By now word of the strange creature had spread throughout all of Artisans, meaning about everyone had already taken shelter. As a result, when the marauding rainbow flew over the hub world once again amidst the setting sun, not a single soul remained in sight.

Save for one lone dragon standing before the portal to Town Square.

"Oh help. Somebody please help me," Delbin recited loud and clear in the most resigned tone he could physically manage. Sweet magic, he felt like a fool. If any consolation existed, his performance drew the creature to his location.

Time for Phase 2 then, the autumn drake mused as he dove through the portal and then took off flying for the center plaza. His pursuer followed not far behind thanks to its speed, leaving massive streaks of color in its wake along the passing architecture.

However, all further thoughts of chase drew to a screeching halt once the destination came into view –along with the most gorgeous sight the rainbow serpent ever witnessed in its short life: a haphazard assortment of plain clay pots, scattered all over the cobblestone floor and ripe for decoration. Some empty wooden tables and various other party décor marked the surrounding area as well, but they mattered little by comparison.

How could one resist? Somehow glowing up even more at this joyous opportunity, the beast darted over and proceeded to scatter splatter bombs all over the pots (and virtually everything else in range by proxy) in utter glee! So caught up in the task, it never noticed the peach-palette dragon stepping out from behind a nearby wall.

For a moment, Nico stood there in hesitant silence, watching the serpent let loose with such relish that part of him questioned doing this at all, only to grimace at the thought. This thing was nothing short of a nuisance; if Nico wanted to prove himself to the Artisans, he'd have to be brave. Steeling himself, he puffed his chest and let out a resounding "HEY!"

The serpent ceased his mess and turned towards the young adult with curious eyes, wondering what he could want.

Welp, it's now or never. Nico gulped before breathing in. "You're being rude and disrespectful of everyone's property so if you know what's best for yourself, you'll stop this and leave like the well-mannered firework-paint-dragon thing your family raised you to be!"

No response other than a blank stare. Nico felt his will start to fumble.

"And, uh, ask for permission first and...?" His peripherals caught Spyro, hidden behind another nearby wall, gesturing him to keep going. "A-And apologize for making such a mess in the first place?"

Oy. He could feel the facepalms going off to the side.

For a moment, the serpent stood there, giving Nico momentary hope his words worked after all – until its head lowered so that the creature loomed right in his face! He had to step back to avoid falling backwards in surprise, not to mention shield his eyes from the close-up brightness. OK, this was both not working and now straight out awkward.

Without warning, the serpent shrugged in easy disinterest and rose back up to resume its nonsense. At this sight, Nico balked and scrambled for anything else to say, hands wringing one another. Oh no, no-no-no, he couldn't let his efforts end like this! There had to be something (anything) that could —

His face and hands fell together in defeat.

The truth. Only the truth would stop this madness. He had to stop beating around the bush and hit himself where it hurt. No other choice.

Hands clenching up, he tightened his eyelids to staunch the incoming tears and screamed. "NO ONE WANTS YOU!"

That. That got the serpent's attention, the shock on its face as it looked back at its creator palpable.

Fighting back the lump in his throat, Nico forced himself to continue, eyes still closed. "No one wants your help. No one wants you around. You think you're giving everyone what they want when all you do is frustrate everyone and get in their way. It'd be best for everybody if you just left."

At these words, the serpent's face fluctuated from shock to denial and finally to hurt, its eyes a perfect reflection of the young dragon's emotions.

"T-There's no point in you...so just disappear."

A deep whimper filled the air alongside a resounding crack. Opening his tearing eyes, Nico traced the sound to the creature's tail, where cracks formed and started to spread all across its body, the noise rising in intensity as the beast remained where it hovered, never breaking eye contact with Nico until the cracks consumed it at last and it collapsed into numerous iridescent shards that glittered out of existence upon touching the ground.

A smatter of tears joined them.

