The original Spyro the Dragon series, Spyro, Elora, Sparx, Hunter, Bianca, Moneybags, Zoe, baby dragons (Brian, Roxy and Hank from Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon), older dragons including Gildas, Tomas and the adult-sized purple dragon (from Spyro the Dragon and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon), Marco the balloonist, Dragon Realms, Artisans Homeworld and other minor characters belongs to Insomniac Games or whoever owns the franchise now. Macy is an OC and rightfully belongs to Topaz16.
Hi! It's Flowerstar! I'm sure you know me as the authoress of my Spyro/American Dragon crossover, "Spyro & Jake Long: Ripto's Revenge" and my one-sided Spyro x Elora song fanfiction, "Rolling Back The Rivers In Time" but I'm more known outside this category as the one who written my debut fanfiction, "A Mario Birthday Party", five years ago from now. We know everyone get sick sometimes, even heroes and heroines but since no one has done a story about Spyro coming down with a cold or the flu, my collab partner and I decided to come up with something like this. Since we're fans of Spyro x Elora, there will be plenty of romance between them. Just keep in mind that this fanfic takes place after Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon.
This is one of the collaborations I'm doing with one of my friends; the other collaboration is a remake of "Mario and Luigi: Eternal Slumber" with ChrisMSMB (previously with Clario back in 2005, five years ago from now. Let's just say ChrisMSMB and I are bringing this back from the 'dead') from the Mario category and one of my pals. My collab partner, Topaz16, is doing this story with me so we will both get reviews and feedback. Y'know, I haven't done a collaboration in years since… since the cancelled story with my little sis, SnowCrystal, I think.
The ideas behind the collaboration came from a lot of inspiration and many things like the official music video of "I'll Be Ready" by Sunblock, from my mind whenever I'm lying awake in bed or taking a shower, the private messages between Topaz16 and I, certain oneshots from the How To Train Your Dragon category and some episodes of a few particular cartoons such as the episode "Geshund Fight" from the first season of The Powerpuff Girls. Since my partner is doing the fanfiction with me, her OC known, as Macy will appear at some point as the story unfolds. We'll be taking in turns doing the chapters and I'm sure her ideas may be included too. Since I'll be working on this with her, Spyro and the characters will be referred by their own names instead of describing them like I tend to do nowadays when it comes to my solo stories. So, without further ado, here's the first chapter of "Sea, Sun and Sickness".
Summary: After doing an errand, Spyro was given a part-time job as a lifeguard at Dragon Shores but unfortunately when he arrived home at night, he came down with a cold. While he's sick, he tries to balance between lifeguard duty and his daily job as a hero. Luckily, Elora realises he has fallen ill and decides to make him feel better.
Sea, Sun and Sickness
Chapter 1: Bothersome Babysitting and Part-time Vacancy
All was well in the Dragon Realms, especially in the Artisans Homeworld, and peace was once again restored thanks to the brave efforts of everyone's favourite dragon, Spyro, along with his dragonfly sidekick, Sparx, and their friends from Avalar and the Forgotten Worlds. Even that world and its inhabitants enjoyed their fair share of peace and prosperity after the Sorceress was defeated. When the time comes once again and evil arises, Spyro will be needed to save the day.
Now, that the baby dragons were returned to their proper home, he was in the middle of an errand, babysitting and spending time with them whilst his friends and his dragon brethren were going about their everyday lives, hobbies and tasks in different areas of the Dragon Realms or the Artisans Homeworld.
Sparx is spending his quality time with Zoe, Hunter is in the midst of target practising, Bianca is experimenting with a variety of spells and harnessing the magic within herself and Moneybags is occupied with attempting to fleece Marco the balloonist out of his gems. Conversely, the Artisan dragons were busy with writing and composing songs, creating sculptures and wondrous, artistic paintings. They even enjoy getting together for group singing and art viewing.
Apparently, three baby dragons known as Roxy, Brian and Hank have playfully pinned their purple babysitter to the grass near the waterfall and the portal to Sunny Flight. He felt uncomfortable, being under the weight of the trio and struggling to escape from them but to no avail. In this state, he laid on his back even as he kicked his four legs back and forth repetitively.
"Er… guys? Do you… mind… getting… off of… me? You're kinda… crushing… me." He grunted, gasping between breaths and moving violently, in order to remove them off of his underbelly.
Unfortunately to him, they took no notice and completely ignored him, childlike giggling were released out their mouths, followed by a series of coughs. The same type of coughs whenever they cough out a butterfly after they hatched from their eggs. While they're coughing persistently at once, they sounded disgusting and grew louder with each cough.
