A/N:

Alright, so I promised this would be coming out as soon as I got it started! And well...here it is! I'm super excited to keep working on this...as I said it will tie into my universe...you'll just need to enjoy the ride to see how. X;DDD

I had a real blast typing this though, even if I think my brain broke trying to get the timeline somewhat correct. But eh...what's a few more lost brain cells?

But seriously...I do hope you enjoy this and want to see where I'm going with it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Trolls related all of their content belongs to DreamWorks and I own nothing of the franchise or series.

I do however own my own OC's and would appreciate you asking before they are used. Thank you!

Chapter 1: The Choice

The dark of night hung over Bergen Town, the dismal city seemed even more intimidating with the long shadows cast about.

At the center of the repulsive city was the only pop of color, even in the dark shadows of night the greenery of the Troll Tree stood out. The iron cage that surrounded it was the only stark contrast to the brightly colored and lit tree.

The faint sounds of music floated along the night air as the pods that hung along the tree came into focus multicolored lights dancing, the trolls of the tree going about their normal nightly activities.

Trollstice had occurred a few months before so beyond the Chef coming around for an early snack the trolls knew they were at least safe for the moment. So that meant enjoying their normal merriment.

One pod comes into focus, the lights inside glowing against the dark backdrop of leaves, and two figures stand by the window talking animatedly.

"Come on Thyme this could be our only chance!" The younger of the two figures stated.

She was a trolling, around 15, her fur color was a deep blue, while her hair was a beautiful emerald green in color. Fluffy rounded bangs framed her face while the rest of her hair flowed up and then back down like a wave down her back.

She wore a pale green felt dress with lavender flower trim.

Her pale blue nose stood out from her face, as did her bright yellow eyes that were currently alight with anger as she glared at the older troll who was standing across from her with his arms crossed.

He was around 21, stockily built, with similar blue fur. His hair was rounder at the base and seemed to fluff up towards the tips, it was a vibrant cyan, and his nose was the same color as hers. While his eyes were bright orange and seemed to be just as alight as her own.

He wore a purple pair of shorts with a brown vest.

"Listen to yourself Sage, what do you plan to do if we even make it past the tunnels? Are you suggesting we go through Bergen Town?" The male troll asked his younger sister as he motioned with one arm out the window at the shadows of the foreboding city just outside of the iron cage they were in.

Sage seemed to deflate slightly under the tone and withering glare her brother was giving her, but she quickly pushed down those thoughts as she countered him.

"Who says we need to go through the town? All of those side tunnels haven't been fully explored...one of them could lead further out into the forest." She said her yellow eyes still ablaze with hope she could get some sense knocked into him.

Thyme sighed heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So let me get this straight, you want to try to go through a side tunnel that you have no idea where it leads, and could collapse at any moment. And that sounds like a good idea to you?!" He asked as his voice rose an octave as he stared at his sister like she was crazy.

Sage sighed as she looked away from him.

"I don't know, Thy. But I just know we need to at least try. I mean look at JD and his brothers, they must have gotten out some way." She said seeing her brother tense up at the mention of his former best friend and his brothers.

"Please don't bring them into it, we don't know if they made it out of the tree or not. For all we know they were eaten as soon as they left the cage..." Thy stated his ears flattening slightly at the thought, his orange eyes not meeting hers.

Sage sighed knowing she'd hit the wrong nerve with bringing up the former members of BroZone to her brother. No one knew the fate of the elder brothers of the band after they had broken up, most hoped they'd escaped out of the town, but most assumed they'd met their fates out with a Bergen's stomach.

Something that even she hated to think of when she thought of the four trolls she'd practically grown up with from the time she could remember with Thyme being JD's best friend and thus her tagging along per the little sister code.

Even if she'd always been closer to Floyd since he was only two years older than she was, that was beside the point.

She knew ever though Thyme and the brothers had fallen out a couple of years before BroZone had become popular, he'd still taken their leaving the tree hard, and the thought of what may have become of them even harder.

"I'm sorry for bringing them up. But my point still stands...Thy we can't stay here...how many more Trollstices do we need to go through? How many more do we need to lose?" She asked tears choking her as she looked away from her brother.

Thyme sighed as he looked at his sister, he understood where she was coming from. Their parents had been taken years apart for the Bergen Holiday. And only a few months ago she'd lost one of her close friends during this year's celebration.

So he understood where his sister was coming from, but he also had to think about her safety and other factors as well.

Look, Sage, I understand what you're saying...I do. But we can't just go off half-cocked with any of this, the main tunnels the other trolls have been working on is the safest option. And until it's finished we can't risk anything else." He said quietly as he looked away.

"King Peppy has said they are working on them as fast as they can, they want to try and have them finished by Prince Gristle's fifth birthday since that's when they want to take Princess Viva. But until those tunnels are finished..." He said his voice trailing off as he looked back at his sister.

Sage sniffled as the tears she'd been trying to hold back started to flow down her cheeks, her frustration clear as she angrily wiped at them with the back of her hand.

"I'm so tired of all of this." She said a hiccup escaping her lips as she continued to cry.

"I know, but I have to think about you...and Lily...she can't just leave her family behind. And I won't force her to make that choice or put any of us in harm's way." He said bringing up his girlfriend as rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

She could see the way his eyes were darting around as if he were weighing the options of saying more or not.

Sage wasn't surprised at him bringing Lily into the conversation, she'd found the ring he was planning to propose to her with months ago hidden away in his room. So she wasn't surprised that he wasn't willing to risk her safety.

It just sucked, it all just sucked, she wanted out of this nightmare so badly but she also knew her brother. She knew he was the strong rational sort, and that he'd never put her or any other troll in harm's way if he could avoid it. Something he'd inherited from their father.

Thyme heaved a sigh as he seemed to decide against saying whatever it was that he was thinking.

"Look, let me talk with Lily, tomorrow. And while my answer won't be changing...I think it's time we all had a heart-to-heart talk about some things." He said his voice finally lowering into its normal range his anger leaving as he walked over and put his hands on her shoulders.

Sage sniffled again, refusing to meet her brother's gaze.

"Glim, look at me." He said using her nickname that he'd adopted from their father and had started to use since his passing.

Sage sighed as she finally looked up to meet her brother's gaze, his orange eyes softening.

"I promise, this will all work out...I don't know how...I don't know when. But just be patient a little longer. Things will get better." He said giving her a small smile.

She wanted to say more, she wanted to argue more, wanted to knock him out and drag him through the tunnels, through town in front of every Bergen if she could. But she knew doing any of the above would get her nowhere...well beyond the latter perhaps.

Seeing the look he was giving her she couldn't help but push back her anger and her feelings. She felt herself grow numb as she nodded her head.

"Good, now go get some sleep, it's getting late. We'll discuss things more in the morning after we've both had a chance to calm down." He said as he pulled his sister into a hug.

Sage felt like she was on autopilot as she returned her brother's hug, the warmth of his embrace seeming to at least thaw a little of the numbness she was feeling.

She wiped her eyes once more as they broke the embrace before she turned to head back to her bedroom.

She never saw the look that crossed her brother's face after she turned away.

The look of absolute devastation on his face as he watched his baby sister retreat to her room. The way he ran his hand through his hair and then down his face. Or the tears that flowed down his cheeks as he used the wall to keep himself standing as he made his way to his room.

She'd never know he'd stay up almost all night worrying about her, thinking about all the family and friends they'd lost to this terrible place. The guilt he'd feel over never getting to say goodbye to his long-lost childhood friends.

His fears and hopes for the future...

Sage would have no clue that hug would be the last she'd ever get from her older brother.

Once Sage reached her bedroom she wanted to scream, cry, slam her door, and just hide beneath the covers of her bed.

She paused as she looked around the space and she quietly closed the door behind her, this had been her room ever since she could remember. It had once been her and Thyme's nursery but her parents had converted it into her permanent bedroom when the time was right.

She looked around at all of the things in the room, her bed, her record player, and toys of varying stages from her childhood. Posters donned the walls, and posters of various images, including a couple of BroZone posters were hung all around.

She eyed one of the band of brothers she'd grown up with and felt more tears well up in her eyes as she did.

Unlike Thyme she still had hope that the four older brothers were still out there somewhere living their lives the way they wanted to.

She'd seen Branch, the baby of the family on occasion. Out with his Grandmother on errands, she had to wonder how the littlest brother had handled his older brothers leaving him.