Without a thought, he dashed for the exit pad, not trusting his watery vision for a longtime flight back to the mainland. Familiar voices crying out his name sounded muffled in his ears and grew distant as he barreled through and recontinued his hurried retreat out to the dock.

Once he reached the wooden planks, the soft red dragon rubbed his eyes to do away with the encroaching tears faster. His plan only succeeded in smearing the saltwater all over his face. Soon Nico reached the end of the pier and sat down with his legs dangling down and feet shy of the water.

An indiscriminate amount of time passed as he sat there doing his best to recollect himself.

"Hey."

Every bit of willpower left banded together to save him from jolting off his perch and into the water! Nico managed to still himself and twisted his upper torso to discover Spyro and Sparx a few feet behind him, the former head-pushing in front of him—

"Is that basket in your mouth full of danishes?"

"Peach danishes!" Spyro sidled his eyes in wonder. "Made outta something Devlin calls mar-zee-pan. He squeezed in time to whip 'em up after we finished my mess from earlier. We were gonna surprise you with a welcome party but," he offered a sheepish half-smile, "ya know."

Despite himself, Nico managed a meager smile in return. "Thank you. I'm sorry I messed your plans up. It sounds like you all went through a lot of trouble for my sake."

Spyro came to the older dragon's side, shoving the basket between them, and plopped down while Sparx took a rest atop his friend's head. "C'mon, you didn't mess anything up. Whoever booby-trapped that random book messed up. I mean, you'd have to be an idiot to think up a trap anyone could have opened!"

Lucky me then, Nico thought with a sullen frown as he dug into the basket to feed himself. Good chance as any to eat away his misery.

Spyro took two for himself and Sparx, not really hungry but not wanting to sit around doing nothing either. His mind rewound over today's events. "Hey, who do you think rigged it anyway?"

Nico polished off his danish and reached for a second. "Does it matter? This happened on my watch which means you guys have reason enough to not like me, let alone trust me, so—DAH!" He snatched his hand back to cover his newly wetted ear, face the perfect picture of disgust. A turn left at Spyro revealed the smirking younger dragon holding up a moist forefinger. "Did...you just give me a wet willy?"

"Want me ta supersize it?"

Nico grunted in further repulsion before swiping away the lingering slobber out of his ear.

"Dude look," Spyro got serious as he lowered his hand, "you love helping people: cool! You love it so much that sometimes you can't take no for an answer: not so cool but you can learn to back off when someone doesn't want it! It's not the end of the world."

To Spyro's surprise, Nico released a bitter chuckle. "What difference is there that it isn't? Chances are Miss Sofia and Mr. Nestor will never let me come back here anyway, even just to keep me safe." Hell, Sofia might never let him leave their homeworld at all after this debacle. "I thought if I could prove useful in some way, even a little, you guys would want me around."

"What if I wanted you around, too?" Spyro blurted in full honesty. When Nico gaped at him in shock, the smaller drake pushed onward. "I can't speak for Nestor and the others, but after everything he told me about you guys, I wanted to prove how awesome I could be!"

Really? Nico found that statement hard to believe, especially the last part. "No offense, but there'd be no point in doing that. I already know what you're capable of thanks to all the stories my clan and I heard from other people."

While hearing what big a deal he'd become through his adventures would have boosted his pride any other time, Spyro cared more about making his point heard. "Yeah, but you guys are all scientists building a buncha cool inventions! Why wouldn't I wanna show off to you?"

This younger dragon's definition of scientist could use some broadening. Still Nico couldn't deny how much the sentiment flattered him, evidenced by his disbelieving chuckle as he rubbed his forearm. "Because there's no reason to impress me. Miss Sofia and the others are the real scientists. I'm just an assistant really into fireworks and art. There's nothing special about me."

Ouch, a grimacing Sparx knew that last sentence would hit a little too close to home for Spyro. However, his friend surprised them both with his next words.

"I used to think the same."

What? Nico shot a disbelieving gaze and moved to protest but Spyro beat him to the punch.

"I know, I know. That sounds weird from somebody who beat three Big Bads in a row, but I had a lotta trouble learning what the other Artisans taught me." He scoffed in playful jest. "Heh, you think that mess in Devlin's kitchen looked bad, you should've seen my duet with Tomas. I shattered every window in Stone Hill that day!"

Despite himself, Nico couldn't force down a bewildered huff.

"No joke! Plus, I've got a slight penchant for getting in a little over my head sometimes." Spyro disregarded Sparx's knowing smirk. "But I kept trying and trying to find something I'm good at no matter how many times I sucked. Can't lie, it all got to me sometimes," the purple dragon's eyes fell into light melancholy as they shifted to the full moon high above the horizon, "made me wonder if I deserved to be an Artisan."

Suddenly the other half of their argument from the kitchen clicked. Nico craned his head, face soft and apologetic. "I wasn't trying to put you down back then. Honest."

Spyro swiveled his head back his way, upbeat again. "Dude, I believe you, don't sweat it! Heck, me and Sparx here wanted to hang out with you before all this craziness went down."

They were? Taken off guard, Nico turned away for a second to mull over this reveal. "We're more or less hanging out now. I don't have anything that might interest you, though." Aside from maybe the book, which he just remembered to be in the side pocket of his jacket and thus pulled out. "Except for maybe this."

Spyro craned his neck out to better see the title, Sparx flitting out beside him to do the same. Fireworks, huh? Looked pretty cool to them!

"Before you ask, I didn't pick this solely for the subject. I was hoping to get some ideas for my next project. My goal is to become a luminist."

Huh, that's a new word. Spyro tilted his head. "A lumi-what?"

"Light artist. It means I take brightness and play with it for certain effects. Think of it like painting through light. I could use bulbs, LEDs, even computer monitors, anything that illuminates is fair game but I'm hoping to create something that lets me bypass the need for materials and cut straight to...well, the art. Essentially taking light and painting outright like I'm the brush."

A moment passed as Spyro and Sparx stared, their blankness rendering Nico more foolish the longer it went on. Perhaps he shouldn't have answered at all? Right as the older dragon thought to switch topics, he heard the craziest sentence ever.

"That has gotta be the coolest thing I've ever heard."

Nico blushed yet made no effort to hide his smile. "C-C'mon, you don't have to flatter me." After all, the younger dragon had to have seen far cooler stuff on his adventures.

"And what if I am?" Spyro retorted, "I've never even heard of art like that and I wanna see some!" A cheery buzz marked Sparx's agreement.

Nothing at this point could stop Nico's wide grin. "Really? Well, if that's what you want, I have a friend over in another world who exchanges ideas with me from time to time. I can introduce you guys." He doubled back. "Th-That is as long as you don't mind, of course!"

"You mean like going over to your homeworld?"

The older dragon shrugged. They'd have the easiest time by going through there first, so yes. Spyro startled him when he jumped to his feet, almost knocking the basket into the water.

"Heck yeah!"

"For real?!" Nico, who barely managed to save the danishes with Sparx's help, cleared his throat to still his excitement. "I mean, excellent! I'd just need to run the idea by Mr. Nestor and Ms. Sofia and see if they approve." He shrank into himself. "Court's still out if they will, though."

Spyro fist-bumped him in the arm. "Aw, c'mon! I've caused way worse than this! Besides, you've already got Nestor eating out of your hands with all your nice guy stuff. Just bat your eyes and he'll be saying yes in a heartbeat! No problem!"

XXX

"Problems, problems, problems, so many problems."

"Alvar, love, you've been saying that all the way here."

"And I'll keep saying it until everyone sees the severity of all this, Devlin!"

All the adult Artisans were sitting around in Gavin's café for an impromptu meeting at news of the creature's demise courtesy of Lindar, Eleanor, and Gavin spreading the word. Alvar had dived straight into bemoaning tonight's events the moment he stepped inside. Everyone had agreed in silence to let the grouchy butcher vent his feelings out for a minute.

