOP THEM!"

All in that one second, he felt the hair yank away from him, and he quickly hurried back in a stumble to his feet, looking urgently around to who had helped him.

"BRANCH!"

"CLAY!" Branch called to him as Clay whipped away the infected trolls with his yellow hair.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?!" The two both yelled at one another at the same time and Clay rolled his eyes drastically as he replied.

"To PROVE to Viva I'm much BRAVER than FLOYD!" He turned to Branch as the two of them were caught in a corner between two trees, "You?!"

"ER, To prove myself to Poppy!"

"Women, ay?" Clay joked and Branch said back harshly.

"Yeah, whatever! WATCH OUT!"

Just as one of the trolls was about to throw herself at them, Clay's hair snagged onto a high branch above and he grabbed Branch's hand, swinging back up a tree with him.

"Do you know what's infecting them?" Branch asked his brother in a hurry and Clay just shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands out as if to say he had no clue.

"All they kept rapping about was, 'Fanta!' Fanta!'"

"WHAT IS FANTA?!

Clay only shrugged yet again.

"We have to get back to the bunker!" Branch then told his brother in haste, and saw the open metal door for it, "Before THEY get IN!"

The two nodded to each other, swinging across the trees till they reached the open lid and jumped in, slamming it shut hard above them.

"That was SO close!" Branch said, gasping for air as he pressed his hand to his chest, his heart hurting from all the beating.

"Y-yeah..." Clay agreed and glanced at his younger brother, saying with a weak smile, "But nothing Bitty Baby can't handle-"

"Hey!" Branch snapped at him, not liking to hear these words, "I am so much more than any baby,"

Clay only grinned at him as the lift descended, uttering quietly to himself, "Bitty Baby..."

They finally reached the bottom floor and were quickly surrounded by their loved ones.

Poppy grabbed Branch in a huge suffocating hug as she cried, "I was so scared you could have died!"

"Ah, Poppy," Branch said with a small smile, rolling his eyes shyly, "Y'know you can't get rid of me that easily,"

Poppy broke into a weak laugh, hugging him one more time before letting him go.

"I know," She said with wet happy eyes.

Clay smiled at the others before saying quietly, "I'm gonna hit the hay now..."

"What?" Viva blurted out, bursting over to him and said in worry, "You're not still angry... at me... are you?

"Huh?" Clay replied confused, and shook his head with a laugh, "No, Viva... I'm just wrecked."

"Okay..." Viva whimpered and sprung a hug on him, Clay hugging her softly back.

Floyd saw all this... and inside it made him hurt... inside... it made him... jealous.

The emotion of jealousy always hurting whoever felt it deep inside.

Clay let go of his embrace with Viva and went to his room.

As he closed the door, he lifted up his arm where the bracelet for hug time was and gulped heavily as he pulled it aside and under its light band was a tooth mark.

A bite bruise... that had broken skin.

He felt his heart beat heavily in his chest, each beat hurting.

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud...

He was infected... and no one could know.