Killer Contest (a trolls au)

Fourth Chapter

They slept in the next morning.
Poppy woke up to a phone call from Bridget. Asking to help her with her date.
"I don't know what to do! I don't know what to say! Can you and your boyfriend double with us?"
Poppy looked at Creek who was doing his morning routine. That would take a while. "I'll see what I can do."

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DJ Trollex was brushing his teeth when he heard a loud banging.
Barb and Riff crawled through the vents into his bedroom.
"Hey tech boy! Open up!"
"What happened?" he asked them.
"Look at this!" She showed him the jewelry they took from the cases in the basement and told him what they saw.

They examined each one by the light of their phones. They were each labeled with the name of a Greek god. And each one held a stained tarnished piece of jewelry.
Hades: a silver armband with and onyx gem
Hesta a ring with a fire opal.
Poseidon a pin shaped like a trident
Demeter a bracelet made from wicker
Hera: a tiara styled to look like peacock feathers.
And finally...
Zeus: a bib necklace with stylized lightning bolts and eagle wings. Barb recognized that necklace.
"That belonged to Jupiter Jet!" She looked at the other trinkets. She recognized them too. They all belonged to former winners. Oh god...
"We've got to get these things and get out of here!"
"How?"
She shined her light on a vent grate above their heads. "I'll give you a lift."

"We crawled through those things all night." She showed him the stolen jewelry she was wearing. "We've got to show this to someone."
"You put it on?" Trollex asked disgusted.
"Well we don't have plastic bags to put them in. Besides the feds can still do DNA stuff with it right?"
"I don't know..." the DJ fidgeted with his ears. "This is kinda sketchy..."
""You think I'd crawl through that metal mess for a prank? This is serious man!"

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Poppy and Rose watched Bridget greet Gristle. Branch, doing his job as their bodyguard, accompanied them.
"Is this necessary?" He grumbled, "Your time could be put to better use like say, practicing the song you picked for Round Two?"
"We've practiced our song so many times, we can play it in our sleep." Poppy chirped. "Besides, isn't it nice to help two people on the road to romance?"
Branch looked at Bridget, who was picking her nose with a tissue.
"So nice..." he muttered sarcastically.

"So ironic that you hate music but work for a pop band."
"I don't hate music. I'm just not obsessed with it like you are."
"You're obsessed enough to practice bass." Poppy retorted.
"I just do that to train my fingers."
"Uh huh."
Branch turned his focus to Rose.
"By the way, I finally realized how I know you." Branch pulled a photo from his wallet and showed it to the girls. It showed a toddler boy with a pink-dressed baby girl in his lap. "My family used to go to Burning Man every year when I was little. And one year we hung out with a Filipino family and their daughter. This is me and her together. Look familiar?"
Rose examined the photo. She remembered that jumper. Her grandmother had it made into a quilt. "That's me!" she exclaimed.
"Aww!" Poppy cooed. "You guys have a connection!"
"Do you remember that day?" Rose asked Branch.
"A little bit. I mostly remember playing in the sand. I guess you wouldn't remember much yourself."
"I do actually! I'm fact I think that was my first memory."
"Huh, small world." Branch smiled a rare smile. Poppy could contain her self. She'd known Branch for years and Rose had become her best friend. And know they had a connection that was all their own. It was so touching, she let out a happy squeal coupled with bouncy stimming. "I'm so happy!" 😁

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During Bridget and Gristle's date, an accident occurred at the stage. The bassist for a rock band fell against the sound equipment and needed to go to the infirmary. The band leader, twenty four year old Billy Reverb, was devastated.
"We waited months to get this gig and now we're a man down! We can't perform like this!" He slumped on the ground in defeat.
Poppy looked at Branch. "My friend here can play the bass. He can perform with you."
"WHAT?!" You can't just volunteer someone to..." Billy clasped Branches' hand. "Will you please do it? We'd owe you all the solids!"
"I... I'm not that good. Can't we get Creek to do it?"
"He won't get here on time."
"It'll just be one song I promise!"
"I'm telling you, no one wants to hear me play."
"I do." Poppy told him.
"I do." Rose added.
"Errr." Mr Dinkles chirped from amongst the crowd. Branch sighed. "What song do you want to play?"

Bridget and Gristle admired the performance together. Branch stood to the side with the bass playing along to music he was reading on a stand.
The Snack Pack members watched him too, and they were impressed.
"Praise..." Satin whispered.
"It's a Spring Beats miracle." Chenille stated.
"Look Creek," Biggie pointed to their semi-friend, his hood pulled back to reveal his impressive man bun, "Branch is playing music in public! Isn't that wonderful?"
"Yes..." Creek forced a fake smile on his face. "Wonderful..."

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After the date Chef invited Gristle for a chat. She said she wanted to invite him to an exclusive "club" she ran.

"You've read Greek myths. The gods as we know them defeated the Titans and banished them into Tarterous. And Zeus usurped his father Chronos to become king of the gods. But when you think about it, the Greek gods are all massive jerks. So much sex and debauchery and manipulation of humans. At least Chronos had ideals that he stuck to."
"And what we're those ideals exactly?"
"I was hoping you'd ask."