After three days of packing and preparation, Spyro and the gang were ready to set off on their adventure. Oswin had provided them with a map to the possible location of the islands so they wouldn't get lost. For the mode of transportation to Illica, it was decided that they would go on a ship, crafted by the finest crafters in the Artisans realm, so as not to be too conspicuous, and they would depart from the beach of the Artisans world.
In addition to Spyro and the others, a selected group of dragon elders; one representative from each realm; would tag along as well; Gavin for the Artisans, Titan for the Peace Keepers, Cleetus for the Beast Makers; Cosmos for the Magic Crafters, and Lateef for the Dream Weavers.
The dragons loaded the provisions and items onto the ship which included a variety of axes, maces, and swords; all brought in at the order of Titan.
"Have enough weapons, Titan?" Cosmos noticed.
"A true warrior is prepared for any battle that awaits him! This isn't just Gnasty we're dealing with this time! Besides, I have been looking for some payback for imprisoning me and fellow Peace Keepers and I'm just keeping my options open," Titan replied.
Meanwhile, Gavin loaded two large crates onto the ship before he was approached by Nestor.
"Hmm. What could possibly be in those crates? I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's not coffee, because that would be too obvious," Nestor guessed sarcastically.
"Actually, it's makeup," Gavin replied. "I used a large amount of blush to keep my complexion looking good."
Nestor and Gavin shared a laugh before Nestor placed both his hands on Gavin's shoulders.
"Be careful out there, old friend," Nestor said.
"Relax! Me, Spyro and the others got this in the bag! We'll knock Gnasty and his two cronies out faster than it takes to flame broil a sheep!" Gavin said with confidence.
"I should hope so," Nestor said with a chuckle.
Bianca packed her own things along with Hunter. After she loaded the last of her things onto the boat, she turned to see Elora talking with Spyro.
Hunter noticed and placed a hand on Bianca's shoulder who responded by turning to him. "Don't worry about Elora. She just needs to get used to you. It took her forever to start liking me," he said.
Bianca smiled as Elora walked past her.
"Elora," Bianca said to get her attention. "I know it's gonna take a while for you a lot of the others to trust me, but I want you to know, I'm gonna do everything I can to help.
Elora turned and walked up to her with a serious look. "Truth be told, part of me really wants to trust you and Spyro seems to so I guess that's good enough for me. But if you try anything, turn your back on us even once, or do anything that might hurt Spyro, you'll be getting a six foot hoof mark in your backside! Is that understood?" she said, poking at Bianca's chest.
Bianca nervously nodded before Elora turned and headed onto the ship with Spyro following behind.
"She's just in a mood, don't worry about it," Hunter said.
"Yeah, she'll learn to like you...eventually," Spyro said.
Just then, Nestor approached Spyro, giving him an approving look. "Good luck, Spyro," he said before his expression turned serious. "I realize this journey will be most difficult for you without Sparx, but do not be discouraged."
"Sparx is why I'm going in the first place," Spyro responded. "Besides, when do I ever get discouraged?"
"And if Dragon Boy here gets into trouble, we got his back," Sheila said, patting Spyro on the back before Sgt. Bryd, Agent 9, and Bentley all gave Nestor a thumbs up.
"I would expect nothing less," Nestor said with a smile.
Sgt. Byrd perched on one of the masts and looked out at the distant ocean with contemplation. "So begins my greatest undertaking in my military career," he monologued. "I've gone toe to toe with the nastiest brutes from Molten Crater and-"
Suddenly, Agent 9 surprised him from behind.
"Alright! Let's get going! So many gnorcs and rhynocs, so little time!" Agent 9 shouted.
This caused Sgt. Byrd to fall. Thankfully, Sheila caught him.
"Hey!" Sheila exclaimed, looking up at Agent 9. "Careful, mate! I know you're excited, but try to tone it down a bit!"
Bentley sighed as he looked at Agent 9 scale up to the crow's nest. "Hopefully, that primate's rambunctious nature does not hinder our efforts," he said.
All the supplies were pack, Spyro and the elder dragons said their goodbyes, and now the time for them to depart had finally come.
The captain, Peter the Pirate, released the anchor and the ship set sail.
As everyone waved goodbye, Spyro rushed to the front of the ship, looking out to the vast ocean. "Hang on, Sparx. I'm coming," he said to himself.
According to the map Oswin had provided, Illica would be to the southeast, though how far was unknown.
In the meantime, the elder dragons gathered together to concoct a strategy for when they eventually arrived at illica.
Cleetus was relaxed on one of the masts. "So, what's the plan?" he asked the other elders..
"Simple, we charge in with weapons burning and wills strong!" Titan proclaimed.
"Of course, the Peace Keeper's number one strategy; bludgeon first, ask questions never," Cosmos sneered.
"And what would you have us do? Wave around your little magic wand around?!" Titan growled.
Lateef stepped in to give his thoughts. "As obnoxious as he may be about it, Cosmos is right," he said, much to Cosmos' approval. "There's a first time for everything."
Cosmos' smile quickly turned into an annoyed sneer.
In any case, Lateef agreed that going weapons blazing into a unknown area was not the best course of action. They needed to be properly prepared for whatever awaited them.
As much as he hated to admit it, Titan had to agree as well.
"And let's not forget the elephant in the room, or rabbit," Gavin added, pointed to Bianca who was talking with Hunter.
Cosmos and Titan eyed Bianca with suspicion.
"Yes, I trust her less than I can throw her," Titan said.
So far, Bianca hadn't done anything relatively shady or underhanded, but as far as Titan, Cosmos, and Gavin were concerned, she could still strike at any moment and when they least expect it.
As far as Cleetus' opinion was on the matter, he didn't really have one as he was fast asleep.
"Ugh, Beast Makers," Cosmos groaned.
Dawn approached as Spyro and the others had been sailing for what seemed like hours.
Bentley and Sheila were engaged in a game of chess with Sgt. Byrd watching. At first it seemed as though Bentley had the upper hand, but Sheila came from behind to checkmate him, much to his chagrin.
"Um...goal?" Sgt. Byrd responded.
Meanwhile, Agent 9 frantically searched around the ocean from the crow's nest, eager to blast away at some gnorcs and rhynocs.
Elora, seeing Spyro, walked over to talk to him. "Hey. You doing OK?" she asked, elbowing him on the shoulder.
Spyro didn't notice Elora until she waved her hand and snapped her finger in front of his face. "Huh? Oh! Hey, Elora!" he sputtered.
"You really miss Sparx, huh?" Elora said.
It was true. The purple dragon recalled to his faunas friend about the times he spent with his dragonfly, remembering the time he was given Sparx as a young dragon; the many times they chased sheep, or when Spyro pulled a prank on Sparx in Dark Hollow by putting a feather on him while he was sleeping and Darius thought he was a pen and dipped him in ink.
"Sparx has been like a brother to me," Spyro said somberly.
"Well don't you worry. We'll get him back, and all the other dragonflies too!" Elora exclaimed. "With me and Hunter and the others, Ripto and those losers don't stand a chance!"
"And Bianca too?" Spyro asked curiously.
The mention of Bianca's name made Elora groan in annoyance.
And, as if right on cue, Bianca along with Hunter, approached the two. In response, Elora crossed her arms and turned her head.
"Spyro," Bianca began, nervously holding her wand. "I've um...been working on a spell...that will enable you to use different breath abilities."
Elora and Spyro eyed each other before Spyro looked back at Bianca with intrigue.
"Really?!" he asked.
"Well, I figured since you don't have Sparx...no offense...you might want to have an advantage," said Bianca. "With this spell, you'll be able to use not only your fire breath, but other elemental attacks such as ice, electricity, and water."
"Ahh, is there nothing she can't do?" Hunter said putting his arm around Bianca's shoulder.
Spyro became quite excited at the prospect of new breath abilities and was eager to try them out.
"Well I say go for it!" Spyro exclaimed.
However, before Bianca could cast the spell, Elora intervened. "Wait! Spyro, are you sure about this? I mean this could be a trick. Besides, this is probably the first time she's done a spell like this and who knows what it could do to you," she said.
"Come on! Don't be such a worry wart, Elora," said Hunter. "Bianca's got this."
"Yeah" Spyro said in agreement. "Beside, I trust her."
The purple dragon's support gained a smile from Bianca, but Elora still had her doubts, but if Spyro trusted her, the least she could do is do the same.
"Alright," Elora said to Spyro before putting a finger in Bianca's face. "But don't try anything funny.".
With Elora's somewhat blessing, Bianca began waving her wand, only to be stopped by Titan who grabbed her by arm.
"Spyro, you can't be serious, can you?!" Titan asked.
"Hey! Put her down!" Spyro demanded.
Titan reluctantly did so. Much like Elora, he wasn't fond of the idea of Bianca using a spell on Spyro.
"Yes! She could actually be using a spell to make you slower, or remove your legs entirely, or turn your tongue brown!" Cosmos suggested in terror.
"How is that bad?" Spyro asked confused.
"Seriously, brown...brroooooowwwwwwwn, that's like the worst color in the world!" Cosmos answered.
Lateef rolled his eyes and groaned before Cleetus' woke up.
"Hey, brown is my favorite color...what are we talkin' about?" asked Cleetus.
Titan informed him of the issue with Bianca and he immediately gave his opinion, which was that she should definitely cast the spell, seeing as how they would need any advantage they could get.
"Typical irrational Beast Makers thinking," Cosmos scoffed.
"I think if Bianca has a spell that can help Spyro, then it doesn't hurt to try. However, magic is not something to take lightly," said Lateef.
"For once, I'm with Lateef on this one," said Cosmos.
Bianca slumped her head down in sadness. Hunter was about to defend her, but Bianca quickly stopped him and stepped in front of him towards the elders and took a deep breath.
"Listen, guys. I know I'm just a novice when it comes to magic, but I know I can be a big help to everyone, especially Spyro! I'm not asking for much, all I'm asking for is just one chance to prove myself. The same chance that all of you had when you started out," Bianca said.
The elders stared at each other, contemplating Bianca's words as Hunter patted her on the back.
"The little gal's gotta point, ya know," said Cleetus.
Lateef looked at Bianca and gave her a grin. "Very well," he said to her.
"Fine," said Cosmos. "Just do it before I change my mind."
"Spyro, you sure about this?" asked Gavin.
"Yes," Spyro answered emphatically.
With that, Gavin gave his approval as well.
Titan crossed his arms before turning his head. "Alright," he growled.
So with that, Bianca again waved her wand, telling Spyro to stand still, and then fired a blast of magic at Spyro who felt a bit of a sting.
"Wow! That was something!" Spyro exclaimed.
Elora checked on him to see if he was alright and Spyro assured her he was fine. It was in fact the first time Bianca had performed the spell, so it's no surprise that he would feel something from it. But despite this, Bianca assured Spyro that he could now perform his new abilities.
He wanted to try his ice breath first, but wasn't sure how.
"Try thinking of something cold," Bianca suggested.
Taking Bianca's suggestion, Spyro thought about all the cold worlds he had been to in the past. To his surprise, a blizzard shot out of his mouth which hit Hunter, freezing his head in a block of ice.
Spyro was impressed as Bianca melted the ice off of Hunter and was eager to try the others out. He next tried the electric breath by thinking of thunderstorms. However, as much as he tried, nothing happened. So he tried the water breath, thinking of oceans, but like before, there was no result.
"Hey, Bianca, what's up?" Spyro asked. "I can only use my ice breath."
"Drat!" Bianca said, stomping her foot in frustration. "Something must've gone wrong with the spell."
"No kidding," Elora said.
"Hey! I'm still learning you know!" Bianca said to Elora before turning to Spyro. "If I had to guess, it'll probably be a while before your other abilities kick in."
Though Spyro wasn't keen on the idea of having to wait, it was still better than nothing. At the very least, he had something to look forward to. Though having his other abilities at the moment would've been useful for what Agent 9 spotted from the crow's nest.
"HEY! RHYNOCS AND GNORCS AT 5:00 PM!" he shouted, pointing toward the ocean.
Spyro and the others rushed to the front of the ship and were shocked at what they saw.
A flotilla of ships and multiple airships advanced towards the group. It didn't take long for one of the ships to fire a torpedo at them which just hit the side.
"I don't get it! How did they know we were coming?!" said Sheila.
"I think I know," Titan answered, glaring at Bianca.
"What?! No! I didn't! I swear!" Bianca said.
While she seemed sincere, the evidence also seem to have Bianca's name written all over it as there was no other way that Ripto, Nasty, and the Sorceress could've found out about them coming. However, evidence or not, there was no time to dwell on it as the armada drew closer. Spyro, the elders and everyone readied themselves. Now wasn't the time for suspicions, now was the time for battle.