pokemonsora01, who owns Jamie, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! :) Enjoy! :)

Spyro belongs to Activision. I only own Rachel.

Talent Comes From The Heart

Rachel knew it hadn't been a good day for her cousin when she saw him on the front steps of the school looking upset and hurt. Going up to him, she happened to spot some of the bullies that liked to bully her cousin and she gave them a fierce glare. Seeing that, they quickly moved away, not daring to mess with her.

Jamie looked up as he saw his older cousin arrive and he stood up. Wordlessly, the older girl put an arm around him and guided him away from the school and to her black-and-silver Camaro. As they pulled away, Rachel finally broke the silence. "Bullies again?" She asked.

"Yeah," he said. "But...not just them this time."

She looked at him and had a feeling she wasn't going to like what he said next. "Who else?" She asked gently.

Jamie sighed. "The teachers too," he said.

Rachel felt anger fill her at that. "What did they say?" She asked, just barely keeping the anger out of her voice.

"They said the things that I draw for my art school are never good enough."

The older girl took a deep breath to try and calm down. Her cousin was taking art classes in a very good art school as extra credit as he loved to draw. His teachers at the art school were good and encouraged him to continue. Even she liked his drawings and thought he was really good at it. "It's bad enough that older kids are bullying you and now some of your teachers are bullying you too?" She gripped the steering wheel. "Perhaps I need to call the superintendent to straighten them out?"

Jamie shook his head. "Thanks, cous, but it's okay," he said.

She looked at him. "Are you sure?" She asked.

He nodded before smiling. "Yeah," he said. "Knowing that you care makes me feel better."

She smiled. "You're practically my little brother, Jamie. Of course I care and I'll go into protective mode when it comes to you." She playfully poked his side. "And you're a good artist, cous. I can't draw as good as you can."

Jamie smiled again. "But you're an amazing writer," he said. "I love the songs and music you write."

The older girl blushed a little before chuckling. "Thanks," she said as she pulled up at her house. "Well, here we are."

"I think I'll go for a walk in the woods," he said, indicating to the woods behind her house.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "Be careful. I've been seeing a few clusters of poison ivy in the forest lately."

Jamie nodded. "I'll be careful," he promised.

Moments later, he was walking through the forest, his mind still on earlier with his teachers and the bullies. Though he did feel a bit better know that his cousin/sister felt that he was a good artist and his art teachers felt he was good too and encouraged him to continue, the words the bullies and teachers had said to him still stung. As he continued walking, he happened to look up and stopped in surprise at what he had just stumbled on.

There was a strange stone arch between some trees. "Wonder who put this here?" The boy said aloud before his eyes widened as he saw an blurry image of fields and a castle within the arch, almost like if he stepped through it, he'd be in the grassy fields he saw. Curiosity got the better of him, as it often did, and Jamie cautiously placed his hand on the image, surprise filling him as his hand went through the image and a force seemed to have grabbed hold of his arm, gently pulling him into the portal. A wave of dizziness came over him and he stood still for a moment, trying to shake off the dizziness and succeeding a moment later. When he looked up, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

He was in a massive field and could see the magnificent castle in the distance, along with stone sculptures and flower fields. It looked like something out of an old story about knights and kings. "Wow," he said.

"Hey, look there," came a voice from behind the boy, who turned around and got another shock.

A small purple dragon was standing there and beside him was a golden dragonfly. The dragon narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? And where did you come from?" He asked the boy, crouching down and ready to attack in case the boy was a threat.

Shocked to see a real dragon, Jamie swallowed nervously. "I'm J-Jamie," he stammered nervously. "I came here t-through the portal behind me."

He gestured to behind him, but to his surprise, the portal was closed. He looked back at the dragon, who looked thoughtful. "The portal, huh?" He asked. "It's been closed for a long time." He sat up, his wings folded behind him. "My name's Spyro. Where was this portal your saw?"

"It was in the forest behind my cousin's house in my world," Jamie said. "I promise that I came through it, but...I don't know how I'm going to get back home."

Sensing the boy was telling the truth, Spyro nodded. "I believe you, Jamie," he said. "How about I take you to see the dragons of Artisans? One of them might know a way for you to get home."

Grateful, the boy nodded. "Thank you, Spyro," he said.

As they were walking, Spyro began telling him about the Dragon World. "Artisans is just one of the many worlds here in the Dragon World," he explained.

Jamie was amazed to hear that. "I'm in a world full of dragons?" He asked in surprise. "Wow. Dragons are only fairy tales in my world."

The small dragon didn't seem surprised to hear that. "I've seen humans during my adventure in the worlds of Avalar, but never here in the Dragon World," he said. "You're the first."

They soon arrived and headed for the center of Artisans. Jamie became nervous as they approached and he saw a few of the resident dragons. They were quite large and towered over him. He then noted they were all looking at him, some with curiosity and others with wariness or suspicion. Keeping his head down, the boy continued following Spyro up to two large dragons, one being green with a gold chain around his neck, a dark green vest, and a tool belt around his waist and the other being a bit larger pinkish-purple dragon that had a purple scarf around his neck. "Hey, guys," Spyro said to them, getting their attention.

The two larger dragons looked at the smaller dragon and then looked shocked at seeing the boy, who felt very nervous now. "Spyro, who is this?" The green dragon asked.

"This is Jamie," the smaller dragon said with a smile. "He's new here."

The green dragon noticed the boy was looking very nervous and approached him, noting the boy's nervousness seemed to grow. Jamie was nervous because of the sheer size of the dragon and he only came up to the dragon's elbow, which made him more nervous. The dragon kneeled down, gazing at the boy. "Hello, Jamie," he said with a smile. "My name is Nestor. You don't have to be nervous. No dragon here in Dragon World will hurt you."

His words seemed to calm the boy before Nestor looked curious. "How did you get here though, Jamie?" He asked.

"I found this portal through a stone archway in my world and it had a blurry image of the castle and a huge field," the boy said before looking sheepish. "And curiosity got the best of me, so I stepped through it and came here."

The other dragon came forward, sensing that the boy was being truthful. "I am Argus," he said. "The portal you came through was connected to a world far, far away from here, but it stopped working when humans got greedy and began stealing the dragons' gems." He paused. "It's peculiar that the portal was working when you found it."

Jamie was curious too. "Is there a way to get it working again?" He asked. "This world is great, but I do need to get back to my world. My cousin will be worried about me."

Nestor crouched down again to Jamie's height and gently ruffled the boy's hair. "We'll find a way to get it working again," he said reassuringly.

Spyro smiled. "How about I show you some of the worlds in Artisans, Jamie?" He offered.

The boy looked nervous again, but nodded. "Sure," he said and they both looked up at Argus and Nestor, who both nodded their permission.

"On the condition you both be careful," Argus cautioned them.

Spyro was a great tour guide and showed Jamie around Stone Hill and Dark Hollow before they headed to Town Square. Amazed by what he saw, Jamie pulled out his sketchbook and began drawing what he saw. The small purple dragon looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hey, you're a good artist," he said. "If you were a dragon, you'd fit right into the Artisans world."

The boy appreciated the kind words. "Thanks, Spyro," he said before returning to his drawings and not paying attention to where he was going until he suddenly bumped into another dragon, this one being the red chef Alvar. "Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry," the boy apologized before bending down to pick up his sketchbook he had dropped, but Alvar grabbed it first and looked at it.

"Did you draw these?" He asked gruffly.

Jamie swallowed hard. "Yes," he said quietly.

Alvar scoffed. "Mediocre," he said, tossing the book back to the boy and walking off.

Spyro frowned at that and looked at Jamie. "Don't listen to him, Jamie. You're drawings are great," he said.

But the boy stayed quiet as Alvar's dismissal reminded him of what the bullies and his school teachers said about his work. They soon returned to where Nestor and Argus were with some other dragons, but they hadn't yet found a way to get the portal working again.

"How about I go bring the professor of Avalar here to take a look at the portal?" The small purple dragon suggested.

"Good idea," Argus agreed. "He'll no doubt be able to get it working again."

Spyro turned to Jamie. "I'll be back," he promised before flying away.

Nodding, the boy decided to do some more sketching while he was waiting. Seeing the castle in the distance and the fields of Artisans, he decided he would draw that and was soon sitting on a rock, drawing what he saw. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice Nestor had seen him and was coming up to him.

Jamie smiled as he finished the sketch, satisfied with it. He then heard footsteps. "What are you drawing, Jamie?" Nestor asked as he appeared behind the boy.

Immediately nervous that the dragon wouldn't like his drawings, Jamie quickly hid the sketchbook behind his back. "Oh, nothing," he said, trying to act nonchalantly.

Nestor cocked an eyebrow at him, not fooled so easily. "May I have a look?" He asked.

The boy felt nervous and slowly brought out his sketchbook, handing it to the dragon, who accepted it and gently looked through it. Jamie braced himself for harsh criticism, but was surprised to see Nestor smile. "These are some of the best drawings I've ever seen," he said.

"Really? You mean it?" The boy asked.

The dragon nodded. "I know great art when I see it," he said. "Everyone here excells in some form of art, being it sculpting, drawing, painting, even cooking and writing." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let me show you some of my work at my home."

Jamie followed him and was amazed when they arrived. There were stone sculptures and other stone artwork. "Wow," he said in amazement.

Nestor chuckled. "I'm both a carpenter and a sculpturer," he said. "And I love working with stone."

"These are amazing!" The boy said in awe.

"Thank you," the dragon said. "You know, a lot of people criticize my work as well, but sculpting is what I love to do and I'm not going to let what other say stop me." He kneeled down to the boy's height and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "And you shouldn't either, Jamie. Listen to the words of those who encourage you, because they see what I see when I look at you."

"What's that?" Jamie asked.

"I see an artist with great potential and talent that comes from the heart."

The kind words touched the boy and he hugged the green dragon in gratitude. Nestor seemed surprised at the gesture, but smiled and hugged the boy back. "Would you like to see more of Artisans while we wait for Spyro to return?"

"Yes, please," Jamie said as he turned to start walking, but was surprised when Nestor suddenly picked him up and held the boy against his chest before taking to the sky. "Whoa!" The boy cried out in surprise, clinging to the arms that held him.

Nestor smiled gently. "Don't be afraid, Jamie. I won't drop you," he promised. "Take a look."

Trusting his friend after the shock had worn off, Jamie looked to see the world below him and his eyes were wide as he began memorizing what he saw to sketch later. He then spotted the same portal he had come through and beside it was Spyro with a mole the boy assumed was the professor and several other dragons. Seeing this too, Nestor glided down and gently landed, setting the boy down on his feet. "Can you get it working, Professor?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, Nestor," the Professor said with a smile. "Using the orbs from Avalar, I'll have this portal up and running in no time."

The Professor was true to his word and a short time later, the portal was working with a blurry image of a forest appearing on the other side. Jamie looked at it more closely before nodding. "That's definitely the forest I was in before I arrived," he said, to which the dragons cheered, celebrating the success of the portal working again.

Argus smiled. "I think I know why the portal was working when you found it, Jamie," he said. "I looked through some old books and learned that, if the portal was near someone with a pure heart, then it would activate one time and allow the person to come to our world." He smiled. "You have a pure heart and not only that, needed to come here to have your confidence boosted up."

"Looks like it did, thanks to Nestor," Spyro said with a knowing smile. "I happened to see him and Jamie at Nestor's home and Jamie was amazed by Nestor's work."

Jamie looked a bit bashful at that and Nestor chuckled. "Well, it was only fair I show Jamie some of my artwork after he had shown me his," he said.

"Jamie!" A voice called out from the portal and they looked to see a young woman looking around. "Jamie!"

The boy smiled. "That's my cousin, Rachel," he said. "She's a writer and comes up with some awesome songs and music."

He then paused before stepping to the portal and looked at them all. "Will...Will I be able to return again?" He asked.

Nestor smiled. "Professor, let Jamie have one of the orbs," he said. "He's a good lad."

"I can see that," the Professor said with a smile. "There are some good humans in the world after all."

He gently handed one of the orbs to the boy, who accepted it. "Thank you," he said.

Nestor smiled. "Whenever you want to return to Dragon World, Jamie, just hold the orb in front of the portal," he said. "You can bring your cousin with you too."

"Really?" The boy asked hopefully.

"Yes," the green dragon said. "When you spoke about her, you smiled. It is obvious that she is also a good human and her looking for you shows us that she cares a great deal about you."

The boy nodded before hugging Nestor. "Thanks for cheering me up earlier," he said.

The dragon wrapped both his arms and wings around the boy. "Remember my words when you're feeling down about what others say about your work," he said.

"I will," the boy promised before hugging Spyro. "Thanks, Spyro. I promise I'll return soon."

"When you do, I'll show you the other worlds, like Avalar and the Forgotten Realms," the small dragon promised.

Nestor gave Spyro a slight disapproving glance at that, but didn't say anything as Jamie waved goodbye and entered the portal, finding himself in the forest again as the portal deactivated behind him. "Jamie!" He heard and turned to find Rachel running towards him and she pulled him into a hug. "Oh, thank goodness! I was worried about you. You've been gone for a bit."

"Sorry, cous," the boy said. "I got engrossed in my drawings and didn't notice the time."

She smiled. "Why do I have feeling there more to that than what you're telling me?" She asked.

He smiled. "I'll show you sometime," he promised as they headed for home.

A few days later...

Jamie was in the forest with Rachel beside him. He had told her about his adventures and she had been surprised, but glad that he had some friends who liked his artwork too. He had encouraged her to bring some of her music and songs with her when they went to Dragons World and they were now ready. "Okay, ready?" He asked.

"Ready," she said.

Jamie took her to the portal, which was still off, and held out the orb in front of it. A few seconds later, it activated and the cousins held hands as they walked through it, Rachel's eyes widening as she smiled. "It's beautiful," she said.

"Yeah," he said before spying Spyro and Nestor in the distance. "Spyro! Nestor!" He cried out in excitement as he ran towards them.

The two dragons smiled and hugged the boy before seeing Rachel come up to them and she smiled at them. "Jamie's told me a lot about you two," she said. "I'm glad he has good friends like you."

Both smiled. "Welcome to Dragon World, Rachel," Nestor said.

Spyro grinned. "Come on, Jamie!" He said, taking to the sky and grabbing the boy. "Let's go explore!"

The boy cheered and laughed as Nestor picked up Rachel and joined them in the sky, the world of Artisans spreading out like a magic carpet of wonder before them all.

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GoldGuardian2418