Another Adventure

Spyro sat in the cool shade of a tree in the Artisans Home. The only audible sounds were the whispering rustle of leaves as a slight breeze blew, and the faint sounds of distant birds chirping. Sparx was chasing after butterflies, and as he watched him, Spyro felt himself drifting off to sleep. Things had become pretty quiet since his last adventure to the Forgotten Worlds, aside from all the young dragons running about. They were the hatchlings he'd saved from The Sorceress, only they'd grown a bit by now. He did also have to deal with his numerous fans on a regular basis, but not at the moment. He sighed, relieved that none of them were around currently and he could relax in peace. Who knew that he'd become so famous just because he saved the world a few times. He smiled to himself as his eyes closed. He admitted that he liked fame and glory, but sometimes he needed a break.

Spyro was on the brink of sleep when suddenly, Sparx ceased his butterfly hunting and hovered in front of his face, buzzing hysterically. Spyro opened his eyes with a start and looked at his friend.

"What is it, Sparx?" he asked.

But he saw the answer before it was told. A gleam caught his eye and he looked up to see several familiar streaks of green light flying through the sky. They spread out in all directions and then he saw three arc downwards. One went right towards an elder dragon several feet away from him, and on contact, the dragon became a large crystal statue.

"Oh no!" Spyro exclaimed and jumped to his feet.

As he did so, the second beam of light hit another dragon and it faced the same fate as the first. Spyro looked to see where the third beam was headed and discovered it coming straight for him.

"Yipes!" he yelled, and just before the beam hit him, he rolled to the side. The beam hit the tree directly behind the spot he'd been standing only seconds before, turning it to crystal. Since the spell was meant for dragons, the tree exploded and caused Spyro and Sparx to be blown backward.

Sparx did flips in the air and righted himself, then flew down to Spyro. Spyro tumbled head over tail and collided with a stone platform. After a few seconds, he rolled over onto his feet and rubbed his head with a paw.

"Ow," he groaned.

Sparx began buzzing in his ear.

"Yes yes, I know Sparx. The dragons have been turned into statues again. What I don't get is how. The only one who knew that spell was Gnasty Gnorc, and we kicked his butt a long time ago…"

Spyro looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to work this all out.

"Oh well. I'll just free the dragons the same way I did last time, and torch whoever did this to them. Maybe one of the elders can give me some advice as to what's going on."

Shaking himself off, he pranced over to the elder dragon who'd been turned to crystal first. As before, there was a circular platform underneath the statue.

"This'll be a piece of cake," he said, glancing at Sparx.

Walking up to the statue, he placed one paw down on the platform. He backed up, expecting it to start shaking and burst apart, but nothing happened.

"Hmmm. That's weird," he muttered to himself.

Approaching the platform again, he stood on it with all his feet. Still, nothing happened. Now he was starting to get annoyed. Why wasn't it working? He felt extremely stupid and glanced around. No one was there to see him, but it was still ticking him off.

"Come on, you stupid statue!" he yelled and swung his tail around smashing it into the crystallized dragon. The statue remained solid and didn't so much as budge.

"ARRRG!" Spyro yelled, then he ran a few feet away, lowered his head, and charged towards the statue. He hit head-on and bounced off, flying backward and landing on his butt. He shook his head and looked up to see if it worked. There was the statue, as solid and green as ever. With a sigh, Spyro slumped to the ground. Sparx, who had been watching all this with a sympathetic expression, hovered over to Spyro.

{I don't think the dragons can be released, Spyro}, he buzzed.

Spyro looked up from the ground and said with a slight growl in his voice, "Nonsense. Maybe this one's just broken. I'll try the other one."

Forcing himself to get up, he started towards the other statue. When he reached it, he stepped on the platform and looked up hopefully. Nothing happened and he sighed with defeat.

"I guess your right, Sparx. But we can't just leave them like this." He looked towards a stone tunnel that led to the dock where Marco the balloonist always was.

"I suppose I could go to Town Square or something to see if anyone is there that can tell me what's going on, but I have a feeling it'd just be a waste because I can't free anyone."

Standing up, he started across the lush grassy hills of the Artisans Home towards the tunnel and Sparx soon caught up and was flying by his shoulder.

"Hopefully Marco is still there and he can take us to the Peace Keepers world. I could try and fly there myself, but I just started getting the hang of it, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea," Spyro stated.

As Spyro and his friend passed the circle of hedges that surrounded the portal to Dark Hollow, a silver head with gold horns and large yellow eyes peeked around the edge of the opening. A light orange dragonfly hovered just above her head.

"Is the coast clear?" the head asked.

Spyro skidded to a halt in surprise but quickly recognized who the head belonged to. It was Fuchsia, a female dragon about his age, along with her dragonfly, Luna. She was a native Artisan and Spyro had grown up with her. She was somewhat like a sister of sorts.

"I think so," Spyro replied to her.

She stepped out of the hedge circle cautiously, her yellow eyes darting around nervously. Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Oh no, everyone's been turned to stone."

Spyro sighed and shook his head. Others restating the obvious was starting to get annoying.

"Yah. Don't bother trying to free them, I already tried," Spyro stated with an almost disappointed tone.

"Interesting…" Fuchsia muttered, striding around Spyro almost as if she were fascinated by the predicament they were in. She was rather slender in the frame and had a cat-like grace. Her stature was just slightly shorter than Spyro's. Gold ridges ran down her spine to the tip of her tail, matching her gold horns and contrasting with her silver scales. It was easy to see where she got her name. Her wings were bright pink in color, giving her a somewhat odd appearance.

As far as Spyro could remember, Fuchsia had always been extremely smart. She was a genius among dragons, and like most Artisans, she absolutely loved any and all art.

"Hey, Fuchsia? I was just going to find Marco and ask him to take me to Peace Keepers so I can try and find out if they've been affected too. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," she said, finally tearing her eyes away from the scene and resting them on her purple friend.

"Alright then, let's go."

Spyro and his friends entered the tunnel and turning the corner, walked down to the dock. Fortunately, Marco was there, but he looked very worried. At the sight of Spyro and Fuchsia coming down the dock, he waved.

"Spyro! Thank goodness you were spared. The dragons have been turned to crystal again."

Spyro stopped in front of the balloonist and his eyes glazed over.

"I know. That's why I've come to you. I want you to take me and Fuchsia to the Peace Keepers world."

Marco looked at Spyro with astonishment, and then looked past him to Fuchsia.

"Hi Fuchsia," Marco uttered with a quick wave before turning his attention back to Spyro. "Sure thing, Spyro, but first I want you to free ten dragons." At this, Spyro growled.

"I CAN'T FREE THEM! When I step on their platforms, nothing happens!" he yelled in frustration, forgetting to control his temper.

Marco was taken aback and stumbled backward. Fuchsia jumped and stared at Spyro in shock.

"I-I'm sorry Spyro. I didn't know. In that case, she's all yours" he said and stepped to the side, gesturing to his balloon.

"Sorry, Marco. I guess I'm just worried about the others," Spyro muttered and nodding his thanks, hopped up onto the balloon followed by his bright-winged companion. In the past, he had had to jump on Marco's head and then onto the balloon, but he was big enough to make it to the balloon by himself now. Once on the balloon, it started to rise up and take them towards the Peace Keepers world.

"Don't worry, Marco. I'll find out what's going on and save the realms!" Spyro yelled as they drifted away on the breeze. Marco watched as the balloon disappeared over the horizon, sighing.

"I hope he does. I really hope he does."