Welcome back, dragonlets! We've crossed the thirty-chapter threshold! Whoo~! Anyway, who's ready to celebrate by unlocking some characters and going on some adventures? :D I sure am! 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 3: Year of the Dragon, as well as all related characters (c) blah-blah, same copyright.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Sheila's Alp

Moneybags gave a lazy stretch, easily ignoring the whining and kicking from the caged kangaroo by his side. This would be his easiest business venture of all time. All the dragon treasure he could ever wish for, and all he had to do was watch a few cages? If he knew about this Sorceress and her job openings earlier, he wouldn't have even bothered butting heads with that devilish-

"Moneybags? What're you doin' here?"

The bear jumped with such a start, it brought him to his feet. He did his best to turn his panic into a friendly, surprised laugh, though, as he smiled, "Spyro! How funny to see you here! Goodness me, how long has it been? I don't think you and I have had the pleasure since we defeated Ripto back in Avalar!"

"I think I was the one who beat Ripto," Spyro corrected. "So, uh...seriously, what are you doing here?"

"Keepin' me in dis cage, dat's what the bludger's doin'!" piqued up the kangaroo in the cage.

Moneybags gave the golden chamber a kick. "Hush-hush, Sheila, Mr. Moneybags is talking to a friend." Seeing the daggers beginning to stir in Spyro's eyes, the bear kicked his theatre skills into overdrive. "Oh, Spyro, don't mind the naughty little kangaroo; she's been causing trouble here in the Sunrise Spring, and I got hired on by a LOVELY local sorceress to keep her from making things worse! She's a darling, Spyro, you two should meet one day."

Spyro shot a side-glance to the kangaroo, who was giving him every hand-wave and head-shake in the book. "...Well, Moneybags, sounds like you're doing a good thing for this Sorceress lady and all, but uh...I think I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. I got some hero business to do, I don't...want you getting hurt or anything if a battle breaks out."

"Hero business? Goodness, Ripto isn't still creeping around, is he?"

"No, different business. Now get outta here."

Moneybags tsked. "I'm sorry, Spyro, but I can't just leave. I know you're a trusty dragon, but the Sorceress is paying me a fortune to keep-"

"Hundred gems." Moneybags screeched his monologue to a stop. "I know money talks with you. Hundred gems, you go get lost."

"...S-Spyro, really, I-I couldn't-"

"Two hundred?"

"No, no, I REALLY shouldn't-"

"Three?"

"Okay, fine!" the bear huffed, cursing his weakness for treasure. Why not milk Spyro for some commission pay? It wouldn't be so outrageous if he told the Sorceress he had been CHASED away from the cage by a rampaging dragon, would it? When Sparx presented him with his bag of jewels, Moneybags kicked the door open. "Your kind-hearted nature is to be commended, Spyro. I fear the day someone evil and dastardly ever dare to use it against you."

"Yeah, yeah, shut yer blowhole, mate," the kangaroo snipped, bouncing out of the cage and kicking it aside.

"Now, now, Miss Sheila," Moneybags pouted. "I'm doing you quite the favor here; you should be a LITTLE more courteous."

Sheila gave him the biggest, fakest smile ever. "Righ'! Righ', my mistake, mate." She extended her paw. "No 'ard feelin's, yea?"

"Right," Moneybags agreed, reaching in for a shake. "After all, I'm just doing my-"

WH-BAM! Sheila jumped from the ground, slamming both of her mighty feet straight into Moneybags' gut, sending the bear halfway across Sunrise Spring before sending him off crying to the Tiki Lounge. " 'N tha's what you get, ya money-grubbin' bludger!"

Spyro struggled to stay on all fours as laughter overtook him. "Oh, my gods, that was AMAZING," he finally managed between breaths.

"Eh, 'e was askin' fer it," Sheila laughed. With Moneybags taken care of, the kangaroo turned her eyes to her Artisan rescuer. "Okay, so lemme guess - yer one'a them dragons ya hear 'bout in all the old stories 'n legends, are ya?"

Spyro took a step back, still not used to the awkward looks of people who had never seen a dragon before. "Yep, that'd be me. Name's Spyro; nice to meetcha, Sheila."

Seeing she was making Spyro uncomfortable, she stepped back with a bounce. "By the gods, I didn' ever think I'd live long enough ta see one'a your kind 'round 'ere. The dragons finally decide ta come back now?"

"Come back? What do you mean?"

"Don' you know? Eh, guess ya wouldn't; yer lookin' a lil' young, if ya don' mind mah sayin'. But yea, dragons used ta rule all'a the worlds here. Then one day, ya left. Poof."

Spyro shot an odd look to Sparx, who clearly missed the same day of Dragon Lore lectures. "Wait, wait, wait: dragons used to live all the way over here?"

"Yea! It was somethin' like a thousan' years ago, I think."

"And...they just left?"

"That's what the stories say," Sheila sighed. "The dragons left 'n all the magic went with'im. Ya go back to the stories 'fore the dragons left, 'n there's magic comin' out the wazoo! Flying ships, singin' forests, wishing stones, the whole kit 'n kaboodle! Obvious we ain' got none'a that 'round here now. I guess it all jus' kinda dried up."

Spyro put together a few pieces in his mind, recalling the broken portal at the top of Sunrise Peak that allegedly led to a speedway. "Is that why some of the portals around here don't work?"

"That'd be mah guess."

"...How's a kangaroo know so much about dragon lore, anyway?"

"Girls c'n have hobbies too, ya know," Sheila teased. "I got three little brothers, I gotta read 'em somethin' 'fore bed." Then the kangaroos' eyes lit up in a panic. "Aw, shoot, mah brothers! I forgot all about 'em!" She gave a quick, bouncy bow. "Look, Spyro, I'd love ta sit 'n chat, but that Sorceress' had me locked up fer a while now, so I gotta bounce home 'n make sure mah brothers are doin' alright. But I owe ya one fer the cage-thing. Anything I can do ta make it up to ya?"

"We're looking for some dragon eggs," Spyro explained. "If ya find any, could you send 'em our way?"

"I'll do ya one better; once my brothers're safe, I'll bounce out 'n tag along ta help ya out. Thanks again, Spahro!"

oo00oo00oo

Sheila took a long breath of her crisp mountain air. She never imagined a day where she'd be alp-sick, but being stuck in a cage with a chattery bear does things to you. Still, she'd trade a thousand years in a cage to blow up another rhynoc sand-castle in Seashell Shore.

The alp wasn't quite as she left it, though. The area was crawling with rhynocs, as was to be expected during a Sorceress take-over. However, the kangaroo could breathe a sigh of relief as she saw her tiny trio of goats hiding behind a nearby patch of trees, all deeply invested in strategy talk that seemed to involve shooting Pete out of a slingshot. "OI! What're you three up to over 'ere?"

The goats all looked up. "SHEILA!"

Billy was the first to get up, rushing to meet his adopted sister. "Sheila, vere in the world vere you? The t'ree of us vere worried sick about you!"

Sheila shrugged. "Eh, pick a fight with the Sorceress 'n pay the price. You three know the deal. You three alright? Nobody broken 'r banged up?"

"Not yet," Pete answered, clearly thankful for Sheila's arrival to nullify their plan.

"Oh, but ve're comin' up with a great plan, Sheila!" Bobby interrupted. "Ve're going to be great Sorceress fighters vone day, jus' like you! You want to come see our plan, ja?"

"...Sure, let's get this over with."

oo00oo00oo

Sheila shot a scolding look up at her little brothers as she crashed down on the last of the rhynoc camps, smashing it under her mighty feet. "An' THAT is how ya clear out a rhynoc camp!" she tsked. (Really, how in the world did they plan on taming a herd of wild moose and stampeding them out of the way? And did they really think that standing on the ledge and going "whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop!" was going to distract them?)

"Sorry, Sheila..." the triplets sighed sadly.

"Sheila, are you going to help me get zat rock out of my doorway now?" Pete asked once Sheila cleared out the last of the rhynocs and returned to their hiding ledge.

"Why don' you jus' go back to zat rock and kick it until it falls down?" Bobby joked.

"Eh, your stupid rock can wait," Billy interrupted. "I found this giant egg in my house; I think we should make omelets to celebrate the fact that Sheila's back home, ja?"

Sheila was about to agree (being trapped in a cage can work up an appetite), but she screeched to a halt once the idea processed further. "Wait, wait, 'old on a minute. What kind'a egg did you find?"

Billy pulled out the egg in question. It was quite larger than a chicken egg (unless you were comparing it to the giant eggs from Sunny Villa), its shell a pearly shade of white that was dotted with glittering flecks of pinks and blues.

"An' you found this in yer house?" Sheila echoed, swiping the egg for herself.

"I found one just like it!" Bobby volunteered, pulling out a second egg. Pete, although not volunteering it (he had plans to smash it on Billy's house later to pay him back for that headbutt of the cliffs), also pulled out an egg of his own. "They will make good omelets, ja?"

Sheila scooped up the three eggs, rushing them back to Sunrise Springs as fast as her legs could bound. "Sorry, boys, but these 'r important! I got other stuff ta do, but I'll be back home later! DON'T DO ANYTHIN' STUPID WHILE I'M GONE!"

"...But what about my omelet?"

"And what am I supposed to smash on Billy's house now?"

Silly Sheila, we all know they're going to do something stupid while you're gone. XD Add three more dragon eggs and one butt-kicking partner to the mix! What else will our heroes encounter on their journey through the Forgotten Worlds? Find out next week! While you're waiting, make sure to check out my profile and maybe pitch into my multiverse collaboration. :) Thanks for reading, guys, hope you enjoyed!

§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §