I really need to stop being busy on Saturdays and forgetting to update until it's way too late! :D Also, is it just me, or does FFN look prettier than it's looked, like, ever?

...Alright, I'm rambling 'cause I have nothing to say. But it is quite pretty. On with the show!

You found a disclaimer!
Spyro the Dragon, both the game and all related characters (c) Insomniac. They own the Spyro that's in this story, so nyeh.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage / Gateway to Glimmer, as well as all related characters (c) blah-blah, same copyright.

CHAPTER TWELVE: Yeti on the Mountain

"Hurry up, Brother Harry! We need to bring that goat sacrifice to the yeti!"

The Colossus monk looked at the young ram in front of him. It was so innocent, so fragile...but it also butted Brother Vincent off the mountain, so it was an easy choice for appeasing the giant yeti torturing the village.

He closed his eyes and lifted the goat up to his brothers above with the magical chant of Colossus: wie-yie-yie-yom, wie-yie-yie-yom.

Brother Ned and Brother Andrew carried the wriggling goat sacrifice into the room where the yeti was being held, cringing as it gave a thunderous roar. Just as they made it to the door, Brother Ned panicked.

"I can't do it, Andrew!" he cried. The roars of the yeti had stolen his nerve.

Brother Andrew swallowed his fear, grabbing the ram by the horns and leading it into the monster's den. "Then I will do it. Chant for me, my brother."

Brother Ned recoiled against the wall, shakingly reciting the ancient words: wie-yie-yie-yom, wie-yie-yie-yom, wie-yie-yie-yom, over and over and over again.

Baa~ah! The monk then looked up to find, not his brother, but the goat sacrifice. This could not end well.

oo00oo00oo

Spyro descended into the snowy world of Colossus, quickly finding one of the small monk inhabitants pacing about. Remembering Elora's advice to befriend the locals and get the talismans, he approached him. "Excuse me, but is something wrong?"

"Only slightly," the distraught Brother Harry replied. "We've managed to entrap the yeti and keep him from destroying the village, but-"

"Waitwaitwaitwait," Spyro interrupted with a wave of his paw. "Back up. Yeti?"

"Indeed," Brother Harry sighed. "Ripto brought it here to destroy our temples, all because we told his riptocs that they couldn't participate in our hockey league."

"Great, now he's a sore loser on top of it all." Spyro wasn't sure how he was going to lock horns with a riptoc yeti of all things, but he had to give it the old Artisan try, right? "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I wouldn't know, young dragon, but you're welcome to try. Talk to the other brothers; they'll guide you through all of our locks and doors to reach the yeti." He gave a tiny bow, which Spyro struggled to return. "And thank you for your help, young dragon! If you can eliminate the yeti, we'd be very much in gratitude!"

oo00oo00oo

Spyro got the sinking feeling that Avalar was going to be a repeat of the Dream Weavers oddities all over again. The Colossus monks controlled everything with some strange chant, and the area was filled with hyper rams and giant yaks that the locals swore weren't deadly, just "agitated by the presence of the yeti". There were also spring traps everywhere - the second you stepped through one, it launched you several-hundred feet in the air. Sparx got a laugh when one caught Spyro unaware, but the dragon failed to see the humor as he tumbled back down to the ground.

Through all of the Colossus "magic", Spyro fought past the yaks and rams to find a jittery brother outside of a building that seemed to shake and growl with every step Spyro took. "I take it this is where you guys hid the yeti?"

Brother Ned nodded. "Please, young dragon, help us defeat this monster! I-I know I'm a vegetarian and probably shouldn't be saying this, but...go in there and torch that thing! Just...be careful. I-I mean, he's pretty tough, and I don't know if you can-"

Spyro interrupted the warnings with a puff of hot smoke. "Watch me," he challenged.

The Artisan took a deep breath, then rushed into the room. He briefly spied another monk cowering in the corner, but before long, his attention was properly placed onto the yeti. The towering creature nearly smashed through the ceiling of the expansive room, growling and swiping at everything within arm's reach.

Upon seeing Spyro, the yeti snarled, jumping up and down to shake the room and attempt to scare the dragon out. The mountainside quivered, cracking and rumbling, as if threatening to collapse under the yeti's menacing stature, but Spyro held his ground.

CRA-BANG! Actually, it wasn't the mountainside crumbling. It was the statue the brothers left on the roof, which dropped down into the room, crushing the yeti under its even mightier weight, blowing out the windows and filling the room with a cloud of snowy dust.

