Welcome back to another chapter of Crazy Little Thing Called Love! I have a serious writer's block when it came down to the other stories on my schedule except this one so I might as well update this. Anyway last time, we saw the Guardians go up against Malefor and his army as Malefor sends Gaul to retrieve the purple egg but instead picks up a pelicular black egg.

So let's get on with the story then, shall we?

(Chapter 2: The Invisible Man)

The Artisan Valley, Many Years Later...

(SPYRO's POV)

BEEP!

Uh?

BEEP!

Urgh… come on, five more minutes...

BEEP!

Ok, ok… you win... I'm getting up.

I slowly raise my head from underneath my blanket and groggily look at my alarm clock, which blaring loudly in my direction. I slowly reach my paw out to shut it up however my arm was too limp to reach for it successfully. Guess it was still waking up as well…

I try again for the second time and I was able to put my paw on top, slamming the off button on top. The room suddenly became silent. Ah… peace and quiet, almost thinks that I was about to drift off to sleep again. But no, once I'm up… there's no stopping me.

Slowly and surely, I got out of bed and began to do my morning stretches, which was basically hunching my back up while lifting my tail towards the ceiling and flexing my spine. Nothing like a good old stretch to get the blood going, ay?

With this sudden energy flowing through me, I bounded towards a table that was on the end of my bed where a small yellow dragonfly was sleeping peacefully on a makeshift hammock.

This was Sparx. He's been my best friend since well… forever. Volteer assigned him to me when I was little to get me focused on what was I doing since I apparently find it pay attention to certain things… which has never happened before, I think…

I silently move a claw towards Sparx and softly poke him. "Sparx…"

No movement, I poke him a little harder. "Sparx… wake up, buddy…"

Still no response. I looked towards his hammock and a mischievous grin started to form across my face. If this didn't wake him up then nothing would!

I slowly lifted the hammock and spun it around with the flick of my claw. The hammock started to move at a fast pace, kind of like those wheels that the moles use to parade around the Valley. The hammock eventually stopped spinning and returned to its natural position, Sparx falling onto the table, his eyes spinning around in a dazed state.

"Morning, Sparx!" I grinned.

After he regained his bearings, Sparx looked me and frowned annoyingly. He then started shaking his fist about and buzzed out angry gibberish which probably meant 'What did you do that for, Spyro!? I was having a good dream about butterflies!' or something like that. I never understood what he meant half of the time.

I waved my hands to calm him down. "Ok, ok… I'm sorry, I was just joking around…"

Sparx frowned and turned his back towards me, folding his arms.

My eyes widened with fake surprise. "Oh, are you angry at me now?"

Sparx made a buzzing noise that resembled a grumble. I rolled my eyes. Typical Sparx.

I started to head towards the door slowly. "Well… It'll be a shame. I'd hate to miss out on some of the butterflies that the sheep have obtained." I called out sarcastically.

As I reached out for the door, Sparx's mood immediately changed and was zooming around me, making an excited buzzing noise. I couldn't help but to crack a smile.

Works every time…

"Come on, Sparx… We've got things to do!" I said excitedly as I opened the door.

Sparx and I raced out through the Dragon Temple and it's many chambers before reaching towards the main gate. What I wasn't counting on was Cyril heading in the opposite direction. I skidded to a stop as soon as I saw him but unfortunately I managed to tumble right towards the Ice Guardian's feet. I looked up towards him and gave him a guilty chuckle as Cyril gave me a disapproving look.

"Spyro, my boy, do look where you are going…" he muttered.

"Sorry, Cyril… Won't happen again…" I assured, knowing damn well that it was probably going to happen again.

I got back up on my feet and headed to the gate where Cyril looked at me concerningly.

"And where might you be heading to, young one?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know… the usual." I shrugged.

Cyril sighed. "Very well… Promise me that you won't burn the sheep this time."

I stood up straight and put my hand on my heart. "I promise I won't burn the sheep."

I was so going to burn the sheep.

As I left the Temple, I could see Cyril rolling his eyes as he headed further into the Temple. "Hatchlings…" I could hear him mutter under his breath.

Sparx and I bounded through the Artisan Valley, zooming through moles, cheetahs and a couple of dragons here and there who all gave me annoyed looks after I nearly knocked them over.

The Artisan Valley was home. It wasn't much, but to me it was my entire world. It was small, equivalent to the size of a village. It has all the bare necessities like shops, food stalls and stuff that keeps anyone from diving into boredom. Despite the fact that the Valley was quite secluded, I was always see new faces walking around, usually in pairs, being happy and all lovey-dovey.

Happy for them, not so much for me…

Sparx and I moved away from the main town and bounded towards a clearing nearby, usually used for movie nights but not today. Today was sheep-burning day.

There were four… possibly five sheep in the area, all eating grass and minding their own business. A mischievous grin formed on my face again as I hunched down and sneaked towards them silently, as if I was the predator and they were my prey.

They were nibbling at the grass as I crept further towards them, taking one step at a time. When I got to an unsuspecting sheep, I wiggled my body in preparation for a sneak attack. Eventually I pounced towards the sheep and blasted a jet of flame in its direction. As the flame disappeared, the sheep had turn from white to black in an instant and it's wool had crumbled into dust.

Spyro, one. Sheep, nothing.

As the sheep sported a shocked look on his face, a butterfly emerged out of the nowhere. Probably got itself stuck in the sheep's wool. Sparx quickly gobbled it up and circled around me in delight.

The sheep noticed that I burnt their friend and quickly backed away from me. As if they could escape me.

As they ran around the clearing, I started to charge after them. They were fast alright but I was faster.

I eventually caught up to two of them and I blew a small amount of flame in their direction as I ran past them, Sparx consuming the butterflies that appeared.

I set my sights on a peculiar sheep that was ahead of the others. Guessing this one isn't much of a team player. Heh, I can relate…

As I came up towards the sheep, the sheep gave me a threatening bleat. I gave him a grin and head butted him to a nearby tree.

Man, what a workout. I would've kept on going if my stomach didn't decide to rumble. Sparx moved to my eyeline and pointed me back towards the valley.

"Heh, guess I forgot to eat before we left again…" I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head.

Sparx replied by rolling his eyes. I turned towards the sheep, who were getting back up again and ready for a second round.

"Maybe after I toast one more sheep…?" I pleaded to Sparx with a grin.

Sparx frowned and flicked me in the nose in response. "Ok… we'll go eat." I muttered, also frowning while rubbing my nose.

()

Sparx lead me back into the Valley where we searched for something suitable to eat. As Sparx quickly zipped from market stall to market stall, I caught sight of a few passersby who were glancing at me either in fascination or disgust. Either way, I hated it… that's why I kept to myself most of the time. Anytime someone wants to actually talk to me, it's usually about the colour of my scales.

Sparx pointed me towards a stall that contained an assortment of meat ranging from chicken to fish. The dragon that was heading it was thin-faced, had light red scales and wore an apron with a fire pattern on it. I immediately recognised him as Alvar, a dragon who is a meat trader and a part-time chef… and a pretty good one at that.

As I headed to the stall, Alvar seemed a bit preoccupied with something, muttering to himself with his back turned.

"How's it going, Avlar?" I greeted.

My sudden appearance caused Alvar to jump, his stature becoming stiff until he turned to see that was me then he immediately sighed with relief.

"Oh, it's just you Spyro… don't sneak up on me like that!" Alvar scolded, waving his skewer at me. "You could've given me a heart attack…"

"Something bothering you?" I wondered, tilting my head slightly.

Avlar scowled. "Some ruffians have helped themselves to my meat supply…"

"Ooh, do you want me to go after them?" I asked. "I'll give them the old one-two!" I stated confidently, punching the air.

Avlar chuckled lightly. "Thanks, Spyro… But they're probably long gone… " He then clapped his hands together and placed them firmly on the stall. "So what can I get ya?"

I scratched my chin. "Hmm… I'll have the fish today…"

"An excellent choice!" Avlar exclaimed as he grabbed a fish from the stall. "That'll be three Gems…"

I glanced at Sparx, who somehow pulls out three Gems and sets them on the stall. To this day, I have no idea how or where he keeps the Gems.

Avlar took the Gems and gave me the fish. We both said goodbye to each other as Sparx and I headed back to the Temple.

()

I headed into the sitting area expecting to see the Guardians but none of them were present. That was odd… they're usually here eating their breakfast. They might be caught up in a meeting… Or perhaps they were avoiding the food that the Temple supplied. I don't blame them… which is why I get food from the markets.

Who I did see however was not who I wanted to see…

Skylanders.

The Skylanders Association is a program for any young creature to learn skills that you might need in the other realms as well as some elemental training if you were a dragon. Ignitus had tried to talk into joining, thinking that it'll be good for me to socialize with someone that wasn't Sparx, but I refused. I wasn't much of a team player plus everyone are just uptight jerks.

I was tempted to just leave as I wasn't in the mood to deal with them. But it would look weird if I just turned and left. So I carried on and sat on a corner table, eating my fish in peace but as I ate, the Skylanders were glancing over at me, giggling amongst themselves.

Why were they even here? They never go to the temple…

"Hey Lame-o!" One of the Skylanders, Eruptor shouted. Here we go again…

I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore them. Keep your temper in check, Terrador would always say… no matter how annoying they were.

