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secret-fiction · 7 months

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Spyro, Wrath of the Wraith Ch 1 - Artisans Ambush

General Audiences, contains Cartoon Violence.

As Spyro the Dragon attempts to rest and Bianca the sorceress returns to her studies of magic, Gnasty Gnorc sends an incursion into the Dragon Kingdom seeking to steal a Guidebook and the power crystal encrusted within it. Things go awry and Spyro arrives to confront the intruders as they make their escape, his Guidebook and the Professor in their possession. With the help of Bianca and others, Spyro gives chase toward Gnasty Gnorc's hideout, a hidden ship off the coast of the realm. I do not consent to any use of this work in training Machine Learning programs, referred to by some as "AI."

Finished with another evening of work, the sorceress Bianca emerged from beneath the comforting shadow of a hollow under the plains. Instead of cool midnight darkness however, she found an ambush of morning sunlight that offered her eyes stinging blindness. She recoiled and fumbled with the purple hood under her long ears, eventually managing to pull it over her head. Now shielded from the light she marched back outside to face the consequences of a sleepless night.

The path Bianca walked between hills and walls curved and meandered more than it had the evening before. Dark Hollow’s library had been a comfortable place to study, evidently too comfortable. Yet she had completed a set of magic portal instructions, now tucked in a bag under her arm. Bianca rubbed her eyes, smearing her purple eyeliner which now accentuated her dark eyebags. When her vision cleared she saw a shadow cast over her, stretched from the large figure of a gray scaled Dragon.

“Oh!” said Bianca. “Excuse me, I took a wrong-”

“You’re well excused miss Rab-bit,” said the gray Dragon, “You’re here at a good time, watch these few here for a moment.”

The large Dragon gestured to a group of four much smaller Dragon hatchlings, all around the size of a wild mundane rabbit. They seemed mostly occupied with some paintbrushes and small canvases laid out on the ground. A couple were actually painting something, but another was chewing a paintbrush into sawdust with its sharp baby teeth.

“Ah! I’d like to help, but I-”

“Now these ones can’t be caught easily if they decide to wander, but anything colourful or otherwise distracting should keep them together.”

“Really I can get someone else-”

The large gray Dragon didn’t seem to hear Bianca as he leapt into the air and with a flap of his wings took flight. Now she was alone with three toddlers, who were Dragons. Bianca’s eyes widened a bit as she surveyed the brood of hatchlings. There was definitely a fourth one a moment ago. Her heart rate increased as her eyes swept over the surrounding area. It took a bit of running around for her to find the fourth hatchling atop a nearby ledge looking down at her with its bright brown eyes.

“Uh… Wait there! I’ll get you down…” said Bianca.

The Hatchling giggled at her, and leapt off the ledge. Bianca yelped and scrambled to catch it. It however caught the air in its little wings, gliding down safely like a feather.

“...Your wings aren’t big enough for that to make sense.”

As that hatchling landed softly, then somehow still tumbled over itself a few times, Bianca glanced over to see an act of baby violence. A Blue hatchling sneezed on a red hatchlings painting canvas, lighting it aflame. The two of them held eye contact for a long dramatic moment, before the red one rammed the blue one with its horns. This quickly devolved into a small flailing battle.

“Hey! HEY!” shouted Bianca as she ran over, “not so rough!”

Bianca rushed over and pulled the two hatchlings apart. They interpreted this interposition as a challenge. The Blue hatchling leaned over and bit Bianca’s leg through her coat. She yelped and dropped the red one, who proceeded to ram her other leg with its horns. Unlike their heavier Dragon elders, Bianca slipped on her long boot and fell onto her back. The two Hatchlings then resumed their combat atop of her prone body.

As Bianca found out how well Hatchlings can wrestle, she felt a tug on the bag of papers under her arm. She sat up to see it being yanked away by a chubby yellow Hatchling. It stared at her with her work in its maw while wagging its tail. Bianca held eye contact and slowly leaned over to reach for her paperwork. The yellow hatchling grinned and jumped away, its plot to lure her into a chase successful.

“Careful with those!” Shouted Bianca, “Please… Stay… Still!”

Her words falling on a toddlers ears, Bianca stopped her chase short and surveyed how the situation had devolved. How did the older Dragons deal with this? Right, they were big, heavy, and usually capable of flying out of reach. Hearing a crunch, she looked down to see a loose canvas splattered with colours under her long clown boots. Remembering one skill she did have, she waved her hand at the canvas and uttered a command. A bright flash and a loud crack sent the colours flying off of the canvas and onto a nearby wall.

“Ooooh!” uttered all four of the hatchlings.

All their eyes were now on Bianca and they dropped whatever they were doing to surround her. She took a moment to sigh, slow her heart rate, and brush her blonde bangs away from her eyes.

“Anotha!” said the chubby yellow hatchling, dropping Bianca’s paperwork from its mouth.

“Okay, I can do that!” said Bianca.

She looked at the mess of art supplies strewn about the ground. With a few more utterances and gestures, she cast a spell upon the paintbrushes. A wave of sparkling lights enveloped them and soon the brushes were floating into the air and toward the wall. In patterned motions the paintbrushes garnished the wall and smeared the splatter of colours into a swirling abstract image.

“Bigga Magic!” shouted one of the Hatchlings.

“You wanna see more?” said Bianca, a grin drawing on her face. The four hatchlings nodded and chirped eager affirmations. “I could cast some more powerful sorcery, but are you sure you can handle that?” Again the Hatchlings bounced and nodded in affirmation, some shouting “Yes Yes!” and others uttering excited chirps. “Very well, behold this!”

Bianca turned away from the hatchlings, the paintbrushes falling to the ground as she clasped her hands together. Now she just needed to figure out what kind of spell would live up to the hype. While scanning the area for a good catalyst, the muffled sound of a breeze through leaves reached her ears. A trio of small well trimmed trees sat atop a hill above her. She considered them for a moment, then gestured her arms again and spoke an incantation, pausing for a second before the final word.

A blinding flash from the central tree made Bianca recoil and shield her eyes. Then the light and the warmth of the sun faded away. Slowly, Bianca opened her eyes to a new shadow cast over the area. The hatchlings around her cooed in awe and as her vision cleared Bianca saw the tree standing several storeys taller. Its branches spread out wildly and its leaves grew unkempt. Overall it was very noticeable and Bianca grimaced at the thought of being chewed out by whoever was groundskeeping this place.

A breeze pushed lightly against the now massive tree, which in all its magically enhanced strength started to buckle and tip. Large cracks loudly appeared on the hill under the tree and its roots ripped a chunk of the soil away as it leaned toward Bianca and the hatchlings. Eyes wide and teeth clenched she frantically mumbled to herself while raising her arms ready to cast a spell. Meanwhile the hatchlings cheered on the tree as it gained momentum toward them.

Unable to think of a quick magic fix, Bianca started grabbing the hatchlings and throwing them on her shoulder. They laughed with an amusement known only to creatures unaware of their mortality. One, two, then three were quickly stacked on her head and shoulders. The creaking of wood grew louder and Bianca danced around looking for the last hatchling. Then she spotted it bravely and foolishly facing the falling tree and attempting to mimic Bianca's hand movements. Another loud crack came from the base of the tree and it suddenly dropped much faster. With a yell she bounced over to shove the hatchling out of the way, but the tree was already upon them.

Then there was a loud thwack above them followed by the crashing of the tree hitting the ground. It laid to rest just a foot away from Bianca and the Hatchlings. A glance at the tree revealed a gash in the wood, something had struck it at the last minute and pushed it away. That something then spoke up.

“Well if it isn’t the imposing sorceress, practicing well controlled magic I see.”

Perching himself atop the fallen tree was the familiar purple scaled and yellow crested Spyro the Dragon. He was leaning forward wearing a cheeky smirk on his face and a chunk of bark on his brown horns. His body was closer in size to the Hatchlings than the adult Dragons but evidently carried enough mass to budge a falling tree. All the while the fast rate of his breath contradicted his casual posture. Around Bianca the four hatchlings gasped and clambered over her toward him. She simply sighed, for two reasons.

“Thanks Spyro… Looks like these kids are glad to see you.”

“Yep, Heh, as usual…” Spyro waved his paw to the hatchlings who all clambered for his attention. “I’d love to stick around guys but I, uh… Sparx, what're we doing?”

A buzzing noise accompanied a yellow Dragonfly, Sparx, who swooped over Spyro and perched atop the bark on his horns. Sparx tapped leg to his mouth and thought for a moment, then buzzed some sort of response with his wings. Spyro nodded and said “Yeah we gotta go help Hunter with-” he shot a look at Sparx, “Something.”

The Hatchlings did not understand or did not care as they jumped and climbed up the tree toward Spyro. He flapped his orange wings as if to glide away, but the toddlers were upon him. Two jumped onto his wings and back, and the others tried to wrestle him over. For his part Spyro did a decent job of staying upright with a tight grip on the log beneath him. Bianca chuckled lightly to herself and picked up her paperwork. “Well if I see Hunter I’ll send him your way, thanks for taking over for me.”

“Now hold on!” said Spyro.

“Hey kids! Up here!” shouted a new and recognizable voice from atop the half destroyed hill. It was none other than Hunter the Cheetah. His yellow coat of fur and light brown spots only made him stand out from the landscape here. His blue eyes met Bianca’s, and he gave a corny wink before leaping down. He landed on his feet harmlessly and brandished a frog at the Hatchlings. “For each of these you bring me, I’ll give you one toss into the air! Whoever brings the most gets to ride my kite!”

The four Hatchlings gasped and immediately took off in different directions, releasing Spyro from their clutches. As they scattered out of sight, which is definitely a good way to watch kids, Hunter turned to Bianca and said “Oh Man, you didn’t sleep again didya?”

“Does it look like I didn't sleep?” said Bianca.

“Yup,” said Hunter. “Your face is that kind of ‘ready for an 11 hour nap’ type of cute right now.”

The fluff on Bianca’s cheeks puffed out a bit. Something about the way Hunter spoke, and the way his goofy face looked with its shape and his goatee made it difficult not to smile a bit. “Well I finished my spellcraft work for the Professor, so I’ll just get that to him, then maybe nap… unless-”

“Go to sleeeeeep…” said Hunter, waving his paws around.

“Your spell needs work,” said Bianca, “but I'll let you give it a shot when I’m done with my errands.”

“If you say so,” said Hunter.

Bianca leaned closer to Hunter for a quick goodbye kiss.

“You stop that,” said Spyro, who was still very present and leaning away dramatically.

“Bzzzt!” added Sparx as he finished yanking the chunk of bark off of Spyro’s horns.

“Ooo! It’s a terrifying display of affection!” said Bianca, waving her hands.

Spyro squinted at Bianca, but before he could think of a retort one of the Hatchlings returned to Hunter, a frog in its maw belting a distressed croak.

“Oh very nice! Good job.” Hunter bent down and picked the Hatchling up, then with a heave he tossed it a few meters into the air. The Hatchling thought this was the best thing ever as it giggled whilst gliding in circles down. Hunter then turned to Spyro, “You wanna get in on this?”

“...Nah,” Spyro’s eyes turned and followed the giggled Hatchling as it descended for a moment. “Besides, I doubt you could toss me very far.”

“Hey! I’m quite strong AND spry!” said Hunter.

“Doubt it.”

“Bet!”

While Spyro and Hunter proceeded to challenge each other, Bianca slowly stepped away. She sighed and picked up her bag of paperwork, maybe she’d deliver it before another distraction stopped her.

Far past the serene coasts of the Artisans plains lay a blanket of gray fog over the dark blue sea. A coastal breeze rolled the fog out flat over the waves till it dispersed at the edges. Yet even in the daylight it cast an opaque screen over its field of cover. In contrast to the rest of the clear daytime horizon this phenomenon could easily draw attention. Whether or not the large metal ship resting under this fog would draw even more attention was a topic of debate among its crew.

Two tall chimneys towered over the deck of the ship and poured a constant stream of warm steam with the visual consistency of thick foam. At the base of each chimney several small creatures shoveled coal down open chutes. These mostly round green skinned laborers were none other than Gnorc soldiers, well exerted and dubiously dangerous. The grunts and idle chatter between these minions as they took shifts shoveling reached a bridge cabin overlooking the obscured deck. Though he could not see them well from here, the fog did not muffle their voices from reaching Gnasty Gnorc.

Standing before a thick glass window Gnasty kept his posture tall and imposing. Surely any who glance up at the bridge would think his silhouette intimidating, and maybe smidge mysterious. Though the weight of his massive gold coloured breastplate and shoulder pads did make continuously standing for hours hard on his thin legs. That was the price of being the boss. As he started to consider the tragic responsibilities of his station a deep voice beckoned to him from the deck.

“Heyo Gnasty Gnorc! We’ve finally found our woolly crony!”

Gnasty grinned, the tusks of his underbite underlining the dark look in his eyes. He stepped out to the deck from the base of the Bridge tower just as a new breeze started to lift away the fog. Before him stood Dr. Shemp, a large oval shaped yellow Gnorc wearing round sunglasses despite the shade over him. Several Gnorcs nearby, some short and some very tall, stood up from their resting positions and assembled around them. This was the only clearing, as much of the deck was covered with tarps that concealed several large shapes.

