An: Hello, Dear readers!
Ah, always love to see that people are still reading Beast Of Burden still, and the "I didn't think i would like this BUT" Always makes me smile.
On another note, i hope to finish this story quicker then Beast of Burden (which i wrote in about 2 weeks, so that's a thing) and move on to my next piece, which i have yet to decide on completely.
Last note, i have been pondering making a version of Beast of Burden that isn't a AT fanfic, and sending it off to magazines and such. Might get some interest, might get some cash. But i don't know if it's worth the effort, honestly.
Now, Dear Readers, onto the story!
Chapter 6: The Black Bishop
As we return to the battlefield, you may have already guessed the outcome; the goblin and lycan forces have decimated the undead, and the few left had fled, leaving a large group of drunk were beasts and and antsy goblins. The only thing that didn't cause both sides to begin fighting each other in a massive brawl was the word of the leaders, each holding enough respect to outweigh their desire to fight. But only barely.
From the walls, Princess Bubblegum and her always sweet Peppermint Butler stood, watching the forces party like they lived in the Cloud Kingdom. While the princess smiled in relief, the butler knew better, and he began to frown, making him look to the Princess in thought. After mentally deciding something, he smiled lightly. "Princess, please go back to the castle. I will go assist the lycan and goblin horde."
"Assist? Assist with what, pep-"
She found her voice cut off by a loud roar, a scream of a creature that hadn't dwelled the land of Ooo in ages; Dragon.
Dragons had fled Ooo when it become sport to hunt them. Even with their size (some grew as large as mansions, some claim to have seen ones that dwarfed mountains) they would eventually fall to the repeated blows. It was the work of Billy, the great hero, that allowed them to flee to other lands, where they could live in peace.
To this day, no one understands HOW the dragons came about. Some think they mutated from birds, some from lizards, and a few claim that they came from a different dimension. Either way, they held no resemblance to any creatures that walked what was once called Earth.
The one crawling over the horizon was a massive beast; It stood as tall as the Candy Castle, and it's massive feet would have crushed homes. What made it really dangerous, however, was the fact that it was undead. The once beautiful golden scales that would have made this dragon shine like the sun had become rotten, turning a dark black in most places, few scales still holding their original colour. Its ribcage was missing a vast majority of flesh, revealing bone and a hollowed body, full of something that might have been even more dangerous; undead humans, enough of the foul remains to pose a threat to the horde of green and fur. It's massive wings had rotted, leaving nothing but thin bones, and its head was the most terrifying part; the massive dragon was apparently not as easily turned as others, as a strange collar wrapped around its neck, giving signs of pain to the rotted dragon. It's eyes, a bright blue, looked down mournfully, watching the horde that it was about to crush with sadness. It began to open it's massive jaws, and Nikolai knew what was about to occur.
This is the bit where Nikolai does something stupid.
He felt his flesh cry in pain as he grew, taking sizes that even his body thought he never should. He now stood as tall as the dragon, and every inch of him felt like he had fallen into a vat of needles. Wincing, he gripped the dragon and pushed it's head skyward, a jet of black flame leaving it's lips. It seem surprised by the chain of events, and seemed hopeful. It opened its mouth again, and attempted to speak. "Take...Co-co-" was all it could muster, before it attempted to maul the beast with its hind legs, gripping onto his chest and leaving a wound the size of a small home.
Growling, he brought his claw to it's neck, attempting to rip the collar off. However, it let loose a wave of energy, knocking him back a few feet (well actually, with his size it was about a nearly a mile) and winced. He couldn't rip it off with that sort of magic inside. He needed to think of a-why was there a peppermint candy running up it's side?
Peppermint butler had quickly reached the battle scene, and had used the mysterious magic that he called his own, and rocketed himself nearly half way up the dragon, gripping onto rotting flesh and climbing. All he needed was enough time to reach that collar, he decided, and hoped that the furry beast would assist.
Down on the ground, the horde's clashed, each testing each others mettle, as the human corpses fought much quicker then the ones before, howling like demons and not letting decapitation stop them from attack. Grubs had called the forces back into the candy forest, so that they would have advantage in the sweet covered plants, the Lycan taking to the tree's like monkeys, diving onto the undead before leaping back up, and the goblins using the candy floss bushes as cover, the slow minded undead not realizing where the green warriors had fled to until they appeared again, jumping onto their backs and stabbing them in the back of the head. He frowned, however, realizing that this would work for only so long, the undead still pouring from the dragon, creating a endless sea of death.
Nikolai growled as the dragon bit into his shoulder, and Nikolai drove his claws into it's stomach, only giving the undead another gateway to escape it's belly. Gripping the dragons massive leg, he felt his body scream at him for all of the effort he used, tossing the creature onto it's side, which both stopped the undead flowing from it's stomach for a few moments, and turned the butler's crawl into a run.
The minty servant used the few moments of being on his feet to cover the distance in a matter of seconds, reaching the massive collar. Sighing, he began to chant in tongue that no mortal could hear without death, and would turn any immortal into one, and his hands begun to glow a color that has no name, it being one that didn't exist on the spectrum most creatures could see. Had anyone seen the color, they would have described it as "the most beautiful and terrifying thing ever" and would most likely faint at remembering it.
Huffing lightly, He drove his palms into the massive collar, the metal creaking and groaning before dissolving under the power behind the blow. The collar quickly disappeared, and many things happened at once.
Firstly, Grubs watched the undead give out a scream and all fall over, dead (again), leaving the fighting force fairly relieved, not wishing to lose any more on that day. Grubs pulled a small bottle from his pocket and downed it, deciding that he needed to drink 'all the booze from the Candy Kingdom to the Goblin Kingdom and back" after that fiasco.
Nikolai had watched the dragon give out a massive sigh, and looked towards the now shrinking lycan. "I have been forced into that state for more years then i wish to count. I had been dragged back into my body from my plain of resting, and forced to serve those wretched undead. I thank you, Child of the shadows. I offer you a gift, my friend. Flames will never turn against you, and shall protect you when in times of need." From the dragons snout came a stream of golden power, looking like the golden scales that the dragon must have been so proud of before. It slipped into Nikolai, his eyes glowing gold before returning to their usual shade of green.
The dragon laughed slightly, and closed his eyes slowly, the very movement creating a small wind. "I shall not let this occur again, this body of mine now burst aflame." he spoke, exhaling his last breath. After a moment of silence, his body began to crackle, the rotting flesh burning brightly. For a moment, Nikolai could see what the creature had once been, a massive beast of brightly colored scales and a mind deeper then any ocean. The body burned away, leaving nothing but a single golden scale, easily the size of a shield. Lifting it up, he carried it with him, deciding he needed a drink, and knew that Grubs would be drinking the kingdom dry if he didn't hurry up.
Peppermint butler watched the beast, before stretching his small arms and walking towards the kindgom, a craving for tea touching his lips.