Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a deafening silence.

The once noisy crowd had shut up, and why? because the strings had broke. After everything, the main objective that Barb was focused on didn't exist anymore; it was just gone. The rock queen cupped them in her hand and raised them as all six strings crumbled into dust.

She looked down at her now empty hands in disbelief. "my strings-" she uttered before turning around to look at Poppy and Branch. She glared at the pop queen who was facing her friend to see if he was alright,

"What have you done?"

Poppy's gaze shifted towards Barb.

"You've destroyed music." The rock queen spat as she turned to the crowd, "give it up everybody! thanks to the queen of pop, we've all lost our music." she turned back to face Poppy. "History repeats itself, pop has ruined everything." she glared harder, causing Poppy to look down in guilt.

The whole stadium kept quiet as Poppy glanced over at everyone.

she truly had ruined everything.

Chapter Text

it was 2am and Branch was sleeping peacefully, that was until he felt someone shaking him. On instinct, he woke up and threw up his hands in defence against whoever it was that woke him up. However, when he looked up he saw nobody but his stunning girlfriend Poppy looking at him, smiling.

"Poppy?" he looked over at the clock on his bedside table, it displayed 2:04am, "it's 2am, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously, it was normal for Poppy to sneak in during the night but she normally did it without waking him up at all. He looked into her eyes and her happy smile changed into a worried smile.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Branch opened his arms for a hug to comfort the pop queen. He held her tight and waited for her to tell him her problem.

"I know it sounds childish but I had a nightmare..." Poppy pulled away from the hug and looked at Branch. "could I stay with you for the rest of the night?" Branch looked at her and smiled, "of course you can, you know you don't need to ask me to stay over" he laughed. He gestured for Poppy to lay down on the empty side of the bed. However, he noticed that she wasn't in her pyjamas; she was in her normal clothes. "uhm Poppy? do you wanna borrow a t-shirt?" he gestured at her outfit. Poppy looked at her dress and smiled cheekily. "yeah please..."

Branch smiled and shook his head. He pointed at his wardrobe, "there's a black one in there that you can borrow." He watched as the pink troll rooted through his closet, grabbed the shirt and pondered into the ensuite bathroom. A minute later she came out in the t shirt and spun around like she was showing off an outfit for a night out. Poppy then climbed in the bed and sat up to talk with her boyfriend more.

"So, what was your nightmare about?" He asked curiously, wanting to keep the conversation going for a bit.

"Well...we were at a party and like everything was going wrong! There were no streamers, the buffet table was practically empty and nobody was having a good time!! And the more I tried to fix it, the more everything went wrong." Poppy explained, she watched as Branch listened to everything she was saying.

"Maybe your nightmare is telling you that you're scared of disappointing people, which is absolutely impossible because there's no way you could disappoint anyone." Branch responded.

"Maybe...I dunno. Anyway, enough about me, how are you finding living with your brothers again?" Poppy asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.

"It's great! Although they do have some annoying habits, I just try to ignore them." He replied, "John has the loudest snoring, I had to soundproof his room 'cause he kept waking us up!" Poppy giggled at the story as her boyfriend complained more about John's snoring habit. "He also sleep walks, one night I caught him leaving the bunker and when I caught up to him to ask where he was going, he was sound asleep!!"

Poppy looked shocked "what happened next?" she asked, truly intrigued.

"I had to put a lock on his door, which has worked so far...I think? he hasn't gotten out again so I assume it worked." Branch shrugged and moved onto the rest of his brothers. "Floyd doesn't have many habits, he just leaves eyeliner marks on the bathroom sink from when he drops his eyeliner pencil, and Clay does this thing when he tells someone to be quiet, he makes a face and lowers his hands down in front of him."

As if on cue, Clay enters the bedroom looking a tad bit annoyed with the pair.

"Hey, could you guys quiet down a bit I'm trying to read." He lightly scolded.

Branch looked at the clock then looked back at Clay confused. "You're reading at 2:30 in the morning?" The lime haired troll didn't respond, instead he did the exact thing Branch was telling Poppy about then walked out of the room.

The couple looked at the door in disbelief then erupted into a quiet laughing fit.

-6:30am-

In the morning, Poppy walked out of Branch's room to see John Dory at the stove and Clay and Floyd sitting at the table waiting to be served whatever JD was cooking. They all turned to say good morning to the pop queen.

"Hey Poppyseed, you want some pancakes?" John asked, sliding one on top of a stack of them.

"I'd say no Poppy, they might be poisonous." Clay joked, causing a light whack on the head from his oldest brother.

"Actually, pancakes would be great JD!" Poppy replied, taking a seat at the table. "Oh uh Branch is brushing his teeth he'll be out soon." she added.

"So when did you get here, Poppy?" Floyd asked, "I'm guessing that's what the elevator noise was, I honestly thought John got out again before I got up to check on him." he laughed.

"Hey! the sleepwalking was a one time thing!!" JD argued, placing Poppy's breakfast in front of her. Clay rolled his eyes, "John just the other night you managed to sneak into my room, I woke up to you standing at the end of my bed and when I asked you what you were doing, you asked me how many tuna cans tall you were then snored all the way back to your room."

John Dory chuckled at the idea of freaking Clay out like that, "I wish I was awake to see your face" he laughed. Before Clay could complain more, Branch walked out of his room and sat at the table with everyone else. "Morning guys." he greeted, the sound of his brothers saying good morning followed.

"Branchifer, what is on the agenda for today?" Poppy asked as she ate up her pancakes. In response, Branch opened his planner and checked over it. "you have the morning song soon, then you have to help Guy Diamond plan his next get together and at 12 you have a meeting with the rulers of Troll kingdom." he listed.

"And don't forget, I'm picking Bruce up later then we're going to dinner." John added to the schedule.

"Right," Poppy got up from her chair, "I better go and start the morning song then! Are you guys joining me?" She asked the brothers.

"I actually have something for JD so we'll have to miss out this time." Branch responded, giving her a hug goodbye.

"Alright! Clay, Floyd?"she turned to the remaining brothers. "Sure!" Clay said, in opposition to Floyd who also turned down the request. "Actually I'm meeting up with a group of trolls soon so I have to get ready," he replied.

"I thought Val said to meet her at 11:30?" Branch questioned.

"I know, but I wanted to practice my singing a bit first, you know, make a good impression?" Floyd explained.

Poppy's ears pricked up at the mention of her friend, Val. "You're meeting Val?" she asked.

"Yeah." Floyd nodded, "she invited me to a group music session with her and some other trolls, I met another one from the group, I think his name was Synth?" Poppy grinned with excitement "Oh my goodness the Ambassadors wanna meet you!! That's so great!" she exclaimed. Before she could say anything else, her hug time bracelet pinged. "Hug time!!" she went around and hugged all of the brothers. "I have to go now, I'll see you all later!!"

-11:59-

Poppy walked into the meeting pod to see the 5 other rulers waiting for her. She greeted them as she walked to the head of the table to start their meeting. She opened up a presentation board and turned to face her audience. "So, for this month's meeting I'd like to pitch my idea on, drumroll please!" Only King Trollex and Queen Barb joined in the drumroll. "Hot air balloon tours of Troll Kingdom!!" she pointed at her map of the kingdom, "I think this'd be a great way to introduce trolls to all of the different kingdoms!"

Barb raised her hand, "okay, popcorn I see what you're saying but don’t you think this is similar to your TrollsTopia plan?" she asked.

Luckily, Poppy had a planned response to this, "It does, but it's slightly different!" she said, "see, when TrollsTopia started, a lot of trolls didn't move over here 'cause they couldn't or they just didn't want to, that's why I propose the tour idea so all trolls get a chance to get to know all of the kingdom!"

Poppy watched as the group exchanged nods in agreement to her idea, this was going well!

"Poppy, I think it's a wonderful idea and we should definitely develop on your ideas over our next meetings!" Queen Essence explained.

"Great! Okay who will be presenting ne-" The queen of pop was interrupted by Smidge bursting into the room, screaming her name. Poppy looked at her confused. "Smidge?" The little troll tugged on her dress eagerly. "Poppy, Poppy! You've gotta come see this!" She sounded serious. She then turned towards the other rulers,

"I think this is a matter for all of you."

Chapter Text

Smidge sprinted fast towards whatever had her so panicked, she only stopped once in a while to let her followers catch up. "Smidge where are we going?!" Poppy asked, trying to catch her breath, the small troll didn't give her a true answer; she just said to "keep going" or "they're almost there." It wasn't until they reached a music studio when Poppy realised where they were. They're in the hard rock area!

Smidge led everyone through the door of the studio and took them to a room with a sign on the door that said 'Thundershock'. Poppy and Barb exchanged confused looks before following Smidge into the room.

Poppy was confused by the sight in front of her; the ambassadors, and Floyd, were all standing in a huddle looking down at something. "I brought Poppy." Smidge informed the group. They all quickly looked up, the expression on their faces varied from confusion, shock and even fear. It was like they walked in on something they shouldn't have. Val looked at the group of leaders "Smidge I thought you were bringing JUST Poppy?" she asked. "We were in a meeting." Poppy answered before Smidge could, "What's going on?" she questioned.

Floyd stepped forward, "We were playing our music and it was going all fine until Val started to use her guitar!" he explained, Holly Darlin' then added to the story "There was a big explosion and the guitar strings changed colour!" Poppy looked at them even more confused then turned back to the leaders behind her and gave them the same look.

"Show us." said Queen Essence. Val then picked up the guitar she was using and showed the strings, they were glowing red! The group of leaders gasped at the sight. How could this happen!?

Barb inspected the guitar, "Val this is my guitar from the world tour, how do you have it?" she asked, glaring at Val. The purple haired troll gave a guilty look, "I got it from storage, I didn't realise it was yours so I borrowed it." she admitted, "I swear I was gonna give it back!"

"Barb, why do you even still have that? I thought Poppy here destroyed it." Delta questioned. Barb rolled her eyes, "I fixed it 'cause it's my favourite guitar duh."

King Trollex joined in on inspecting the guitar for anything, his eyes widened at what he saw. "Did it always sparkle like this before you fixed it?" he pointed at the evidence.

Barb looked over in confusion, "No?" she said, looking at what Trollex had found. She tried to dust off the specks of what looked like glitter with her hand, but it didn't budge.

"I have a theory!" Dante Crescendo piped up, "Maybe energy from the strings stayed in your guitar, which brought them back when Val played it." he explained.

Everyone nodded, that's exactly what could've happened.

"So what do we do now?" Poppy asked. By the looks on the other leader's faces, they had no idea. It was a few seconds before Queen Essence spoke up with a plan. "Poppy, we may need you to keep them safe for now." she said. The Pop Queen looked at her in confusion. "We currently don't have any security for the strings since they were destroyed." she admitted.

"When we rebuilt our kingdoms we didn't feel the need to have any protection for the strings." Trollzart added. His confession was followed by nods from the other leaders.

Poppy looked at them and couldn't help her burst of excitement! "You guys are really trusting me to keep an eye on the strings?" she asked, buzzing around the group, "Of course I'll keep them safe!" she exclaimed. "You can count on me!"

-3:30pm-

Poppy and Floyd sprinted towards Branch's bunker, where they agreed to meet up with the others, then stopped to catch their breath. "Are we late?" Floyd asked. Clay and Branch turned around to see the pair almost on the ground, "You're actually right on time." Clay replied, "They should be here any minute now."

"Did you guys run here?" Branch asked. He went to Poppy's side while Clay went to Floyd's side to see if they were alright. "Yeah, there was a problem but it was sorted and we realised we were running a bit late so we ran!" Poppy said, finally catching her breath.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake and Rhonda jumped out of the trees, landing right in front of the 4 trolls. She then gave the closest troll in her reach, which was Clay, a big lick! "Good to see you too Rhonda..." he said, wiping the glitter off of him in disgust.

The group crowded around the door, ready to greet Bruce. It opened and they all said "Welcome back, Bruce!!" when he stepped out of the bus. He chuckled, "Thanks you guys but you don't need to do this every time I come back." he said, giving everyone a hug.

"Heyo everyone!" JD greeted, following behind Bruce whilst carrying his bag for him. "Bruce, do you want me to take this inside for you?" he asked.

"It's okay John, I can do it myself." he replied, grabbing the bag from his brother. JD then ran in front of the group before they approached the entrance of the bunker. "Before we all go inside I wanna show you what Branch showed me earlier!" he said excitedly. He then led them to a tree not far from the bunker, it looked like a house! There was a door with carvings on it and around the frame were vines and flowers all beautifully set up. Branch approached the tree to present it to the group just like he had to John Dory earlier in the day.

"So uh whenever it's night time, JD just parks Rhonda outside of the bunker and you know the woods can be dangerous, so I figured what if Rhonda had somewhere safe to sleep whilst we're all inside and I figured why not inside this tree!" he explained. He opened the doors to show how cosy it was on the inside. "I asked Milton Moss to help me with it 'cause he knows about habitats and stuff."

JD called for Rhonda with a similar sound that the armadillo made all of the time. She came sprinting towards the group and charged right into her tree as soon as she saw it. She then curled up inside, made herself comfy and instantly drifted off to sleep. They all awed at her as she made light snores.

"She's so cute!" Poppy exclaimed, running up to the sleepy armadillo to give her a hug. Gently, JD pulled the queen back before she could ambush the sleeping critter. "I wouldn't disturb her, ol' Rhonda here loves her sleep." he said, grinning. Poppy nodded and headed back to the group.

"So uh, what time is dinner?" Clay asked as they all walked back to the bunker.

"Reservations aren't until 6pm Clay, we have just under 3 hours." Branch replied, "I think we should all walk to the restaurant together so nobody can be late." he said, glancing at John Dory who was clearly the culprit of that at their last meetup.

"Alright, I'll let Viva know to come here first then!" Poppy added.

-5:45pm-

"Is everyone ready?" Bruce called to his brothers. He was wearing a white vest with black shorts and his signature shell necklace.

Branch was the first to come out of his room, he was wearing a black t-shirt under his leaf vest and was wearing a green pair of shorts instead of his signature brown ones. He glanced at the living/kitchen area to see Poppy, looking beautiful as usual, Viva, Bruce and Clay waiting for the remaining brothers. Poppy approached her boyfriend. She was wearing a casual teal dress with some silver accessories to compliment it. "You look great!" she said, giving Branch a kiss on the cheek. He lightly blushed in response, "Thanks, so do you!" he said.

"There's no time for getting mushy you two, our reservations are in 15 minutes and it takes 10 for us to walk over to the restaurant!" Clay complained. He was wearing a green and yellow plaid sweater vest with brownish-green shorts and his usual wristbands. "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" he yelled at John Dory and Floyd who were taking longer.

The pair walked out of their rooms at the exact same time. Floyd was wearing black shorts with a stripey black and magenta sweater, complemented with some silver jewellery and a star studded earring on his left ear. John Dory was wearing a plain white t-shirt with his usual green shorts and goggles. "Calm down Clay, we have plenty of time to get there." John Dory said, casually.

"Actually John, we now have 13 minutes and it's a 10 minute walk!" Clay argued. JD rolled his eyes at his brother's whining, "Yeah leaving us 3 minutes we'll be there in no time!" his eye roll changed to a grin. He looked at everyone's outfits. "Looking great, gang!" he complimented.

"Thanks JD!" chirped Viva. She was wearing a casual short white skater dress that was covered in hot pink and gold stars, her leg warmers were yellow and had one star on the front of each of them. The yellow haired troll did a light spin to show off her outfit.

"Okay, enough chit chat, it's now 5:49 let's GO!" Clay exclaimed, pushing everyone onto the elevator and pulling the lever to go up.

They all walked in small groups to the restaurant, Viva and Clay were in front due to the lime haired troll's speedy walking. He definitely did not like being late! Floyd and John Dory were behind Clay and Viva and Bruce, Branch and Poppy were right at the back.

"It's okay Clay, We're almost there! I can see the restaurant in the distance." Viva said, trying to calm her best friend down.

"Hey, so which restaurant did you choose, Viva?" Bruce asked the pair in the front. Viva turned her head to the side so the group could hear her better, "I chose Sweet Spot, it's a fancy pizza restaurant!" she replied, "Me and Poppy went a few days ago with our dad!"

Poppy's ears perked up. "I loved that place!! The desserts are really nice." She exclaimed, "Branch! We should totally get one to share!" she shook her boyfriend's arm excitedly. Branch gave her a small smile, "Sure!" he replied.

"Do you think they serve fluffleberry cake?" JD asked.

"I don't think so, JD." Viva said. "I have no idea how you eat that stuff. It tastes like a stinky sock!"

-5:59pm-

Clay sprinted through the door of the restaurant, celebrating. "We're here!" he looked at the clock and turned back to the group, "With one minute to spare, go us!" he said, doing a little dance in joy.

"Can I help you?" A waiter asked as the group all crowded in the small waiting area. "Yes! We have a reservation under the name Clay." The lime haired troll replied.

The waiter picked up 7 menus, "Right this way!" He guided the trolls towards a big table reserved for them. They all chose their seats and sat down as the waiter set down their menus in front of them. "I'll be back in 10 to get your drink orders." he stated before walking away.

"Okay JD, you're not ordering any rainbow juice, we don't want another puking incident!" Floyd informed his oldest brother.

"That was a one time thing!" JD replied whilst looking through the drinks menu.

"You say that for everything," Branch stated, "and usually it's not just a one time thing."

"Yeah well the puking incident WAS a one time thing, and it won't happen again!" JD insisted.

"You're still not getting rainbow juice." Floyd argued. John just shook his head and kept looking at the menu, he pointed but didn’t see anything he liked though. "I'll just get a glass of water then," he sighed.

"I'm also getting water." said Clay, "I don't wanna be up all night from loads of sugar."

"I like the sound of the tropical juice so I think I'll get that." Bruce inputted. "We actually serve a drink with the same name at the cantina, I'd say it's my favourite on our menu!" he explained, Bruce loved it when he had an excuse to talk about his business back home.