"Hey, Lame-o… over here!" Eruptor continued to egg on.

I continued to ignore him while I slowly chewed on my fish. Sparx was quickly looking to Eruptor and then back to me as if he was aware that something was bound to go astray.

Before you knew it, Eruptor slammed his rock-fist-hand thing onto my table, causing a slight shake and faced me directly, ensuring that he had my attention.

"Whatcha got there? A fish?" Eruptor wondered. "Better hang on to it, Spyro… it's the only friend you got."

I scowled, the fact that he sounds much, much older compared to his actual age made his comment more serious and threatening. "Haven't you got better things to do, Eruptor?" I muttered.

Eruptor smirked. "No, I think I'm good where I am at the moment…"

"Careful, the Guardians might be nearby…" I said, sarcastically. "I'd hate you for lose to 'so called' reputation…"

It was Eruptor's turn to scowl. "I'd watch who you are speaking to, smartass. Unlike you, I have friends, people I can rely on… think you're the Guardians' special dragon? The reason they let you stay here is only because of your scale colour. But we all know that you're no legend… you're just an nuisance. Face it Spyro, you'll be alone forever… Your parents thought so, that's why they abandoned you…"

That did it. He crossed a line. I felt so angry in my life. Call me a nuisance, fine. Call me a loner, fine. But telling me that my parents abandoned me!? Absolutely not fine!

As soon as Eruptor's back was turned in order to gloat about his insults to his friends. I got up from my seat, Sparx trying to convince me not to do what I was going to do by flying in my eyeline, and let out a huge stream of fire which hit Eruptor in the back.

Since he was a Lava Monster from the volcano of Boyzitbig (yes that is a pun…) I knew that a fire blast wasn't going to hurt him. But I didn't want to hurt him, I wanted his attention.

"Oooh…" The other Skylanders exclaimed in unison.

Eruptor slowly turned back towards me, an angry look on his face. "Think you're funny, Lame-o?"

I couldn't help but smirk. "No… I'm hilarious." I taunted.

We both took a fighting stance. I could take this guy, he may be a Skylander but to me that's just a title. That doesn't mean he's better than me.

Before any of us could initiate the first hit, the Guardians all came through from another part of the Temple. They each sported shocked and disapproving looks on their faces.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Ignitus barked, frowning. I'd never seen him frown angrily at anyone before and part of me found that frightening.

Eruptor quickly regained his composure when he caught sight of Ignitus. "Guardian Ignitus, if you would allow me to explain…" He said innocently. I could tell that Ignitus wasn't fooled by Eruptor's sudden change in mood.

"No need to explain, Eruptor…" Ignitus said calmly. "But unless I'm mistaken, it seems you were tormenting young Spyro here…"

Eruptor's eyes widened. He was caught in the act. "What? He was tormenting me!"

"I'll be notifying Master Eon of your misbehaviour." Ignitus carried on. "As I recall, Skylanders are meant to respect all creatures both big and small. Including those we consider our enemies…"

Eruptor went to speak but ultimately couldn't find the words for an counter-argument. Ignitus turned to Volteer.

"Volteer, would you escort the Skylanders back to their clubhouse?" Ignitus asked, earning a nod from Volteer.

"Certainly, Ignitus." Volteer answered. He then turned to Eruptor and the rest of the Skylanders. "Come along, Skylanders…"

Volteer lead the Skylanders down the corridor, Eruptor giving me a death glare as he trailed behind. I responded with a grin and a cheeky wave goodbye. I looked up to see Ignitus giving me a disapproving glare and I immediately stopped.

Ignitus then turned to Cyril and Terrador and moved a certain distance from me to keep me from being nosy. Unfortunately for them, I was able to overhear their conversation.

"What should we do about Spyro?" Cyril wondered. "That's the fifth time that the young dragon has gotten himself into trouble…"

"We raised him better than that. He can't go picking fights with Skylanders all his life…" Terrador commented. A comment I found rather harsh.

"I'll have a talk with him alone… " Ignitus said, once again calm and collected. "Go and check on the grotto…"

Terrador and Cyril exchanged looks until eventually they nod and part ways from Ignitus and headed back to the gate that they came from. Ignitus then looked towards Sparx and I.

"Come with me, young dragon…" He muttered as he headed towards another gate.

Sparx and I look at each other uneasily before reluctantly following Ignitus. I knew I was in for it now…

()

Sparx and I followed Ignitus further into the temple, none of us were speaking to each other. I didn't know what Ignitus was going to say, I knew that he was disappointed in me. I could tell it in his face. That look of sadness and disbelief.

We eventually reached a balcony that looked over the rest of the Artisan World. From this height, I could see the faint lights of the town square in the distance which might've belong to another village. As we stopped, Ignitus sat on his haunches and stared into the distance, that look of sadness and disbelief becoming more and more obvious.

"Young dragon…" Ignitus murmured. "I'm very disappointed in you…"

There it was. Those words tore at me, I hated disappointing Ignitus. He was always so proud of me more than the other Guardians. He's the one that believed in me the most.

I looked down to the ground in shame. "I'm sorry…"

Ignitus looked down at me. "I know you are… but we taught you better than to pick fights with the other young ones."

"It wasn't my fault, he said all these things and I couldn't put up with it anymore."

Ignitus sighed. "I understand that but the point is that you retaliated… If you show even a slight hint that all those things he said upset you then you're letting the bully win by showing your vulnerability. After that, he'll know to push you in order to get an reaction…"

As always, Ignitus was right. Eruptor got what he wanted and that was for me to react. Now he's going to make my life miserable…

"I don't know what came over me…" I explained softly. "When he mentioned my parents plus all the things he said, I…"

"It's alright, Spyro…" Ignitus assured. "How you reacted was normal. But I still stand by what I said, you shouldn't have retaliated…"

I looked at the distance, taking it all in. "How did know what was going on?" I suddenly wondered.

"Young Sparx here headed out to find us as soon as you blasted Eruptor…" Ignitus answered.

I was quite surprised at that response. I didn't even see Sparx leave but that might've been because I was too preoccupied to notice.

Ah, Sparx… friend to the end. But why did that make me feel sad? I then became to ponder about all the stuff that Eruptor said. I know he is a bit of a moron but there was truth to what he said.

Will I always be alone? I know I have Sparx but even then… Dragonflies have a much shorter lifespan than Dragons. Then there were the Guardians… If I wasn't purple then I would still be at the Temple? Or would I live amongst the other dragons in the Valley?

"Something troubles you, Spyro…" Ignitus spoke up, causing a slight jump from me.

"It's nothing…" I muttered, still looking at the horizon. But as with Eruptor, Ignitus wasn't fooled.

"No… There's something wrong. Tell me." Ignitus insisted as he sat down so he was more at my height than he usually was.

"I just… have something on my mind…" I mumbled.

"Is it about young Eruptor said to you?" Ignitus wondered in a soft tone.

I looked away from him. "Yeah…"

"What did he say?" Ignitus questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Just about how I'm going to end up alone… And how you guys only tolerate me because of my scale colors…" I muttered, a slight tear forming.

Ignitus seemed a little upset by my response. "Spyro… You know that's not true. The Guardians and I care about you, purple or not. We did raise you after all…"

I gave a little smile in relief but something still bothered me. I still felt empty…

"Thanks, Ignitus…" I said, wiping away the slight tear. "But something still bothers me… Like an empty hole in my inside, a hole that can't be filled by either you or Sparx… I don't know, it's hard to explain…"

"Perhaps you need somebody by your side… Someone that can relate to you?"

"Something like that, yeah…"

Ignitus smiled slightly. "It's perfectly natural to feel that way… There's somebody out there for everyone, as the old saying goes." The smile turned into a concerned frown. "When did these feelings come from?"

"Just seeing the couples that come and go from the Valley... It hurts to see them happy. I know I'm only young but I would like a life like that someday. Somebody that'll be there for me no matter what, somebody that likes me for me… " I explained, gazing at the horizon once again, the twin suns shining brightly over the mountaintops. "Does that make sense?" I wondered, looking towards Ignitus.

"It does indeed, Spyro…" Ignitus said with a smile. "Now, I better get to notifying Master Eon of your little incident."

I laughed guiltily. I'd really hoped he forgot about that…

Ignitus went to leave but when he got halfway towards the gate and the balcony we were on, he stopped and turned back to me.

"Remember, young dragon… you are not alone. Your other half is out there somewhere…" He said before leaving Sparx and I alone.

I gave Ignitus a reassuring smile as he left before looking back to the horizon once again, watching the wind breeze through the trees as I considered Ignitus' words. What if he was right? What if my other half is out there? If so, where is she?

While those questions lingered in the back of my mind, one question remained more dominant than the others. One question that made me doubt the other thoughts in my head. A question that made me look down in sadness.

Will there ever be truly somebody out there like me in the world?

And that's that. Next chapter we see Cynder and her daily life!

Hopefully I'll be able to update any of my other stories and if I can't… well you see an update of this sooner than you think…

Anyway I'll be updating: This, A Tale to Tell, Written in the Stars, Marvel vs Cartoon Network: Infinite Fate and the ongoing Civil War series.

Coming soon will be: Civil War: Flames of War and Scooby-Doo: A Nightmare on Elm Street

This is TARDIS1039, signing off. Allons-y!