The Last Battle

by Teochard

Long ago, at the time of creation, there was nothing but Darkness. Thirteen Lights pushed away the Darkness and created all worlds. The thirteenth rebelled, and became Tabuu. Now, an army, led by the the Twelve Reborn reborn must stop him.

6. The Spyro the Dragon World

Welcome back to another installment. Today, our two heroes visit the mystical world of Spyro the Dragon and help him defeat Ripto! They'll need all their strength and power to take him down this time.

I also have a question. Instead of doing one world at a time, would you like me doing one of the individual three chapters that make a world as individual chapters? That would make releases much more consistent, but the releases would be much smaller in size. Just share your thoughts!

Chapter 18: The Land of Dragons

Toon Link and Sheik arrived a lush, green clearing. Azure skies with fluffy clouds and a cool breeze hung over their heads. In the distance, an ancient castle with many stone spirals towered from the ground. There were signs of life all around, from the dragonflies to massive oaks. It was almost a paradise here. Then, of course, there were the dragons. That's right: dragons. Most of them were sleeping, but one was keeping watch and looked not entirely shocked to see them suddenly appear. It was as if he had been expecting him; he looked to be the eldest dragon and merely beckoned them over. Sheik was a little apprehensive (Link had faced a dragon prior to their fight with Ganondorf and she saw the wounds from that), but Toon Link seemed to be excited. In his time, he had befriended a dragon called Valoo, and he sensed that these dragons were just as friendly. They walked slowly over to the old dragon, careful not to wake anyone up.

"Hello, elder one, I'm Toon Link and this is Sheik. We have come a long way to seek your people," Toon Link said with reverence in an ancient language Valoo used.

"You know the ancient dragon dialect? Impressive, most dragons know only enough to get through their education," the dragon said amused.

"I know enough to get by. Who are you?"

"As I know you can tell, I'm the oldest dragon here: Glakar. I've watched over our group for untold time. I know you came from other worlds," Glakar said to Toon Link's shock.

"Glakar, before we continue, can we swap to a more modern language. I'm afraid Sheik doesn't know this language in the slightest," Toon Link explained.

"Certainly Toon Link," Glakar said in the language they all spoke.

"What's going on? I didn't catch any of that," Sheik wondered.

"Only good news Sheik. This is Glakar. He knows why we're here and I think he's going to help us. Which dragon will help us?" Toon Link asked.

But before Glakar could answer, a dragon covered in scorch marks and scars came running out of the castle in much hysteria. All of the dragons in the clearing woke up, and a small purple dragon came up next to Glakar as the dragon from the castle told to Glakar in high pitched tones what had happened.

"G-Glakar! The Ancient Dragon Stones… they're gone! I was in my forge, and wished to refill my supply of belly-fire from the stones, so I went up to rest before the Dragon Stone of Fire. But someone took them, and they left this!" he screamed.

They all looked at the piece of paper that he dropped. It was a simple calling card, laughing at them for leaving the Ancient Dragon Stones so unprotected, and at the bottom it was signed…

"Ripto," the purple dragon growled.

Toon Link and Sheik now got a good look at him. Though, with wings, he was about as tall as them, he was on all fours. He was largely purple, but with gold horns, belly, and wings. His eyes were also a deep purple, and, though he was clearly a young dragon, he had a look that showed strength and courage.

"I thought I burned him in lava. How is Ripto back?" the purple dragon whispered.

"Is it time for another adventure, Spyro?" a dragonfly that flew up to them.

"Yep, let's go Sparks!" Spyro roared in excitement.

"Wait, Spyro, we must speak," Glakar told him.

"What about? Does it have to do with these two?" Spyro said looking at Toon Link and Sheik with interest.

"Indeed, Spyro, they will join you on this adventure, but first we must speak and share with each other all we know," Glakar told them all.

"Alright, Glakar, if you trust them, catch them up, but hurry, we need to get Ripto!" Spyro exclaimed.

"Good. Now, Toon Link, Sheik, the Ancient Dragon Stones are more than mere stones, they're precious jewels crafted by our blacksmith's ancestors. They are seven, which is of course the most magical number, and they represent each of the dragon's most important powers: fire, ice, wind, life, water, spirit, and stone. These Stones give dragons the magic powers that have protected us for untold ages. Every young dragon, once he or she comes of age, rests in front of the powerful Dragon Stones, which will gift onto them its powers and the dragons will awaken with powers to equal its elders. Of course, that power doesn't last forever. Each of us must rest periodically in front of the stones to keep our powers. Otherwise we would become mere beasts. These Ancient Dragon Stones are our greatest treasure, and without them, our way of life could collapse in mere months. And it's especially bad. In a few days' time, it will be time for the young dragons who have come of age to receive their powers. I shudder to think what will become of those dragons if they don't reach their true potential in time. I don't know how Ripto found out about the Dragon Stones, but if he has them, he has surely scattered them across the nearby lands. Toon Link, Sheik, Spyro, Sparks, I cannot stress this enough, you need to find the Ancient Dragon Stones. Now, Sheik and Toon Link, please tell us what you know," Glakar monologued.

And so, they shared. Toon Link and Sheik explained everything that had happened to them. They told of Tabuu's ambitions, their past, the various worlds that exist, and what's doomed to happen to this world.

"So you came looking for a hero from our world to join your fight…" Glakar finally said, sounding resigned.