"I'm gonna get the strawberry punch!" Poppy exclaimed, putting down her menu. "What are you getting, Branchifer?" she asked her boyfriend who was sitting beside her. "I don't know..." he replied, looking through the drinks menu. "I think I'll just get lemonade." He decided.

"I'm getting a milkshake!!" Viva said. Clay nodded, "Okay since we've all decided on what drinks we're having, what is the plan for food? Should we get pizzas to share or just individual ones?" he asked.

"I think sharing would be easier," JD responded. "It means we don't need to take more time deciding what we all want."

Everyone nodded in agreement to the plan.

-11:10pm-

Later into the night, the group had finished their dinner and headed home. On the walk back from the restaurant, Poppy -who was pretty tipsy from multiple glasses of strawberry punch- dragged everyone to a party that Guy Diamond was hosting. So by the time they got back to the bunker, everyone was pretty tired. JD and Bruce had passed out playing board games in the living room, Clay went into his room for peace, Viva and Floyd passed out on the couch and Poppy was sound asleep in Branch's bed holding her boyfriend tight in her arms.

Branch was the only one in the bunker who was wide awake. He gently freed himself from Poppy's grasp, trying not to wake her up, and decided to go on a walk through the woods to tire himself out. He hummed a small tune all the way from the bunker into the woods. However, a response to his humming made him stop in caution. He instinctively jumped into a self defence pose and looked around. His ears twitched, listening for any other sounds. The humming started again and Branch looked for the source of the sound. He looked to his right to see a pink light glaring from the trees. He walked towards the light like a moth to a flame.

After struggling to make it through the vines and leaves in his way, Branch found himself in, what looked like, a fairy garden and right in front of him was...

All 6 music strings!

Chapter Text

What is going on?

Why are the strings here?

How are they back?

Branch had so many questions running through his mind. He had just found all 6 music strings in the middle of the woods, he couldn't believe it! Was he dreaming? He reached out to the strings to see if they were real or not. They all made a majestic sound as he swiped his fingers on each one.

Yep, they were real!

The blue haired troll started to panic, did Poppy know about this? No, did ANYONE know about this? Was he the first troll to find them? Branch started to overthink and before he knew it, he grabbed the strings and bolted back to his bunker.

As soon as he got home, he hid the strings behind his back and quietly, tiptoed past the sleeping trolls in the living room. When he reached his bedroom, Branch put the strings on his bedside table and immediately tried to wake up Poppy. He shook her repeatedly until she opened her eyes. "Branch?" Poppy questioned, she sat up and looked at her boyfriend slightly annoyed. "What's wrong?" The queen saw how her boyfriend was shaking and started to worry. Branch pointed at the strings on his bedside table, his hand was trembling. "Oh." Poppy said, realising she forgot to tell Branch about the strings. "About that...I was supposed to tell you earlier but I got distracted!" she said.

Branch sat next to her and held her hands, "What could be more important than telling me about the strings coming back?" he asked.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy but Queen Essence asked me to look after them until everyone else gets their string security fixed, I couldn't say no!" Poppy explained. Branch took a breath and looked down, "Poppy, I love you. But you're right this does sound crazy." he said. Poppy looked at him in confusion. Branch squeezed her hands, "Don't get me wrong I love that you're taking on something as important as this but I just don't think it's a good time."

Poppy let go of Branch's hands. "What do you mean? Branch I think this is a great time! And you could help me set up better security for them." Branch sighed. "I understand but there are more trolls living here now, anyone could stumble across them and take them." Poppy kept hold of Branch's hands . "Then we could keep down here in the bunker!" she said. "Seriously, with my brothers? Absolutely not, just 2 days ago John Dory broke my favourite vase. I really don't trust them around something like the strings."

Poppy glared at her boyfriend and stood up. "Or what you're saying is that you don't trust ME around the strings." she accused, crossing her arms.

"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Branch responded. Poppy glared at him more, "Oh really? Because that is EXACTLY what you're saying!" the queen walked over to the door. "Poppy, please!" Branch pleaded. The pink troll turned around. "I'm gonna go, I just don't wanna be around you right now." and at that, Poppy walked out, leaving her boyfriend feeling very guilty. He really messed up.