It was now a minute.

Lindar popped his gums and gestured to his color-splattered self. "The severity is literally all over us, buddy. Not much to see beyond that."

"I beg to differ," Oswin voiced. Alvar perked at someone agreeing with him, only to deflate at the next statement. "It's going to take us at least a week to get the colors out of everything, even with the proper cleaning spells!"

Nestor cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention, as he stood in the center of the café. "I believe what Alvar is referring to is the security breach from earlier. We need to compile all available evidence to best discern not only the culprits but their motives. Only then can we devise proper precautions."

The carpenter stuck an index finger skyward. "First things first, the matter of the thief who snuck in the fake book. Oswin and I caught him while we were outside the library discussing plans for Nicolas' welcome party. No doubt he snuck in from behind while the boy and I first entered."

"We quickly ruled out an attempt to prank us by switching out the books," Oswin added. "Even though they have done that before, they stopped once we had the return spell installed." No fun in hiding others' property nearby after all.

Tomas pursed his lips in thought, cradling his lute in wonder. "In that case, what tipped you off to his true motives?"

"I surmise the fact that the thief somehow procured a near-perfect copy of said book," Carmen spoke up as she tapped her chin with one hand and cupped the corresponding elbow in the other. "That would imply they somehow snuck in long enough to take enough pictures from all angles. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to make a mock-up, regardless of whether they constructed it via either magic or tech."

A haughty scoff drew all attention to Alban. "That's impossible."

Carmen wagged a finger at the elder dragon. "Not as impossible as you might think. Keep in mind, Amanda, Eleanor, and I have been among the Ecologists so we've seen ways one could pull a stunt of this nature off."

The feathered scribe raised an eye ridge in an almost challenging manner. "Such as?"

"Like say a miniature machine capable of operating like I described as well as stealth. An Ecologist named Madison demonstrated one of them to me, though I doubt they're the same model since hers are kept tight under lock and key. In addition, a few of the group's inventions can scan brainwaves, at basis meaning they can read minds and thus provide this incantation a basis."

Uh oh, Lindar thought in bleak expectation. I can see where this is going.

Nestor and Oswin grimaced as well. Though they doubted it to be Carmen's intention, they noticed the suspicion and conclusions starting to spark in the other Artisans' eyes, and judging by Amanda and Eleanor's guarded expressions, they'd noticed the same.

"Okay, so somebody planned ahead enough to whip up a fake and had a thief dupe Nestor and Oswin into taking it," Lindar piped up in an impatient tone, "What about after?"

A reluctant sigh left Oswin. "After that Nico came out to investigate what happened since the thief bumped into him on the way out. We let him peruse the library until he found the book he wanted and then he and Nestor left."

Tomas cocked his head. "Wait, you mean he was alone in the same room as the thief and came out after him?"

Nestor crossed his arms. "Yes," he answered in a warningly low tone, "and he never left my side since until Delbin took over to take him to Sunny Flight." His dark eyes briefly met those of the dragon in question, who held back a gulp at the green dragon's pointed 'we'll talk about this later' stare. The Artisan leader had not forgotten the odd timing between said departure and running into the pair at Stone Hill.

The stance and tone of voice his leader adopted led Tomas to hold his hands up in placating defense. He was only stating facts is all.

Argus turned to Oswin. "And what of you?

"I stayed in the library for a few minutes after they left to scan both books for hexes. The results came up negative, but that didn't rule out the possibility of something more subtle, so I took the fake home with me to examine it further."

"I can vouch for that," Darius spoke up, "Just before Oswin left for home, he tailed me down and asked if I could watch over the library in his absence. I spent all the time he'd been gone inside."

"It took me a half a minute to find him if I remember right."

"And barely more than that to station myself there."

Lindar scratched the back of his head at the information so far. "Okay, so to summarize, whoever pulled this stunt off was fast enough to sneak in between the time Ozzy here left and Darius came in?"

