B̷̠̽̅̃̃̄͋́͐͂̕̚͠͝i̷̞̩̰̋̇̒̊ţ̷̧͇̩̺̟͙̖͈͖̩̰̀t̸̡̛̙̦̮̪̮͊̓̒̈́̉͂͠ͅͅe̵͖͒̃̍̈͐̅̇̃͝͠r̵̡͙̟̳̲͙͎̰̟͔͙̊̏͜ ̴̧̡͈̤̙̙̼͎͎͎͖̳̖̪̯̑͊͒͒̈͊̃͂̾̚̚̕͝͠B̶̢̯̖͍̰̺͔̬͙͙̺̪̄̂̄̋͊̒̑́̕è̸̡̢̤̘͎̟̲̳̼̠̳͔̘̮̏̽͘͜͝ĺ̴̡̬͈̰̞͕̣͚̜͔̥̃̅̅̃̍̌́͂̾̉̕͝ï̴̧̳̥̫͙̱̠̣̘͛̊̈́͒̓͋̀ͅë̶̡͇̹̰̜̜͍͚̗͉͎̤́͐̍͊̎̾̓͑ͅf̵̧̨̡̦͍̳̺̘̼͙͓͓̠̘̠͂̌s̷̳͇̪̦̎͊̇̂͗͘

"I'm telling the truth guys! Something grabbed my leg! It wants to kill me!" Biggie hugged his knees. "Growlbeasts tend to hunt at night. Plus it's foggy so I really doubt why you chose this your meeting place Poppy." Branch slid down his backpack and dropped it on the ground.

"My dad shouldn't know that we're leaving for DreamWorks 51. I just told him we're all taking a hiking trip." She said. "Leaving? Like now? Are you crazy?! The forest is hard to navigate at night. You can barely see the stars!" Poppy couldn't believe how anxious Branch sounded right now. He happened to be right but they couldn't leave in the morning. Her dad would find out.

"Hey, we'll be back before anyone knows! We won't die considering you'll be there with us." Poppy clasped her hands together. "You haven't shared all the details with me yet. I'm not promising safe passage to you." He grumbled.

"They argue so much." Cooper whispered to Smidge. "Even my aunt and uncle used to be peaceful when they were here. Rest In Peace y'all!"

"It's just hard to talk about mate. The story King Peppy told us. It's unfortunate. You would understand if you were there." Creek said. "Oh so it's hard? I see. How delightful. To think you guys would never stop blabbering in my face all day." Branch hissed.

"Hey! It's a sensitive topic especially for Poppy. Poppy I think Branch should just go back home. We can do this without him." Smidge gritted her teeth. "Only means more relaxation for me." The grey troll answered.

"You'll have to hair-swear and come with us if we told you everything. Deal?" Poppy looked at Branch. "I don't take risks. Not ones that could lead to certain death." The male troll answered. "I'm really feeling all vibes agreeing with Smidge. Do we really need him Poppy?" Creek asked.

"On second thought. I'll hair-swear and not care. You're going to be sorry you ever said that Creep!" Branch stuck out his tongue. "It's Creek."

"Whatever... Creep."

Poppy's hair traveled and made its way up to Branch's as the two sealed the deal. "DreamWorks 51 is a secret area Bergens used to experiment trolls in. Those who were taken were taken out of Trollstice secretly and a day before Trollstice. My dad said the Bergen king didn't even know of such things happening."

"What type of experiments?"

"We don't know." Poppy shrugged. Branch's jaw dropped. "Princess, we can't just waltz into there. For all we know, we could be cooked and eaten in 2 seconds!" The pink troll ignored him. "We have to go there." She quietly added but enough for him to catch that.

"Why?" He asked. "You don't need to know some things!" Smidge said. "Can we leave now? Me and Cooper got some tents to spend the night in. Boys in one and girls in another."

"No thank you, I can sleep in the one I brought. Alone." Branch rolled his eyes. Poppy couldn't meet his eyes. "Poppy?" He asked. "Uhm, I need some air." She said. She didn't know how to say it. She didn't want to force him to go with them but had no choice.

All she knew from her dad was that DreamWorks 51 could be found by another one of those tunnels that are like the one that leads to the Troll Tree in Bergentown. She didn't even know which one. They could all die on the journey for all she know.

That's why she needed Branch. He knew everything about the forest no matter how much of a scaredy cat he could be. Not that she would easily admit but she did feel safe with him.

Ạ̸̧̘̒̾̇ŕ̴̟͉ệ̴̰͊ ̶̥͇͚͆͊͌y̷̗̟͂̆ŏ̷͎̰͊u̸̳͚͐̚ ̸̡̖̋͑͜ş̷̦͉̏ų̸̯̞̏ṙ̴͇̣͔͗̐ḙ̸͒̍̒ ̷̛̬͘͝ả̴̖̣b̵̞̱̕͠ö̵̙̏ǔ̶͎t̶̤̉̈́̕ ̸͍̩͓̄̒t̵̛̲͉͒h̶̢̞̘̒͝a̵̳̩͐ṱ̵̺̈̏?̶͖͎̎̕

-X-

What had just happened? Branch was baffled by Poppy's behavior. He had never seen her so down. She was clearly hiding something from him. They all were.

Fuzzbert was staying behind to take care of the village for sometime on Poppy's behalf and to not let anyone know the group was gone. He was rather honored to have such a secretive role in all of this. Branch didn't get why.

Experiments. The thought was crazy. Imagining some Bergens with huge tools was enough to give him nightmares. But why would they be experimenting? A way to find more than a moment's worth of happiness?

Bergens ate Trolls just because they could be happy even if that lasted for just one second. Had they become greedy enough to want more?

"Way to go Branch." Satin and Chenille said in unison. "You are a party pooper and a feelings pooper." Cooper frowned. "Thank you. I accept your compliments." He replied sarcastically.

His mind went off to a few minutes ago. What had grabbed Biggie? Why wasn't anyone talking about that too? It could've been just the grass but a part of him wasn't convinced.

Branch watched Creek go up to Poppy. "Bleh." He groaned, looking away. He spoke up. "If you really want to get going, I suggest we should leave now before it gets too foggy. We could get separated." It worked because Poppy was making her way towards him and the majority of the Snack Pack.

He mentally smirked at the small victory.

"Hm let's go!" Poppy exclaimed. "How do you intend on finding this place anyways Poppy?" The grey troll sighed. "Dad spoke of it as a Neverland. A promised Neverland. The truest of believers can find it"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not a believer."

"Then I'm making you one on this journey!" Poppy grabbed his arm and started dragging him as they all walked. Branch groaned and huffed as he snatched his arm away from Poppy's. She frowned, "We need to go to the restricted area of the Trolls library first. My dad gave me the key."

"Is he even okay with all of this?! Poppy this is honestly insane."

"He- like I said he doesn't need to know. He just wants me to find out information that's why he gave me the key." Poppy said. "Look Branch, if you're not going to help Poppy or let us help her. Leave." Smidge growled.

"Smidge!"

"I just- you don't understand. There actually might be Bergens there. What if I'm right huh? Do you guys actually want me to be right?" Branch pointed to himself. "Because I don't want myself to be right!"

"Shush." Poppy said, gazing at the huge gate of the library that stood right in front of them. They walked past it. "Is it just me or is this place hella creepy?" Cooper commented. "Language!" DJ Suki facepalmed. "Oh no! Hope there are no spiders in here." Biggie whimpered.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Take in the positivity Branch. The vibes shall make you feel better."

"Don't talk to me."

"Someone needs to stay guard." Poppy shrugged. "In case someone spots us in the restricted zone. Only the king and queen are really allowed here. And really trusted advisors such as Sky Toronto."

"Me!" Smidge and Guy Diamond said at the same time. "No, oh my gah I'm not standing here with this knucklehead!" The yellow troll grumbled. "Hey!" GD pouted.

"No fighting guys." Poppy giggled. "I'll stay with them. Someone needs to keep them in line." DJ Suki states. "Boy I'm not going in there! I would get lost!" Cooper chuckled. Poor Biggie wasn't a fan of dark corridors either.

So much to Branch's demise and annoyance, he, Poppy and Creek started making their way into the restricted section. "Echo!" Poppy shouted as her voice repeated for a few times making her and Creek laugh.

"Be quiet. A predator might hear you!" Branch scolded, aggressively. "Lighten up. This part is inside of Troll Village. No Bergen nothing! And there's no critter we can't tame." Poppy blinked, innocently. "Go away!" Branch screeched, not knowing what else to say.

Poppy stared at him for a few seconds. "Fine." She took Creek's arm and went away to another side of the area. "Huh." Branch dusted off his clothes as he went through some books. Peace at last. His mind wondered what Creek and Poppy were up to at that moment. But he wasn't going to let it get to him.

He'd find something related to DreamWorks 51 and then Poppy would know how important he is to them in this journey. Why did she have such a death wish?

Some minutes passed, he couldn't find anything. Nor had Poppy and Creek come back. "Pssh yeah sure." Branch rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. His deep and dark thoughts which told him that the two of them had left him all alone and went back to the Snack Pack who had set out on their journey.

He knew they all might hate him but they would never leave a Troll behind.

Right?

Branch remembered all of the times he didn't want to even talk to them. Back when he had just lost his colors. He didn't even want to be a troll. It was literally the worst fate anyone could have. And yet the rest of his species were happy all the time? How??

Suddenly it was starting to get creepier. Branch's brain made up dark figures using his imagination somewhere in the restricted library place. Why was all of this happening now? He didn't want this. He didn't want to be alone.

"Poppy!" He frantically looked around. Where was she? Oh my goodness, was he actually starting to miss Creek too? This was exactly one of his worst nightmares. But it had turned into reality. He heard something. A creaking noise.

Branch took deep breaths and backed away. He wasn't alone in this section of the library. "Who's there?!" He put on his most fearsome face. "Coward. You're such a coward." He shook his head. He wasn't about to let his thoughts get to him.

B̴̢̩̝̒̉u̸̝̾͝t̶͓̥́ ̶̻̌ẅ̵̢͉̹́̓e̵̬͘r̸̮̉ͅe̴̫͐̍̄ ̶̦̑̿͝ṯ̴͆h̷̞̆ͅơ̶̠̈́̓s̴̹̣̼͌̚e̶̙͂̆ ̷͎̜̐̍͝ą̴̱̋̒c̸͈̐t̵̡̚u̶̜͈͛͋̚a̴̧͜͝l̵̞̇͝l̸̳͛̽ỵ̷͉̏ ̸̦̘̮̓ȟ̵̺̑í̴̡s̴͍̺͘ ̶̛̲̇̇͜t̴̖͂̒h̸̤̉̾ͅo̴̟͖̳̓̊̏u̴̡̞͛ͅḡ̵̜͇͘͠ͅh̴͎͙͋ẗ̸͚́̊ș̷͔͚̎̍͘ ̵̙̭͒̀̕o̴͚͋̀͒r̴̹̞̔͊͜ ̴͔̰͚̔̊͂r̵̯̜̐͊a̴̡̼͂͋̈́t̷̲͈̅ḩ̵̤̙͂̄͘ḛ̶̺͂̈́r̶͖͚̣͛̏̐ ̶̜͔̲͛͗s̷̮̈́̐o̵̢̪̭̐͂m̶͓̫̪̄̇ȩ̸̖͊͒o̸͙͉̽̓n̷̟̫͚̋̓e̴̬̤͘͜?̶͓͔̀̔̈ͅ

-X-

Poppy dug through huge books. "Are you sure, we'll find the map here Poppy?" Creek asked as he combed his hair and sat with his eyes closed and legs crossed. "This has to be it. This is the furthest point of the restricted library." Poppy narrowed her eyes, trying to find what they sought.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth Poppy?" Creek opened his eyes.

"The truth? I did, didn't I?" Poppy tried avoiding what he meant. Creek raised an eyebrow and got up. He placed a hand on Poppy's shoulder. "He's not the best of Trolls I'll admit that. And perhaps it's better staying away from him at times. But he's really only coming on this journey because he thinks you told him everything about DreamWorks 51."

"What am I even going to say Creek? That there was a short chance that my mom got taken to that facility?! And she got experimented on?! How am I going to just say that. It was scary hearing it from my dad." She mumbled, feeling a bit numb. "I don't want to think if something happened to her like Toby. Or whether she's even alive."

Creek sympathetically smiled at her to provide comfort. "I can't believe my dad had all these secret missions some years ago to find lost Trolls and to locate them at the facility. But each and every time, Trolls failed. And he couldn't find my mom because of that. So I have to. If my mom and some others are alive out there, we need to bring them home." Poppy glanced up at him.

She felt Creek hug her which made her feel somewhat better. It wasn't hug time but since no one was watching, guess they could break that rule.

"Poppy!"

Poppy broke away the hug quickly. "Is that Branch? Maybe he found something!" She grinned. "Come on! Let's go to him! I knew he wouldn't want us to stay far away from him for too long."

"You go on ahead love. I'm right behind you." Creek smiled. Poppy nodded and skipped away. The purple troll turned around and made his way through some books. Then far at the end, he could see a golden, ancient book attached to a map.

"I'm making sure you find DreamWorks 51, Poppy and Branch." He whispered. "And you will."

He tucked away the book and map in his hair with a malicious smirk before heading in the direction Poppy skipped into.