Branch sighed and looked at the strings. Why do they somehow always manage to cause trouble? He started to pluck at them, each one making the exact same sound. He plucked the last one; but instead of making a sound, it shocked him! "Ouch!" Branch cried, sucking on his finger to make the pain go away. Maybe it was a sign that he needed to stop touching them? The blue troll turned around so he couldn't be tempted. However, the strings started to make a buzzing sound. Branch tried to resist turning around but he felt a presence behind him, it was like they were haunting him! Quickly, Branch turned around to glare at the strings but to his surprise, he saw them glowing! He was mesmerised by them. The strings were like a siren luring in their prey. Branch didn't even notice himself reaching out to strum them! He swiped his hand over each one, causing a rush of energy to bolt through his arm. He laughed, It felt like a bunch of fairies tickling his arm! And that's why he went back for more. But instead of the energy going into his arm, it pierced throughout his body. The spark was accompanied by a beam of light that circled around him. Before he knew it, Branch was starting to change. He watched as the colour in his hands became lighter, like he was getting his true colours back for the first time. He felt his cheeks warming up and a grin forming on his face. Was this true happiness?

Finally, the transformation died down and the glow coming from the strings dimed. Branch walked over to the mirror next to his wardrobe. He took a good look at himself. His skin was bright blue and his hair was indigo instead of the dull navy blue it once was. He looked closely at his face, he had freckles! He inspected the spots of glitter on his cheeks. The bright troll moved his eyes down to his outfit. He was wearing a dark blue sleeveless puffer jacket with white shorts and leg warmers in the same colour as his jacket. A Brozone style outfit? An idea formed in his head and he started rooting through the drawers under his wardrobe. He pulled out his old Bitty B glasses and put them on. Branch looked back into the mirror and smiled, his outfit was complete!

The blue troll looked back over at the strings. They really did this? They made him a lot more happy than he already was! What else can they do? He walked over to them, however, before he could do anything, Branch felt himself getting dizzy. His vision went blurry and before he could act, he went unconscious.

In the morning, Branch woke up and looked up at his alarm clock. It read 7:45am. He looked around, did he fall asleep on the floor? The blue troll got up and looked in the mirror. Oh right, that happened. Suddenly, there was a knock on his bedroom door. "Branch? Are you awake?" he heard someone call. It was Floyd. "Yeah!" he replied, "I'll be out in a minute!" he explained. "Alright!" He heard Floyd walk away. Branch sighed, he walked over to the strings; took them from their harp display and stuffed them in his hair. There's no way he's leaving them behind!

Branch walked out of his room to see his brothers all sitting around the kitchen table, munching on cereal. Viva must've left. They all turned to greet him but before they could, their expressions changed from smiles to shock.

"Branch? What happened to you?" John Dory asked

"Why are you wearing that stuff?" added Bruce.

"And why do you look so bright?" said Clay.

Before Branch could answer, Floyd cut in. "You guys, maybe Branch felt like testing out a new style today? I think you look great." He explained. Branch nodded in agreement. "That's exactly it, thank you Floyd." he smiled.

"Are you gonna come sit down?" Bruce asked, pointing at the empty chair beside him. Branch, however, turned down the offer. "Not today, I have to go see Poppy before the morning song. I think she left early." he explained, knowing exactly when and why his girlfriend left. His brothers nodded and let him get on with whatever he was doing. Branch waved to his brothers and left the bunker.

Branch knocked on the door of Poppy’s pod. He was expecting his girlfriend to answer the door but instead he was greeted by her friend, Smidge. she glared up at him, “What do you want?” she asked in a frustrated tone. The yellow troll then looked Branch up and down. “And why do you look so different?”

“That doesn’t matter right now, is Poppy here?” Branch questioned. Smidge crossed her arms and continued to glare at the blue troll. “She doesn’t want to see you! Now SCRAM.” she responded, angrily. Poppy could be heard in the background telling her friend to let Branch in. Smidge sighed and moved aside to let him into the pod. “Poppy, if he gives you any more trouble just call for me, okay?” She then left the couple alone to talk.

Poppy stared at Branch. He looked so different!

“Branch, why do you look like that?” She questioned, looking at her boyfriend’s obvious change of appearance. “I don’t know what you mean.” He responded. Poppy raised an eyebrow and Branch sighed. “Floyd gave me a brozone-style makeover before I left the bunker,” he fibbed. The pop queen nodded. “Alright then.” She was clearly still upset over the argument they had and Branch noticed that straight away.

“Look, Poppy, I’m sorry about what I implied when I said I thought having the strings here was a bad idea,” Branch said. “In all honesty I actually think it’s a great idea, I think I was just a bit shaken up after I found them.” Poppy smiled softly, she reached out and held Branch’s hands in hers. “And I’m sorry too, for jumping to conclusions.” she responded. The couple then leaned in for a quick kiss.

“So uh, what do you think of my new look?” Branch asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Honestly.” Poppy fluttered her eyelashes at him. “You look so handsome. You always do.” she flashed a warm smile, causing a light purple blush to form across the blue troll’s face.

