When Willow and Branch finally caught up to Poppy, it was to see her wrapped in spider webs with a bunch of spiders lowering themselves to her. Branch grabbed her with his hair and dragged her away from the surrounding spiders.
Branch stood in front of Poppy while Willow rested on her knees behind them. He tossed the cooking pan at one of the spider's heads when they started getting too close. When he saw that it didn't have much effect on them, he used his hair as a whip to get them to back away.
As he led them to a giant cave, Willow began cutting the webs away from Poppy. When she got the Troll free, Branch ran up and placed his ear next to her head. "Hang on!" He grabbed two bugs and rubbed them together.
The two bugs lit up and he placed them on Poppy's chest, shocking her.
Poppy popped back up. "Get back up again!" She looked at Branch and grinned. "Branch! My man, you are right on time." She turned to see Willow with her hand out to help her up. "And you brought Willow!" She grabbed Willow's hand and pulled herself up. "That's fantastic!"
"Oh, right," Branch scoffed, letting the bugs fly away. "Like you knew we were coming."
"Yeah," Poppy nodded. "I figured after the third hug time, getting eaten by a Begen wouldn't seem so bad." She looked at Willow curiously. "I am a little surprised with Willow being here though," she admitted. "I didn't think you'd let her come."
"And I figured there was no way you could do this by yourself," Branch said, putting his backpack back on. He crossed his arms, satisfied. "Guess we were both right."
"He tried," Willow admitted, smirking. "But I insisted." She put her backpack on. "I packed everything so we were ready by the time he finally decided to go."
Poppy nodded at the duo and grinned. "All right! Let's do this!" She started walking away. "The sooner we get to Bergen Town, the sooner we can rescue everybody and make it home safely."
Willow shared an unimpressed look with Branch. "Wait, wait, wait," Branch said as they followed Poppy. "What's your plan?"
"I just told you," Poppy turned to face them. "Rescue everyone and make it home safely."
"Okay," Branch stopped walking. "That's not a plan. That's a wish list." He looked at Willow. "I am seriously regretting letting you talk me into letting you come with."
Willow snorted and started walking ahead. "As if you could stop me." She looked at Poppy concerned. "You had no actual plan before you took off?"
"And I suppose you two have a plan?" Poppy asked, amused.
Willow made a so-so gesture with her hand. "I had part of a plan," she admitted. "I'm still working out the kinks."
"Of course, I have a plan," Branch said. He cleared his throat. "First, we get to the edge of Bergen Town without being spotted. Then, we get inside by sneaking through the old escape tunnels which will then lead us to the Troll Tree, right before we get caught, and suffer a miserable death at the hand of a horrible, bloodthirsty Bergen! Hold on a second," he looked at Poppy, incredulous. "Are you scrapbooking my plan?"
Poppy grinned from where she was on the ground. "Uh-huh. Yeah." She finished cutting out a piece of fabric. "Almost," she clipped the last piece and held it up to Branch. "Done!"
Willow grinned. "I don't know, Branch. It looks much happier than your plan." It was true. Poppy's scrapbook showed everyone winning and making it out alive.
Glitter shot out of the book and hit Branch in the face. He looked done. "There will be no more," he blew some glitter out of his nose. "Scrapbooking."
Poppy grinned and shrugged as they started walking again. "So what's your plan, Willow?" She looked at the girl, curious. "You said you had the start of a plan."
"Eh," Willow shrugged. "It's fairly similar to Branch's. At least, up to the making it to the Troll Tree." She looked uneasy. "It should be easy to get through Bergen Town without being spotted especially if they have our friends since they'll be too distracted. They'll probably be held at the castle, so we'll have to get there. I haven't figured out how to find them once we get there though."
Poppy grinned encouragingly. "Don't worry, we'll find our friends and everything will be okay."
The trio continued to walk towards Bergen Town, Poppy singing along the way. "Do you have to sing?" Branch asked, annoyed.
"I always sing when I'm in a good mood," Poppy grinned jumping off a giant stick.
"Do you have to be in a good mood?" Branch was already tired of Poppy's antics. Willow walked ahead to gather some berries to go with their dinner. They would need to stop soon to rest and sleep for the night.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Poppy asked. "By this time tomorrow, I'll be with all my friends! Oh, I wonder what they're doing right now."
"Probably being digested," Branch muttered. Willow frowned and dropped the berries she was investigating. While she wasn't as confident as Poppy was that their friends were still alive, she didn't like to think about the alternative. They had to be alive, she refused to believe otherwise.
"They're alive, Branch," Poppy insisted. "I know it."
