A Traitor and a Plan - FictionAuthorofFiction, TransformationFiction (2025)

Chapter 1: Despair in a Pot

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Life was shit.

Branch had learned that lesson young, over and over and over until it was carved into his very bones. His life had been a series or tragedies that kept trying to destroy him. But, he was too stubborn to let it.

Every year that he survived was another year that he was defying fate. He should have died at five, since trolls who go gray typically have less than a year to survive before their body gives out. Which was a problem.

Branch might not be an idiot, typically, but he had known leaving Pop Village to save Poppy's friends was a dumb move. He had known that it would probably kill him. He made his peace with that on the first night, when Poppy, dumb, optimistic Poppy, had been saying goodnight to the pictures of her friends.

There had been no doubt in his mind that the princess would get him killed.

Which led to his current predicament: he, and all the other trolls from the village were trapped in a pot about to be served to a bunch of hungry Bergens. Not exactly ideal, but he was positive he could think of someway to get out.

If that wasn't bad enough, he thought incredulously, somehow, every single troll had lost their true colors. Every single one had given up hope.

He almost couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone from Poppy to mean old Willow, from Ablaze to Guy Diamond. Everyone was fucking gray.

Branch forced down the crazed cackle that wanted to escape his throat. The trolls who had out casted him for being gray were now hopeless as well. What a mindfuck.

Part of him, the vicious gray side he worked hard to manage, was vindicated. Now, they would understand how he had felt for the last twenty freaking years. Now they would understand how helpless he felt.

The other part of him, though, was a survivalist. He had a strong will to live, to face every damn thing that comes his way. Branch had lost too much already to give up now. Even his soul mate connection was long gone, disappearing the moment he'd turned gray. That hadn't killed him, any more than loosing Grandma Rosiepuff had. The two events may have been psychologically scaring, but he was still standing.

He huffed in annoyance. Just because everyone else was being stupid didn't mean he had to give up just yet.

How the idiots didn't realize that they weren't dead yet, that they could still survive, baffled him.

Gray eyes scanned the room, before registering something odd. Everyone's clothing had turned gray at the same time that they lost their colors. Weird. His clothes were fine, heck, his current vest was the same one he had been wearing that day, and it was still just as green now.

He wondered what was different about the two, why his clothes were unaffected while the rest of Pop Village had their clothes change colors. Was this...

No, focus.

Plan.

He needed a plan. That he could do.

The goal, he reminded himself, was getting everyone out of the pot. While yes, that was only the beginning of their problems, he worked best with one thing at a time.

An idea sparked in his mind. He let the princess pout, and went over to his friends instead. They were gray too, which felt weird, but he shook it off. He would get them out of this, no matter what.

"Guys, how much do you think the five of us can lift?" Branch asked urgently.

The other four trolls, Ablaze, Hype, Boom, and Trickee all gave each other matching exhausted looks.

"Why Angel? Its over." Ablaze told him softly.

Branch scoffed. "I'm not dead yet, neither is anyone else here, so its not over. Now pull yourself together. I'm trusting you, I need you guys to think! How much can we lift together?"

"Plenty, for most things if we're working together, why?" Hype questioned softly.

Branch turned away from them, walking over to the wall of the pot with purpose. His eyes were glazing slightly as a plan solidified. He carefully knocked on the metal, ears listening for something. He knocked a second time, before smirking smugly, and returning to his friends.

It didn't take much work to drag Ablaze and Boom behind him, glaring at Trickee and Hype to follow. Thankfully they did. He moved to the center of the pot, ignoring the princess at his feet. "Hey! Does anyone have control of their hair? I've got a plan, but we need at least twenty-five."

Ablaze looked absolutely baffled. "For what?"

Branch's eyes moved over to his long time friend. "We're trolls. We can lift things with our hair. If all of us work together, we can get the lid off."

"Great plan." A flat voice told him from the floor. Princess Poppy hadn't even bothered to look up when she was talking to him, but her sarcasm was clear enough that he could hear it. "Really great. Except for, I don't know, the locks! The lid is locked down, Branch! Weren't you even paying attention? We're trapped! We're gonna die because- "

Thankfully, Branch had been ignoring people telling him he should be dead since he was a toddler. He was very good at it. "I'm not going to die. And I know that its locked. That's why we need Smidge."

"Smidge?" Poppy questioned dryly.

Branch nodded. "Yep. You can fit through those holes, right, Smidge?"

The small troll hesitated, looking up at the holes above them. "Um, yeah. Maybe. But I can't just leave everyone behind."

He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "You don't have to, you just have to wait until the coast is clear, and-"

The clicking of locks opening above them made the trolls freeze. Was this it? Was there hundreds of Bergens to eat them?

Instead of it being the wide, hungry look of chef, there was someone very different looking down at them once the locks were undone.

"Is everyone okay?" A familiar accent asked.

Branch couldn't believe his eyes.

"Creek." He whispered. What was going on?

Chapter 2: Savior or Traitor

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Branch could feel his blood pulsing hotly in his veins. Rage tried to flood his body, but he pushed it back with practiced difficulty. He wanted nothing more than to strangle the purple troll until his eyes bulged out of his head.

But he couldn't. Not now, not when their entire population was in so much danger.

"Branch?" Creek asked, purple eyes wide in surprise, before he shook it off. The guru frowned at the sight of the pop trolls all being the same gray as the grump, but didn't bother commenting on it. "What are you... never mind. King Peppy, Princess, are we ready to go?"

"Go where?" Branch asked, suspiciously.

Creek looked at him like he was a moron, an ant for questioning someone clearly better than himself. "Out of here. Obviously. I got rid of the Bergen, but we're going have to move quickly."

"Quickly to what?" Poppy snapped. "Our deaths? You betrayed us! Why are we supposed to trust you now?"

Branch hated to admit it, but she had a point. He was definitely hesitant, but... if it meant he and his friends could survive a little longer, he would do anything. Even follow a clearly insane troll into certain death. If he could accompany Poppy, he could at least hear out Creek.

Creek just rolled his eyes. "Princess, if I wanted everyone dead, you would be dead. What I wanted was for the Bergens to stop paying attention to me so that I could work on taking them out."

"So, what you're saying is you are a danger, and we should believe that you don't want us dead, despite stealing my cow bell, and getting the rest of the village captured?" She barked out a bitter, broken laugh.

Branch frowned to himself, looking at her critically. She was taking this really badly, worse than anyone else, and her people were clearly echoing her feelings. He wondered if she was one of those trolls everyone whispered Branch was, broken by going gray and clearly loosing their grip sanity.

Then again, pop trolls as a whole weren't exactly what he called sane, so he was probably wrong.

The exasperation in Creek's body language would have been funny in any other context. The purple troll literally face palmed. "That was... a miscalculation. I was hoping that everyone would be following Branch's safety procedures, since I assumed they would be in his Bunker. I knew that his plans specifically stated that no troll was to leave the bunker unless he himself entered, and if any other troll or Bergen tried to enter, to attack, or retreat further. I assumed they would follow the plan. That was my mistake apparently. I underestimated how stupid pop trolls could be."

Gumdrops be damned, Branch thought with wide eyes, that was the best thing he'd seen in a long time.

Plus, Creek was right. They should have followed his safety procedures if they were using his Bunker. He eyed King Peppy, who looked awkward at the scolding.

"We had no way of knowing-"

"Yes you did!" Creek interrupted. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I know Branch went over his plans for security with you, and that he got the okay from you personally. I know what the procedure are because its literally written on the walls in the entrance of the bunker. I've seen it. I assumed you would have either left the village behind, or would remain hidden!"

"Damn." Ablaze muttered, hiding a smile behind his hand, "I can't believe I'm agreeing with the yoga brain."

Hype nodded, crowding closer to Trickee and Boom. "We tried, by the way, Angel. We tried to stop them, but they didn't listen... I'm sorry, we let you down."

"Yeah, well, they've never been the greatest at listening, so I'm not surprised. Next time, gas the damn bunker, when they try to leave during a crisis." Branch sighed.

He really wasn't surprised at all. He had been called paranoid for decades, he was used to his warnings being ignored. The only people who were willing to at least hear him out were his friends. Ablaze, Hype, Trickee, and Boom. Four trolls couldn't hold back the rest of the village if they discarded the plans put in place to keep them safe.

"What do you think, Angel? Should we..." Hype asked softly.

Branch bit his lip. "I think we should go. In groups. That way, if some of us get caught, not all of us have to die. We should move fast, to the Troll Tree. If we can make it there, we have a chance." He considered the blue and green haired troll. "Creek, can you lead the way with King Peppy and his guards? Ablaze, Boom, Hype, Trickee, can the four of you lead groups? I trust you four to be careful. Plus, you have a new advantage."

"Advantage?" Creek questioned, mouth pulling up in a hint of a smile as the gathered trolls started splitting up. He seemed almost pleased that it was Brnach giving orders.

Branch smirked. "We're gray. Bergens have trouble seeing gray, and they have really poor eye sight as a whole. On the flip side, they have a really strong sense of smell, and some of them have amazing hearing too, for their size. We've got to be careful, but we can pull this off. Who's going first?"

After a minute of discussion, it was decided that the King, princess, and the elders would go first, since they would move slower naturally, with Creek leading the way. Five minutes after, Ablaze took the next group, mostly children and the injured trolls, who were being carried by the strongest of the adults. Then Boom took most of the women after another five minutes. Next was Hype with the older teenagers, who didn't need their parents quite as much. The fifth group had Trickee leading the last of the men.

Finally, Branch and the Snackpack were the only trolls left. They got out with no trouble. It didn't take long for them to put the lid back on the pot and lock it back, so that no one would know immediately that they were gone.

When he was sure that they had reached the exit, he paused in his movements, looking at the dead, pink dressed Bergen. She was the only one who didn't deserve to die, in Branch's eyes, since she had just been trying to survive. But, from the white froth surrounding her mouth, he knew that he was to blame for her death. It was his poison.

He wasn't sure how to feel, disturbed at what his creation could do, or smug that it worked when everyone told him it wouldn't. At least, he comforted himself, it was a quick death.

So lost in his mind, he never noticed the ugly yellow eyes watching him until it was too late. One of the guards grabbed his arm between two fingers, crushing it easily.

"What are you doing out, troll?" It asked, disgusting breath flowing out to hit the gray troll.

Branch bared his teeth at the creature, which just laughed, thinking stupidly that he was truly captured.

He reached into his hair with his free hand, fingers locking around the machete he used to cut wood for his Bunker. It wasn't big enough, or sharp enough to break through a Bergens hide, but that was fine. He didn't need it to.

He wasn't gone yet, and this thing wouldn't be his end.

He sliced through his own flesh and bone with one quick harsh movement, bloody glitter soaking his fur.