Ugh! Gross! I hope I don't end up getting what they've got. He thought to himself in disgust, the coughs became unbearable for him to hear as he clenched his jagged, draconic teeth, cringing. The longer he'll stick around with the baby dragons, the more likely he'll be infected with either a cold or the flu. "Guys, cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze! If I get sick during a crisis, it will be on your conscience. Who's gonna save the Dragon Realms if I'm ill?" Spyro grimaced; he stared at his siblings sternly as if he's actually telling them off. "Now, can you three get off of me… please?"
At the young, purple dragon's words, the three babies immediately frowned as they reluctantly let their teeny wings lift themselves off of Spyro's underbelly and slowly drift off, inching away from him. Due to the wingspan of their wings, they didn't have the strength to glide very well and promptly landed as soon as their miniature paws touched the verdant grass. Just when they thought they were a safe distance from the heroic dragon, he leapt and caught three of his brothers and sisters, holding them down to the even grass without warning; his wings covered them to prevent them from fleeing.
"Ha! Pinned ya!" He exclaimed, with a chain of laughs that came from deep in his throat. In spite of restraining them in a playful manner, the babies joined in the laughter with him until a tall shadow towered over the four, young dragons, blocking out the sun in the process and the laughter decreased to a minimum. Noticing that the sun is no longer casting its unforgiving rays on them, he turned around to see a tall, blue dragon from Stone Hill standing right behind him, he recognised him as Gildas who happens to be one of the dragons he freed a couple of years ago. He got up on his feet as he dusted himself, what caught his attention is a piece of paper clutched in one of the blue-scaled, winged, reptilian creature's claws.
"Spyro, my friend! It's great to see you, it's been a while!" Gildas greeted, a big grin was plastered on his face. "How's babysitting?"
"Not so good, babysitting is harder than it looks. Hunter told me this earlier and boy, was he right!" Spyro heaved a sigh and wiped his sweat off of his forehead with his front, right paw, childminding was hard work (but not much as defending his homeworld and the rest of the realms) and it nearly drained him of his energy.
"I just came by to see you to drop off some news."
"Lay it on me."
"There is a part-time job vacancy at Dragon Shores and I believe you're the right dragon to look after and protect the beach."
"What the heck are you talking about, Gildas?"
"What I'm trying to say is you watch over and defend the seaside as a lifeguard. You seem to be the type of dragon who's out and about so I figured this kind of job is suitable for you."
"But I don't know the basics of being a lifeguard, let alone how to handle that kind of responsibility."
"Just think of this as being a hero of the seashore. Besides, you've already dealt with bigger responsibilities than this such as being a hero to us dragons and perhaps other worlds or realms. On the bright side, there are some perks and other things about this occupation."
"Like…?"
"Like… staying on the beach to soak up some rays, saving innocent people and creatures from drowning, patrolling the shoreline, enforce rules, not letting any harm befall on anyone and the list goes on. Keep in mind that you can take a break whenever you need to; I also heard that sometimes there will be luau, tropical parties taking place during the night. I assume you'll be a natural at being a lifeguard because you're already protecting us on a daily basis. Seeing as it's part-time, you're absent on the following days: Tuesday, Thursday and the weekends. You're in on the following days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday."
"It sounds like a mouthful, I don't know if I'll have time to take this on. Anything else?"
"Erm… there will be a lot of equipment given to you, a first aid kit, a swimsuit, a manual about being a lifeguard, rulebook, megaphone, surfboard, binoculars and whistle. If you're planning on undertaking this job, let any of us know, find your employer or me. Try your best and you'll do fine."
"How did you know any of this?"
"There was a vacancy poster hanging up somewhere in the amusement park and this message."
An A4-sized piece of pale yellow paper with tons of black, bold text and an orange border surrounding the paper was handed to Spyro, who received it graciously in one of his claws. The message appears to be some kind of flier to advertise the job in an attempt to persuade anybody to apply. At the top of the title, a sphere of burning, red-hot gas everyone calls the sun is shown while at the bottom of the last paragraph, a drawing of a white lifeguard chair with a red sunshade remained motionless behind it. This is what he read:
CALLING ALL DRAGONS AND OTHER CREATURES OF THE DRAGON REALMS!
We are seeking young or old individuals to take on a responsibility as a part-time lifeguard in Dragon Shores. Are you experienced in lifeguard duties? Do you consider yourself a hero amongst others and have the motivation to help and rescue them in need? Then this might be the perfect job for you!
Successful applicants will need plenty experience of saving and helping anyone in times of crisis or when disaster is afoot in any environment or on the beach. Other key skills include dedication, motivation, the will power to react to when there's someone in dire danger or require assistance and willingness to learn new skills and apply them each day.
Full training is required for all successful applicants during the first two weeks of employment. Before you begin your occupation, an array of equipment will be given to you, along with a free swimsuit, whistle, surfboard, lifeguard manual, megaphone, binoculars and rulebook. For more information about becoming a lifeguard, drop by at our office or find us in the seaside at Dragon Shores. We will be looking forward to have you aboard on our lifeguard team.
After a few moments of reading through the flier, Spyro took the liberty of wrapping his tail around it, due to needing his legs and paws to travel around his homeworld. He paused to glance over at Roxy, Hank and Brian to check if they haven't gone anywhere without him watching over them before looking up at Gildas with an uncertain expression on his scaly face. With the responsibility of taking care of the baby dragons and his daily job as the defender of the Dragon Realms, Avalar and the Forgotten Worlds weighing on his wings, along with a enormous amount of pressure, he became doubtful of the newfound employment.
"Think over this after your errand has finished, Spyro." Gildas advised, giving him a simple word of advice to calm his nerves once he became aware of Spyro's doubtful expression. "If you decided that you would accept this occupation, I might see you at Dragon Shores. See you around!"
As he said this, they bid farewell while Gildas turned around, making his way back to the Stone Hill portal. While he walked, he felt the lush, grassy green beneath his hefty feet even as he stomped with every pace he makes. The instant he left his sight; Spyro took a quick look at the vacancy handout before sighing again, knowing that he has this job to think about whether to enrol or not. His thoughts were interrupted when a sequence of sneezes that was ear-splitting and revolting at the same time expelled from the baby dragons' small noses, he swivelled around to see them sitting down patiently waiting for him, wide smiles gracing upon their innocent faces.
"C'mon guys, I ought to take you three home. There's something I need to ponder about." He was about to depart until he heard a string of high-pitched whinges from behind him. The minute he turned round, he noticed them pouting and staring at him in a moping manner, he rolled his eyes as he grumbled to himself. "Fine, you got yourselves a piggyback ride."
He half-heartedly paced to the little ones and allowed one of them to have a piggyback ride on his back. Roxy gently picks herself up and moves smoothly, her wings provided her the ability to fly but only for a short time. Each time she flapped her wings, she increases her altitude above the green, lush grass. When she's hovering over Spyro's scaly, yellow spiny back, she safely landed on it as she tries to make herself comfortable.
On the other hand, Brian and Hank started to whine in disappointment as well as showing displeasure on their expressions. However, their ear-piercing whining caused Spyro to fix his eyes on them.
Unfortunately, due to spending plenty of time with the cold-stricken baby dragons, he felt that his lungs have suddenly gotten sore and became painful. He cleared his throat to make himself a little bit better, he realized that he may come down with something sooner or later if he had to put up with them coughing and sneezing nearly all day and getting on with his errand.
"Sorry, guys. I only have room for one baby dragon on my back." He apologetically replied in a low voice, forcing a faint smile. "I'll promise I'll give you two a piggyback ride the next time I take you boys home, okay?" As much as he enjoys being in the company of his youngest siblings, he couldn't help but having the desire to head home as soon as he can so he doesn't need to stick around any longer. The sooner I can drop them off at their houses, the sooner I can get back home and rest. I think I caught their cold or their flu, my forehead feels a bit hot. He thought to himself, softly placing his front, right paw on his forehead. It's so warm the temperature was added to his paw and he felt woozy as if he was on the verge of fainting from the hotness and the lightheadedness.
Despite of his current condition, Hank and Brian cheered ecstatically in a shrill of squeals which filled the air in response to their babysitter's promise, there's nothing like bringing a couple of smiles on their adorable, childlike faces on a busy and daunting day like this. Spyro settled his paw down after a few minutes feel of his forehead, a cold is nothing compared to whupping bad guys' butts on a daily basis but he has to cope with having it nevertheless. And off they went to search for any of the dragons to find out if Roxy, Brian and Hank belonged to them.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes became hours as the day swept by even further. The day draws to a close as the sun begins to descend from the highest point of the sky and it calls it a day while it slowly made its way down until it vanishes from anyone's view. No longer will it shine its warm rays on the land until it rises to the same sky in the next morning. In a matter of minutes, the sky was painted with warm colours in a combination of yellows, oranges, light oranges and reds, which soon developed to be a breathtaking, beautiful sunset.
