Bash managed to squeeze his way out of the stone cage and attempted to run after the girl he loved... only to find messy orange hair pulling him back.

“What do you think should we do with him?" Ash asked her sister as he squirmed.

“Let's see, kidnapping and threatening a baby princess, attempting to destroy the world..." Barb thought about the perfect punishment for this jerk, and it hit her. “Hey, Brawl! Wanna kick somebody's butt?!"

“Sounds a little too good for him, but okay," Brawl replied, and cracked his knuckles.

“No, wait!" Bash pleaded, but it was futile. Brawl pulled his fist back and...

“Guys, we can't worry about him now!" Prince D argued. “If Poppy doesn't get treated, she's probably not gonna make it!"

“Right," Barb agreed. Ash let the Party Crasher go so Brawl could hold him by the back of his jacket. “Go see if there are any other Hippogriffs that can still fly, we have to get her out of here."

“Willow and I should stay here to look after the rest of the flock until Riff comes back," Ash suggested. Barb nodded and left with the rest of the Trolls. Ash noticed Willow sitting alone on the broken bridge facing downward and decided to join her.

Willow took a brief look at her girlfriend, then back down into the ravine.

“What a way to celebrate our first month together, right?" Ash joked, but Willow didn't even giggle. “I mean, crazy adventure, trying to save the world... Just like when we first met."

“Except we didn't save anyone," Willow muttered. “Things just got worse."

“Will, this isn't over," Ash assured her. “We're gonna find Pow and destroy the Black Rock before she does any more damage."

“I shouldn't have been afraid of Bash," Willow said. “I'm more powerful than him, I could've just saved Flower. This whole mess was my fault."

“Willow, listen to me," Ash said, turning Willow's head to her. “None of this was your fault. I'm scared, too, that once you destroy the Black Rock, we may never see each other again. And you're the most important Troll in my life right now. If it wasn't for you, I probably never would've found out I was Alternative. You helped me realize who I am and not what I was supposed to be. I don't want that to go away. We all fear the unknown. What matters is whether or not we face it."

Willow felt a little better, but was still feeling lost. Ash just pulled her close and let her rest her head on her chest. The two looked up at the night sky as the rest of their team rode off on Hippogriffs, with Branch holding Poppy in his arms.

“Think she'll be okay?" a soft voice whispered.

“I don't know, Ari," another replied. Willow and Ash turned around to find all eleven bounty hunters standing right behind them.

“Oh, you guys are still here?" Willow said rudely.

“Nein, I was just leaving," Dickory claimed, but Hickory grabbed one of the straps on his pants before he could go.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Much to Riff's surprise, Hippogriffs were really fast flyers. It only took him till early in the morning to arrive in Pop Village. He landed by the Pet 'N' Vet just as Milton Moss arrived to take care of his critters.

“Excuse me?" Riff called out as his Hippogriff trotted up to the critternarian. “Hi. Are you Milton Moss?"

“Why yes, I am," he answered. “Is your critter having any problems?"

“No, but the rest of her flock is," Riff explained. “They live in a place called Callisto's Sanctuary, and were all attacked with paint balls. A lot of them are hurt really bad, and Queen Poppy said you can help."

“Say no more!" Milton replied, running inside and back out with a first aid kit. He mounted on the Hippogriff and Riff gave her the signal to fly off. “This is quite a creature."

“Yeah, Ash said she's called a Hippogriff," Riff explained. “They're supposed to be myths, though. I don't know how they can be real."

“Look at how she's using her feathers to track the wind currents," Milton pointed out. “That way, she can fly fast as possible without tiring herself out as easy."

Milton was right, the trip back seemed a lot shorter than when leaving. The Hippogriff dropped them off to where the wounded were resting, and those who weren't severely hurt were catching fish for them.

“These poor little guys!" Milton exclaimed, running up to the injured creatures. “Don't worry, Milton Moss is here to help you."

“Riff, you're back early!" Ash exclaimed. “You're not gonna believe what happened."

“That depends, what happened?" Riff asked.

“The Party Crashers kidnapped Flower and threatened to shoot her with paint balls if I didn't take them to the gateway, so I did," Willow began. “But only three of them went with me."

“Most of them were driven away by Branch," Tresillo continued. “He went crazy and fought them all off."

“His eyes glowed red, he had glowing tattoos, it was creepy," Wani shuddered. “Like he was possessed."

“Then, he went through the gateway and began fighting Bash, Pow, and Slamm-Oh," Willow added. “Midnight told me he had a vision about someone betraying either the Trolls or Party Crashers before we left. I began to think it was Branch, after what was happening to him, so I froze him."

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Ash interrupted. “You knew something like this would happen, and didn't tell anyone?"

Willow sighed. “I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to worry. Especially since Cooper has a long history of freaking out."

“You could've at least told me, I would've tried to help," Ash pointed out.

“Uh, guys?" Riff said, stopping their argument. “What happened after that?"

“Branch wasn't the traitor," Willow answered. “It was a Party Crasher named Pow. She stole the Black Rock and absorbed its power. Now, she has control of the daggers, and Poppy was hurt really bad."

“The others took her back to Pop Village," Ash said. “She was hit in the back of the head, there might be brain damage."

“What can we do?" Riff asked.

“Milton!" Ash called out. “Do you mind if we leave you here?"

“No worries," he replied. “I called for a rescue team to come help. We should only be here for a few weeks."

“What about the Pet 'N' Vet?" Willow asked.

“I got an assistant to take my place there," said Milton. “Ginger Jo, very sweet girl."

“I guess we're leaving," Riff decided, and whistled for the blue and yellow Hippogriff, who had her beak stuffed with fish. “I don't think Windstream can carry more than two Trolls. Or something."

“Good, because I'm not getting on that thing!" Dickory said. Windstream just hissed at him. Willow created a lightning strike and hit a tree, causing it to fall down across the ravine.

“You can walk," Willow assured him with a smirk. “What about you guys?"

“Don't worry about us, just go make sure Poppy's okay," Hickory replied.

With that, Windstream let Riff, Willow, and Ash onto her back and flew off to Pop Village.

“Willow, you have some of your hair stuck to your shirt," Riff pointed out. She pulled the hair off and sniffed it.

“It's not mine, it's Flower's," Willow corrected. “Must've fallen out of her little head when I held her."

“Hey, do you mind if I take it?" Riff asked. “I just wanna figure something out."

“No problem," Willow replied. “What are you trying to figure out?"

“I'll explain it later."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“She's not gonna make it!" Dr. Moonbloom declared. “In time for brunch. I don't know why she swallowed a stoutberry whole, of all the darned things."

“I warned her, but she wouldn't listen," Chenille said, feeling annoyed. Soon enough, the berry was sent flying out of Satin's throat.

“Finally, I can breathe!" Satin exclaimed. “Thank you, Doc!"

“Next!" Dr. Moonbloom called out.

“Poppy 911!" Smidge shouted, bursting the door open as Branch carried the Pop queen inside the pod.

“She's losing blood!" he said worriedly. “You gotta help her!"

“You had me at Poppy 911!" Dr. Moonbloom replied, and had her placed on a bed. “I'll need some space, if I'm gonna operate on her."

“We understand," Branch said. But was cut off by the sound of someone bursting through the door.

“Mommy!"

“Kid, wait!" Barb exclaimed, running after Flower. But she didn't listen. She tried to jump onto the bed, but barely climbed up halfway before Branch grabbed her.

“That's my mommy!" Flower cried out. “I want my mommy!"

“Sorry, sprout," Branch apologized to his daughter. “Mommy needs help right now. All we can do is hope for the best."

“I'll let you know when we're done," Dr. Moonbloom said, and while Barb and Smidge left the room, Branch stayed behind for a brief moment.

“Doctor, do you validate for Hippogriffs?" he asked, only to be dragged out by Smidge.

“This is my fault," Flower sobbed. “Why did I have that dweam?"

“Dream, what dream?" Smidge asked.

“Fwom the other night," Flower answered. “I dweamt Mommy fell asweep. She couldn't wake up. And when she did... she was gone."

“You think she's a Stargazer, like Midnight said?" Barb whispered to Branch as Flower cried in his arms.

“How can someone go away by waking up?" Branch replied, and turned to Flower. “Sprout, look at Daddy. This wasn't your fault, it was nobody's fault. But I am gonna have to have a talk with Hickory. A very mean lady manipulated her friends and hurt Mommy. She's the bad guy."

“She won't come back, will she?" Flower asked nervously.

“I don't know, sweetie," Branch admitted. “I don't know."

Suddenly, they all heard a loud braying and found Windstream landing on a nearby tree branch.

“Well, we're back," Ash announced as Willow climbed off. “Milton had a team sent to the Sanctuary to help him with the flock."

“Yeah, I helped them prepare," Smidge said, sighing dreamily. “Anything for my Milton."

“Well, I better get back to Volcano Rock City," Barb decided, and mounted on Windstream with Ash and Riff.

“Love you, babe," Willow told Ash, kissing her cheek.

“Love you, too," Ash replied. With that, Windstream took off.

“How's Poppy?" Willow asked Branch as the other Hippogriffs went home.

“She lost a lot of blood," Branch explained. “But she's in the operating room right now."

“Think she'll be okay?"

“I don't know," Branch replied. “It looked like she got brain damage, and if she does... things may never be the same again."

Flower let out a few sniffles. “I want my mommy..."

“I need to take Flower to the bunker," Branch said. “She's shaken up."

Willow nodded in agreement and flew off as Branch took Flower home.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“How long have I been in solitary, warden?" Bash called out as he sat alone in a prison cell.

“About an hour," Midnight replied, looking at his watch as he read a magazine.

“And how long before I'm eligible for parole?"

“With good behavior? Eh... about ten years."

Bash groaned. “My brother told me about a fun dungeon, why couldn't you throw me in there?"

“Look, man," he said, “I take orders from Queen Barb, she told me to keep you here until she comes back. You'll be lucky if she doesn't let Brawl kick your butt."

“This is not my day," Bash sighed. “I'm nearly strangled to death, the girl I like betrays me, and I'm probably gonna get beat up!"

Midnight was curious. “Did you tell her you like her?"

“Well I... No," he admitted. “I mean, I was going to, but..."

“I don't know what happened last night," Midnight said, “but listen to me. Only someone whose heart is burning with the fires of hatred can hold the Black Rock. I'm not saying she doesn't return your feelings, but she does seem angry at you. Maybe this would've been avoided if you told her sooner."

Bash looked down in thought. “I hadn't thought of it like that."

“Hey, man," Barb greeted her cousin, heading inside with Ash and Riff.

“Uh, Midnight, now that Pow has the Black Rock, how is Willow going to destroy it?" Riff asked.

“Just because someone else has it doesn't mean Willow is less capable of destroying it," Midnight assured him. “But it complicates matters. Pow may eventually try to destroy Willow first, if she's willing to keep her power."

“Yeah, I learned all I knew about finding it from her," Bash explained. “I probably should've asked her how she knew."

“You don't get to talk!" Barb spat, and turned to the others. “We'll worry about Pow later, let's teach this guy a lesson."

“I'll get Brawl," Midnight said, heading out of the room.

“We could feed him to Lava Lizards after his butt gets kicked," Riff suggested. Lava Lizards were giant, ugly creatures that would eat anything in sight. Although terrifying, the Rock Trolls learned to train them to perform special tasks, including pest control.

“Hold on," Ash interrupted. “Maybe we don't have to do anything. I mean, the rest of the Party Crashers ran off. He's completely defenseless. Besides, Pow might come back someday. He could be helpful when necessary."

“What are you saying, sis?" Barb asked.

“Maybe we can let him go with a warning, for now," Ash explained. “But if he does do anything screwy again, it'll be the Lava Lizards."

Barb thought about this for a moment before saying, “I must be out of my mind."

Riff lifted his hat up slightly in shock. “Wait, we're not really...?"

“She's still out there, and he knows her," Barb replied, unlocking the cell door. “If anyone can help us stop her, it's him."

“I just want Pow back," Bash insisted. “But I'm not helping any Trolls."

“We'll see about that," Ash said, and watched as the Party Crasher climbed out a window.

At that moment, the door was kicked down by Brawl and pounded his fist.

“It's butt-kicking time!" he announced with a sinister glare.

“There's no need, we let him go," Barb informed him.

“I gotta kick somebody's butt," Brawl said, and turned to Riff with a smirk.

❤️☀️🧡🌙💛☀️💚🌙💙☀️💜

Poppy woke up not knowing where she was, let alone who she was. She tried to, but couldn't recall anything before this moment. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, and found a bandage wrapped around her head. She looked around the room, there were flowers, balloons, candy, and stuffed animals surrounding her bed. On the wall was a banner that read “Get Well, Queen Poppy!"

“Hello?" she called out. No one answered. On the table next to her was a card with butterflies drawn on it. Poppy picked it up and examined it. The butterflies didn't look neat, but the writing was rather well done. Like a kid drew it and had a grown up do the writing.

“‘Get well Mommy," she read the card aloud. “Love, Flower and Daddy.'"

Poppy was confused. She had a daughter? Who was the father? She looked at her hand, there was no ring. Desperate for answers, she got out of bed, and groaned in pain at the sharp feeling in the back of her head. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise. It was coming from the flowers. She pushed some of them aside and found something pink and fluffy. Poppy screamed as it opened one blue eye.

“Hey, Poppy!" he greeted. “I must've fallen asleep!"

“Oh, uh, no worries," Poppy said nervously. “Who are you?"

“I'm Cooper, silly!" he answered. “We've known each other for years! Oh, and Branch said to give you this."

“Who's Branch?" Poppy asked, taking a box from Cooper. Inside was a note and a silver necklace with a beautiful moonstone.

This might not be the perfect gift, given what happened, but it serves as a symbol.

The Moon can't be seen without the Sun's light, and you are the Troll who gives me light. Happy One-month-iversary.

Love, Branch

“Branch is your boyfriend!" Cooper replied. “You've been out for a week, he and Flower are worried about you."

“Oh," Poppy muttered. “Can you bring him here? I need to ask him a few questions."

“You got it!" Cooper agreed, and ran out of the room. Poppy returned to bed and hugged her knees.

Meanwhile, Branch and Willow were playing a game of chess while Flower and Crystal, Willow's baby sister, were playing with a animal sound game.

“What do Puffwoes say?" Flower asked Crystal rhetorically. This should be easy.

“Moo!" Crystal answered. Flower shook her head and pressed the Puffalo button.

“Baa!"

“You think Poppy's gonna be okay?" Willow asked as she moved one of her pieces.

“I don't know, Will," Branch replied, making a move. “I haven't heard any news from Dr Moonbloom since the brain scan. She's probably in a coma, it's been a week since it happened."

“Yeah, her skull's been fractured, and she suffered a lot of brain damage," Willow pointed out. “If she had, there'd a huge freak out."

“The village is worried enough about what could be wrong with her," Branch said. “Let's not tell them how bad it is right away."

“I was saying Poppy would freak out," Willow corrected. “For all we know, she might have hallucinations of you looking less pudgy."

Branch huffed as he moved a chess piece. “Willow, I have news for you. I may not have a slim figure, but at least I can lift heavy objects without using magic!"

“And I have news for you," Willow said. “Your king's exposed. Checkmate!"

“Hey, Branch!" Cooper shouted. “Poppy wants to ask you a few questions!"

“You mean, she's awake?!" Branch exclaimed. Cooper nodded and Branch picked up Flower. “Come on, sprout, let's go see Mommy!"

“Yay, Mommy!" Flower cheered as her father ran to the hospital pod. Willow and Crystal glanced at each other before following.

Inside, Poppy looked at a scrapbook of herself with eight other Trolls. One of them was Cooper, there was another that looked just like him, and she assumed the other two long-necked Trolls were their parents. She then looked at the four other Trolls. One had a mohawk, another had four hooves, another had tiny golden wings, and the last Troll had a fishlike body that glowed many colors.

“Poppy?" a voice said calmly. Poppy looked up to find a Troll wearing a leaf vest and patched shorts.

“Branch?" she asked nervously. In his arms was a toddler who had her purple hair tied up with a pink ribbon. “And Flower?"

“Mommy!" Flower said happily. Branch set her on the bed so she could hug her. “I missed you!"

“Are you okay?" Branch asked Poppy, kissing her forehead.

“I don't know," Poppy admitted and slowly hugged Flower back. “You're quite the hugger, aren't you, kiddo?"

“I wormed fwom the best!" Flower said, looking up at her mom.

Poppy was confused. “And the best would be?"

“You, Mommy!" Flower answered. Branch silently hoped this wasn't what he thought it was.

“I'm here!" Willow shouted, Crystal sitting in her hair. “You okay, Pops?"

“Hey, Willow," Branch said, giving Flower to her. “Can you and Crystal to play with Flower a little longer? I need to talk to Poppy for a bit."

“Oh, I see," Willow replied. “I won't say it in front of the kids, but I see."

When Willow left with the two little girls, Branch sat on a chair next to Poppy. “Pops, do you remember when our daughter's birthday is?"

“Our daughter?" Poppy repeated in shock. “Your note said we've only been together for a month. How do we have a daughter already?!"

“You don't remember, do you?"

Poppy sighed. “How can I? I don't even remember who I am."

Branch held Poppy in his arms as she began crying.

“Hey, don't worry," he said soothingly. “I'm sure someday, you'll remember."

“Can you help me?" Poppy asked. “I want to remember."

“Of course I'll help you," Branch assured her. “I love you."

Poppy didn't respond, but Branch understood. He just had to be patient.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“What do you mean, she can't remember anything?" King Trollex asked. All of the leaders were gathered together just outside of Pop Village. But Poppy was absent. Instead, Branch and Willow took her place.

“Poppy took a really bad blow in the head," Branch explained. “We should all be lucky it didn't kill her, but it did cause amnesia. Fortunately, most of her memory has a chance of returning eventually, but until that can happen, Willow and I are going to take her place running Pop Village."

“Me?! Why me?!" Willow exclaimed.

“You're just as social as Poppy," Branch answered. “You can do the things I can't."

“But no one liked me until I met Poppy!" Willow protested. “How can I be social when no one likes me?!"

“Do it, and I'll wear that muumuu for a month," Branch whispered.

“Done."

“So someone has control over an evil magic that could destroy us all?" Delta Dawn asked nervously. “What do y'all expect us to do about it?"

“We'll just have to hope Willow destroys the Black Rock before anyone else gets hurt," Ash explained. “I don't think this is the last we've seen of Pow."

Yeah, last time Branch had to take over as queen was in the Switcher-Ruby episode, and we all know how that ended. Naturally, he's got someone to help this time. And yes, King Peppy will give them some tips.

The next few chapters will mostly be about random things, until we get to Flower's second birthday, of course. But along the way, Pow will learn to control her new powers and Branch will learn a few family secrets.

Until then, rock on. 🤘