Hey, guys, welcome back to Legacy! Ready to start our adventure into the second homeworld? :) Then let's get 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 NINETEEN: The Ides of Autumn

As usual, a dragon's work is never done. After hearing that Ripto had taken over the Autumn Manor, Spyro, Elora, and Hunter rushed over to Autumn Plains as quickly as they could. However, similar to the situation in Summer Forest, Ripto and Gulp were holed up in the depths of the Manor corridors. This time, Ripto's seal was even more powerful - even with the six talismans of Summer Forest, the wall would not budge. They'd need the remaining eight talismans, which Elora mentioned all resided in the eight worlds of Autumn Plains.

"Y'know, Autumn Plains seems like a nice place," Spyro mentioned, embracing the cool autumn breeze as Elora escorted him through the new homeworld. Where Summer Forest was warm and lush, Autumn Plains exchanged green forestry for gold, and the temperature cooled down to the comfortable edge of just-a-little-too-cold.

Elora, who hadn't been to the Plains since she moved to Summer Forest and began her studies for the Professor, hesitated to agree. "Yeah, it's...alright."

"So why'd you leave?" Elora mentioned that her original home was amongst the fauns and satyrs in Fracture Hills, but never explained how she went from the Plains to the Forest.

Elora pondered her answer, uncertain if she wanted to delve into the fights that split her apart from her sister. "I wanted to work with the Professor, so he sent me to study in the Summer Castle while he did his experiments in the Winter Tundra," she said instead. (At least she was telling the truth, right?) "I wanted a change of pace when the wars started to break out."

Spyro slid to a stop. "Wait, wait - wars?"

"The creatures in Autumn Plains don't...necessarily get along," Elora explained in the loosest sense she could. (It was the understatement of the century, but Spyro didn't need to know that.) "That's why we moved six of the talismans over to Summer Forest - to make sure no one world could get a hold of all fourteen. But it shouldn't get in your way," she was quick to add at the end. "They usually stay within their own worlds, and besides, Ripto's the bigger problem right now."

Still, Spyro was uncertain. The dragons didn't 'necessarily get along' between realms, but the fact that you could avoid them didn't make pulling all five worlds together any easier. "Alright, Elora, if you say so."

oo00oo00oo

The war of the worlds, though, would have to wait - there was more exploration to be done throughout the upper corridors of Autumn Manor, which was in surprising disarray in comparison to its Summer sister. Portals were out of reach and beginning to malfunction, doors were jamming, walls were crumbling...

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said Autumn Plains is falling apart," Spyro laughed, ducking between rock piles and fallen supports as he and Elora moved past a shattered wall into an old staircase.

"Hey, I tried to warn you," Elora tsked, struggling to keep up as her height prevented her from moving through as stealthily as the young dragon.

"Where's this junky staircase lead, anyway?"

"My guess would be up to the roof."

Indeed, Elora was correct. Dragon and faun emerged from the musty staircase, finding themselves atop the highest tower in the Autumn Manor. The high altitude amplified the winds that whipped around them, forcing the faun to give a little shiver as she rubbed her barren arms. They stood miles above the Plains, able to see every last piece of it from their fantastic vantage.

"Wow, this is incredible," Spyro whistled. "Man, you could glide anywhere from here!"

"Probably a dumb question, but you're a fan of heights, aren't you?" Elora laughed.

"Yes and yes." The Artisan fluttered his golden wings. "Or did these not give you the hint?"

"No, they did - like I said, dumb question." Elora leaned against one of the merlons, admiring their incredulous view. "I've never really liked heights, but...wow, this is amazing."

"Never liked heights? Why not?"

"Fauns don't fly, you dork."

Spyro blew a puff of hot smoke Elora's way, then laid next to her and her merlon, also taking a second to admire the scenery. "I'd take you flying one day."

"You would?"

"Yeah, seriously, you would?" Sparx echoed, voice buzzing with doubt.

"Well, after the Ripto thing blows over," Spyro tsked, as if it were obvious that his work came first. "But yeah, I'll take you into a speedway or something. We'll make a day out of it."

"A day, right." Elora's heart dropped a bit when she heard day and not date, but quickly brushed it off. Come on, Elora, focus! He's a dragon, he's not that into you!

"What's flying like?" she asked, desperate to change the subject.

Spyro hesitated, trying to explain flight to someone without wings. "Well, it's kind of like...It's kind of like that feeling you get when you jump off of something and you're falling, but you never stop falling, y'know? It's just that floating feeling, like you never have to touch the ground again."

"Kind of like swimming?"

The Artisan couldn't help but laugh. Swimming in the air; how stupid did THAT sound? "Yeah...something like that."

Elora finally backed away from her merlon, partially because she was cold and partially because she wanted to move along before she said something else stupid in front of their beloved dragon guest. "We should, uhm...y'know, finish looking around so we can go after those talismans!"

Spyro gave a small huff. Right, talismans. "Yeah, yeah, just...give me a sec, okay? I'll meet you downstairs." Elora gave a nod and started back down the stairs. The young faun seemed obsessed with hunting down all of the talismans - Ripto, talismans, orbs...it's all she ever mentioned. Granted, it was a reasonable situation, what with Ripto taking over her world, but...couldn't she talk about anything besides that? Whenever they started a normal, friendly conversation, she would almost immediately change the subject.

The Artisan gave a sigh, jumping off of the massive tower and throwing open his wings, deciding to take a scenic glide over the new area. Girls - strange and unpredictable as ever. Still, perhaps it was for the better. Elora just wanted her home to be safe; after Ripto was gone, Spyro would likely never see Avalar and its inhabitants again. (Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering it would also rid his life of a certain smart-mouthed cheetah.)

Maybe it was for the best that he not focus so much on making friends, and instead focus on finding the talismans and getting back to Dragon Shores as soon as he could.

Aw, relationship problems already. XD Thanks for reading, guys! Hope you enjoyed! See you next week, where hopefully I'll actually remember to post on Saturday! :D

§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §