Okay. I'm probably gonna take a break now that I finished this. I just need a little time to figure out everything that's gonna happen between this and the final chapter. So far, all I got is an episode of SpongeBob.

Until then, see you soon!

Poppy had never felt so heartbroken. She was going to bring a new life into the world, and it ended up being taken away from her. Sleep wouldn't come to her, but Branch laid in bed next to her. Flower was with them, too, even though she had no idea what was going on.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Branch asked quietly, not wanting to wake Flower up.

"It was my birthday gift for Flower," she replied. "I wanted to surprise everyone, I didn't think this would happen. I'm so sorry, Branch..."

"Pops, you have nothing to be sorry about," Branch said softly. "You had no control over what happened today. And Pow's not going to get away with this. She not gonna win."

Poppy rested her head against Branch's chest. "I hope you're right..."

"She may suffer from PTSD," Ash whispered to the rest of the group as they watched through the door.

"What's that?" Cooper asked.

"When you go through something scary, it may come back to haunt you," Willow explained. "You may see or hear something that reminds you of the incident, and end up freaking out about it."

"I hope Poppy will be okay," Prince D said. "I can't imagine what she must be going through."

"This is all my fault," Delta Dawn muttered.

"Delta, it's not your fault," Barb tried to reassure her.

"No, it... it is my fault," she admitted. "If I never gave Archer that scroll, he would never have been kidnapped and Pow wouldn't have been able to translate it. I'm gonna... I'm gonna make it right. I'm gonna go out there and bring Archer back."

"You don't even know where he is," Ash pointed out.

"I have to at least try to find him," she insisted.

"I'm going with you," Willow replied. "I'm the only one powerful enough to fight against Pow."

"We're coming, too," Barb said, the three Trolls behind her nodded. "The only question is, where do we begin looking?"

Suddenly, they heard a bell ringing. Willow flew to the watchtower where Meadow Spriggs was keeping a lookout with Fuzzbert and Creek (who was sleeping on the job).

"You may want to take a look at this," Meadow said to Willow, giving her a pair of binoculars. She looked through them to find a black castle in a mountain range not too far away.

"Holy hair," she said to herself. She knew exactly what had happened.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"You've done well, Pow," the Ghost Girl said as Pow took Archer up to the highest room in the tallest tower. "Soon, Willow will come for her cousin's husband."

"And then, what?" she asked, causing Archer to raise an eyebrow.

"Then, you will face her with the full power of the Black Rock."

"Who is she talking to?" Archer muttered.

"Look, I know none of this is your fault, and I don't want to hurt you," Pow told him, breaking his black stone cuffs free. "So when Willow comes for you, don't do anything stupid."

As hopeless as it seemed, Archer knew he had to try to talk some sense into his friend.

"Pow, I understand, you're angry at Bash," he said as she sharpened the sun blade with a rock. "Believe me, I know how that feels, but you're making a mistake."

The path of hate is a dangerous track

You take one step, and it's hard to turn back

It pulls you along

And though it seems wrong, it feels right

Don't you see this path you're on leaves a permanent mark?

Feels good at first, then it slowly turns dark

With each passing day

You're further astray from the light

Suddenly, you'll lose your way and lose the thread

Lose your cool, then lose your head

Every loss is harder to excuse

Then you'll see, you'll lose your faith and lose your soul

Till you lose complete control

And realize there's nothing left to lose!

Nothing left to lose!

"Pow, trust me!" Archer pleaded. "Becoming the villain isn't-"

"Is that what you think I am?!" she said in disbelief.

The path I'm on is a path paved in black

I'm taking that road, and I'm not looking back

Each twist and each turn

Leads straight where I'm yearning to go

Yes, it's true, my path is Dark, but I see where it ends

My rivals will fall as my power ascends

Despise me, that's fine

I'm taking what's mine, even so!

Not like you, you lost your nerve, you lost the game

But you and I, we're not the same

I'm not lost, this fate was mine to choose

So, I chose to lose my doubts and lose my chains

Lose each weakness that remains

Now that I have nothing left to lose!

Nothing left to lose!

Noticing a piece of the old city walls with an image Bash holding a microphone painted on it, she attempted to destroy it with the sun blade, but Archer stopped her.

You have so much to hold onto

I only want my rightful dues!

Listen, please! You've lost your grip and lost your mind!

Lose? I'm not gonna lose!

All's not lost, don't be so blind!

I refuse!

Cut your losses, drop the IOUs!

I refuse!

Oh, choose!

I lose no tears and lose no sleep

What I want, I'll take and keep!

It's time for you to choose!

You can stop

The turning of the screws

No matter what Archer said, Pow refused to listen to him and encased him in a stone cage shaped like a tumbleweed.

"You'll stay in that cage until this is done," she told him. "And just in case you think of escaping..."

Suddenly, Pow stretched the stones on the balcony to hold the ball outside of the tower, the ground underneath was probably hundreds of feet below. With a snap of her fingers, Pow summoned a dagger to destroy the painting of Bash.

Now, I have nothing left to lose...

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The following morning, Willow, Ash, Barb, Cooper, Prince D, Delta Dawn, and Debbie arrived a Pow's Fortress. It was much bigger than the castle at Bergen Town, and made of the same stone as the daggers.

"Sure, it's big enough, but look at the location!" Barb joked. Ash couldn't resist laughing. Willow, however, was more focused on the graffiti on the pieces of wall.

"Pow is sending a message," she said. "Everything that once belonged to Bash will belong to her."

"The message I'm getting is 'Good luck getting inside,'" Cooper replied.

"I don't see any doors," Delta Dawn pointed out. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"I'd like to see you try," Pow said to herself, watching the six Trolls from above.

"Let them in," the Ghost Girl ordered.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Defeating her isn't enough," she explained. "You must take away who she is. Force her to fight you. Break her spirit. You've held back long enough. Let her in, and finish this now."

Pow sighed. "Fine."

"Maybe if we could dig our way through the snow to get inside?" Prince D suggested.

"No, we would still have to deal with the rocky mountain," Delta Dawn disagreed. "Besides, this thing is made of indestructible material. Pow most likely would've made the floor the same way."

Suddenly, a bridge formed and led to an entrance that wasn't open before.

"Well, that's strangely convenient," Ash pointed out. "Like she wants us to come inside."

"Who cares? Let's go in!" Barb said, and ran across the bridge and into Pow's Fortress with Debbie following.

"Barb, wait!" Willow warned, going after her. The rest of the group decided to follow.

"Which way do we go?" Prince D asked as they came across multiple passages.

Willow thought about this for a second, and finally said, "Okay. Cooper, D, you go that way. Barb and Debbie, that way. Delta, to the far right. Ash, you and I will go this way."

"What do we get if we win?" Cooper asked excitedly.

Willow rolled her eyes. "A fedora signed by Nova Swift."

"Ready, set, go!" Cooper laughed, running up his stairs.

"Wait for me!" Prince D shouted, following his twin brother.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Archer woke up to a strange sound. But not quite as strange as where he found himself to be.

"Huh?! What the- Where-Where am I?!" he exclaimed. He was no longer in the cage, but standing on a floating rock. He was surrounded by floating debris made up of stone, broken buildings, and plants. One of them was a tree with no leaves, and he noticed a pale face with silver wavy hair fading onto it. "Wha- Wait! Where am I?! Who are you?!"

"A friend... Or, at least I'd like to be," she answered. The tree floated away, but the Ghost Girl just floated onto Archer's rock. "There is a way to save Pow. The Sun incantation. Sol's Light must use it against the Black Rock's power."

"But there is no Sun incantation," Archer argued, holding up the scroll. "It's not on the scroll!"

"Isn't there?" she teased, turning her head one hundred eighty degrees to face him with a menacing grin. "You just need to know how to look. You need to use the Sun to see the Sun."

"'Use the Sun to see the Su-' Wait, I don't understand!" Archer said, confused. Suddenly, his rock was set on fire! He backed away from the flames, but found himself on the edge.

"Use the Sun to see the Sun," the Ghost Girl repeated, her giant head hovering over the flames. Terrified, Archer backed away even further and fell into the black nothing...

Archer woke up to a start. He found himself back in his stone prison.

"That was a dream. Oh, why couldn't this be a dream?" he asked himself. Curious, he pulled the scroll out from his pocket and looked at it. "'Use the Sun to see the Sun?'"

The Ghost Girl watched him try to figure it out with an eager look on her face.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Maybe Ash was right," Barb said. "We could be walking into a trap. Hmm... Debbie, do you think you can find Pow without being seen?"

Debbie squeaked and gave her a nod. Barb gave the bat a kiss and watched as she flew up the stairs. Hopefully, the others would be just as careful.

"This place is shiny!" Cooper pointed out. "Reminds me of Gem Day!"

"What's a Gem Day?" Prince D asked.

"It's a holiday the Pop Trolls celebrate," he explained. "When we're first born, a piece of our hair is cut, planted in some dirt, and over the years, it feeds off of our joy and happiness until it grows into a gem. Usually, it happens when we're kids, but it took Branch years to get his. Then Poppy lost it, found it, and shattered it to a million pieces. But he got a new one because he felt so happy after some of us offered him our gems."

"Sounds like quite the shindig," a voice said. The Funk twins found Delta Dawn standing right in front of them.

"Delta, where'd you come from?" Cooper wondered.

"Apparently, the same tunnel you went into," she replied. "This tunnel must go in a loop. Bad architecture, if you ask me."

"Well, let's go back to the entrance and through one of the other tunnels," Prince D suggested.

"But which way do we go?" Cooper asked.

"Sweetie, both directions go to the same place," Delta pointed out.

Elsewhere, Debbie found Pow's throne room. The moment Pow showed up, she hid behind one of the daggers. She tried sneaking around, from one dagger to another, but eventually, Pow approached one and lowered it, revealing the beady-eyed bat behind it. Pow smirked and grabbed her.

"This is taking too long," Willow said. "I'm flying to the top."

"Willow, wait," Ash pleaded. "What if she tries to hurt you? You saw what she did to Poppy."

"I know, but I have to at least try," Willow replied. "Besides, I made a promise to someone, and if I'm gonna keep it, I have to believe she'll come around."

"And if you believe it, then so do I."

At the tallest tower, Archer was still trying to find the Sun incantation, but still couldn't figure out what that Ghost Girl meant. Not to mention, a blizzard was coming.

"Ugh! 'Use the Sun to see the Sun...' What does that even mean?!" he groaned, throwing it aside. Then, he noticed a beam of sunlight shining through an icicle and onto the scroll. Once the clouds blocked the Sun, Archer finally understood. "That's it! The words are hidden, and it needs a beam of sunlight to reveal the incantation!"

❤️☀️🧡🌙💛☀️💚🌙💙☀️💜🌙

Willow and Ash, meanwhile, made it to the tallest tower. They didn't know what to expect, however.

"Where is she?" Willow whispered.

"I don't know, but I found Archer," Ash replied, pointing out a window. "You okay, dude?!"

"More than okay!" he answered. "I found the Sun incantation, it was hidden with a special ink. The only problem is I need a beam of concentrated sunlight to see it. I tried using an icicle, but it's not strong enough! I need something else, like a prism, or a gem!"

"How about a lens?" Ash suggested, holding up her reading glasses.

"Perfect!"

"Okay, you help him," Willow said, "I'm gonna look for Pow."

"Just be careful," Ash warned, kissing her cheek. As Willow headed back inside, Ash carefully began crossing the bridge to Archer's cage.

"Pow! I'm calling you out!" Willow shouted as she entered the throne room. "Pow!"

"Psst! Willow!" Barb whispered. Willow found her hiding behind some daggers. "Have you seen Debbie?"

"No, why?"

"I sent her up the rest of the way, but haven't heard from her," she explained.

"Debbie, are you here?" Willow called out. Suddenly, a bunch of daggers sprouted up from the same spot in a half circle, and at the center of it was Pow, holding Debbie in a stone cage.

"Yeah, she's here," she answered, freeing Debbie. The white bat flew up to Barb for a hug.

"It's okay, Mama's here," Barb said softly, holding Debbie to her face.

"You made a mistake coming here," Pow pointed out to Willow.

"Pow, I am not leaving this castle until this is resolved," Willow said in defiance. With that, Pow sealed off every possible exit for the two Trolls.

"Then I guess you're not leaving," Pow replied. "You do realize I have complete control over the daggers now, and you know what this castle is made of..."

"Bring it on!" Barb shouted. "Snowcone can handle you!"

"Show her how powerful you have become," the Ghost Girl ordered.

"No, Barb," Willow replied. "I'm not going to fight her."