Branch fell from the creatures grip, using his hair to catch himself, propelling across the room towards the open window. He didn't stick around to see the things reaction, only whipping his head around to make his way quickly to the tree. While most of the trolls would be moving slower, he didn't have that luxury.

He needed to fix his arm, but he couldn't until he had a place somewhat safe enough to do so. His mind was entirely focused on moving, ignoring the burning pain in his arm.

Branch knew he could build himself a new arm. And, if he was the only major injury in their escape, then it was well worth it.

He landed roughly at the tree, squeezing through the bars with ease as he moved silently, a ghost leaving nothing but blood behind. His heart wanted to go to his old pod, like he was a toddler once again, trusting it to keep him safe, but his brain knew that was futile. He needed Hype. He had to get to the tunnels.

As soon as he finally locked eyes on Hype, who was one of five trolls with their colors back, he let himself fall into darkness.

Hype would fix him, and the others could keep watch. Just for a little bit. He just needed...

Chapter 3: Tunnels with the Gray Ghosts

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The first time he attempted to wake up, it didn't really work. He was moving, people were talking, but he couldn't understand a single word.

He could tell that someone was panicking, nudging him, but he couldn't respond. His eyes stayed closed as blood loss pulled him deeper into oblivion.

The second time worked a little bit better. He could understand words, some of them anyways.

"...can't... rejection... too much"

Was that Creek? The traitor who sold out their entire population? The sadistic ass that Branch had been trying to warn people about? That Creek was here? Fuck, he couldn't... he needed to focus. The traitor was talking to someone.

"...Angel... smartest trolls... oblivious idiot...be direct..."

Hype? Hype was here? Why was Hype talking to Creek? He wasn't a traitor too, was he? No. Never. Hype would die before he betrayed Branch and the others. There had to be something else going on, something he was missing. He strained his mind, trying to hear something, anything, that could make this make sense.

"... carry him...heavy... drop him..."

Shit. He didn't know why, per say, but he knew that would be a very, very bad thing. His eyes snapped open, gray and calculating, as he took in his surroundings.

Tunnels. They were in the tunnels. He hadn't seen them since their escape twenty years prior. For a second, he thought that he was either dead, or a trolling again, but no. Hype was here. It was odd, only seeing him and not the others, but thankfully...

Wait. No.

Something wasn't right. Not just Creek being there, carrying Branch like he was actually worth the effort while the scent of jasmine flowers filled his nose. Why the hell was Creek of all trolls touching him?

He felt wrong, but not?

Branch mentally shook himself. No, he couldn't be distracted, couldn't be weak. He had to move. Clearing his throat and shifting weakly on the back of his enemy had not been the plan, but, well, he didn't have a whole lot of energy.

"What are you two going on about?" He rasped, fighting back the cold ache and dizziness that threatened to pull him under once again.

In a movement too quick for his spinning head, he was moved from Creek's back to his arms in the blinked of an eye.

"Branch!" Twin voices muttered.

He blinked at them, fighting back the nausea.

Hype rushed towards him, glittery blue hands touching his face to check his temperature.

"Angel, buddy, you can't do that to me! Are you feeling okay? What am I saying, of course you don't. Any nausea, dizziness, coldness in your limbs, chest pain, or shortness of breath? I can already tell you're feeling pretty weak, and you look exhausted, so I need the truth." Hype was practically shaking in place, his big blue eyes filled with a worry so intense, Branch had never seen it before.

Branch shrugged. "Doesn't matter, what's-"

"Angel." Hype sighed softly. "Your arm is gone."

The gray troll sighed, too exhausted to keep fighting with his oldest friend. Right. Damn Bergen. No wonder he felt so out of it. "Yes to everything, but my breathing. I'm not exactly feeling great."

"Where are you on the pain scale?" Hype questioned.

Branch groaned in annoyance. "Hype, I-"

The icy glare of disappointment he received from his friend shut him up good. He knew that look very well. The last time he saw it was when he'd walked to Boom's pod and Hype noticed his leg was broken.

It hadn't hurt much, if at all, so he didn't realize. Heck, he couldn't remember it hurting at all after a few weeks. However, he definitely remembered just how much his friends had babied him for months after the incident.

"Probably a three. If that." Branch surrendered, fighting back a roll of his eyes.

Hype nodded. "So a six or seven for a normal troll... not great but-"

"What do you mean?" Creek interrupted, arms tightening to an annoying strength around Branch. The purple troll ignored the look Branch gave him.

Hype glanced at Branch, waiting for a nod.

If most of their population was indeed still gray, they would need to know what to expect. That way they didn't end up like he did. Despite how much the pop trolls hated him, he had a lot of knowledge that they would need.

"Grey Trolls don't feel pain like others can. Those who have their true colors are able to feel pain normally, Grey trolls don't. Pain is numbed down to a great degree." The doctor told the guru.

Creek winced. "I... see."

The Glitter Troll pulled a stethoscope from his hair, plugging it into his ears, before placing it against Branch's heart. With other trolls, Branch knew that Hype would warm up the darn thing, but since he couldn't feel it, and they both knew it, the doctor didn't bother.

Creek shivered. "He doesn't even feel how ice cold that thing is?"

"Nope." Branch and Hype answered together, one annoyed, one resigned.

Hype waited a moment, listening intently. "Your heartbeat is slow but a lot more steady then before." The stethoscope was moved to the gray trolls lungs. "Breath in."

Branch did as he was told, trying to straighten up his spine so that he could get a good breath, seeing as how Creek wasn't letting him down.

Hype hummed. "Your breathing is better too, but still too shallow for my liking. So far there is no sign of infection but we need to be at least quick. First," Hype carefully placed the device back in his hair, glitter dripping from his hands, as he reached out to grab Branch's shoulders, "what the fuck were you thinking!?! How could you be so careless?!?"

"Hype!" Branch snapped back, before letting his own rage at the unfairness drain away. He didn't want to hurt his friend anymore than he already did. Branch was extremely talented at fucking up. With that in mind, he admitted the truth. "I was going to loose it anyway. A Bergen guard caught me and crushed my arm. I could hear it. I doubt anyone or anything could have saved it, especially since neither of us have our gear here. Cutting it off is a loss, yeah, but I'd rather have one arm and be alive than have both and be eaten."

Hype growled lowly in his throat, before taking several deep breaths. "Can't go back and kill him, can't go back and kill him." Finally, after a minute of fighting his temper, Hype turned back to Branch with a sigh, rubbing his forehead to fight back a headache. "Abby is gonna be on your ass while you recover."

Branch just winced. "Y-yeah, probably."

"Between you and Trickee, I'm heading to an early grave." Hype grumbled.

"Sorry?"

Hype just rolled his eyes, grabbing Branch's face between his paws. "Stop being so reckless with yourselves!"

"Trickee is more reckless than me! I didn't have a choice!" Branch grumbled.

"I know." Hype sighed, kissing Branch on the forehead, before nudging at Creek. "Come on, let him down."

Branch was lowered carefully, fighting back the scowl once his legs touched the ground. He wobbled, only Hype and Creek holding onto him kept him standing. While he wasn't thrilled to have either of them this close when he was feeling awful, he was thankful that Hype wasn't his bad side. At least his friend wouldn't use his new weakness against him.

This sucked. He was better than this. How was he supposed to be safe if he couldn't even walk, if he was useless? Maybe he should stay behind here for a few days, then catch up once he felt more stable.

The world darkened for a moment, but he shook himself. Wait, no. Damn it. He couldn't do that. Not without taking away the tribes best source of information on gray trolls. Which they needed right now. This was just one more time he'd have to push himself for the good of the village.

Hype sighed again. "Creek's gonna have to carry you again when we're moving, Angel."

He steadied himself, he couldn't rely on anyone for this, he couldn't be a burden. "No."

"Angel-"

"I didn't cut off my legs. They aren't broken. I'm walking." Branch told them, ignoring the scowl growing on Creek's face as he pulled himself away from the two. He could do this. He didn't suffer through life just to stop in some old caves with the entire pop troll population just a little ways ahead of them.

"Branch-" Hype tried again.

Branch stubbornly shook his head. "No, Hype. Besides, isn't he hurt too? We can't risk him getting more injured right now."

Both Branch and Hype looked at Creek, who just blinked at them. "I- I'm not hurt?"

Branch snorted. "Uhuh. Firstly, you've been shaking pretty much the whole time I've been awake. Secondly, I heard you say something about dropping me." He turned his attention away from the idiotic liar. "If Creek's hurt as well then he shouldn't be pushing himself just for me. I'll be fine."

"No, Branch." Hype disagreed. "You lost a lot of blood. To the point that I'm chalking you being awake right now due to your stubbornness. If you fall right now, you could tear the scabbing, or worse. And I can't monitor your health myself if I carry you."

Creek looked away awkwardly. He was clearly just as uncomfortable as Branch, but he seemed a lot more resigned. "I'm not injured either... I'm just... a bit low on energy is all."

"But-"

Hype poked Branch's nose, making his eyes cross to watch the finger. "Creek will be fine, trust me. I need him to carry you."

"But-"

"Don't make me get Ablaze." Hype threatened.

Branch narrowed his eyes, trying to tell if the other troll was bluffing or not.

Hype took a big breath. "AB-"

Branch slammed his good hand over his friend's mouth, cutting off the yell. Ablaze was probably at the front of the procession, but it wouldn't be Ablaze that heard him. It would be Boom, who would tell Trickee, then the two would set Abby on him.

Freaking Boom and his abnormally good hearing.

With that in mind, he gave in as gracefully as he could. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. "Okay, okay, fine! Please don't get Abby involved yet."

Hype grinned smugly, intertwining their fingers together before patting Branch's hair with his other hand. "Good Angel."

Bite me, Branch thought viciously, biting on his tongue to keep quiet. He knew Hype would be more smug if he heard it.

"Do I... want to know?" Creek asked slowly, holding tighter onto Branch's side to keep him balanced.

Hype grinned victoriously. "Whenever Trickee gets seriously hurt, Ablaze is always chasing his ass down to give him one hell of a scolding as soon as he finds out."

Creek coughed awkwardly, looking away for a moment. "Sounds like he's-"

"The dad friend?" Hype finished easily. "Yep. Branch might be the most protective over us, but Ablaze is definitely the dad friend. Now, do you mind?"

Both Branch and Creek had matching looks of embarrassment, but Creek dutifully picked up the smaller, lighter troll, while the gray one tried not to pout.

This was going to be a long few days, wasn't it, Branch wondered, nose full of jasmine once again. Great. Neither of them were particularly happy with the development, especially as they were getting closer to the other trolls again, but neither was going to fight Doctor Mode Hype.

For the tribe, he reminded himself as he noticed the lack of colors, for the tribe. Thankfully, there were at least a few more colorful trolls than there had been. Even if it was just a dozen trolls with their true colors, that was an improvement.

