The beady eyes of a couple of spiders, stared down at the unconscious prince before slowly descending towards him. They gathered on the ground and surrounded him, getting closer and closer.

They were just about to bite down when black hair whipped out and snatched Popper away. The spiders all turned around, only to see Branch and (Y/N), glaring them down.

However, the spiders were not yet deterred, hissing and sprinting towards the siblings. (Y/N) gasped out in fear and, in a panic, threw a pan at them from her backpack. The arachnids were stunned for a moment, before hissing and charging once more.

"Uh-oh..."

Branch quickly jumped into action, swinging his hair around before whipping it forward and at the spiders' feet, ordering them all to get back. He managed to get them to scuttle back enough into a cave...at least, that's what it appeared to be, until it slammed shut around the spindle-legged creatures, with two red eyes staring down at Branch. He was prepared for the worst when the large creature simply shut its eyes and went back to sleep.

He sighed out in relief, but not for long, as his sister worriedly called out, "Branch!"

He turned around and gasped when he saw her kneeled next to Popper, who was still unconscious and not responding, as (Y/N) placed her ear worriedly to his chest.

"I don't hear anything!"

"Hang on!"

Branch raced over to some lightning bugs, snatching two up in his hands. His sister, following his lead, plucked a sharp thorn off a nearby plant. They reconvened around Popper, (Y/N) using the thorn to cut away the webs that encased him.

"Okay, now stand back." Branch ordered.

Kneeling next to the prince, he rubbed the two bugs together, causing them to charge up, then pressed them to Popper's chest, waiting for a reaction.

And he got one as the pink Troll instantly sat up and sang out, "Get back up again!"

"W-What?" (Y/N) questioned, staring down at Popper with concern.

He looked over, smiling at the siblings. "Branch! (Y/N)! You are both right on time."

Branch rolled his eyes while (Y/N) helped Popper to stand up. "Oh, right. Like you knew we were coming."

"Yes! I figured after the third hug time, getting eaten by a Bergen wouldn't seem so bad. And I knew (Y/N) wouldn't let me be out here all on my own."

(Y/N) blushed profusely at his confident statement - as he was definitely not wrong in saying so - while Branch added, "And I figured there was no way you could do this by yourself. Guess we were both right."

"All right. Let's do this! Sooner we get to Bergen Town, sooner we can rescue everybody and make it home safely."

Popper began to confidently walk off but Branch's voice quickly halted him. "Wait, wait, wait. What's your plan?"

"I just told you. To rescue everyone and make it home safely." Popper stated, as if it were obvious.

"Okay. That's not a plan. That's a wish list."

"It is a little simplistic...and optimistic." (Y/N) piped up, though mumbled the last bit so just her and her brother could hear.

"Oh! I suppose you guys have a plan?"

(Y/N) just gestured to her brother. "Branch?"

He smiled, clearing his throat, before shifting into plan explanation mode. "First, we get to the edge of Bergen Town without being spotted. Then, we get inside by sneaking through the old escape tunnels, which will then lead us to the Troll tree. Right before we get caught and suffer a miserable death, at the hands of a horrible, bloodthirsty Bergen!"

"Hold on a second." (Y/N) interjected, making Branch pause his rant in confusion, and both gazed down at Popper. "Are you scrapbooking the plan?"

"Yeah. Almost..." Popper snipped at some paper before happily pasting it in and then hopped back up, with his scrapbook in hand. "Done!"

He flipped open to a giant display, where felt versions of himself, the siblings, and Popper's friends were all huddled together, with big smiles and happy faces, holding up a rainbow as the words 'We did it!!!' were pasted on top.

And, of course, no display of Popper's would be complete without glitter, and a cloud of it sprayed out...and once again all over Branch.

(Y/N) winced when she saw her brother's annoyed, blank stare and tried her best to dust some of glitter off.

"There will be no more..." Branch blew some sparkles out of his nose. "Scrapbooking."

...

They were now all out in the middle of the woods, carefully walking down a fallen log, with the siblings and their little backpacks leading the way to the old escape tunnels. Popper, however, didn't have a care in the world. He softly sang to himself and cheerfully danced about, just being a ray of positive energy.

It didn't bother (Y/N), who just softly bobbed her head to the tune he was singing...but it greatly bothered Branch.

"Do you have to sing?" The grey Troll questioned.

"I always sing when I'm in a good mood."

"Do you have to be in a good mood?"

"Why wouldn't I be? By this time tomorrow, I'll be with all my friends! Oh, I wonder what they're doing right now?"

"Probably being digested." Branch morbidly stated. (Y/N) gasped, hitting her brother on his arm, making him huff, "You know I'm most likely right."

"They're alive, Branch. I know it!" Popper argued back.

"You don't know anything, Popper." Branch remarked, turning to face the carefree prince. "And I can't wait to see the look on your face when you realise the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows. 'Cause it isn't. Bad things happen. And there's nothing you can do about it."

He then turned and continued forward. Popper was taken aback by his harsh words and tried to look to (Y/N) for support. And, though she offered a small, apologetic smile, she didn't say anything and instead followed her brother.

"Hey, I know it's not all cupcakes and rainbows." Popper chased after them. "But I'd rather go through life thinking that it mostly is instead of being like you. You don't sing, you don't dance. Even your sister does that. So grey all the time! What happened to y- "

"Ssh!"

Branch suddenly whipped his arm out, placing his finger against Popper's mouth. His posture was stiff, ready for an attack, making the others go quiet and still as a result.

"A Bergen?" Popper softly asked.

"Maybe."

Branch slowly moved forward, followed by his sister as she carefully looked around. However, Popper remained in the same spot, gazing around in fear when he suddenly realised what was happening, making him glare over at the grey Troll.

"There's no Bergen, is there? You just said that so I'd stop talking."

"Maybe."

...

The evening came in the blink of an eye, and they all found a clearing where they could set up camp. Branch made a campfire and he and his sister rested comfortably in their sleep sacks. Popper – having brought no equipment with him on his journey – was wrapped up in a big-ish leaf (Y/N) was nice enough to find for him.

They all laid around the fire, the siblings tucked in and easily ready to drift off for the night. However, Popper could not even think of sleep, tossing and turning uncomfortably as his mind raced with worrying thoughts.

With nothing else to do, he pulled out a photo frame, that cleverly pulled out to show a bunch of pictures. All were of his friends and their happy faces that smiled back at him.

"So special..." He sighed out, running his fingers sadly over the frames. "Good night, Cooper. Good night, Smidge. Good night, Fuzzbert. Good night, Satin. Good night, Chenille. Good night, Biggie. Good night, DJ. Good night, Guy Diamond."

He paused, smiling goofily as he bopped his finger against photo Creek's nose.

"Good night, Creek. Boop."

"And good night, Popper!" Branch exclaimed, annoyance lacing his tone before he turned back around in his sleep sack.

Popper sighed before a softer voice called out to him, "Good night, Popper."

His gaze shifted to (Y/N), who lay just above him. A sweet smile tugged at her lips, and he couldn't help but smile back, grateful she was at least trying to make him feel more at ease. But, as he lay back down, he still couldn't stop his mind from racing or his worries from forming.

Though, a nice distraction came to him in the form of the hug time chime. He sat up instantly, now growing excited as his pink eyes travelled over to Branch's back.

But he should have known better as the grey Troll's grouchy voice only responded with, "Don't even think about it."

He slumped over in disappointment before looking to (Y/N) with hopeful eyes. And, though she gave him another sweet smile, the shaking of her head told him that he wasn't getting a hug tonight.

So, with nothing else to calm him, he simply gazed up at the starry sky and decided to sing to himself.

🎵Popper: "Stars shining bright above you."

"Really?" Branch interrupted, angrily sitting up as he irritably asked, "Seriously? More singing?"

"Yes, seriously! Singing helps me relax. Maybe you ought to try it."

"He doesn't sing." (Y/N) softly pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't sing and I don't relax! This is the way I am, and I like it. I also like a little silence!"

With that, he threw his blanket over himself, trying hard to block out all other distractions so he could finally get some rest. But that didn't last when the soft strumming of guitar strings began to fill the space. He turned, now face-to-face with Popper, a guitar - who knows where he got that from - and the prince's smug smirk.

🎵Popper: "Hello, darkness, my old friend."

Popper stepped back, allowing plants and other small creatures to join him in his song. Some glowed, some bobbed to the music, some softly sang along and others flew around him. He was about to sing the next part when another voice cut in.

🎵(Y/N): "I've come to talk with you again."

(A/N: You can imagine any singer's voice you like here. Please leave who you chose in the comments, I'm curious. I'm imagining Selena Gomez. And, while we're at it, who now voices Poppy since she's a male here?)

He was taken aback for a moment before smiling and singing along with her, his solo now becoming a wonderous duet.

🎵Both: "Because a vision softly creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain. Still remains. Within the sound...of silence."

He plucked the last few cords of the song before the plants closed and the little critters who had joined in left. But, none of it seemed to matter, as his gaze solely settled on (Y/N).

He knew she could sing but it was always to herself. He never really heard more than a hum from her. But he was pleasantly surprised with how well she could sing...as well as how beautiful her voice was.

But all those thoughts left him as Branch suddenly appeared before both of them, a surprisingly sweet smile on his face as he held out his hands and asked, "May I?"

His sister stared at him in utter disbelief and confusion, not sure what he was up to. But Popper happily handed over the guitar, glad that the grumpy Troll was finally turning around.

But his smile was quickly wiped away as Branch threw the guitar into the fire, instantly burning to ashes, before hopping back in his sleep sack. Popper stared, silent for a moment, completely shocked by what just happened.

However, (Y/N) simply shrugged, giving Popper a comforting pat on his shoulder before heading back to her sleeping sack too. Leaving Popper still without any relief from his racing mind, but not entirely.

As he gazed over at (Y/N), he thought back to her beautiful voice, and - eventually - it was enough finally get him to sleep.