The time had come at last... Construction on his new scepter had been finished, and it was time to collect it. Ripto held the scepter in hand, staring up and down. It looked exactly like his old one, and yet...

Yet...

They had used the last of the Power Crystals to give him his scepter. Which was fine and all, but... According to Elora, the Professor had apparently intended to use the Power Crystal to help with his Super Portal. And they were hoping to use the Super Portal to find the missing homeworld of Avalar. But given the present situation, they had to use the last Power Crystal to construct a new scepter instead.

... This was not as satisfying as he was hoping it would have been.

"Hey!" A voice called out. Ripto recognized the voice as belonging to Hunter. The cheetah was bent over, gasping for breath from the run back from the castle. "Zoe, and Freezie! They made it to the portal okay!" said the cheetah. Straightening back up. "But on the way back, I saw Red heading this way." "How convenient," the sorcerer mused aloud, grasping his scepter... He held it in hand, staring down at his reflection in the Power Crystal... It was such a cliche! They near the end of their journey, the lady takes him off to some secluded little cave to... Share a moment with him... Before the arrival of the villain.

"... Tell me, feline : How long would you say it will take before big bad Red reaches the castle here?"

"Um... About... An hour, figure?"

"An hour... Right. Here's the plan : I imagine it's going to take a bit of time before the... DRAGONS make their arrival, right? But we want to keep the red dragon in one place until they get here. I'm going to meet him at the Arena. You, Elora and Book-Boy are going to wait for the dragons to arrive. And Crush and Gulp are going to wait with you-"

"Wait- you mean you're intending on fighting Red by yourself?" The faun started, her ears perking up in alarm at the sorcerer's proposal... Looking up at the faun, the little sorcerer gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"I'll keep him busy... If something happens, you'll have Crush and Gulp to look after-"

"Hold up! We're going to be in this together!" said the faun, shaking her head and stomping a hoof on the ground(much to the sorcerer's surprise).

"I can't risk the dragon taking us all out in one fell swoop," the sorcerer started, trying to explain what he had in mind : face the dragon alone, and serve as distraction until the cavalry arrived. "Even without his staff, you should never underestimate a dragon... However, with my new scepter, I should be able to properly defend myself!" The little sorcerer held up said aforementioned scepter, and put on a wide, toothy smile as if to emphasize his words.

"That's kinda like saying 'don't underestimate your foes,' then immediately following up with 'I should be able to kick their butt'."

Hearing the cheetah's whispers, the sorcerer shot the cheetah with a dirty glare, arms crossed over his chest and foot tapping on the ground.

"... As I was saying : I'll keep the red dragon distracted while you wait for the OTHER dragons. With any luck, the Elder Dragons will have arrived on time, and will take the red dragon completely by surprise... Simple, and easy to remember. Right?"

The sorcerer looked between Hunter, Elora, and the Professor. No comments were given, nor was there any kind of argument with his little plan. So he took their silence as agreement. Ripto would keep the dragon busy, while everyone else awaited the arrival of the Elder Dragons. Once they arrived, they'd be directed to where the Red Dragon was.

Hunter and the Professor were already making their way back, while Crush, Gulp and Elora lingered... The two beasts were at Ripto's side, showering the little sorcerer with nuzzles and licks.

"You two will be fine," he assured the beasts, giving each one a pet on their nose. "You know me : I'm not gonna let myself get killed by some stupid dragon so easily... Now go on! Keep a watch out for the GOOD dragons! And make sure the cheetah doesn't do anything stupid."

He gave them a gentle push to urge them away, but... They pushed back. Growling and grumbling as if in protest. It took several minutes, but the sorcerer was finally able to get them to move on...

Once the beasts had gone, the sorcerer let out a long, heavy sigh... Now all that remained was Elora.

"I don't think they like the idea," said the faun.

"No... They're not used to being away from me," said the sorcerer with another sigh. "They'll be fine. They're not the sharpest tool in the shed, but... They're good boys."

"... I'm not exactly partial toward this idea either," the faun added with a slight furrow to her brow. Stepping closer, she came to a stop beside the little sorcerer, kneeling down to be level with him.

"... It's for the best."

"Is it?" Asked the faun, giving the little sorcerer an arch of her brow. "Ripto, I don't like the thought of you just going off and fighting Red by yourself... How do I know this isn't just you being stupid and stubborn?"

"... Elora," the sorcerer started, turning to the faun at his side. "Look... The last two fights we had with him... Me, Crush, and Gulp. All beaten by him... Even without his staff, a dragon is still a dangerous foe to trifle with. And I don't want to risk losing... Losing..."

"... Losing the things that mean the most to you."

The sorcerer had fallen silent when the faun finished his sentence for him. 'Losing the things that meant the most to you.' It wasn't exactly what he was going to finish with, but... He had to admit that the faun wasn't all that far from the truth.

She pulled the little sorcerer into her arms, giving him a kiss on his nose. "Stop that," hissed the sorcerer. "It's flustering."

He was met with more kisses, and he grumbled at the faun, rubbing his nose where she had kissed him once he was free of her... After a moment, he looked to the faun with a slight frown to his face.

"If... If something DOES happen to me," he started in a soft voice. "Promise you'll look after them for me?"

"Just as long as you don't let anything happen to yourself," said the faun. And he nodded, turning to make his way to the arena to await the arrival of the red dragon.

"Ripto?"

He stopped, turning back to the faun... She approached, kneeling down before him once more. And, reaching out, she pulled him close. And before he could ask her what she was doing, his lips had met with hers.

His eyes went wide with shock. His body tensed at the contact ; but not a moment later, he found himself relaxing... A sigh left him, and he reached around, wrapping his arms around the faun.