The few times she'd gotten close to him he seemed to be a normal adjusted little kid all things considered.

Her train of thought wound its way back around to the argument she'd just had with her brother and she let out a sigh as she walked over to her bed and flopped backward onto it staring up at the ceiling of her room.

She knew Thyme in some form or fashion wasn't wrong with what he'd told her, she knew he was older and more rational than she'd ever be. And for that, she considered his stance, and she knew his points were valid.

She just couldn't get the idea out of her brain, ever since the last Trollstice and her friend had been taken the itch to get away from this dreadful place was just too strong for her to stand.

She'd first felt it when her father had been taken when she'd been 10, but nothing as strong as it was now.

Now it was like a suffocating presence...one she needed to get away from as quickly as she could.

She lay there looking up at the ceiling of her room, the wheels turning in her brain. And after a bit, an idea came to her.

It was an idea that for a moment she pushed away, even the thought of it made her queasy to her stomach. A thought that made her feel a cold shiver run through her hair and down her spine.

The thought that she could leave on her own, leave this place, and never look back much like her brother's friends had done two years ago.

She swallowed thickly as this thought seemed to worm its way into her brain, her mouth going dry as she thought about the implications.

Leaving all she'd ever known, leaving behind Thyme. It wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd considered. She and her brother were thick as thieves where one went the other always followed.

So to even considering leaving her big brother behind made her feel even more sick to her stomach. But that being said, she knew he'd never leave of his own free will.

Not with Lily in the picture, or the threat of the danger of the escape itself outweighing anything else.

It was the most rational of answers if she were brave enough and willing to attempt the maze of unexplored tunnels that was. Something she knew she was more than willing to attempt if it meant she might get out of this place.

Slowly the idea that had originally frightened her to her core began to make more and more sense. Soon it seemed as natural and rational of an idea as anything else she'd ever thought of.

So lost in her thoughts and considerations she hadn't even realized she'd gotten up off her bed and had grabbed the backpack she kept in her closet.

She only realized what she was doing when she'd sat the bag down on her bed and was staring at it as if she couldn't bring herself to unzip it.

She shook her head suddenly feeling crazy over what she was about to do. She needed to stop this before she was in over her head, which she was very close to being.

She paused staring down into the empty bag, feeling her inner debate rage.

After a few more minutes she sighed as she laid the bag down on her bed, seemingly giving up on the answer that just minutes before seemed so clear to her.

Sage took a deep breath as if trying to clear her mind and relax, her yellow eyes suddenly setting in determination as she walked over and began to gather items from around her room.

A little later she was busy checking over the items she's shoved into her backpack. She'd taken note of all the items she'd placed inside the bag.

Mostly clothing, some smaller familiar objects she knew she wouldn't want to leave behind including several photos she'd removed from the Scrapbooks that were now scattered across her room from where she'd removed the pages to put in her bag.

She'd also stuffed several snacks that she had lying around her room just in case she needed them, she wasn't sure how long the journey would be or take. But she wasn't willing to risk going to the kitchen and being caught by her brother.

Satisfied with what she'd packed she zipped up her bag and shouldered it onto her back. She reached over and grabbed the much smaller bag she'd also packed, it contained a flashlight, some basic medical supplies she'd had lying around, and a crude map of some of the explored side tunnels she'd taken from her Dad's study earlier in the day.

Sage sighed at realizing what she was about to do, she once again felt that cold shiver race through her body. She knew this was her last chance to turn back.

She glanced back at the door of her room, for a brief moment she wanted to drop her bags. Run through the house and find her brother. Cry to him and apologize for this crazy idea she had and for what she was about to do.

She felt tears running down her cheeks as she shook her head and turned back towards the window she'd opened earlier.

"I'm so sorry, Thy, I'll find you again someday once we're all safe." She quietly as she glanced back once more at the closed bedroom door before walking over to the window.

She used her hair to latch on to one of the nearby tree branches before pulling herself out the window and lowering herself into the dark of night.

And we are a go!

I had a blast typing this first chapter...and I hope you guys enjoy it as well. It's gonna get fun in the next one...trust me. *Winks*

Hope you enjoy it! I'd love to hear you're feedback! Knowing anyone gets enjoyment out of my hard work makes my day!

Please read, enjoy, review, and do all the nice things you do for these sorts of things! Thank you so much!