The bird soared quickly through the darkened sky, holding Branch tightly in it's grasp and refusing to let go as it carried him farther and farther away from where he last saw Poppy...

"Let go!" the terrified troll yelled out at the top of his lungs, the young boy struggling with all his might to get out of the bird's grasp. "Let me go!"

As he fought to break free, Branch finally looked down, his eyes widening in horror at the realization of how high up he actually was...

"Don't let go!" he yelled out, suddenly reaching up to cling tightly onto the bird's beak which was currently the only thing holding him up and keeping the little troll from falling to his painful untimely demise...

Suddenly, the bird smirked mockingly down at it's horrified prey, the large animal opening up it's mouth to release Branch from it's strong hold, causing the young boy to start falling quickly towards the ground below...

"AHHHHH!" Branch screamed out in pure absolute terror as he plummeted quickly towards his demise, only a large pile of leaves stacked up beneath him giving hope that he would actually survive the fall... like that would actually help in the slightest... 😒

His heart racing right out of his chest, Branch closed his eyes tight, bracing himself for his rough collision with the ground...

     But... as he fell through the pile of leaves... a hole was suddenly revealed, sucking the helpless troll into it's depths...

Like a slide, the young boy tumbled down the walls of the deep hole, finally being spat out at the bottom, the little troll rolling slightly as he roughly hit the ground, finally landing flat on his stomach with a silent groan...

"Branch!" he suddenly heard in a terrified shriek, causing his ears to perk up slightly at the familiar sound...

Forcing his eyes open, the blue pop troll looked up, instantly seeing Poppy running towards him in a panic...

"Poppy!" he yelled out in joy upon seeing the love of his life safe and sound, the little troll quickly jumping up to his feet before hugging the queen of pop tightly in his arms. "Are you ok?"

She nodded in reply to the question, slowly hugging him back...

"I'm fine," she assured softly, the young queen burying her face deep into her boyfriend's shoulder. "And you?"
"I'm ok..." he answered, not caring that much about himself. He only cared about Poppy... and just knowing she was unharmed... made him happier then he ever hoped to be...

Finally, Branch broke away from the loving hug, the survivalist looking around his surroundings to try and figure out where the two of them were...

"Where are we?" he finally asked, not recognizing the area at all...
"It looks like a cave," Poppy said, not really helping in the slightest.
"Well I see that..." Branch sighed sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly as he continued looking around for a way out...

Poppy looked at him with a small gasp, shocked by her boyfriend's choice of words...

"Wait..." she started, staring right at the blue pop troll she loved so much... "You... you see it?"

     Hearing the confusion in her voice, Branch turned to Poppy, remembering how the last time she had seen him... he was completely blind...

     "Y... yeah..." he began to explain. "This weird creature... wait..." He paused, the little blue troll's eyes widening in horror as he remembered how he had gotten there in the first place... how Poppy had most likely gotten there... "Weird creature..." the young boy repeated to himself, his heart suddenly beginning to race in terror once more. "We have to get out of her, Poppy! Quickly! Before it comes back for us!"

Quickly, Branch grabbed onto the queen of pop's wrist, ready to lead her away to safety...

     But... before they could even move a single inch in any direction... the mysterious creature suddenly came sliding down the hole the blue pop troll had fallen through, the horrifying beast looking straight at the two of them with narrowed eyes...

Without even an ounce of hesitation, Branch quickly got in front of Poppy, holding out his arms in a defensive manner to block the creature from the love of his life...

"Stay back!" he yelled firmly, making sure to keep his position in front of Poppy. "I'm warning you! I know hair-jitsu!"

Despite Branch's harsh threatening tone, the creature slowly began to approach the two trolls as Branch gently nudged Poppy backwards, trying his absolute best to protect her from this threat...

"Go away!" the young boy demanded, his eyes narrowed and locked on the creature that was still slowly getting closer and closer to him and Poppy... "Leave us alone!"

     But of course... the beast didn't listen...

     Instead of retreating... the creature once again dropped down onto all fours, seeming to sniff the air as it continued it's approach...

Not letting this... thing... anywhere near the love of his life... Branch continued gently pushing Poppy backwards, the two of them keeping their distance from the creature until the queen of pop suddenly lost her balance, the young girl quickly fumbling down to the ground...

Branch wanted so badly to help the troll he cared so much about get back up to her feet... but he knew he couldn't turn his back to the beast... he had to stand his ground... he had to protect Poppy... at all costs...

"Leave us alone!" the little troll yelled fiercely, still defensively blocking Poppy as the creature continued it's approach, finally rising back up to it's two back feet once it reached the helpless trolls in front of it...

     Branch gulped in pure absolute terror at the sight of the horrifying beast now standing tall just in front of him... but the little troll didn't back down... instead... he hid his fear to the best of his ability... pretending to be the bravest troll in the entire world... to protect Poppy...

     "Move..." the creature hissed in a raspy but firm voice, the beast looking right past Branch so that it could stare straight at Poppy...

     "No!" Branch yelled defensively, moving himself farther in front of his girlfriend. "I won't let you hurt her!"

     A small growl escaped the creature's throat, Branch instantly knowing it was about to attack...

     Quickly, the young boy whipped his hair forwards, trying to whack the creature away from both himself and Poppy... but the threat just dodged the attack with ease before roughly swinging it's staff straight at Branch...

     The stick slammed right into the little troll with great force, one of the growl beast teeth that were attached to the wooded staff jamming directly into the survivalist's stomach...

     "AHHH!" Branch yelped out in torturous pain before the young boy suddenly collapsed right down to the ground with a massive thud...

     "Branch!" Poppy shrieked in fear, watching her boyfriend tumble down to the ground, blood splattering everywhere as he uncontrollably rolled away from her... "No! Branch!"

     Quickly, the queen of pop jumped up to her feet, trying desperately to run over to her injured boyfriend, but the creature quickly grabbed onto her wrist, holding the young girl back with all it's might...

     "N... no..." Branch whimpered in pain, trying so hard to push himself back up to his trembling feet...

     He had to get up... he had to save Poppy... but the pain... it was just too much for him to handle... the little troll falling right back down to the ground with a silent groan of exhaustion, his eyes slowly falling shut against his will...

     "Branch! No!" Poppy cried out, trying her hardest to pull her way out of the creature's grasp, but it held on tight, gazing directly at her with unblinking eyes...

     "L... let her... go..." Branch muttered weakly, the helpless troll panting heavily as he lay on the cold hard ground, completely unable to move...

     "Please!" Poppy begged, looking to the creature as she cried out in fear for her beloved boyfriend's life. "He's hurt! You have to let me help him! Please!"

     The creature gazed at the young queen for a little while longer before the beast finally released her from it's grasp...

     Quickly... the second she broke free from the creature's firm hold... Poppy ran straight to Branch, the young girl dropping down to her knees beside the troll she cared about more than anything else in the world...

     "Branch?" she whispered softly, pulling her boyfriend's limp body into her lap as she gently stroked the back of her hand across the young troll's cheek. "Can... can you hear me?"

     There was no reply... only the sound of Branch's struggled breathing filled the young queen's ears...

     "You're gonna be ok, Branch..." she cried softly, pulling him close to her body. "You have to be ok..."

     Slowly, Branch forced his eyes back open, the extremely injured pop troll barely looking up at his girlfriend, his heart beat slow as he grasped weakly at his stomach, blood seeping through his closed fingers...

     Gently, Poppy moved Branch's hand away from his body so that she could see his injury, the queen of pop gasping in horror at the sight of it...

     "Oh god..." she gasped softy, seeing the massive hole in her boyfriend's stomach, so much blood gushing out of it... "Branch..."

     "P... Poppy..." the little blue troll finally managed to mutter softly, clearly struggling to speak as he gazed weakly up at her. "R... run..."

     Completely shocked by the love of her life's words, Poppy shook her head, tears pouring from her eyes as she looked down at her boyfriend in disbelief...

     "No, Branch..." she cried in a whisper, holding the little blue pop troll tightly in her arms and refusing to let go... "I'm not leaving you..."

     Clearly struggling to stay awake, Branch's eyes slowly began to fall shut once more, Poppy's heart skipping a beat as all she could do was watch...

     "Stay with me, Branch... stay with me," the young queen cried in a begging tone, placing her hand gently onto Branch's bloody chest...

     She could feel his heart beating rhythmically inside his chest... but it was already going so slow... and was only growing slower and slower by the minute...

     Branch struggled to focus on the queen of pop as his eyes slowly blinked open and shut. The young boy could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness as he lay limply in his girlfriend's lap, only one thing on his mind in this instant... Poppy's safety...

     "P... please..." he begged in a soft murmur, all of his energy quickly leaving him in a massive whoosh... "G... g... go... save your... yourself..."

     He was so tired... maybe... he could just take a little nap...

     "Please, Branch..." Poppy whispered, her voice calling Branch back to reality. "Please don't leave me..."

     His breath slow and difficult, the little blue pop troll slowly raised his trembling hand up to his girlfriend's cheek, gently feeling her soft skin underneath his fingertips...

     "Poppy..." he muttered softly, gazing weakly into his true love's gorgeous eyes, knowing this would be the last time he ever saw her beautiful face. "I... I love... yo... you..."

     Slowly, his hand fell away from his girlfriend's cheek, the young boy taking one last shuddering breath before his eyes fell shut one final time, everything seeming to fade away as his heart beat grew slower and slower... Poppy suddenly no longer being able to feel it...

     "Branch?" the young queen whispered, tears flowing from her eyes as she stared down in disbelief at the now lifeless troll laying in her lap, Branch's colors slowly beginning to fade away, his beautiful blue shade dying down into a dull gray... "Branch!"

     Her heart filled with pure sorrow, Poppy hugged Branch tightly in her arms as she cried loudly into his silent chest...

     "Wake up, Branch..." she whimpered, not wanting to believe what had clearly just happened... "Please wake up..."