Hostage

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A/N: Requested by KatieShinsherpa :)

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"How's it looking?"

Branch leaned against the tricycle (kindly loaned to them by Tiny Diamond, who sat at the little basket in front) watching as Poppy pulled out a set of binoculars from her hair and placed them at her eyes. The red pathway before them still stretched quite a distance away from the heart of the glitzy city, and its main attraction - the Rage Dome, from which many talented performers were able to walk the red carpet and sing for their many adoring fans.

Problem was, there were a couple of talentless performers who were going to take the stage that evening. And Branch and Poppy were going to do everything in their power to stop them, and save the Troll who was the secret behind that talent.

Poppy took in the scene and clicked her tongue. "Oof... no good. See for yourself." She handed him the binoculars and he took a look, seeing many of the doll-like creatures congesting the area, and more of them who were donning the telltale black suits and dark sunglasses of bouncers.

"Security's pretty tight," Branch concluded.

Poppy took another look through the binoculars, and looked up the side of the Rage Dome. "You know what that means," she said, glancing slyly at the blue Troll. "We're scaling the walls!"

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It wasn't long before Branch, Poppy, and Tiny Diamond already found themselves about halfway or so up the tall building's side. Using special gummy-like gloves, they were easily able to stick, so the fear of falling off wasn't an issue. Stamina, however...

Tiny Diamond, who was suddenly feeling as though he was truly living up to his namesake, huffed and puffed, his pace significantly slower than the two full-grown Trolls that were up ahead of him.

"I'm tired..." he moaned.

"It's not much longer," Branch responded. He was right. They'd be at the top in just a minute or so if they kept up this pace.

Tiny wasn't having it, though. To him, the top of the building looked like it was miles away!

"My feet hurt," he groaned, aching all over. "Carry me!"

Poppy, usually a pushover when it came to little Trollings, may have given in to the request. But, hadn't Tiny Diamond stated various times on their trip that he was a man? "You have to be a big boy," she said, kindly but firmly at the same time.

Tiny Diamond frowned. "I don't wanna!" he whined. He couldn't believe this! Maybe saying he was a man when he was only a month old wasn't such a good idea after all...

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The sight at the top of the Rage Dome was something incredible. It was the tallest building in the city of Mount Rageous, and all of its glitz and glam could be viewed from every astonishing angle. But the view, while quite impressive, was not what Branch, Poppy, and Tiny Diamond had come to see. They were trying to get in the building. And now that they were upon its roof, it was time to initiate the next step of their plan - actually infiltrating the premises, which would not be easy, given the fan that was below them.

Its blades whirred at rapid speed, and Branch knew that if any of them leapt down into it with the hope of passing through at just the right time, they would more than likely not succeed, and the ugly image of three Troll-splatters resulting from it came into his mind.

"Okay,we have to find a way to bypass the fan blades so that our cupcakes don't get sliced in two," he said, hoping that Poppy and Tiny got the message.

Tiny Diamond though, in a manner that once again showed he was not a man, didn't get the metaphor. "We brought cupcakes?!" he asked incredulously. If he'd known that, he woulda snacked on them a long time ago!

"Umm, noooo..." Poppy said, but didn't elaborate, trying not to put any grotesque images in Tiny's head.

"No... not what I meant, but it doesn't matter," Branch said. He already had an idea in mind. "You wouldn't happen to have cotton candy, would you?" he asked Poppy.

"Yes, actually, why do you need.... Ooohhhhh..." the Pop Queen trailed off. She understood what he was trying to do when Branch gestured down at the fan.

Tiny didn't, though. "Cotton candy?! Ooo! Can I have some?"

"Not right now, okay?" Poppy told him, patting the pouting little Trolling's head for some comfort.

Using the cotton candy, Branch leapt down at the fan, clogging it up so that it stopped spinning. Seeing Branch able to go in without a problem, Poppy and Tiny followed. They landed within a dark room with lots and lots of wires. It looked like a control panel!

Poppy's eyes lit. "That's it!" she said. "If we turn off the show, they can't perform, and we'll have enough time to get Floyd!" She pulled out a welder's mask and blowtorch from her hair and immediately got to work, looking exactly like she knew what she was doing.

Branch was stunned. "Wait, how do you know which wires to cut?" He looked up, confused by the mess of yellow, blue, and red that was all intertwined. He was surprised by his girlfriend's nonchalant answer.

"I don't!" she admitted. "I'm just blasting everything until something turns off!"

As soon as she said the words, suddenly they heard the sound of something powering off. The light had been seeping in from cracks around them went pitch black.

Darkness fell over the Rage Dome as the electricity went out everywhere, even in the bathroom!

A lone fan who had taken a break to handle some number-two business gasped. "Uhh... hello?" he asked uncertainly. Then he sighed. "Err... this just got way more complicated..."

Poppy grinned sheepishly at Branch, who had a "really?" look on his face.

"Well, I guess that handles that!" Tiny Diamond chimed in.

"Yeah... I guess it did." Branch had to smirk. His girlfriend's manner of handling the situation was a little unorthodox, but it had gotten the job done. Now they were closer to accomplishing their mission!

Poppy smiled back. "Let's roll!" she said, waving them to follow her as they left the wires and traveled down the ventways.