"Then, this will be very easy," Pow said, using the Black Rock to create a pillar underneath Willow's feet. But just before she could be slammed into the ceiling, Willow formed a dome around her body with her hair and used it as a shield, cracking the pillar. She fell back to the floor on her feet.

"Maybe not as easy as you think."

"Now, that's more like it," Pow said with a smirk. "But there are some things a Troll's hair can't block."

At that moment, the floor beneath Willow's feet crumbled, and she fell into a hole. Luckily, she caught a dagger before falling all the way down.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Okay, you can do this," Ash said to herself. "Just pretend you're on a balance beam... hundreds of feet from the ground."

"Hurry, the storm's getting closer!" Archer shouted. "Soon, it'll block out the Sun completely! Ash, come on!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she yelled, nearly losing her balance. "Without dying."

Finally, Ash made it to Archer. She handed him her glasses, and he used it to catch the sunlight.

"It's working!" he said. "Do you have any paper?"

Ash checked her hair and found a copy of one of her favorite novels.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this," she muttered, and ripped out a mostly blank page, handing it to Archer. He wrote down the incantation, until the wind blew the scroll away.

"I got it!" Archer said happily.

"I certainly hope so," Ash replied. "Now, how are we gonna get back in the castle?"

Elsewhere, Cooper, Prince D, and Delta Dawn were just as lost as before.

"Maybe be the best way to go up is to go down," Cooper suggested.

"What does that even mean?" Delta asked.

"I don't know, but I liked the way it sounded," Cooper admitted.

"Guys!" Prince D interrupted. "Do you hear something?"

"Hear what?" Cooper wondered.

"No, I hear it, too," Delta Dawn replied. "It sounds like a cave in. We gotta follow it. Come on!"

As the Country Troll ran up the stairs, the Funk twins followed her. Hopefully, the sound will lead them to Pow and Archer.

Back in the throne room, Willow opened up her wings and flew back up the hole.

"Sorry, Pow," she said, "but you're not gonna get rid of me that easily."

Pow didn't respond, she just launched a dagger onto Willow and tried to throw her in a spiky pit, but Willow hovered over it.

"Pow, look at me!" she pleaded. "This isn't who you are!"

"Wrong!" Pow argued. "I finally know who I am!"

Suddenly, Willow found herself being chased by multiple daggers. When she couldn't outrun them, she flew, but one of them hit her wing, causing it to bleed, and six more pinned her to the wall.

"Willow!" Barb exclaimed, running to her, but Pow used the daggers to block her. The Ghost Girl watched with a satisfied look on her baby blue face.

"I will never stop trying to get through to you," Willow said in defiance. "I won't fight you, I won't justify your hatred, and there's nothing you can do to change that! Nothing!"

Pow laughed. "There isn't? 'Cause I kinda think there is."

Outside of the tallest tower, Ash and Archer noticed a giant hand made of the daggers reached up to them and broke of the cage, with Ash holding on.

"This is bad," Archer whimpered.

"Yeah, you think?" Ash said sarcastically. They found themselves being pulled into the throne room.

"Welcome back, Kaboom," Pow said teasingly. "And Princess, let me help you out."

Pow used the daggers to trap Ash and they squeezed her body tight.

"Hey! That's my sister, you maniac!" Barb yelled as Pow approached Ash.

"You won't fight me, but will you fight... for her?"

"Pow, leave her alone!" Willow shouted.

"Break her spirit!" the Ghost Girl commanded.

"Consider this a late birthday present for Princess Flower," Pow said, making the daggers squeeze Ash tighter.

"You can't give in to her!" Ash groaned, struggling to breathe. "Don't do anything she says!"

"Willow!" Archer shouted, holding up the book page. "I have the Sun incantation! You have to use it!"

"Get it, Debbie!" Barb told her bat, who flew through the daggers. Debbie grabbed the paper and held it up in front of Willow's face.

"Sun incantation?" Pow wondered. "What is he talking about?!"

"Never mind that!" the Ghost Girl spat. "You are more powerful! Finish this!"

Pow went over the Moon incantation again, causing more daggers to sprout up.

"Willow, use it!" Archer begged. Willow nodded and read it aloud.

Power of the Sun

Gift me with your Light

Shine into the Dark

Restore our fading sight

With that, Willow's rainbow hair began to glow, a bright, white light shone through her wings and large eyes, and the pink heart on her black shirt flashed with every heartbeat.

Rise into the dawn

Blazing star so bright

As Willow began to float in the air, she let out a powerful blast that destroyed most of the throne room. The Ghost Girl's body changed color for a second as she watched with a menacing grin.

"Impossible!" Pow shouted.

Burn away the strife

Let my hope ignite

Let hope ignite

Pow watched in disbelief as Willow floated closer to her.

"Let her go, Pow!" the teenage Troll ordered.

"You can't tell me what to do!" she growled, attacking her with the daggers.

"I said, let her go!" Willow yelled, letting out another blast that made them all crumble. Pow tried again, but Willow just raised her hand and they shattered to pieces. None of them noticed a strange black portal opening up or the Ghost Girl floating into it, laughing. "Let her go!"

With a smirk forming across her blue lips and gapped teeth, Pow gave Willow her all, but the young Pop Troll let out one more giant blast of energy. This time, it destroyed the entire top half of the castle, a piece of the Black Rock broke off, and destroyed Ash, Barb, and Archer's confinements. Pow and Archer were knocked off and fell towards the ground, but Pow created a giant dagger to catch herself. Once her body stopped glowing, Willow collapsed.

"Boys, just because we're not there yet doesn't mean we're not getting there eventually," Delta Dawn tried to reassure the princes. But suddenly, they all heard screaming, and Cooper caught Archer just before he could hit the solid floor.

"I got Archer!" Cooper cheered. "I won the Nova Swift fedora!"

Willow struggled to get back on her feet. She couldn't believe what she just did.

"I'm gonna feel that in the morning," a familiar voice groaned. Willow turned around to find her girlfriend rubbing her neck.

"Ash!" she exclaimed, running to her. "Are you okay?!"

"I'll be fine," she reassured her, and noticed her injured wing. "You, on the other hand..."

"Will, that was awesome!" Barb shouted. "I can't believe you actually did that!"

"I can," Ash said softly, hugging Willow. Acting as a third wheel, Barb decided to join in.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Well, Willow, you're officially flightless..." Doctor Moonbloom began, "... for a couple of weeks. Until then, you can't do anything with that wing. Not even pull it back into your back."

"Thanks, Doc," Willow replied, and left the clinic. She noticed Poppy and Branch and, although she knew it was rude to eavesdrop, turned herself invisible to listen to them talk.

"I can't tell Flower what happened," Poppy told him. "It would crush her. But what am I supposed to give her?"

"Flower doesn't care what you give her," Branch reassured her, "only that it comes from you. And who knows? Maybe when we're done saving the world, we can try again."

"Okay," Poppy agreed. "There's one more thing. I want to be queen again, but I may still need your help."

"Don't worry, I'll always be here for you," Branch said softly, kissing her forehead.

"Hey, guys," Willow said, turning visible again. "Just thought I'd let you know, Flower still hasn't gotten to blow out her candles. And, this isn't as fancy as the one my cousin made, but I taste tested it, and it should be just as good."

Willow held out a small ladybug cake with two candles for antenna, and Poppy took it with a smile.

"Thank you, Will," she said gratefully. "Let's go get her."

While Poppy and Branch left, Willow heard a rustle in the bushes. She noticed a familiar somebody approaching her, and didn't even bother setting up any defenses against him.

"Hey, Willow," Bash greeted uneasily. "I thought a lot about what you said, and... I will do anything to get Pow back. She means everything to me."

Willow smiled. "I will help you, then. We all will."

"Really?" he asked, confused. "But Queen Poppy and Branch-"

"- will understand," she finished. "We're Trolls, we're very forgiving to those who don't deserve it. Come on, let's go."

With a hopeful smile, Bash followed Willow into Pop Village.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Back at Pow's Fortress, she climbed back up to what was left of her throne room and assessed the damage. She could rebuild it with the Moon incantation, but then noticed a shard of the Black Rock on the floor. The gem itself sparked as Pow placed her fingers on it.

Suddenly, Pow saw a portal open up, and out stepped the Ghost Girl, but she was no longer a ghost. Her silver, flowing hair was now black and messy, her blue skin much darker, her teeth were now serrated, and her pink eyes were now bright red.

"Ah, finally," she sighed. "The clash of Sun and Moon has released me from my empty prison. It's good to be back."

END OF PART TWO