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// Rage: Winter Tundra 
// Story: Spyro: The Dragon Trio of Avalar 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Spyro, Spike, and Ember discovered something interesting after they defeated Gulp, as there was a whirlwind that lined up perfectly with the area they had glided through to get down here in the first place, to which the three of them jumped into it and headed back up to the area that Elora had been standing in, when she was waiting for them to recover the rest of the Talismans that were needed to break the seal on the door to the overlook. It was possible that there was a dungeon below Autumn Plains' castle, just like Summer Forest's castle had one, but at the moment none of them really cared about that since they were focusing on something that was far more important, figuring out which realm they should go help, as in more than what they've already done for them. They knew that Ripto was still out there, as it was possible that he survived the fall from the area his throne had been located in, but it was just like they told Elora, that without both Crush and Gulp, and a scepter to use magic, he was next to no threat and that their new friends would be able to handle him if he showed himself again. Still, it didn't take them long to return to the entrance of the passage that took them down to the overlook, where they started to walk forward and headed for the front of the castle, as it was time to pick a realm to head to and see what else the three of them could do to assist the residents of the realm they picked.

"So, where are we going?" Ember asked, because while she was glad that she and her brothers had been able to take down Gulp, and made it even harder for Ripto to do anything if he showed himself again, she knew there was more for the three of them to do before the rest of Avalar was safe from what Ripto did to them, especially when they thought about all of the stuff they encountered so far, "Personally, I'd like to return to either Zephyr or Breeze Harbor, just to see what's happened since we were last there and to see if we can stop the war in some manner, since I'm still mad over the conflict that a certain bear started."

"No, that's a good idea, as I was thinking the same thing." Spyro remarked, where they passed by the portal to Magma Cone and continued towards the castle's entrance, though he meant what he said, because at the moment it seemed like the two realms in question were their best options right now, and he was sure that Spike agreed with them, "I would like to stop the Land Blubbers and the Breezebuilders from hurting each other as well, though we're going to have to figure out a way to get them to understand that Juliet wasn't abducted, like Moneybags told them, and that she left of her own accord, to find true love."

"Though maybe we should focus on Breeze Harbor first, since they might have more weapons since the last time we were there," Spike added, as the last time they had been to the realm in question he had destroyed the large airship that the pelicans had been preparing to launch, one that they discovered was carrying bombs that would lay waste to a good part of Zephyr and the Land Blubbers, so it was possible that the Breezebuilders might have acquired more weapons since the destruction of the airship, weapons they would have to wipe out.

Spyro and Ember thought about that idea for a few seconds, as they had been expecting Spike to say something and add in his opinion on the matter, before deciding that he had a good idea, as taking out any weapons that the residents of Breeze Harbor had gotten recently would prevent them from attacking Zephyr, which, in turn, would allow them to aid the Land Blubbers and push the war back into a stalemate. As they finally reached the entrance of the castle, however, they were stopped as Spike spotted a shimmer to their right and turned to face it, where the siblings waited for a few seconds and watched as Hunter appeared before them, using the bracelet that the Professor had given him to travel between all of the realms without having to use any of the portals to save time.

"Hunter, what are you doing here? Did something happen?" Spyro asked, because they had told Elora that she could contact them by having their cheetah friend use his special teleportation bracelet to find them in seconds, but all three of them were expecting that to happen after they started helping one of the other realms, not a few minutes after taking out Gulp and sending Ripto over the edge.

"Its... Its Ripto." Hunter explained, causing the siblings to raise their eyebrows for a moment, as that wasn't what they were expecting to hear when Spyro asked him what was going on, especially since they just beat Gulp and knocked Ripto off the overlook, hence the reason they were waiting for him to explain what was going on, "While you guys were dealing with Gulp, and freeing Autumn Plains from Ripto's clutches, the Professor and I were working on the Super Portal that's in the middle of Winter Tundra's castle, where Elora flew in on her pterodactyl and informed us that you guys were able to take down Gulp as well. I'm not entirely sure how Ripto got from Autumn Plains to Winter Tundra so quickly, especially when he doesn't have something like the Professor's handy gadget that I've been using, but he showed up by the door and distracted us with a few small bombs, mostly to get us away from the portal, and then he stole the Power Crystal that the Professor was using to boost the power of the Super Portal. Now he's got control over Winter Tundra's castle, where he's working on mastering the power of the Power Crystal, since he's planning on turning it into a brand new scepter to replace the one that Gulp destroyed after you guys showed up, so there's no telling what he's going to do once he masters the power that's inside that gem."