“I did the morning song early today so would you like to go on a walk through the village?” Poppy asked, lightly squeezing her boyfriend’s hands.

“Sure!” Branch replied, “Let’s go!”

The couple sauntered through the village market holding hands. Poppy had a light skip in her step and occasionally Branch joined the skipping. They didn’t notice the trolls staring at them. They were mostly looking at Branch’s new look; whispering and pointing in awe. Poppy pointed over at a stall, “ooo, let’s look over there!!” She guided Branch over to the store she took interest in, never letting go of his hand. Branch looked around at the other stalls not really paying attention to what they were selling, until one caught his eye. It was covered in crystals and jewellery and incense sticks, however, none of that intrigued him. It was the locket the store owner, Cybil, was holding. The blue troll turned to his girlfriend to tell her he’ll be back but she looked focused on the store she was at so he just walked away.

“Branch! What brings you here?” Cybil greeted, “And why do you look so different?” Branch smiled at her. “I saw the lockets you’re selling, why do they look like that?” he asked, pointing at the lockets on the stall. The charm was a pink, translucent, diamond shape and it was being held on by a black choker. “Ah! The Essence Locket!” she held one up, “Basically you sing into the left side of the locket and it traps the essence of your happiness. So when you sing you share your happiness with whoever you’re singing to or with!” Branch looked intrigued. “That’s great I’ll take-” he was cut off. “WAIT. There is a dark side to these lockets. Never, and I mean never, sing into the right side of the locket because it does the exact opposite to what the left side does. It takes another troll’s essence.” Cybil explained in a dramatic tone, waving her hands around. “Riiight…” I’ll take 6.” He paid Cybil and put the lockets in his hair. These could come in handy.

Branch turned around to see Poppy waiting for him. "What did you buy from Cybil?" she asked, curiously. Branch put Poppy's hand in his and they started to stroll away from the market. "I just got some gifts for you and my brothers." Poppy's ears perked up, "oh!! what is it?" The pop queen reached out to Branch's hair to look at the gifts but she was stopped. "It's a surprise, so I'm not giving you it until the time is right, okay?" Branch replied, keeping his girlfriend away from his hair. Poppy sighed in defeat. "Alright then! I hope it's a huge surprise since you're keeping it so on the downlow!" she said.

Little did she know, something bigger was coming.

Chapter Text

That night, Branch kept himself locked in his room. Poppy had asked him if she could stay over but he lied and said that he wasn’t feeling well. He’d been lying a lot that day, oh well. He told his brothers that he needed an early night and to leave him alone, but really he was wide awake. In fact, he was working on a project. Branch looked down at the lockets he had bought that day, they were all organised into a line on the work table he’d dragged into his room. Each one had a music string in them, giving them a bright pink shine. He picked up the final locket and sang into the left side of it, he then stuffed in the final string and closed the locket tight.

Branch walked over to the mirror, locket in hand. He clasped the choker around his neck and instantly felt a change. The locket showered his face in a pink, sparkly dust. He closed his eyes and felt as a rush of happiness took over. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that his eyes had changed colour. They were bright pink! He couldn’t help but smile at the change. He felt so confident.

Branch was so focused on his change, he didn’t even realise that he’d started to sing.

Hmm-mmm-mmm
Woah-oh-oh-oh
It's always a good time
Woah-oh-oh-oh
It's always a good time

He stopped when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. It was Floyd. “Branch, it’s the middle of the night, why are you singing so loud?” he asked. Branch walked over to the door and opened it slightly, trying to hide himself. “Uhm, I sing in my sleep,” he lied, “sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it.” He tried to close the door but Floyd stopped him. “Are you sure? ‘Cause I've never heard you do it until now.” he responded. Floyd peeked into the room and saw the lockets. “Nice necklaces, why are they glowing?” he asked. Branch panicked, “it’s nothing!” he lied, but Floyd didn’t buy it.

He walked into the room and took a good look at the work table, his eyes widened when he saw the harp and that’s when he realised what was in the lockets. “Branch, why do you have the strings?” Floyd’s tone turned serious. Branch tried to get him out of the room, “I don’t! This is just a project I’m working on.” he lied again. “Branch, please don't lie to me! Why do you have them?” Floyd looked his brother in the eyes. “You can tell me.”

