"Poppy!" Branch screamed, as he quickly flung his hair down to grab her. It wrapped around her waist, catching her safely, but her weight pulled the blue troll over the edge of the cliff along with her. "AHHHHH!"

     Quickly, he grabbed onto the rope, stopping their decent, as his heart pounded in his chest.

     "B... B... Branch..." Poppy whimpered, looking down at the ground far below her, her eyes widening in terror.

     "Don't worry, Poppy!" Branch yelled down to her, holding onto her tightly with his hair. "I got you!"

     Slowly and carefully, Branch began climbing back up the rope, dragging Poppy behind him.

     He was almost at the top of the mountain again, when the rope suddenly moved slightly.

     Branch looked up, his eyes widening in horror, as he saw the spike loosing its grip on the mountain.

     "Oh-great," he muttered silently, before looking back down at Poppy, who had no idea the rope was about to fall. She was still looking down at the ground in fear. He couldn't let her down... he had to save her...

     Carefully, Branch climbed a little higher, trying to get Poppy to safety as quickly as possible, but that only made the spike come out of the ground more.

     He stopped climbing again, looking up at the summit as he tried to come up with a plan that would save them both.

     "B... Branch? What's going... on?" Poppy asked, looking up at him, as he clung tightly to the rope, doing his best to stay as still as possible. "Why did you stop?"
"Uh..." Branch said, looking down at her. He could see the fear in her eyes, and didn't want to worry her any farther. "N... nothing's wrong," he finally told her. "Everything will be fine."
"What do you mean will be?"

     He looked back up at the top of the mountain, the spike sliding down just a little bit more, as he tightened his grip on the rope. It couldn't hold on to the mountain much longer. It was going to give way any moment.

     Taking a deep, calming breath, Branch came up with a plan. A risky plan... but a plan...

     "P... Poppy..." he said, not even looking down at her, his voice shaking quite a bit. "If... if this doesn't work... you'll need to get that stone by yourself..."

     She looked up at him, her eyes widening in shock.

     "If what doesn't work?" she questioned, her voice cracking a bit.
"It doesn't matter..." he told her, shaking his head slightly. "Just get the stone, and destroy it. Save yourself..."
"What are you talking about, Branch!?"

     He looked down at her, giving her a slight smile, as he gazed into her beautiful eyes.

     "No matter what happens..." he said softly. "I will always love you..."

     "Branch... don't even think about i..." But before she could finish her sentence, Branch flicked up his hair, flinging Poppy up towards the ledge, as the spike broke free from the mountain, Branch's eyes widening in fear.

     "AHHHHH!" Poppy screamed, as she flew through the air, finally landing in a soft pile of snow at the top of the mountain. "Branch... Branch!?"

     She looked back at the edge, seeing the spike just barley clinging on to a small rock.

     "I... I'm ok, Pop... Poppy!" he yelled up to her, as she ran to the edge, looking down at him, as he clung onto the rope for dear life. "Exactly how I planed it..." he chuckled softly, smiling up at her innocently, as his teeth chattered in fear. "P... p... please grab the... the rope..."

     She obeyed Branch's command, quickly grabbing onto the rope, and holding it steady, so it wouldn't fall.

     "Ok, Branch!" she called down to him. "I've got it! Climb up!" He nodded, quickly beginning to climb up the rope.

     He was almost at the peak, when both of Poppy's hands suddenly vanished.

     The rope, no longer behind held up, lost it's grip on the mountain, beginning to fall.

     "Branch!" Poppy yelled in fear.

     Quickly, he jumped, grabbing hold of the edge of the cliff, as he clung on for dear life.

     "Poppy!" he cried out, beginning to slip, as he struggled to keep his grip on the icy snow. "Poppy, help!"

     Quickly, Poppy grabbed onto him, pulling him up to safety.

     "Th... thanks," he stuttered, panting heavily, as he knelt on the ground, his heart still racing in fear.

     "Branch, you idiot!" Poppy yelled, slapping the back of his head harshly.
"Ow..." Branch whined, looking up at her in shock.
"Never scare me like that again!" she yelled, quickly hugging him tight, as she sobbed into his shoulder.