"It sounds like you didn't use the Professor's device at all." Spike stated, where he beckoned to the bracelet for a few seconds, as he already thought of a way that it could have been used to safeguard the rest of Avalar, where both Spyro and Ember glanced at him for a moment, as they were curious as to what he had to say, "I mean, you could have simply teleported away from Ripto, by heading to another realm, and then teleported back to the area that was behind him so you could take the Power Crystal, and possibly the bombs, away from him, and that would have put an end to his plans, allowing you guys to capture him."

"Yeah... well..." Hunter started to say, though that was when he found that all three of the siblings were staring at him, as they were interested in what he had to tell them, before he sighed for a moment, as he knew that there was no way he could even argue with one of them, especially Spike for that matter, "You're right, I could have done that and in the spur of the moment, combined with my usual cowardice when faced with a foe that's threatening my home, I was unable to think of something like that when Ripto showed his hand... that's why I tend to fight small groups of enemies, or at least try to in some instances, like what happened with the Earthshapers in Fracture Hills."

"Well, just point out the portal that will take us to Winter Tundra," Ember said, because while she wanted to deal with the ongoing war between Zephyr and Breeze Harbor, since it was unacceptable that such a thing was happening, she did know that taking down Ripto, and saving Avalar, was more important at the moment, and she was a little eager to see if there were any other realms for them to help out before they faced Ripto.

Hunter did exact that, as they happened to be standing above the area that the smaller portal devices were located in, the one that allowed them to go from Autumn Plains and head to Summer Forest, where they discovered that a new one had appeared near the first one, which had a label that revealed that it would take them to Winter Tundra, the third and final homeworld for Avalar. As such the siblings glided down to the area and approached the portal that they were going to use, though at the same time Hunter disappeared from the area he had appeared in, no doubt heading back to where Elora and the Professor were waiting, to give them the good news, before the three of them jumped onto the device and vanished from the area they had been standing in. A few moments later they appeared at the starting point of the land they were heading to, where Spyro, Spike, and Ember found themselves at the start of a bridge or walkway of some kind that connected to the area that the castle Ripto had taken over was located in, which was in the middle of a rather large snowy location, which made sense given the name of this homeworld. They then discovered that the castle was pretty big, maybe on the size of Autumn Plains' castle, but they also discovered that the sky was set to a midnight setting and that they were near the peaks of some mountains, reminding them of the Magic Crafters homeworld, making them a little interested in seeing what else the homeworld had to offer.

Of course they found Elora standing nearby, looking a tad bit worried, even though she definitely had faith in their abilities after seeing the three of them take down both Crush and Gulp, though once the three of them walked over to where she was standing she turned around and gave them a light smile, showing that she was happy to see them, despite the fact that another castle was under Ripto's control at the moment.

"Spyro, Spike, Ember, I'm glad to see you guys again, even if I wish we could have waited a few hours to call on you for help once more," Elora said, confirming the fact that she was happy to see them again, though even as she said that they waited for her to tell her what exactly had happened when she came to tell the Professor and Hunter about the news that Ripto had been defeated, even though he appeared in Winter Tundra not ten minutes after Gulp's defeat, "as you can see, we've been locked out of the castle, thanks to Ripto, whose also stolen the new Power Crystal that the Professor was going to use to empower the Orbs that are in the Super Portal, so now he has a brand new scepter and there's no telling what he's going to do with it."

"Okay, so we'll check out the realms that are connected to this homeworld, make care of whatever is happening to each of them at the moment, and then we'll tackle Ripto," Spyro stated, because that was what they had done in the last two homeworlds they had visited and they were eager to see what sort of realms they would be visiting in the near future, though before he did anything else there was something that was bothering him, "So, Hunter told us that Ripto used a bomb or two to get you guys away from the Super Portal, but how in the world did he get his hands on some of those in such a short period of time?"

"According to what Ripto said, when he showed himself, he got some from Moneybags, no doubt using the gems that he stole from the treasury to purchase them," Elora replied, where she sighed for a moment, showing them that she was used to Moneybags doing anything for a couple of gems, or even for a high price at times, but helping a villain was new for her and she didn't like it, while at the same time Ember growled for a moment.