"Glakar, should I go with them?" Spyro asked his elder.

"No, not yet. I understand they need your aid, but we cannot forget our own people. It would be terrible if you saved the worlds, but returned to your destroyed people. This only makes the situation more urgent. Spyro, have you rested in front of the Ancient Dragon Stones recently? Are your powers up to the journey?" Glakar questioned.

"Uh, yeah see about that…" Spyro started.

"I told you to do that ages ago!" Sparks said, exasperated.

Glakar looked like he had already known the answer to his question, and merely was disappointed. He seemed to think over their predicament for a moment.

"Alright, there is a place nearby. An ancient cave, full of mysteries, and tales of supernatural horrors. Ripto might have hidden something there, expecting its reputation to keep it safe. I happen to know it isn't haunted and the screams and visuals are just volcanic activity. Toon Link, Sheik, we're going to need your help getting there, as Spyro probably now lacks his ability to fly due to not resting in front of the stones," Glakar instructed.

Toon Link seemed excited and pulled out a conductor's baton.

"I got it! This is the Wind Waker! It holds powers over the winds. Assuming it still works in this world, I can summon a hurricane to carry us to this cave. I'll need Spyro to guide me there, since I don't know where it is," Toon Link exclaimed.

"Gather around then," Sheik sighed.

"Good luck, children, may the Dragon Stones guide your wings to safer lands," Glakar bade them.

Sheik, Spyro, and Sparks gathered around Toon Link, and Toon Link began to conduct with the Wind Waker. Much to their surprise, an invisible choir began to sing in tune with his conducting. It was a strange song, full of longing for new lands, it seemed. The winds began to roar, and clouds formed over the skies. Toon Link finished conducting his song, and a hurricane touched down on top of them. When it lifted off, the four were no longer there. The hurricane seemed to be guided by Spyro's mental map to the cave, which he knew from previous adventures. It was a strangely pleasant ride for everyone. They never got wet, despite being surrounded by a whirlwind of water, the wind was nearly silent, and the air beneath their feet seemed assuringly solid. Finally, after a few minutes in the air, they stopped in front of a wide open cave.

Toon Link put away the Wind Waker, and they stood in silence, except for Sparks who flew.

"I guess we should go inside?" Spyro asked.

"Unless we want the dragons to disappear?" Sparks said.

They walked inside, straining their senses for any sign of danger. Toon Link's Master Sword glowed in the darkness, so he led the way. Spyro looked nervous, since he was out of powers, and he need these two strangers to defend in case they came into danger. They walked in silence for a while, carefully avoiding hot steam and geysers from the earth. Everyone seemed to be calming down from the foreboding atmosphere until they heard loud screaming noise coming from behind them somewhere near the entrance. Everyone panicked, could it be Ripto? They all ran, they needed to get the Stone first, before Ripto could catch up with them. The loud screaming seemed to be getting closer every second. There was no thinking, only blind fear. Finally, after far too long, a glowing red jewel stood on a pedestal in front of them. Spyro immediately laid down and closed his eyes, despite the screaming voices. He immediately entered a deep dream sleep. He dreamt that he was in his home pasture, but the tower looked much newer and there were far fewer dragons. There was a blacksmith in a corner near the castle, beating stone. He finally screamed in delight and pulled out a fire-red ruby out of the flames.

"The Dragon Stone of Fire!" the blacksmith yelled.

Startled, Spyro woke up and he felt a familiar burning in his gut.

"Yes, fire breath! Let's see how Ripto likes me now!" Spyro laughed.

Courage entering each of them, they faced the entrance and prepared to fight. It would be rather easier to collect the rest of the stones if they could be Ripto here. But it was not Ripto coming out of the smoke. It was a yellow… cheetah? It was standing on all fours, with an excitable face set with green eyes. He had a bow slung over his shoulder, but seemed in intense pain. Toon Link saw his tail was on fire, so he pulled out his Wind Waker and played a quick tune, which summoned some wind from somewhere that put out the fire.

"Hunter?" Spyro laughed.

Hunter gathered himself and said, "Hey Spyro! Glakar told me you guys were on an adventure, so I came to follow you!"

"Everyone, this goofball is Hunter! He's helped me on my adventures before. I'm guessing you made those noises because your tail was on fire?" Spyro kept giggling.

"Yeah, I saw you going into the cave, and I dodged a geyser poorly. I was trying to find you so you could put out the fire for me, but you ran away," Hunter said sadly.

"Sorry, Hunter, we thought you were Ripto," Sparks apologized.

"It's fine. Who are these two?" Hunter asked looking at the two humans.

"I'm Sheik, this is Toon Link. We've come from another world to help Spyro," Sheik explained.

"Well then that's good news, and you seemed to have already found the Ancient Dragon Stone of Fire! Now we just have six others left," Hunter beamed.

"Any ideas?" Spyro asked.

"I know there's a part of a nearby forest that, after Ripto visited, the vegetation has grown too thick to cross through. Your fire breath should destroy the vegetation, and I bet Ripto hid something there!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Then it's time we move on," Sheik reasoned.

