Poppy held Branch tightly in her arms as she cried softly into her boyfriend's chest, wishing with all her heart that he would just wake up...

     But... no matter how much she begged... no matter how hard she cried... the young boy just wouldn't move... he couldn't move...

     It's head tilted slightly to the side, the creature suddenly began to slowly approach the couple, the beast moving silently as it gazed straight at the gray troll with soulless eyes...

     As the creature finally reached it's final destination, it nudged Poppy with the dull end of it's staff as to not harm her in any way, the masked stranger gently pushing the queen of pop away from the lifeless troll before bringing itself to kneel down beside the young boy, the beast lifting his arm to seemingly check for a pulse... nothing...

Knowing the truth... the creature grabbed hold of Branch's wrists tightly in it's grasp before beginning to drag the young boy's body away from the scene, Poppy's eyes widening in horror as she watched what this monster was doing...

     "No!" the royal pop troll cried out, quickly jumping back up to her feet. "Leave him alone!"

     She tried to run back over to Branch... to protect him from this threat... but the creature just stood up straight as it released Branch's lifeless body, the beast holding out it's staff to block the young queen from the love of her life...

     "Branch!" Poppy yelled out in absolute terror and despair, looking right at her boyfriend as he lay limply on the floor a few feet away from her. "Please, Branch! Get up!"

But he didn't move, the young girl's heart shattering completely at the sight...

"Please..." she whispered, slowly dropping down to her knees in defeat, the queen of pop covering her face with her hands as she sobbed loudly over the loss of her beloved friend. "Get up..."

     The creature looked at her for a moment longer, and then finally turned back to Branch, the young boy's colors now completely gone, his eyes shut and mouth slightly ajar with no air whatsoever coming out of it...

     "Uueeka!" the creature suddenly yelled out, turning away from both trolls in their presence...

     At the sound of the strange word, the bird who had kidnapped Branch poked it's head out of the entry hole, the rather adorable critter looking over at the creature as if waiting for a command...

     "Ooshima," the creature ordered, pointing it's staff right at the lifeless Branch...

The bird nodded, and then quickly began trotting towards the little gray troll as it was told...

     Poppy looked up at the sounds, the queen of pop watching with teary eyes as the bird gently placed it's beak down onto Branch's stomach, closing it's eyes immediately after...

     "Wha... what are you doing?" she asked softly, completely confused about what was going on...

     Suddenly, the bird began to glow, Branch's body lighting up in a golden hugh soon after...

"What are you doing!?" Poppy demanded in pure terror, jumping right back up to her feet in a panic, the young queen trying desperately to run over to save Branch...

But... the creature quickly grabbed onto her before she could even move, the beast holding her back...

"No! Leave him alone!" the queen of pop cried out, watching in horror as the bird remained by her boyfriend's side, doing who knows what to him... "Branch! Wake up, Branch! Run!"

Slowly, it's eyes still gently shut, the bird lifted it's head, Branch levitating up off of the floor along with it, his body limp as he hovered just above the ground...

Poppy's eyes widened in horror as she helplessly watched the situation play out, not knowing what to do to help the troll she cared about more than life itself...

"Branch..." she whispered, tears still flowing steadily from her eyes before sliding down her cheeks...

Finally, Branch lowered back down to the ground, the glow around him slowly fading away until it was completely gone, the hole in his stomach closing up completely, looking as if it had never even been there in the first place...

And with that... the creature let go of Poppy, finally allowing her to run right over to her boyfriend...

Quickly, the queen of pop dropped down beside the love of her life, gently lifting him back into her lap as she gazed down sadly at his still lifeless face...

"You're ok, Branch... you're ok..." Poppy cried, gently rubbing the young boy's cold grayed cheek. "I've got you... you're ok... I'm right here..."

The bird opened it's eyes, cocking it's head slightly as it looked down at the two trolls for just a moment before slowly beginning to back away, the feathered animal heading straight over to the creature who gently began petting it's feathers...

"Branch..." Poppy whispered, gazing down sadly at the troll she cared so much about. "Please... please come back..."

Her head lowering in despair, Poppy allowed her eyes to fall shut, the young queen sobbing softly as she mourned the death of her best friend... there was nothing she could do... he was gone...

Suddenly... the queen of pop looking up in shock at the hopeful sound... Branch took in a deep breath of air, the little troll beginning to cough as his colors flooded right back into his grayed skin...

"B... Branch?" Poppy whispered, placing her hand gently on her boyfriend's chest, completely shocked but also relieved to feel his beating heart...

Slowly, the little blue pop troll opened his eyes, looking weakly up at Poppy, after finally catching his breath...

"P... Poppy?" he questioned in a somewhat shaky voice, gazing up in slight confusion at his crying girlfriend. "Wha... what happened?"

Speechless... Poppy was speechless...

He was back! He was actually back! Branch was alive!

"Branch!" the young queen finally cried out in pure joy, quickly wrapping her arms around her boyfriend in excitement, hugging him tight and refusing to let go.

A small smile coming to his face at the warm feeling he got from being so close to the one he truly loved so much... Branch sat up before lovingly hugging her back...

"I love you too, Branch," Poppy whispered softly into her best friend's ear, the young girl crying with joy as she buried her face deep into his shoulder... "I love you too..."

Lost in each other's love... neither of the two trolls noticed the creature slowly approaching them once more...

'Pop!'

Branch's ear twitched at the sudden noise, the little troll looking up to see the dangerous beast right beside him...

Quickly, the young boy jumped right up to his feet, getting immediately in front of Poppy to protect her once more...

"It's ok..." the creature said in a soft comforting tone, seeing the fear for his friend's safety plastered clearly on the little blue troll's face. "I will not harm Princess Poppy..."

"Wait..." Poppy said, confused by the creature's words as she slowly pushed her way in front of Branch, the survivalist reluctantly letting her by... "You... you know who I am?"

The creature nodded, slowly lowering it's staff to the ground to prove it wasn't a threat...

"I know you probably don't remember me," it started, slowly taking another step towards the young queen. "But I remember you... after all... a mother never forgets..."

Poppy's eyes widened at that statement as the creature slowly removed the mask from it's face...

"M... mom?"