It has been a dark time for all of Trolldom. Willow, a teenage Pop Troll who's Half-Rattlecobra and possesses many magical powers, carries the Light of Sol, child of the Sun, and is destined to use it to destroy the Black Rock, a powerful gem that was created by Sol's ex-girlfriend, Callisto, and has poisoned the Earth with evil magic.

Unfortunately, Willow's destiny was stolen by Pow, a Party Crasher who went rogue while being manipulated by Callisto herself, and claimed the Black Rock's power as her own. Callisto taught Pow how to do everything she did before the Moon banished her into an empty void, and a fight between Pow and Willow ended up freeing her.

Now, Pow has claimed all six Troll lands as her Dark kingdom, all of Callisto's followers are under her control, and it's only a matter of time before the Dark Princess herself reclaims our world as her own...

In the Valley of Serenity, Poppy planted a piece of her daughter's hair in a pot of fresh soil. Flower's Troll Gem was destroyed when Pow attacked Pop Village the day before, and her Gem Day ceremony was abruptly cancelled.

“A new one will gwow, wight?" Flower asked.

“Eventually," Poppy answered. “Just remember to keep your chin up and feed it lots of joy."

“What would weawwy makes me joyful is if all this badness went away," Flower muttered. As long as whatever this was kept happening, how could anyone be happy?

“We are in serious trouble," Branch said as Riff slightly lifted his beanie up. Watching the sunrise with them were Barb, Ash, Midnight, King Trollex, and Creek.

“Yes," Midnight agreed. “A Dark shadow has just been cast."

“You sure you're not just referencing the upcoming eclipse?" Riff asked, only to have his face pulled so close to Barb's their noses were smushed together.

“There's an eclipse coming?!" she exclaimed in panic. “When?!"

“Uh... later today, or something," he said nervously.

“It's gonna be directly over Volcano Rock City," Ash added. “Why do you ask?"

Before answering, Barb let go of Riff, and whispered something in Ash's ear.

“Cousins, what's going on?" Midnight asked.

“Okay, I'll tell them," Ash decided, and turned to the rest of the group. “You guys have probably heard rumors about Callisto returning to Earth. Well, time to put those rumors to rest... They are true."

The men gasped in shock.

Barb nodded. “After the attack at the Museum of Celestial History, she told me that an eclipse was coming, and all Trolls will perish once it does."

“Well, that's it!" Creek said, exasperated. “We're all going to die!"

“Creek..." Branch snarled, his eyes flickering red.

“No, Creek is right," Midnight said. “This is the beginning of the end."

“Not yet, it isn't," King Trollex said, feeling determined. The others looked at him in confusion. “Queen Barb, what did the crazy guy in that video game say?"

“Uh, ‘Put my assistant in a computer?'"

Trollex shook his head. “Before that."

“Um... ‘Do not get covered in the gel?'"

“Too far back."

“‘When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade?'" she guessed one more time.

“Exactly!" King Trollex replied, and stood on a rock so everyone else would hear. “We're not taking these lemons! We're gonna go back, help Willow destroy the Black Rock, and bring down Pow, Callisto, and their Dark army! And they'll probably kill us because they're extremely powerful, and I have no plan!"

“Not a very positive outlook, dude!" Cooper shouted.

“The odds are a million to one," Delta Dawn pointed out.

“I know," Trollex groaned. “Still, though, let's get mad! If we can't save the world, we'll at least die trying!"

The other Trolls murmured in agreement. This was gonna be the biggest fight of their lives, but they couldn't just give up and let Callisto destroy everything they cared about.

“So, how are we going to do this?" Ash asked.

“First, we need to get rid of all those zombies," Branch exclaimed.

“The only way to do that is to destroy every last piece of the Scepter of Tsulva," Riff pointed out. “And that can only be done by someone under its complete control."

Barb's eyes widened. “Wait, that's it! Riff, you're a genius! I could kiss you on the lips right now!"

“Okay," he said, “but remember, I'm only doing this for college credit."

“Ash, stay with Willow," Barb ordered. “Branch, Riff, Carol, you guys come with me. We're going shopping."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

At the border of Volcano Rock City, Poppy, Ash, Hickory, Dickory, Willow and her Dad looked around to see what they were up against. All of the daggers everywhere made Poppy tremble.

“It's okay, Pops," Willow tried to reassure her. “I know what you're going through."

“You do?"

Willow nodded. “I've been terrified of snakes ever since... Well, you know."

“We'll never get in," Hickory said, looking through a telescope. “The entire area's heavily guarded. Not even the air is safe, those harpies would spot us immediately."

“Barb said she had a plan to get rid of the zombies," Ash explained. “But something's telling me we can't just wait for her. We're running out of time."

Everyone looked up to see the Moon get closer to the Sun. During a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun's Light and casts a shadow on the Earth. Midnight told them once it happened, Willow would no longer have the strength to fight against Pow.

“What's that by the volcano?" Dickory wondered. Willow's Dad took the telescope and immediately recognized the massive black snake.

“It's the Rattlecobra!" he answered. Poppy and Willow hugged each other nervously.

“Pow must be inside," Ash said. “If we can keep all these guys occupied, Willow can get inside. Here's what we're gonna do..."

A pair of twin echidna-like creatures were standing guard when they heard yodeling. They noticed the Yodelers waving their arms around and ran after them.

“Hey, pig-face!" Willow's Dad shouted to another zombie. He lured her away and tricked her into landing in a lava pool. “This ain't easy. These folks are more vigilant than a farsighted eyestalk."

“Hey, harpies!" Poppy yelled. The bird-like creatures noticed her and Ash riding Hippogriffs and flew after them... only to be mauled by the rest of the flock.

“Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Ash whooped, giving Poppy a fist bump.

Willow, while invisible, ran through the ash-covered wasteland. Any of Callisto's followers that came across received a lightning strike in the face. But suddenly, something massive and covered in black scales blocked her path. She looked up to find a familiar pair of yellow eyes and froze in fear.

“Hello, my child. Did you missssssssss me?"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“What are we doing here?" Carol asked as she and the others arrived at the Museum of Celestial History.

“Atta girl, Windstream," Riff said sweetly to his Hippogriff.

“In order to get rid of Callisto's followers, we need to destroy every last piece of that Scepter," Barb explained as they headed inside. “But it can only be done by someone under its control. And we have just the someone right here."

Branch raised an eyebrow. “I don't like where this is going."

“Barb, you're playing with Dark magic... again," Riff pointed out. Carol opened the enchanted box and dumped out the eight Scepter pieces. “You sure about this?"

“Actually, no, but we're running out of options," Barb admitted as she grabbed one. “Besides, Callisto didn't curse Branch. I did. So hopefully, he'll remember his loyalty."

“Hopefully?!" Branch exclaimed. “Barb, you're craz–"

Before he could finish his sentence, Barb held the stone up in front of Branch's face, his eyes glowed red and his mind went blank. His normally hidden tattoos glowed briefly before turning black. He was now trapped under the influence of the Scepter of Tsulva once more.

“How do we know he's on our side?" Carol asked cautiously.

“Hmm... Punch yourself in the face," Barb ordered. Branch obeyed, and Riff followed suit, to Barb's annoyance. “Not you, you dork!"

“Sorry," he whimpered.

“Lemme try," Carol said, taking the stone. “Do the chicken dance!"

Branch obeyed again, causing Carol to laugh.

“Okay, that's enough goofing off," Barb chuckled, taking back control of Branch's mind. “Let's get to business. Branch, destroy these stones."

With a nod, Branch pulled a hammer out of his hair and smashed the seven other Scepter shards with it. They all turned to dust instantly.

“Perfect. Seven down, two to go," Barb said. Branch reached for the one in her hand, but she pulled away immediately. “Hold on. We need you to take care of the other one first."

“Uh, Barb, we don't even know where it is," Riff pointed out. Barb thought for a second and smirked.

“I think I know where it might be."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Back in the Valley of Serenity, Bash, Archer Pastry, Lily Stardust, and the rest of the bounty hunters stayed in Faunlette Village to look after the children and injured Trolls. Bash, though, was just sitting by the Stream of Silence, feeling depressed.

“Maybe we should talk to him?" Lily suggested.

“I'll talk to him," Archer insisted. “He is my brother."

“I understand," she replied. Archer kissed his blue-haired wife on the cheek before approaching his brother.

“Hey, man," he said casually.

“Hey, Kaboom," Bash muttered. He wouldn't make direct eye contact.

“This is crazy, isn't it?" Archer asked. “I mean, in less than a year, you lost your gang, all your friends, the woman you love..."

“Thanks for summing that up," Bash replied. “I should've told Pow I loved her when I realized I did. Why didn't I?"

“I can't answer that," Archer said. “But I can tell you what I do know. Lily was in Bergen Town when we crashed the Pop Trolls' Village, so she didn't know who I was. And when we started dating, I was afraid of what she would think if she found out who I used to be. But when I told her, you know what she said?"

“What?"

“She said it wasn't my fault," Archer answered. “I was just lost. And I think you were, too."

“Yeah, I was," Bash replied. “But maybe if I wasn't so reckless, none of us would be here."

“Well, we can't change the past," Archer pointed out. “We just have to learn from it. In the end, it's never too late."

Bash turned to his younger brother and received a smile from him.

“No, it isn't," Bash replied, standing up. “Callisto may have blinded her, but I'm not gonna give up. I'm going back, and when I do, I'll snap her out of this!"

“Be careful!" Archer shouted as he ran off.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside Barb's fortress, Pow came across a door with a “KEEP OUT!" sign nailed to it. She used a dagger to break it down and looked around. There was hard rock memorabilia all over, but one wall had a bulletin board with pictures of different kinds of Trolls on it. But one with a red mohawk was in every photo. Pow immediately could tell this was Barb's room. She then noticed a little black book and decided to read a page from it.

July 12th

Dad's slipping further away. He told us that he can't lead the Hard Rock Trolls anymore, and that tommorow, it'll be my responsibility. I don't know if I can handle that. I can't even reassure my sister she's not a Pop Troll, like the parents who abandoned her are. She's still afraid of ending up like them. But I can't just back out of it. These Trolls need a leader.

“Not anymore," Pow said to herself, and put the diary back down.

Outside, Willow was paralyzed. She couldn't even use her powers against the Rattlecobra. A normal snake was scary enough, but the one that created her to destroy the Trolls...

“That coward you call ‘Dad' may have ripped out my fangsssssssss," he hissed, “but that doesssssssssssn't mean I'm powerlessssssssss. You know the greatessssssssst lesssssssssson I learned from you? Never underessssssssstimate the power of love. It isssssssss both a sssssssssstrength and a weaknesssssssssss..."

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were still taking care of the other zombies when Willow's Dad spotted the Rattlecobra preparing to attack Willow. He let out a whistle a Hippogriff grabbed him with its talons, and flew towards the volcano.

“What is he doing?!" Poppy wondered. “This isn't the plan!"

“I don't know, but we gotta help him," Ash replied. “Come on, Flamethrower!"

“Now, you will ssssssee what happenssssss when you care," the Rattlecobra hissed, using his telekinesis to lift a ball of half-cooled lava the size of Willow's head.

“N-No, p-please," she whimpered. The Rattlecobra ignored her and prepared to have his daughter crushed and burned. But just before he could...

“WILLOW!"

By the time the four other Trolls got to the volcano, they were left in shock. Poppy and Ash grabbed the Rattlecobra by the neck with their hair and held him in place while the Hippogriff flock picked at his head. Once they had control, the queen and princess let go and got off their Hippogriffs.

Willow struggled to get to her feet, but once she noticed her Dad on the ground with the lava rock on his back, she ran up to him.

“Dad!" she cried out, using her ice magic to cool the rock the rest of the way. Willow fell to her knees and looked for any sign of movement. There was nothing. “Dad, no..."

“Mr. Duckweed?" Ash said softly. Poppy kneeled down and pressed her ear against his chest. Not even a heartbeat. She looked back up at Willow and shook her head.

“I'm sorry, Will," Poppy apologized. Willow just lowered her head and sobbed. The four of them gave her a group hug, she needed it now more than ever.

“I need to find Pow," Willow said, tears still falling. “I need to finish this. All of it."

“We understand," Ash replied, kissing her. “Go ahead, we'll take care of him."

Willow headed inside, feeling broken, but she wasn't going to let anyone else suffer like this.

“Looking for someone?" a familiar voice asked. Willow turned to find Callisto with a sinister grin on her face. “That handsome fool Sol would be proud of how far you've come, Pop Troll. Unfortunately for you, it wasn't good enough. The eclipse is upon us!"

Willow looked up and noticed the Moon beginning to block the Sun. There was still quite a while before the Sun's Light was blocked completely, but Willow began to feel very weak.

“What... What's happening?" she gasped, falling to her knees.

“Come child," Callisto insisted. “You've lost too much. Give up while you still can."

Willow looked back up at the demon in defiance. “There's something you should know. Giving up never helped anyone!"

As Willow stood back up, the golden sun on her black sweater let out a bright light. Sol's Light. Once it died down, Callisto hissed at her and crawled away like a bug. Willow looked down at the glowing sun in shock. She was running out of time. Whether or not Pow could be saved, she had to stop her and Callisto.

Elsewhere, Pow noticed the Black Rock flickering. She looked up and noticed the Moon beginning to block the Sun. Soon, a Dark shadow would be cast over Volcano Rock City, and then, the rest of the world.

“The eclipse has already begun to weaken the strength of Sol's Light," Callisto informed her. “It is time for you to face Willow and destroy it. Once you do, this world will be yours."

“Yes, it is time," Pow agreed. “There's just one other thing..."

Using her powers, Pow created a black stony cage to trap Callisto in.

“It's not that I don't trust you... No, that's exactly it," Pow laughed, and left.

Once the former Party Crasher was gone, Callisto smirked.

“Oh, Pow, you're so predictable," she said. “Have you learned nothing from the Trolls? No matter how formidable an obstacle, everything has its weakness. And I have a gift for finding it."

With that, Callisto reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial of Clyde's antidote for the Fossilizer. It couldn't melt the daggers, but perhaps the floor...

❤️☀️🧡🌙💛☀️💚🌙💙☀️💜🌙

As Willow continued searching, she felt a cold wind and noticed a nearby candle go out. This wasn't her own magic, but a sign of danger.

“Pow?"

“You know, Will, it's funny," Pow said, revealing herself to the young Troll. “I look at you, and I see a child who was created to be used and hurt by everyone her entire life. And I think if there's anyone who should know what it feels like to have the entire universe against them, it'd be you."

“Who says I don't?" Willow asked. “Pow, what did I ever do to you? I promised Bash I wouldn't give up on you, but my friend lost her memory, she suffered a miscarriage, her daughter's gem was shattered, and my Dad is dead because of you!"

“And the only true friend I ever had imprisoned me in amber because of you!" Pow pointed out.

“How is that worse?!" Willow exclaimed. “I can't believe you think this is what you are."

“I think this is what I am?!" Pow repeated in disbelief. “Don't you get it by now?! You don't get to tell me who I am, no one does! Only I decide that!"

“Have you decided?!" Willow asked. “Because it sounds to me like Callisto has your head so clouded with anger and hate, that you don't even know what you want anymore."

“I know exactly what I want!" Pow insisted, holding the sun blade up high. “I want you to know what it feels like to have everything you ever cared about slip away. I want you and the rest of the Trolls to know that I follow no one..."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Ladies and germs, welcome to Pow's black castle thingy!" Barb announced as they flew to Pow's Fortress.

“This is a lot bigger than the Rock arena," Riff pointed out. He was right, it was at least twenty times that size.

“Even if that other Scepter shard is here, this search could go on forever," Carol said. Barb pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked through all of the open windows.

“There! The top of that tower!" she shouted. Their Hippogriffs landed on the balcony and followed the four Trolls inside. Floating over a black pedestal in the center of the room was a familiar black stone with a silver skull on it. “Do it, Branch! Destroy it!"

Branch nodded and approached the Scepter shard, but just before he could smash it...

“I'll take that," Morpho said, grabbing the stone. “I didn't rise from the dead to be killed again."

“We'll see about that," Carol replied. “There's eight of us and only one of you."

With a smirk, Morpho snapped her fingers. Behind her emerged many other zombified creatures. The Trolls and Hippogriffs were outnumbered.

“Now what?" Riff asked nervously. Barb looked around to assess the situation.

“Looks like we'll have to start trying," she answered. “Attack!"

During the fight, one of the zombies pulled Barb's stone out of her pocket. Carol kicked him in the batteries and snatched it from him. Unfortunately, the goat-like Tsulva head-butted her and slammed her into the wall. The stone was sent flying. Just before it could hit the ground, a blue and yellow Hippogriff caught it with her beak.

“Nice going, Windstream!" Barb said.

“Uh, Barb?" Riff interrupted. “Hate to burst your bubble, but that's not Windstream."

At that moment, the Hippogriff's eyes glowed green, and with a snap of her beak, the stone turned to dust.

“No!" Barb shouted. Returning to her true form, Morpho held up the last Scepter shard to Branch's face. He looked at her with a blank expression.

“You belong to Callisto now..."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“I'm done reasoning with you, Pow," Willow threatened. “Hand over the Black Rock, or I will kill you."

“Would I be the first person?" Pow asked sarcastically.

“I'm not kidding! This is your last chance! You're just playing right into Callisto's hands!"

“I've already taken care of Callisto!" Pow informed her, holding up the sun blade. “Now, do you want me to suck Sol's Light out of you, or do I have to rip it out?"

“I am warning you, Pow," Willow said angrily, “I am willing to do whatever it takes to save the world. I was hoping we could talk this out, but since you made that impossible, I am not holding back!"