They walked out of the cave and turned into a nearby forest. They continued to laugh and have a good time as they wandered through the woods. Hunter's entrance suddenly seemed like an amazing joke and they couldn't possibly imagine how they were so scared. As they traveled, the woods got thicker and thicker, and soon deep underbrush blocked any path forward for several feet up. It was no issue now; Spyro roared and great tongues of fire burst forth from his mouth. The dry underbrush immediately went up in flames and they jumped back as waves of heat washed over them. The fire never seemed to leap from the underbrush it was burning, despite its size. Toon Link and Sheik decided it must be the magic of the attack: it couldn't attack anything that Spyro had not intended. Thankfully, the fire did not take very long, and they stepped forward through the cleared path. They had now entered a magical clearing. The ground seemed an impossible shade of green, too vibrant to exist. The air was pleasantly warm, and the ground was soft. All sorts of woodland creatures rested here, and it looked like a woodland temple almost. In a pedestal in the center was the next Dragon Stone: the Dragon Stone of Life. Spyro once more laid down before it, and entered a deep sleep.

He was once more in the ancient clearing from before. But now, the dragons seemed to be breathing fire. They were having a blast with new abilities. Old and young dragons alike were having fun setting fire to numerous things, usually sheep. But this was clearly causing problems. All the flames and romping around by the dragons was destroying the beautiful life of the meadow. The grass was tearing up and the trees were smoking. Spyro was distraught; didn't these dragons realize they were destroying their own home? Spyro tried running up to them, trying to tell them to stop doing this, but he found that the dragons couldn't see or hear him. This was clearly a memory, Spyro wasn't a thing to these dragons. The blacksmith from the last dream lifted a new stone from the forge and shouted, "The Dragon Stone of Life!" With it, the blacksmith summoned new life into the meadow, and the grass recovered and the trees gained new growth. Life was back to normal for these dragons.

Spyro woke up to see the others surrounding him in awe of the life around them. Toon Link had obviously stored away the Dragon Stone of Life so that it would be safe. How did he fit those enormous jewels into that pouch? It didn't matter, they still needed more Dragon Stones.

"OK… where to now?" Spyro breathed.

"While you were asleep, I left to do some reconnaissance. I figured this would be a pretty long nap and I wished to find a place to search for the next Dragon Stone… There's a spire of stone, not too far from here, where the wind howls non-stop and there appears no way to reach the top. I sense something of great power up there," Sheik told him.

"Yep, definitely sounds like a Dragon Stone!" Hunter smiled.

"Then we'd better get moving! Ripto could be trying to prepare his defenses as we speak!" Sparks exclaimed.

"Show the way, Sheik," Toon Link said.

And so they left the forest once more in a group. Spirits were high. It had only been about two hours and they had already found two of the seven Dragon Stones. Spyro was now getting back much of his usual powers and it seemed like Ripto was doomed to fail. They began to talk about their plans for the future, when Sheik told Hunter why they had come, which seemed to put a damper on his mood.

"T-Tabuu? You're saying he can destroy this world?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, and he destroyed ours. Sheik… she lost someone special to her in the attack…" Toon Link sighed.

"I'm sure whoever it was was a special person," Spyro told them.

"M-Midna" Sheik cried.

"Who?" Sparks asked.

"She was called Midna. Her people had been cursed by my ancestors to wander in eternal Twilight. Even so, she… joined forces with us to defeat the great evil of our land. She was a true friend, and now-now I have to save her," Sheik whimpered.

Toon Link held Sheik's hand and said, "Sheik, Midna was strong. She's probably planning a breakout from Tabuu's control as we speak. We'll save her, I promise,"

"Yeah, and we'll get the Dragon Stones so that I can help you on your journey!" Spyro said bravely.

Hunter looked ready to say something, but they had reached the spire of stone. It was true, the wind was incredible here. Even on the ground, it was nearly knocking them over. All of them except Spyro seemed to be confused how to get up there. Thankfully, Spyro had a very clear idea of what he must do. He roared loudly and green sprouts began to grow under them. In mere moments, these sprouts turned into towering trees that lift them higher and higher. They were climbing at an alarming rate next to the spire. It was only through sheer force of will that all of them managed to hang onto their respective trees. Finally, they had reached the top and it was clear it was time for Spyro to receive his third power. This Dragon Stone was a stormy gray this time, with a feeling of silent power. Spyro, despite the screaming winds, laid down at once and rested.

Once more, he was in the dragon clearing of ancient times. This time, the Dragon Stone of Life had clearly done its work. The grass was tall and wild like it was today, the trees were soaring above their heads, all sorts of woodland creatures wandered around the dragons, and the dragons seemed to be having a lot of fun just messing with their new ability to call upon life to help their world. The only problem was how to help those in the highest branches. The dragons were tall, sure, but not tall enough to reach the tallest branches. And while they had wings, they were almost for show; the wings were too small to light their bodies off the ground. The dragons couldn't be very useful to the wild places of the world if they couldn't reach high areas. Spyro began to worry that this was where the story ended, but the blacksmith again came forward and held up a new Dragon Stone: "the Dragon Stone of Wind!" The dragons felt a new strength in their wings and took to the skies, harnessing the power of winds to carry them through the air magically. Spyro had flown before, but even so, he felt his heart leap in wonder at these dragons taking flight.

Spyro woke up and felt the same strength in his wings as before that told him the power of flight was his again. Once again, Toon Link had stored away the Dragon Stone of Wind.

"How do we get down?" Sheik asked.

"I'll show you Sheik! Grab onto me, everyone!" Spyro cheered.

Unsure of what was about to happen, everyone grabbed onto a part of Spyro's body, and he dove off the spire. Everyone else screamed in fear (except for Sparks who could fly himself and was merely following them), but Spyro extended his wings calmly. Despite the overbearing weight of two people, a cheetah, and a dragon, the wind took hold of them, and they were gliding to a controlled landing on the ground below. Spyro had never felt better; with these three orbs under his belt, he was ready to handle almost anything! The rest of the Dragon Stones should be a snap, and they'd show Ripto what for, and they'd be off to other worlds! Euphoria just kept flowing through Spyro, but then he felt a deep rumbling. That… couldn't be good, could it?

Chapter 19: The Last of the Dragon Stones

Everyone turned to the sound of the noise. The ground shook with every stepped the incoming beast seemed to make. It had to be unimaginably large, but no one could see it since it was shrouded by the trees of the forest. Hunter drew his bow, Toon Link prepared his sword, Sheik grabbed some knives, and Spyro took to the air. The beast was coming closer, and it was almost assuredly upon them. It seemed unlikely to be friendly, and so everyone was incredibly tense at the sound of the approaching footsteps. After what seemed like an eternity, a great beast broke out of the forest. To members of our world, the "real" world, it might have been said to look like a Tyrannosaur Rex, but if such a thing was on steroids. It was at least three times as big as any T-Rex that walked our world, it was a horrible green, its muscles rippled, and it had arms much longer than a T-Rex. This was truly a fearsome creature.

"SPYRO, YOU CANNOT DEFEAT RIPTO. STOP SEEKING THE DRAGON STONES OR I WILL DESTROY YOU," the beast boomed.

"Not a chance, big guy! I'll turn you into a rotisserie if you don't leave right now!" Spyro retorted.

"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME, SPYRO!"

"Good thing he's not alone then!" Toon Link yelled.

The beast looked down, dumbfounded. It had seen Hunter before, but Toon Link and Sheik were brand new to him, and they definitely looked like nothing that came from Spyro's world.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"Your worst nightmare, fiend. I sense your power, you have a Dragon Stone. Give it to us before we have to destroy you!" Sheik laughed.

"NEVER!"

"Alright team, work together. Spyro, fly up to his head and scorch him best you can! I'll launch a barrage of arrows into any weak spots I can find. Toon Link, Sheik, do whatever you can do to tangle him up and distract him!" Hunter ordered.

And they did. Spyro flew up to the head of the beast. He was breathing great balls of fire at his face, scorching his skin with every blow. The beast kept trying to bit him, but every time he was about to get Spyro, Hunter fired an arrow straight into his mouth, nose, ear, or on one occasion, his eye. This caused the beast to roar in utter agony and lose track of Spyro while he continued to blowtorch the beast. Toon Link was taking on the legs best he could, using the Master Sword to deal some great pain to his feet, but rarely deeper than an inch or two, the equivalent of a paper cut to the beast. Sheik kept popping in and out of the arena in great puffs of smoke to throw daggers, slice with a knife, or even use explosives. But just like with Toon Link, the skin was tough and these seemed to be more so aggravating him than hurting him.

"YOU WEAKLINGS. HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME LIKE THIS? I WILL STOMP YOU UNDERFOOT!"

Toon Link had to jump back in order to avoid the stomping, and Sheik appeared next to him. They looked up, Spyro was moving slower, clearly a little exhausted. Hunter was running out of arrows. They had to end this battle quickly. Toon Link and Sheik looked at each other and nodded. They didn't know the specifics of the plan, but they knew each had a portion of an idea, that once started, could be completed by the other. Toon Link pulled a Grappling Hook out of his pouch and slung it at the beast's tail. The beast didn't seem to feel it, but that wasn't the whole plan. With a grin on his face, he leapt and swung from his rope and swung around his tail. He swung again and wrapped the rope around the beast's legs. Toon Link kept swinging and flying, tying up the beast's legs. The beast finally realized what had happened and flailed madly, trying to undo the ropes, but the Grappling Hook was incredibly strong, and it was essentially impossible to break. Toon Link wound the rope tighter and tighter, and Spyro and Hunter kept the beast too preoccupied to attack Toon Link during his acrobatics. Sheik drew her knife that hung on the bottom of her back reserved usually for Sheikah ceremonies and waited for Toon Link to finish his job. After about a minute of swinging, Toon Link finally wound the rope tight enough to topple the beast and the beast was on the ground on his belly. That was when Sheik stuck. She dove in and out of existence, slashing with the knife at his face with terrible power. Unless her weapons before, which did almost nothing to its skin, Sheik's knife cut deep and drew lots of blood. The beast roared in agony, but couldn't do anything to stop the rush of blades. Finally, after several dozen deep strikes, Sheik stopped, mercy on her face.

"Go, beast, back to Ripto. Tell them that he has no chance against us. Our united powers are too strong for him. If he returns the Dragon Stones, I'll give him the same mercy I gave you. I shall take the Dragon Stone you have," Sheik commanded, thrusting her hand at it.

The beast disappeared in a puff of smoke. Toon Link gathered his loose Grappling Hook, and Hunter gathered the arrows mysteriously left behind. Spyro landed next to them. Each of them gawked at Sheik for the awesome power she just unveiled. In the place of the beast, a large brown stone glowed and it smelled of the musky scent of the earth. Spyro walked up to it once more, and rested before it.

