Hello people, Theodore the poet here, and this is the new chapter to my recent fanfic of The four brave dragons, where Spyro, and Sparx aren't alone in this fanfic, which is a retelling of his PS1 trilogy as well as the reignited trilogy, where he instead has Flame, Cynder, and Ember following him too along with their own dragonflies. If anybody was looking for a fanfic that has a story like this, well this fanfic is for you.
Before I get this started though, I'm doing something I didn't do before. A Q&A section in this story as well as the future chapters of my other stories, simply so I could show my responses to the review questions to my readers.
tl34lt12: Thank you for the compliment, and I hope that this won't disappoint.
And that's what Elora's gonna be for Spyro and his friends. A cool big sis for Spyro that is funny, snarky, and playful, yet supportive and willing to risk her life for him like a sister would. (If he had a sister.) And sure, she would love Spyro too alongside Cynder, but she knows that they're too different in species to be romantically together.
(And the rule of interspecies… baby making that happened in Shrek, doesn't really apply here.)
D.J. Scales: And I hope to not disappoint.
Finally, disclaimer: This is only a non profit fan based story. Spyro the dragon is created by insomniac games, and is currently owned by activision, and toys for bob. Please support the official releases.
and now onto the story.
Chapter 2 Peace Keeper adventures
"Home sweet home, eh Guys?" Spyro asked his dragon friends.
"Yeah bro, it's nice to be here again." Flame responded.
"Except this time, we're here for an important reason." Cynder said smiling.
"And I hope it's the second step to become heroes, so I can impress Sp- I mean, so we can become legends, like the other dragons before us." Ember said, embarrassed about her near slip up.
Which fortunately for her, they ignored, as they just reached their destination after a day of traveling by balloon.
The Peace Keepers home world.
As Astor lectured to Spyro and the other whelps, The Peace Keepers were a more warriorlike pride of dragons. Who were basically the more physically stronger bunch, as well as the more stronger in breathing fire. And why not, since they were trained for battle from the moment they are old enough to do so. The reason being is that they fought any strong Gnorc and any other foe that comes their way. Even the more cunning and evil of the dragons from the other worlds weren't safe from their wrath. Even if they are a Peace Keeper dragon themselves.
They even took out a short wizard of unknown origin alongside his dinosaurs, who recently disappeared with them for some reason, at least according to the rumors in the Artisan world, whom Spyro didn't meet yet but he's sure he's evil.
What Spyro knows is that the Peace Keepers are basically what it says in their memo. They basically are dragons that keep the peace in the war torn battlegrounds that they live in. And they do that, by giving a reason to the other battlers, of why they shouldn't fight them on their turf as well as preventing a fight happening between them, and the beasts of this world, as well as slaying them and the Gnorcs that try to attack them. And on rare occasions, when they start teaming up to fight the Peace Keeper dragons together like what happened with the mentioned short wizard. Basically intimidating the Gnorcs and other bad beasts with their strength and fire, and their skills in slaying their toughest foes. They aren't being bad dragons, since the beasts are usually chaotic bad guys and the Gnorcs were loyal to Gnasty and attacked them first, they just merely prove to the other worlds why they are the dragons that they shouldn't mess with. Especially to the Gnorcs.
However, they were currently trapped in Crystal, if the Crystal dragon in front of them was any tell tale sign. So they ended up releasing that dragon, whom happened to be Titan, the General and Chief of the Peace Keepers. Who was a muscular yellow scaled dragon with leopardlike spots on him, while also having a purple mohawk as well as a beard and a tail tuft, wearing shoulder guards with a spike on them as well as a kusazuri, and a red scarf on his neck, while also having medals on his chest, and epaulettes. He is holding a battle axe as his weapon, which Spyro knew is his favorite weapon in battle.
He was briefly looking around growling like he was in the middle of battle when he got frozen, until he saw Spyro and his friends, and ended up calming down at that. "Welcome back to the Peace Keepers world Spyro and friends, I didn't think you'd all be here again at a time like this. Look around and see how our treasure has been stolen, and turned against us." He said with some venom at the last part. "Please recover our treasure Spyro and friends." He pleaded.
"Way ahead of you Titan." Spyro said smiling with his friends.
"We were collecting treasure before we arrived here. And that's what we're doing now." Flame said.
That had Titan smiling at them in relief. "Thank you little ones. I knew that you all would make fine dragon soldiers regardless, especially you Spyro." He said, before he ran out of the room of the cave, twirling his battle axe like a baton, ready for battle.
After collecting some gems in the room, Spyro and his friends left the room to see the desert of the home world of the Peace Keepers. Basically looking like a battle just took place there. With some now yellow skin toned Gnorcs celebrating their victory by using cannons, making sure the cannonballs land in their breeches, while some of them danced as they wielded spears for fighting, and even some tents were set up for supplies or hiding in, which they believed was gonna be the latter.
Then they saw Titan fighting some of the Gnorcs with his battle axe, and he was currently winning the fight with his axe and fire breath. And why not, Titan was known as the General and Chief of the Peace Keepers dragon army for a good reason, and he was the dreaded among the Gnorcs that he fought, alongside Trondo, Gunnar, Magnus, and Ulric among some others. And it shows, since the Gnorcs were not really fighting too hard, and instead were running away from him. And even running and hiding in tents.
Which Spyro and his friends ended up burning down to show the cowardly Gnorcs shaking in their soldier uniforms in fear of their wrath… At least until Spyro and his friends turned around to face Titan and see his approving look, then they turned again to see that the Gnorcs ended up mooning them. Causing all four of the dragons to end up shocked at that, while Titan felt amused yet irritated at how childish the mooning was. Although Spyro and Flame had to admit to themselves that it was pretty funny, both Ember and Cynder was offended by that as they all flamed the Gnorcs that did that as revenge.
"Be sure to free more of us little ones! I'll take them from here!" Titan called out as he continued to battle the Gnorcs.
Spyro and his friends didn't need to be told that twice, for they soon proceeded to not only battle some of the Gnorcs, but also look for the other trapped Peace Keeper dragons, and look for the Gems in the Peace Keeper realms, so that they won't be turned into Gnorcs as well.
Then they saw two other Crystal dragons that was wobbling, which had them releasing the dragons, who is Magnus and Gunnar. Magnus was a rotund built dragon who was a reddish-orange color in his scales, with a yellow underbelly, with several spikes around his body, like he was a horned lizard, or thorny devil dragon, also having dark wings with red stripes in a wavy pattern, with spikes that resembles a topknot, and his horns looked like mighty spires that were wide in diameter and pointy. He was wearing a necklace that looked like a Yokozuna's rope that held a Ruby colored egg shaped stone, while also having the same rope belt that held up his metal straps like a sumo wrestler's loin cloth.
He was among the Peace Keeper dragons that was the dreaded among the Gnorcs, simply for the reason that he was dangerous in combat, while he was one of the few dragons that didn't wield a weapon and instead, he used his bare hands for the job. Which impressed the other dragons after seeing him in action. Where he used his weight and build to his advantage, using a fighting style that was said to be a sumo wrestler's stance. Wrestling even the toughest Gnorcs to the ground and using his belly to the best effect, and his palm strikes could shatter a large stone in one strike too.
He also happens to be one of the dragons other than Titan, Gunnar, Ragnar, and Trondo, who took Spyro and his friends under their wing ever since the first time that they snuck their way to the Peace Keeper realms in search for adventure. Which led to them becoming tutors for the four dragons, two of which are Artisans, one Dream Weaver, and one Magic crafter type of dragons, teaching them all things that the Peace Keepers were known for,
…which is the 'art of the fight'.
It's no wonder why Spyro liked to be around to witness Magnus when he sees him fight his enemies. Finding him to be important to his life alongside Trondo, Titan, Gunnar, and even his father Nestor.
The same could be said about the mentioned dragons, in Flame, Cynder, and Ember's point of view.
And Gunnar was lime green scaled, who has spots all over his scales and has a large head crest. He wears a pair of belts that were crisscrossed on his hips, and a necklace that holds a blue gem on it, and he also wears an eyepatch over his left eye. What makes him special among the Peace Keepers, is the fact that he happens to have sharp teeth that gives him a skeletal appearance on his face, which makes him intimidating at least for the Gnorcs. His wings happen to be tattered, and he has a mentioned eyepatch on him which gave him a weathered soldier look.
But despite his weathered look, he still got it even at his current age. Being a veteran fighter of the Peace Keeper dragons, he was also among the dreaded towards the Gnorcs because of the fact that he not only can kick a lot of Gnorc ass, but he also looks quite intimidating for his uncommon skeletal appearance resulting from his birth and some battle damage that he suffered on the battlefield. Including the one battle that damaged his left eye, and had him wearing the eyepatch ever since. Nevertheless, he is still a combatant that no Gnorc would fight, and escape from unscathed.
Something that had Spyro finding him to be one of his favorites among the Peace Keepers.
"I see that your dragonflies are doing a good job protecting you all. Be sure to keep them strong by feeding them lots of butterflies." He said as he lifted his belly in a bouncing motion, before Gunnar then spoke to them.
"And well done, all of you. Especially you Spyro, keep it up and I know that you'll fulfill your destinies." He said proudly.
"Destines? We're just here to collect treasure, and beat Gnorc as-"
"Just keep torching your enemies and collecting treasure!" Gunnar ordered, stopping him from arrogantly boasting.
"YES SIR!" Spyro and his friends called out while saluting Gunnar. Before he and Magnus ended up joining Titan in fighting off the Gnorcs, who continued to try to run from both of them. Which Spyro and his friends made sure to remember that advice, as they felt that their journey got more fun.
But they also know that it won't be too easy from here on out as well. If their fight against Toasty was any indication.
Which is why this time, Spyro and his friends decided to do a little teaming up, and go into the Peace Keeper worlds as a duo. With Spyro and Ember going to the Dry Canyon Realm, while Cynder and Flame goes to the Cliff Town Realm. Then both dragons would go to the next worlds once they're done with the first worlds, before reuniting together for the boss.
Entering the Dry Canyon world, both Spyro and Ember ended up looking at the titular desert canyon with interest. Sure it wasn't a beautiful place as they both find the Artisans world as too beautiful, but the Peace Keepers had their own beauties in their desert Realms. Particularly with their forts. Which made the worlds of the Peace Keepers beautiful in their own way. It didn't really need to be like the Artisans to be beautiful.
"I'd never thought that it could be here, that we'd have our time together." She said.
"Neither did I Ember, neither did I." Spyro said back.
Ember blushed and smiled nonetheless, at the fact that Spyro was by her side. Feeling glad that she's the first to be at Spyro's side on this journey when they split up into duos. "We should have an anniversary of our times together on this journey. I don't think that Dry Canyon would be a necessary place to return to for our date though." She thought.
While they walked through Dry Canyon, they ended up seeing a blue thief taunting them with an egg in his hands. "Those guys again!?" He said confused and annoyed. He still isn't fond of the thieves due to their taunting, and the fact that they seemed to be connected to his parents disappearing. Which is why he still isn't fond of them at this point.
Then he heard a noise of what sounds like a whistling tea kettle sounding behind him, only to then see a fast moving shape of red and pink moving past him as it chased after the now horrified thief around the corner. As well as seeing a lemon yellow dragonfly following it with buzzing noises of nervousness. Which had him feeling a little shiver up his spine when he knew that it was Ember, who happened to be taking the thief's jab towards Spyro pretty poorly. The fact that she screamed "GET BACK HERE YOU BLUE BASTARD!" Just confirmed it.
"Note to self, don't tick off Ember." Spyro said to his dragonfly. With Sparx buzzing in agreement.
Then he saw a Crystal dragon on an elevated flat rocky platform. Which had Spyro deciding to free the dragon while Ember is busy with the thief. Once the dragon figure broke, out came Conan the lancer dragon. Who happened to be Titan's right hand dragon. He was also yellow scaled with an underbelly that had a blue color in the middle, while also having blue colors on his wings and his tuft on the tip of his tail. He wore a barber's basin for a helmet, a collar piece that is colored red, and some boots with the front parts cut off, as well as some belts. He wielded a shield, and a lance that had an arrowhead at the tip, with a thinner extended part connected to it, that ended up zig zagging to the tip, likely bent that way due to repeated battles. Nevertheless it was still useful to Conan.
He looked around the other way seeing if there are more Gnorcs, then he saw Spyro, and calmed down before standing straight with his lance. "Thank you for releasing me. I could've done more if I wasn't frozen, but hey hoo. Do you need help?"
"No thanks, I just might need you for something else though. You see, a friend of mine has an egg and in a few minutes..."
"Here I am!" Ember said in a sing song tone, causing Spyro to turn to her direction to see a satisfied Ember trotting merrily to him and Conan with an egg in her pocket and with Starr flying next to her. Obviously gained from the thief that he knew could've been clobbered, and incinerated by her for the taunt for all he cared.
Either way, Spyro was relieved that he was not that thief right now. As was Sparx.
"Or… maybe right now. Anyways I was curious if you are gonna help guard this egg for us." Spyro said as Ember handed the egg over to Conan.
"Ah! Okay dear friend. None shall touch this egg. That is, unless they're another guardian for this egg. I can guarantee it." Conan said before he flew to a safer place for the egg.
Spyro and Ember continued though the canyon fighting against the mean vultures and Gnorcs… who happened to be using some other vultures as clubs to flatten them with. Which had both of them laughing at that, finding it to be humorous as well as reminding them of the low capacity for intelligence that the Gnorcs have. After all, the Gnorcs could've had a different weapon to take like a big log, or a rock club, but they chose the vultures as the weapon. And that's just plain silly.
Which does seem slightly odd that the other vultures aren't resenting the Gnorcs for using some of them as clubs, or that they seem to hate the dragons too much to care about that. Either way, that ain't changing the fact that they're taking out any enemy in their path. And Spyro seems to be doing a good job at it as he charged and torched the Vultures, and the Gnorcs. Though Ember is pulling some of her weight too.
"Wow Spyro, you don't mess around in combat, do ya?" Ember said in amazement of Spyro taking out the vultures and Gnorc.
"Well, I did see myself as more of a Peace Keeper dragon than an Artisan, regardless of my birth there." He said smiling at her.
After all, despite being Artisan by birth, he felt himself more akin to a Peace Keeper dragon by his personality quirks. Sure he admired running through the Artisan worlds like Stone Hill, or Nevin's castle that they took back from Toasty, and he always admired the art that his people made, but he felt more at home in the Peace Keeper realms, thanks to his 'shoot first, ask questions later.' sort of trait that made him feel like he doesn't really fit in with his more good-hearted and laidback dragon folk in the Artisans. Which is the sort of trait that the Peace Keeper dragons expect and approve of on the battlefield.
Besides, every dragon does seem to admire the art of the Artisans, from the Peace Keepers to the Dream Weavers dragons. Even the relatively barbaric Beast Maker dragons likes their art. Which says a lot about their standards.
Nevertheless, Ember felt more proud, than intimidated by Spyro's prowess in combat. Feeling that someday, she could impress him with her own abilities in slaying Gnorcs.
Though she also felt a little envious of Spyro's skills, and felt glum that she ain't as skilled as he is.
"I just hope that I can pull more of my weight in fighting Gnorcs with you." She said feeling hopeful yet feeling glum too.
That had Spyro feeling a little shocked at what she said. "You mean, you couldn't pull your own weight compared to me?"
"Well you seem to be better at flaming Gnorcs compared to me. So..."
"Then don't stop trying to torch them too, and keep going." Spyro said, much to Ember's surprise.
"B-but Spyro, y-you seem to have the Gnorcs handled, so-"
"I know. It looks like I might not need help. But even if I don't need help, I would like some company in flaming Gnorcs with. After all, it's more fun with a buddy doing that with me." Spyro said smiling at her. "Besides, you're not doing bad yourself. How many Gnorcs do you remember taking out?"
"Umm… three or four?"
"Good. So chin up, take that as your first step to get better. And someday I might have an equal in you, and Cynder and Flame. And who knows, we're gonna have a fun time in the future." He said smiling.
That had Ember smiling back at him, feeling that he's right. She may be outmatched for now, but she knows that she may impress him with her skill and training one day. Regardless of her upbringing in the Dream Weavers.
But right now, she had to follow Spyro's lead as she followed him through Dry Canyon and collected the gems with him.
All of a sudden, they ended up seeing a pair of Crystal dragon statues when they got to the return home Podium. One was out of reach and high on a cliff, and another was closer and took only going up the steps to get to it. Spyro ended up having to think about how to get to the high cliff that had the Crystal dragon statue on it, while Ember also wondered how to glide to that place too, let alone climb up to it.
"Any ideas Spyro?" Ember asked, curious about what's going through his head.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Just a sec." He said as he let the gears turn in his head on how to reach that place. Running his mind through the canyon to look for the high enough place to glide to the dragon from.
But for now, he had to free the one in reach. So he did, and released Boris the wrangling dragon, who had dark grey horns (One of which was broken to where he has only half of it on his head.), two large teeth on his jaw, also having a necklace that acted like a metal collar with a bell on it, while having bracelets on his ankles and wrists and he held a rope. He was yellow scaled with dark spots on his back and shoulders, and he has a rattlesnake's tail on him too.
Which is what gave him the nickname, 'The rattlesnake dragon.', as well as 'Venom breath.' due to the common knowledge of rattlesnakes being poisonous. Not that he minded.
"Thanks for releasing me Spyro, now I can continue wrangling Gnorcs and sending them packing. By the way, Dry canyon rewards good gliders. You're both good gliders, eh Spyro and Ember?" He asked in a challenging tone.
Spyro looked at him like he told a lame joke, while Ember felt a tiny bit offended, but she knew better than to fight and make enemies of the Peace Keeper dragons like him at her current strength. Besides, they are good friends too. "I was, born to glide!" He exclaimed, challenging him back. Much to the amusement of Boris, who flew to fight the big Gnorcs with his green fire breath, which was named 'Poisonous fire.' due to green, as well as purple colors being associated with poison.
Before he did though, he ended up telling Spyro that he's gonna save some Gnorcs for him to take on, much to his excitement.
Then he heard Ember getting his attention as she glided to the cave to his left, causing him to quickly follow her there by gliding too. Once in, they ended up making short work of the rock firing, musket toting Gnorc while getting the gems inside. Then they both ended up getting out where they ended up seeing that they could glide from where they are to the archway, leading to the end to glide from to the cave leading to the other section of the dry canyon, if they glide to the right.
It was where Spyro got an idea of what to do for the Crystal dragon on the high place. So he ended up angling himself to the left, and jumped and glided while keeping himself hugging the walls, with Ember behind him since she wondered what he's doing. Then once he saw the high cliff that he was looking for, he then saw that there was also a part of the cliff that was lowered down and flat, like it was a platform for Spyro to land on. Which he did before climbing up to the curved walkway that curved towards the cliff that held the Crystal dragon statue, now ready to be smashed.
Which he proceeded to do, to release Maximos the Warhammer wielder, who was another roundly built dragon similar to Magnus. He was a yellow scaled dragon that wore leather and fur studded chest harness with a stone buckle. He has an x scar on his neck, and he carries a stone war hammer as his weapon of choice. He also unfortunately has small wings that is barely seen from the front, but that didn't really bother him.
Maximos was a fighting dragon if that war hammer was any indication, and he had a similar round rotund build to Magnus, but he wasn't as feared as him as well as others, nor did he use his bare hands. He also didn't really fight a lot nor did he train a lot, and instead he also had a side job as a chef of the Peace Keepers. With his main dish and delicacies being vultures, which he finds as his favorite food to eat, as well as to serve to the Peace Keepers.
Which the other Peace Keeper dragons, agrees with him on. Finding him to be a good chef, as well as a decent fighter in his own right. But nothing to write home about.
"Incredible glide, Spyro and Ember. I thought I'd be stuck here forever with those ugly vultures on my head. Especially with the droppings, blech." He quietly said the last part, much to Spyro's confusion. "Those birds might look tough, but they're pretty tasty. Flame broiled, with a pinch of salt…" He continued to say while he decided to fly away.
All while that was going on, Ember was staring at Spyro in shock. Which he ended up noticing and ended up wondering why she stared.
Eventually Ember was able to ask. "H-how… did you…" She tried to ask.
"Trust my instincts, take a deep breath, and imagine the possibilities." He said, remembering what his father taught him. Remembering his lessons in droves, regardless of how boring they felt.
It was at this point that both Spyro and Ember had a similar thought in their heads.
"Maybe I'm/he's more Artisan than I thought."
*Later*
On the other section of the Dry Canyon, after they ended up finding a key on one of the spires that had a flat top, they now walked their way through the cave reaching the other end where they end up seeing a building with a Crystal dragon statue inside.
Which Ember ended up touching to have it shatter to release Ivor the bomb making Peace Keeper dragon. He was a greyish pink scaled dragon with a grey underbelly, who was bottom heavy and elderly, with patched up damaged wings which was purple colored, which is also the color of his horns. He wore an aviator hat with goggles and gloves and he had a vulture's ruff around his neck. And he carried a black spherical bomb on his hands.
He was known as the bomb making dragon as well as the bomber of the Peace Keeper army, who, before Spyro was born, was famous among the Peace Keepers for risking his life to drop and throw explosives at the weak points of the large beasts of the Peace Keeper world, and infamous among Gnorcs as the dragon that dropped bombs on a crowd of them, which gave him the nickname among Peace Keepers as the 'baron of booms', and as the 'pink explosion of doom' among the Gnorcs. And he still got it even at his old age.
"Is that you, Spyro? Ember? And I'm guessing you have two more friends?"
"Yep, it's us, and Flame and Cynder are in a different world rescuing dragons too." Ember said while Spyro smiled.
Ivor smiled back at them. "Ever since all of you were wee puffs of smoke, we've known…"
"You've known…" Spyro said.
"Ah… I forgot." Ivor finally said. Which caused a face fault courtesy of both Ember and Spyro.
After getting up, Spyro and Ember ended up feeling annoyed at the senility of Ivor, but didn't complain. "Well just in case you remember, be sure to tell us." Spyro said as he and Ember got out of the building and to the higher parts of the cliff.
Where little did they know, Ivor sneezed and accidentally ignited the wick and arming the bomb due to his fire. With his quick thinking, he ran out of the building, then ended up throwing the bomb off the cliff causing it to explode harmlessly on the way down the cliff, despite making a loud boom.
Causing Spyro and Ember to stop in place with a start, before they would glide to the higher parts of the cliff from the building. "Did ya hear something?" Spyro asked casually as Ember looked around looking for the source of the loud boom, before just shrugging at Spyro. "Then let's go get more treasure." He said before he and Ember glided to the section that leads back to the main section, as well as high enough for them to glide to the wide flat rock spire in the distance to open the chest, then continue on through dry canyon.
*Meanwhile*
Cynder and Flame was exiting the main building of the Cliff Town as they looked around at the surprisingly nice looking town that seems to have not suffered any battle damage so far. Which isn't surprising to them since Cliff Town is the stomping ground of the Peace Keeper dragons as well as a sort of lounge for those that wants to take a break from the fighting for a bit. So they'd never expect any battle damage to Cliff Town.
What they did expect though, was that there would be Gnorcs in Cliff Town since the dragons were frozen. Like the metal poncho cape wearing pueblo Gnorcs like the one that they charged through just seconds after they entered Cliff Town, as well as most bizarrely, a big momma Gnorc that was near a cauldron mixing something in it. Which had both Cynder and Flame wondering what was being mixed in the cauldron.
Nevertheless, they had to find out by taking out the big momma Gnorc. So they both charged at the big momma Gnorc with Cynder breathing fire on the big Gnorc… as the Gnorc slapped Flame and sent him flying after he rammed into its chest.
"Flame! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, it didn't hurt as bad as it looked. In fact, I don't think that slap harmed me as it should've." He said gesturing to Sira, who was still cerise pink colored, and chuckling at what happened to Flame. "Talk about giving new meaning to the term 'you hit like a girl." Flame joked, getting a chuckle out of Cynder.
"That's relieving to know, we better avoid the ledges though when we get slapped, or it'd be one heck of a fall from here." Cynder said. "Oh. And be sure to torch the larger Gnorcs since our current strength isn't enough for them. Trust me, learned that the hard way myself."
She said as they kept on going, while Flame made sure to keep Cynder's advice in mind.
Then they came across another dragon statue, that they touched to make it rumble before shattering to release another Peace Keeper dragon. This one named Halvor, who is a pinkish purple scaled dragon that wields a big Warhammer that seems to have a big obsidian rock that was shaped like an angry ram head, that is also used as a battering ram. He also wears leather bracelets that cover his forearms as well as a battle tunic's lower half with an elongated and studded front piece. And also, he has some black scales that also form black plates on some of his body that protects him.
Halvor is known for one thing, being his big Warhammer that was known to break down stone, metal doors, and even the gates of any fortress in the Peace Keepers realms that the Gnorcs use for defense. Which is why he is also among the dreaded of the Peace Keeper dragons that also give reason to the Gnorcs of why they shouldn't cause chaos in their realms. But physically as well as skillfully, he's nothing to write home about.
"How strong can I be in order to melt metal armor anyway?" Flame asked.
"I'm sure you can someday, but be sure to remember this. Your current power of your fire breath won't work on metal armor, but a charge should do the trick. At least, against the smaller ones." Halvor said.
"But what if it's a big Gnorc with armor that we'll be facing in the future?" Cynder asked. Startling Halvor.
"Well… try looking for a weakness while falling back? Either way, don't give up." He awkwardly said before flying away to fight some Gnorcs with his Warhammer. Showing them that he's still dangerous.
After shrugging at each other yet taking the advice, both dragons continued onward taking out any Gnorc that Halvor missed along the way to the biggest building in Cliff Town which has a path on the roof that leads to the Crystal dragon on the very top of the building. So they both kept on going up on the roof of the building while taking out the Gnorcs that got in their way.
Along the way to the top, they couldn't help but admire the view from the big building that showed the desert in the distance across the river. Even if the Peace Keepers home world mainly consists of deserts as well as sandy mountains, it had its share of beauties as well. Even if it isn't as beautiful as the Artisans world or the Magic Crafters, and Dream Weavers worlds, but it didn't need to. It just created its own share of admirable views. Which Spyro and his friends was okay with.
Then once they got to the top, they had to get past the fat Gnorcs. Which was no problem for either of them as they also got the gems that the Gnorcs dropped as well as the gems from the cauldrons that they also burned, and proceeded to break the Crystal dragon to free Enzo. Enzo was also a pinkish purple scaled dragon with purple jewels on his chin and large feathered wings like a bird, who happened to be an indigenous warrior like the Mesoamericans of legend. Wearing a golden helmet adorned with his own feathers, a collar that is read with gold lines on it that is shaped like a sun, and shoulder pads. He wields a mace as his weapon that was designed with a gold body also having leather straps, with flanges that connected at the top, and trailed down to the neck.
Enzo was like Magnus in being that he is also built like a rotund dragon. Yet he is different from him in that he uses a weapon, and he fights differently from Magnus in that he also uses his colors for psychological scaring. Which since he's a formidable fighter, he would win battles and the Gnorcs would end up being scared away because of his colors. But compared to Titan in combat skill, he's nothing to write home about.
"Hey Enzo. I wonder, what's on the other side?" Flame asked.
"Well why don't you glide there and see? After all, I'm sure this is high enough for you to reach there." Enzo said smiling.
"Sure… of course. We should keep that in mind." Flame said embarrassed.
Enzo ended up joining Halvor in his fight against the Gnorcs as both Flame and Cynder ended up gliding and reaching the other side of the river running through Cliff Town to get to the desert half of the Realm, now continuing onwards to grab more gems, and to release one more dragon.
*Meanwhile*
Both Spyro and Ember ended up finishing Dry Canyon, and now were in Ice Cavern. Both of them shivered at how cold it was in Ice Cavern, yet they didn't let the cold bother them too much as they still had work to do. Which is rescuing dragons and collecting gems before Gnasty does.
After they entered the Ice Cavern, they ended up seeing one of those chests that they saw before, where they had to make a gem pop out and collect it while it's in the air, which is what they did, causing the chest to shatter like glass. And they also found a big muscular purple Gnorc in their way. Which they burned before continuing to the little pathway after collecting more gems, leading to a Crystal dragon only to get intercepted by a smaller purple Gnorc on ski's holding a snowball. Ember ended up taking out the Gnorc despite getting hit by his snowball which for some reason ended up hurting and turning her dragonfly blue.
Despite that though, and being baffled at how the snowball hurts, she just merely became more careful of the ski Gnorcs as she proceeded to release the dragon from Crystal. Who is named Ulric the Viking dragon. He is a red scaled Peace Keeper dragon who has a belt on his waist, bandage wrappings on his hands, a leather bracelet on his right hand, and a pauldron on that is held by a harness. He held a Viking sword on his right hand, and has a shield wrapped on his left forearm, and another tinier metal shield that wrapped near the end of his tail. And he had a nose ring.
He was the dreaded among the dragons from the Gnorcs eyes, for the fact that he fought like the Vikings of legend, and doing a good job while doing it. That and he was known as the Berserker as well since he fought at his hardest when he loses his mind to his battle lust, or his rage. Which makes him one of the most intimidating among the Gnorcs and even to some fellow dragons, though Titan liked his attitude for that reason, and he does make sure to remember who's friend and foe when he goes nuts.
Also he happens to be quite a trash talker towards the Gnorcs.
Which had Spyro cracking up at some of them. His favorite being the 'I'll shine my boot up real nice, turn it sideways, and stick it right up where the sun don't shine!' quote.
"Hello Spyro, Ember, try taking my advice. Try waiting until either of you grow up till you're both big and strong… like me, before charging those large enemies." He said.
"Don't worry, a friend of ours told us that already." Spyro said.
"Ah. Good, just making sure to look out for my little friends. Especially protecting one who shall someday fulfil his destiny." He said before running through the cave to battle Gnorcs.
That had Spyro confused and thinking about what he said as well as reminding him of his conversation with Gunnar. He wondered what his destiny was as well as where that destiny could take him. Which had him feeling curious about what this destiny is, if only he had the answer, and the details of that answer is from the Peace Keeper dragons.
If it means that he would kick Gnasty's ass though, then he would be okay with that.
He ended up continuing onwards through the ice cavern with Ember before he could think about it more. Deciding to save it for later. They ended up taking out more Gnorcs together with Ulric as they now saw an indoor section of the ice cavern which happened to be a brick mini castle, which has a catwalk, that has a treasure chest at the end of the path. Which they knew they needed a key to grab to open it.
Once inside the castle, they took out some more Gnorcs that was near the Crystal dragon. Before releasing the imprisoned dragon inside, who was Todor. He is an archer dragon who is bright blue scaled while having angellike wings, who wears a helmet that has antlers like a buck as well as ears of a dear, as well as a winter coat with a cloth around his stomach and straps around his hands. He wields a bow and has a quiver on his back.
Todor as an archer was also pretty scary among Gnorcs since he happened to be quite the shot with his trusty bow, and his magic lightning and ice arrows. He even took out a Gnorc from far away, and shocked a puddle of water as at least four Gnorcs stood on it. Which had him famous for his ability in archery, and compared to Ulric and Titan, he might not be as dreaded towards the Gnorcs, but he'll get there someday.
"Hey Spyro, Ember, there is an armored Gnorc up ahead who happens to be big."
"Welp, …guess we better take a different path until we know of a way to beat him. C-coming Spyro?" Ember asked. Seeing that going up against a large armored Gnorc would be suicide. Which Spyro could concur with her on.
"Or why don't we send Ulric after him? He'll take him out." He responded ready to follow her to Ulric.
"Hold on, both of you. Sure he might be fireproof at your current strengths, but his armor is metal as you would know. And in this cold cavern, armor can make their feet very slippery." He said grinning at Spyro and Ember.
"Aaahh." Spyro said grinning too when he got what he means by that. Which also had Ember grinning too when she got it too. So they both proceeded onwards through the cave to where they end up meeting the mentioned armored Gnorc that dared them to try to burn him.
Only to then be surprised when both of them charged him which caused him to slip and slide to the edge over deadly purple ooze, and then fall into the ooze as he lost a gem in the process. Which Sparx picked up as he and Ember continued on in the ice cavern. Both smiling with humor and victory at what happened to the Gnorc.
*Time skip*
Spyro and Ember was able to not only grab all the gems, they also released Andor and Asher, and eventually released Ragnar. Ragnar Was a magenta scaled dragon with a yellow underbelly. He wore armor bracelets and a necklace, and he wielded a small club on his tail that doubled as a box for his scrolls. He also happens to have steam coming out of his nostrils.
Ragnar was basically a more scholarly type of Peace Keeper dragon. Representing the more intellectual type of dragons in the Peace Keepers, which Titan appreciates, and finds trust in quite well. After all, just because they like to battle, doesn't mean they're gonna be unintelligent about it. It was said that Ragnar was Artisan born, before he joined the Peace Keeper dragons for battle knowledge.
Which Spyro feels, is what he could end up doing too, some day at least.
"Excellent, you've all done well. Some of our dragons thought you all weren't ready. But I knew they were wrong." He said smiling.
"We're ready alright… ready for what?" Spyro said curiously as well as annoyed as he remembered his conversation with the Peace Keeper dragons that he freed with Ember. Like with Gunnar in the Peace Keeper fields, Ivor in the dry canyon (Though he couldn't put it past him for his senility since he's old.), and now even Ulric, Andor, and Ragnar was talking about his destiny that he was being cryptic about.
"You'll get your answer sometime Spyro. Right now you have a job to do. But I promise that you'll get your answer after you free us. Alright soldier?!"
Spyro and Ember saluted the dragon as they proceeded to go to the vortex that sends them back to the home world. Spyro was still curious as is Ember, they didn't poke for answers since it would be a bad idea to try to speak out against a Peace Keeper. Unless it's for an important matter.
They just hope their answer would involve taking out Gnasty Gnorc.
All four of the dragons were at the portal that they knew goes to the mountain plateau that belongs to Trondo. They were currently wondering what strong foe they could face off against all while speaking to each other in a circle while the final stages of the battle that ended with the last stand of the Gnorcs happened around them.
They also had Spyro coming back, who just recently completed the night flight challenge, which was pretty hard. Harder than what they all fought against since it was a timed challenge and obstacle course. Though it was a bit easier than sunny flight, but Spyro knew how Ember felt with that flight afterwards.
They also had a similar question in their minds that they all wanted to ask. What was their destiny? Why did the dragons they freed imply that they could be chosen ones or something when all dragons could be chosen ones. At least where taking Gnasty out was concerned. Also why all four of them?
But they still had a job to do, which is to fight the boss that they heard about from the Peace Keeper dragons, who was called Dr. Shemp, who happened to be crazy yet intelligent for a Gnorc. As well as rescue Trondo too.
So they decided to ask the Peace Keepers as well as Nestor and their parents later, and just entered the portal that sent them to the mountain plateau where they know they'll meet Trondo. Since it's his stomping ground.
*Slap*
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Where just seconds later, they ended up getting under attack by some metal wearing Gnorcs that ran at them at high speeds with insanity in their motions trying to harm the dragon Quartet.
They ended up dodging the Gnorcs by rolling out the way, and the next thing they knew is that the Gnorcs didn't turn around to run at them again, and instead they just kept going till they ended up running off the mountain screaming. While losing their gems that flew out of them before they fell off.
"Okay, that's just wrong." Cynder said, which all the dragons agreed with her on.
"Not to mention a little creepy. Almost makes me feel sorry for them." Ember said.
"Though I'm getting the impression that it's cause the Gnorcs aren't very bright." Spyro said. Which Flame and Ember was in agreement with too.
"What was the first clue?" Cynder deadpanned. Causing the trio to laugh at that, with her joining in seconds after.
Once they were done laughing, they ended up collecting gems and continuing onwards through the path to the deeper parts of the plateau mountain. While making sure to take out the big momma Gnorcs of Cliff Town as well as the crazy metal Gnorcs that runs at them. The latter of which they dodge and let fall off, or they charged down and gained their gems.
Till eventually, they collected almost all of the gems after some gliding, until they ended up making it to the whirlwind that lead to the interior of the plateau that Trondo hangs out in. Which they used to enter the walkway leading to the interior. Where they saw a Crystal dragon by the large podium arena.
On the podium arena was the infamous Dr. Shemp himself. A largest Gnorc that they saw so far, that was yellow skinned with a weird hair dress of leaves that makes him look like a witch doctor, who wore sunglasses, sandals, and a metal apron-like chest piece covering his front. Who happens to be wielding a wooden staff that has a mask at the end of it, and a skull on top of it. And he was currently grinning at the Crystal dragon figure like he was nonverbally rubbing in the dragon's face at how he's been beaten and trapped in Crystal.
It's too bad for him that that is about to change.
As Spyro proceeded to free the dragon that was trapped in Crystal, who was Trondo the assassin dragon. He is a yellow scaled dragon that has dreadlock like scales trailing down his head while having scars on his body, and has a reddish underbelly. He wears a bandanna, a brown leather-like tunic that has fluff around his waist, bandages on his hands and feet, and a weapon pouch on his tunic where he keeps his gear inside.
Trondo was another dreaded dragon among Gnorcs and another right hand dragon of Titan's. Any top Gnorc or beast that needs assassinating? Trondo's your dragon to turn to for that, as well as other jobs for a ninja to do. Yet even if the Gnorcs found him and was able to fight him in combat, they were still outmatched since Trondo is flexible as well as strong in combat, as his weapons and his skills were nothing to sneeze at.
Also Spyro's favorite Peace Keeper dragon.
"Ah! Thank you all for releasing me. Especially from that creep. Because I tell ya, that guy thinks he's so cool. You have no idea what it's been like listening to him over and over!" Trondo said angrily and exasperated, gesturing to a now angered Dr. Shemp.
"I'm guessing that it's up to us to beat that guy? If so, then any tricks up his sleeve we should watch out for?" Flame asked, preparing to fight Dr. Shemp.
"Nah. Other than that whacking stick he wields, he has only himself in fighting you four. He just feels that he's too cool to have minions doing the fight with him. But I'll tell you one thing, he should watch his back." He said punctuating the last part with a smug grin, before falling back to the Peace Keeper realms to help the fight there, leaving all four of them against Dr. Shemp.
"Little dragons free big one! Dr. Shemp destroy all of you! Dr. Shemp smash little dragons for Gnasty Gnorc." He said angrily before daring the dragons to come up to the podium.
Which the dragons were ready to do that, they just decided to take turns in fighting Dr. Shemp. Eventually, they decided to let Spyro go first since they agree that Spyro is the strongest among the quartet.
While both Dr. Shemp and Spyro stared each other down, Spyro ended up thinking about the last part that Trondo told him, briefly wondering what it meant, until he realized what it would mean. Which he believed is the weakness of Dr. Shemp's.
Sure enough Dr. Shemp ended up charging Spyro with his staff over his head trying to smash it on his head, only for Spyro to predict what he was gonna do, so he dodged to the left and quickly ran around him as Dr. Shemp ended up smashing only the stone on the podium. And sure enough, Spyro saw that his back, or in this case his butt was definitely exposed behind the armor. Which Spyro took advantage of and shot his flames out at the butt.
Cue Dr. Shemp shrieking in pain as he hopped to another section of the area over the bridge that was made, to where another podium arena was, with the four dragons in pursuit. All while he was patting the fire on his butt to put it out.
Once he reached the podium, Dr. Shemp ended up getting more angry. "Purple dragon hurt Dr. Shemp. Dr. Shemp do better this time!" Dr. Shemp said as he got ready to fight the dragons as one of them stepped forward. This one being Flame.
"Okay! I'm ready to impress you, bro!" Flame said as he got ready for what Dr. Shemp was about to do against him. Hoping that he would be able to win this round against Dr. Shemp.
Only to learn the hard way that despite the way he speaks, he is smarter than he looks.
Dr. Shemp ended up spinning around briefly showing his backside, which Flame tried to burn, only to burn the metal front of Dr. Shemp's and get hit on the head from his staff for his troubles. Turning his dragonfly blue.
The other dragons cringed at the sight of that, finding it painful to get hit by the staff. Which Dr. Shemp does find pleasure from doing.
"Go ahead and flee red beast. Dr. Shemp too strong for you." Dr. Shemp said as he readied another trick.
Flame had to be on his toes and see what else Dr. Shemp could do to him. "I'll do it later. Right now I'm burning your butt!" Flame said determined as he got ready to dodge another hit from Dr. Shemp. He ended up seeing his chance when Dr. Shemp jumped up while he twirled his staff and tried to smash Flame again, only for Flame to run to the right of him and was now behind him. Now about to breath fire on him.
Only for him to jump upwards while using his staff for balancing on its skull, causing him to balance upside down briefly before landing back on his feet on the other end of the podium arena to twirl his staff again, basically showing how flexible he really is despite his looks of a nearly naked fat Gnorc with a feather head dress. Which Spyro and his friends had to admit, looked pretty cool seeing him do that.
They almost wished that Dr. Shemp became their friend because of that… almost.
"Thought it'd be easy to torch Dr. Shemp's behind? Dr. Shemp not think so." He said cockily as he made a gun firing gesture, complete with shooting noise.
Despite the dodge that Dr. Shemp did, it didn't intimidate Flame as he continued the fight against Dr. Shemp. Who proved to be quite a pain to burn due to his flexibility and his metal chest armor. Nevertheless, Flame persevered even if he suffered another blow from Dr. Shemp, turning Sira green.
Till eventually, he got his opening when Dr. Shemp did another spin smash attack that he did to Flame the first time, only he was ready for it, and he fired his breath at Dr. Shemp's behind causing him to yelp in pain again as he hopped his way to the third podium arena trying to put the fire on his butt out. Which he was able to do so on the podium, and now he was even more determined to kill all of them.
"Dr. Shemp fight all of you! Show all tiny dragons how mighty Dr. Shemp is!" He yelled out as the four dragons ended up going on the podium when they decided that Dr. Shemp is tougher than they thought. So all of them is fair enough.
So they were now on their toes, trying to find an opening for Dr. Shemp to make when he attacks. However, Dr. Shemp was ready for all of them and thought of a blow that would take them all down.
Once they got close enough, Dr. Shemp faked them out by raising his staff over his head making them expect the smashing hit he was trying to make, only for him to then lower the staff to his side, then did a sweeping attack that ended up tripping up the dragons, and then did another attack that pushed them off the podium with a tumble while also changing their dragonflies colors, and in Flame's case, took away his dragonfly.
And that move nearly had them falling into the ooze below.
They were able to avoid their oozy fate by grabbing the edge of the area, now they're trying to pull themselves up onto land so that they'll continue the fight. The first to go up was Spyro since he was strong. So he was able to pull up Flame, but Dr. Shemp was seeing this and he was gonna make sure to take them out.
Which Spyro noticed so he had Flame rescue them while he takes on Dr. Shemp. So he got on the podium arena and fought against Dr. Shemp before he was able to attack them. Despite being on a podium that was bigger than the last ones giving him room, he still had some troubles against Dr. Shemp since he was still flexible, for a fat Gnorc. Since every time he'd try to breathe fire on his behind, he'd quickly turn it to block his fire with the metal apron, or jump over him with a frontflip or backflip. Not to mention some cartwheels.
