Chapter Nine
The hatch under the small red ship opened and a Specialist walked out. To the disappointment of the Winx Club the sole occupant was Spencer, a slightly-built guy with orange hair. He was wearing the Red Fountain uniform.
"That's our cue!" said Ruby, "Let's get our skoots on board."
"He's cute, but that uniform is weak," said Topaz.
A few minutes later the devices were secured, and the trolls came back out to the bottom of the ramp. The fairies stayed aboard, putting away their bags.
"Have a good trip home, and say hello to your Ancients for us!" said Faragonda.
"Goodbye, everybody! Thanks for everything!" called Amethyst.
"I hope we'll get to visit again!" said Sapphire.
Stay fashionable!" said Topaz.
"Goodbye!" put in Ruby.
Onyx, standing on the end, didn't say anything but waited until the others had turned back to the ship before she waved and joined them.
The ship's engines, idling since landing, rose in pitch as the ramp closed, and it lifted off, hovering for a moment before turning and flying over the gate and the woods, then took a turn to the west.
The fairies had met Spencer before, but didn't know him well. Tecna sat in the copilot's seat with his permission and took over navigation.
Additional seats had been put aboard, but they were rather large for the troll-girls. The skoots had been stored in a side compartment, and the fairies' overnight bags with them.
"We're on course," Tecna announced, "Trollzopolis in two hours, five minutes." She looked at Spencer. "Do we have a place to land?"
He nodded, adjusting some controls, "Saladin contacted the airport, and they're expecting us. You'll find a map and the coordinates in the nav computer."
Sapphire got up and stood by Tecna, watching as she worked. She addressed Spencer. "You have maps? Other ships have been there before?"
He shrugged. "I haven't, but as I understand it, Red Fountain ships have been there before."
"Can I ask a personal question?" said Stella, looking at the other blond.
"Sure!" answered Topaz, smiling at her friend.
"How do you get your hair to stand up like that? A spell or lots of spray?" she asked.
The trolls chuckled. "Actually, it's natural for a troll's hair to stand like this," said Ruby.
"And when we get upset or tired, it droops," added Amethyst.
"The state of your hair is controlled by your emotions?" Musa asked.
"More or less," said Onyx, shrugging.
"Our turn," said Ruby, "Tell us about those witches."
"The one with white hair is Icy, the one with glasses is Darcy, and the other is Stormy. They specialize in spells using ice, darkness, and storms, respectively," said Bloom. "They attend the Cloud Tower School for Witches. They're called the Trix."
"A school for witches?" asked Topaz, surprised, "But witches are evil! Why would anybody teach evil?"
"That's not necessarily true," said Flora, "They study the methods of evil, and have dark magic, but are also concerned with the defense of Magix. Some of them are evil, though, like the Trix."
"It's also about keeping the balance," put in Tecna, "Witches and fairies are two sides of the same coin."
"And what about the school you attend, Spencer?" asked Sapphire.
"Red Fountain is a boy's school," he answered, "Magic is a minor study for us, but we're considered the Third Point of Magic. We study weapons and fighting styles, and join with the fairies and witches as needed to defend Magix."
"So what about that ring they wanted?" asked Amethyst.
"It's the Ring of Solaria, my home," said Stella, "It has great power, and I'm not surprised they are after it." She held out her hand so the trolls could see it. Sapphire looked over, but didn't want to leave her place by Tecna.
"Thank you all again for getting us out of that trap," said Bloom.
"No prob," answered Ruby, "It's the least we could do for our new friends."
"So, what about this Simon?" asked Musa.
"He's a gremlin who was imprisoned in a Shadow Dimension three thousand years ago. The five of us accidentally let him out. He was the one who nearly destroyed troll civilization long ago, and that's still his goal today. We keep sending him back, but somehow he gets out again," said Onyx.
"He's got an ogre-dog-thing named Snarf who follows him," said Amethyst.
The fairies snorted with laugher. "Snarf?"
"Yeah, probably because he inhales when he eats," said Topaz. She gave a shudder.
The fairies cracked up.
"Don't laugh too loud," Ruby cautioned, "He's good at disguises too, and has tricked us more than once, even when we knew what to look for."
Topaz nodded. "He's usually small and cute, but he can turn into a giant monster when he wants to."
"Does Simon use spell beads?" Tecna asked.
"No, he uses magic directly. When we were under his power, he increased our magic so we could too. But he took it back when we got free," said Amethyst.
"Ms. Faragonda told me he's dangerous," said Bloom.
All five trolls nodded. "He is," they said in unison.
The fairies, and Spencer, exchanged a look at that, but chose not to say anything.
"So what are we going to do when we meet him?" asked Flora.
"We transform and kick his butt!" said Stella, "What else?"
"Look, as much as we appreciate you helping us, he's our enemy. We'll confront him, and you back us up," said Ruby.
"You're still worried about us getting hurt," said Musa.
"Yeah," agreed Onyx, "That's the last thing we want to happen."
"We don't like the idea either," said Musa, nodding, "But at the same time we don't want you hurt either. We'll need to watch each other's backs."
"Spencer, what are your orders?" asked Tecna.
"Stay with and protect the ship," he said, "And record what happens if it comes to a fight and I'm able to."
"That works," nodded Onyx.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," said Spencer, opening a piece of paper, "Someone named, uh, Obsidian is going to meet you at the airport."
"Great! Thanks!" said Ruby.
"I've got a question," said Flora, "Ms. Griselda said to ask you what your family names are."
"Trollman," said Ruby.
"Trollhopper," answered Topaz.
"von Trollenberg," said Onyx.
"van der Troll," put in Amethyst.
"Trollzawa," said Sapphire.
"Hmm..." said the Winx girls. Spencer looked over at them wearing a peculiar expression, but again, chose not to comment.
"What about you?" asked Topaz.
"We don't use our family names, but identify ourselves by our given names and where we're from," said Tecna, "It's part of our training to change mindsets. If we become Guardian Fairies, we'll be responsible for protecting and helping our entire realm, not just one family."
"Actually, that's true no matter what kind of fairy we end up as," amended Bloom.
"Okay, so where are you from?" asked Amethyst.
"Zenith," said Tecna.
"Linphea," answered Flora.
"Earth," was Bloom's reply.
"Melody," said Musa.
"And I mentioned earlier I'm from Solaria," said Stella.
"And now you know just as much as you did before, Am," smirked Ruby.
"I guess," agreed the pink-haired troll, who was at a loss with the unfamiliar names, and everyone laughed.
The rest of the trip passed pleasantly, with light conversation and jokes. At one point Spencer passed out bottled drinks whose flavor was unfamiliar to the trolls, but they enjoyed it.
As they got closer to Trollzopolis they left the sun behind and it disappeared below the horizon behind them. Finally the lights of the major troll city could be seen in the distance.
"Trollzopolis Air Control, this is Red Fountain Special Number One, approaching from the east, do you copy?" said Spencer into the radio.
"Roger that, Special," came the reply, "We've been expecting you, and have you on sensors. I understand you have VTOL capability?"
"That's correct, Control," answered the Specialist.
"We've cleared a hoverpad for you. Airport coordinates C-Seven, pad number three." said Control.
"Roger that, Control," said Tecna, tapping the keyboard, "We've got it located. Landing in two minutes."
"Acknowledged, Special, welcome to Trollzopolis," said the tower.
"Thank you, tower, Special One clear," said Spencer, and both he and Tecna got busy with the controls.
Two minutes later the Red Fountain ship landed neatly on Pad Three. The trolls were home.
The hatch opened and the fairies followed the trolls down the ramp. They looked around in the lit area, but saw no one.
"Where's Obsidian?" asked Amethyst.
"Here I am, girls," said a voice from a dark figure that came out of the shadows. An old woman with white hair done up behind her, wearing a black dress and a shawl. She used a cane to walk. "Welcome home!"