Spyro fought back the urge to throw a fit, suddenly reminded of a not-so-climatic battle against a mask in a wonderland volcano. Aim high in life, but watch out for flying boxes.

Brother Ned, on the other hand, wasn't sure if he was feeling amazement, relief, or just confusion. "Huh. Guess that yeti wasn't so tough after all. I guess his bark was worse than his bite! Haha!"

Spyro and Sparx gave matching groans. This was going to be a LONG adventure.

oo00oo00oo

Spyro's exploration of Colossus was far from over, though. Upon hearing that the elusive Professor - whom Spyro hadn't seen apart from a passing glance in Glimmer - was in the area, the Artisan bounded up to the mountaintops where the monk brotherhood had spotted him. The Professor often visited Colossus for his studies, and thus, had his own library in the highest-most room of the city. (Though Spyro was slightly baffled by the idea that they'd give the highest room in the village to a mole.)

When he peeked inside, though, the room was surprisingly dark, and a chill shook down Spyro's spines as he cautiously stepped inside. "Uhm...Professor?"

There was a sharp cackle that froze dragon and his dragonfly in place. It was far too high-pitched to be the Professor...and far too wicked to be friendly. Spyro shook slightly as the room slowly flooded with a dark smog, turning the already-chilly Colossus air to ice. The Artisan coughed, willing his lungs to force a breath of fire and warm the air, but they refused - the chilling darkness had shut them down.

Spyro swiped at the darkness, and in rebuttal, a face burst through the darkness, sending the dragon stumbling backwards in shock. So, this is the dragon! The stolen egg, the hero of the mighty dragon legends! The specter cackled, driving Spyro further and further back, taunting him as it dipped back and forth and dragged the dragon's eyes along with it. This one doesn't look so tough!

Spyro scrounged for his flames, but could only cough up icy smoke as he was forced back further and further by the evil specter. Not so tough without your fire, are we, dragon? How do you expect to save the world if you can't even stop me? The spirit forced Spyro back until the dragon was trapped, feeling air under his back paws when he took another step. Turn around and go home, dragon! You don't belong here! You can't do it!

Go home, dragon!

YOU CAN'T DO IT!

"Shut up!" Finally getting a clear breath, Spyro leaned back and blasted the dark spirit in its spectral face with a burst of flame. The spirit gave a weak cry of pain, then spun out of control, disappearing into the Colossus skies.

The darkness finally faded, returning the dragon to the mountaintops of the monk village, allowing him to step away from the edge of the outcropping he was about to fall from and re-enter the study.

"Spyro! My boy, that was incredible!" the Professor gawked, excitedly readjusting his glasses. "Thank goodness you scared that evil spirit away!"

"What WAS that thing, anyway?" Spyro had to ask.

"I wish I could say for sure. I can only guess that it's Ripto's handiwork. The monks say that it's a troublemaker and can drive even their most focused scholars of the wie-yie-yie-yom to madness!" The old mole smiled. "Quite impressive that you managed to best it."

Spyro looked back out to the door, up where the evil spirit had disappeared. For some reason, the spirit seemed...darker, like it couldn't have just been Ripto. Did he really best it? Or did he just get lucky?

"Yeah...impressive."

oo00oo00oo

Noticing that Spyro seemed a bit distressed, the monk brotherhood pointed their dragon guest to the most relaxing activity of the Colossus monks: the ice rinks behind the yeti chambers.

Spyro took a few long, deep breaths of the crisp Colossus air, gliding across the glistening rinks. He had been skating in the Ice Caverns since he was a pup - water was a big adversary, but ice was an old friend. It was just the calm he needed: a time to step away from the chaos and just float across a small sea of frozen wonderland.

But Spyro was a mixed dragon. His Artisan mind enjoyed the occasional moment of calm, but his Peacekeeper blood demanded challenge and adventure. Like the hockey puck and goalie he found waiting in the rink above.

Brother Kipp watched as Spyro skillfully circled the rink, sneaking shot after shot past their scorekeeper, who was one of the best in the Colossus Leagues. "Well done, Spyro! You are surprisingly nimble on the ice for a dragon!"

The Artisan skated to the rink's edge, not sure if that was a compliment to his agility or an insult to dragons. "Uhm...thanks?"

Brother Kipp sighed. "I would invite you to play in the Colossus Leagues, but Ripto's riptocs are still causing problems and delaying the matches!"

There were several red flags in that sentence: Ripto, riptocs, problems. But Spyro only heard one word - challenge. "Hey, if Ripto's gnorcs need someone to play with, I'll volunteer! I can fit in a quick butt-kicking before lunch."

"Oh, is THAT so?"

