Story from 2014, eh? Crazy to think I've evolved so much as an author and improved drastically since then. Spyro: A Hero's Tail is still one of my favorite games, and I've felt like rewriting and remaking this story, fixing errors and writing it better. Let me know what you think of this remade classic making a comeback.
~Lonely Gnorc~
The Dragon Realms are at peace, the Dark Gems destroyed, the dragon eggs returned to the nursery. Spyro and his friends have finally gotten themselves some well deserved downtime from fighting, with the whole gang taking full advantage of the peace. Spyro and Sparx sat under a shady tree, watching as their friends and allies enjoyed themselves.
Hunter was sharing a kiss with the lovely Bianca, while Flame was cooling himself off in the lake. Even the Professor's nephew had dropped by, trying to overcome his phobia of being above ground and making some modifications to the gloves he uses for digging. Letting out a contented sigh, Spyro stretched and yawned cutely, his sharp teeth showing as Sparx casually buzzed around the dragon's head.
"It may not be a vacation, but I'll take it, Sparx." Spyro responded, getting on all fours and walking over to the nearby lake.
"Even nature is proving generous with the snacks, Spyro. Come on, try one." buzzed Sparx, munching on butterflies like no tomorrow. "You won't be disappointed."
Eating bugs? Spyro wasn't the kind of dragon that ate insects and it made him wanna hurl. Rolling his eyes, he trotted off to have some fun with his red dragon pal.
"More for me then." Sparx remarked and grinned, devouring another butterfly.
Taking notice of Spyro heading towards him, Flame smirked and used his tail to kick up the water and send it splashing towards his friend, only for Spyro to fly away from getting soaked and counterattack with his water breath, dousing the laughing dragon.
"Hey! No fair, cheater!" laughed Flame, shaking the water off as he sneezes, steam escaping his nostrils as he shakes it off. "If you wanna play, that means no water breath!"
"Don't start whining because if you do, I might just have to lock you back in Gnasty Gnorc's old cave." chuckled Spyro, as Flame shot him a glare.
Anything seemed more pleasant than going back to that stinky cave and putting up with that dorky Gnorc. He'd had enough of dealing with Gnasty Gnorc and those idiotic brainless minions of his. They all stank.
"Blech! I'd rather take a flame to the rear than go back there." remarked Flame in disgust.
"Aw, come on, it couldn't have been that bad?" Spyro joked around, taking a dive into the water and surfacing, as he swam around his friend.
"You kidding?" laughed Flame, as he splashed Spyro for wetting him. "That place stinks so badly. It was a miracle I didn't die from the stench alone!"
True, Gnasty Gnorc did have a terrible smell about him and was a very petty and stupid oaf. Still, Spyro kinda pitied the minions that served him as they were taken over by Red and he was by all accounts, a tyrant. Executing his own soldiers for bringing him bad news, converting them into mindless robot drones to help in his conquest.
"Kinda feel a little bad about torching them after I defeated him. Red really did them dirty." replied Spyro, sighing a little bit, even though they served an evil master, they didn't deserve the kind of treatment the evil elder bestowed upon them.
"I say good riddance to bad rubbish, old top." came Sgt. Byrd, landing by the shore as he dusts himself off.
"Didn't think you'd show up for the fun, Byrd. Have an apple." said Hunter, going to greet the penguin as he tossed him an apple that Bianca had given him.
Gnorcs were pretty stupid creatures by all accounts, created from gems and used only as soldiers. Still, Spyro felt bad for them after Red had taken over, finding a couple frozen corpses of the minions scattered about the realms he visited. He hoped that after Red's defeat, they would be able to find peace.
"Come on, Spyro, let's not talk about some dorky Gnorcs, let's play!" excitedly boomed Flame, tackling the purple dragon, as Spyro smirked and charged at him.
Water breath against paws and tails splashing water, Spyro and Flame laughed and charged at each other, neither dragon holding back. Spyro sprayed a steady stream of water, while the red dragon blasted through it and created a wave, drenching the purple dragon as he laughed. Snarling playfully, Spyro uses water bombs, as Flame yelps and gets one heck of a bath.
"I won!" chuckled Spyro, seeing the amused yet slightly annoyed expression on the red dragon's face.
"Alright, but next time, you're gonna get a shower. You got that?" Flame threatened his friend. Spyro rolled his eyes and smirked, leaving the water.
Shaking the water off his scales, the purple dragon decided to grab a little snack to eat. But as he was about to hunt for some fodder, the faint sounds of sniffles and cries caught the purple hero's attention. Somebody was in distress and close by. Flapping his wings, he jumped and took flight, as he went off to search for the source of the cries, leaving his friends confused.
"What's the big hurry? Left the oven on back home?" joked Hunter.
"He doesn't even have an oven!" Sparx buzzed, flying after his best friend. "Someone's in trouble!"
Nearby at the entrance to Gnasty's Cave, was a small green and skinny Gnorc Archer, wearing his uniform and using his helmet as a bucket to collect his tears. He sniffled and whimpered, hugging himself in despair. His master was gone, his new master was defeated, and now, he's got nobody. He wondered why the purple dragon didn't just incinerate him like he did his brethren. More tears fell, as he just saw the peace and happiness throughout the realms and here he is, alone and miserable.
"Oh, why, did fate have to be so cruel to me? Couldn't I have just died with my brothers?" whimpered the Gnorc, his ears perking up as he hears someone coming.
Not even caring if it's one of the purple dragon's heroes came to finish him off, it would just mean he'll be reunited with his brethren again. Better than being alone.
The purple dragon and dragonfly arrived on scene and what they saw surprised them. Sitting on a rock, there's a Gnorc Archer, unarmed and just weeping his heart out. The poor creature looked completely alone and abandoned.
"Hey, Spyro, you find out who's hurt?" breathed Hunter, as he caught up to his dragon friend, only for his eyes to widen and jump back in shock. "Holy Light Gems! It's a Gnorc!"
"I'll blast him before he use that crossbow!" readied Sgt. Byrd, aiming his rockets to take out the enemy.
Spyro quickly took charge of the situation by getting in front of the crying Gnorc. He was unarmed and clearly not a threat to any of them, it would be cruel and callous to kill an innocent creature.
"Stop, you guys!" yelled Spyro, looking to his friends. "I'll handle this. Please just all of you, go back to the lake and wait."
Sparx and the others all looked at Spyro surprised, through from looking into the dragon's bright purple eyes, they understood. Just what was he gonna do with the Gnorc? Keep it for a pet? They eventually left the scene and returned to their business, leaving the purple dragon alone with the crying Gnorc. Before flying off, Sparx caught a glimpse of his best friend approaching the creature.
"Hey, there, little guy." came Spyro, in a more calming voice, as the Gnorc looked up to meet the gaze of the purple dragon. "Why you crying? You aren't hurt, are you?"
Gasping in horror and jumping back, losing his balance and falling onto his back as he stumbled away. "Spyro! If you're gonna kill me, please make it quick! I don't wanna be in pain!" pleaded the crying and sad Gnorc, more tears falling from his eyes.
"Whoa, whoa. Relax, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you." Spyro reassured him to calm him down.
Sniffling and wiping tears from his eyes, his uniform getting wet with tears. "You're not gonna kill me?" He questioned, confused.
This wasn't an enemy, it was an innocent creature. Spyro wasn't gonna come in charging or shooting his flame, he felt sorry for the little guy.
"No, I'm not." Spyro said, taking a step closer to the small green Gnorc. "But I wanna know why you're crying and stuff."
Why would the mighty dragon hero care about some irrelevant creature? Yet, he sounded genuine in his words, so maybe, he can talk to him. There's not much he can do, even with his crossbow.
The Gnorc sniffled and revealed why he was crying. "After my master's defeat, Red took over and he was such a cruel demon. He froze us over anything, forced my brothers to work in the mines for Dark Gems, and turned them into mindless robot slaves to serve his evil plans. Now that Red's been defeated and with nobody to serve, I feel like I've lost my purpose and unwanted by the Dragon Realms, I feel all alone and sad! I wanna have purpose again, I wanna have somebody who cares about me! I just want a... friend!"
Feeling sad for the small Gnorc, he slowly steps over to him and gets on his hind legs, before wrapping his arms warmly around the Gnorc in a comforting hug. The Gnorc, surprised by the sudden affection, whimpered and brought his arms around the purple dragon, returning the hug as he cried.
Here he was hugging his worst enemy. He's really pathetic, even by the Gnorc standards.
"I'm sorry for your pain and loss, but if I can make it up to you, then you can stay here with me and I'll be your friend." Spyro said, as the Gnorc's eyes widened at hearing it.
"Really? I can be your friend and you'll let me stay here?" asked the Gnorc, hope in his eyes as he smiles a little bit through his tears. "You'll give me new purpose?"
"Of course, little guy. I can't stand to see anybody sad." chuckled Spyro with a smile, nuzzling the Gnorc's head affectionately. "But you won't be a servant and I won't be your master. I'll be your friend forever."
Moved by the purple dragon's compassion, the Gnorc jumped into Spyro's arms, hugging him warmly and letting out a happy squeal. Spyro just laughed and returned the hug with his new Gnorc friend, rolling his eyes as he felt the little creature snuggling into him, already savoring that warmth. The purple dragon couldn't help but smile and blush a little, knowing Hunter or any of his friends for that matter would never let him live this down if they saw him this mushy.
The Gnorc was kinda cute, Spyro admitted to himself. He just stayed there, licking the green creature's face and nuzzling him affectionately.
Now that they're pals, they should introduce themselves. He's sure the Gnorc knows who he is, but he doesn't know the little guy's name.
"Thank you." whispered the Gnorc, snuggling even closer.
"No problem. By the way, what's your name?" Spyro asked. "If we're pals, we need to know each other's names."
"M-my name's Elijah. Elijah the Gnorc." The Gnorc introduced himself, a cute toothy grin on his face as he giggled.
"Nice to meet you, Elijah. My name's Spyro." Spyro said, just as Elijah laughed and nuzzled his snout.
Even if he was a former enemy, Spyro wasn't as bad as his brethren made him out to be. "I already know your name, Spyro. I'm sure everybody knows you, you dimwit."
Sharing a laugh and nuzzling Elijah some more, Spyro used his flame breath to evaporate the water in the Gnorc's helmet and placed it back on the little guy's head. Elijah laughed and adjusts his helmet, as the two new pals laughed.
"Come on, let's head to my place and relax. Kinda getting a little late anyway." Spyro replied, breaking the hug and pointing over to his residence.
Elijah nodded and followed the purple dragon back towards his residence. Arriving, they saw a couple candles lit and Sparx already napping, as the purple dragon placed a small piece of cloth over the slumbering dragonfly to keep him warm.
The two then head into the purple dragon's den, as Elijah removes his boots and helmet, putting them on a table. Spyro climbs into his bed and snuggles into the pillows, as he yawns and begins to drift off, just as he's snapped out of it by the sound of another climbing into the bed. It's Elijah. The small Gnorc snuggled into the covers and pulled Spyro back into an embrace, giggling as the purple dragon blushes.
"Hey, this is my bed, little guy." laughed Spyro, though he couldn't stop smiling. "Looking for a sleepover?"
"Maybe I do want a sleepover with my new pal. Hope you don't mind." giggled Elijah, snuggling closer.
Spyro rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine then. You can stay here for the night."
"Yay!" squealed Elijah, acting like an excitable kid as he snuggles even closer.
Yawning and feeling his eyelids growing heavy, Spyro nuzzles his Gnorc friend. "Night, Elijah." And he falls asleep.
"Night, Spyro. Love you." Elijah yawned, snuggling and hugging his new dragon friend close as he fell asleep himself, happy to have new purpose and a new friend that cares about him.
The end.
Now don't expect me to go back and remake my old 5+ year old stories, this was just one I have a certain fondness to and thought about rewriting. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it.