“Looking nice and threatening as usual boss,” said Dr. Shemp.

“Adequate flattery as usual Shemp,” said Gnasty.

The wind began to pick up, spinning around them in a vortex that sucked the fog up to the sky. Light poured down onto the deck as descending from above came a wizard with a long orange beard, brown pointy hat, and long arms gangly arms. Blowhard had few other features to see. Literally no legs and barely a torso to speak of. Not that Gnasty ever questioned this anatomy out loud. As Blowhard reached eye level with Gnasty the wind funnel shrunk to a small constant tornado that held him aloft. Blowhard held out a burlap sack toward Gnasty as he maintained a constant magic chant.

“What treats have you brought me?” asked Gnasty.

The bag responded with a loud and noticeably exasperated bleat. As it rustled Gnasty took it and spilled the contents of a single sheep to the ground. Its wool was patchy at best and its skin bore old burn scars. It shook its head, long ears flopped around, and glared at Gnasty. After its eyes widened in recognition it recoiled for a second before standing tall and firm.

“Well if it isn’t the puppet Dragon slayer… how have you been Toasty?”

“Baa’ad!” answered Toasty the sheep, “As you’ave been!”

“But you’re alive,” said Gnasty as he started walking a circle around Toasty, “and that’s just the thing I’m looking for in a spy.”

“Spy?! Bah! I’m not going Ba-ack there!”

“Aw c’mon, where’s your ambition?” said Dr. Shemp.

“With his wool,” said Gnasty.

“Burned asunder, cast as ashes to the gales!” said Blowhard, who’s whirlwind almost dropped him until he returned to chanting.

“... Ba-urned like all of you.”

Gnasty stopped pacing, his back facing Toasty, and let out a sigh. He gave the sheep a few seconds to become sufficiently worried. Then he turned his wide shoulders enough to make eye contact. “You failed me first.”

Toasty’s eyes widened, then turned to a scowl. “Your spell was Ba-aad. Your Pla-an, BA-AD! Your appearance… Less than Pa-ar!”

A shocked gasp emanated from the whole crew around them. But the sight of this ragged shivering sheep and the light sting of herbivorous venom in his voice made Gnasty smirk. A chuckle that sounded not far from a croaking toad rose from his chest. His laugh lifted the tension off of the deck as the other Gnorcs chuckled softly too. From that height, Gnasty dropped it back onto the scene like a tungsten cube as the amusement on his face morphed into a bullfrog's scowl. “You’re not only an ugly and ragged creature, you’re small.”

Toasty’s glare faltered under a burden of fear.

“Your hate is worthless alone. But I can still use your appearance.”

“...Bah-ah?” asked Toasty.

“According to my new ally, that whelp has a useful power crystal from another world. You can get close, and Blowlord here can get you out.”

“Na-ay! I’d be incinerated!” said Toasty.

“Maybe. But. You owe me success.” Gnasty Gnorc gestured to the ship around them. “And I have the means to arm you, and give you the first pick at revenge.”

“Yeh, we know you’ve been building a trap at your hideout,” said Dr. Shemp.

One thing about Toasty that Gnasty could appreciate now was the palpable narrative in his expression. An ember of rage that had rested inside Toasty’s heart was growing into an inferno with all the kindling of opportunity Gnasty had laid onto it. The fire suppression system of fear and logic in his mind clearly faltered. It was quite impossible for Toasty to refuse Gnasty’s offer now.

“...I ca-an find it,” said Toasty, now smiling slightly for the first time. “I’ll find it, and you get me ba-ack.”

Being the cool older cousin of just about every Hatchling in the land did have some drawbacks. Which is why Spyro the Dragon was sneaking around hills and towers with the intensity of an anxious squirrel. While Hunter was off doing odd jobs for his elders Spyro was regularly left to entertain his juniors. Playing with the Hatchlings was fun usually, but there were so many of them around. Everywhere he went there was some little guy trying to chase him, headbutt him, or beg for attention. Spyro hardly had any time of his own to chase, headbutt, and beg for attention from anyone else.

Luckily Spyro had Sparx the Dragonfly at his side, who provided magic powers, good representation when necessary, but more importantly comradery. The vast wealth of treasure Spyro had at his disposal was likewise helpful.

“This is a good idea, Sparx,” said Spyro as he snuck around the edges of a field, placing red gems in bushes and behind stones, “but is there a faster way to hide all my gems?”

Sparx dropped a gem from his legs into a small stone fountain then shook his head at Spyro.

“Darn, okay, how many have we placed anyway?” said Spyro.

“Bzzzt,” said Sparx.

“Really? I think that’s plenty.”

Their own treasure scattered around the area, Spyro and Sparx made their way toward a nearby tower. Careful to avoid being spotted, they dashed between hiding spots and only moved after checking that the area was clear. None of the other Dragons noticed them moving behind fountains, along walls, and eventually sneaking alongside a herd of sheep. Pretty soon they reached a stone tower and rode a vortex of wind to the top.

From the ledge Spyro crouched low and looked down, Sparx resting on his head. It seemed they had evaded notice by the several wandering Hatchlings playing about the fields. Though Spyro could see boredom and pent up energy in their posture. Sparx gave him a buzz of “be right back” and dived from his head down to the plains. Using his shimmering sparks, Sparx steadily gathered the attention of all the Hatchlings before leading them toward one of the easier to find gems. The discovery of a single red gemstone in a spot of grass filled the Hatchlings with a visible sense of awe and duty.

Watching Sparx lead the game of ‘find the shiny gems’ filled Spyro with a small sense of relief. Evidently his small companion was finding great enjoyment in this specific passtime. Enjoyment being something Spyro had felt being muffled away by some sort of… fuzz in his mood. He rolled onto his back and looked up to the sky as he came to realize that he wasn’t feeling tired, otherwise he’d be napping already. Yet the idea of running around with the kids anymore felt unappealing. A tension in his legs and wings began to clearly yearn for movement but were in contrast with that fuzzy, heavy feeling.

While Spyro laid there in his own head for the first time in who knows how long, something that had noticed him sneaking away prowled toward him atop this tower. A shadow cast over Spyro's face. It took him a bit to realize it wasn’t a cloud but the wool of a common sheep leaning over him. Spyro jumped and rolled to his feet. The Sheep only bounced closer. Its behavior was very unlike any sheep he’s met before.

“BA’AH!” bleated the sheep… no, sheep costume. The back of this woolly form opened up revealing a small light-brown Dragon Hatchling who looked at Spyro with a wide grin and shiny eyes.

Spyro relaxed and folded his wings, “Pfft, hey Ba’uddy. What’s up?”

The Hatchling, one Spyro and Sparx had called Ba’ah when they first rescued it, crouched back into the costume. They then bounced in a circle and gestured for Spyro to give chase. After the jumpstart of being startled, he was really considering it. That’s until another shadow passed over them both, this one indeed a cloud in both gaseous and liquid form. A smattering of rain droplets fell and brought a pause to the day.

Below the several Hatchlings chirped in amusement at first. Then after a few minutes they began yawning and moving lethargically. As if cut off from the solar power of the sun, one by one every young Dragon began to fall to sleep. This wasn’t unusual. He glanced over the Ba’ah who had already curled up and passed out in their comfortable wool bed of a costume. As Sparx returned buzzing with a frequency of disappointment the two of them decided to quietly head out somewhere else to be properly alone. But not before Spyro doubled back and pushed ba’ah under a ceiling protected from the rain.

“Well, where too buddy?” said Spyro.

Sparx bobbed up and down in the Dragonfly sign of a shrug.

“Yeah, same. I’ve got no idea what I want to do today.” Spyro tapped his claws on the ground for a moment, “I think we need a good hidden lair.”

Before Spyro could elaborate on that thought, he and Sparx noticed a distant bright red light sail through the sky under the cloud cover. It hung in the air for a while before fading away.

“Huh, I wonder who did that,” said Spyro. A few moments passed as they sat there curious about that, but not enough to investigate. “Anyway, where would you hide a-”

“Spyro!!” shouted the high pitched voice of a fairy. A dim sparkling light seemed to appear in the air nearby. It speed towards them, slowly revealing itself to be a red-haired fairy with a yellow dress, Zoe. “The Professor’s in trouble!”

“...How?!”

“The other Dragons went indoors to hide from the rain! Then out of nowhere a sheep took his pencil and lured him away! One thing led to another, he got caught in a trap, and I went to find you immediately.”

“A sheep? I think you could get Hunter to-” Spyro was cut off from a buzz from Sparx. He cocked his head for a moment, then his eyes widened. “We’ll go check it out.”

Over the coasts and under the dark clouds of foreboding mild rains flew a squadron of rickety airplanes. Single propeller engines pulled them through the air. Their fabric wings buckled and shifted with the turbulence. piloting these virtual flying boats were small Gnorcs, their scarves waving and their foggy goggles reflecting the fading red light of a flare. In short order they passed over a larger castle and the central courtyard of the Artisans. With a sharp turn the leading pilot began circling close overhead, and one by one each plane followed the maneuver.

Observing this display from the ground was a short brown mole-man known to the Dragons as The Professor. His glasses remained constantly obscured by the rain and the rag he had pulled from his lab coat was too soaked to fix that. His head, which was quite large for his body, turned to face a shaggy wooled sheep holding him at rocket-point. “Are those flying machines I hear?”

The shaggy wooled sheep uttered a muffled but threatening bleat. Toasty wasn’t interested in answering questions.

“Ah, I see,” the Professor gave up on cleaning his glasses and put them back on.

One of the several planes split off from the squadron's maneuver and landed in the courtyard. It slid across the wet grasses until it bumped into a wall near the Professor and Toasty. Out hopped a single Gnorc pilot who then saluted.

“Gnorc Wing Four at yer service boss!” said the Gnorc.

“AND the wizard of Weather!” said the trilling voice of Blowhard. This long bearded wizard descended from one of the planes above, summoning a vortex of wind to hold himself in the aloft. This also served to whip a funnel of water into the air that then fell onto the Professor and Toasty. “Where is the Power Crystal?”

“The mole Ba-ears it!” replied the Toasty the sheep.

“The Power Crystal?” said the Professor, “Oh I’m afraid I need that to jumpstart my new Axis gate.” The Professor proceeded to pull a large book labeled ‘Guidebook’ from his coat. Encrusted within it was a large red gemstone that reflected a rainbow of colours. “See, using the same magic previously used to reach the Dragon Realms from the other side of the world, I’ll connect this site to Forgotten Worlds directly. It’ll be quite convenient I assure you.”

“We need not access to that land!” said Blowhard, “we need it to eclipse the Dragon Kingdom!”

“...Well that’s just not a very good idea,” said the Professor.

Not interested in the Professor's very logical criticism, Toasty rammed him from behind, sending him tumbling into the seat of the airplane. The Gnorc pilot proceeded to cram into the same cockpit and begin strapping the Professor down. Toasty grew fidgety as the moment grew longer and the risk of a Dragon showing up increased. Luckily for him his stress was soon released in a spot of terror, for he spotted a familiar small figure standing before a stone portal only a short charge away.

“Nice weather for a flight?” asked Spyro, flapping his wings and splattering water around, which Sparx did not appreciate.

“No, this weather is not idea-aAAHHH!” said Blowhard, who proceeded to increase the speed of his magic chant, raising him out of reach into the air.

“Gnorc Squadron Four! Dive Maneuver Violet!” shouted the Gnorc manning the grounded plane.

The revving drone of propeller engines drew Spyro and Sparx’s vision upward where a line of seven more airplanes turned sharply toward them. Each plane had two bombs, one strapped on each side within reach of the pilot. The leading pilot brandished a large knife before diving toward Spyro. With a slash a bomb was released, as was its weight from the left side of the plane. The whole airplane took a dip to the right, then fell into a full spin before slamming into the grass with a splash of water and smoke.

The bomb on the other hand fell toward Spyro, before the winds of the rainstorm sent it off course. It hit the grass but skidded several yards past Spyro and into the crashed plane. The pilot glanced over just in time to see their explosive child return home. The resulting blast and flying debris shook the rest of the squadron out of order.

“I didn’t know you guys could put weapons on those breakable machines,” said Spyro.

Several planes of the remaining squadron attempted to dive bomb him as well, while others took sharp evasive maneuvers into the ground. A few more bombs thudded into and skidded across the ground around Spyro in a captivating display of fire and flying shrapnel. Sparx batted a mangled shard of metal away from hitting Spyro’s face then gestured up to one plane not falling off course. This pilot skillfully cut the straps to both bombs at once that proceeded to whistle toward Spyro. With Sparx’s warning, Spyro trotted over to the side, letting both bombs fall past him and into the stone portal at his back.

As that payload missed and the plane itself nicked the top of the portal trying to pull up, Spyro decided to actually attend to the grounded intruders. He made eye contact with the Professor who waved at him, then to the Gnorc pilot who shook his head in fear.

“Spyro my boy!” said the Professor between the blasts and crashes, “Is that you destroying this squadron?”

“...Yes.” Spyro bounded toward the plane the Professor was held in, but stopped short when the grass at his feet suddenly stood straight up. He dived to the side with a gasp, narrowly dodging a small strike of lightning. Still chanting through the rain and wreckage, Blowhard seemed to be summoning isolated clouds of lighting from the rain storm above.

“Oh hey!” said Spyro while wagging his tail, “I remember you! Got yourself put back together windy beard?”

Blowhard responded only by summoning down another cloud filled with sparking lightning. Watching this unfold Spyro started leaning back and forth as if to dodge one way or another. Over him Sparx spun in circles, leaving a trail of light and sparks. The cloud of lightning shook as Blowhard tried to anticipate which way to send this attack. Suddenly Spyro took off to the left, and Blowhard sent the cloud after him. It went flying over Spyro and past him as he skidded to a stop, leaving the lightning to strike only wet grass.

“Come one down here and try again,” said Spyro with a wide smile, “You might not miss up close.”

“Spyro!” Zoe appeared between him and the glaring weather wizard, “don’t let them get away with the Professor!”

Zoe pointed her tiny wand in the direction of the plane the professor was aboard; it was now turning and rolling toward a nearby waterfall and pool. Spyro squinted at this move, then saw a small white shape hopping between stones in the pool. These five stone disks began blinking with a yellow glow, and the wall between the waterfalls opened up to reveal a hidden magic portal. The white shape, Toasty, made eye contact with Spyro and froze.

“How’d it know…”

“BZZZT!” Sparx butted Spyro in the head. A static tingle filled the air around him again and he dashed away. Wet grass turned to steam as a bolt of lightning struck right behind Spyro, close enough to jolt his claws and cause him to tumble onto his face. The yellow glow Sparx illuminated dimmed and he dove down to check on Spyro.

This stumble gave the Gnorc pilot time to rev up his engine and accelerate toward the portal. The edge of the pool approached and the plane hadn’t lifted into the air yet. Yelling the pilot cut the bombs on each side of the plane loose, sending them sliding into the water and the plane wobbling into the air. Toasty bounced onto the body of the plane just in time for it to fly into the skyline through the portal archway.

“I’m fine I'm good,” said Spyro, shaking his head, “quick, let's fly after them!”

Sparx nodded to Spyro, agreeing the mess here could be someone else’s problem now. However Blowhard insisted they stay put with a bolt of dissenting lightning. It struck not at Spyro, but at the water in the pool between him and the hidden portal. Spyro’s eyes widened, then dilated against a flash as two explosions burst from the water. A massive wave of blue water and glowing stone shrapnel fell onto Spyro who managed to shield Sparx and his face with his wings.

“Hohohoh!!” Blowhard chortled as he dropped to the pool, the vortex of wind he rode turning into a funnel of flying water. His laugh did not manage to mask the sound of sliding stone as the entrance to the hidden portal slid shut.

The glow of the stone shrapnel that lay around Spyro faded, and seeing this he charged to the portal. Blowhard raised his arms and stopped laughing as Spyro seemed intent to go right through him. There wasn’t time for that fun however as Spyro instead dove into the water and swam under Blowhard. With a momentous leap he nearly reached the portal at the same time as the closing stone. Growling, Spyro skidded to a stop and narrowly avoided being smashed.

“Oh! Ohohohoh!” said Blowhard once more. This drew Spyro’s ire toward him, so he quickly returned to chanting. A blast of flame merely singed his beard as he rose back into the air.

“Ah come on, don’t want to play?” said Spyro, “afraid you’ll lose another duel?”

Blowhard responded only by continuing his chant and raising a hand. Spyro raised an eyebrow trying to discern if this was meant as some rude gesture or something. It turned out though Blowhard wasn’t brave enough for that, as the only remaining functional Gnorc plane flew past Blowhard, who snagged onto its rudder and was dragged away like a damp flag.

“Oh, lame,” said Spyro. He watched the fleeing planes for a moment under the shroud of the rainclouds. A rainbow was shining in the sky now, though not as an omen alone. It waved through the air with a warping sound before crashing with a flash next to Spyro. Appearing from magic was Bianca, eyes wide and eye bags dark.

“Spyro I came as fast as I could!” said Bianca, “Where’d all those explosions come from?”

“Gnorcs, somehow,” said Spyro. “Hey, d’ya think you could open the wall to that portal with your magic?”

“Between the waterfall there?” said Bianca, “Uh… yeah, give me a moment!”

After a moment of looking over the sight, Bianca began waving her hands around and repeated an incantation. A glow appeared in her hands that shot toward the wall like a rocket. It also blew up like a rocket, tendrils of light scattering over the rockface. Cracks spread over the wall, stone pops echoing through the air. Then bursting from the grassy hill above it came a wave of water which connected the two waterfalls and thoroughly blocked the path to the portal.

“Ah,” said Bianca.

“Sure,” said Spyro.

“Shoot,” said Zoe.

“Hey! Who had a party over here?” said Hunter the Cheetah as he casually strolled up beside the group.

“Bzzt!” said Sparx.

“Oh okay!” Hunter leaned down to Spyro, “What’d he say?”

“...Oh! Let’s follow the planes!” said Spyro who then took off running.

“Cool!” Hunter Leaned over to Bianca, “What airplanes?”

Giving little mind to the others Spyro rushed through an underground tunnel and out to a wooden dock on the sea. There a short balloonist with their face covered by a scarf was tying down a hot air balloon.

“Hey Marco! Can I borrow this again?!” said Spyro whilst hopping around Marco the balloonist.

“Oh of course Spyro!” said the Balloonist.

Immediately Spyro hopped onto Marco’s head and into the small basket of the hot air balloon. “Oh yeah do I steer this after those planes that just flew by?”

“That’s… a bit complicated,” said Marco. “What do you know about altitude and wind direction?”

“...Not enough actually,” said Spyro.

“Hold on Spyro!” said Bianca as She, Hunter and Zoe caught up to him. “I actually got a spell that should help.”

“Maybe don’t blow up his balloon,” said Spyro.

“Blow up my balloon?!” said Marco.

“No no trust me,” said Bianca. Without more time for objections, she waved her hands and summoned a wave of dim rainbow light over the Balloon. A rainbow trail stretched into the air and faded into the horizon. “This should follow that wizard, he left a lot of magic floating around.”

“Oh Thanks! Be right back!” said Spyro.

The balloon lifted into the air along the trajectory of the rainbow, only jostling Spyro around a little bit. As they watched Spyro be carried away Hunter spoke up. “Oh hey, maybe I can get my jetpack. Or my RC plane!”

“Do you know where those are right now?” said Zoe.

“Uh, well…”

In the distance they all heard the shriek of an elder Dragon. “OUR WATERFALL!!!”

“Well let’s go look for your toys,” said Bianca, “No need to stick around.”

Out from under the overcast weather and into sunny skies flew the rickety Gnorc airplane. Blowhard sighed to himself and released his grip from the rudder, returning to riding his magic tornado. Here an updraft in the air made it much easier for Blowhard to stay aloft. He and the remaining plane of Gnorc Squadron Four had reached the island known to the Dragons as Sunny Flight. Large crystal clusters protruded from the island itself and the sea around it.

“Hey uh, mr wizard,” said the Gnorc pilot beside Blowhard, “who’s balloon is that behind us?”

Blowhard looked at the pilot while maintaining his chant, then slowly turned his body around. Blowing through the air towards them was a large red and yellow striped balloon. Squinting, Blowhard made out a familiar purple Dragon in the basket hanging from the balloon.

“Ohohoh!” said Blowhard, “the Fool!”

“Fool?” said the Gnorc, “Who’s the fool? Should we be leading it to the ship?”

“The wyrmling is a laying waterfowl! The balloon will be cast into the sea by cannon fire!”

As the balloon closed in Spyro glared at Blowhard, then smirked. He leaned over the edge of the basket and unfolded his wings.

“Ohohoh! Wyrmlings cannot fly!” said Blowhard, slowly losing altitude as he interrupted his chant, “Lest they be in locales of high magic or updrafts! Ohoho-AH!”

Taking evasive action as he suddenly lost more altitude in a panic, Blowhard resumed his chant intime to skid across the ocean surface. Spyro’s smile widened and he leaned out of the basket and leapt toward the fleeing wizard and pilot. His small orange wings picked up waves of wind that trailed behind him. In the vicinity of Sunny Flight, Spyro clearly had more advantage to gain than those fleeing him.

^Art by @Artisyone here on Tumblr and on Twitter. Consider checking out her art or her Sonic AU comic Out of the Blue.

Thanks for reading if you got this far! This is the first chapter of a story I've had outlined for a bit now. Overall my plans are to have about 11-12 chapters, hopefully in a bit shorter lenght than this. Ideally I'd like this to feel like a prose form of a "Spyro OVA."

Feel free to offer any comments on this story, I'd appreciate it!

--CHAPTER TWO HERE--

#Spyro Fanfiction #Spyro the Dragon #Spyro Fanfic #Spyro #Fanfiction #Fanfic #Writing #Bianca the Rabbit #Gnasty Gnorc #Hunter the Cheetah #My Writing #Secret Person #Spyro Wrath of the Wraith #Chapter 1

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