Since the night is about to fell over his beloved homeworld, Spyro hurriedly scampered on his four paws to return back to his abode as fast as his legs could carry him after escorting the three bundle of joys back to their residential homes, the moment he exited the tunnel from the main area he skidded to a halt the instant he made contact with a tall and adult-sized, purple dragon who stood in front of one of the lofty towers behind the whirlwind. He just came from Town Square after his conversation came to an end with one of the dragons.
He's in a different shade of purple compared to the purple protagonist, he knew him as one of the dragons from the Year of the Dragon festival before he embarked on his third adventure to retrieve 150 stolen dragon eggs that contained his newborn brothers and sisters. Due to not having any parents and unaware of what exactly happened to them, the full-grown, purple fire-breather acted like Spyro's father or stepfather and cared for him as if he was his own child.
The mature, purple-scaled creature perked up the instant he spotted Spyro standing at the opposite side of him, their eyes were met while they were gazing at each other with warm-hearted, friendly grins across their reptilian lips. "Ah, Spyro. There you are! I see that you're finished with babysitting our brood of baby dragons for the day?"
In response to his question, Spyro gave a reasonable answer after catching his breath from sprinting at a swift pace in an en route to his house. "Yeah, I had a nice time but the errand can be stressful at times. Hunter's right about one thing, caring for the baby dragons isn't that easy."
"What have you got there, young one?"
"Oh, this?" Spyro took a fleeting look at the handout his tail hanged on to before shifting his attention to the tall yet older purple dragon. "It's a flier advertising a part-time vacancy at Dragon Shores as a lifeguard, Gildas gave it to me." He momentarily exhaled a little amount of air noisily from his maw, still unsure about the employment. "But I don't know if I can balance between being a hero and this job as a lifeguard."
"Well… you're old enough to make your own decisions, Spyro. You're still a young dragon, however life isn't all fun and games sometimes. All work and no play, all play and no work… there has to be a balance. It's the way of life so make the most of it as much as you can."
"Uh… yeah. I don't get what you said, well… some of it. I guess I need to think a lot harder about this job."
"For now, we must head home before the sky becomes any darker. You can mull about the occupation there."
And with that, they were walking side-by-side, taking a leisurely stroll to the tunnel and walked over the bridge (near the platform where Tomas used to remain still whilst trapped in crystal) while they're at it. Once they passed Tomas' past position, they eventually approached the cavernous, echoing tunnel with moments to spare.
"I might need to think about it in bed, I don't feel so well." Spyro's voice changed to a hoarse, throaty tone that can be heard easily in the air, reverberating through the darkness of the tunnel.
The shapes of the purple-skinned, winged reptiles decreased to smaller sizes every time as they disappear into the long and extensive, cave-like tunnel as they travel towards home, their shadows were casting on the walls and the floor as they were following everywhere the duo go.
So here's the first chapter done and dusted. I usually write more than seven pages depending on the amount of ideas I can fit into a chapter but since I don't know what to write next, I decided to end it here. Topaz16 will do the second chapter; Spyro should be feeling under the weather in the second or third chapter 'cause we planned to have him catching the cold in the next day. For now, he's suffering from the first symptoms, a sore throat and a high temperature. Y'know, if he wasn't stuck with babysitting the three baby dragons, he wouldn't catch a cold in the first place.
Now that I finally finished this chapter, I can return to working on the upcoming, long-awaited fifteenth chapter of "Spyro & Jake Long: Ripto's Revenge"… which is currently tied with "A Mario Birthday Party" for 1st place as the most popular fanfiction out of all my stories. Feel free to vote on my new poll, if you want to. I'm sure it will be hard to debate on which is the best for whoever's casting their votes. Man… this is my first collaboration in years and hopefully, this won't end up 'dead' just like the previous joint-fics with my friends and my little sister.
As for the vacancy flier relating to the part-time job as a lifeguard at Dragon Shores, it was inspired from a lot of job vacancies from websites like for example, the official website of the Manchester Evening News newspaper. If you'd like, you can tell me if my attempt at doing a vacancy is good or not. By the way, Spyro's friends and the other characters aren't important in this chapter but fret not, they will appear in the later chapters.
Click on the button below and review away! Flames won't be appreciated and if we see any, we'll find lots of ways to try to delete them.