Yes, based on the layout of the islands, it did make it appear like a staircase, but it in fact wasn't. The three islands were within a straight line of each other, each one taller than the last one, consisting of a canyon, a meadow, and a mountain.
Considering the huge assault they had just dealt with, the gang figured they must've finally arrived at Illica and if the armada was difficult to overcome, they could only imagine what Ripto, the Sorceress, and Gnasty had in store for them on the islands.
Spyro was still pretty exhausted from the assault as he tried to catch his breath.
Elora walked over to him. "Spyro, are you OK?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Spyro answered. "I just got the wind knocked out of me a little."
"That's because you're not used to fighting without Sparx," Gavin said, approaching the two. "In addition to companionship, a dragonfly's magic helps protect dragons in even the stickiest of situations."
"You mean like a magic barrier?" asked Elora.
"Exactly," said Gavin. "So when a dragonfly is separated from its dragon, as you can see, it can cause all sorts of problems."
With this news in mind, Elora's worry for Spyro increased more than it already had. "Spyro, maybe you should sit this one out," she suggested.
"What?! No way! I came to find Sparx and that's what I'm gonna do! Besides, once my other breaths kick in, I should have no problem," Spyro said confidently.
"Don't be overconfident, Spyro," said Lateef, joining in the conversation. "We still don't know how long it will take for your new abilities to surface. Until then, you should learn to trust in your other abilities; your body and your mind."
"In other words, don't be a hardhead, Spyro," Elora said, giving Spyro a hard knock on the head.
And so, the group finally landed at the shore of the first of the three islands.
Back at the castle, through the observance of a crystal ball; the three villains watched as the group landed on the island, much to Ripto's annoyance.
"Curse that meddlesome dragon! Even with a battalion and without his dragonfly, he can't be put down!" he growled, stamping on the table on which the crystal ball sat.
"Cool your horn, little lizard," the Sorceress said in response. "Question, a hyena desires a tasty, juicy warthog, but can't do so, because his efforts are deterred by a large pack of lions, how does the hyena deal with the situation?"
It didn't take long for Ripto to figure out the answer as he and the Sorceress exchanged sinister grins.
"Um...he goes on a meerkat diet?" Gnasty guessed.
In response, the Sorceress whacked him with her scepter. "No, gnorc brain! You separate the lions...from the warthogs," she said.
"Oh..." said Gnasty before leaving.
"Wait, where are you going?" Ripto asked.
"To find some lions," answered Gnasty.
The Sorceress and Ripto facepalmed in aggravation.
Before the group departed, Bianca cast a healing spell on both Hunter and Sgt. Byrd leaving the two feeling much better than before, though the spell did not completely heal them. Bianca of course was still learning her magic and the healing spell was one she had just learned. Still it was enough that Hunter and Byrd were able to join the others.
Bentley used a stone and rope to hold the ship in place before everyone started making their way off.
Bianca accompanied Hunter, but with Titan close by, wanting to make sure she didn't try anything funny.
With everything set, the group moved forward into the canyon which towered over the group like a skyscraper. It was purple in color with streaks of rainbow and multicolored crystals stuck out from the canyon walls.
Most of the group couldn't help but be impressed as the crystals shimmered and glowed.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Sheila.
"Indeed, but I'm afraid we do not have time for sight seeing. There are dragonflies to be found!" commanded Byrd.
"Yeah, but where do we start looking?" asked Elora.
Considering there were three huge islands, finding the dragonflies would not be an easy task, especially since Ripto, the Sorceress, and Gnasty more than likely were not gonna just hide them in plain sight.
What didn't help matters was that the inside of the canyon was like a maze with numerous tunnels and caverns in multiple directions. One wrong move and one could easily get lost.
"By the time we find Sparx and the others, the dragon elders will be in wheelchairs," Spyro said.
Elora and Bianca both chuckled at Spyro's comment while the elders and glared at him.
"Maybe we should split up," suggested Bianca.
"Nice try," Cosmos sneered.
Suddenly, Spyro heard a sound coming from beneath the canyon walls.
As they pondered exactly what the sound was, the ground beneath them started to rumble and a bit of the earth began to upturn, then it traveled around them, making its way above them.
"Brace yourselves, guys!" Spyro said.
The gang prepared themselves as a head popped out from the cave ceiling. They couldn't make it out due to the shadows, but it's eyes glowed ominously as the head hung upside down. The gang didn't know who or what the creature was, but they figured it was probably one the villains' goons and Spyro was more than ready to torch him.
But just then, the head and body all suddenly fell from the ceiling onto the ground, landing on its head.
The gang was left confused, but nonetheless kept their guard up.
As the creature got to its feet away from the shadows, his appeared was made more clear as he rubbed his head.
He was a dark purple mole, slightly taller then Spyro. Gems covered his body and he even had whiskers made out of gems.
"Oh my, that was unpleasant," the mole said.
Titan placed his ax to the mole's face. "Who are you?!" he demanded.
"Oh! My apologies! Forgive me if I scared you, I'm rather awkward with first meetings...and second...and third...as well as fourth. My name is Zircon and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though I wish it were under better circumstances," the mole said.
"Easy, Titan. He seems cool," said Spyro.
"Uh yes, very cool...dude..." Zircon said.
"Please don't do that," Spyro said in a monotone voice.
"Apologies," said Zircon.
Titan reluctantly backed away before Spyro introduced himself and the others. Zircon took specific notice to Sheila and walked over to her.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady," Zircon said, holding Sheila's hand as he gave her a bow.
"Well, well, you're certainly the gentlemen, mate," Sheila said in response.
Hunter and Bianca noticed this and chuckled at each other.
Suddenly, there was another sound in the caves. It was almost like a machine. And not just one, but multiple machines.
"OK, where's that coming from?" asked Elora.
"That is coming from our other 'guests,'" Zircon answered with air quotes.
Spyro figured Zircon must've been talking about the three villains and told him of why he and the others had come to Illica. Zircon was overjoyed at the fact that a bunch of heroes came around and thus offered to show them the way to where the noise was coming from.
"Well I'd venture to guess this bloke knows his way around these parts. And since we're new here, we could use a tour guide," said Sheila.
"Well it does make sense that he would know the way," said Cosmos.
"And we've got no better options," said Lateef.
"Other than to do it ourselves, said Gavin.
"Welp, I guess we're doin' it," said Cleetus.
"Then we have no time to waste," said Titan.
With Zircon leading the way, the gang followed the sound through a series of caves.
During their travel, Spyro eyed the gem covered mole with curiosity. "So, if you don't mind my asking, what up with the gems? Is that just a fashion statement or what?" he asked Zircon.
"Oh no, Mr. Spyro Sir," said Zircon. "These are a part of me. You see, I am a gem mole."
Sheila hopped over to Zircon and Spyro. "A gem mole you say?" she asked.
"Yes, Ms. Sheila. We feed off of gems," said Zircon.
"You...eat gems," Spyro asked confused.
Zircon demonstrated this by jumping onto the cave walls, grabbing a gem, and taking a bite out of it. "Yes, they're quite delicious. Want some?" asked offering it to Spyro.
"Uh, no thanks. I'm on a gem free diet," Spyro said.
"However, our gems stores have been dwindling greatly ever since Ripto and those other guys landed here. They've captured all of my other fellow moles," Zircon said solemnly.
"Well don't you worry, mate. We're gonna set all your friends free!" Sheila proclaimed, giving Zircon a smack on the back.
"Well, thank you, Ms. Sheila," said Zircon, blushing.
Zircon continued leading the gang towards the noise until they came upon an opening where they spotted a gnorc and a rhynoc standing guard. They quickly hid to the sides of the walls so as not to be seen.
"Let me handle this," said Cosmos before he fired his scepter at the gnorc and the rhynoc, turning them both into chickens.
Spyro used his fire breath to send them both packing and then he and the gang hid to the side of the cave exit.
It was here they discovered the source of the noise; a bunch of gnorcs and rhynocs using digging machines and jackhammers to dig up the crystals from the walls. The crystals were then gathered up in carts. It was like a mining facility.
"Ol' Moneybags would have a field day here," Spyro whispered.
As Zircon had stated, many of the other moles had been locked in cages. In addition, a small group of dragonflies were trapped inside a container.
Just then, another sound was heard, but this time, it was the sound of Ripto's voice on a speaker.
"Attention, loyal, if not incredibly brain dead minions; I would like to commend you on your surprisingly fantastic work in our crystal mines. Production is going along quite smoothly. I hope that you are especially kind and courteous to our guests," Ripto said.
"Uh oh," Sheila said in response.
"Oh dear," said Zircon immediately after.
Suddenly, the ground near the gang shook. They turned around to see a gnorc and a rhynoc behind them, both massive in size, and carrying large spears with crystal daggers at the ends with each dagger containing a dragonfly that made the spears glow bright.
"Back up!" Gavin instructed.
"What?! Never! A Peace Keeper never surrenders!" Titan protested.
"No, but he does back up if he wants more room to fight," said Cosmos.
Despite this, Titan held his ground as the two monsters charged at them.
The rest of the gang retreated to the outside of the cave while Titan elected to fight both.
Both the rhynoc and gnorc knocked him down and went after Spyro and the others.
"Don't just stand there, you long-tongued losers! Get them!" Ripto shouted.
At Ripto's command, the other gnorcs and rhynocs grabbed a bunch of swords and hammers made out of crystals from wooden boxes. To make matters more difficult, another large rhynoc and gnorc with crystal spears appeared as well and they, along with the others, surrounded Spyro and his friends.
"All right, soldiers! Prepare for battle!" commanded Sgt. Byrd.
"I am always ready! Bring it on!" exclaimed Agent 9.
"Indeed! Let us engage our foes with relentless vigor!" exclaimed Bentley before the gnorcs and rhynocs ambushed them.
"But we gotta be careful not to harm the dragonflies!" Elora pointed out..
Sheila took out a couple of gnorcs with her kicks while Bentley knocked away some rhynocs with his club and Agent 9 used his blaster and Sgt. Byrd used his missiles on them.
Spyro used his fire and ice breaths to take out a couple of gnorcs, then tripped one gnorc with his tail, and finally headbutted a rhynoc.
Gavin took out a horde of rhynocs with his tail while Titan used his ax on a few gnorcs and rhynocs, then his fire breath. One of the big rhynocs engaged him, managing to take him back a few steps, but he held his own.
Elora fought off a couple of rhynocs with punches and kicks, but then two gnorcs grabbed her. One rhynoc went to hit her in the head with a hammer, but was grabbed from behind by Cleetus who then dropped him down hard to the ground. Elora gave him a thumbs up before one of the big gnorcs threw his bow staff at him. Cleetus managed to avoid it, getting it stuck in the canyon wall before flying in towards the gnorc, but the gnorc dodged him and jump high in the air to grab the spear.
Meanwhile, Hunter pounced on a few rhynocs and knocked out a couple of gnorc with some strong kicks.
The second big rhynoc charged at Gavin who grabbed him by the horn and pushed him back. Gavin went for a punch, but the rhynoc caught him and hit him with a punch of his own.
Titan managed to push back the big rhynoc as two gnorcs ran towards him. He took both of the out with his ax and then a third one with his tail just before the big rhynoc got him with an uppercut.
Agent 9 blasted away at some more rhynocs while Sheila stomped on some with her feet and Hunter took out a few with his arrows.
Meanwhile, Zircon found himself surrounded by a group of gnorcs. "Um...hello there," he stammered. "Love what you've done with the cave. The loud machines really bring out the colors."
As the gnorcs went in, Sheila took them out with a bunch of kicks.
"The machines bring out the colors? Really, mate?" Sheila asked with a raised eyebrow.
Zircon smiled awkwardly before a rhynoc struck Sheila from behind. He did not take too kindly to this and responded by rolling into a ball and knocking the rhynoc down. "I do hate violence, but you left me no choice," he said politely before he walked up to Sheila and helped her to her feet.
Bianca tried to fend off some gnorcs with her magic, but one of them tripped her, grabbed her by the ears, swung her around and flung her in the air. Fortunately, she was caught by Spyro.
"Thanks," said Bianca.
"No problem. Maybe you should get those tied," Spyro said, pointing to Bianca's ears.
Bianca chuckled as she blushed.
Elora looked on indifferently before a rhynoc sent her flying hard into the canyon wall with a strike from his hammer.
Seeing this infuriated Spyro as he sent said rhynoc flying with a charge. But just as he was about to go to check on Elora, one of the big gnorcs grabbed and slammed him multiple times into the ground before Cleetus made the save again by charging into him. However, the rhynoc grabbed him and flung him hard into the wall.
Meanwhile, Elora was holding her back in pain as multiple gnorcs and rhynocs surrounded her. Due to the pain, she was unable to get to her feet. The gnorcs and rhynocs went in for the charge, but they were soon caught from behind with a magical blast from Bianca which caused them all to shrink to the size of mouses.
After the tiny gnorcs and rhynocs ran away, Bianca went up to Elora. "Are you OK?" she asked.
"Other than the massive back pain, I think I'll be fine," said Elora, cringing.
At Bianca's behest, Elora kept herself still while she performed her healing spell on her. Like before it didn't completely heal her, but at least her back was in less pain than before.
"Thanks," Elora said reluctantly.
A few gnorcs and rhynocs charged in towards the two, but Hunter was able to knock them back. He gave both of them a wink before going back into the battle.
This made Elora roll her eyes while Bianca just blushed.
As the battle continued, Gavin knocked a large rhynoc down with a punch. As he observed the battlefield, he began to noticed the others getting worn out. They were holding their own, but it was only a matter of time before they got outmatched. He knew at that moment, he and the others needed to focus on what was really important.
Cleetus was getting beat down by a large gnorc before Gavin knocked him away with his tail.
"Go with Spyro and the others. Me, Titan, Cosmos, and Lateef will handle things here," Gavin instructed.
"We can't leave you," Spyro protested, overhearing.
"We'll be fine! Just go!" Gavin commanded before flying off.
On Gavin's orders, Cosmos created a magic barrier which held the gnorcs and rhynocs back. Gavin then proceeded to break the container with the dragonflies, using his tail, setting them free. Lateef gathered the frantic baby dragonflies together and used a spell to lead them out of the cave and back to the ship.
The dragonflies were free and the massive gnorcs and rhynocs were held back for the moment; so, on Cleetus' orders, Spyro and the gang retreated out of the cave, lead by Zircon whom Sheila rolled out of the battlefield.
Lateef made the barrier disappear and he and the others elders continued with their struggle.
Spyro stopped and looked back incredulously as the elders continued fighting before being approached by Elora.
"Come on Spyro! Don't worry about them! They got this! Let's just go!" Elora pleaded.
Reluctantly, Spyro nodded and went with Elora and the others.
The gang was a good distance away from the battle now as not a sound could be heard, save for the drills and hammers. It was at this moment that the exhausted gang took a moment to breathe.
Though a good number of dragonflies had been freed, there were still the ones who had been used in the weapons by the gnorcs and rhynocs and Spyro and the others could only hope they could free them as well.
"Crikey! Those muscleheads almost ate us for lunch!" Sheila said.
"Indeed. While our efforts were commendable, I fear we would have eventually succumbed to their combined might," said Bentley.
"Even with Bianca's spell, I'm gonna feel this in the morning," said Elora, holding her back.
"Obviously, Ripto and the other guys aren't playing around this time," said Hunter.
"They weren't playing around before," Bianca pointed out.
"And we can't afford to do the same either!" Spyro said emphatically. "There are more dragonflies to find, so let's find them!"
"Right, but where do we start?" Cleetus pondered before turning to Zircon.
Seeing as how Zircon was a native of the island, Cleetus figured he must've known some places to search. Perhaps a few portals even.
"Why yes, Mr. Cleetus. There are a few portals around here and I know where each of them is. I could take you to one of them if you like," said Zircon.
"Could you take us to the closest one, mate?" asked Sheila.
"Certainly, Ms. Sheila," Zircon said.
The gem mole lead the gang down one of the tunnels, eventually bringing them to a portal at the end.
The portal was a unique looking one to say the least. It was covered in fire and debris with smoke coming out. Just above the entrance read the words; 'War City.'
Just from the look of the portal, the gang didn't have very positive feelings of what awaited them beyond it. But they had a mission to complete and they were gonna do it.
Spyro was the first to enter along with Elora. Bianca and Hunter were next, followed by Sheila, Sgt. Byrd, Bentley, and Agent 9; Zircon, and finally Cleetus.
And so with that, the gang entered the first world of Illica, not sure of what to expect, but ready to face it.