     He looked at her in confusion for a moment, and then finally hugged her back.

     "I'm sorry..." he apologized softly, hugging her tight. "It was the only thing I could think of..."

     "I love you so much, Branch," she cried into him. "I can't lose you..."
"And I can't lose you either," he told her. "I love you too... more than you'll ever know..."

     Finally, Poppy pulled away from the hug, looking up at Branch, as she wiped away her tears.

     "Ok..." she said softly. "Let's just... let's just find the stone of dreams so we can go home."

     Branch nodded, pulling the scrapbook out of his hair, so he could look at the map.

     "Ok..." he said, looking closely at the book page. "There should be a cave up here somewhere, and in that cave we'll find the stone of dreams."

     Poppy looked around for a moment, finally spotting something hidden in the white snow mountain.

     "There!" she shouted, pointing over at the cave with a large smile on her face. "Yes! We found it!" she yelled excitedly, both the trolls quickly running towards the cave. "We actually found it! We can finally go... home?"

     They both stopped, gasping as they saw the stone of dreams was missing. Just a large pedestal sitting where it was supposed to be.

     "No," Branch whispered in disbelief, his eyes wide. "But... but... it should be right here!"

     He pulled out the scrapbook again, looking at the map closely.

     "Ugh! I can't believe this! All that work for nothing!" he yelled out in anger, throwing the scrapbook over the side of mountain, before crossing his arms, as he pouted. "Great... now what..."

     Slowly, he looked up, seeing Poppy standing absolutely still, staring at the empty pedestal in disbelief.

     "Poppy?" he said softly. "Are... are you ok?"
"That was our only chance, Branch..." she muttered softly, lowering her head in despair.

     "N... no. We'll find a way to fix this," Branch said, trying to comfort her. "We just need..." He tried to take her hands in his, but she pulled away from him sadly.

     "No, Branch. It's over. Like Dr. Moonbloom said... we're done for," she whispered, falling down to her knees, as she covered her face with her hands. "We're doomed..."

     With a sigh, Branch knelt down beside Poppy, hugging her tight. He had never seen her so upset before. Not since the Bergans captured them all in a pot, and were going to eat them for Trollstice.

     He looked at her, smiling slightly as he got an idea.

     "You with the sad eyes..." he sang softly, trying to cheer Poppy up. "Don't be discouraged..."

     Poppy looked at him, tears in her eyes.

     "Not now, Branch..." she muttered softly, lowering her head in sadness. "That's not gonna work this time..."

     Gently, he put his fingers under her chin, turning her head to look at him as he gave her a comforting smile.

     "Oh I realize..." he continued singing. "It's hard to take courage..."
"Branch... please..." Poppy whispered, looking away from him again.
"In a world full of people. You can lose sight of it all. The darkness inside you. Can make you feel so small..."

     "Branch!" she suddenly yelled, turning to him in anger. "I said stop!"

     He blinked at her sudden outburst, slowly lowering his head as his ears drooped.

     "Sorry..." he muttered softly. She looked at him for a moment longer, and then turned away, beginning to cry into her hands.

     Branch looked at her sadly, just wanting to help... but he didn't know how...

     With a sigh, he looked away from her, not knowing what to say or do to get that beautiful smile back on her face...

     "Hugh?" he suddenly said, noticing something on the ground just a few feet away from where the two trolls sat.

     Curious about what it was... he rose to his feet, slowly walking over to it.

     "Poppy, look," Branch gasped once he realized what it was. Poppy looked up at him, but didn't move, tears flowing from her eyes. "It's a footprint," he continued.

     Finally, Poppy stood, walking over to him, as she looked at the footprint imprinted in the snow.

     "So?" she asked, not seeing what was so special about it.
"So..." he said with a smile. "Where there's one footprint... there's more..."

     He turned, noticing another one a little bit farther away. He walked over to the second footprint, bending down to look at it closely.

"My guess is..." he said observing the footprint. "Whoever cursed us took the stone to make sure we couldn't find it. And these footprints belong to that person."

     "So... if we fallow these footprints..." Poppy started, gaining a hopeful expression on her face. "We find the stone," Branch finished, smiling up at Poppy.