"Looks like I've got some things to do." Spyro's first thought was to kick that Gnasty Gnorc's butt and nothing else...well at least until he saw one of his kin trapped in crystal.

He was pretty sure this was Nestor. He liked to hang out in front of the Artisans castle, guarding or taking a walk? He wasn't sure. Never thought to ask him.

He nudged statue and waited, like he was expecting something. But...nothing happened. He should've expected nothing to be honest, he didn't know why he thought otherwise. He tried a few more things in attempt to free the captive, mostly stuff he knew like flaming and charging. Both didn't leave a dent but afterwards he was aware that maybe damaging the statue with the dragon still in it wasn't the best approach to this problem.

He wasn't sure what to do about this, however he decided to save it for later, I'll be back, and walk away.

Heh... It was not like they were trapped in there forever or anything, right? ...Right?

There was a yellow dragonfly following him, the one that always did. What had his family called him? Sparks?

Oh, well. He wasn't sure why he was following him. Did Sparks want to be with his 'brother' or something? He was quite useful for picking up all the gems across the realm anyway. He was sure that's all he was good for that is until he went to Dark Hollow.

He was facing off with a Gnorc with a knife and metal shield. He flamed him from far away but it didn't do anything. Running it through with his horns did the trick though. Metal can't be flamed, only charged. He made a mental note of it for later.

Spyro jumped up some platforms. He saw a chest on top but ignored it as it was locked. On another platform was a Shield Gnorc and a big one brandishing a drum stick as a weapon. A very weird choice for a weapon if you asked him. He took out the shield one and turned to charge the big one, later he would find out that big enemies couldn't be charged but now he simply bonked on the it's big fat belly. The Gnorc, seeing the opportunity for attack, bashed him away. The hit threw him off the platform and rolling onto the grass below.

Woah... He was staring at the stars, wondering why that didn't hurt. It should have but it didn't.

Sparks came into view staring down at him to see if he was alright.

He was, but Sparks was blue now, different from his usual yellow. Why? "Why are you- Did- Did you protect me little buddy?" He asked.

Sparks buzzed in response. "But...are you hurt? Sparks?"

The dragonfly didn't make a peep.

"What can I do to help you?" He mused.

Sparks looked at the frogs hopping around and licked his lips.

"Oh, food?" He says, then remembers that butterflies tend to fly out of fodder and quickly disappear and now he knows why that happens.

"No..." He shakes his head, "Butterflies, right?"

A buzz.

"Butterflies it is then. Let's get you some."

Stone hill was pretty calming after getting his butt smacked by a Gnorc. Not as satisfying as flaming the Gnorc's butt in return but it's alright.

Then he fell into a well. He was only standing on the edge to look down into it but he lost his footing and down he went. The landing didn't hurt, his wings slowed his descent, but he found himself stuck down there. The only other things down here was a another trapped dragon and a locked chest.

He grimace trying to think of a way out of here when he saw a swirling vortex appear in front of him. He cocked his head to the side, like a confused puppy, and reached a paw out to touch it. The vortex suck him in like a drain, spinning him around and lifting him up and up till he saw the sunlight and found himself on the grass again.

Spyro dug his claws into the dirt and took a minute to get past the dizziness he was under. He groaned. He really hoped he didn't have to go through that again.

He was wrong, several times wrong in fact.

He stopped for a bit, taking the time to flame some chickens for himself and for Sparks who took some damage for him when he took on Town Square's escaped fighting bulls.

He sat there eating his flame charred chicken with a grimace. It was a bit overcooked; a chief he is not. Then he focused on his thoughts. Mostly it was about how to free the dragons from their crystal prison as the thought wouldn't leave his mind. It was taunting him, almost laughing at him even.

"Sparks? Did you hear that?" He could've swore he heard a distant 'Na na na na' from somewhere.

Sparks looked at him but was silent.

Spyro shrugged, figuring it was just his imagination.

"Hey, do you know where Gnasty Gnorc lives?" he asked Marco The Balloonist.

"You're looking to go to Gnorc territory, huh? You might want to talk to my brothers about that as I don't think I can travel that far. I would take you over to Peace Keepers but uh..." he trailed off.

"What's the matter?"

"There's this guy. Uh, he's called Toasty I think, and well he's been threatening to kill me if I ever left Artisans."

"Umm, well if I take out this...Toasty fella will you take me to Peace Keepers?" Spyro asked.

"You will? Yes, good dragon."

"Just play it cool, I'll be back." Then he ran off.

Spyro found the entrance to Toasty's lair was open. Normally the giant dragon head was closed but now it wasn't. He just figured he did something right and when in without a second thought.

Shepherds and dogs were the only thing standing in his way to the boss. Sparks did a good job protecting him until he could learn how the dogs attacked. He eventually found his way to another dragon trapped in crystal. He frowned but otherwise ignored it as he couldn't do anything for them.

He walked into a small arena with a dog, there was also a tall man in a cloak with a jack o lantern for a face. He was pretty sure this was Toasty or his name isn't Spyro and it is. He took out the dog and jumped over Toasty's scythe and flamed him.

"BAA!" Toasty bleated and hopped away into the next arena.

Wait a minute...

They were two more dogs he took out and he hit Toasty again burning off his cloak to find...

"H-He was a what?!" Marco sputtered.

"Yeah, just a sheep on stilts," Spyro answered him, shaking his head.

"Gracious, I was afraid of nothing. Still a deals a deal. Go on little dragon." The balloonist smiled.

Soon as Spyro jumped into the balloon they were off. As he saw Artisans, his home land fading away from view, a twang of anxiety hit him. He didn't know why but he had the feeling things were going to go wrong soon, somehow.

Guess he'll just have to wait and see.