"Of course it was Moneybags... that bear just can't help himself." Ember said, as she was angry with the bear that was appearing to be more of an enemy than an ally every time they learned something about him and his involvement with the various races of Avalar, before she looked at the area that the gate to the castle was in, where the large Super Portal was resting behind it, and frowned as she spotted the bear in question, "Great, he's here as well. No doubt he'll try to have us pay him for something so we can enter the castle... let's get this over with, before I beat him into the ground."

Spyro and Spike started walking forward the moment she said that, where they walked down the short walkway that was in front of them and reached the main entry area for the entire homeworld, where it wasn't hard to pick up a couple of gems that were in their way and smash some metallic vases to their right, allowing Spike to note down that one of the realms they could visit was Mystic Marsh, before they approached Moneybags, but even as they did that they spotted a few small boulders, and one large boulder, that seemed out of place.

"Why hello there Spyro, Spike, and Ember. It is good to see you again." Moneybags said, where it appeared that he had no idea that Elora had ratted him out to them about the fact that he had sold bombs to Ripto at some point in time, be it before they showed up in Avalar or sometime after they beat Crush, but they were all angry with him and so far he was just adding a few more items to that list, "Now I know what you're thinking, you don't like the boulders that are around us, especially since one of them just so happens to be blocking the way to the area that the Super Portal and Ripto are waiting in... and I just so happen to have one more skill that I can teach you, though it doesn't come cheap."

Neither Spyro or Spike really had time to stop what was coming, even though neither of them really wanted to when they considered everything they had learned so far, as Ember hardened her entire body again and headbutted Moneybags right in the chest, causing him to cough in pain as he was forced to kneel for a moment, before she jumped onto the small boulder that was to her right and then jumped into the air, so she could spin around and bring her tail down on him, which knocked him into the ground and cracked some of the stone in the process.

"We learned what you did, Moneybags, as you sold bombs to Ripto," Ember growled, showing the bear that she was very angry with him, she was even angrier than when she heard what Gnasty Gnorc did to the dragons a year ago, all due to one dragon calling him ugly, and right now her brothers knew not to get in her way, though she was ready for him to try anything, just so she could smack him again, "so no, we're not going to pay you for the skill that you kept from us, rather you're going to tell us what the skill is and why we should care about it, otherwise I'm going to have Spike head over to Elora and tell her everything that you're responsible for, especially the war between Zephyr and Breeze Harbor."

"But... But that would ruin me!" Moneybags stated, as if he felt that he was an outstanding member of the community and that Avalar would be lost without him, even though it was painfully clear that he was only helping himself to all of the gems that had been inside Avalar's treasury, the same gems that they were collecting, but right now none of the siblings really cared for what he was saying.

"Moneybags, you've made your bed, and if you stand in our way you'll be laying in it soon enough," Spike said, though at the same time he reached into his satchel and pulled out the notes he had taken on everything the bear had done to the various realms they had discovered, or at least to the people they had encountered, and the very first article just so happened to be about the war his sister mentioned, "but, if you give us the skill and stay out of our way, there's a good chance I won't show Elora and the others everything that we've gathered on you."

Moneybags paused in what he was doing, attempting to get back up after what Ember did to him, and actually took a moment to think about what Spike and Ember had just said, or at least that was how it looked to Spyro, as he seemed to be thinking about the consequences of what would happen if Spike actually gave his notes to Elora, who would show all of it to Hunter and the other guards, before he eventually sighed as he pushed himself off the ground and weakly stood in front of them for a second.

"Very well... you win again. The final skill is the Headbash," Moneybags said, where he gestured to the boulder that Ember had used earlier, to deliver a rather nasty blow to his back, one that was going to hurt for a long time based on the previous hits he took from her, before knowing what the siblings wanted him to do next, "however, I cannot demonstrate this skill, both because of the injuries that Ember has inflicted upon my body and due to the fact that I do not have the type of body that could even perform it in the first place. All I know is from what I have seen other lizards do, as some of them have taken to jumping into the air above a rock and then do a forward somersault before heading down to the rock below them, to crack it open with their heads, or possibly horns in your case... that's all there is to it."

Ember glared at Moneybags for a moment, her gaze informing him that if this was a waste of their time she was going to hit him again, before jumping back onto the boulder that she had used to get to his back in the first place, which just so happened to be the moment that she jumped into the air and focused on what Moneybags told her, where Spyro and Spike watched as she spun around about three times before crashing into the boulder with her horns, as they were the first to make contact, which shattered the boulder into small pebbles and opened the way for the three of them to head inside the castle at some point.

"Well Moneybags, it seems you were telling the truth." Spyro remarked, more because he was amazed that the bear even had a third skill that he was holding back from them, one that actually worked as he described, even though he had to admit that their new skill, which he was sure they would use plenty of times in the future, was rather nice, but that was when he glanced at the bear again, "Now I would get going before Ember changes her mind, otherwise you'll have a rather angry dragon chasing you around until you're beaten into the ground and then hauled off to jail for your crimes."

In that moment Moneybags seemed to make the best decision he could, as he got up and limped away from where he and his siblings were standing, showing him and Spike that Ember hadn't held back this time around and that the bear would be feeling those wounds for some time, before they focused on the matter at claw and started to look around the rest of the homeworld, more for the missing gems and any Orbs that might be hidden around the area. The first thing they did was explore the area to their right, where Ember stopped using her hardening skill again as they smashed a lone metallic vase and picked up the gems that were near the portal that would take them back to Autumn Plains, the smaller one that had opened up some time ago. While she did that Spyro approached one of the small boulders and smashed it open with the new technique, allowing him to claim a gem from it, just like Ember had done when she tested it out, though that was followed by the pair heading over to some straw baskets so they could break them and pick up the gems that were inside them. Spike, on the other claw, stared at the large boulder for a few seconds and then decided to try out the new technique as well, where he jumped into the air and spun around like his siblings had done, before he rushed down at the stone and shattered it before his very eyes, more because he was shocked by the power of their new skill and less because of the Orb that happened to be buried inside the boulder, which remained untouched by what he did, allowing him to dust it off before adding to the Guidebook.

The nearby tunnel was the next area that they explored, as they found a few gems on the ground and discovered that it shifted from a normal floor to an icy floor, one that was similar to the ring that they had seen back in Colossus, so they had to skate around the area for a few seconds so they could collect the gems that were around them, before coming to a stop as they reached the end, finding the Professor standing near an inactive portal.

"Ah, it is good to see the three of you again, even if we do wish it was under better circumstances," the Professor said, though in that moment, before any of the siblings could voice their opinions on the matter, he beckoned to the portal that he was standing near for a few seconds, showing them that he wanted to talk about it for a moment, before they went off and continued their adventure, "This is the portal to Cloud Temples, a portal that usually has a hard time staying active due to some interference on either our side or on their side, but with the power of the Orbs you have collected so far, and the Talismans of the realms you have assisted, we should be able to restore the connection for the foreseeable future, giving you the chance to restore order and possibly stop this from happening again."

The siblings stood there for a moment as the magic of the Guidebook activated the portal that the Professor had been standing near, though once that was done they bid him farewell for now and headed outside, as there was more for them to explore before they headed inside the castle, especially since they intended to help all the realms before heading into the area that Ripto was hiding in. The instant they were outside the cave they headed back to where the castle's gate was located, where Ember smashed a boulder that was laying nearby and picked up the gem it left behind, leaving Spike to do the same thing to another boulder before he could even break a metallic vase that was near his position, and that let Spyro head down into the nearby area to smash open one of the bullseye chests, just like the one they had seen back in Shady Oasis. With that chest broken, and the gems collected, the siblings cleared up the remainder of the boulders that were in the area and walked towards the edge of the cliff that the castle had been built on, finding a set of stone stairs that took them down to a lower part of the homeworld, so they followed it and picked up the gems that happened to be laying on all of the steps. Those stone steps brought them to a small river that likely moved through part of the homeworld, if the other two were anything to go by, and it allowed the siblings to find three more straw baskets and two metallic vases, not to mention the gems inside them, not to mention a hidden cave with three gems, an inactive portal, and a familiar face that annoyed Ember when she looked at it.

"Moneybags, what are you doing down here?" Spyro asked, because that was who happened to be standing in the cave that they had located, standing next to the inactive portal that they had spotted, and he was hoping that there was a good reason behind this, otherwise he was sure that Ember was going to take out more of her rage on him, for all of the things he had done since their arrival in Avalar.

"Oh, I'm, ugh, activating the portal to the last Speedway," Moneybags replied, where he sounded worried about all of this for a moment, which was understandable due to what Ember had done to him so far, though as soon as he said that he turned to the side and let the siblings watch as the portal flared to life before their eyes, revealing that this was the portal to Canyon Speedway, "I'll be on my way... wouldn't want to stop you from saving Avalar."

Spyro, Spike, and Ember watched as Moneybags departed from the cave and headed to wherever he was planning on heading towards, though at the very least he was useful to them in some manner and wasn't actually trying to block them from stopping Ripto, but for right now none of them really cared about the Speedway and knew they would come back once they had taken care of the other realms that were attached to this homeworld. Once the portal was open they turned around and headed back to the stone steps, where they climbed up to the area they had been exploring earlier and came to the decision that it was time to head inside the castle itself, hence the reason all three of them headed for the now open door that they had opened. That was the moment they noticed the massive Super Portal, one that was twice as large as the other portals they had gone through in the past, in both the Dragon Realms and Avalar, which was made out of white stone and gold designs, and even had a number of purple crystals while having a spot for the missing Power Crystal, but while all three of them were interested in the portal they focused on the gems that were on the ground around them as they explored the area. Spike noticed a small normal portal nearby that went to Robotica Farms, to the left of the Super Portal to be exact, which made him wonder what was in the tunnel to the right side of the portal, but he knew that they would explore that area at some point and headed into the whirlwind that was near them, allowing Spyro and Ember to explore the area around the Super Portal, where they collected gems, smashed straw baskets, and smashed metallic vases as they sought out any additional Orbs that were in the area.

What Spike discovered was that the whirlwind took him high enough and allowed him to essentially glide to the top of the steps that lead to the area Ripto was waiting in, though as he glided through the air he shifted his course and found an Orb that just so happened to be resting on the castle wall, something that he landed near and added to the Guidebook, before collecting the three gems that were nearby and then jumped off the wall. What he was planning on doing, while his siblings were picking up every gem that was in the area, along with breaking straw baskets and smashing metallic vases, was to use the whirlwind again, though this time he glided over to the other side of the castle wall, where a river seemed to be flowing off into a side area of some kind. It was in that moment he discovered a small tunnel of some kind that was hard to access, or at least it would be without the whirlwind, so he quickly checked his gear and made sure all of them had the mark of the Water Safety spell, before jumping down into the area below him, where he landed in the water and dived under it. From there he followed the underwater tunnel that he discovered as he wondered where it was leading him, but it quickly became clear as he eventually reached an area where he could breathe again, which just so happened to have an Orb at the end of it, which he collected before gliding down into the area in front of him, finding that it was the cave that contained the portal to the last Speedway.

With that taken care of he exited the cave, used the whirlwind that was outside the entrance to get back up to where his siblings were exploring, and quickly returned to the area that the Super Portal was located in, where he quickly found Spyro and Ember collecting the rest of the gems that were around the area, as they glided down to the front of the castle and joined up with him, so they could explore the rest of the homeworld together. Of course the only thing left for them to check out was the tunnel to the right of the Super Portal, where they picked up the couple of gems that were laying on the ground and quickly found another inactive portal, with the Professor standing near it, so the first thing they did was smash the nearby straw baskets before they approached him.

"Ah, you guys are going to like this." the Professor remarked, where he tapped the portal that was next to him for a few seconds, even though none of them really needed the gesture to understand what he was talking about, before he moved on to what he wanted to say before they finished exploring the homeworld they were in, "With the number of Orbs that you have collected, since you started helping the residents of Avalar, you have more than enough to reactivate this touchy portal, allowing you to access Metropolis and assist them with whatever is happening to them."

The siblings nodded their heads in understanding, as it was nice to see that they had four more realms to help out, five if they counted Canyon Speedway, before they headed back to the area the Super Portal was located in, where they headed up to the door that lead to the area that Ripto was located in and found that Elora had already opened the way for them, when they were ready to face their foe. For now, however, the three of them gathered the rest of the gems that were in this realm and then headed back down to the area that was in front of the castle, as it was time to pause for a few seconds and determine which realm they wanted to help out first, of the four that were attached to this homeworld, and then tackle whatever challenges that realm had for them, before repeating the process and then facing Ripto once the rest of Avalar was back to how it was before his arrival.