Various levels of disbelief colored the other Artisan's faces. "That could only have been about a mere minute," Argus commented in both wonder and confusion, "Even we Artisans know a proper spell like that takes time. No one can move that fast."

"Not by natural means, no," Oswin corrected in a grave voice.

A heavy veil of silence descended, only ending when Tomas gulped in fear, baring his lute like a ward. "You mean like...dark magic?"

Oswin was quick to wave his hands. "Oh heavens no! That would've been obvious from miles around! On the contrary, the only magic I detected upon my return had been on the book itself, meaning if this collaborator hadn't used any spells to sneak in and out at such speed—"

Memories of Sofia's first appearance at the meeting flashed through Nestor's mind. "Then they used technology to teleport," he concluded with solemn revelation. The ensuing silence thickened even more.

Until Alvar's harrumph broke it this time. "Well, that's this case closed then."

"Alvar," Devlin warned in instant response as he shot a pointed glare at him, "don't you dare imply it."

"Who said anything about implying? We all know the timing is too perfect! That boy's the only one who fits the bill!"

The banana-yellow investigator of the group sent an unconvinced look at Alvar. "Is he though?"

"Don't be daft, Carmen," Alban scoffed, "The only other ones who dabble in machines in any capacity are the Beast Makers and they use nothing of the sort; even if they did, history shows that their ties with the Ecologists were friendly even in the worst of times."

Argus set one hand akimbo and the other beneath his chin, humming in thought. "None of the non-draconic residents ever showed such an aptitude either, never mind the Gnorcs."

"Well, whoever is responsible for this bedlam," Nevin cut in, "they did a fine job scaring everyone!"

Carmen stroked her chin and angled her eyes to the moon as though she could glean all necessary answers from there. "That's another thing. Perhaps it wasn't meant to scare us but rather Nico."

Wait, what? All the other dragons looked to her in utter perplexity. Tomas reared his head. "With a gorgeous yet obnoxious rainbow spewer?"

Oswin snapped his fingers, realizing where the yellow dragon was coming from. "Keep in mind how the heart-peering spell works; contact is not strictly necessary but rather close proximity! It only took that form because Nico triggered it. In fact, he mentioned seeing it glow right before the thief dashed off. That must have been its means of drawing a target closer. If he had concocted this scheme, he would have taken measures to avoid setting it off himself in the first place!"

"Exactly!" Carmen concurred. She took a step towards Nestor while her eyes perused the other Artisans, imploring them to follow her train of thought. "Now imagine if one of us – namely those who'd had qualms about Nicolas let alone any of the other Ecologists visiting –had been in his place. For all we know, the perpetrator might have mistaken him as a member of our clan."

Reactions upon reactions rippled throughout the Artisans.

Understanding flashed in Argus, Nevin, and Devlin's eyes; Lindar and Delbin and Eleanor all exchanged looks of relief on Nico's behalf; Tomas and Astor hummed in wonder alongside Amanda; and Alvar sputtered at a loss for words while Alban frowned at the unsaid yet pointed accusation.

"When you put it that way," Gavin voiced as he shared a significant look with Eleanor, "we owe the kid one."

Knowing himself beat, Alban sighed in partial resignation. "Fine. Let's say the boy wasn't responsible. Use of technology still doesn't rule out an Ecologist's involvement. After all, their leader could have set the boy up."

Eleanor scowled at such a preposterous suggestion and would have likely clocked the elder dragon, too, if not for Gavin holding her back. "Sofia would never have approved of this! She and her clan love Nico more than anything; there's no way she'd put him at risk like that!"

"Not ta mention," Amanda added in with a reproachful gaze, "the Ecologists are very particular about letting their technology come near other clans without close supervision."

Carmen crossed her arms, one finger tapping her elbow. "In which case, allow me to postulate the following: if this were an Ecologist, couldn't this have been one neither Sofia nor Nico and their clan anticipated?"

For the third time tonight, stunned silence followed. Carmen set both hands behind her back and waited patiently as the pieces offered by her argument fell into place.

"You mean like a rogue perhaps?" Nils asked in wonder.

"More specifically, a disgruntled rogue. One who shares similar vehemence on the Ecologists' reintegration. If so, the motive to scare away Nicolas from future interactions with us would fit all the more."

Indeed it would, they all realized as the possibility sunk in. While a whole new slew of questions now lay open, for the moment Nestor would accept this revelation as progress. "In that case, we'll all need to remain on high alert for similar goings-on. In the meantime, I'll notify Sofia and the other leaders so their clans can do the same."

And practice caution for when the Ecologists visited them as well. Despite the madcap way this scheme had culminated, tonight's debacle could point to something potentially serious.

"From now on, report all suspicious activity to either me or your subregion's leader. Carmen is also an option since she will need whatever information necessary to identify and keep tabs on these troublemakers."

Nestor hung back to let his fellow clan members stew in his words. Assent soon passed amongst the Artisans in the form of murmurs and nods. However, one voice in particular brought up a question concerning a point no one had noticed until now.

"Hang on," Gildas craned his head back and forth, "anybody seen Spyro and Sparx?"

Everyone else except Oswin, Delbin, and Nestor stiffened at the elder painter's observation. Where indeed were those boys?

"Oh right," Delbin spoke up, "They went off after Nico earlier once we got everything settled." At the expense of one young adult's emotional comfort no less. Oof, Delbin and Nestor shared a guilty gaze that agreed on intent to compensate Nico once he returned. The painter noticed Alban and Alvar's rare looks of concern. "Hey, you haven't met the kid yet; besides, we all know Spyro and Sparx can handle themselves!"

Right on cue, playful taunts echoed as none other than the purple dragon himself barreled out the tunnel from the dock, Sparx by his side while Nico straggled behind in exhaustion. Neither young dragon seemed emotionally worse for wear judging by the usual excited grin on Spyro's face and exasperated yet more amused one on Nico's.

Seems their talk went well, Nestor mused in relief that shifted into amusement as Spyro skid to a stop beside him and shot a triumphant grin over his shoulder at Nico.

"Come on! Were you even trying back there?"

The Ecologist-Artisan stumbled to a stop once he closed the distance and bent down to regain his breath, hands on knees. "I-I was," he huffed, "That's the problem." A glance up revealed their company and he hastily bowed his head. "H...Hello, everyone. Did we interrupt something?"

At first Nestor opened his mouth to confirm, only to reflect over today's events. He shook his head and gave the boys an assuring smile instead. For now these kids deserved a break. "We'll tell you all later. For now, how about a second try at that welcome party?"

"You sure? After all this?"

Lindar waltzed up and draped an arm around Nico's shoulders. "Hey, us Artisans are hardier than ya think!" Never mind the appropriateness of them falling under attack by art of all things. "As if a little paint's enough to keep us down!"

Best not to point out the euphemism in that statement. All the same Nico took in Lindar's confident smirk, Spyro and Sparx's cheery grins, and Nestor's assuring smile along with the other Artisans whose expressions ranged from wholehearted agreement to (in the case of some) exaggerated reluctance and smiled in return.

At Nestor's beckon, everyone journeyed to Town Square to salvage what remained of the party decorations. On the way, Nico found himself amidst jubilant conversations, content with listening to all the ideas and creativity spouting around him.

For once, he started to feel like a fellow Artisan.

XXX

IDIOT! You got the wrong target!

Hey, not my fault you guys all look the same!

Grr.

OKAY, OKAY! I admit that was in bad taste! I'm sorry!

Ugh, no matter. Here is your pay, now begone, you little urchin.

The thief gladly did so.

Heh heh, looks like your little scheme went belly up.

Not to worry. We have plenty more backup plans. Speaking of which, I have one you might enjoy, Ripto.

For reference pictures of my OCs:

Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs

Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs

Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs

Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs

Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs

Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs