Hey guys… I still have the same reason why this is late. This proves I never abandoned this project. I hope you like this.
Aggie woke up at 5 in the morning to arrange the collection she gathered from Techno Reef at her hideout. She snuck out her bedroom reeeaaallly quietly so no one would hear her walking in the halls early in the morning. Once she made it, she entered her hideout, and turned the lights on since 5am was still dark. There, she saw her fishbowl with the neon fish Trollex gave to her sitting on a pillow, while another fishbowl that contained two dance plants was placed near the window.
Aggie opened a can of fish feeds that she bought from the store yesterday after her visit from Techno Reef. She poured a small amount into the fishbowl, and the little neon fish happily ate some. Then, Aggie observed the two dance plants, still raving to the beat. Trollex did say she can do a little experiment on them, so Aggie had an idea.
Aggie snuck out of the castle to get to the garden where her mother usually does her gardening. She noticed pots of soil with plants growing in it. She took an empty pot, filled it with soil, and rushed back to the castle.
When she returned to her hideout, Aggie transferred one of the little Techno dance plants from the bowl to the pot of soil where she planted it. When she noticed the sun was about to rise, Aggie put the dance plant on a pot at the small platform of the window so it would be touched by the sunlight when the sun rose up.
Just then, she heard her phone chiming as she wondered who would be texting her early in the morning. Aggie looked at her phone, and noticed it was Trollex. Delighted that her "secret crush" was texting her, she checked his messages.
Trollex: Hey Aggie, are you up?
Aggie: I am now, what's up?
Trollex: I heard that my parents are gonna go to Lonesome Flats today, and I was thinking… Is it okay that you should visit Techno Reef again today? If you have nothing to do?
Aggie: I think I have time. When are we going to meet?
Trollex: I think I can get to the beach at 10:45am
Aggie: Done. I'll see you at beach
After sending that last message, Aggie made a yawn as she decided to go back to bed to save her energy for another visit to Techno Reef.
Aggie woke up again after a 5-hour nap, and decided to go to the beach without telling her family, but just like how she escaped when she took Trollex for a tour of other kingdoms for the first time, she always used her decoy. When she arrived at the beach, she noticed Trollex coming for her,
"Hey Trollex," she said tiredly.
Trollex emerged from the water, and noticed the frown of Aggie's face, "Hi Aggie, are you okay?"
Aggie snapped awake as she replied, "Yeah. Sorry, I woke up too early today to plant one of the dance plants you gave me on a pot of soil, and I placed it near the window for sunlight. And I was also feeding the fish you gave me. It's cute."
"So, are we ready to go?" Trollex extended his hand to her.
Aggie smiled as she took out the Aggie decoy from under the rock, put it on top of the latter, and wore her waterproof glass helmet before nodding at Trollex, and ready to go.
Trollex and Aggie swam off, and instead of heading to the direction of Techno Reef, Trollex led Aggie to another direction.
"So, what are we going to do today?" She asked.
"Well, I was thinking, I want to show you around where Techno Trolls go when we don't want to live underwater that long," Trollex replied as he dragged Aggie to the direction of a dark cave.
Aggie didn't know what was in that cave as she had never been into the place before.
When the two entered, the cave was just so dark, but there were blinking colored lights on the wall that led the way in. Trollex then led Aggie to swim upwards where the lights were going. Aggie gasped when another kind of light above grew as they were getting closer.
When the two emerged out of the water, they were in another cave where everywhere you looked, there were colorful crystals of all different shapes and sizes growing out from the ceiling, floor, even the sides of the cave walls. Some were small, some were huge, some were long, and some were short. And they all came in a rainbow of beautiful colors, from glistening blue to shimmering red, from shining yellow to majestic purple, and many more. The floor was sandy and gravelly, similar to the beach, but much more refined, so there were not a lot of bumpy materials or minerals hidden away, with the occasional rocks and pebbles as an exception. The water was clear and beautiful as it reflected the colors of the shiny crystals above and around it, and the water was still and calm, not even producing a simple ripple. By the edge of some of the crystals, stalagmites, and stalactites were growing around the crystals that emerged from the ground and/or ceiling, and they had different sized stripes that represented the sediment layer, depending on how old it was. The Techno Trolls were still staying in the water and some were sitting on blunt crystal and rocks since they didn't know how to walk or stand on their fins… yet. The Techno Trolls were having sea picnic with a floating wooden table where they placed their food on, doing lots of jumps and dives, and chatting and taking selfies with each other,
Aggie chuckled in amusement as she had never seen this place in her life. She followed Trollex towards the edge of a rocky platform, "Wow, you guys visited here?"
Trollex answered while helping her out of the water "Yeah, if Techno Trolls like to breathe out of water, we came here for fun, like a club, but they're not interested in the real surface above…, except me."
Noticing her friend frowned when he realized he has different interest than the rest of his people, and sat down on a rock, Aggie sat beside him, removing her helmet, and said, "Trollex, it's okay to have interests, even they were different from your people," she then slowly placed a hand over his own hand.
When Trollex turned to her, and they both realized their hands touched, he and Aggie looked away from each other while yanking their hands away and blushing. Neither of them knew what was happening between them as neither of them wanted to think about it.
Trollex then cleared his throat, trying to stop blushing, "Uh, so… you want to whirlpool surf?"
"Uh… what?" Aggie asked as she was confused by that word.
At the other part of the cave, the Techno Trolls were surfing on a whirlpool as they used their fins as their own surfboards. They even convinced Aggie to try it. When she did, she was immediately carried by a whirlpool, and swirled her around as she screamed in distress.
The next thing Trollex showed Aggie was Treaditation, where the Techno Trolls used their fins to float out of the surface of the water, involving a careful and steady swim, but Aggie kicked her feet to stay above the water, and ended up getting sucked into the whirlpool again.
Lastly, the Techno Trolls were laying down on a rock platform to get sea urchin acupuncture, but Aggie was terrified when a blue Techno Troll attempted to pin a spike into her skin as she ran off, and got sucked into the whirlpool again.
Later, when Trollex searched for Aggie after running off earlier, he noticed her sitting beside a pink crystal as she swam towards her.
"Aggie, are you alright?" He asked her pitifully.
Aggie sighed sadly, "I'm sorry, Trollex. As much as I want to learn more about your culture, and everything about the ocean, I'm not sure if I could live with it. Unlike you, you embraced everything on land without any difficulties."
"Aggie, I know things about Techno culture were hard for you at the start, but when you cope with it, you learn to like them," Trollex told her, making Aggie beamed up, and turned to him, "What do you say? Wanna try again?"
When Trollex extended his arm to her, Aggie realized that she shouldn't give up so easily. She loved the underwater theme, and she was dying to learn things. Then, she got her wish, but some cultures were difficult for her to adjust to. It won't hurt to keep trying anyway. Aggie smiled at Trollex as she decided to join him and the other Techno Trolls.
Using driftwood, Aggie tried to whirlpool surfing again, but there were times she lost her balance, and fell into the water. Next, in Treaditation, Aggie tried to stay above the water, but Trollex kept reminding her to just calm down and relax, but it kept pushing her down into the water. Back with sea urchin acupuncture, when a Techno Troll was ready to put the spike into the skin of her arm, Aggie was nervous and scared, but Trollex was there by her side to make her feel relaxed. Aggie smiled as she was comfortable that Trollex was there as she breathed normally, and the spike touched her skin. Using a wider driftwood as a surfboard, Aggie practiced surfing with a crystal with Trollex and the other Techno Trolls watching and cheering for her. And when it was time for the moment of truth, she surfed on the whirlpool again, and this time, she got it right, as so was with treaditating afterwards.
After doing those three Techno activities with Techno Trolls around her, Aggie was a little tired as she sat on one of the rocks.
"Man, these three activities wore me out! And I'm hungry!"
"Well, lucky for you that we're not underwater, we can serve food for you without wearing that helmet of yours," Trollex said while he was staying in the water.
"Oh, finally! I can eat a Techno dish!" The Magic Musical Princess sighed with excitement.
Then, Prince Synth cut into the conversation, "Oh, this isn't just any Techno dish, Princess Laser light. Ever since your first visit to Techno Reef, we enjoyed your company, so we have prepared an exceedingly rare, seafood delicacy just for you."
"Oh, really? I'm… I'm flattered. I'd be delighted to try your dish," the princess cooed.
"Tech-amazing! Then, to you, our magic visitor from the land, we present…" Synth used her water powers to bend water from the pool, revealing a golden coral platter with a lid as it fell on the two Techno Trolls' hands in front of the second prince, "The Gloop Du Jour!" Synth opened the lid, and the dish looked like a purple gooey ooze.
Aggie gasped after seeing another Techno dish for the first time, and it looked disgusting to her, "Wow! That is just… wow!" She held it in as he didn't want to hurt the Techno tribe's feelings.
"Tech-yes, it's wow! Aren't you gonna try it?" Trollex asked.
Aggie just looked at it in disgust, but she forced herself to put a smile on her face, "Ah… Of… of… course! Just… taking it all in!"
Synth chuckled while slouching on the rock Aggie was sitting on, "Oh-ho yeah, I'm down! You don't just gobble up the whole plate of gloop all at once. You gotta take your time. Savor the gloop."
"Especially the way it oozes like that?" the princess grinned nervously.
With the question, all the Techno Trolls gasped as their eyes locked at Aggie in silence,
"Wait? You thought…" Trollex stated while looking down at the gloop before turning to his fellow Techno Trolls as they all laughed their lungs out.
Aggie glanced at all the Techno Trolls around her confusingly as she made a fake laugh, "Ha, why is everyone laughing?"
"Oh, Land Trolls don't know much about our cuisine!" Synth laughed while wiping a tear off his eye,
"Don't offend her too much, bro," Trollex warned, not wanting to hurt Aggie's feelings.
"I'm not," the purple Techno Prince said before turning to Aggie, "Laser light, the oozy stuff here is just what the Gloop is served in. The real dish is inside," Synth then took a spoon, and tapped the oozy outside, allowing the ooze to melt, revealing the real gloop that looked like a purple ice cream sandwich.
Aggie gasped with a real smile, "It, it looks so… so beautiful and appetizing!"
"Yeah, it is! Why else would we serve it to you?" Synth offered the spoon to the princess.
When Aggie took the spoon, she scooped a small part of the gloop, and ate it. Her eyes opened with sparkling stars as she screamed happily, "IT'S SO GOOD! I LOVE IT!"
"SHE LOVES IT!" Trollex announced as all of the Techno Trolls cheered.
Aggie then got another scoop to eat more of the gloop. And the more Techno Trolls cheered for her, she felt appreciated by them. Another Techno Troll then served her a plate of Techno Spunnel Cake that she didn't get to try that other day. Now that she wasn't wearing a glass helmet, she was able to eat it, and it was as good as the gloop. She would never have thought that Techno cuisine was so delicious.
"If only I could breathe underwater, I would just stay here with you guys!" Aggie said as the other Trolls cheered loudly for her once more.
But then, Laguna interrupted the moment as she spoke, "But you can't. You're a Magic Musical Troll who doesn't choose her music yet, and you're a princess. You can't stay in Techno Reef forever."
"Laguna, don't make her feel that she's not welcome here," Trollex glared at her as he comforted Aggie, who frowned at Laguna's response.
Synth then added to the princess, "Yeah, you're welcome to visit Techno Reef anytime you want."
"Wow… thank you," Aggie smiled appreciatively as she ate another piece of Techno Spunnel Cake.
Laguna groaned in defeat. She didn't want to act like a bad guy here, but she was only following rules of the Techno tribe, but she felt defeated as she decided to go back to her studies.
After the part in the cave, Trollex escorted Aggie out while she was wearing her helmet.
"Trollex, that cave was so fun! I finally eat Techno cuisine!" Aggie said happily while rubbing her tummy, feeling she was full from eating.
"Hey, Aggie, I have another thing to show, and if my parents find out about this, I would be in so much trouble!" Trollex chuckled, but he still wanted to do this.
"What is it?"
"Follow me!"
Trollex and Aggie swam to the direction of Techno Reef, but this time, Trollex decided to sneak into the reef without anyone noticing him and Aggie, which confused the princess at first.
When there was no Techno Troll in sight, Trollex took Aggie's hand, and swam as fast as he could with Aggie catching up until they reached LED castle, which Aggie understood now why they had to sneak in. Trollex didn't want her parents or other Techno Trolls to know he let Aggie into their castle since no Land Troll has ever been to Techno Reef or LED castle before. Guess Aggie was the first Land Troll to enter. Trollex opened the doors for Aggie as the two entered. Trollex closed the door behind them, and Aggie gazed around one of the halls of the castle.
Down the hall, you could see all the paintings for the past leaders of Techno Reef, and the walls were all painted to match the pattern of colorful coral. Even the chandelier on the ceiling itself was a beautiful, circular piece of coral that was glowing, with the help of some white glowing fish that looked like angels. Above the windows, there were pieces of kelp painted to look like flags that marked the symbol of each ruler that ever existed, and the floor had a beautiful blue and green woven rug made of kelp and seaweed braided intricately together. Aggie brushed her hand along the wall as she could feel that they were smooth, smoother than the finest wood or rock she's ever picked up, and she thought the painted coral designs were quite adorable. On each side of the hallway, there were also two suits of armor made of seashells and clams on each side, with rocks holding the suits of armor in place so they would not fall.
"Wow, Trollex, your castle is beautiful!" the princess spoke while twirling around.
"Yeah, this is called LED Castle because of… you know, the LED," the prince explained.
"I can see that," then, Aggie noticed a portrait of Techno kings and queens, "Are these your ancestors?!"
"Yep, every king and queen held the crown and the triton, representing that they are in charge of taking care of the kingdom, and they don't have time to go on land anymore. Taking care of an underwater kingdom is hard work, especially when it was separated from the other tribes on land," Trollex explained until they stopped at an empty wall just next to King Ocean, "And one day, I'll have my portrait next to my father's, but it doesn't need to involve arranged marriage and everything. I'm still gonna be king."
"Exactly, but that doesn't sound like a bad thing, because you're gonna run Techno Reef your way, no matter how you run it," Aggie said.
"That's true… you're right. Besides, that's the reason why my parents left me in charge while they were gone on business trip lately," Then, an idea came to Trollex, "You know, I'm gonna host a rave party tomorrow, as in, on my own this time since my first Techno rave that I have to host alone was ruined because I've been out collecting Land Troll items, I have to make up for it!"
"Yeah, I would love to come!" Aggie answered excitedly.
When the day was over again, Trollex escorted Aggie back home again. Same as every day, Aggie went back to the castle while hiding her decoy in the sand. The day today was amazing. She learned a lot of Techno cultures, and she seemed to enjoy them. It was hard to embrace them at first, but she pulled them off in the end, all thanks to Trollex's support. Aggie thought it wouldn't be possible that the reason she embraced the Techno culture so fast it's because Trollex was there. She felt comfortable around Trollex, and whenever he's with her, she felt safe. Wouldn't it be possible that she's really… in love with him? She kept asking herself like that ever since she met Trollex, and she wanted to deny it because Trollex was already arranged to be married to someone else, and she wasn't sure if Trollex felt the same with her… maybe it was just nothing. Aggie has to ignore those feelings, and stay focused on being just his friend.
When Trollex returned to Techno Reef, he couldn't help but think about his feelings towards Aggie. Whenever she was close to him, he felt so… different... and in love. He loved showing her his tribe, and whenever she's smiling, she was beautiful in his eyes. Could it really be? Is this what love really feels like? He hoped he was not in love with her as he didn't want to put Aggie at risk when his parents found out. Aggie was a good friend to him, and he wanted to pay his respect for her after showing him around the land part of Troll Kingdom. He just hoped he wasn't completely in love with her that much.
Some references in this chapter were used from Trolls: TrollsTopia: "Branch Out Of Water" and "Potluck Poppy".
I know Trollex and Aggie kept questioning themselves if they have romantic feelings for each other, but we'll see if these feelings were true.
I hope you like this new chapter, guys!