"You don't know anything, Poppy," Branch rolled his eyes. "And I can't wait to see the look on your face when you realize the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows. Because it isn't. Bad things happen, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Poppy frowned and ran up to Branch, getting in front of him. "Hey, I know it's not all cupcakes and rainbows. But I'd rather go through life thinking it mostly is, instead of being like you." She fell back behind as they caught up to Willow. "You don't sing, you don't dance. So grey all the time! What happened to you?"
Branch stopped, shushing Poppy. "A Bergen?" Poppy asked, nervous. Branch responded with a maybe. Poppy looked around, uncertain as Branch walked away. After a moment, she put her hand on her hip, unimpressed. "There's no Bergen, is there?" She asked. "You just said that so I'd stop talking."
Branch nodded and whispered, "Maybe." He continued to walk past Willow who grinned and rolled her eyes. Classic Branch.
Willow followed behind Poppy. "Branch isn't a huge fan of talking about what happened," She told her friend. "It's not a great memory for us."
"So you know what happened?" Poppy asked, curious. "But he's been like this for so long."
Willow hesitated before answering. "I do," she admitted after a little while. "But I'm not going to talk about it." She smiled sheepishly. "Like I said, it's a really bad memory for us."
The trio walked in silence for a little while longer before it started getting dark. Then Willow and Branch started setting up camp. Branch grabbed some sticks for a fire while Willow set up their sleeping bags and got out the food they were going to eat for dinner. It was some vegetable soup she had prepared the day before.
"This is good," Poppy said, smiling as she took another bite of the soup. "Do you make all your food?"
"Thanks," Willow smiled. She rarely had Trolls other than Branch eat the food she made besides her desserts. It was nice to be complimented on something she did. "I usually make the food and take care of our clothing. Branch makes sure the bunker is always stocked and maintained." She grinned at her brother, who was finishing up his bowl. "We work well together."
"That's so sweet," Poppy gushed. "It must be nice to have a sibling you can count on."
"It is," Willow confirmed. She picked up their bowls after they finished eating and stood up. "I think I saw a stream a little ways ahead, so I'm going to wash these."
"Be careful," Branch said, picking up the remainder of the soup and storing it away. Willow nodded and walked away from the fire. When she got back, the three of them climbed into their sleeping bags to get some sleep. They would need to get up early in the morning to make it to Bergen Town.
Poppy sighed as she got comfortable and pulled out a picture of her friends. "So special," She leaned back. "Good night, Cooper. Good night Smidge. Good night, Fuzzbert." Willow did what she could to tune out the rest of Poppy's good nights to her friends. It didn't do much besides remind her of who was in trouble.
"And good night, Poppy," Branch snapped before turning back around. He tried to go to sleep. Before too long, Poppy's hug time bracelet went off. She looked at him, eager to get a hug when he curled in on himself a little. "Don't even think about it."
Poppy pouted before looking at Willow who smiled and got up to hug her. The hug felt nice, and for a moment, it felt like everything was going to be alright. The two went back to their separate sleeping bags and Willow tried again to get some sleep.
The area was silent for a moment before Poppy started singing softly. "Stars shining bright above you."
"Really?" Branch asked, rolling back up and glaring at Poppy. "Seriously? More singing?"
"Yes, seriously!" Poppy answered, annoyed. "Singing helps me relax. She folded her sleeping bag over her. "Maybe you ought to try it."
"I don't sing, and I don't relax," Branch denied. "This is the way I am, and I like it. I also like a little silence." He laid back down and jerked his blanket back over him.
Willow rolled her eyes and sat up. Of course, they were arguing. If it wasn't silence, it was arguing and Willow wasn't sure which one she'd prefer. Maybe she would have preferred the silence, she decided when she heard a ukulele start being played. She turned to see Poppy standing in front of her brother with a grin.
(Poppy)
Hello Darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
The flowers and creatures around them started to join. Willow stared, confused. "What is happening?" She muttered to herself, slightly annoyed. It was late, and she was tired.
(Poppy)
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the Vision, that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound
of silence
Willow watched as Branch stood up when the song ended. He smiled and held out his hands, asking for the ukulele. Poppy smiled and happily obliged his request, only for him to toss it into the fire.
Poppy looked like she was about to say something when Willow groaned, annoyed. "That's it!" She stood up and crossed her arms at the two other Trolls. "It's getting late and we have to get up early in the morning. So for the rest of the night, I don't want to hear anymore singing, or arguing, or snide comments about friends getting eaten." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked back at her friend and brother, she smiled. "If I have to hear any more arguing before we save our friends, I will tie your hair together, is that understood?" When the two nodded, a little afraid she would make good on her threat, her smile genuine. "Great." She went back to her sleeping bag and laid down. "Goodnight." Poppy and Branch looked at each other before going to their respective sleeping bags and went to sleep for the night.
Willow is losing her patience over this whole mission. I would too, honestly. Hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone! Next time we'll be in Bergen Town. Thanks for reading!