Nevertheless, he knew that he has to at least distract him till his friends are on land.
Which he was able to do a good job at despite taking another blow that caused Sparx to turn green. "Dr. Shemp is the best there is! All dragons bow to Dr. Shemp!" He yelled out as he did a throat slashing gesture trying to intimidate Spyro while they circled each other.
All he did though was cause Spyro to just roll his eyes in annoyance. "And the Artisan dragons thought that I had problems with my ego. Wait'll they get a load of this guy." He thought. Then he noticed that his friends were alright, and they were now sneaking behind Dr. Shemp ready to blow fire at his behind. He just needs to keep Dr. Shemp on him.
The fight was on its last legs as Dr. Shemp was able to trip Spyro again and put him on his back, with his staff now at the ready, about to smash it on Spyro. "Any last words, purple dragon?" Dr. Shemp asked.
"J-just one." He said faking his fear. "NOW!" He called out.
Then Spyro rolled out of the way as his friends burned Dr. Shemp's butt the third time. Causing him to yell in pain one more time, before he then fell down on his back after one little jump forward, now lifeless. Which is before the Gems popped out where he once was as he vanished into soot. Which the dragonflies collected for their dragons.
Dr. Shemp was defeated.
Spyro and his friends celebrated at the defeat of Dr. Shemp, whom they knew was another of the top minions of Gnasty Gnorc's that he put in charge of the dragon Worlds. Which brought them another step closer to defeating Gnasty, regardless of the dangers they fought against while Dr. Shemp was still alive. Now they were more confident that they can take out Gnasty Gnorc.
That is, if they can make it to his world to do that.
Once the Gnorcs surrendered, and ended up being forced to retreat away from the Peace Keepers worlds for now, the Peace Keeper dragons ended up celebrating their victory in taking back their lands with the help of Spyro and his three dragon friends freeing them from their Crystal prisons that they guessed Gnasty put them in.
The celebrations was now being held all over the Home world and the Realms within, with parties by the fire, as well as the ooze pits, sparring matches, drinking contests, even singing ballads were done, not to mention the dancing that the dragons and dragonesses also did, etc. Most of which Spyro and his friends took part in as they recovered, and they were pretty fun.
Soon though they had to have their answer. What is their destiny that they were given cryptic hints about?
Which the Peace Keeper dragons felt a little hesitant about answering. But they knew that they had no choice but to answer through their chief's mouth.
Which Titan proceeded to do so, saying that the journey to their destiny indeed involved kicking Gnasty's ass. Which was fine with all four of the dragons since that's what they were on a journey for. They also learned that it also involves taking out other villains that they might meet someday after Gnasty falls. Including a pair of dark sorcerer dragons. Which had all four of them curious about who they are, but they didn't get any answers about that as they said they'll get those answers when the time is right.
For now though, they were saying goodbye to the Peace Keeper realms. As they were at full strength again, and about to depart on the balloon that belongs to Gosnold, to go to the Magic Crafters world.
"Good work soldiers! I see our training was put to good use." Titan applauded to the four dragons. Proud that they beaten Dr. Shemp.
"We're just doing our best sir." Spyro said with all three dragons nodding in agreement, as they said goodbye to their fatherly figure.
"And your all doing a good job at it. Just promise me two things. First, Be careful on your journey to Gnasty Gnorc. I'd rather not tell your father the bad news that you got either squashed, incinerated, or even turned into a statue as well." He said.
"Not to mention the doom of our kind." Spyro thought. "And the second?"
"Be sure to keep up your good fight even in the Magic Crafters world. They may need your help as well if we're not the only ones frozen. Not to mention the fact that those sorcerer wannabe's might not know how to get the Gnorcs off their tails even if their lives depended on it." Titan said to Spyro.
Spyro and his friends couldn't stop the giggles coming out of them as they saluted Titan. "We'll do our best sir!" Cynder said, not minding what Titan called her people.
After all, the Peace Keepers and the Magic Crafter dragons didn't see eye to eye in many things, but they never fought even once, and they would help each other out no questions asked.
Soon they were on the basket of the balloon as they were now on their way to the Magic Crafters world, saying goodbye to the Peace Keepers.
"So long little ones! Thank you for coming!" Ragnar called out.
"Give those Gnorcs something to run home about! Make them regret attacking us!" Halvor called.
"Give them all hell guys! Kick them hard in the keasters for me! And don't forget to come back for my vulture cuisine!" Maximos said.
"Go on and take them down! Go ahead and take your horns, shine 'em up nice, then shove them up where the sun don't shine!" Ulric said, trash talking the Gnorcs again.
"Custodi Draco Spirituum Excelsis!" Titan called out. Using the phrase that happened to go back to the beginning of the Peace Keepers age, also said to be used in the beginning of the age of the dragon realms too. Which the Peace Keepers kept alive. The phrase being 'Keep the dragon spirits high.' a sort of code of honor that the Peace Keepers take seriously, being used as a send off for the soldiers when they part ways. Especially when the allied soldiers, are about to enter the battlefield that is dangerous, or if a guardian or mentor dragon sends their trainees or whelps off to their first battle.
"Itineris Finis et Defectum!" Spyro and his friends said. Using the phrase that is usually the response to those that says the mentioned phrase. Which usually means 'and may my journey never end in failure.' Which is a promise to the dragons that they shall be back alive no matter how harmed they are in the journey.
Which is what the Four Brave Dragons intend to do as they rode the balloon on their way to the next world, being the Magic Crafters.
And done.
I apologize to you readers for the fact that this wasn't released in early april. I ended up delaying this fic so that I could make sure that this isn't a bad chapter. I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint.
And for those curious about the Latin phrases, yes, I used google translate for those and I'm sorry if they have errors. If you have accurate Latin phrase translations then go ahead and let me know.
Edit: For those curious about where the A/N is, here it is. (I know that the wiki calls his weapon a battering ram. But it looks like a freaking Warhammer to me.) As for why I put it here, I don't know.
Finally one more thing.
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter,
please give constructive criticism, just don't be rude,
And do not forget to read and review,
and once again, I do not own spyro the dragon. It is owned by activision and toys for bob, and vicarious visions.
Theodore the poet signing out.