Once again, I give my gratitude to my loyal reviewers: Neros Urameshi and ChrisMSMB & Misa87 and interocativo for reviewing the first chapter. Other reviewers I would like to thank are GIGA-XISBASS, maranic, DryBonesKing, Useful and ChronoDragon. A tremendous thanks goes to my newest reviewer, Topaz16, for reviewing every single chapter right up to the fourteenth chapter and helping another story of mine going over the 100 reviews mark! Wow! Yet another popular story and now, I can hardly believe this crossover is finally tied in first place with my debut fanfiction, "A Mario Birthday Party", as the most well-liked story out of all my written work! Anyway, all of you may have noticed earlier that throughout the crossover, Jake has been addressing Spyro by nicknames like 'Spy' which is short for his name and 'S' which stands for him, Jake already explained about this in the twelfth chapter.

I apologize for the seemingly long hiatus/break; I was working on "Missing You", the long-awaited sequel to my one-sided Mario x Pauline song fanfiction, "Forever Is Over". Not only was "Missing You" was written to celebrate the release of the single and The Saturdays' latest album, Headlines, it's also marks my return to doing Mario-related stuff.

If you played American Dragon: Jake Long – Rise of the Huntsclan on your Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP, you'll recognize those hira-shurikens (throwing stars, ninja stars or fighting stars, whatever you want to call them) that Huntsgirl used against Jake in their last showdown, before the battle with the long dead Huntsmasters the Huntsman revived. Since Huntsgirl is part of Team Dragon in the story, she'll make use of the hira-shurikens in the midst of the true, final confrontation with the villains and in this chapter.

Starting from this chapter this is where things are beginning to get funnier (as in Spyro and Team Dragon were toying with Ripto, Crush and Gulp as the heroes and heroines used the Rainbow Sceptre to their advantage and keeping it away from their foes) or very hectic. Here's a fun fact about the title: It's inspired from Bubbles' quote, "It's monkey in the middle!" in the comic strip, "See You Later, Narrator!" from issue number 27 of The Powerpuff Girls Powerzine.

By the way, since this chapter is taking me longer than I expected, I decided to split this into several more chapters just like the "Closing Battle" and "The Search For Hunter" parts.

Chapter 15: It's Dinosaur in the Middle! – Part 1

Through the wee hours of the night as it's a few minutes away from midnight, Spyro, Sparx, Jake Long, Haley Long, Sun Park, Hunter and Huntsgirl were flying in an en route to Central Park where their real confrontation with Ripto, Crush and Gulp takes place. There's no rest for the heroes and heroines indeed and the fate of the Dragon Realms, Avalar, Forgotten Worlds and New York City lies in their hands, paws and claws. It's all up to them to thwart the bullying, wizard riptoc's diabolical plans and prevent him and his henchmen from seizing control of any realm or world he desires to conquer.

They swiftly soared through the sky and the scattered, weightless clouds with their enemies hot on their trail, Central Park lies ahead, beyond the horizon and it lines with Fifth Avenue. It won't be long until they reach and arrive at their destination.

Eventually after what seemed like countless hours have passed, Central Park is within reach and a clearing is visible further on, a specific area Elora was talking about earlier. A myriad of forest trees, lush grass and greenery can be seen as far as their vision could go. The park is normally an ideal, magical locale for magical creatures such as sprites and unicorns to roam freely in the darkness of the late-night without any humans disturbing them.

After bypassing the last cluster of illuminating buildings, landmarks, structures, abodes etc, they lowered their altitudes as they prepared themselves to touch down on the uneven grass of the open space. They decreased their speed and distance from the ground bit by bit as they approach the middle of the clearing.

By the time they reached their destination, the dragons let the bottom of their claws brush the verdant grass and gently settle on it whilst the blue, Huntsclan hoverboard was a teeny feet above the green grass as the green smoke from behind the aerial transportation began to diminish until it's completely dissipated and no fumes were released. Simultaneously and careful as they were, Hunter and Huntsgirl stepped off their hovering vehicle.

Together as a team of seven, each member of Team Dragon let their eyes wander in all directions, making sure not to be victims of an ambush and to check where Ripto and his monsters will be arriving at the scene in case they'll be caught off guard. Everyone stood their ground, keeping their posture and remaining in their positions whilst preparing to engage in battle with the vengeful trio of dinosaurs. As a group, they were formidable and able to take on whoever matches up against them as well as withstanding nearly any attack or assault.

All of a sudden, large, heavy footsteps can be easily heard as the ground beneath them shuddered violently under their feet like an earthquake, it shook with each step. Every member turns their heads forward, looking into the distance ahead of them while they await what lies beyond the multitude of trees, all lined in a row. Surrounding the clearing is nothing but innumerable trees as far as the eye could see, wherever they dart their eyes in any direction. Who knows what lurks within the seemingly pitch-black darkness? Since he knew Crush and Gulp like the back of his claw, Spyro assumed the hefty footsteps belongs to them.

"Looks like shorty and his goons are approaching. Get ready for anything, guys." He muttered, darting his purple eyes left and right cautiously. Out of all the members of the team, he knew the bullying, riptoc wizard really well since their first encounter in Glimmer at Avalar.

Just as expected, Ripto and his henchmen eventually exited out of the row of trees after having a hard time of travelling through the park, due to how vast it is and the amount of space it has. Since the trees were bothering them on the brink of becoming frustrated, Crush bashed one or two of them in his path with his giant club while Gulp simply kicked a small number of them aside with his front, left foot, the trees were knocked to the floor in the process. The trio of villains made their way to the seven protagonists whilst Gulp had Ripto on his back, carrying him anywhere even to Central Park.

Nerves and anxiety got the better of some of the squad; Jake squeezed Huntsgirl's hand tightly as he tried his best to calm either of them down, both of them showed signs of uneasiness. Spyro crouched down just as his claws clutched the grass after stepping forward in front of his friends, followed by Sparx, who merely puts his white-gloved hands on his yellow body. Haley took the liberty of hiding behind Sun Park; the young, pink dragon popped her head round her dragon master's scaly body to take a peek cowardly. On the other hand, Sun maintained a calm and relaxed posture whilst Hunter roots through his bag filled with arrows with his right paw, pulling out an arrow and slot it into his trusty bow.

Finally when the antagonists were within reach of the protagonists, they are a small amount of feet away from each other; two sides, both good and evil, were opposite of each other. This was the start of a showdown to end all showdowns, the fate of New York City, Dragon Realms, Avalar and perhaps the Forgotten Worlds and the rest of the globe rests in their hands, paws and claws. The seemingly, ultimate struggle between good and evil at the harbour was more like a warm up to the real, all-out battle.

From left to right, the members of Team Dragon remained in their positions; Haley cowered behind Sun Park on the left side of Spyro, who was at the middle with Sparx floating by his side, Jake Long and Huntsgirl were hand in hand whilst they were making an effort of settling their emotions down and Hunter was getting ready to give all he got on the intimidating, antediluvian monsters.

Gulp promptly lowered his head, allowing his master to dismount and he paced to the seven heroes and heroines. The glares from his seven enemies met his piercing, green eyes as they were face-to-face as if they're about to engage themselves in one more, gruelling yet fierce fight.

"Sooo... trying to escape from me, eh? Well I'm afraid you won't get any farther than here!" His voice echoed and boomed through the entire park, loud enough for anyone to hear. "As soon as I'm rid of all you pesky, infernal dragons and your accomplices once and for all before I make all of the realms and worlds mine, you'll all be nothing but a fairy tale." He sneered in the dragons' direction and as he said this, he cackled evilly just like he always has in his earlier encounters with Spyro and Sparx.

Hunter may be the fastest animal on two legs in Avalar, even without his running shoes, but he's too stupid to retort with a question like this. "Oh yeah? You and what army?" He raised his bow and drew it backwards just as he focused on the diminutive dinosaur, setting his sights on him. The Avalari cheetah took aim after he closed his left eye, ensuring he's pointing his weapon towards his target accurately. In order to strike his enemies precisely, it takes precision, accuracy, concentration and steadiness.

"Weeeeeell… now that you've mentioned it…" Ripto muttered, in the evilliest tone he could do.

And so, with a wave of his sceptre, he summoned a fairly, gargantuan portal at the side of him, bringing more reinforcements onto the battlefield, to make things unfairly for the seven protagonists. As the ruby gemstone continued to produce a shower of magic dust out of it, the vertical, arched portal was lighting up the almost pitch blackness of the late night and the clearing of the park with stunning, multicoloured light. The heroes and heroines watched with anticipation and trepidation, awaiting what kind of monsters or bizarre creatures step out of the gateway. Soon, one by one, the lizard-type creatures departed out of it in a correspondingly order. By the time all of them exited out, there were divided into innumerable rows by their type, one after the other and lined up behind Ripto, Crush and Gulp.

There were a variety of riptocs ranging from the weakest such as the Indigo and Brown Riptocs that infested Glimmer to the strongest like the Wizard Riptocs and the T-Rex 1000s. Each line-up is made up of ten riptocs, all raring to go and awaiting a command from the purple-caped, diminutive dinosaur. Altogether, there are about 110 riptocs in his army.

At the front row were the Indigo Riptocs; they were nuisances to the saviour of the Dragon Realms, Avalar, Forgotten Worlds etc several years ago. All they did was taunt him until he came within reach and then either flee or cower on the spot until he gives them a burned butt to remember him by. Hence their names, indigo with a light blue underbelly with small, orange spikes running down to their tails from their heads. They were somewhat medium-sized and their bodies were sort of large. They also have long, thin arms, miniature hands and slightly big feet. Over their noses and rather petite but oversized mouth were a pair of teeny, white eyeballs with teensy weensy, black pupils inside and two little, deep blue eyebrows above them. Each and every one of them carried a pickaxe that they never use in combat when it comes to dealing with the greatest dragon hero in all the worlds and realms, Spyro.

Next up was the second row filled with Brown Riptocs, they weren't cowardly like the Indigo Riptocs but didn't have the brain capacity to slam the spunky yet cocky, purple dragon into the ground. They're humongous and taller than their weaker, indigo counterparts with a pale tan or pinkish belly. To accompany their size, their hefty feet, arms, oversized hands, stubby legs and tail were pretty much the similar size and colour. Their minuscule spikes run from the top of their backs to the bottom ends of their tails and on their faces were a pair of deep brown eyebrows over two, white eyeballs with teenier, black pupils within them, tiny nostrils a few centimetres apart from each other that were higher than their medium-sized mouths and chins. Wooden hammers were wielded in their left, outsized hands to hit Spyro with him crushed underneath their weights.

In the third row were Ninja Riptocs, the minor menaces that invaded the Dragonfly Dojo. Their attacks were an assortment of backflips, kicks and punches and since they're one of the feeble foes, any method of attacks and abilities can be used to dispose of them. They may be ninjas but they don't have the natural skills to employ throwing stars in a fight.

After them, the fourth row consists of Staff Riptocs that swamped the same area as the Ninja Riptocs did. Brandishing their timber staffs, they twirled them over their heads with their clawed hands and then the moment the overconfident, winged, fire-breathing reptile draws near them, they swung them at him as if they're actually swiping him with great force. To put them out of their misery, any attacks should inflict damage on them without difficulty.

Next after them in the fifth row are the Angel Riptocs which were obviously dressed as angels that swarmed Cloud 9 and disrupted the heavenly peace of the realm as well as the pyjama-wearing bears. Making use of their crossbows, they shoot arrows at the defender of the Dragon Realms and depending on where they are, they are very annoying. Fortunately, they are weak against any attack he can use at his disposal.

Right behind the fifth line of Angel Riptocs were the Archer Riptocs in the sixth row that overrun Cloud 9. Armed with a bow and arrows, they hinder Spyro's progress and make his life miserable in this angelic, peaceful area. Any attacks should take them down with no trouble at all unless they become an annoyance to him.

Following after them is the seventh line-up filled with large, green T-rexes sporting Hawaiian shirts and holding cameras. In Luau Island, they cause trouble for the vacationing pigs and locking them behind gates until they return to roast them into smouldering, well-cooked pork to be eaten for dinner. Only a blast of blazing, searing fire or lightning bolts should dispatch the T-rexes, in order to get them out of the way.

At the back of them is a gang of Wizard Riptocs in the eighth row; these are one of the species of riptocs that sort of pose a threat to the short, golden-horned, fire-breather since they are impervious to dragon breath and not a single attack like a charge can harm them. They are the enemies of the residing, friendly thieves that dwell in the Thieves Den. The only way to triumph over them is using the Wing Shield to deflect their magic and spells back at them. Once they're done for, they'll never reappear or be brought back to life again. Seeing as Spyro is the only member of Team Dragon that was capable of bringing his wings in front of his body to defend himself, he's the only one who can get rid of them.

Second to last in Ripto's army is a posse of Cave Riptocs that had the appearances of cavemen wearing tiger skins in the ninth row. Just like every adversary in Jurassic Jungle, they are vulnerable to fire breath and other breath abilities. In spite of never respawning again, they came back and ready to let an assault on their opponents on their master's behalf.

Last but not least is a throng of T-Rex 1000s that are mechanical tyrannosaurs, which roam freely in the Jurassic Jungle. Unluckily to Spyro and his dragon allies, they are resistant to their flame breaths. However, there are two ways to eliminate them, electric breath and the combination of ice breath and charging into them, thus destroying them completely. Unlike all the minor adversaries he dealt with in the past, they can spot him from a rather longer distance and have the longest attack range due to their red lasers fired from their left, red-coloured eyes which makes them somewhat difficult to come nearer to.

"You really had to ask him, Hunter?" Spyro shot an annoyed glare at Hunter, one of his purple eyebrows twitched as he narrowed his eyes and his anger was bottled up within him. Even if the cheetah did yet another mistake, he is one of his best friends and it isn't the right time to lose his temper at a teammate.

Overawe was the only word to describe Haley's current expression. She was indeed frightened beyond belief at the sight of the abnormal, horned beings as they stood facing the seven-piece group of brave do-gooders. "Wh-what a-a-are th-th-they?" Her right arm was stretched around her dragon master's back and her left was extended around her waist; her clawtips clutched the light blue scales of them firmly. Her words faltered, every time they came out of her mouth as she struggled to keep her courage inside.

Having a familiarity of the enemies standing opposite them, Spyro answered the pink, flying reptile's question, he vaguely recalled his brief encounters with the lizard-type creatures from his past adventures. To him, it's been a while since the last time he wiped the floor with them. "Riptocs. They are Ripto's minions; I assume they arrived here from his lair. I think shorty sends them to each realm in the Dragon Realms or Avalar to harass the inhabitants. I've whupped their butts in the past so taking them out should be no problem."

Listening to the defender of the Dragon Realms' explanation of the foes before them, a grin gradually broadened across Jake's scaly lips. "Dang… you make it sound so easy, Spy."

"Spyro, be careful. You may have beaten those Wizard Riptocs before but they're still immune to dragon breath, any breath abilities come into contact with them doesn't work. Just like in the Thieves Den, use your Wing Shield to deflect their magic back at them, that should put them in their place!" Sparx warned, reminding his best buddy about the spell-casting dinos and the fact that they're invulnerable to any breath attacks, no matter what type of element they are depending on which one he chooses to use.

"Thanks for the advice, Sparx. I'll keep them in mind." Spyro expressed his thanks to the golden dragonfly, sneaking a wink at him while he's at it. He smiled a toothy draconic grin to him; bearing those words of advice in his mind in case he needs to remember his faithful, travel companion's strategy of trouncing his opponents.

Believing he and his huge circle of mates and allies had the upper hand, due to the beating the diminutive dinosaur and his underlings took a couple of hours ago, Jake's lips curled into a cocky smirk whilst he crossed his arms and hovered above the ground in one spot, his wings were flapping constantly in rhythm to his heartbeat. "Give it up, short-stuff! We already whupped your sorry heinie and we'll do it again! Y'know, it's not too late to throw in the towel, go ahead and admit defeat already. It will save y'all the time without fightin' us, so do us a favour and surrender!"

Assuming Ripto's is the type of guy to be persistent when it comes to his ambitions and goals of world or realm domination, Spyro scoffed as he rolled his eyes in a sarcastic way. "Like this little dinosaur is gonna listen to reason."

In case everyone has forgotten about being in this together and working as a team, Huntsgirl glanced at her comrades, one at a time as she reminded them about her phrase or words of wisdom from an hour ago. "Remember everybody, there is no 'I' in team."

Being the dumbest of the crew, Hunter took the liberty of butting in with a pointless, random sentence that doesn't mean anything at all. "But there's an 'I' in pie and you get meat pie…"

"…And meat's the anagram of team." Haley finished, stating the obvious about both words. Since she's a brainiac and an intellectual girl when it comes to literacy and other academic subjects, she has knowledge of such complicated things, capable of just about everything and an overachiever.

Not comprehending a single word from his buddy and sister, Jake cocked an eyebrow even as he crossed his arms. "O-kaaaaay… I ain't feelin' ya guys, whatever y'all sayin' is totally wack." As he swivelled round to face the prehistoric creatures, he instantly had a stern expression on his face; he placed his claws on his scaly body, getting slightly irritated with them. Obviously, he didn't like how this scuffle is going and he felt like he and his companions are going nowhere with this. "Dude, you seriously need to chill. You've been chasin' us nearly all night, tryin' to knock us outta the sky. Don't y'all ever get tired?"

"What have you got against dragons, anyway?" Spyro asked in an infuriated tone, he could feel the flames boiling in his throat, ready to reach deep in himself and harness the fire within. "We didn't do anything to you, all you did was causing us trouble most of the time! Will you give it rest already?" His temper was rising to the limit and the volume of his voice increases each time he let his words come out of his mouth while smoke was rolling upwards out of his nostrils.

Going along with him and the American Dragon, Sparx, Hunter, Haley, Sun Park and Huntsgirl purely nodded, admitting how resentful Ripto was towards dragons and relentless he was, he won't stop until he annihilated every last one of them and achieved his dreams of world or realm conquest. Unfortunately for the protector of the Dragon Realms, Ripto ignored him and proceeded with giving his minions an order.

He turns his attention to Crush, secondly to Gulp, thirdly to his troop of riptocs and last of all, to his opponents, including his sworn enemy. He points his sceptre towards them, the tip of the ruby jewel pointing directly whilst it was radiating intensively with blinding red light. "Enough! Riptocs… DESTROY THEM!"

Before the riptocs could rush at the seven do-gooders as they were about to make a beeline for them, the plucky, littlest purple dragon lifts the Rainbow Sceptre for all the baddies to gawp at, his tail was wrapped securely around it. He teasingly waved it from side to side repetitively, the rainbow-coloured gem glistens with a multicoloured light, added with a vibrant sheen. The gemstone shined every time the sceptre was shook with each motion.

A light-hearted chuckle came from deep in Spyro's lungs before he responded jokingly. "Hey shorty! If you want the Rainbow Sceptre, you'll have to get it from us!" He loosened his grip a tad bit on the Professor's invention and immediately turned to one of his best friends. "Coming at ya, Hunter!" Quick as a flash, he flung it in the Avalarian, furred animal's way.

Being light on his feet, Hunter leaped up and caught the Professor's creation in his right paw with ease. "I've got it!" He safely settled on the floor as he landed and his other paw touched it to keep his balance and himself from falling. He momentarily got to his feet and without a minute to lose, he sprinted off to the right and away from his companions' eyesight.

Infuriated that his scheme isn't going the way he wanted, Ripto continually stomped his feet on the ground while he exploded into a fit of rage, clearly he's not in the best of moods. "Arrrrrgh! You'll pay for this, dragon!" Before he even got a chance of giving his squadron of dinosaurs an order, Gulp picked his master up on his horns without any hesitation. "Crush, Gulp, Riptocs! Go after that bumbling, dim-witted cheetah and don't let him escape!"

Acting on his command, his subordinates and his army gave chase after the fleeing, hairy animal in single file, heading in the same path as him. The youthful, purple dragon and his chums watched them run off from a safe distance. From there, they took a fleeting look of Ripto at the front of the line, leading his troop of merciless monsters, both weak and strong respectively.

Finally, Haley Long took her time to come out of her hiding spot and caught sight of the number of riptocs there are altogether in the army, just in time before they were completely out of sight. "I don't like seeing our odds in a battle, by the amount of those fiends."

Despite the small, pink-scaled dragon was terrified out of her wits; Sun maintained an unconcerned and relaxed posture, putting her claws together as if she's praying to the spirits way above in the clouds and closed her eyes securely. Her tone of voice sounds spiritual and she seemed just as wise as Lao Shi, calming her student down and soothing her from her worries and doubts all in one go. "Worry not, Haley. We have been through worst situations as this before, including the good and bad times. I am certain we can succeed and everything will be all right, even if this task can be daunting. Just let your instincts guide you and use what you know if you need to. Remember, you are not doing this alone and we all have each other." She opened her eyes, focusing them on her black pigtailed pupil while her lips broadened into a good-hearted smile.

"Those words are very reassuring, thank you Sun. I feel much better already."

"You are very welcome, Haley."

Becoming uncertain and uncomfortable with the spunky, purple-coloured, reptilian hero's actions that relate to lending the Rainbow Sceptre to the sport-obsessed cheetah, Jake couldn't help but ask a question which he came up with in his head. "Yo, S. Are you sure tossin' that doodad to 'im is a good idea?"

To answer the American Dragon's question, Spyro began recollecting all the memories of the times he competed against Hunter in loads of competitions, activities and speedways during his preceding quests, including another memory involving Elora giving the forgetful, brainless cheetah a scolding for losing his running shoes and distrusting him for collecting the fourteen talismans throughout Avalar. Experiencing all those challenges and tasks made the littlest, purple fire-breather realize that one of his best friends was a great athlete who had good sportsmanship. "Hunter may have made a mistake for all of us two times but knowing him, he's the fastest animal on two legs without his running shoes. Elora said that he couldn't keep track of them but no worries, I bet he can outrun Ripto and his goons." As he spoke, even his own comment about the Avalari cheetah convinced him.

Becoming worried for the Avalari, furry numbskull's safety and well being, Huntsgirl walked towards the headstrong yet arrogant, purple fire-breather slowly but surely and stopped behind him. "Should we help him even if he doesn't need it?"

"Yeah, we better. Who knows what heaps of trouble he'll get into this time?" Spyro answered with a simple nod, aware of the blonde, sapphire-eyed huntress' presence due to the sound of footsteps treading along the grass. "C'mon, we've gotta go after him!" With a determined expression on his face, he took a momentary look at each of his companions and allies.

No sooner than later, he dashed off on all four paws without any delay with his comrades following close behind in hot pursuit. Meanwhile somewhere in the deeper areas of the park, Hunter was light on his feet and incredibly agile without his running shoes, way ahead of the malevolent trio of dinosaurs and all the members of Team Dragon. Both opposing sides were trailing behind and were metres away from where he is, he decided to slow his sprinting to a jog, after all the park is ideal for jogging sometimes. Just when he thought he lost the frustrated and spiteful, runt of a wizard and his pair of bumbling, idiotic henchmen for good, a flaming ball of fire came out of nowhere from the darkness behind him.

"You can run but you can't hide!" A familiar voice bellowed, reverberating through the trees. It was so loud Hunter's ears were ringing; the voice was trembling in them with a great deal of force. "That sceptre is rightfully mine! Hand it over and I shall spare your life!" It seems Ripto is refusing to give up and Hunter knew he's tracking him down, yet another mess he got himself into.

He leaped over it just in time, without much effort as it flits underneath him like a dart. In a blink of an eye, it disappeared into the pitch-blackness of the dense forest; there is nothing but trees on the horizon as far as the eye could see. If only there was a miracle or if any of his chums are willing to take his place as bait (which meant the Rainbow Sceptre in someone else's possession instead of him), he would be able to get out of this predicament.

Aww, crud! Out of the frying pan and into the fire! I went out of one danger and gone into another, all in one day! Some luck I'm having.

He could almost hear the sound of wings flapping in rhythm to his heartbeat and his breathing as he dashed in the maze-like park teeming with trees. Since the noise of wings flapping distracted him from his thoughts relating to the perils he's been through, he instantaneously perked up the moment he gazed upwards and his frown turned into a big grin that was plastered on his feline face. He spotted Spyro who was above him; Sparx, who usually fluttered by his side, accompanied him. He soared through the night sky effortlessly and was capable of seeing in the dark, his wings were flapping up and down repeatedly to increase altitude during his flight. In times of dire crisis and when the world needs him, he's the only dragon anyone can count on.

"Hey Hunter! Whatever you do, don't let Ripto get it." He looked downwards at the running speck, making its way along the grassy green from aerial view. Since dragons possess the unique skill of seeing in the shadows as well as the pitch-blackness, he can easily make out the shape of the figure without narrowing his eyes. He expected the silhouette to be Hunter because of observing him retreating into further areas of the public park a couple of hours ago. "Just remember, we got your back and we'll stick together until this battle is over."

Feeling like there's something missing and curious about the rest of his team mates' whereabouts, the furry, spotted archer can't help but asking the purple, yellow-underbellied, fire-breather a question. "Where the heck is everyone?"

Spyro whipped his head round, taking a quick look behind him before turning it around and replying to one of his best friends. "They're lagging behind but don't worry, they'll catch up. Toss the Professor's invention up to me if you're desperate and you've got no options left." As he spoke, he made a gesture with his two, front claws as if he's actually telling Hunter to throw the Rainbow Sceptre in his way.

"Oh, I get ya."

Unexpectedly, a bolt of electricity in a colour mixture of a light blue, deep blue and white streaked passed the fleeing, athletic archer without warning. It's as if the bolt is in a blur of colours blending into one. Fortunately, he shifted himself to the left to allow the electrical energy whoosh ahead of him in a straight line until it left his sight entirely. Since Spyro is cutting through the late-night sky with his wings stretched out and way above the ground, he was completely out of reach of the voltage and it didn't even struck him in mid-flight seeing as it was homing in on his agile yet brainless, best friend instead of him. Hunter wasn't the only one who suddenly saw it, the headstrong and courageous, teenage dragon spotted it as well from above.

Obviously, there's no rest for the wicked and Ripto won't quit until he gets what he wants, namely harnessing the elemental powers of the Rainbow Sceptre in order to seize control of every world and realm which spells deep trouble for each of them and its inhabitants.

"Whoa! Looks like shorty and his idiotic goons are gaining on us!" Spyro exclaimed, catching a glimpse of electricity whizzing by his fleeing, furry friend.

Tension was increasing and rising at an alarmingly high rate for Hunter, he felt like pulling out his fur in agitation and nerviness, becoming exceedingly anxious to death. "What are gonna do? We're doomed!"

"No, we're not! Once we've regrouped as soon as our friends catch up, we can take Ripto and his minions down with no time to spare." The plucky, purple protector disapproved Hunter's fretful hollering even as he shook his head before giving a full explanation of his tactic, sharing it with his two best friends. "For now, we're just messing around with them to get them riled up. Y'know, just for fun and to tire those creeps out while we're at it."

It took more than a while for Hunter to take in the words and information relating to their strategy against the revengeful, diminutive dictator before giving a nod, sort of understanding it. "Man… that sounds like smart plan. I never knew dragons could be so clever. So… what are we doing again?"

Continuing from where he left off, Spyro gave details of his plan of action, including what they're currently doing in the middle of the night and the reason of all of this. Ever since they came to rest in a clearing of the park, time has definitely gone by and everyone was unaware of the current time. "We're basically throwing the sceptre this way and that, backwards and forwards, up and down… you get the message, we're flinging it from one teammate to another. Ripto and his underlings will have no chance of getting it as long as we stick to our plan. If they're starting to become exhausted, that's when we give it all we've got on them."

"That sounds like a mouthful, Spyro. I guess that's why you chucked the Rainbow Sceptre in Hunter's direction in the first place." Sparx looks over at his close companion sceptically as the plan sinks into his head little by little, the information he received began to absorb into it. "But hey, what have we got to lose?" He proceeded to do a shrug gesture with his minuscule arms and white-gloved hands.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes changed into hours during their hurried departure. By the position of the moon as the full moon glistened in the wonderful moonlit sky, it's presumably one o'clock in the very early hours of the morning by the time they arrived at a recognizable location after they saw it came into view with each movement they make. Seeing as the trio were a teeny bit tired out from escaping from the three treacherous dinosaurs, it's the nearest place they were able to reach in time before they pass out from exhaustion. It's an area Spyro and Sparx knew so well, the same place they first picked to begin their search for the missing cheetah with their newfound friends.

Compared to its appearance in the daytime, this was indeed one of the magical locales in the American city. White unicorns were roaming and galloping here and there, a small number of them were grazing and having a nibble on the verdant, even grass. A huge, innumerable cluster of fireflies flickered on and off while they moved smoothly in the air so technically, Sparx wasn't the only insect to allow some light into the open space.

The stream that travelled along the rocks and pebbles, which littered around the lush greenery and bushes still babbled under the bridge. Sprites, field pixies and fairies fluttered gracefully along the air as well as in and out of the branches of the trees, their tiny wings shimmered vibrantly in the darkness, the dazzling colours reveal a glorious sheen whenever the moonlight reflected onto their wings. Both good and evil mythical creatures wander the park, going about their daily lives and minding their own business. When humans aren't about, the magical creatures that resided here come out of their hiding spots to frolic and breathe in the fresh air around them.

Side by side, the best of friends took a stroll along the pale, earthy trail that was laid ahead of them, a path that can be seen for many miles from their eyesight. Along the journey in the park, they were accompanied by Sparx who's been with his reptilian partner since the beginning. Inch by inch, they were making their way closer to the bridge.

"Wow! Everything's breathtaking and peaceful at night, it reminds me of the Artisans Homeworld. If shorty and his minions weren't following us here, I could get used to this everyday. Let's stop here for a while, I need to give my wings a break." Spyro inhaled deeply for a moment, taking in the fresh air and then exhaled, his purple eyes shining with amazement as he let his eyes wander all over the landscape around him. "At least, it will give everybody else more time to catch up."

"Yeah, totally. I should take a breather from all that running." Hunter simply nodded with a smile, indicating his agreement with the heroic protector of the Dragon Realms and other fantasy, fairytale-like worlds.

"Sometimes I wonder what's taking Jake and our new allies so long to catch up with us. Whatever they're doing, they're taking an awfully sweet time in that clearing."

"Be patient, Spyro. They're probably finding us right now; we'll be reformed before we can say 'Dragon Realms'. Hopefully, they will get here before Ripto and his cronies locate us." Sparx assured, heaving a sigh. His words reassured an impatient Spyro, who was growing tired of waiting for his teammates to turn up. A hero he might have been but being patient isn't one of his top priorities.

Unfortunately, the words that were let out from his mouth were wrong. At that very moment, their enemies stepped out of the shadows from the lower part of the park, which was located near the bridge with Ripto leading them.

"Well well… look who the cat dragged in! Not only did I find that flighty, coward of a cheetah, I also find YOU!" He sneered, gnashing his teeth and narrowing his eyes with sheer, heated passion in his eyes. At the word, 'YOU', he directed his favoured sceptre in the purple, cocky redeemer's direction, the ruby flickered a blinding, vibrant glow.

"What do you want, shorty? It's not like we're gonna hand over the Rainbow Sceptre to the likes of you, anytime soon. Now, get lost or you'll wish you'll never first set foot in Central Park, much less New York City." Spyro shot an icy cold glare straight at his nemesis and his ruthless, riptoc army. Clearly, the plucky, purple dragon has already had enough of them, Ripto's relentlessness in putting an end to the dragons and his persistence in pursuing the protagonists through the city.

"Very testy, aren't you? Crush, Gulp and my Riptocs…" Ripto met his gaze before slyly glancing at each of his loyal, faithful underlings with a devious smirk slowly but surely broadening his lips. "Why don't we show that insolent, infernal dragon and his friends, if we count the dragonfly, how to respect your superiors?" He returned to concentrate his glare on his nemesis and his companions.

Before they could close in to attack their enemies and as luck would have it, four hira-shurikens came out of nowhere from the pitch-blackness, spinning in a clockwise motion as they whizzed over the one hundred and ten heads of the lizard-type creatures. Since this area is almost completely dark, nobody except for Spyro knows where they are coming from, from which direction. Only glints from the razor-sharp blades were shining within the gloominess of the public park, catching his attention. The opposite side were nearly caught off guard and pinned the nearest victim to the trunk of one of the trees, giving him no chance of escaping. Each throwing star held him in place and were seen stuck firmly on any parts of his body from head to toe, he wriggled and thrashed about like crazy in an attempt to free himself but to no avail.

Just when Spyro thought it was his opportunity to barbecue the unfortunate sucker into a pile of ash as he shut his eyes, took in a breath intensely and about to blow a blast of flames from his mouth, Hunter set the Rainbow Sceptre down on the very spot in front of him and stepped forward as he rummaged in his bag to pull out a random arrow from his collection of normal arrows and fire arrows. He slots it into his trusty bow and readied it.

"Let me handle this one, Spyro. At least, you can take a break from all that fire-breathing you do." He instantly extends his paw out in the saviour of the Dragon Realms' way to stop him from using his flame breath.

One paw gesture from him caused his best friend to pause, thus failing to using his fire breath and blew out a smoke ring instead while opening his eyes. The smoke ring gradually drifted through the air away from him for a small amount of seconds until it utterly evaporated and no plumes of smoke in a form of a loop was lingering in the air. Just in case Hunter absentmindedly forgotten to pick up the Rainbow Sceptre, Spyro used his opportunity to stretch out his tail and wrap it around the Professor's doodad tightly.

Disappointed of not having the chance of incinerating the unlucky riptoc, he reluctantly allowed the athletic, Avalari seeker the opportunity to show off his archery skills and abilities. "Oh, all right then. I'll stand back and watch." The smallest, famous dragon grumbled in a low tone, stepping back to let him end the life of the trapped prey.

He paced up to the restrained riptoc whilst he lifts up his bow and drew it backwards as further as he can. He focused on his target accurately with perfect precision whilst he took his time to point his weapon towards his enemy while he closed his left eye, making sure he'll impale him directly somewhere, maybe in the stomach or through his chest whatever works fine for him. When he's all set, he let the arrow fly from his bow before it whizzed at a reasonable speedy pace like a dart or a javelin been thrown.

Once it strikes its mark, it pierced through the very heart of the riptoc who shrieked in pure pain and soreness, the blood-chilling, horrifying scream reverberated off the branches of the trees, bounced off the brook and whose faint echoes could be heard in the park. It's like a sharp knife stabbing through someone's heart, penetrating the skin and insides in the process. Spyro cringed at the horrendous screech, closing his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth while Hunter covered his ears with his paws in an attempt to block out the noise and Sparx biting his lower lip as he looked intently with narrowed eyes at their suffering foe. The scream eventually died down as soon as the victim vanished before their very eyes, much to the heroes' relief and Ripto's discontentment. Following the demise of the lowly minion, the park fell silent and not a single word was ever spoken except for the occasional one or two cricket sounds and the fluttering wings of a certain golden dragonfly.

One down, a hundred and nine riptocs to go. It was the only thought that entered the three do-gooders minds this very moment. Putting an end to the deceased riptoc was just the beginning but dealing with an army of 109 riptocs including three vengeful dinosaurs won't be so easy.

Despite this, Spyro broke the awkward silence by draping a wing over Hunter's chest and waist, his adorable, purple eyes lighting up with wonderment. "Wow! Nice shot, Hunter! I couldn't have done it better myself!"

Feeling like he's the centre of attention of the praise he received from his close friend, Hunter crouched down to his level to put one of his arms round his neck with a cheerful grin plastered on his catlike face. "Thanks, buddy! Ya could say it's better to skewer him like a shish kebab rather than torching him to a crisp sometimes."

"Ooooh…! Looks like someone's mad…" Spyro jeered, narrowing his eyes in the diminutive, purple-caped dinosaur's direction as he curled his reptilian lips.

Taking in the incidents and events that happened right up to the death of one of his subordinates into his head, Ripto squinted his eyes heatedly as they darted left and right, searching for the source of the sneak attack. "Who dares…!"

Apparently, he wasn't the only one looking around for the mysterious person who threw the hira-shurikens from nowhere, his followers and the three protagonists were trying to find him or her. Due to possessing the ability to see better in the dark, Spyro managed to get a view of something unknown giving off a couple of gleams somewhere in the far-off distance in mere minutes, his drill-shaped end of his tail indicated where he saw it which acted like an arrow.

It turns out Huntsgirl equipped her ninja stars; in her right hand she held about two or three more at the ready and her hoverboard was floating in a horizontal position above the ground beside her. It seems that the faint lights attracted attention to her and the other members of Team Dragon. She may be responsible for the surprise attack but not the only person who's lurking in the murkiness.

One by one, Jake, Huntsgirl, Sun Park and Haley popped out from behind the two trees and undergrowth that were almost close to the right path, which was surrounded by numberless tall trees, green bushes, leafy shrubs and a cluster of rocks and pebbles coming together around a babbling, uncontaminated stream.

"You guys! All of you finally came! What took all of you so long? What's the hold up?" Spyro's purple eyes instantly light up at the sight of his New York allies arriving just in time, he beamed with pure delight and relief.

At the purple dragon's question, Jake sheepishly scratched the back of his head with one, red claw and an apologetic grin plastered on his face. "Sorry, our bad. We were havin' a hard time tryin' to find you three but all of y'all are very fast. I know, I know, I'm the American Dragon and I should know my way around Central Park 'cause I've been here more than once sometimes to take care of Am-drag bizniz."

"But Jake, we're dragons. We can see better in the dark anyway, how can you not find us?"

"Well, duh! Central Park is one of the biggest, magical locales in the whole city but we never thought of lookin' for y'all here until we've heard faint noises ahead of us so we flew through the park in the direction of the racket."

Before the pair of heroic dragons continued their conversation any further, one shout from Ripto shushed them completely, rendering them speechless and utterly mute. "Silence! I see that the entire group is finally reunited." With a sinister, wicked smile, he proposed a suggestion to the opposing team whilst he leers in a scornful manner. "How about I annihilate all of you fools right here, right now so we can call this battle a day?"

As usual, Spyro comes back with a retort, refusing to accept the offer and defying him as he gave a hostile look. Despite the fact that this showdown has lasted through the night, he and both sides still have enough endurance to go on without showing any signs of admitting defeat or becoming pooped. "Fat chance, Ripto! We'll never surrender when the goings gets tough and when every world and realm needs us! You might as well give up 'cause good always triumphs over evil!"

"We'll just see, won't we? With my riptoc army on my side, I'll be unstoppable! I'll stop at nothing to reclaim that Rainbow Sceptre and bring every world to their knees! But… since you goody two-shoes are already outnumbered, I'll pick all of you off, one by one."

"Oh, really? Well, try taking each of us down now without the Rainbow Sceptre! But first, how about you and your henchmen hightail it outta here back to Chateau Ripto right now and we'll gladly hand it over to you?"

Jake cannot believe what he's hearing from Spyro, had he heard him correctly? His eyes bulge out of his scaly, crimson face in devastation and outrage in an instant, yelling at the top of his voice whilst gnashing his jagged, draconic teeth. "Say what? Spy, have ya gone totally bananas?" He grabbed his hair with his claws as if he's about to tear out a fair amount of strands in frustration or if he's got a headache. "If ya fork over the Rainbow Sceptre to 'im, it will be a one-way ticket for 'im to rule any world with an iron fist! We'll be kissin' our worlds goodbye!"

"Relax, Jake. I know what I'm doing." Spyro said in a calm tone of voice, maintaining a cool head and a relaxed posture as he smirked confidently, a perfectly planned out scheme was already formed in his head that will hopefully turn the tables on his reoccurring opponents. "Trust me, I've got a plan which will keep shorty and his underlings occupied… and get 'em in a fit of anger." He added, sneaking a wink at one of his best friends.

"If you say so, S…"

Oblivious to the bravest, littlest dragon's scheme, Ripto laid a finger on his chin, thinking this through before accepting his nemesis' proposal as he snickered evilly. "Hmm… I like that idea… dragon, you've got yourself a deal!"

Without a second thought and unaware of the teenage purple dragon's stratagem, Ripto comes within reach of his sworn enemy and his loyal, dependable companions, eagerly to take the Rainbow Sceptre off of his scaly paws. This is too good to be true, that little dragon is making a big mistake giving up the Rainbow Sceptre just like that! Just wait 'til I obliterate him and his race from the face of the Dragon Realms! The pint-sized, green-eyed villain thought to himself, a malicious smile was fixed upon his orange-red, dinosaurian face. When he eventually brought his walking to a halt, he is now eye level with his most despised foe, the one he mostly loathed out of all the members of Team Dragon.

"Here's your sceptre back." Spyro shoved the rainbow-coloured, jewel-tipped staff in the little lizard's face with his tail. Before Ripto could get his hands on the Professor's invention, the purple dragon quickly yanked it just out of reach of his foe's hands, which only serves to enrage him all the more. "Psych! Do you really think I'm gonna give it to you?" And while he's at it, he blew a raspberry in Ripto's direction while he laughed teasingly, having a little bit of fun with his adversary. "It's dinosaur in the middle!" Putting his plan into action, he flung the Rainbow Sceptre forward in Jake's direction with his tail.

Now, grasping the idea of what the short yet cocky, golden-horned dragon's strategy was all along, the American Dragon quickly reacted and caught the multicoloured gemstone-tipped cane in his left claw; his black talons gripped the middle of the stick firmly as he grinned arrogantly. "Keep away the Rainbow Sceptre from Ripto!"

Since the colourful widget is currently in New York City's magical protector's left claw, Ripto was understandably peeved, balling a hand into a clenched fist and grinding his teeth. "WHAT? One of these days, you'll regret doing this!" He seethed through his breath, shaking his preferred sceptre at the purple protagonist, who was still in a fit of uncontrollable chuckles, finding this highly amusing. Boiling with rage, the raging riptoc immediately gave chase to Jake, who took off without hesitation at the same time, bearing right while he folded his wings back in order to soar at rapid speed. "Give that back, you fire-breathing beast! Cease this tomfoolery at once! When I get my hands on you, I swear I'll promise you a slow, painful death!"

Observing another pursuit from a safe distance, Sparx faced towards his fiery yet mighty, purple-scaled best friend before winking at him with his right, black eye and a wide smile broadened across his lips. "It's time we even up the odds in our favour."

As soon as Jake and Ripto left everyone's view, Spyro winked in the golden dragonfly's direction after his unmanageable sniggering diminished and reduced to a small number of snickers, thus ending his fit of laughter. "You betcha, Sparx!" Realizing that it's another chase through the woods in pursuit of his new confidant and his old foe, his guffawing didn't last long and half-heartedly sighed. "Here we go again."

And so, he, Haley and Sun Park lifted themselves upwards into the late-night sky and flew off in the same direction the red, tall and thin dragon and the pint-sized, short-tempered dinosaur went off in, followed by the gold dragonfly. As for Huntsgirl and Hunter, they simultaneously climb aboard the blue hoverboard and together they took to the air at once, green smoke was trailing behind it. Due to Bianca's magic spell, it provided the plucky, purple dragon a seemingly, unlimited ability of flight just like most dragons until he leaves New York City with Sparx and Hunter which meant the spell completely wears off.

To pick up the pace in order to assist Jake in time, the dragons folded their wings back except for Hunter and Huntsgirl that were bringing up the rear. Since he's a dragonfly and his wingspan wasn't as exceptionally big as his reptilian comrades, Sparx tries his hardest to keep up with them.

Meanwhile, Ripto and his lackeys had the American Dragon cornered and causing him to back into a corner at an unknown clearing. Behind him was a row of about ten, towering trees, all next to each other and formed like a barrier or a wall. The villains slowly close in, in an attempt to enclose him and preventing him from fleeing. It looks like it's the end of him, unless he speeds up his thoughts and thinks fast or pass the time to wait for his allies to show up on the scene.

"Ahahahah! There's no use in fleeing now and you've got nowhere to go, we have you surrounded. Any last words, dragon?" Ripto cackled wickedly, narrowing his cruel, green eyes in a disdainful way at the magical defender of the Big Apple as if he's making an effort to threaten him or was to try anything evil while the tip of the sceptre glowed radiantly with a huge amount of power, more than it already has. At the words, "Any last words, dragon?", the short-tempered yet spiteful riptoc promptly jabs his staff at his trapped victim, the end of the ruby was forced into his yellow underbelly but not completely.

Letting his beady, black eyes wander around his surroundings in random directions trying to search for a way out of his predicament or tight spot, Jake Long struggled to let his words fall out of his maw in his nerve-racking state. "Er… yeah, I've got a few words to say to ya…" The moment his eyes set on Spyro, who just so happens to be drawing near him, the antagonists and the unidentified clearing at any moment, he hurled the sceptre back at the petite, purple-scaled juvenile of a dragon. "Yo, S! Heads up!"

When he thought he had the Rainbow Sceptre safely in his claws, it instantly disappeared from his vision right before his eyes as if a blur just swiped it just before he could repossess it and continue the game of hard-to-get or 'Keep the Rainbow Sceptre Away' with his chums and fellow fire-breathers.

"Hey! What gives?" He bellowed, his jaw instantaneously dropped in bewilderment. He couldn't believe what occurred just then, disbelief and confusion were the two words to describe his current expression.

"What the heck just happened?" Sparx shouted, his big, black eyes and his eyeballs immediately bulge out of his face in astonishment. He had the same expression as his life-long best friend except that he didn't have a gaping mouth attached to his minuscule face.

"Say what?" Jake yelled, he rubbed his eyes in a shocked fashion to make sure he wasn't dreaming after he became aware of the missing colourful, gemstone-tipped cane when he heard the voices of his Artisan allies.

The saviour of the Dragon Realms, the golden dragonfly and the magical protector of New York City looked around their surroundings until they set their sights on the mysterious person or people that stole the new power source that boosts the super portal to its utmost limit, namely the Rainbow Sceptre. It turns out it fell into the hands of two Huntsclan trainees, Numbers 88 and 89 of the Huntsclan, which were standing side-by-side behind them. A duo of beginner level students interrupting their game of flinging the rainbow-coloured, gem-tipped staff to and fro was the last thing on Spyro's and Jake's minds, they never expected the cowardly, bumbling novices to show up any time soon to ruin their fun and plan. The last time they were seen was in the previous clearing Spyro, Sparx and the New Yorkers began their search for Hunter, numerous hours ago in the morning.

"Check it 89, we got this… uh… erm… thingamabob!" Number 88 stretched out his right arm, allowing his partner to take a closer look at the Rainbow Sceptre in all its brilliancy and brightness. The rainbow-coloured gem gleamed a vivid, multicoloured light as he smirked victoriously. He directly started the song, which appears to be a chant in a taunting manner. "We're so cool and super fly!" He performed some sort of victory dance or a movement similar to what he did when he sung this song outside the Central Park Zoo with his teammate.

"Dragons got no alibi!" Number 89 continued on with the next line of the song, doing his own victory dance which is identical to what he used when he and his accomplice had the last Aztec Skull in their clutches and joining in with the brown-skinned boy.

In the midst of their singing, Spyro and Sparx exchanged glances before the golden dragonfly cocked an eyebrow at the young, purple dragon, who shook his head with disbelief, recalling the last time they encountered the pair of bumbling morons in Central Park. Not having any more of this nonsense, they chosen to fly down while they decreased their altitudes bit by bit until they finally settled on the grass right behind the gutless idiots to teach them a lesson they will never forget.

"They're ugly, that's right!" Numbers 88 and 89 pointed at each other's fingers with a single finger the minute they sung the words, "that's right!", as they grinned humorously as if they were close to burst out laughing. "They're U-G-L-Y, ug—Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Unfortunately, numbers 88 and 89 didn't manage to finish their insulting song as their singing abruptly ended when a great stream of fire consumed and scorched them all at once. As the massive burst of flames died out and were no more, they were reduced to a pair of black, smouldered figures as their white eyeballs bulge out of their skulls before they blinked twice. Luckily, the Rainbow Sceptre didn't get affected and wasn't reduced to a mound of soot as if it was immune to the intensive, unforgiving torrent of flames and it was barely touched. Since they couldn't take the heat as well how high the temperature was, they coughed as a grey, distasteful steam was released from their lips. They turned to the source of where the blazing, red-hot torrent came from; apparently smoke was billowing out from Spyro's mouth and nostrils, which meant he almost reduced them to cinders without mercy after overhearing them singing their offensive yet provoking song. One blast of his fire breath would shut them up entirely.

"I'll take that!" Jake exclaimed, he promptly extended his extremely, crimson tail as he took the multihued doodah from number 88's grasp, the tail was wrapped round the stick of the Rainbow Sceptre.

Spyro blew out a smoke ring which was a similar size to his mouth after barbecuing them into black, charred silhouettes, the loop of smoke gradually drifts pass them for a small number of seconds until it fades away and not a single plume of smoke in a form of a hoop wasn't visible to them. "Hmph! The nerve of you guys stealing the Rainbow Sceptre away from us. How about I give you creeps a jump start out of here?" Spyro glowered in numbers 88 and 89's directions, smoke was curling from his nostrils angrily. Obviously, he wasn't in the mood to deal with a pair of amateurs right now.

Not wasting any time, he shut his eyes and opened his mouth, taking a deep breath. He puffed out his cheeks and blew yet another burst of fiery, sizzling flames. However, the Huntsclan trainees weren't very quick to react and not lucky enough to dodge the unforgiving inferno, they yelped loudly in surprise and sheer alarm as they jumped, holding their rears with their hands. Their bums catch fire, which was a sign of their stroke of bad luck. There's one thing for sure is to never, ever infuriate a dragon, especially a young dragon who's on the verge of setting their bottoms on fire. On the other hand, the blaze provided the Huntsclan beginner level students some addition speed to hightail it out of the park as their legs could carry them before Spyro had a third opportunity to torch them even more.

Taking the hint of knowing when to quit, Number 89 kept on screaming at the top of his lungs whilst smoke curled its way upwards in a multitude of coils from the intensive fire flaring brightly on his bum. "Yeowtch! Let's get outta here!"

Number 88 couldn't agree with his teammate any more even as he yelled hastily; he clearly was in a hurry to retreat into the deeper parts of Central Park, far away from the enraged, purple-eyed boy of a dragon as possible. "Heard that! Run away! Every Huntsclan member for himself!"

Taking in the pleasure and enjoyed observing them fleeing from the battlefield with their butts flaring up and a myriad of curls from the fumes wormed its way into the air from the intensive flames, Spyro called after them teasingly between laughing. To him, it was hilarious yet comical to watch from a distance. "Ha ha! Come back when you finish… finish…" His good-humouredly chuckles immediately dwindled to a minimum; he was lost in his thoughts as he struggled to come up with the correct words. For a small dragon, he still has some spunk for being one of the good guys since his first adventure.

"Huntsclan Academy, Spyro." Jake leaned over to his close friend and placed a red, scaly claw near his mouth and whispered softly. He recalled the name of the secret Huntsclan training facility or school since his ordeal during his undercover mission with Spud as a pair of dragonslaying novices.

"Come back when you finish Huntsclan Academy, okay?" Spyro called out once more, he really couldn't contain himself in hilarious times like this; it was good fun to watch the Huntsclan trainees running for their lives whilst their rears were set ablaze and screaming their heads off in absolute fear. If only he had popcorn with piping, hot butter melting into them, observing from afar would have been like seeing a comedy show on the telly. He hasn't done something like this in years since chasing Bianca out of the forest whilst torching her butt in Sunrise Spring Home in the Forgotten Worlds. He brought his laughter to an abrupt halt as his eyes grew large at the sight of a Ninja Riptoc doing a consecutive chain of front flips and letting loose a sequence of martial arts cries while he's at it, heading in the American Dragon's way. "Jake, look out!"

Luckily, he reacted in time and kicked the oncoming minion in a backwards motion, sending him to a nearby tree behind him, followed by a ear-splitting, skin-crawling scream that reverberated off the branches of the trees, bounced of the brook and echoed through the glade. A small number of minutes later, a faint yet a tad deafening crash can be heard in the distance. Apparently his skull collided with the trunk of a random tree as he slid to the ground, causing the trunk to snap in half after a reasonable enormous crack was formed within the centre of the wood surface and the other half with the countless branches and leaves collapsed to the very ground the unconscious ninja was sitting on with a humongous, ground-shaking thud. It's now in a playground slide-like position at the moment.

"That's right! Am-drag's in da hiz-zouse!" Jake cheered enthusiastically, doing a victory dance of his own which was the exact one he used after taking out a group of Huntsclan members in one go and causing them to plunge into a body of water during his time travelling adventure in the secret lair of the Huntsclan. Unluckily, he didn't get to finish his little moment when he was unaware of Crush picking him up by his red ear and basically chucked him away from the battleground with brute strength, sending him to the nearest tree. "Ouch!" It didn't take him long enough to have a collision with a random tree. Seeing as the day is still in the late hours of the night and the fact the park is almost pitch-black, it could be any tree he collided with.

"Jake!" Spyro cried out the 14-year-old, spiky, black-haired boy's name as if he's really gasping, feeling concerned for the well being of his soon-to-be best friend. His innocent, purple eyes were filled with worry and fretfulness. The moment he listened for the ear-piercing, blaring sound of the American Dragon slamming into one of the trees in the jet-black clearing, his expression went from a draconic, toothy smirk to a gaping mouth with wide-eyed eyes, worrying if he's all right and if any harm has ever befallen on him.

Barely hanging by a thread, Jake somehow took out his mobile phone out of nowhere, most likely from his red, scaly body and he hastily punched in the numbers while pressing the keys with a single, black talon and held his cellular phone to his right, pointy red ear. "Yo, G. We've got problems." It was all he muttered before he woozily slithered to the floor, his eyes were partly open as he laid there in a horizontal position and started to lose consciousness and his eyesight. Slowly but surely, his eyes were drooping until they closed shut at last; he was lying there unconscious and sharing the same fate as the preceding, defeated riptoc.

Uh-oh! Jake being knocked down to the floor and falling unconscious doesn't bode well for Spyro and the rest of Team Dragon! Will Hunter, Huntsgirl, Haley and Sun Park arrive at the clearing in time or will Ripto and his army of dinosaurs reclaim the Rainbow Sceptre? Can the seven heroes and heroines turn this around? Check out the second part to find out what happens next!

Phew! What a relief! I'm finally done with this chapter! Man… I can't believe it took me until this month to finish this. I checked the 'Properties' for this chapter and according to it, it says that I started this on Monday 14th June at 6:14 pm and completed this on Thursday 30th September at 12:09pm. I'm just glad I got this done and dusted 2 months before my 21st birthday so I hope this is worth the wait, I'm very sorry that I made all of you wait incredibly long.

All that left is bringing back "Mario and Luigi: Eternal Slumber" with ChrisMSMB to the Mario category. If you remembered this from 2005, it was formerly done with one of my old friends, Clario. When I realized he completely lost his touch and he hasn't even done the next chapter yet, the collaborated story was officially dead. Who would have thought this would return five years later in the future (which became now)? When I visited his profile, I eventually knew that he doesn't watch The Powerpuff Girls (let alone the episode, "Dream Scheme") so it was actually me who came up with the ideas and the storyline in the first place! Anyway, rejoice old fans, readers and reviewers of "Mario and Luigi: Eternal Slumber", it's making a comeback!

Unfortunately, this crossover is going on another hiatus until I've uploaded the first chapter of the remake of "Mario and Luigi: Eternal Slumber". Until then, keep sending in those reviews and please let me know if this chapter's confusing, if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes and I'll try to correct them when I find some spare time.