With her eyes glowing, Willow let out an ice blast, trapping Pow against the wall.

“I can't tell you how disappointing that is to hear," Pow sneered, using the daggers to break her free. “Because if you're not holding back, then this is the best you can do."

“No, this is!" Willow shouted, using her hair as a sword. Having absorbed the daggers protective powers, its strength matched the sun blade's.

“Then your best is pathetic!" Pow spat, unleashing the daggers. With her rainbow hair glowing, Willow walked right through, shattering them all. The two of them were now face to face. Pow grabbed the sun blade and tried to stab Willow in the stomach, but the young Troll wrapped her hair around the blade and let out a powerful blast, shattering it.

“Your strength is also a weakness," Willow said, remembering Barb's words from the end of her World Tour. “A friend taught me that."

“Then perhaps I should start taking notes," Pow replied, grabbing Willow's hair and trapping her in stone. She then used a dagger to make a hole in the wall, stood on its point, and extended them to the top of the skull above the Rock Arena's stage, bringing Willow with her. “This fight is over, Willow!"

“What are we doing here?!"

“I want all of the Trolls to see me destroy their only hope!" Pow answered.

“And then what, Pow?" Willow asked. “If you win, what will you do? Have you thought about that? What will be left for you? Who will be left for you?"

Pow scoffed. “Who will be left for me? Let me tell you something. This whole ordeal has taught me I don't need anyone!"

“Please," Willow begged. “I know you don't believe that."

“You don't get to tell me what I believe!" Pow snarled, encasing Willow's body completely. But suddenly, in a bright flash, Willow broke free and let out a powerful blast that sent Pow flying. The Pop Troll then grabbed her with her hair and was more than ready to destroy both her and the Black Rock.

“It's over, Pow," she said. Pow just looked past her to find the Sun now almost completely blocked out and smirked at her adversary.

“I was thinking the same thing..."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“It's over, Hard Rockers," Morpho sneered, holding hands with Branch. “With your friend on our side, you don't stand a chance."

“Maybe we don't," Barb said, “but I'm not one to back out of a fight when the world's in danger, no matter what the odds! Something I learned from Poppy."

“Poppy..." Branch muttered, his eyes briefly returning to normal.

“Kill them all!" Morpho commanded, and Branch and the other zombies attacked the three Hard Rock Trolls. Luckily, they had the razor sharp beaks and talons of four Hippogriffs on their side. They managed to destroy every zombie except for Branch and Morpho, before the latter trapped them in thick green cocoons.

“Nice try," she said sarcastically. But while she was talking, Riff managed to swipe the last Scepter shard. “But even with your pet birds, you'll never defeat Callisto."

“You know what? You're right," Riff admitted. “But we don't have to beat her, just the one with the last piece of the Scepter!"

“Pfft, so what?" she scoffed, forcing him out to the balcony. “You can't destroy it. And neither of us are going to. Finish him off, Branch. I'll take care of the others."

“Riff, do something!" Barb shouted as Morpho trapped her and Carol in cocoons. Riff just dropped the stone and backed away from Branch nervously. “Yep. We're doomed."

Riff turned his head away nervously as Branch pulled out a hammer and gave him a cold glare. Branch ran up to him and slammed the hammer down...

on the last Scepter shard.

Morpho noticed the six cocoons begin to dry up and crack. She looked down and noticed her own hand turning to dust.

“Traitor...!" she shouted angrily before disintegrating completely. Branch snapped out of his trance and fell to his knees.

“Branch!" Barb shouted, breaking free from her cocoon. She ran up to him as the others broke free from theirs. “You okay, man?"

“No, but I've been worse," he admitted as Riff helped him up. “Now, come on. We gotta help Willow stop Pow and Callisto."

“Riff, tell the other leaders to go to Volcano Rock City," Barb ordered. “If we're gonna face an ancient demon, we're gonna need all the help we can get."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The already ash-covered skies of Volcano Rock City have turned completely dark, and Willow found herself losing her strength entirely.

“Times up, Willow," Pow said with a smirk, and slipped out of Willow's hair. “It's the eclipse. When the Moon blocks out the Light of the Sun."

Willow found herself trapped in a cage of daggers. Without the strength of Sol's Light, she couldn't fight anymore.

“Tell me something, how does it feel to be in the shadow?"

To be continued...

This was... a gruesome one. But at least Poppy didn't suffer this time.

The whole thing about King Trollex playing Portal 2 was part of a headcanon by FangirlFiasco that I asked her permission for. By the way, thank you! <3

Only one more chapter before the epilogue. Until next time... 🌈