Before Branch could respond, JD, Bruce and Clay came out of their rooms to see what all the chaos was about. “Guys what is going on? It’s the middle of the night.” Clay asked, rubbing his eyes. Floyd and Branch turned to look at them, “Branch has the music strings.” Floyd responded. The 3 brothers looked at him confused, clearly nobody had told them about the strings coming back. Floyd sighed, “That’s why me and Poppy were almost late to welcome back Bruce, they came back during my music session with the ambassadors.” JD pointed at Branch, “So why does he have them?” Branch threw up his hands in defense, “I don’t!” Floyd shook his head. “Yes you do, Branch. Clearly you stuffed them into those lockets.” He reached to grab the one around his brother’s neck but Branch swatted his hand away. “STOP!” Branch yelled, he was getting pretty angry. Bruce stepped forward, “Branch, you know dangerous the strings can be. Just hand them over and we’ll take them back to Poppy.”
Branch glared at Bruce as if he’d just done something to betray him. “You guys just don’t understand!” He started to get madder and madder. “Branch, we just want to know why you have them.” Clay said, trying to calm the blue haired troll down. “Just SHUT. UP.” Branch yelled. Suddenly, his locket started to glow and pink dust started to leak from it. The dust spread towards the brothers who were standing looking at the locket in concern. Branch watched as their worried expressions turned into happy ones. They started to tell Branch that it was okay that he had the strings and that they supported him. Branch felt a rush of excitement. He walked over and grabbed 4 of the lockets, leaving one behind. He handed one to each to his brothers and they put them on. They looked so happy with the gift they just received. Suddenly, a beam emerged from their lockets and circled them. They started to go through the same transformation that Branch did the previous night.

That morning, was about to skip over to Poppy’s pod until he saw her waiting outside for him. “Hi Branch!” she exclaimed, tackling him in a hug. “Hi Poppy!” he greeted, returning the hug. They both let go; held hands and started skipping towards the village. “Are you doing the morning song with me today?” she asked. Branch smiled, “Of course I am!” He then felt a slight pain in his head. He panicked and said, "Let's speed up, we don’t wanna be late!” he skipped ahead, leaving Poppy confused. Why was Branch so happy today? She shrugged and caught up to him.

When the couple got to the mushroom stage in pop village, there was a big group of pop trolls waiting for them. Poppy walked over to the center of the stage to talk to them, whilst Branch stood at the back. “Good Morning, everyone!” she said, causing the crowd to erupt in a wave of ‘Good Mornings.’ She clasped her hands together, “There’s not much to share with you today so we’ll do the morning song and you can all get on with your days!” The pop queen pointed at one half of the group and they all responded with ‘Ahhh’s’ and when she pointed at the other half of the group they responded with ‘Mmm’s.’ Poppy then gestured for Branch to come closer to her and that’s when she started to sing.

Hmm-mmm-mmm
Woah-oh-oh-oh

She pointed at Branch to join in.

It's always a good time

He sang.

P: Woah-oh-oh-oh
B: It's always a good time

B: Woke up on the right
Side of the bed
B: What’s up with this Prince
Song inside my head?

They danced together, spinning each other and everything.

B: Hands up if you’re down
To get down tonight!

P: hmmm
B: ‘Cause it’s always a
Good Time!

Branch lifted Poppy and threw her in the air, she fell down and was caught by a group of trolls who started to move her towards the stage.

P: Good morning and good night
I wake up at twilight.
B + P: It’s gonna be alright!

When Poppy got back on the stage, Branch grabbed her arm and spun her around.

B: We don’t even have to try
It’s always a good time!

Branch looked down at the crowd and noticed they were all getting happier and happier, and that’s when he noticed his necklace glowing and a pink cloud of dust lingering around the group of trolls. Branch smiled.

Whoa, oh-oh-oh
It’s always a good time!

Whoa, oh-oh-oh
It’s always a good time!

We don’t even have to try
It’s always a good time!

The group of trolls did their end poses then disbanded to start cheering. Poppy and Branch looked down at the crowd smiling. The pop queen waved, “You all did amazing! Have a wonderful day everyone!” She announced, dismissing the crowd of trolls. Poppy turned to her boyfriend and smiled. “Branch, that was great!” she held his hand in hers. “So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?” she asked. Branch grinned, “Hmm, not much. I need to ask my bros if they want to perform at Guy Diamond’s next party. He proposed the idea to me the other day and I forgot to talk to them about it.” He explained. Poppy did a small jump of excitement, “That’s great! If you guys go through with it, I’ll totally be there to support you!” Branch gave a weak smile, he had started to feel the twinge in his head again, but it was much worse. It felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer. Poppy caught on straight away, she put her hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Branch are you alright?” she asked. Branch backed away from her. “Yeah I’m okay.” He lied. His heart was starting to speed up like it was eager to rip out of his chest. Suddenly he started to feel dizzy and his vision was blurring. And that’s when he started to pass out. Poppy’s eyes widened and she rushed to catch her fainting boyfriend.

“Branch!”