The escape really helped. But until they were safe, he wasn't sure the rest of them could recover.

Once he was stronger, he could do more. For now, he found himself drifting off in Creek's arms, feeling conflicted, but warm. His missing arm stub was facing away from Creek, but Hype wouldn't let the purple troll do anything while he rested.

Sleep would help. Hype would...

Darkness stole him away, making him dream of bittersweet meetings under the moonlight and a brokenness like no other. He could still hear that horrible conversation, the one that made him pull farther and farther away from the village until duty and his friends were the only things that kept him there.

♤♤♤

Bravery. Fear, but excitement. "I-I want to take you on a date."

A scoff. "A date? With someone like you? Did you forget what we are? You clearly don't care, do you? I'm sick of waiting on you to pull your head out of your ass. No one can love you like this." A laugh, not light and airy like wind chimes, but dark and bitter. "You know what, Branch? If I never have to see you again, it will be too soon. Go hide in your Bunker, like you always do."

"But we-"

"We are nothing. Not friends, not more. Nothing. You were just a dirty little secret, something I could spend time around to remind myself how much better I am. Now, you're not even that much. You aren't worth it."

Unworthy.

Nothing.

He knew nothing.

So stupid.

How had he thought he had a chance when the other troll had a soul mate, someone that wasn't broken like he was?

Branch had no way of knowing, but as he dreamed, a fever raged, making those outside the dream world panic. He had no idea if tears or sweat ran down his face, or that seeing worried purple eyes watching him every now and them was real.

No, in his dreams, Branch was as he always had been. A broken toy that no one wanted.

Chapter 4: Memorials and Messy Hair

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Branch jolted into awareness, mind in overdrive. He felt something moving him as he took stock of himself. His neck muscles were sore, like he'd lifted too much too quick, but he could still move. His body felt weak and dizzy, but it was tolerable. His left arm, his dominant side, felt awful, like something was holding onto it and crushing it.

No, he had gotten out. He remembered getting out. They were safe.

He was underground at least, he could feel it in the thickness of the air, the subtle humidity that weighed down his fur. That, at least, meant he was mostly safe. Except he wasn't alone. He needed to...

His eyes opened, letting him look at the tunnels around him. They had stopped. That probably wasn't a good sign.

He was on the floor, Ablaze's jacket under his head, while his friends, and Creek, were gathered around something he couldn't see.

He turned on his side, fighting back a wince of deep pain, and pushed himself up. Sometjing wasn't right, he told himself, twisting to avoid pressure on his bad arm, he couldn't stay down.

If they had stopped, if his friends weren't spread through the trolls, keeping everyone safe, then he had to find out why.

Apparently, his friends heard him moving around, turning just enough for him to see what they were looking at with eerily blank faces. A memorial, one carved into the very walls of the tunnels itself.

One with his picture in it.

He shivered, locking eyes with his younger self. Back then, he had been all bright, vibrant blues and curious eyes. It hurt something in his soul to realize that this was the last picture he allowed to be taken of him. Branch remembered how his Grandma Rosiepuff had cooed at him, calling him the most handsome trolling in the tree as he fidgeted with the sleeves of his costume for a play he never preformed.

He'd been so excited back then to get back on a stage, so thrilled that this time, he would do it right. While it wasn't a big stage, like the screw up, it was with his friends who would never leave him. Branch's grandma had cooed for what felt like hours, making a dark blue blush stain his cheeks and ears in the photo.

The child, only four, had been so desperate to prove to his grandma that he was worth keeping around that he ended up getting her killed just two days later. Two days, which felt like an eternity back then, before the performance. He had gone gray hours before the play, and ended up disassociating so badly it took an entire month before he really woke up. Even after all this time, he still couldn't remember what had happened after the... slaughter.

His heart ached for that child, that little boy who was so bright and happy, only to become nothing but a shell. Because the truth, the awful truth he'd never say outloud, was that he should have died that day. It should have been him. His very soul had gone quiet, and nothing he did could bring back the song of his heart.

He squinted at the words on the wall, eyes working to adjust to the dark.

'In Memory of my Little Thorn. May your songs in the wind never fade. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. You were a light to us all, one snuffed out too soon. I will always regret the choices I made that night, little brother.'

Little Thorn.

The name sounded familiar, like a childhood nickname that he couldn't quite remember. He'd had a lot of nicknames back then, but this one was different. It reminded him of warm blankets and funny voices, burnt eggs and loud laughter. It reminded him of head pats and soft eyes telling him he was just like their grandma, only more feisty.

Floyd?

Maybe?

The picture was definitely him, but the name didn't sound like it went with Floyd. Or maybe it did. He'd been so young that all he could really remember about his brothers were smudges of color. Pink, soft spoken had to be Floyd, since that one had given him the task he failed miserably at. Yellow was distant, almost like purple. He barely remembered them, let alone which one was Clay and which was John or Spruce. He sort of remembered green, he remembered that green used to let him hide alot when he was feeling shy.

How depressing was it that he couldn't even remember what his brothers looked like? He couldn't remember their voices, their eyes, their personalities, he'd been too damn young when they left.

Trickee sighed, breaking away from the others and moving to sit next to Branch. If anyone understood just how he was feeling, it was Trickee. Trickee had siblings too, older siblings who 'escaped' the tree. Though, Trickee's sisters left more to find their soulmates than to abandon him, but they were the same in that. None of the others could really understand how it felt to be left behind because they weren't enough.

Not that any pop troll had great lives, of course, or great families. Everyone was missing someone, and had been for a long, long time. Being born a pop troll was, in and of itself, a curse. Pop itself was a curse that their ancestors trapped them in.

He was really starting to hate being a pop troll.

Branch leaned against Trickee, eyes on the memorial for a few moments longer, before turning away to look over his people. "How long was I... wait. Where's the-"

"We had everyone leave the hugtime bracelets at the tree. Which you would know if a certain idiot hadn't passed out from blood loss and trauma." Hype snapped, clearly still bitter.

Which, admittedly, was fair. He wasn't the one who had to patch up his friends most of the time, Hype had to be sick of it by now. Plus, this was probably one of the most serious injuries Hype had dealt with in a long time. Pop trolls had no understanding of those different from them, after all, and would, occasionally, outcast those who needed extra help. Kismet as a whole had smuggled out dozens of trolls over the years for having different needs. Usually, Trickee led the way to Vaycay Island, where trolls could be different, but no one would care. Much.

If they were in the village, Branch would have had a harder time than usual acquiring goods from others. Something as serious as a missing limb on top of being gray should have been a death sentence. Too bad for everyone else he was too stubborn to kneel over now.

"Good call." Branch told them approvingly, forcing himself out of his head. "Where is everyone? King Peppy?"

The snort of distain from Boom made him cringe back. "They're fine. Everyones outside already, but they've all seen this. That was you, right Angel?"

Branch nodded. "Yep, I remember it being taken right before..."

His friends all grimaced and frowned. They knew exactly what he wasn't saying. For the longest time, they were the only ones who knew. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel about other people now knowing at least part of his story.

"Yeah, we figured. I recognize the Romeo costume." Trickee teased, trying to lighten the mood. The purple haired troll leaned harder into Branch's good side.

Of course, the peace could never last, not with Pop trolls of all things.

He could hear yelling from outside the tunnel. He stiffened his spine, sitting up straighter. He met his Ablaze's eyes. "Go."

Ablaze nodded at him before racing out. Hype and Creek stayed back to help Branch, but Boom and Trickee followed out quickly, just in case something not so friendly had found them.

By the time they got outside, all of their trolls were back against the rock, while Ablaze was talking to an odd pink troll. Her hair was blonde, something that wasn't very common among their people.

He discarded her mentally for a moment, taking in the... mini golf course they were directly outside of. It seemed well defended. Dozens of trolls surrounded the walls, none of them looked familiar.

Branch stepped closer, shrugging himself away from his friend and enemy. He needed to figure out why there were trolls this close to Bergen Town.

"Come on, I swear it's totally safe here!" The blonde, frizzy haired troll told Ablaze, waving her hands to gesture them closer.

Ablaze reared back. "Safe? Are you insane, this is a BERGEN place! We just escaped from Bergen Town for a second time and they could be litteraly looking for us as we speak! What makes you think they won't check here!?!"

The pink troll giggled in an oddly familiar way. "Because they abandoned this place a long time ago, silly."

That wasn't a good answer, not to Ablaze, who looked more stressed than usual, and definitely not good enough for Branch. Abandoned didn't mean forgotten.

"So? That doesn't mean anything! Just because they stopped using this place doesn't mean they won't be checking it!" Abby told the weird troll.

She just shrugged, a careless, confident movement. "They didn't the last time."

Damn, that wasn't a good answer. Branch moved faster through the crowd, trying to get to Ablaze before he blazed.

"I don't care! If Trolls are, by nature, a fun loving race, then being in an area that is meant to be fun is a dead fucking give away!" Ablaze growled, ignoring the way both Boom and Trickee tried to get him to back up.

"Come on!" She whined, "I swear it's safe. Don't make me force you now."

And... there it was. Mt. Ablaze was coming in hot. "Excuse me?"

The blonde troll apparently had a brain hiding under all that hair. "Okay, that was the wrong choice of words, I-"

Boom and Trickee backed up a few steps, not bothering to hold back their resident baker. It was too late, sadly. None of them could stop this now.

"Force us?" Ablaze growled lowly. "Like hold us as your fucking prisoners?,"

The pink troll shook her wild head in an exaggerated movement, her pink eyes wide. "What? N-no no that's not what I meant, I-"

"Listen here you crazy entitled bitch! I don't give two fucks who you think you are, but if you so much as touch me or my brothers, I will personally rip your arms off and stuff them down your fucking throat!" Ablaze threatened. "I need an extra arm anyways. Might as well use yours."

The troll blinked a few times, doe like eyes growing cold for a moment, so fast that Branch almost missed it. She smiled in a placating way. "Okay, wow, strong image there, buddy. I get it-"

Bad move, Branch lamented. That was a very, very bad idea. When Ablaze was blazing, the only good decision was shutting up and agreeing with everything he said.

"Get it? The only thing that I can see right now is your Pshyco ass threatening us!" Ablaze growled, purple eyes flaming, even if Branch couldn't see it. "And don't call me 'buddy'!"

The blonde grimaced. "Okay, no friendly Nicknames, got it, but listen, I-"

"No, you listen! We are in this mess because everyone here decided to ignore the one Troll who actually knew what he was fucking doing! They ignored the one Troll who just wanted everyone to be safe! So if you think I'm gonna let that happen again, you-"

A soft hand on Ablaze's shoulder made Branch almost fall over in relief. He was thankfully caught before he could hurt himself, even if he'd rather get a new bruise than let Creek of all trolls catch him. The two moved closer until they were right behind the bonded pair.