Once more, Spyro was in the meadow of dragons. This time, it seemed that the dragons had taken care of the clearing rather too well. The trees were too many and died in inopportune moments where their trunks blocked movement. It was hardly even a clearing anymore. Spyro shook his head, these dragons hadn't learned how to maintain balance with their life giving powers. Thankfully, the blacksmith was again preparing a new Dragon Stone. Spyro had arrived just in time, and the blacksmith pulled the new Dragon Stone out of the flames. "The Dragon Stone of Earth!" This time, the blacksmith showed how his skin became as iron and his claws and horns became stronger than steel. He charged around, destroying the decayed undergrowth. The other dragons followed his lead, and within a very short while, the ground was very much clearer than it was and the dragons could now move around much more freely. Spyro laughed, it seemed that these dragons' situation was getting constantly better.

Spyro woke up, the Dragon Stone gone again, and the strength of his body flooding back to him told him that he now had four of the seven Dragon Stones. It wouldn't be much longer before Spyro was back to his full strength, right? But where was the next Dragon Stone? They still needed the Dragon Stones of Water, Ice, and Spirit. So… where was the next one? Sparks was speaking with a nearby dragonfly and he seemed to hear something he liked, because he told it good-bye and flew over.

"Good news, everyone! That guy just told me somewhere nearby became an arctic wonderland, in summer! That seems like a Dragon Stone location screaming out to us to me!" Sparks relayed.

They all nodded and followed Sparks as he led them down a dirt path leading away from the forest. Compared to the rugged terrain they had just came from, this area was extremely flat. There was almost no change in the elevation, and it felt strange. Usually even plains had some elevation changes every once in a while. That wasn't the case here. It was totally flat, and the air seemed to be getting chillier. At first, it was hardly noticeable. In fact, it seemed to manifest itself only as a nice breeze at first. It seemed almost pleasant. But as they walked, the air became freezing and they started to huddle closer together to keep warm. Finally, a great wall of ice came from the horizon. It seemed to stretch off in either direction for miles, and it was extremely tall. Spyro might be able to fly them up there, but there was no telling how far the ice wall extended inside, or if the Dragon Stone was inside the ice. Spyro merely laughed and started slashing at the ice with his claws. They were crushed as if the ice wall was a sand castle under his strong claws. But it was slow work for them. Spyro's claws could only take out so much ice at once.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Spyro hit air on the other side. He dug faster, excited. He dug a hole big enough for all of them to crawl through, and they went inside. This was not an outdoors place: they had enter an ice cave. The Dragon Stone was nowhere in sight, but the passageway stretched down further and they followed the path. It was almost warmer in here than it was out there, since the passageways seemed to capture their body heat. Very little natural light refracted through the ice, so Spyro opened his jaw and held fire in his mouth. It lit up the cave and made their shadows dance, so they went down further. Everyone once in a while, they encountered a smaller ice wall, which Spyro lowered his head and charged at, destroying. They went like this for about half an hour until they entered a massive atrium. The ceiling seemed to raise for miles, and the area was a perfect circle, so wide that they could barely make out the other end. The top of the ice was so close to the surface that a lot more light entered this room, so Spyro put out his fire. In the center stood the fifth Dragon Stone. It was a pale blue, and the air around it was sub-zero. Spyro, again, laid down to sleep in front of this Dragon Stone.

This time in the clearing, it was clear some time had again passed since the last time Spyro visited. But this time, there was a fire out of control in the clearing. They had cleared too much of the underbrush, and the moisture of the ground wasn't maintained in the slightest. The grass underneath was dry as sawdust and had plenty of surface area from which to burn. The dragons were trying desperately to put out the fires, but none of their powers they had yet could stop a fire of this magnitude. Several of them were coming from the air to try to flap the fires out with wind. Others tried using their claws to dig earth to throw over the flames. Still others were trying to pull the life out of the way. The blacksmith was working frantically on another Dragon Stone to try to stop the incoming flames. He looked fearful, but also resolute. No matter how close the flames came to him, he continued working and didn't seem to mind at all anything that came close to him. Finally, he pulled a Dragon Stone out and cried, "The Dragon Stone of Ice!" He flew around, breathing ice onto all of the flames. The flames melted the ice, proving its own demise with the tonnes of water coming down on it now. The other dragons took flight and also used the power of the Dragon Stone to use ice breath. Within minutes, the fire was finally put out and everyone looked relieved to have saved their home.

Spyro woke up once more, the Dragon Stone safely guarded by Toon Link, but instead of the atrium, he found himself in a grass plain. Spyro must have looked utterly confused because Hunter said, "When Toon Link put away the Dragon Stone, the whole thing melted."

Indeed, the whole place was the exact same level of flat that the ice cave had been. He could almost feel the lingering cold of the caves. Spyro stood up, finally excited again. They now had five Dragon Stones! They were almost ready to face Ripto! Only Spirit and Water to go, and Spyro had a hunch where the Water Dragon Stone was. There was an mystical lake just a few miles away. Legends said a civilization of dragons once lived down there, but no one had ever seen the bottom. It'd be the perfect place to hid the Dragon Stone! He told them so, and they all agreed that since each of the previous places seemed to have a connection to their respective Dragon Stone, a magical lake was the perfect place to look for the Dragon Stone of Water.

And so, they headed towards the west, as the day hit late afternoon. It was crazy to think they were possibly going to collect all seven of the Dragon Stones in one day. It was, however, a comforting thought to many of them since they didn't know how long they had until the world of Spyro was destroyed by Tabuu. To be able to leave this world as soon as possible was the end goal to Toon Link and Sheik in particular because they were afraid of what would happen if they stayed during a world's destruction. All they know is that those still in the world were in Tabuu's power, but what that meant was a mystery to them. They kept a close eye on the sun. It was falling a little faster than they would like and they wished to at least reach the Water Stone tonight. Finally, the humidity of the air seemed to spike dramatically. Even Toon Link, in his clothes meant for the sea, was beginning to sweat and get bothered by the warm, wet air.

They had arrived at the ancient lake. They couldn't see the bottom, and it was dangerously overflowing. The land near the new shore was filled with trees and debris that had clearly not been in the water even a day before. There was no question: the Dragon Stone was in the water. But how could they get down there and grab the Stone without drowning? Thankfully Spyro had an idea. He took to the sky once more and flew to the river and waterfall that fed the lake. He used his new ice breath granted by the Dragon Stone of Ice to freeze them over. At least there would be no new water entering the basin. He flew back to them, and explained to them his second part of the plan. They would wrap a mold around their heads of cloth, then Spyro would place a layer of magical ice over that fabric. Removing the fabric, each of them would have a sort of diving bell apparatus that would allow them a supply of air underwater. Spyro could even refill the air underwater with the Dragon Stone of Wind! They all agreed it was an exceptionally good plan, and it took them about twenty minutes, but each of them had a large diving bell over their heads.

They jumped into the water one by one. Toon Link may have been a sailor, but even he had not been under the waves this long. Well, except for that sunken Hyrule business, but as that felt like moving on land and was a very long story, he didn't count it. They could now see why no one had been under this lake for so long. Even with their large pools of air, Spyro had to refill them with fresh air several times before they reached the bottom of the lake. Sheik vaguely remembered a tale from the legends of heroes past of Hyrule where another hero had to go into a temple deep under Lake Hylia, but she doubted that temple was even close to as far underwater as this one was. They reached the bottom, but that wasn't the reason they gasped. Before their very eyes, they saw the legend was true. There was an ancient city down here, abandoned. They opened the doors to the gate and found, by some long forgotten magic, the city's supply of air was kept safe from the waves, even with the door open. They pulled off their diving bells, and stepped onto the main street of the city. This was a major discovery; it was the Atlantis of this world. They stopped to gawk at every mural, every statue, every piece of architecture. What had these dragons been capable of? They agreed by silent consent to enter the tall temple at the center of town. It was the central location of the city, and most likely where the Dragon Stone was. It felt, if that was possible, even more weathered and sacred inside the temple than in the city. They could almost hear the dragons congregating in this very hall. Out where the alter clearly once stood, there was a pedestal. From it, water flowed into grates with unimaginable speed. This was causing the lake to overflow. Spyro said nothing and sat in front of the Dragon Stone.

Spyro looked at the clearing and found that even though the fires were put out, there was trouble once more in the meadow. The grass was still very dry and there was a very clear fire hazard remaining. The dragons were extra careful not to use their fire breath and risk setting fire to the place once more. They also tried to stay near the water source to avoid being caught away from the thing that could very much save their hides in the event of a fire. Only the blacksmith seemed to be OK with being near fire at the moment. He was working slower than before, trying to avoid random embers falling onto the rapidly drying grass. If even one spark landed on the ground, he might find himself up in flames in moments. However, he still worked tirelessly, trying to finish the Dragon Stone he was working on. And hopefully this one would fix all of their problems. After several minutes, the blacksmith pulled the new Dragon Stone out of the fires and showed it to his dragon friends, "the Dragon Stone of Water!" The dragons began the new use of this power to send jets of water out of their tails like pistols. They completely watered the entire clearing, and the place became far less of a fire hazard. Spyro smiled, these dragons were certainly becoming more like the dragons he knew.

Chapter 20: Ripto's Rage

Spyro woke up, and he found them looking around at the temple, waiting for Spyro to wake up. The Dragon Stone was safely stored away again, and there was only one left. There wasn't time to think about that yet, they needed to go back to the surface. They walked out of the temple, and prepared to walk out the main doors in order to float back to the top of the lake, but Hunter pointed at something.

"Isn't that a cannon? Couldn't we use that to launch ourselves to the surface?"

"You know what? I think it is!" Sparks exclaimed.

"Are we sure it'll work?" Toon Link asked.

"Only one way to find out," Sheik said.

And so they set off to the top of a nearby building. They climbed up many steps, desperately trying to reach the top soon. The air down here seemed so stale compared to the surface. They reached the cannon, and they saw the barrel was much larger than it had seemed from the street. It could easily fit them and half a dozen other people. In fact, it didn't even seem like a cannon. The place where they placed the ammo was a door that anyone could walk through, the control panel seemed to allow you to adjust the power to accommodate the size of the fired load. Sheik sat at the control panel, scanned the buttons, and quickly pressed a button she thought would work.

"That should work. Get in, fast. I set a timer for it to blast off in twenty seconds," Sheik commanded.

They all stepped through the door and the barrel started to rumble. A soft voice told them that launch was imminent.

"Transport active in 3… 2… 1…"

And they launched out of a window in the city's bubble. They were flying at incredible speeds that should have shattered their bodies, even when traveling through just water. It was a thrilling experience, full of exhilaration and excitement. The water that had taken them so long just to sink through was now hardly preventing them from leaving. It took them all but thirty seconds at this speed to reach the surface. But the problem was the landing. They launched high in the air and it would be a very hard landing. Spyro foresaw this and used his new mastery over water to form a cushion on the ground for them. It was still not a perfect landing, but at least no one had their bones shattered. They each began sputtering and coughing, as they had been underwater for thirty seconds without breathing. While they recovered, Glakar was seen approaching them from the road.

"Everyone, good job! I've heard from the dragonflies that you were heading to get the sixth Dragon Stone! I assume you got it?"

"Y-Y-Yes" Spyro coughed.

"Well then I have some bad news. I have heard from the dragonflies that Ripto heard you were nearly done reaching all the Dragon Stones and ordered the last one brought into his new castle with him. Spyro, you'll have to defeat him to get the last Dragon Stone!" Glakar warned.

"But Spyro isn't at full strength yet!" Hunter protested.

"It'll have to do. We can't let Ripto keep the Dragon Stone of Spirit," Glakar reminded Hunter.

"One thing I've learned, sometimes you have to make do with what you have," Toon Link said.

"He's right. Spyro has most of his powers. With our help, this Ripto should be pretty easy," Sheik reasoned.

"Yeah! Spyro isn't taking him on alone like he did last time!" Sparks cheered.

"Spyro, the castle is on top of a volcano a short distance from here. If Toon Link uses that admirable Wind Waker again, you can get there within the next ten minutes," Glakar advised.

Toon Link nodded at the suggestion and pulled out his Wind Waker. He performed his song again, and the clouds once again took over the sky. Glakar waved at them, bade them good luck, then watched as the hurricane whisked them away to deal with Ripto. It was a much shorter ride than before and it was much smoother now that everyone knew what to expect from the hurricane. This time, each of them took the time to appreciate the world below them. Privately, Spyro preferred flying under his own merit, but this was faster as well. They finally landed in front of a castle, and it looked like the mirror image of the dragon's castle. It was dark, foreboding. Where the dragons' castle was white, brightful and cheery, this castle was a deep purple, shadowy, and moody. Surrounding it was a moat of pure lava. The problem was not crossing the moat, but the fact that the drawbridge was up, blocking the only entrance.

I say it was a problem, but one finds that problems become much less significant when one has a dragon to help them. Spyro shot a few blasts of water from his tail at the mighty wooden drawbridge. Then he called upon moss and other great decayers of life to use the water to rot away the drawbridge. Within minutes, the drawbridge had all but disintegrated. Spyro grinned broadly, prideful at his work and feeling super pleased to have so many of his powers back. Hunter took a long jump and crossed the moat in a single leap, Spyro flew himself across, and Toon Link grabbed hold of Sheik and flew across with his Hookshot. The castle was infiltrated.

After several minutes of walking, they finally reached a throne room. Upon it, a small figure sat in total darkness. He laughed, and stepped into the light.

"Ripto," Spyro growled.

"Yes, it is me," Ripto smiled.

Toon Link and Sheik did a double take. This was the one causing all the problems?! He was no more than two feet tall, bright orange, with a single horn on his head. He also had a dark cloak wrapped around him. A single red ruby hung from his neck. He held a wooden staff set with another red ruby. He wore a grin of pure evil; it was the kind of look that portrayed genius underneath. His eyes were sunken, his nose flared, his mouth wider than looked right. If this little dinosaur could cause so much trouble, Toon Link and Sheik could not underestimate him for his size.

"Return the last Dragon Stone, Ripto," Hunter told him.

"I'm thinking… not," Ripto grinned evilly.

"You cannot hope to hold out against us. Together we're much too powerful," Sheik warned.

"This blade will tear through your hide," Toon Link said.

"Now who could these two be, Spyro! You've brought new friends? Humans? Strange allies Spyro," Ripto laughed.

"They're Toon Link and Sheik, warriors of other worlds. They're my friends, and together we'll defeat you," Spyro roared.

"Enough talk. The Dragon Stone of Spirit is mine! You cannot hope to defeat me again, Spyro!" Ripto screamed.

Ripto waved his staff, and the throne room disappeared. They were now in a stone arena, ringed by lava. Ripto stood at the center and threw off his cloak. The group of heroes crouched low, ready to dodge any attack.

"Spyro, get ready to die! I'll finally obtain dominion over the dragons!" Ripto said.

"Fat chance, Ripto!" Spyro teased.

Ripto roared and waved his staff once more. Great flames burst from it, and Spyro blew them away with his ice. Ripto looked not at all concerned, as if he had merely been testing a theory. Ripto kept waving his staff and this time threw ice at him. Toon Link fired an arrow enchanted with fire and intercepted the ice blast. Next, Ripto cast a blue barrier around himself, and Sheik tossed some explosives, which shattered the shield. Ripto lifted himself into the air, and Hunter shot him down with his arrows. Spyro got the inkling of a dangerous idea. Something crazy, something that Ripto couldn't have possibly have done. And even if he tried, it would be impossible…

"Are you putting it together Spyro?" Ripto teased.

"It's… it's impossible," Spyro seethed.

"What's happening?" Hunter worried.

"Why do you think I got the Dragon Stones? It wasn't just to weaken the dragons, it was to obtain the power of the dragons themselves! I cast a spell over myself that would allow the Dragon Stones to recognize me as a dragon! I have the power that all dragons do, Spyro!" Ripto laughed.

"This isn't good is it?" Sheik asked.

"No, I don't believe it is," Toon Link sighed.

"Why can't these things ever be easy?" Sparks complained.

And so they fought. And fought. And fought. Ripto kept launching attacks from the Dragon Stones, and the group kept merely cancelling them out. The group kept getting worn out and Ripto only seemed to be getting his second wind. The situation kept getting more dire, and there was no telling how long this world had left. They needed to end this, now. Sheik kept looking for an opening, but Ripto kept casting spells without end. None of them could even get close. At this rate, they'd be overwhelmed by Ripto. The power of the Dragon Stones were too strong, and they were running out of resources and time. They needed something… equally powerful. Sheik had an idea, and it was a dangerous one. She pulled Toon Link aside, and warned him what they needed to do. Toon Link nodded.

Toon Link pulled out his Wind Waker again, and played The Wind's Requiem, a powerful song that controlled the winds. He directed the wind to continuously buffet Ripto. Ripto seemed shocked, because his Dragon Stone of Wind powers should have stopped this. What they would later learn is that the Dragon Stone of Wind that was still in Toon Link's pack was lending its power to the Wind Waker to give it power to overwhelm Ripto. But that wasn't the plan, at least not all of it.

"Hunter, fire at will!" Sheik commanded.

Hunter immediately understood the plan and began firing his arrows, aiming for Ripto's hands. The magic of the Wind's Requiem didn't deflect Hunter's arrows, so they hit strong and true on his hand. Sheik followed up with throwing knives of her own, and Ripto was soon screaming in pain.

"Spyro! Grab his scepter!" Sheik called.

"Gladly!" Spyro replied.

Spyro flew up and bit onto the end of the scepter. Despite being shaken up by the wind and riddled with arrows and knives, Ripto knew that he could not let go of his staff for anything. But Spyro had found new strength and Ripto was very much weakened by the battle. After a fierce fight of Tug o' War, Spyro tore free the staff from Ripto's grasp. Toon Link saw this, and he commanded the winds to cast Ripto away far into the distance.

"I'll get you Spyroooooooooooooo" Ripto screamed as he flew away.

Silence fell as Spyro landed.

"Where's the Dragon Stone of Spirit?" Sparks asked.

"Ripto had it hidden by magic. I can call it forth with the other Dragon Stones. Toon Link, can you place them around me?" Spyro asked.

"Of course," Toon Link responded.

He placed the the Dragon Stones of Fire, Life, Wind, Earth, Ice, and Water around Spyro. Spyro stretched his legs to their full length and raised his head high. The Dragon Stones began to glow ever more brightly and they also began to lift off the ground and circle around Spyro. He let out a deep growl that turned into a violent roar that shook the arena down to the bedrock. Writing simply cannot explain how powerful this roar was. Imagine the most powerful earthquake you've ever been in and multiply it by ten. You might be in the ballpark of this earth-shattering event. Spyro seemed intent on scaring the Dragon Stone into existence. Finally, in front of them, a final Dragon Stone appeared in front of them and glowed just as brightly as the others. Spyro let the calling spell go and the Dragon Stone of Spirit hovered on the ground in front of them.

Spyro laid himself down to rest in front of the Dragon Stone one last time. This time in the clearing, he found the dragons deathly ill. What had happened? Wouldn't the magic help make them healthier, safer? Then he heard some of the dragons muttering.

"Too much magic…"

"Our Souls, they're overwhelmed,"

"Not meant to do this…"

Dragons had become imbalanced. By embracing powers nature had not gifted to them, they were overwhelming their own bodies. They were not meant to use magic. They were dying from the abundance of strength that made their life better. Spyro looked hopefully over at the blacksmith. Indeed, he was still working at his forge, but he was looking worse than Spyro had ever seen him. You could tell from his new concave chest, sunken eyes, and weak walking that he was not up to his usual strength. Nevertheless, he seemed intent to fix the problems he caused. Finally, he pulled a new Dragon Stone out of the flames. "The Dragon Stone of Spirit," he coughed. But as all the dragons received its powers, they all became better. They seemed to get back to their normal strength immediately.

That was the true power of the Dragon Stone of Spirit, and why it was the most powerful one of them all. It didn't grant fire breath or flight or strong claws, but it granted the ability to use these powers without burning up in the process. Spyro had been granted the power to use all the others.

Spyro woke up to horrible screaming. He looked up in horror at the sky; there was a black void sucking up the world. Tabuu had come.

"Spyro! The clearing of dragons!" Hunter screamed.

"No time! That void will suck us up if we don't leave now!" Sheik warned.

"But we have to return the Dragon Stones!" Sparks cried.

"We're about to fall into Tabuu's power!" Toon Link reminded them.

"Hunter, Sparks, we have to go," Spyro said calmly.

"No, we can't!" Hunter retorted.

"We can and we will. We need to beat Tabuu," Spyro said.

"Fine you go! I'm going back for the dragons. Sparks are you with me?" Hunter said exasperated.

"Yes, hold on," Sparks turned to Spyro, "Spyro, take the Dragon Stones. You'll need it wherever you're going. We'll go back and protect the dragons and the dragonflies."

"But-" Spyro started.

But Hunter and Sparks ran off. Spyro knew he couldn't waste any more time chasing after them. He merely held hands with Toon Link and Sheik as they took him out of the world.