Disclaimer: I do not own Trolls, all rights go to Dreamworks and along with any music that may be used will be given the proper ownership to whomever originally sang and wrote the song used. This is not canon to my last Trolls Fanfic. This is a completely new story. Hope y'all enjoy it!
Branch watched her kids playing with Clampers and she couldn't help but smile. She had always been happy that Suki had her brothers and that she was making a friend. It had always been hard for her. Her daughter reminded Branch so much of herself. It was then her smile weakened. She remembered the happiest she had ever been was with her brothers and Viva. Branch prayed everyday that none of her kids would ever go through what she did. A sibling is supposed to be a friend that never leaves you. Key word supposed to. Branch had been so lost in thought that she had not noticed Hickory walking up behind her with a cup of coffee. "Mind if I join you?" He said, startling her. "Sure." Branch said a little hesitant. She still wasn't entirely sure about this cowboy but she was nice for now to him. He did seem like a good father. "Your kids sure are lively." He said, trying to make small talk. "Your daughter seems nice." Branch said as she took the cup of coffee that was offered to her. "I know it's none of my business but something seems to be bugging you." Branch was a little annoyed at the bluntness of the question but respected it as well. "Do you have any siblings?" Branch said not caring about keeping her darkest secret at the moment. "One brother. Why?" Hickory said, not knowing where she was heading. "I had four older brothers. Who all left me when I was Gary's age, because they couldn't stop fighting. I was just hoping that my kids just never end up like my brothers and I did."
Hickory's heart broke at what he heard. "If you don't mind me asking." Hickory started to say. "Hasn't stopped you yet." Branch said coolly, making the cowboy laugh. "Why are you telling me this!" Hickory knew she didn't trust him. It's one of the things he liked about her. "I guess it's easier to talk to a stranger. Also you're the only one to ask." Branch said, looking back at her kids. "I'm guessing your heart's not in this mission is it?" Branch looked back at the Troll and smirked. "I would say well I'm here aren't I but no, you would be right. It's not. I should be home safe with my kids." Hickory just smirked at her. "So what do you make of me?" He said with a chuckle. "I honestly don't know. Why are you here?" Branch said back in almost a teasing tone. Hickory looked down with a smile before looking back at his daughter. "I thought Clampers could use some friends." Branch bit her lip. "I hate how good an answer that was. I almost trust you." Hickory just smiled back at her. "She has a hard time making friends. Differences matter but trolls are trolls." Branch subconsciously placed a hand on Hickory's. "I get it." He just smiled back at her. "You know you have a really nice smile. Ms Branch." Branch just blushed. "Branch is fine." She almost stumbled out.
Little did either troll know they were being watched by everyone at that point. Keith, Gary, Cooper, and Poppy were so happy or excited by the development. Clampers had had a talk with her cousin Holly about being open to the idea of her daddy falling in love again so she was unsure how she felt but she knew that she did not hate the idea of it. Suki however was worried. What would happen to her and her family if her mommy went off with this guy? Suki didi not have much time to think about it when they all heard Jazz music. The next few minutes were a bit of a blur, but all Suki knew was that the cowboy took gumdrops out of his ear and stopped the funny looking guy playing music, and they now had bounty hunters after them, also she felt weird after hearing that music. The worst part about all of this now is that her mama seemed to like the cowboy even more. "First time hearing jazz will get ya. We are also five minutes out from reaching Vaca Island." Branch checked on all of the kids then turned to look at Poppy. "You still think that this is a good idea. We just found out that we have a bounty on our heads!" Branch asked, upset. "Yes, because from what we know and what we've seen Barb isn't trying to bring trolls together she is trying to take over and we need to stop her. Besides, we are almost to Vacay Island." Branch let out a sigh and sat back down.
After thirty more minutes of sailing the trolls reached Vacay Island and were met with the island residents the Puppeteers. "Welcome to Vacy Island." The puppeteer scared the trolls slightly because they did not expect these creators to be big, not as big asthe bergans but still pretty big. "Hi, we are just looking for some trolls." Poppy said enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, the owner of the main restaurant on the island is a troll he could probably help." The puppeteer gestured towards a building with a sign that said Bruce's and Sons and Daughter. "Thanks." Was all Poppy said before bouncing off with everyone trying to keep up with her. "Poppy slow down!" Branch called out as she placed Gary in her hair and Suki on Cooper's back before picking up Keith on her hip and running after her little sister. Hickory scooped Clampers up and ran right behind Cooper.
It has been years since Bruce has gone by Spruce and it has been almost just as long since he has seen Pop Trolls either. That was until today when he saw two Pop Trolls, a Funk Troll, two Country Trolls and a couple of kids. Bruce was on his way to walk up to them when he noticed that one of those trolls just so happened to be his little sister who he had walked out on and never came back. He quickly hid and watched his baby sister set the trolling on her hip down and help the other trolling off of the Funk Troll's back and pull one more trolling from her hair. It was then he realized that his baby sister now had babys of her own. He felt so guilty that he had missed so much of her life. When he looked closer at the kids under her care and saw that they were hybrids, but she loved them all the same and that was all that mattered to him. He smiled at the thought that he was an uncle, at the fact that his sister built herself a family, and she looked happy. That's all he has ever wanted for her, but he was scared to meet her again. Would she even want to talk to him? Why was she here now? Was she looking for him? It was at the moment he gained just enough courage to walk up to the group of trolls Bruce was about to speak up to but was interrupted by the pink pop troll who was now shaking his hand.
"Hi I'm Queen Poppy of the Pop Trolls. We are currently looking for the Funk Trolls and were told that we can find them here." Bruce's heart sank a little when he realized that his sister had not come to see nor did she probably even know that he was here. "They are over at the bar. This way." He gestured and led them to where the Funk Trolls were dancing and where his wife and kids were too. "Thank you." Bruce heard a female voice say and it wasn't the Queen of Pop. He turned and saw that it was his sister whose focus was now back on her two younger children. A question kept bouncing in his head. Did she not remember him or did she not recongized him? Yes he had a dad bod now but for the first time he felt more comfortable in his skin than he had in a long time, also his voice dropped so he didn't sound like he did when she was little. "Yeah no problem. Um, if you don't mind me asking what are the name of your kids?" Bruce tried to as casually. He really did want to know more about his sister's kids and her life.
Branch looked at the man surprised. "Oh, um Suki is my oldest, she's five." She brought Suki's hand into view. "Then we have Keith who's almost three." She said as she gestured to the boy on her hip. "Finally Gary who is taking a nap in my hair, he just turned one." Branch explained as Clampers ran up to Suki grabbing her hand and looked up at Branch. "Can Suki and I go to Miss Poppy? Please?" Branch let out a sigh before agreeing. "Ok but you both stay together and with Poppy." The two nodded excitedly before running off. "Thanks mom." They heard Suki hollar. "Bye mom." They heard Clampers say but before Branch could correct the young troll they were both gone. "So who was that little one?" Bruce asked curiously. "She's not one of mine. Clampers is actually Hickory's daughter, the Country Troll right there." Branch said as she pointed to the man who was a little ways ahead of them.
Keith began to sqwirm in her hold. "Can I go with?" Keith wined. "No. They are already gone And you are not running off by yourself." Branch said firmly. Keith pouted. "Branch I can take him." Cooper offered. "If you're ok with it." Cooper nodded before scooping Keith onto his back and running off. Sadly this action caused Branch to become unbalanced, almost falling and losing Gary from her hair. Lucky for her Hickory caught her and Gary. "I gotcha." Hickory said in a soothing tone. "Thank you." Branch said relief filling her when she saw that Gary was safe. "And he's still asleep." Hickory joked as he cradled Gary in his arms. To Bruce the three looked like a family. He could see the love in this man's eyes towards his sister and he could tell she felt the same.
"I couldn't help but notice that all of your kids were mixed genres." Bruce said drawing Hickory's and Branch's attention back to him. Both now looked at him with anger. "So what if they are. There is nothing wrong with that." Hickory said forcefully. Branch quickly looked back at Hickory with awe before turning back to Bruce who now had his hands up in defense. "I wasn't saying that was bad. I have thirteen kids myself with my wife who is a puppeteer. All kids deserve love and all I was going to say was that does not matter how a family comes together. I was just curious how you did end up with such a diverse family. Only because it is not very common. Your kids seem healthy and happy. It doesn't matter to me what genre they come from" Bruce said. With those words Hickory and Branch seemed to relax a bit. "I found them abandoned as eggs. I was left alone growing up. I would never wish that on anyone else. So I took them in. Best decision I ever made. Hickory, I'll take Gary back and go check on the kids." Branch said. "You sure I don't mind holding him." Hickory said genuinely. "I don't want to bother you." Branch started to say but was cut off when Hickory placed his hand on her arm. "It's no bother. I'll make sure he takes his nap so you don't have to worry about that when checking on the kids." Branch smiled back at him. "Thank you. I also need to make sure Poppy doesn't get in too much trouble." Branch before running off as best she could with her bum leg.
When she was out of ear shot Hickory turned to Bruce. "So you are one of her brothers?" This took Bruce off guard a bit. "How did you know? She didn't even recognize me." Bruce said, a little defeated. "You look just like her. Also she has a lot on her mind right now. When things calm down it'll come to her. I'm sure of it. But I need to ask one thing. If you do decide to go back into her life. You can't just up and leave again. Don't hurt her again. Ok?" Hickory said seriously. Bruce was speechless. He would never intentionally hurt his sister but he did leave once before and never come back and something must have happened to grandma if she ended up alone for most of her life. "I won't ruin my second chance with her." Bruce replied. Hickory smiled back at the older man. "Good. She deserves to be happy." Hickory said, turning his gaze back to Branch who was sitting. Her leg might have gotten a little better but she still pushed it. Bruce saw his sister playing with her kids and then looked at Hickory who had nothing but love in his eyes.
"Now I have a question for you." Bruce said, gaining Hickory's attention once more. "What?" He asked nervously. "How long have you and my sister been together?" Hickory stopped dead in his tracks. "We aren't." He tried to say but ended up completely flustered. "But you want to be?" Bruce asked. "Yes, but it's complicated. I haven't been with anyone since my wife passed." Hickory said solemnly. Bruce gave the man a sympathetic smile. "I bet she would want you to be happy again and for Clampers to be loved and cared for by as many people as possible. That's what I would want for my wife Brandy and our kids." Hickory gave him a thankful smile. Hickory gave the older man a smile as they walked to catch up to the others. "So you all are looking for the Funk Trolls." They heard a larger woman say. "Allow me to introduce you to my very tall soulmate. Brandy." Bruce said with excitement at having the chance to introduce his wife to his sister even if she didn't know it yet. "It's very nice to meet you. I hope we are not intruding too much." Branch said with a friendly smile. Bruce was happy to see her smiling.
Bruce decided to take a deep breath shaking his hands out before fully turning to his sister. "Branch, she is actually your sister-in-law." Bruce said before holding his breath waiting for Branch to register the words that had just come out of his mouth. Branch did not waste a second before she turned back and really took a good look at Bruce. He could see the moment it clicked in her head, when she realized who he was. "Spruce." She said in an almost whispered voice. "WAIT A MINUTE! BRANCH YOU HAVE A SECRET BROTHER? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?" Poppy shouted, waking Gary who was now crying. Branch hobbled over to Hickory and gently took Gary from his arms. "Sorry. But Branch, why didn't you ever say anything?" Poppy asked curiously. It was Bruce's turn to speak. "Because I left and never came back and I should have and I am so sorry for everything. It was selfish and I might try to justify leaving, but there is no excuse for not coming back." Bruce said, looking his sister in the eyes. Branch however was just trying to hold back her own tears as she tried to stop Gary from crying. "I can have a small idea why you didn't come back. We can talk more about this later. Right now we really need to find the Funk Trolls before Queen Barb does." Branch said finally getting Gary to settle down and put back in her hair.
Brandy just watched this emotionally heavy scene infront of her. She was glad her husband found his sister and she was excited to finally meet her, but she also knew the damage Bruce had caused when he abandoned her. She was a little surprised that she was not yelling more, but the baby in Branch's arms probably helped with that. "Well good thing for you I know exactly where they are, follow me." Brandy said, leading their guests to where Vibe City was parked. Poppy and Cooper took everything in as Branch and Hickory tried to keep the kids altogether. "I am so ready to find people like me!" Cooper said excitedly. Keith pulled out of mother's grasp and ran straight to Cooper. "Uncle Cooper. Will you leave us if you find your real family?" Keith said, wiping his nose on his arm. Cooper stopped in his tracks and turned around to see the sad faces on his three niblings' faces. He realized the unintended outcome he caused by just talking about possibly getting a new family. Cooper walked closer to Suki, Keith, and Gary. "I want you three to listen to me very closely. You all are my real family. I might get MORE family, but you three are the most important trolls in my life. Followed by my dad and two sisters. You can never have too much love in one family. Your mom was the one to teach me that." The three little ones nodded their heads and ran to hug their uncle who just laughed and lifted them onto his back. He also kept pace with Clampers and they all made their way to the ship. Bruce was in awe of the wisdom this troll has and to share with these kids who adore him.
They all saw the Funk Trolls swimming in the troll size swimming pool. Bruce and Brandy led them to the Royal Family who were happy to see the restaurant owners. "Brandy. Bruce. Wonderful to see you both again. Who are your friends? We thought you didn't know where the Pop Trolls were?" Prince Darnell asked. "Well they found us looking for you. This is Queen Poppy, Prince Cooper, and my sister Branch with her three kids. Along with Country Troll Hickory with his daughter." Bruce introduced only the Royal family could not take their eyes off of Cooper. Cooper was staring at Darnell which was like looking into a mirror. "Our son has come home." The Royal family engulfed Cooper in a group hug. They explained how they had lost his egg all those years ago and have been looking for him since. "My father found his egg and adopted him into our family. This is perfect, you can help us fight against the Rock Trolls!" Poppy said excitedly. "No. We know of her plan and will not help. We will not help you repeat history." Poppy was confused. The Funk King then went onto explaining the real history of the strings. Poppy could not believe what she was hearing. "How about we had to the ship and discuss more about this." Queen Essence said before guiding the group of trolls to the Vibe City Ship.
"Welcome to Vibe City." Prince Darnell said excitedly. As they walked to the main area there was a scanner that went off each time a troll entered the room. Darnell and Cooper. Funk Trolls. Poppy, Branch, and Bruce. Pop Trolls. Suki. Techno Troll; Reggaton Troll. What? Gary. Funk Troll; Jazz Troll. What? Keith. Rock Troll; Party Crasher. What is a Party Crasher? The Funk Trolls on the ship were starting to get a little antsy about the fact that they had brought a Rock Troll onto the bridge. Hickory saw this and grabbed Clampers running through the scanner. Country Troll. "How dare you bring a Rock Troll on the ship along with these mixed genres. The Funk Guards said aggressively towards the kids. Suki held onto her brothers and tried to protect them as best she could. Branch tried to get to her kids but it was no use. Hickory charged towards the kids and past the guards putting himself between them and the guards and Clampers behind him. "What are you doing?" A guard shouted. "What are you doing? They are just kids who were raised by the most amazing troll I have ever met. We need to be better than this!" Hickory said in a fighting tone. Branch was trying not to blush at Hickory's words.
"ENOUGH." Queen Essence said calming the bridge. "We do not need to behave like this." The crew on the bridge backed away from the children. Branch wasted no time rushing to her kids with Bruce hot on her tail. Hickory turned around to grab Clampers and Gary as Branch grabbed Suki and Keith. "Thank you." Branch said, voice full of relief. "Of course." Hickory said, giving her a smile. Branch then turned to Queen Essence. "I never knew what genre they were." Branch said, giving her kids a reassuring hug. "Does it matter?" Darnell asked. Branch just cupped her daughter's cheek and smiled. "No. It never did nor will it ever matter. They are mine, but I just want to make sure they get to know their cultures too." The Queen just smiled at this thought. "So this little dude is a Funk Troll like us." Darnell said excitedly to Cooper. "I do wonder what family he came from. If you do not mind, we can run a genetics test to find out." Queen Essence asked. Cooper could see the apprehension in Branch's face; he placed a paw on her shoulder grabbing her attention. "Remember you're not losing him. He's just gaining more family." Branch just nodded. "Ok."
The Funk Troll Scientists did their jobs and the results came back quickly. Branch and Queen Essence were both very surprised. "He's our grandson. How can that be?." She told her husband. "See I told you we will always be connected." Cooper said to Gary who just giggled. Branch was trying to breathe as she looked at Gary still in Hickory's arms. Hickory went to Branch and handed him to her. "I'll watch the kids if you want to figure out the next step." Hickory offered. Branch nodded. Bruce went to his sister along with Cooper. "Hey this only proves that we are definitely family." Branch just smiled at Cooper. Queen Essence saw this scene before her. "Pop Trolls are not like they used to be." She said walking to her grandson. Darnell stared at the child and remembered a few years ago he laid an egg after a one night stand with the love of his life. Chaz. He hid the egg from his parents ashamed of what they would say and before he could tell them the egg fell off the ship similar to how his brother's egg did all those years ago. He thought he lost his child, but now he needed to come clean.
Before Darnell could say a single thing Vibe City started to be attacked by the Rock Trolls. The Funk King ordered for them to head to the escape pods and the guards ushered them, but in the midst of all the chaos the kids were separated from their parents and Cooper rushed to them. Hickory was forced into a seprated escape bubble while Poppy and Branch were forced into one of their own. Bruce was catpured quickly by the Rock Trolls when he noticed the Queen Essence still had Gary in her arms. Branch was terrified that her kids and Clampers were still on the ship but it brought her little ease knowing that Cooper was with them protecting them. They never should have been in this possession in the first place.
Branch had been lost in her own thoughts and only back to reality when the faint words from Poppy talking about coming up with a new plan and she finally lost it. As the bubble descended closer to the ground the more anger in Branch grew. "POPPY STOP!" The former grey troll shouted. "Branch I just can't give up like you. I need to prove I am a good Queen." Poppy said thinking she could go right back to talking about what she was before all of the shouting started. "Give up? Poppy I am not giving up. I am just trying to look out for my family! Not that you care. Or even listen. You want to be a good Queen? Good Queens listen. And I have been defending you even when your dad was right and Queen Essence was right and you kept ignoring them and ignoring me. You know what I heard. That differences do matter." Branch said on the verge of tears. She was so scared. Her kids were gone. Her brother that she just got back was now gone again. She was losing everything and Poppy just kept running in without a second thought of what anyone had to say.
"Branch, What are you talking about?" Poppy asked, confused. "What I am talking about is that talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. Pointless. Because if it isn't your idea or what you want to hear. You don't listen to it. I didn't even want to be here." Branch said, trying to calm herself. "Why did you come along then?" Poppy said defiantly. "I didn't have a choice, remember?" Branch shouted back. "You could have left at any moment. So why didn't you?" Poppy said, pushing Branch once again. "Because I didn't want to lose you or Cooper like I had lost my brothers before!" Silence hung in the air for a moment. "Branch." Poppy tried to say before she was once again interrupted. "I failed when I was a child. I failed so badly that my brothers up and left and never came back. I haven't seen any of my four brothers in over twenty years. So I am sorry I wanted to protect my second family. Guess I failed again, huh." With that Branch walked away leaving Poppy to think about all that she was told. To think back to her actions from the past week. She was so angery at herself, because Branch was right. She didn't listen at all and now her brother, Branch's brother, and four kids are now in danger.
Poppy heard a rustle in the bushes as she turned to see the oncoming threat Poppy was relieved when she saw that it was only Hickory. "Hey Ms. Poppy. Where's Branch and Clampers?" Hickory said worriedly. He saw Suki, Keith, Gary, and Cooper being left on the ship but he did not see Clampers anywhere. "Clampers is with Cooper and Branch left. We had a fight." Poppy said like the fight was the most important part of that answer. Hickory was panicking over the fact that his daughter was now with the Rock Trolls. "Ms. Poppy, we need to get going." Hickory said feeling less and less confident. "Honeslty all this violence over this." Poppy said as she pulled out the pink glowing Pop String from her hair. When Hickory's eyes landed on that string they went wide. "You need to put that away and run as far as you can as fast as you can." Hickory tried to warn Poppy but his back legs were starting to jump around like they had a mind of their own, because they did.
Before Poppy knew it Hickory split in half. This did freak her out before she came to the terms that Hickory was not a Country Troll but one half of the bounty hunting duo The Yodelers. "You're a yodeler? You were playing us? What about Clampers? Were you playing with Branch's feelings too?" Poppy asked, feeling very defensive over her adoptive sister. "Not at first. Clampers is a Country Troll but we hide so she doesn't get bullied by the town. She deserves to live with her Aunt and Cousin." Hickory said, trying to explain his actions. "But now that you got her captured we need that string to save her and our beautiful yodeling." Dickory; Hickory's brother said. "I was not playing with Branch's feels either." Hickory tried to tell Poppy but was unheard because of his brother sending a loud yodel into the air calling for Queen Barb who did not waste a moment to get to Poppy. "So this is the famous Queen Poppy of the Pop Trolls." Queen Barb said, taking in the pink troll.
I am really getting into this new storyline and I am really excited for y'all to read this chapter and the next. I am so sorry for the late updates. I officially have one week of school left and I have a lot of writing projects planned. I know it's been a while because this section originally said Happy Labor Day. I almost have my Bacholor's and I have just been focusing on that and moving up in my job. Ok back to the story. Originally I was only expecting one of Branch's brothers to be discovered but two? What? I was thinking of adding JD, but for the next to work out like how I want it to we will need to wait for the Fish Man himself. I have this argument for Branch that I can not wait to type up and I am so excited for this to all blend together nicely. I am really excited to get this next chapter finished and I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! The next chapter will have betrayal and reveals and hopefully finish up the second movie if not then the next chapter definitely will. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and until the next time. Bye-bye for now my little Bookworms.