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While Poppy, Branch, and Tiny were happy for the power going out, out on the red carpet, Velvet and Veneer were not.

"What the heck happened?" Veneer asked his sister.

"The lights went out, DUH!" she grumbled, as though it were obvious.

"B-but we're supposed to perform in five minutes!" Veneer exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," Velvet growled. Something funny was up... she could feel it. But right now, she had no time to investigate herself. She and her brother were due to put on another star-dazzling performance. Luckily, she had someone else to help her.

"CRIMP!" she called in a demanding tone.

Scurrying towards her in response was a little, paper-like critter, eager to please. "Yes, yes! I'm here!" she huffed, sounding out of breath.

"See what's going on, and get the problem fixed. I can't leave everybody hanging, y'know!"

"You mean 'we' can't leave everybody hanging," Veneer said, correcting his sister.

Velvet grinned a grin at her brother that was in no way meant to be sweet. "Right, of course, WE," she said, doing her best not to clock him right there and then.

"Oh yes, of course, right away, boss!" Crimp said, obediently bowing and then hurrying off.

"And get me a macchiato double-espresso with half cream and two lumps of sugar while you're at it!" Velvet called after her.

"Hey! What about me?" Veneer asked.

"Fine," she huffed, "make that two!"

"But I like mine with just one lump of sugar," her brother whined.

"Urrrghh... it's too late!" Velvet snapped, focusing her attention in keeping her fans entertained while they awaited for the problem to be resolved.

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Meanwhile, the Trolls diligently searched through the venting.

Poppy, Branch, and Tiny peeked in every opening they could find among the maze of passageways. There were plenty of rooms, but none were the kind that they were trying to seek. Branch didn't see any diamonds holding Trolls bearing resemblance to his brother.

Well, until he did.

Branch gasped when he reached one of the vents and peered down. "Wait!" he whispered to Poppy and Tiny. He bent down, taking a closer look at what was below, and feeling emotions overwhelm him when he saw the distinct figure of Floyd. He was nearly white-haired, and his skin had a strange transparent sheen to it, one that did not look in any way healthy.

"It's him," Poppy said in a hushed voice, looking down beside him. She then moved to the screws on the vent and began to undo them with Branch's help. Once they were able to move the vent aside, he took a deep breath and was the first of them to leap down.

Floyd was startled by the sudden movement of the Trolls and moved back inside of the diamond with a short exclamation.

"Shhh," Branch said, putting a finger up to his lips.

Floyd was apprehensive. "Wh-who are y - " But then he stopped right before he finished the question. He knew exactly who this blue-haired Troll with an oh so familiar leafy green vest was, and it made his breath catch in his throat. "Branch?"

Branch nodded, Floyd's shock so obvious in the way he stared at him with wide eyes, unable to believe that his little baby brother was actually standing there with his full-grown self. "Yeah... it's me..." he said, squishing himself up against the diamond wall in an attempt to give him a hug. "And I'm here to help you get out!"

Floyd grinned, pressing himself upon his side of the wall in the same spot where Branch was to return that somewhat-challenging hug. But that grin soon faltered. "Branch... you need to go," he whispered urgently.

Branch shook his head. "No! I came all this way to get you free, and that's what I'm gonna do."

"But you don't understand," Floyd said. "It's not just about me anymore..."

Branch paused. "What do you mean?"

Just at that moment though, the lights flicked back on in the room. The power had been fixed! In that happening, the TV that had gone out came back on, and the Trolls' attention went to it. Featured was a red carpet reporter who was speaking enthusiastically about the performances that would be seen at the Rage Dome that night, the highlight being Velvet and Veneer. When the two were shown onscreen, Floyd pointed.

"Look!"

Branch did look. Very closely. The two siblings were dolled out in extravagant outfits made of silk, fluff, and a whole lot of diamonds studding it. But something was off about the diamonds themselves. If he examined it really, really closely...

The blue Troll gasped.

Inside of them were their brothers.

Clay on Velvet's costume, and Spruce and John Dory on Veneer's!

"They captured them, too," Floyd explained. "They want all five of us Branch... and they're gonna come for you next!" He made a shooing motion with his hands. "You need to leave - NOW!"

"I can't just let you stay here, Floyd!" Branch said.

"You're gonna have to," Floyd said. "It's for your own good!"

"And what about yours?" Branch questioned, feeling greatly disturbed by his brother's worsening conditions.

Floyd didn't have a chance to answer. Bursting into the room was the small paper-like assistant to his captors, beaming for her success in returning the power.

"Yay, I did it!" Crimp cheered to herself. "Now all I gotta do is get the boss her - " she gasped, shocked by what she saw. "TROLL!" Crimp cried, pointing at Branch.

"Uh-oh!" Poppy cried, hauling Branch and Tiny, "RUN!" She and Branch shot their hair back up to the venting to make their escape, though not before the brothers exchanged one last glance with one another. This wasn't over. Floyd would be freed.

Crimp hurriedly ran out of the room, crying out, "I've gotta tell the boss!"

Once Branch had been hauled to safety, Poppy looked at him worriedly. "What's going on? What do we do?" she asked him desperately.

"We gotta beat that paper thing to the red carpet," he said. "And fast!"

Dashing away with Poppy and Tiny right behind, Branch grew a look of determination. Those terrible twins had all his brothers... and it was about time they got confronted about it!

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