"Abby," Hype muttered gently, "calm down."

Thank Gumdrops for the soul bond between the baker and the doctor. Ablaze's eyes flashed electric blue, matching Hype's for a moment, before going back to their normal pastel purple.

"No! She-"

"I know. I agree that this place isn't safe enough, but we can't just keep going without any supplies. Plus, they could have medical supplies that can allow me to tend to Angel." The words were soft, but the look they were exchanging was anything but.

Hype was promising, silently, to keep his eyes open, saying that he didn't trust this either. But they needed help. They couldn't keep going for much longer with nothing. Heck, the fact Branch was awake at all was only due to his stubborn nature.

"But-"

Hype shook his head. "With how....deserted this place seems, it's a low chance that the Bergans are gonna immediately check here. I'm not saying we stay, I'm saying we stock up while we can. The last time we escaped the Bergans was a disaster, and we only managed to travel for three days before we settled in our...old village. That's because almost no one had any supplies on them."

Ablaze growled softly, but shut up when he saw Branch.

"We can't make that same mistake. If we gather the necessary supplies, we can travel for a lot longer to put an even further distance between us and those monsters. We should stock up, and rest as much as we can." Hype told him, his calm, rational doctor side shining through.

"...I have a bad feeling about this place. About her." Ablaze muttered, just loud enough for his friends to hear him.

Branch nodded silently.

"I know, I do too. The moment she makes a wrong move, we'll take her down." Hype whispered. "We're not defenseless, Abby."

Ablaze met stone grey eyes, waiting for Branch's decision. They all knew that they would leave if Branch said to. None of them would take a thing from these trolls if Branch didn't think it was a good idea.

The invisible pressure pressed down on his head, but Branch nodded once, a sharp, decisive, yet minimal movement. If something happened, it would be on his head. He knew it. But this once, he was willing to let outsiders help.

The red troll groaned turning grumpy on his heel to meet the eyes of the odd pink troll. "Fine."

She squealed. "That is so fantast-amazing! Oh you're gonna love it here, I promise!"

Ablaze groaned, giving Branch a deadpanned look.

"Geeze she's loud." Hype muttered, getting elbowed in the side by his soulmate.

The pink troll just giggled, bouncing past the group to address the rest of the pop trolls. "Everyone! Welcome to our Putt-Putt paradise! All Trolls are welcomed here! Don't worry, we'll get you all sorted out and-"

Her hyperactive energy seemed to freeze mid smile.

Ablaze looked like he wanted to kick her. "...the hell is your problem now?"

The odd troll ignored him, eyes locked on a single, sad, gray troll. "Are... are you King Peppy?" She asked softly, taking a single soft step forwards.

Branch could only see part of her gaze, but she stared at the king with a hungry, greedy look. Or maybe that was just the blood deprivation talking.

The king straightened up, clearing his throat. He placed a hand on Poppy's gray shoulder. "Oh, yes. Yes I am. This is my daughter, Princess Poppy."

The soon to be queen waved dully.

"Oh... My... GUMDROPS!" The blonde troll squealed loudly, jumping in place with wild energy. "Dad, its me! Viva!"

"Dad?" Ablaze muttered with wide eyes.

Hype groaned, slapping a hand over his face and leaning most of his weight on his soulmate. "Oh god, that explains it."

The king stared at the pink troll, eyes lighting up in shocked hope. "Viva?"

Poppy frowned from her place next to Peppy. "Dad? Wait, what?"

The blonde troll, Princess Viva apparently, bolted towards her dad and tackled him in a hug. "You're alive! You made it, dad! My dads alive!"

Peppy immediately locked his arms around the pink troll, holding her tightly. His eyes closed as he kissed her forehead. "My little queen. My precious Viva. Oh, I missed you. Look at how grown up you are, you look so much like your mother. I thought... I hoped you survived."

"Um... what?" Poppy questioned, staring at her father hugging a stranger.

When the king opened his eyes again, they were pink instead of gray. "You don't remember, Poppy? I know you were young."

Viva pulled away slightly, keeping one arm wrapped around her father as she stared at the gray troll. "Poppy, it's me, Viva! I'm... I'm your sister!"

"My what."

"Sister?" Boom and Trickee whispered together, eyes wide in horror.

The Snackpack seemed stunned stupid. "What?"

"Poppy," Creek whispered slowly in Branch's ear, "has a sister? Our Poppy?"

Branch just stared at them in horror. Teo energetic, insane princesses who probably wouldn't listen to him. Damn it. He could barely handle a single Poppy, let alone a second one!

He was so screwed.

Chapter 5: Stop At Green

Chapter by FictionAuthorofFiction

Chapter Text

Was he concussed? He had to be, in order for this strange reality to make sense. He couldn't trust himself, couldn't trust his eyes. "...there's two Poppy's now?"

His voice was entirely flat. No, he had to be seeing things. Was hallucination a common side effect of blood loss? Maybe, he couldn't really remember, but that had to be the case.

Unfortunately, Boom nodded from beside him. "Looks like it, Angel."

Branch groaned, turning to hide his face in Trickee's shoulder. No, no, not another one. "Kill me now."

Hype snorted. "No, suffer with the rest of us."

Trickee nodded. "Yeah, bad enough you're missing an arm right now, man."

"I still think I can go back and beat the shit out of the guard that did that." Ablaze grumbled protectively.

Hype smacked the red haired troll in the arm lightly. "No, Abby. One severe injury is enough. Besides, I'd rather you not come back covered head to toe in who knows what."

Ablaze pouted until Hype sighed and gave him a peck on the lips. It was an innocent gesture, one that spoke of years of comfort, but it still never got easier to see.

"Guys! PDA!" Branch hid his eyes behind his hand, wishing that he had the other one so that he could smack his brothers. Alas, that wasn't exactly an option anymore.

Huh, it was becoming more real finally. It would hit him soon, then. Everything heavy always took a few days to sink in, but once it did... well, he was used to drowning in silence. Without his Bunker, that would be a lot harder, but he'd manage.

Thankfully, Boom was happy to intertwine their fingers together once it was safe to look.

Of his friends, Boom was the one who understood his distain towards soulmates the most. Boom's own mate had been eaten in the last Trollstice at just seven years old. Up until then, he'd been so enchanted by Daffodil, a fellow glitter troll, only with silver fur and sunny yellow hair. She'd been taken on Trollstice itself, and Boom never re- bonded.

Unlike a lot of his fellow pop trolls, Boom had told Branch that if he couldn't have Daffodil, then he wouldn't have anyone. He'd kept that mentality for over twenty years now, having no interest in romantic partners or even a platonic bond outside of their friends. He was definitely the most socially isolated of the group besides Branch.

Branch's case was a little different, he couldn't remember if he'd had a bond before he went gray. He knew his heart bled in pain for months, before Grandma Rosiepuff died, but she just waved him off, saying it was probably nothing. When he'd finally started to heal from his second abandonment, he thought he felt something, but it vanished the moment he turned fully gray.

Only Boom and Hype knew he suspected that he'd had a broken soul bond all those years ago, though Hype couldn't prove either way when Branch was gray. If he had a guess, and Branch always did, then it had to be one of his brothers. Before they left, he hadn't really interacted

"Yeah, yeah, big baby." Abby grumbled.

He got it, Abby and Hype were in love. They were soulmates who were obsessed with each other. Hype was especially shameless. Which was... fine. But there was a certain level of PDA none of them wanted to see involving their brothers.

"Do you think they would have what you need to finish patching Branch up? Or even the materials he would need to build that prosthetic arm he was talking about?" Creek asked the grumpy troll. Bless Creek and his nonexistent heart.

Hype just shrugged, leaning more of his weight on Ablaze. "Maybe, but I don't know if-"

"E-excuse me, did you say 'Branch'?" A random troll interrupted softly, pulling on his ears. The troll was dressed in a green body suit with little interlocking diamonds on the abdomen. His hair was wild and scruffy, as if he'd been electrified. There was something about him though, something familiar that he couldn't place with that light green hair and those wide blue eyes. He looked close to tears. "Th-that's what you said, right? Branch is here with you guys? Where-?"

Oh, he remembered that voice, the way it whispered to him softly at night during the days when he had been overwhelmed by everything. He spent hours with that voice as it joked, quiet enough to not get in trouble. It had been their little game, the voice tried to get Branch to laugh loudly enough that he woke up their grandmother. He had always been able to win.

Was...

Were those actual memories or just his brain playing tricks on him due to his extensive injuries? There was no way that troll could be-

"Clay." He whispered softly. Once the word left his lips, he knew he was right. Maybe the memories weren't, but this troll... it had to be him. They stared at each other, blue eyes meeting dulled gray for a few seconds, before he had to look away. "Didn't think I would see you again."

The green haired troll gasped, hand over his mouth as tears started to fall down his cheeks. "B-Branch!? What the-!? How did you lose your arm!? Why are you grey!?!" Clay stumbled forward, arm reached out towards his littlest brother. "What happened to-"

Ablaze blocked his path, moving to stand protectively infront of the gray troll. "Back off."

Clay stumbled back, surprised. "Wh-what!? But I-"

"Yeah, we know EXACTLY who you are, asshole." Boom sneered. "And if you think you can just run up to Branch after everything that's gone down, then you're a few screws short." The troll looked at Clay's hair, condescension clear in his voice. "It would explain your hair, actually."

Branch sighed, a long, exasperated sound. While he loved that his brothers in all but blood were trying to protect him, even if he didn't need it, this wasn't the time to offend anyone from this group of trolls. Even if he secretly thought Clay deserved it. "Guys... please. Not right now."

"Angel's right, we need to get situated first. Besides, if need be, he could provide a suitable blood donation... depending if he and Branch are the same blood type." Hype agreed, sounding just as exhausted as Branch felt.

Branch resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Of course the only reason Hype wasn't joining in was because he thought Clay could be useful to help make Branch better.

"B-blood dontation!?! How much blood has he lost?!? What the hell happened to my baby brother!?!" Clay stammered, one hand reaching up to pull on his hair.

Loud gasps, far too dramatic for Branch's tastes, echoed behind him. He reluctantly turned just enough to spot the Snackpack looking at them in horror. Wonderful, Branch thought to himself sarcastically, just what I need right now.

"Oh my gah!" Smidge whisper-shouted, anger in her face.

Mr. Dinkles, in that deep odd voice that Branch wasn't entirely sure actually existed had his own words. "Oh snap!"

Trickee groaned in annoyance. "Now look what you did."

Ablaze sneered at the Snackpack, before his eyes returned to Clay. "Look, we aren't going through the shit show trauma that Branch went through, so-"

"They know about Grandma." Branch said blankly.

His friends stared at him as if he'd just admitted glitter was better than traps.

Boom, of course it was Boom, looked at him with confusion. "...what?"

He looked away. His friends knew how much he loathed talking about his life. It took years for him to open up about everything to them. It wasn't a story he told lightly, or ever outside of their group. For Branch to share something so personal...

Well, Branch didn't make friends easily, but those who knew counted. Usually. "They know about Grandma."

"... uh, why?" Ablaze asked cluelessly, looking back and forth between his friend and the group that had always treated Branch like shit.

Cooper stepped up, clearing his throat sheepishly. "Th-there was an incident where we were all singing, and Branch wasn't joining in... it lead to Poppy trying to get him to sing, they kinda got into an argument. Poppy kept pushing and... y-yeah, he just blurted it out."

".... don't do it," Hype muttered to himself furiously. "Don't kill the princess, don't kill the princess. Alright, we need to get Branch settled so I can give him proper treatment. Everything else can wait."

"Wha-wait, h-hold on, Grandma, she-"

Hype cut Clay off with an icy glare that made even Branch shut up and give in. "Not. Now."

Clay just flinched.

"Hype's right. Look," Ablaze sighed tiredly, looking at Clay, "if you want to try and actually and help Branch, then we need a place to get him situated."

Clay nodded furiously. "R-right. We-We can go to my place. I have tons of medical equipment and-"

The Poppy duplicate bounced over to them, throwing her arms around the green haired troll. "Clay!" She cheered.

His brother just yelped. "Viva!" He shot her a smile and hugged her back awkwardly. "Hey girl, what's, uh, what's up?"

Viva smiled radiantly, twirling the two of them happily. "Isn't this amazing! We're all reunited! My dads alive! My sister is alive! We're together again!"

Clay coughed. "Y-yeah! A-Amazing! H-Hey, why don't you go spend time with your family, I-I need to get Branch some medical aid a-and-"

The lost princess looked at them, eyes passing over the group, as if she was bored by their existence, before they landed on him. "Hm? Ooooh I remember you! The little trolling who went Grey after his grandma sacrificed herself for him! You're still alive! How weird."

Branch flinched back, half stepping further into Creek. He could feel the wrath from his friends growing and Ablaze, always ready to fight, had locked eyes on his newest target. Thankfully, Boom grabbed his shoulder before he could attack the clear leader of the people they were guests to.

Clay's eyes teared up, before he took a deep breath. "H-he needs medical attention, Viva. So I'm gonna take him and his friends to my place, and get him situated."

She nodded, shrugging in indifference. "Oh, for sure! You go ahead and take care of that. I'll check by later to see how you're doing."

"Sounds good." Clay nodded, waving his arms to sweep the group, both his friends and the Snackpack, towards where he wanted them to go. "I'll see you later."

"Bye bye!" Viva twirled again, returning to Poppy's side.

Ablaze growled low in his throat. "The sooner we get Branch recovered, the sooner we can lea-"

A hand over his mouth shut up Ablaze, who looked ready to kill someone. "Shhhh!" Clay hissed, looking nervously between them and Viva. "Don't say that word out loud, please. Trust me, it's best if you don't talk about that out loud. I'll explain later. For now, let's get Branch that medical treatment."

"...fine. But you're gonna want to let Ablaze go before he-" Hype tried to warn him, but not fast enough.

Ablaze's teeth bit into the green haired trolls flesh hard until he felt Clay pull away.

"Ow! Did you just bite me?" Clay asked in confusion, cradling his hand.

Ablaze glared. "Do. Not. Touch. Me."

"He don't like you, so don't touch him." Boom snickered.

Clay sighed. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go okay?" Blue eyes darted to the side as his voice lowered to a whisper. "We need to hurry."

None of them wanted to go, that was clear, but Branch just nodded, following his brother while his friends, and Creek, stumbled along after them.

"Man, little bro, you still have awful timing." Clay muttered softly, "but I'm glad you're alive. I missed you."

Branch hummed, not wanting to say anything. Not yet. Maybe when Clay didn't look like he was heading to his death, he'd tell his older brother how much he missed him. Or maybe he'd just yell.

Who knew.

Chapter 6: One Half of a Puzzle

Chapter by FictionAuthorofFiction

Chapter Text

Creek could admit to himself, as he stared down into a much fuller iron pot than he was expecting, that he had given his fellow trolls too much credit. He had assumed that they would follow the directions Branch had left behind for them, as he was the one who gave them a safe place to hide. Clearly not.

He wanted to scream when King Peppy and the others came out of the Bunker at the sound of the cow bell. Creek wanted to shove their faces into the walls where directions in case of emergencies were written. When he realized that all of their people were there, including Branch and his friends, he knew the day would end in bloodshed.

He had been right, of course.

Branch, the genius idiot that he was, had managed to make a plan that got every single troll to safety. Everyone, that was, except for himself. Like a dumbass. Creek was practically resigned to the stupidity at this point.

Creek had wished he was more surprised to see that Branch had maimed himself. The other troll was an idiot, and frankly, it wasn't odd to see Branch hurt in some way or another. The odd gray troll was almost always bleeding or cut somewhere obvious, to the point that one of his friends became a doctor simply because they had patched Branch up so often.

So yes, Branch succeeding at getting everyone free with no injuries wasn't a surprise. Branch was a genius and a survivalist for a reason. Nor was the fact that the idiot was hurt. Missing an arm...

He wondered how Branch could stand it, the pain, but came to the logical conclusion that his idiot (no, not his, never his anymore) was just weird. Branch had been... odd with pain before.

This, though, was a whole new level of odd. Then again, everything about his idiot was odd, so he wasn't sure why he was so surprised.

The fact that one of Branch's friends actually wanted his help was odd too. He knew they didn't... particularly like him. Which was fair. He didn't particularly like them either. He couldn't believe they were still friends with such a callous grump.

"No Hype." He told the other troll, voice dripping in annoyance. The idiot doctor wanted Creek to carry the injured idiot. On one hand, logically, it made sense. They were soulmates after all. But Branch had been rejecting him for years, and that effected everything. He scoffed. "You can't honestly think I can just carry him for that long. I'm too weak, the constant rejection from him is becoming too much. It's a struggle to even breathe sometimes."

Hype looked at him, pity in his gaze almost burning the purple troll. "Look," the doctor told him softly, "I get it. I can't imagine the pain you're in from the rejection, but-"

"No, you don't. Unless you've been rejected, you can't understand." Creek snapped. He wanted to pull his hair out. How many times had other trolls looked at him in pity because of the bond? How many times had they treated him like he was breaking before their eyes.

Which, to be fair, he supposed he was. Each year, it was harder and harder to carry on, to pretend that he wasn't broken. It just wasn't fair.

No one other than the three of them, Hype, Branch, and Creek himself knew about the bond. As far as he knew, only the doctor and himself knew just how badly the bond was deteriorating, on his side, but Branch likely suspected it. The idiot was a genius, no matter how awful he could be.

Hype looked around awkwardly, making sure no one else was close enough to hear their conversation. "I... hate to ask this, but how exactly have you been trying to tell him that he's your soulmate?"

"What do you mean? I've tried to ask him out on dates, I've given him countless compliments, I've offered to teach him Yoga and meditation to help him relax-"

The doctor face palmed, groaning in annoyance as understanding seemed to hit him. "You never directly told him."

"What? No, he's never given me the time to actually say anything about it. He always rejects me when I try to ask him out. Not exactly something to just bring up out of the blue." Why should he bare his heart anymore than he'd already done? Why should he continue hurting himself just to stay near his soulmate?

Yes, he loved Branch, but it was clear... well, they expected different things from their bond. Creek wanted a partner, someone to share his life with. Branch wanted to be left alone in his Bunker, far away from him.

The blue glitter troll just groaned at him. "With Branch? Yes it is."

"Huh?" Hadn't the doctor been listening at all? Creek had been doing everything! He had given all he had to give in order to keep this damned bond alive. It was hurting him. How could talking even more about it with Branch do... anything?

Hype sighed at him, looking at Branch with a fondness not shared by anyone outside their small group. How he could look so adoring while staring at the gray grump, Creek didn't know. "Look, I have known Angel for a long time, our entire lives basically. Since he lived with his grandma, in fact. He is one of the smartest trolls I know, but in all honesty, he's a big oblivious idiot with certain things. With him, you have to be direct. You have to literally spell things out for him with certain things. He didn't know you were asking him out on dates, he most likely thought you were luring him into a trap. He didn't know you were genuinely complimenting him, he thought you were teasing him or mocking him. As for the Yoga or meditation, again, he thought you were mocking him. He doesn't understand social cues very well."

No.

Absolutely not. There was no way a troll like Branch could be so dense. Branch was a survivalist, a genius of his own right. He could read the body language of practically any critter, but he couldn't understand this? No. This had to be an excuse, something Hype was lying about to get him to hold onto their fraying bond.

"Oh, trust me," the doctor sighed, "he's basically my brother. I love him to death but yes, in certain ways, he is. More so than Boom is when someone tells him a joke he doesn't understand but laughs at it anyways. Honestly, now that I think about it, Branch probably doesn't even think he CAN have a soulmate. What with being grey for so long and all."

"I..."

Was it even possible that Branch didn't know how badly he had hurt Creek all these years? It couldn't be, could it? No. No, Branch had to know. Because if he didn't, then that meant all this suffering, the nights of nausea and weakness, of chest pain and insomia, were all his own fault. That could not be right. He would have known.

Wouldn't he?

Branch was a genius, he reminded himself. Branch knew things no one realized he did. The gray troll knew how he was viewed by their people, and didn't care. Surely, surely he knew what Creek was trying to say.

But what if.

Creek knew damn well how antisocial his unfortunate soulmate was. Never in his life had he met a troll who hated others as much as Branch seemed to. Hate just didn't naturally come to most pop trolls, it went against their nature to be anything but fun loving, positive, and outgoing. Yet, with Branch, those traits were invisible. Branch was so very different.

Perhaps this was different too? He wanted to hope so, but Branch had tried to strangle him. Branch had tried to kill him. Holding out hope that he didn't know... would not really fix anything. "Alright, OK this is a lot to... consider. I will take the time to think about all that you've informed me on later, but right now, there's still no way I can just carry him. We don't even know how long we need to go in order to stay ahead of the Bergans, what if I accidentally drop him or something?"

Creek knew himself. He had to, in order to control his auras. He knew he had fallen in love with Branch the moment he laid eyes on the once charismatic blue troll. He knew just how powerful Branch had been as a trolling, how overwhelming the inferno had been. He'd also seen how it had been suffocated year after year, flames smothered by the dirt Branch his in until it was more of a whisper of what could have been, like embers of a campfire barely hanging on. He hadn't had to search for his soulmate when they were younger. He'd always been able to feel the warmth. Now? Branch was practically extinguished. He had been fading all these years, and no one but Creek had known.

He did not want to hurt his soulmate, no matter how much the other troll hurt him. Not physically at least. He just wanted the same easy bond as everyone else. But he couldn't have it. With Branch, that was impossible.

"You won't." Hype reassured him. "Look, the whole 'science' behind how a soulmate bond works isn't my field of study, but I do know that having your soulmate near, or even just having physical contact with them can give someone any and all needed strength to do what needs to be done."

"But-"

"Creek, I get it. You've been hurting for a long time. But so has Branch. I'm not giving too much details, because his life story is not mine to tell to anyone, including you. But he's been so much, most of which he blames himself. Nothing I've said or the other three have said has changed that, and honestly, even if he did regain his true colors someday, I don't think that guilt is ever gonna go away. But he still stuck it out. His devotion to our people, to everyone who's berated him and talked down at him, is stronger than any pain he's going through. Maybe try and take inspiration from that. No matter the pain, devote yourself to a higher cause."

That hurt to hear. "I... I've never considered how much he actually cares for our whole village..."

Truly, he hadn't. He had taken for granted the knowledge that Branch was out there, guarding them. Was it possible that Branch truly did care about the village? If so... could it be possible that Branch could care about him too? No. No, he couldn't think like that. It would hurt more.

Hype simply shrugged. "No one ever did besides me and the other three. Even Branch wants to deny how much he actually cares. Trust me, with all the secrets I know about Branch, you'd be amazed how big his heart actually is."

The glitter troll was wrong. He had to be wrong. If he wasn't, if Branch was capable of love and devotion, then that meant he was denying their bond. On purpose. It meant he knew they were soulmates, and simply did not care.

What was worse, he wondered, Branch being able to care and choosing not to, or Branch being incapable? He could feel himself shaking as he forced himself to breath. This... was a lot. More than he wanted to think about with everything going on.

Before he could tied himself in even more knots, Branch woke up, distracting the doctor.

Later, Branch had fallen asleep on the walk to Clay's home in his arms. The sensation of heat against his chest was comforting, even if the only reason his soulmate allowed it was because the doctor's badgering. He sat on the couch as they crowded in, holding Branch as close as he dared.

The room was silent as Branch settled, barely stirring as Creek sat down carefully with his burden.

Trickee heaved a sigh, plopping gracelessly on the couch next to him and pulling Branch's feet into his lap so that other troll was laying down. "Dude, I can see the smoke coming from your ears. Mind sharing what's making you think so much?"

Creek jumped, eyes wide as his attention moved to the orange troll. "Huh?"

Boom scoffed, sitting on the floor in front of Trickee. "You're staring at Branch and burning holes into him. You're thinking hard about something."

He was, yes, he wasn't aware it was that obvious though. Still, he had to wonder. Both from his conversation with Hype, and the tidbits Branchhad spilled once he'd awoken in the tunnels made Creek... curious. "You all went Grey in that Pot. It was for a short time, but did you notice anything different? About yourselves?"

Was his voice too hopeful? Was he being too obvious?

Ablaze, the one troll he hadn't expected to talk to him, was oddly the one to answer. Albeit, reluctantly. "...couldn't feel my soul bond any more."

Something, like a flame burned in his chest. What? "What do you mean?"

The purple troll huffed at him. "My soul bond. After I went Grey, it's like it disappeared. I only noticed it after Branch started talking about getting out. I wanted to feel at least some sort of comfort from my soulmate, but I couldn't feel the bond any more. Not till my colors came back. Hype was right there, but all I could feel was a... chasm of nothing."

"I... I see." Creek muttered, more to himself than the trolls around him. He brushed a hand through Branch's dark gray hair. He didn't know how to feel about it. "This whole time, he just didn't know...?"

"That you and he are soulmates?" Hype cut in viciously. "Nope. Not a clue."

Trickee and Boom stared at the doctor in disbelief.

"...what." Trickee asked, voice deadpanned.

Boom just groaned. "Bro, seriously?"

"Yep."

Trickee turned, purple eyes blazing in fury. "And you straight up broke his heart like it was nothing!? The hell!?"

Creek winced. He wasn't... thrilled to be having this conversation with Branch's friends, but he couldn't exactly deny it. At least the Snackpack and the weird green haired troll, Clay, were staying silent while they spoke. He didn't know how he'd manage this mess if they spoke. "I... see that he told you about that day."

Boom growled at him. "Branch tells us everything, even if he doesn't want to at first. We're the only ones he trusts to actually listen to him."

"To support him." Trickee added smugly.

"To let him actually show emotions." Ablaze heaved a sigh. "He's a troll too, you know. He might not be... great at showing them, but he does have feelings too."

Creek frowned, guilt heavy. He had no idea that his words had such a profound effect on his soulmate. He hadn't meant them like that, he'd just been... frustrated, pissed really, that Branch dared to deny everything they were.

A pillow bounced off of his head, making it snap up. "Ahh!" He caught the projectile before it hit Branch in the face. "What was that for!?!"

"For one, breaking my brother's heart. For two, don't you dare lose your colors. The last thing Branch would want to happen to anyone is that they go through what he has. He's already going to have ahard enough time dealing with most of the tribe being gray. Adding to it is just cruel."

"...what," he asked slowly, "exactly did happen?"

The four exchanged looks, silently debating something, beforetheir eyes slid to their silent observers. Clearly, the Snackpack knew, from the awkward way they avoided eye contact with the group, but Clay... Clay seemed both heart broken and confused.

Finally, Hype sighed. "I suppose you should know. Your friends do."

Ablaze growled lowly. "Plus, that damn bitch just blurted it out like it was some kind of common fucking knowledge."

The explanation was both long and horrifying. It was a tale straight out of a tragedy. Even Clay, who was clearly older than them, had gotten violently sick when the group described Branch's nightmare. The faithful day he had gone almost silent, the day their bond went quiet, the day Branch lost his colors.

Creek stared at them, a mix of shock and horror in his face. That couldn't be what happened. There was no way his soulmate had lived through something like that. Yet, from the solemn looks on his friends faces, this was the same story they had been told by Branch himself. "H-he knows that it wasn't his fault, right?"

Hype just sighed, running an exhausted hand down his face, before sliding the other into Ablaze's hand. "I told you before... Branch doesn't listen to us when we tell him that."

"And we don't care if he doesn't. Won't stop us from telling him over and over." Ablaze added firmly.

Boom and Hype nodded. "We won't let him push us away either." Boom told them, voice steady.

"No matter how scared he is of us getting hurt 'because' of him." Trickee finished. "He's our brother, blood or not."

"I never knew." Creek told them blankly. "I never... I didn't know. I wouldn't have said..."

Ablaze nodded, eyes sharp. "Yeah, I can tell how much the guilt is eating at you, so this time you get a pass for breaking his heart."

The others nodded in agreement.

"You didn't know. So we'll let it go. But, do it again, however..." Boom smirked, eyes glowing as the mild mannered troll made his silent threat.

"You'll wish you were eaten by a Bergan." Trickee laughed.

Hype just shrugged. "Plus, no one would trace it back to us. As a doctor, I can rule your death as an accident if need be."

They were serious, he realized with a shudder. "Noted."

"What is?" A voice asked softly from his lap.

He looked down, seeing those oddly hypnotizing gray- blue eyes watching him. Ah, great. Branch was awake.

That meant it was time to plan. He wanted to groan, but didn't dare with the dark looks he was receiving. "Nice of you to join us, Storm cloud." Creek teased softly.

Branch sat up, groaning softly as he moved the nub. He opened his mouth to retort, but stopped. Sharp eyes locked on blue eyes.

Creek watched as every wall within his soulmate slammed up in real time. Right. Clay. They had to deal with Clay.

Chapter 7: Toxic Love in Green and Yellow

Chapter by FictionAuthorofFiction

Chapter Text

Creek couldn't stand it. He wanted to run, to hide, to do something, anything, other than watch his soulmate withdraw into himself while his soulmate's brother stared anxiously at them. It didn't help, he knew, that Branch's friends clearly knew more than they had admitted, since they were glaring daggers at their Green haired host.

Someone had to say something.

Normally, he'd think Branch would, since the normally oblivious idiot certainly never minded making others uncomfortable. But, Clay seemed to be an exception. If they clearly were brothers who hadn't seen each other in so long... well, Creek could understand the guilt.

Branch looked awful, more pale than normal, which made his hair seem even darker. Like charcoal, he supposed, instead of simply a stormy sky. The tale of his soulmate was one of tragedy.

Frankly speaking, Creek wanted some time to process how he felt about... everything. From Branch's grandmother to the fact that he probably couldn't feel their bond. There had been too much going on.

But this had to be handled directly, and if his soulmate couldn't do it, Creek supposed he could step up. Just this once. His temper was fraying from the stress, even if his heart felt... odd from the fact that Branch had stayed, curled by his side.

"Will you all please start communicating?" Creek sighed. "You three keep glaring at our host, and you, are very clearly worried about your, apparent, baby brother. So please, I know it goes against everything you are, but please just get this over with."

"m'not a baby...." Branch grumbled.

Creek poked him in the forehead, watching as his nose scrunched up. "You, vicious little storm cloud. Hush. Try to rest. As Hype said you've lost a lot of blood and need to rest in order to regain your strength."

"Mmm fuck off, yoga boy." Branch complained, turning slightly so he was leaning more against Trickee, who wrapped a smug arm around the smaller troll.

Creek just rolled his eyes. "See? Exactly my point. You're too tired to even give me a proper insult."

Branch, in a move Creek had never seen before, simply stuck out his tongue.

Creek groaned, rubbing his forehead harshly. "Why are you so adorable?"

Hype chuckled. "Don't mind him, he gets like this when he's tired. But Creek is right, there is way too much tension in here, and believe it or not, that can affect Branch's recovery. So, Clay, why don't you tell us how you and..."

"That bitch ass cunt?" Ablaze offered helpfully.

Hype sighed at that. "Abby."

Ablaze just shrugged. "What? She is. She literally just blurted out Angel's private buisness like it was some fucking-!"

The doctor cut off the baker with a soft look. "I know, I know. But there's still a nicer way to go about this."

Ablaze simply rolled his eyes. "Well, she pissed me off! Not exactly in a 'nice' kind of mood, babe."

Hype hummed sympathetically. "I know, but this still isn't the time to lose your temper. With Angel down like this, it falls on us to keep the rest of our people calm, and God knows Peppy and his daughter isn't going to do that."

"Oh yes," Ablaze scoffed, crossing his arms, "the same people who scorned our brother for years and didn't give a damn about him, leaving him to fend for himself since he was a little kid."

Creek looked away uncomfortably. He'd never seen these two argue before, and he didn't like it.

Hype kicked Ablaze lightly. "Yes, and they are still the same people Angel cares about. If he didn't care about them, he wouldn't have tried to get them to listen to his warnings. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have made safety protocols for the entire village, or let the village get attack by the many predators he's fought off. Angel cares for them, so we need to as well."

The baker groaned in annoyance. "Sometimes, I hate it when you're right."

That got a chuckle from the blue glitter troll. "No you don't. How about this, if this...Viva, character comes anywhere near Angel and hurts him, you can snap her neck. How does that sound, sweetie?"

Ablaze smirked, eyes glowing in dark satisfaction. "Better."

"Mm, good." Hype pulled the banker into a soft kiss, the two locking eyes like they were the only ones to exist in the world.

Boom groaned, throwing a hand over his eyes, face scrunched up in disgust. "Ugh, come oooon! Stop being so gross!" The cleaner complained.

Trickee scowled down at the troll on the ground. "It's not gross, it's sweet!"

The yellow glitter troll rolled his eyes. "Dude, I don't want to sit here and watch our brothers make out with each other. Again. Unlike you, you hopeless, wanna be romantic."

Trickee just stuck his tongue out.

"Good luck." A voice called softly from his spot by the window.

Everyone turned to a nervous looking Clay, who was looking at the ground, wringing his hands together roughly.

Hype raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Clay shrugged. "The whole snaping Viva's neck thing... good luck. She is way stronger then she looks... oh God," his voice went low, words running together as he mumbled to himself, "he's still unconscious, isn't he? She hit him over the head pretty good a-and there was a lot of blood... oh God what if he dies..."

The room stiffened. "What was that?" Hype asked, voice fake casual.

Clay blinked. "Huh? O-Oh, no. Um, s-sorry. I've developed a bad habit of mumbling to myself. It's... i-i-it's nothing. A-Anyway, you wanted to know how Viva and the others got here, right?"

Ablaze looked suspicious, but nodded. "That's right."

Clay nodded like a bobblehead, before explaining what turned out to be a horrifying tale of their escape gone wrong. He spoke of those on the other side of the collapse. How some of their people had been caught by a Bergan, being saved by the princess, how they all fought after the tunnels collapsed, and, eventually, how they found the abandoned Golf Course and started their village with the survivors.

"And you?" Ablaze asked harshly.

"H-huh?" Clay stuttered.

Boom glared. "You never mentioned yourself in the tunnels. You were with her in the tunnels, weren't you? You never left the tree after your band broke up, right?"

Clay shook his head wildly, eyes wide. "N-no! No! I did! I didn't meet up with Viva until three months later! I swear! I went by myself, that night, and just... existed for a while."

"Mhm... why didn't you leav-"

Clay bolted across the room, slapping a hand over Ablazes mouth. "Shhh!!!" Once the purple troll was silent, he went back to the window, peeking through the curtains as his eyes darted around outside.

Hype pulled Ablaze into his arms. "...what's with that word? You freak out whenever someone mentions... that."

Clay shivered, running a hand through his hair in stress as he pulled the curtains to fully cover the window once more. "Its..." he looked around, clearly wantung to leave, but he didn't. Instead, he turned fully towards Branch, gathering his courage. "After the escape, something inside Viva snapped. When she found this place, she became convinced that everywhere else was just too unsafe. If anyone ever mentions... that, she becomes this... completely different person and... it doesn't end well."

Ablaze hissed through his teeth. "Are you freaking kidding me?!? You're telling us that she is willing to go nuts on someone for even mentioning wanting to-"

Hype placed a hand on his shoulder, making Ablaze slam his eyes shut and take several deep breaths. Once his soulmate was calming down, Hype turned back to Clay. "Why did you stay? Why didn't you go to try and find Branch?"

"I wanted too." Clay whispered, staring at Branch in sorrow. "So, so badly I wanted to go and find him to make sure he was ok, he's my baby brother. I love him to death. B-but Viva told me that Grandma had him. That Grandma was protecting him, taking care of him. She... she didn't tell me that Grandma died..."

"So, she lied to keep you here." Hype finished for him.

Clay nodded, a tiny movement compared to the wild ones he seemed to normally do. "Y-yeah... I think so... look, I know the past may... say other wise, but my brothers mean the world to me. All of them. Viva must've knew that if I had any idea that Branch might have been alone, I would have done everything I could to find him, to be with him."

"Uhuh... and so why did you just believe her?" Ablaze asked sarcastically.

Clay flinched. "...Viva's my queen, and even if she's changed, she's still the troll who saved me, my best friend. She's... she's my soulmate."

Oh.

Creek felt dread pool at the base of his spine. That.. was very much not good. At all. The room went silent. They all knew how important soulmates were. If one couldn't trust their soul, who could they trust? Even Creek, who's bond was fraying, had fully trusted Branch's plan to escape. He instinctively knew that Branch would do whatever it took to keep them safe, so he had gracefully allowed the other troll to step up and get them out.

Ablaze heaved a sigh. "Oh."

"Why do you think your soulmate would lie to you then?" Hype asked softly, clearly much more sympathetic with that knowledge.

Clay just shrugged. "Like I said... she became a completely different person after the escape... honestly, our bond has become... strained in these twenty years and... if I could then I... I-I want too... I can't just... our people need me to-"

The green haired trolls breathing sped up, his hands gripping his hair and pulling roughly as he tried to find the words.

Trickee, who had been staying back with Boom and Branch, stood up, purple eyes determined. The orange troll moved over to Clay, hovering a hand over his arm. "Hey, look at me. Can I touch you? No one's mad at you."

Clay jumped, wild eyes darting around the room before locking on the troll in front of him. The green haired troll nodded, a tiny movement, but still a clear agreement, which made Trickee place his hand on the other trolls arm to ground him.

"Take a deep breath, count to five, and let it out slowly." Trickee coached softly.

Creek flinched when he realized Branch, still by his side, was subconsciously following along. Trickee seemed extremely used to calming down panic attacks, did that mean Branch suffered from them most?

Thankfully, it seemed to work for Clay as well.

"Good." Trickee praised quietly, squeezing Clay's arm slightly. "Look, well all know that a Soul Bond is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Knowing your bonded with the crazy blonde explains a whole lot of things. Not everything, but still a lot. If you could, you would. We understand that much. Let's change the subject then, yeah? Where did you go before finding this place?"

Clay just stared blankly at him, eyes oddly focused, yet distant.

"Uh, hello? You with me, man?"

Clay jumped, shaking himself and blushing lightly. "Huh? O-Oh! I-I'm sorry, I uh, I've never met anyone with orange and purple eyes before... they're... really pretty..."

Trickee tilted his head in confusion. "Um, thank you?"

Clay pulled back, taking two steps away until his back was against the wall. "Um, a-anyway, after leaving I ended up traveling. Met several different people from the other tribes and-"

"Other tribes?" Cooper piped up, unable to stay quiet any longer. "What other tribes? There's more trolls?"

Clay nodded, confused. "Yeah? Y-you know, the other Troll Tribes. Like yours, since your a Funk Troll."

"I'm a what now?"

Clay looked blankly at him, before understanding crossed his face. "O-oh... I'm sorry, I, I thought you knew..."

"Why don't you start from the beginning. What other tribes are there?" Hype asked.

Creek listened in a mix of shock and dread. More trolls were out there. Other tribes, specialized to other genres of music with different abilities than there own. Strings that used to be together, stolen away because Pop trolls greed. Harmony stolen by their tribe.

They didn't know. But the King must have.

"So, you're telling us that not only is there other tribes based on different musical genres, but there are these magical strings that are the embodiment of said musical genres, right?" Ablaze asked carefully, eyes wide.

Clay nodded wildly. "Y-yeah. They kind of... hate us. Look I understand that it's too weird to believe but-"

"No." Branch straightened, groaning softly in pain. His eyes sharper than they had been. Clearly, he'd been listening this entire time, and now that their safety was... threatened, he felt the need to step in once again. "We
believe you."

Clay blinked, eyes wide and watery. "Y-you do?"

Boom shrugged from his place on the floor. "Dude, Tri's seen and done things you wouldn't think are real."

"Mhm," Branch agreed, rubbing his eyes. "Writes down his adventures down in his novels. Pain in the ass.

"He's even found a bunch of flowers that not only survive being severed from its stem, but you can literally set the things on fire. Magical music strings is nothing compared to how freaky that is."

Trickee glared and pouted at his friends. "Hey! Fire Blossoms are not weird, they're beautiful!"

Hype gave him a deadpanned look. "Tri, bro, the flower can be set on fire and makes said fire... not fire? You've given me too many heart attacks with those too close to Boom."

Ablaze nodded. "Yeah, fire is supposed to burn you. The fire on those flowers are just warm and don't burn at all. Plus, don't the petals dance when you play the panflute?"

"So?" Trickee asked cluelessly.

"So, its weird. Not bad, but definitely weird." Boom agreed. "I love fire, Tri, but one of these days, we're all gonna get blown up by your weird finds."

Trickee just grumbled, crossing his arms with a pout.

"Fire Blossoms?" Clay asked curiously.

That made the orange troll perk up. "Yeah! They're super cool and beautiful! Here," he reached into his hair and pulled out a flower. It had a dark yellow center with three rows of heart shaped petals. The first row was purple, the second was orange, and the outermost row was a bright, neon red color. "check this out. A Fire Blossom alone is absolutely beautiful but when I do this," he grinned mischievously, pulling a match out and lighting it, before placing the flame in the center of the flower. It was immediately engulfedin flames.

The Snackpack gasped in shock, but Creek suspected that Clay wasn't watching the weird flower at all. No, that electric blue gaze was fully on a smug Trickee.

"Stunning." Clay muttered softly.

Trickee laughed freely, his eyes glowing in delight as he stared at the flower. "I know, right? And just like Abby said, if I play a song on the panflute, the petals disconnect from the center and begin to float around and basically dance around! Plus, not only is the Flames completely harmless now, but I've recently discovered that it also has some... healing... qualities..."

Trickee trailed off, eyes darting to Branch, before meeting Hype's.

Hype hummed thoughtfully. "I mean... maybe? I've given him some antibiotics to fight off the on coming infection, but that may take a bit to take full effect. Plus he's running a fever..." the doctor sighed, before shrugging. "Why not. Alright, let's give it a try."

Trickee rushed over shoving Boom out of the way, who moved with a resigned huff. Trickee pulled the vest over Branch's stub, carefully unwrapping the scab before placing the fire blossom over the injury.

Branch shivered, making Creek lean closer. "How does it feel, Branch?"

Branch hummed. "Weird?"

Hype knelt down next to Trickee, eyes glued to the flames. "What kind of weird? Tingling weird, itching weird, painful weird, or tickling weird?"

"Tingling. Electric almost."

Trickee smiled. "Good, tingling is good. See, told you guys Fire Blossoms are the best!"

Ablaze rolled his eyes. "Eh, I still say it's weird."

Trickee pouted at him, only for Hype to smirk and shove him. "Quit picking on my soulmate. And Abby, leave poor Tri alone. Honestly, you two."

Chapter 8

Chapter by FictionAuthorofFiction

Chapter Text

"Is this... fire blossom going to heal him completely? Creek asked, curiously.

Trickee shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It will help a lot, but some things can only be fixed with time. Magic can only do so much, same with medicine. The antibiotics will need to kick in and keep the infection off... ah, that should do it."

The orange troll carefully plucked the fire blossom away, tucking it behind his ear.

Hype leaned forward, examining the wound, before he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness, that did help some. I wasn't sure it would. The infection looks better already. Now, Angel, you need to sleep and-"

Branch shook his head stubbornly. "Can't sleep yet. Gotta plan first."

His friends all rolled their eyes. "Angel, please? You need to rest. At least for a couple of hours. We can take care of things, I promise."

Creek sighed, "come on, mate, he's right. Doctors orders are to take a nap. I'll wake you up myself in a few hours, once we've got a plan in place.

Branch glared at him. "Fuck off. You can't expect me to just-"

"I can, actually. Look, mate, I know you think you're helping, but you're not. How the hells do you expect to fight a Bergan like you are? Or even just a critter? You can barely keep your eyes open." Creek shot back, meeting those challenging eyes with his own, before softening slightly. "Look, you want to help, right? You want to keep us safe? Then let us keep an eye on things for a little while. You can sleep here, and we can start taking care of things. When you wake up, you can help, but Storm cloud, you can't do anymore right now."

Branch averted his eyes, looking away with a small sigh. "Fine. Just for a few hours though."

"He... he can sleep in my bed." Clay volunteered, "its through there."

Creek nodded gratefully, helping Branch stand and leading him carefully towards the bedroom. The room, plain and mostly empty, would work for now. Creek settled Branch on the bed, sitting next to him and running a hand through his hair.

"Sleep, my storm, I will keep us safe until you are ready. I promise." He whispered softly, just low enough that the others couldn't hear him. He knew Branch wouldn't rest if he thought his people weren't safe, but Creek had given his word. While not the fighter that the other troll was, he could be vicious and resourceful.

Branch's eyes closed easily, his breathing evening out in moments. He must have been exhausted, trying to stay awake this whole time with a fever and an infection running wild in his blood.

Creek bent, placing a gentle kiss on Branch's forehead, running a hand through those charcoal locks one last time, before silently backing out. He had a promise to keep. Well, several actually, but one could wait until things settled down some. If Branch really was clueless, then they needed to talk.

The room was immediately attentive the moment he walked in. "He's asleep."

Hype sagged against Ablaze, who wrapped an arm around him. "Thank you Creek. I swear that boy is way too stubborn for his own good."

"Of course." Creek nodded back. He perched back on the couch, feeling oddly cold and alone. But, alas, it was for the best right now. Branch needed to sleep, and the only way he would is if someone else took charge for a while.

"H-he's going to be ok, right?" Clay asked softly.

Hype sighed, sounding exhausted. "Yes, he'll be fine. He just needs to rest and let his wound heal properly. But knowing him, I'm going to need to assign a babysitter for him. Boom, you up for it?"

Clay looked confused. "...he still needs a babysitter?"

The question made Hype groan loudly, annoyance battling the need for a nap.

Ablaze just chuckled. "He once walked on a broken ankle for a week just so he could get some work done. Hype nearly had a heart attack when he found out."

The doctor just grumbled. "I had to tie his ass to the fucking bed. Fucker would not stay down! His bones started healing wrong and I had to rebreak the damn thing so his foot would heal correctly. He's an absolute pain in the ass because, well."

Clay chuckled awkwardly. "Huh... he, uh, he sounds like John Dory. He was always so stubborn too... wouldn't even give himself a moment to rest when he was running a fever..."

Boom straightened, eyes sparkling in curiosity. "Speaking of, while we were escaping, we found this... shrine, dedicated to Branch. Referred to him as a 'Little Thorn', any idea who would have done that?"

Clay went quiet for a moment, before nodding. "We all had special nicknames for each other, individually. B had the most, of course, because he was the baby. JD, our oldest brother called him Thorn, Thorny One, Baby Thorn, things like that. Little Thorn sounds like something he would have used too. I usually called him Dewdrop, Floyd called him Moonstone..." he stared at the wall, blankly. "JD. He must have gone back and... thought that Branch was... gone..."

Boom flopped back, heaving a sigh. "Greeeaaat. So one brother came back to believe Branch was dead, and one was lied and tricked into stay away from him.Dare I ask about the other two?"

The green haired troll nibbled on his lips. "Um... I-I don't know about Spruce, b-but I'm pretty sure Floyd would have gone back at some point, especially since he and Branch are soulmates and-"

Creek froze, feeling the world shattering around him. That couldn't be right. There was no way his soulmate was still soulmates with anyone else. "Excuse me? Soulmates?"

"Uh, yeah? When Branch was still an egg, our brother Floyd felt their bond forming and-"

Creek cut him off, unwilling to hear any more. Perhaps, once, their brother has been soulmates with Branch, but that bond had been gone a very long time. "Well, I can guarantee you that they are not soulmates any more."

Creek had known they were soulmates for far too long. He also knew that their bond was not a shared one. It was only the two of them, intertwined souls forevermore. He just wasn't the sharing type.

The green haired troll seemed shocked, blue eyes wide in disbelief. "Huh?!? What, why? What happened? H-How do you know? Didn't you say..."

Creek flushed, but stayed silent. He wasn't going to defend his bond anymore than he had already done. Not until he and Branch had time to talk.

Hype sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I believe I know what happened. Not long after Floyd left, Branch experience a horrible pain, and explained it like his heart was bleeding. No one knew what it was, at the time, but Branch and I have our suspicions."

Clay seemed horrified, though not more than Creek himself was. "Oh, god."

If that was true, if the brother, Floyd, really did break their bond when they were that young.. it should have killed Branch. That would have been before Branch lost his colors, so he was little more than a toddler. A broken soul bond, especially a rejected one, should have killed him within weeks at most.

Yet another thing that should have killed his stubborn soulmate. He really should have a list of those by now. But, alas, he kept finding new things.

Ablaze groaned, thumping his head on Hype's shoulder. "Now it makes sense. After Floyd left, Branch took that as a rejection. And given how young he was, it's a miracle he survived it."

"He's a Stubborn Bastard." Hype agreed, patting Ablaze softly, while glancing at his friend. "Branch is definitely the most stubborn bastard I've ever met. I can't think of anyone else who would survive what he did."

"Fuck," Clay cursed softly, shaking his head wildly as he pulled on his hair in frustration. "No. No, Floyd would never... he wouldn't... he didn't mean... oh fuck this is so messed up... Floyd adored Branch! He wouldn't hurt him like..." Clay's breathing sped up as the green haired troll spiraled deeper and deeper into panic. Tears streamed down his face as he yanked harder on his hair. His mind worked to understand.

Creek felt a bit of sympathy for the troll. Like it or not, they were siblings, brothers. Hearing that one of their brothers had hurt another badly enough to almost kill them before they even had a chance to experience life had to be heartbreaking.

Trickee, seemingly an expert in panic attacks, moved over to him again. The adventurer gripped the green haired trolls hands in his own, holding them tightly to provide grounding. "Nope, no way. Hey, hey, Clay, bud, Breath. Come on, just like before. Breath in, hold for five seconds, then breath out."

Clay pulled his hands away, moving one to his neck, scratching roughly. His hand was immediately caught and pulled away once Trickee realized what was happening.

"Good, that's good. Geeze, you two are gonna be the death of me, I swear. You and Angel. Alright, let's get the facts laid out, okay? First, you were lied to about the status of your grandmother and baby brother. Next, the person who lied and manipulated your trust is in fact your soulmate, and has gone completely crazy. Third, we now know that John Dory tried to go back and quite possibly believed everyone was dead. And lastly, we now know that Branch and Floyd were soulmates, but aren't now because Floyd, probably unintentionally, rejected Branch. We can't change these facts. They suck. It all sucks. But, we can change what happens now."

Clay stared at Trickee, an odd look in his gaze.

Oh, Creek realized with some amusement. Oh. Looks like more than one brother might have a secondary bond. Good for Trickee, he supposed. The wired up, dubiously sane troll would be in for several thousand heart attacks if Trickee was his intended.

Or perhaps, it was simply a crush. Maybe Clay needed someone like Trickee to swoop in and kick him in the ass for him to finally do what needed to be done. Not that he particularly cared about Trickee or Branch's so called brothers. No, they had never really... gotten along. Hype was the most tolerable, but the other three were maddening. He truly didn't know what Branch saw in them.

"You good now, man?" Trickee asked, tilting his head in question.

Clay just nodded, curling up tighter, but not taking his hands back. "I just... how did things get so bad? All I wanted was to be myself, on my own path. But everything's just so wrong! How can I protect Branch when I can't even protect myself?" Clay whispered, eyes filling with water.

Clay was asking the wrong question, Creek thought. Didn't he realize that Branch had long since learned how to protect himself? Didn't he realize that Branch could keep himself, and all of them, safe? Whoever the green haired troll was talking about, it certainly wasn't his Branch.

"He's not a trolling." Creek told the other, voice frosty. "If he ever needed your protection, and I doubt it, then he has long since stopped. Branch is the most resourceful trolls I know. He is a guardian, a defender. He keeps us safe. You are thinking of him as a soft, spoiled child. He is not."

Nothing drove Creek as insane as people thinking Branch was, to quote the most popular of the names, a stupid, paranoid brute. He understood why, social graces were not something his idiot soulmate had been blessed with. Branch could be blunt, and stubborn, and hard headed, and tactless, and, well, a lot of things. But stupid?

No, Branch was not stupid. He wouldn't have caught Creek's interest if he was.

Even if they were soulmates, if Branch wasn't intelligent, Creek would have walked all over the other troll. It was in his nature. Just like the supposed 'group' who enjoyed following him around in the village. Everyone Creek spoke to, under normal circumstances, could do something for him. Or, more accurately, he supposed, were willing to be persuaded so long as he gave them his attention.

If Creek had a weak minded soulmate, being who he was, there was no doubt he would have ended up far more cruel than he was. Yes, he used the trolls to get his way, and yes, he didn't value any of the trolls outside of what they could do for him.

But, because Branch was his soulmate, and Creek knew how important keeping the village safe was to the gray troll, well. Suffice to say there were boundaries he didn't cross. Even if he occasionally wanted to. Branch was worth holding back those ugly parts of himself.

Not that many people realized that, of the two of them, Branch was far kinder. No, they chose to judge based on appearances and rumors. Too bad for them.

He had shed his masks to keep them alive, just as Branch had. Their people would survive this... insanity too. Even if he had to drag them.

Nothing but the best for Branch.