It seemed as though a large portion of the villains' plan had managed to work as they were able to separate almost all of the elders from the group. They watched in satisfaction from the castle as the remaining elders were just barely holding their own against their soldiers.
The Sorceress puffed her chest with her nose held high in the air. "What did I tell you, Ripto? Delicious warthogs ripe for the picking," she boasted.
Ripto couldn't help but be a little impressed which he expressed with a slight smirk.
Gnasty however, was indifferent about the situation. "Um, but what about the other elder? He's still with the dragon," he pointed out.
"Don't worry your thick head about, Gnasty. With four less meddlesome elder to think about, Spyro and the others will be easy pickings," the Sorceress responded.
"But it doesn't hurt to have a little insurance policy just in case," Ripto said before he snapped his fingers. "Crush! Gulp!"
And almost as if on cue, Ripto's two cohorts; Crush and Gulp appeared before him and the other two, though not in the most dignified of ways as they rolled into a pile, fighting over a piece of cake, much to Ripto's annoyance.
"Boss! Gulp is hogging the last piece of cake!" Crush whined.
"I saw it first!" Gulp whined back.
With a growl, Ripto kicked the cake out of Crush's hand. The two stopped their arguing as a result and stood still, trembling before their master.
"Forget about the cake, you muscle-brained morons! I have a job for you," Ripto said.
Upon their master's command, Crush and Gulp headed on their way to the portal to War City.
"Hmph, they're like two massive children...much like I was with mother," the Sorceress observed with a chuckle.
Sand, sand, and more sand. That was all Spyro and the gang saw in the vast, lifeless desert that seemed to go on forever. As much, they experienced it first hand as gusts of sands blasted across their faces. Luckily, they had Cleetus' massive body to act as a shield.
What didn't help was the immense heat, especially for someone with as much fur as Bentley.
Hunter seemed to have the worst of it as he lay on the desert ground, looking up with his hand reaching out to the hot sun. "The heat...the sweltering heat...I can't go on...getting dark...and hot...tell Bianca...I love her..." he said before fainting.
Bianca and Elora stood over Hunter, looking at each other, sighing with annoyance, before looking back to him.
"Hunter, stop being melodramatic," Elora said.
"We've only been here 7 minutes," said Bianca.
Hunter quickly opened his eyes in response. "Oh, hehe...felt like eight," he said.
Bianca sighed again before taking Hunter's hand and helping him up.
"Hunter, stop fooling around," Spyro said, walking up to him. "We gotta find someway out of this desert."
"I'd help ya if I could, but I'm a swamp dragon, not a desert dragon," said Cleetus.
Agent 9 popped his head out of the sand, much like a mole, looking for any sign of civilization. "Nothing here...nothing here...nothing here...or here, or here, or here, or here, or here, OR HERE!" he exclaimed.
Sheila turned to Zircon. "Any ideas how we can get out of here, Zirc?" she asked.
"Afraid not, Ms. Sheila. This is actually the first time I've been to this world," said Zircon.
Even though Cleetus didn't know his way around the desert, he did have an idea as he looked to Sgt. Byrd. "Hey bird!" he called.
"Yes, sir!" Byrd responded.
"Think you can fly up and see if there's anything ahead?" Cleetus asked.
"Indeed, sir! Can do!" Byrd exclaimed.
At Cleetus' request, Byrd flew up and around the desert, looking for signs of life. At first, he didn't find anything, looking to the north and east sides, so he then decided to go west. After a bit of flying, he discovered what looked like the silhouette of some skyscrapers and other buildings. It appeared as though there was a city ahead which was a huge relief for him and the others.
Byrd returned to Spyro and the gang to deliver the information, much to the delight of all of them.
"Excellent work, Mr. Byrd!" said Zircon.
"Indeed! Your efforts have proven most efficacious," said Bentley.
Byrd bowed in respects to his friend's compliments.
A city meant of course there was life which could also mean a chance at finding some dragonflies, including Sparx, so this was of course good news to all of them.
What was not good news to them was what they soon encountered on their way to the city. From a massive dust of the desert wind, multiple silhouettes approached them, accompanied by the sound of revving engines,
The gang stood their ground with Hunter holding onto Bianca and Agent 9 holding up his blaster.
Soon, the silhouettes surrounded them, circling them.
Bentley and Sheila prepared themselves while Zircon hid behind Sheila, trembling.
After the dust finally cleared, the figures, who were in fact riding on motorcycles, removed their helmets and revealed themselves.
They appeared to be a gang, four of them in total, consisting of anthropomorphic reptiles; a red viper with bright yellow eyes and a green mo-hawk; a purple cobra with yellow spiky hair; the biggest member, a light brown Gila monster; and a light blue frog with black spots wearing dark sunglasses.
They were all wearing black leather jackets with metal spikes, blue jeans, and black boots.
"I have a feeling this might be the welcoming crew," Hunter said nervously.
"And strangely, I don't feel welcome," said Bianca, holding out her wand.
Spyro growled and trembled as the frog got off his motorcycle and took off his sunglasses, approaching him with a slight smirk.
"So...unless my eyes are deceiving me, you seem to be...a purple dragon. Am I right?" the frog said in a low voice.
"Yeah...what of i-" Spyro asked before immediately being grabbed by the frog.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! An actual purple dragon! I can't believe it!" the frog exclaimed swinging Spyro around. "Ever since I was a little tadpole, my mom told me stories about the legendary purple dragon, but low and behold, I am in the present of an actual purple dragon! EEEEEEEE!"
After putting down Spyro, the frog jumped up and down like a giddy schoolgirl, much to the annoyance of his fellow gang members.
"Sorry about him. We told him to keep his composure. He's a, lore enthusiast," the' viper said.
"To sssay the least," the cobra said.
The frog composed himself, straightening his jacket and putting his sunglasses back on. "So...what is a dragon doing here?" he quickly said.
Spyro raised an eyebrow before answering, introducing himself and the others and telling them about their mission and the gang immediately knew what the dragon and his friends were referring to.
The gang then each introduced themselves.
First was the purple cobra, who upon seeing Elora, hurried over to her and took her by the hand, much to Spyro's displeasure, "I'm Sssspike Tooth. Pleasure to make your acquaintansssssse," he said.
"Um...thank you?" Elora said uncertain how to feel of Spike Tooth's obvious advancing.
Next was the viper who rolled his eyes at Spike Tooth with a groan of slight annoyance. "I'm Slither. How ya doin?" he said abruptly, crossing his arms.
Sheila hopped over to the Gila monster to introduce herself. "Hey there, mate. Name's Sheila," she said waving to him.
There was no response from the Gila monster who just sat on his motorcycle, stoic and silent. Sheila tried again with the same results, then a third time, but still nothing. So she then tried giving him a light tap on the chest, which did get a reaction, but not the kind she expected as the big hulking reptile immediately cowered behind his motorcycle. She was taken back a bit, but then went over to see if he was OK.
The shivering Gila monster stammered, trying to introduce himself until Slither intervened.
"He's Dirtbag," Slither said again abruptly.
"Sorry, he's a little shy," said the frog.
Spyro, turned his attention away from Spike Tooth for a moment and turned to the frog. "So, Mr. Dragon fanboy, who are you?" he asked sharply.
The frog answered, "Name's Toadstool. And you can call us, Cold Blooded!"
With the introduction out of the way, the four bikers did a group pose in front of Spyro and his friends.
"Yeah..." Spyro said, unimpressed. "Did you see a golden dragonfly by any chance? Goes by the name of Sparx?"
Neither Toadstool nor any of his gang could recall any dragonfly by that name, which was disheartening to Spyro.
Suddenly, the sounds of explosives could be hear coming from the city, which made Hunter jump into Bianca's arms.
"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else," Toadstool suggested. "Hey, you guys hungry?"
As if on cue, Cleetus' stomach growled immensely, followed by Hunter's, Agent 9's, Bentley's and most of the gang.
"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes'" said Slither.
Toadstool and his fellow gang members escorted Spyro and his friends through the desert, lending them all helmets to keep the sand out of their eyes.
Eventually, they came to what looked like a small roadside cafe. It was rather grungy looking, like it could collapse at any moment, with broken windows and a front door that was slanted at the side. Above in bright red letters read the words, 'Big Nasty's.' The 'Y' in the word 'nasty's' broke off and fell.
"Well, here we are," said Toadstool.
"This is a place to get food?" Elora asked in disbelief.
"Trusssst usss. You're gonna love it," said Spike Tooth, again holding Elora's hand.
Spyro walked in between the two. "Ugh! Can we just go in already?!" he groaned.
The two gangs headed inside and suffice to say, the inside didn't look any better than the outside.
The floor had cracks as far as the eye could see, the furniture was covered from head to toe in dust and the cafe itself was barely lit by the dim bulbs, some of which flickered nonstop.
Spyro and the most of the gang cringed at the sight of the unkempt cafe, though Cleetus was indifferent.
Toadstool directed them to the counter and they all took a seat on a stool.
Bianca flinched as she felt something on her right hand. She turned to see what looked like a gooey green substance that stuck to it. "Eww! What is this?!" she asked.
"That's mucus," Slither said bluntly.
Bianca flailed in disgust, trying to get the substance off of her.
Toadstool turned to the source of the mucus, a black leather wearing goat. "Billy! What did we say about sneezing on the table?!" he said.
"This eating establishment does not appear to have the most radiant of presentations," said Bentley.
"Say what?" Toadstool asked, confused.
"It's GROSS!" Bianca shouted.
"Yeah. We get that a lot...until they try the food," said a voice.
From out of the kitchen doors came the proprietor of the cafe; a large navy blue hippo wearing a white apron that read, 'Big Nasty,' who approached the two gangs at the counter.
"Let me guess, you're Big Nasty?" Spyro asked rhetorically.
"You know, everybody figures that out right away without an introduction. How is that?" the hippo asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah it's a mystery alright," Slither and Elora said sarcastically.
Big Nasty jovially greeted Cold Blooded as well as Spyro and his friends. Cold Blooded were routine visitors to the cafe and some of his favorite customers.
"So what'll ya have today, boys?" Big Nasty asked.
"Give us the special and our new friends too," said Toadstool.
"One Big Nasty burger comin' up!" Big Nasty exclaimed before rushing back into the kitchen.
"Big Nasty burger? I don't like the sound of that," Hunter whispered to Spyro through gritted teeth.
In no time at all, Big Nasty returned with a huge tray of burgers and presented them to the two gangs.
"Tada! If I do say so myself," Big Nasty with a chuckle.
Spyro and the others got a good look at the burgers.
They were medium in size. In addition to the standard patty, they had cheese, onion rings, chili, bacon and a sunny side up egg. The greasy yolk of the fried egg ran down the burgers, mixing in with the chili.
Elora gave the burgers a sniff and wasn't too keen on the smell.
Bianca was grossed out by how messy the burgers were.
"These look like a heart attack waiting to happen," Bianca whispered to Elora.
"No kidding," Elora whispered back.
"Hey, don't knock it till ya try it," Hunter said. He tried to be optimistic even though he himself did not care for the appearance of the burger which began bubbling.
Zircon held his mouth, trying to hold back the urge to vomit, but kept his composure so as not to be rude.
Cleetus wasn't too bothered. In addition to the cafe, the look of the burger wasn't anything compared to the Beast Makers world where warthogs took baths in swamp water, so this wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.
Agent 9 poked at his burger. "Uh, guys, I think mine moved," he said.
Suffice to say, the food, like the cafe was none too appealing to most of the crew, save for Cold Blooded who practically lived there. Once Toadstool and his gang got their burgers, they immediately began scarfing them down.
Spyro and the others watched in disgust as their mouths became covered with chili, cheese, and egg yolk.
Unable to take it anymore, Zircon shivered and twitched until he finally asked Big Nasty where the restroom was.
Big Nasty directed him in the direction of two doors down to the right and Zircon immediately rushed in.
"Guess he was too full," Toadstool surmised before taking Zircon's burger. "Oh well, more for me!"
Cold Blooded seem to like the food, but Spyro and the gang were still hesitant.
"Come on, fellas! It won't bite. Unless you bite it," Big Nasty teased with a hefty chuckle.
Finally, Cleetus decided to give it a shot. With both hands, he grabbed the burger and lifted it up from the plate. The chili and yolk dripped off his hands as he inched it closer and closer to his mouth. He opened up and gave it a bite.
Suddenly, a sensation like nothing he had ever felt before overcame him. His taste buds exploded from the immense flavor. Never in all his life had he ever tasted something like this.
"Wow! That is good!" he exclaimed.
Immediately, Cleetus opened his mouth wider and gulped down the rest of the burger.
Big Nasty smiled at the sight another satisfied customer.
Seeing this, Spyro and the gang were the next to try them. One by one, they all took a bite and no sooner after they took that first bite that they also began gobbling theirs down.
Big Nasty welled up with pride in his work. At Cleetus' request, he made him another burger which Cleetus' swallowed in one bite.
"Delicious!" Cleetus' exclaimed. "After this dragonfly business is over, I gotta come back here!'
"Ditto!" said Hunter.
"Agreed!" Elora and Bianca said.
"Why thank you, friends. I'm just happy to see satisfied faces," Big Nasty exclaimed.
As Spyro looked across the counter, seeing everyone enjoying themselves, a smile came across his face. Despite the unappealing atmosphere, it was nice to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a meal, especially after being in the hot desert. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of Sparx and the time they took time and relaxed together, whether it was on the beach at Dragon Shores or just looking up at the stars in Dark Hollow.
"Big Nasty is the best cook in all of War City," said Toadstool.
"Aw, ya flatter me, Toadstool," Big Nasty said, blushing.
"It's true. Big Nasty's never made a bad thing in his life," said Slither.
"In the kitchen, he'ssss a genius," said Spike Tooth.
Dirtbag nodded in agreement.
Big Nasty's face turned beet red. "Ah shucks!" he said before his face turned to a more serious tone. "Though lately, I haven't been able to share my genius with as many people as I would like. Thanks to them gnorcs and rhy-nercs,"
"So they're here too," Spyro said, unsurprised.
"Yessss," said Spike Tooth.
"They came here a few days ago. They've taken over the entire city and captured all the citizens," said Slither.
Dirtbag quivered his lips, almost to the point of tears. "And they're just...just...not nice..." he whimpered.
Slither patted him on the shoulder to calm him down.
"Yeah, thanks to those guys, I've had fewer customers than normal," said Big Nasty.
"Well don't you worry, we'll toast those jerks, no sweat!" said Spyro.
"Big sweat," Toadstool retorted. "They're large in numbers and they've got the whole city covered from top to bottom."
"One sssstep inssside and you're asss good asss dead," Spike Tooth added.
Just then, Big Nasty slapped a hand on the counter and gave a confident smile to both groups. "True, but why step... when you can ride?" he said.
Spyro and the gang and Cold Blooded eyed each other confused.
Big Nasty walked over to the kitchen doors, opened them, and motioned for them to follow him.
Admittedly, Toadstool wasn't sure what was on Big Nasty's mind, but he was curious. He'd known him long enough to know he was a nice enough guy, so there was no reason to think anything else. With that thought in mind, he and the rest of Cold Blooded went inside.
Though hesitant at first, Spyro and the others followed behind. As they went inside, Zircon popped out of the restroom holding a towel.
"Mr. Nasty, your lavender scented towels are simply breathtaking!" Zircon exclaimed. "Hey, where'd everybody go?"