Spyro and Kipp looked up, finding a large gray riptoc dressed in a red uniform as he and his goalie hopped from the locker rooms. The riptoc slammed his stick against the ice. "Come on, then, dragon-boy! Let's dance!"

"Alright, let's see a clean match! First to five goals wins! LET'S GO!"

With Kipp's watchful eyes as the referee, the whistle blew and the game was on. Spyro was first to the puck, but quickly lost hold of it as he took a hockey stick to the side. The riptoc gave a heavy laugh as he slid away with the puck, smashing it towards the blue goal.

Spyro's goalie, who was the Colossian he was practicing with earlier, easily deflected the straight-on shot, bouncing it back towards Spyro, who grabbed the puck and slid it past the red goalie. "Blue point!"

The riptoc gave a growl, making sure to race as hard as he could and beat his dragon opponent to the puck. Spyro, however, slid in front of him, snatching the puck in his teeth and sending it past his goalie yet again. "Blue point!"

On the third serve, the riptoc ignored the puck completely, instead shoving Spyro aside with another harsh hockey-stick to the side. What he underestimated, though, was Spyro's speed. The young dragon quickly caught up to the cumbersome riptoc, spinning a few circles around to disorient him before stealing the puck and slipping it past the goalie once again. "Blue point!"

"Dragon, start playing fair!" the riptoc snarled, rushing to attack his opponent again.

In retaliation, Spyro spat hot air at the riptoc, causing him to slip on his skates and fall over. "How's that for playing fair?" he sneered, skating over and grabbing the puck without any difficulty. "Blue point!"

The riptoc gave a low growl. "Alright, time to stop playing around!" Putting on his serious face, the riptoc glided after the puck when the final serve hit the ice. He continued to glance left and right, left and right, left and right - no sign of the dragon.

And as he finally looked down to swing the puck, no sign of that, either. "Hey, buddy, try watching the puck next time!"

Kipp blew the whistle as loud as it would ring. "BLUE POINT! That's game!"

Spyro couldn't help but laugh as the disheartened riptoc sulked back into the locker room. The only thing better than winning was beating a sore loser.

Brother Kipp waved over the victorious dragon once he exited the rink. "You know, Spyro, I didn't want to say this while the riptocs were around, but..." The monk pulled out a glimmering green gem - one of the mysterious orbs of Avalar. "This is one of our top prizes in the Colossus Leagues. I shouldn't give it away, but...I think it'll be better off with you."

"Thanks!"

"Not a problem! And you know, they say if you stare into these orbs long enough...you might not actually see anything!"

"...Thanks?"

oo00oo00oo

"Spyro, wait!" Right before the dragon passed through the portal to return to Summer Forest, he was approached by Brother Ned, clumsily running towards him with a gold statuette - a smaller version of the ones scattered across Colossus.

After catching his breath, Ned explained, "I was put in charge of guarding the Gold Statue to make sure the yeti didn't eat it. Now that the yeti's gone, I think it'll be safe. The brothers and I have decided that our talisman would be better off in your hands. May it bring you good luck on your journey."

Spyro smiled, giving a small bow as Sparx returned the talisman to the guidebook. "Thanks, Brother Ned."

"Nonono, Spyro." Brother Ned gave a clumsy salute, not unlike the ones traditionally used by the Peacekeeper dragons. "Thank you."

oo00oo00oo

"Hmm..." Brother Ned and Brother Curtis stared long and hard at the statue now occupying their meditation room turned yeti prison. It did a fantastic job of crushing the yeti, but now it was in the way and needed to return to the rooftop.

"Don't worry, my brother!" Curtis assured from his spot atop the statue. "I've mastered this!" Returning to the sacred chant, the wie-yie-yie-yom, Curtis focused his magical monk energies and lifted the statue.

...Where it hovered for a few seconds before dropping back down. "What in the name of the hockey league was that?" Brother Ned tsked.

Brother Curtis frowned. "The dragon thought my trick was impressive."

"Well, the dragon isn't here! Please put this statue back on the roof!"

"If you don't like my chanting, you do it!"

"Fine!" Forcing the powers that be, Brother Ned chanted as hard as his monk heart could handle, absorbing the pure power of the wie-yie-yie-yom. The statue gave a shudder, then another...

BAM! It shot to the ceiling, smashing Brother Curtis in the process. Brother Ned looked about nervously, then exited before any of the other monks saw. This day was getting worse and worse.

I have an irrational love for this level. XD I could probably just kind of hang out in Colossus, like, all day. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! See you next week! :)

§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §