The Dragon King

"But Strong Bad!" Marzipan stepped up the slight incline after the fire prince. "Tell us the plan first! Please!"

Strong Bad turned backwards, but kept moving. "Look Princess, its best I can do for both of you is tell you later, Ok. Besides my plan is only valid once we win." He smirked at her look of shock.

Homestar followed behind. They had only briefly rested before going deeper within the forbidden realm. The fairy himself insisted they not waste too much time. With his people against Strong Bad's... Brother, it was only a matter of time before a whole lot of those people died. Homestar himself had a plan, or at least he did about ten minutes ago. The plan was brilliant, but went as quickly as it came. So, at this point all he could do was trust his two dear friends.

Marzipan snarled. "Only valid if we win? What's your plan if we don't?"

"We become dragon food, duh." Strong Bad rolled his emerald eyes at her. She released a harsh breath.

"You'll be the death of us all, you little monster..."

"Actually I'm cool with that now." The fire prince shrugged, turning to face the path again. "Met a pretty wise guy along the way, who finally cleared everything for me. I'm may be a lot of things, Marzipan, but you know what I really am?"

She looked off, thinking about it a moment. "A trouble causing royal pain in the butt?"

"Yeah. And I'm a Strong, through and through. Made of life and magic, Baby." He adjusted the collar of his cape. "I'm the greatest miracle either of you will ever know."

Marzipan shook her head, but grinned non the less. "Full of yourself, is what you are. More so than I previously imagined."

"That's my Stwong Bad!" Homestar added cheerfully.

The fire prince rolled his eyes again before he stopped. He had just noticed a figure standing beside him. He didn't remember passing someone by. He turned to face the tall man.

Before him was a proud standing man, with long white hair and full silver armour. He looked down with icy cold eyes.

"Hello?" Strong Bad quickly spoke.

"Sir, what are you doing so far in dragon territory?" Marzipan asked the solemn faced man. Something about the man made Homestar sneak in behind his friends. There was something so wrong with the way the man looked at them, the way he felt to the fairy, but Homestar couldn't place what.

"I could ask you the same thing, dear princess. Shouldn't you be home caring for the old king?" His voice slithered to the young trio, as he glanced over each of them, lastly falling on Strong Bad.

"I'm free to do what I wish..." Marzipan whispered, unable to look anymore to the frozen wasteland of the man's stare.

"We're here to get Trogdor." Strong Bad boldly stated, standing straight. His wings raised slightly. "To kill him."

The man laughed lowly, not taking his eyes off the green eyed youth. "My dear boy, there's no way you could face the likes of him in your current condition."

"Huh?" Before Strong Bad could react further he felt something escape his belt. The man held out the harness, before biting down on it to hold it in place. He reached forward and grabbed Strong Bad.

"What are you doing!" Marzipan grabbed the armoured man, trying to pull him away from Strong Bad.

"Hey!" Homestar grabbed his other arm, but they both soon found their grips slipping as the man grew.

Scales began to form from armour. His arms twisted strangely as they became one, coming out of his back. From above those small wings with clawed fingers form. His face and neck elongated until his body was no longer human in appearance, but dragon.

He held Strong Bad in his single armed grip, and all the fire prince could do was stare at his fate to be.

"You're Trogdor?" Marzipan let go, reaching for Homestar. But the fairy refused to stop scrambling to keep his hold.

"Let him go, you scaley lizawd!" Homestar called out before biting down on the beefy arm, trying to get the dragon to release his friend.

Trogdor just swung around arm and tail to send his two assailents back. Marzipan fell against the grass, while Homestar landed a little ways from her. He gasped in shock and pain as against his wing pulled against from his shoulders.

Then the dragon returned his attention to his blue haired captive, who hadn't yet taken his eyes off of him. He grinned a crocodile grin, saliva dripping onto his gripped prisoner as he face moved in closer. For a moment Strong Bad forgot about the harness, turning away the approaching maw. Then he felt the choke of the magical straps pull up his chin. Awkwardly the dragon got the harness onto the fire prince before he dropped him.

In a flash of light Strong Bad realized he was transforming under the magic.

"Now you'll pose a bit of a challenge." He could hear the voice of the man gone dragon over the sound of his heartbeats.

"Strong Bad!" He heard the princess' screams.

Then silence. He himself was no longer human shaped, a black scaled serpent with wings, legs, arms, and of course a long whipping tail. But he couldn't care less what he looked like, his attention turned to lack of exclamation from his fairy.

Homestar lay sprawled amoung some rocks jutting out of the hill side. He wasn't moving. Marzipan was staring at him until she noticed his attention was elsewhere and looked behind her. She gasped before stumbling up the mountain, her leg clearly preventing her from walking straight.

Strong Bad didn't keep his attention of his fragile friend long before turning it back to the dragon king, the very dragon he was out for. He could use the rage filling him, he knew it. It was all too perfect. He flew at the older dragon, sending them both tumbling into another hill.

Marzipan slowly helped up Homestar. "You scared me for a second. Are you alright?"

"Uhh." Homestar shook his head. "Good sweet Mike, that huwt..." Slowly he looked over his shoulder and sighed in frustration. When he looked back over to Marzipan he finally saw Strong Bad. "Whoa... Stwong Bad..."

For a moment the fairy stared, awestruck as the fire prince fought the old king, two dragons striking blow for blow. They savagely torn into each other with teeth, claws, and meaty fist. Then, still entranced, Homestar began to cast a spell. He powered up his friend with wind.

Marzipan watched as well, through not as impressed. When she saw Homestar weaving his magic she nodded to herself.

She too began to cast, muttering the usual phrase under her breath as she closed some of Strong Bad's wounds.

Despite being deep in battle this bit of aid didn't get past Trogdor. He roared out before striking down at his opponent again, getting a good hold on his shoulder before summoning forth a charge of lightning breath. Strong Bad was paralyzed in pain as the volts coursed through his newly grown form. He couldn't even notice when the ground rumbled under his feet.

Homestar looked behind him as another dragon was making its way towards them. A massive dragon, bigger than even the king, with a serpentine form and four thick limbs. It growled as it came to loom over the two, the sound echoing within its triangular bone helmet. Marzipan could only reach for Homestar, her legs otherwise petrified at the sight. Homestar, on the other hand, smirked.

"Hey Mawzipan, I guess this makes this even." He took her hand, quickly pulling her along as he dashed to one side. They just barely got out of the way as the dragon struck down at them. "Come'on, dwagon! Youw momma was a fiwefly!"

"Homestar! Stop taunting the freaking dragon!" Marzipan managed to scream as she was taken along for another dodging run. The dragon roared, swinging both his mighty arms as the fairy took the princess into a high jump before dashing again.

Strong Bad slowly slithered back from Trogdor to catch his breath. He saw the other dragon arrive out of the corner of his eye and a grin snaked onto his leathery lips. "Had to call in reinforcements, huh? We're too much for you?"

The dragon king released a low hiss. "One should never underestimate the power of a resourceful party. You are to fight me alone, young one, without the assistance of the human girl and fairy boy."

"Fine by me. Thanks to you... I've never felt more powerful." Strong Bad sneered before releasing a burst of bright fire breath. It pushed the king back slightly, but didn't seem to damage him in the least. Trogdor laughed.

"Is that the best you have, child?"

For a breath the fire prince closed his eyes. He had to do better, but he didn't have anything except his fire. He was just a human, elemental, dragon. Then the idea hit. Shadow elemental; Earth casting father; surely either of those would mean he could access more than fire. Finally he opened his dragonic eyes and glared at his opponent, who smirked back.

He concentrated, waiting to feel the well of warmth, a feeling like when he summoned fire. Instead a chill filled his insides, surprising him, but not deterring him from releasing the magic. He let out a blast of blackened fire, causing Trogdor to call out in surprise as he sent back against a hill.

Strong Bad took in a few good breaths, pride quickly replacing a the chill he had previously felt.

"How's that, Troggy?" He scoffed as he caught his breath. "Good enough for ya?"

The old dragon rose, not wasting any time to attack the arrogant prince this time. He struck like a viper, getting a clasp on Strong Bad's throat.

Homestar continued to dodge, easily staying one step ahead of the mighty beast, and not letting go of Marzipan. She clung to his hand with both of hers, less he tear her arm out of its socket.

"Hey, Marzipan, think you can keep up with the healin?" The fairy questioned without looking his companion's way.

"Not without free hands!" The princess called back, clinging all the tighter. Homestar nearly stopped on the dragon's head.

"What do you mean you can't without hands? I can without my hands." He complained as he just barely got away from the dragon's swinging head.

"Well you're not a druid, Homestar. You're a fairy, and an automatically magical humanoid. I'm a human, I had to train and study to get where I am."

"Foo, You'we plenty magical Mawzipan." The fairy scoffed. "You've kicked butt and dis-spelled cuwses like nobody's business since we've met."

"Homestar..." She nearly let go before clinging harder. "I'll try..."

Despite all his boasting Strong Bad could feel his power weakening with each tear into his newly scaly flesh. The dragon king might have been old, but he surely wasn't fragile. Still he fought, for his survival and for the possible chance to stop his brother from fighting on the other side of Freecountry. The shadow fire seemed to help quite a bit, but not nearly enough to win, and besides Trogdor kept going after his head and neck. It was getting harder and harder to breath.

Marzipan cried out in frustration, wrapping her arms tightly around Homestar's neck. "I can't! I can't without casting motions. I need my hands free, Homestar! You need to find a safe place to put me down."

Homestar looked behind him. He could just barely see Dragony Strong Bad and Trogdor beyond the dragon chasing them. The meaty armed dragon seemed to have been herding them away from their companion the whole time. He sighed in frustration. "If I slow or stop the dwagon will eat us..." He muttered to the princess in his arms, clinging all the tighter to try to make her a smaller passenger. "I..."

Trogdor delivered another bite, this time getting a self satisfying crunch out of the bones of Strong Bad's shoulder. The young man gone dragon made the motion of crying out, but no sound came out. He stumbled back, desperately trying to breath.

Homestar tried to make a sharp turn, to pass the titanic dragon on his heels, and get back to the main fight. A giant scaley tail swung just in time to stop the fairy mid run. Homestar and Marzipan tumbled, releasing each other as they hit the ground. From an upside down vantage the princess gasped, just barely seeing the black and red dragon fall before the mighty green one. Homestar's head shot up at that sound, seeing the dragon king loom above his companion, about to land a finishing blow.

The fairy scrambled to his feet, leaving behind princess and other dragon. But with her hands free Marzipan pulled herself up and turned to the massive monster that chased them. "Life of the earth, take your child from once it came!" Her eyes glowed as she wove her magic, vines and earth rising up around the dragon. The dragon roared mightily as it was surrounded and pulled down, until only its head remained above ground.

Homestar got close enough and put a barrier around Strong Bad, just in time to stop the dragon king from sinking his long fangs in. He hurried into his barrier and put a firm hand on Strong Bad's largest wound.

"Stwong Bad... I hewe fow you..." Homestar wasn't tiny, but almost felt as small as the first day he met the fire prince as he softly spoke the words. "Ok?"

Strong Bad half nodded, feeling the fairy under his long leathery chin. He wasn't sure he could talk anymore at this point, but a smile slowly spread along his nicked and cut lips. He had to try.

"M-my plan... Homestar..." He whispered, getting the wide eyed attention of the glistening fairy clinging to him. "You... Take my princehood... They w-won't love me... But they love you... 'Bomination or not."

Tears mixed with the blood that Homestar couldn't help get on him as he rubbed his cheek against Strong Bad's long neck. "I don't know how to be a pwince... I'm a faiwy, a faiwy-" He shut his eyes tight. "I'm not stwong like you!"

"Hey-" Strong Bad tried not to gag. "You're not gettin rid of me th-that easily... I'll advise you, st... Stupid. 'Sides... We still have to get rid of him." Both dragon and fairy looked towards the snarling Trogdor.

Homestar nodded as he glared. A plan began to form. Nervously, hands shaking and sweat forming, the fairy pulled an arm back. Then he looked away as he pushed the appendage into the cut he was holding closed. Strong Bad released a large roar of pain, only just realizing he was beginning to feel magic that wasn't his own. Wind, and the unnamed force magic that was Homestar's was becoming his. His wounds held shut with barriers as he rose up again.

Trogdor chuckled. "So the little fairy is your amulet... How amusing.

Strong Bad sneered, calling forth the chill of the shadows and combining it with the new found wind that coursed through him. He released it in the form of another breath attack, pushing the old king back. But he didn't stay down long, slithery around and aiming again for Strong Bad's neck, though this time for the fairy there.

The fire prince swung his tail at Trogdor, whipping him across the face.

"Life of the earth!" Marzipan called as she made a dash for the fight, summoning forth a boost of strength her companions' way. Adrenaline filled both dragon and fairy.

Strong Bad ducked low, dodging another of Trogdor's attempts at his neck, then rushed the older dragon, biting down at the base of his jaw. His jaw clamped until he could feel the hot blood and the movement of bone under the grip. He savored the moment, before he shut his mouth.

Author's Notes: This was originally two chapters, but I decided to just make a slightly larger chapter rather than split the battle up. Also I'm getting close to the end and am not sure where to go next. Perhaps by the I finish the last chapters I'll think of something, but if anyone has a request or some such, run a private message by me, please.