Hope...

...And Chaos

"My brother?..." Strong Sad frowned, turning from the fairy. "He's dead."

Homestar was silent. Marzipan watching him closely, expecting him to break down any second. Instead he stood, looking at the Sorrow Prince with a mildly confused expression. Eventually he looked around at the room they were in. "No, sewiously, whewe's Stwong Bad?"

No one could think of how to answer the dense fairy. Homeschool fluttered his wings in frustration. He glanced over to Pom Pom, who had a small sad, thinking expression. Marzipan looked like she was about to cry in anger. Strong Sad just looked depressed.

"He's pwobebly way ahead. We should catch up with him. Hey, Scawy-man." He turned to the shadow prince. "How'd we get back in youw place? Last I wemembew we wewe in the fowest."

"Uh..." Strong Sad adjusted his cloak. "Fairy, I don't think you understand-"

"Homestaw." Homestar corrected. "Homestaw Wunnew if you wanna be fancy." He motioned towards his tiny quivering cousin. "He's mowe faiwy than me now anyways."

"Homestar, listen to me." Strong Sad tried to continue.

"Hey you'we suppose to live up. In the cold lands, wight?"

"Homestar-"

"How DO you get fwom hewe to thewe?"

"Home-"

"Is anyone listening to me? I need to get back to the fowest!" Homestar turned to the others. "If I loose twack of Stwong Bad he might get eaten by one of those nasty dwagons."

"ITS TOO LATE!" Strong Sad finally cried out, before holding tight his teeth. "He's already been eaten by a dragon! Marzipan and you witnessed it." He took a few sharp breaths, clenching his forehead with a heavy hand, muttering between breaths and teeth. "Most unique fairy ever witnessed by man... More like more annoying..."

"Thanks." Homestar chirped. "Wait... What do you mean he's been eaten? Whewe was I when this happened?"

"Under about two layers of magic." Marzipan interjected. "I'm sorry Homestar."

Pom Pom rolled his dark eyes, pointing out it was no wonder his friend was so- hyper. He finally walked over to Homestar and slung an arm over his shoulder. He pulled Homestar aside. As soon as they were across the room he leaned in close. Slowly and quietly he began to explain why he and Homeschool were there. Then he began to briefly explain the general's plans.

The human sized fairy slowly pulled away. "Wait man..."

Pom Pom shook his head, grabbing both of Homestar's shoulders and holding him in place. Fiercely he growled before insisting Homestar had to hurry with him and Homeschool. The nymphs knew of a way to restore Homestar, but only with the sacrifice of another. Since Strong Bad was, as far as he knew, dead it left only his terrible brothers to make a good sacrifice. More specifically Strong Mad, the tyrant. That and the fairies could finally restore the western kingdom to the pure humans, perhaps even allow it to become a part of Town.

"Wait." Strong Sad interrupted, crossing his arms. "The nymphs and fairies are going after my brother's kingdom? Why? My elder brother has not done anything to hurt either communities."

Pom Pom turned coldly to the shadow prince, still holding a firm hand on Homestar shoulder. He snubbed the Strong brother and pointed at him. It didn't matter if his brother wasn't currently doing anything. He had murdered at least one innocent fairy before he went on his campaign of conquer. He pillaged villages, terrorized humans, took people hostage. That was reason enough.

Homestar watched, along with Marzipan and Homeschool, as the two confronted each other. His wings twitched as his attention turned again to the room around him. Usually he was dense to it, but his fairy senses for once ran through his spine like a jolt of electricity. There was no way the friend he so grew attached to was dead. His tail gently swept behind him as a plan brewed.

There was no way Pom Pom or Homeschool would let him go. Strong Sad was one of the one who forced Strong Bad to change him. They couldn't be trusted for the moment. Marzipan, on the other hand, healed him.

With some swift movements Homestar got out of Pom Pom's grip before his old friend even noticed. He scooped up Marzipan mid run and headed for the window.

Marzipan had the breath knocked out of her a moment, only a weak gasp escaping to express her shock and fear. She couldn't scream, as they were going too fast. With a blast of wind he burst out the thick glass and leaped out into the frozen night.

Everyone else finally managed to turn.

"He-"

"He kidnapped the princess!"

Pom Pom ran for the window, reaching out and yelling out as loud as he could, begging Homestar to come back. But the giant fairy and human druid disappeared as icy winds blew into the new hole on the side of Strong Sad's castle.

Consciousness retook Strong Bad as he stiffly sat up. "Ugh... My mouth tastes like..." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "...Failure and dragon breath."

"I don't blame it, dragon-breath." A female voice chirped from across the tiny damaged room. The fire prince's glance hurried int the direction of the voice.

There, mashing a large pedestal in stone bowl, was a slender woman. Slender with the exception of her hair. Strong Bad stared at the massive tumbling, slightly knotted, curled locks of dull pink hair. She gave him a smirked. "Good morning, Sweet Prince. You had us scared there for a while."

"Who-?" He managed.

"Who are we?" The woman continued her small smile. "Well I'm known as the Hurricane. My companion is the Smith." She motioned to the other side of the room.

There stood a human man, white with heavy scars that seemed to cover his whole frame, from crown to toe. There were barely a few gray hairs on his head. He was looking out a window, only glancing at the prince long enough for Strong Bad see his uneven eyes and heavy lower lip. Then his gaze returned to the glassless window.

"Ok... Where am I, eh... Hurricane?" Strong Bad quickly turned his attention to his female attendant, not sure what to think of the man. She brought the stone bowl over and put it in Strong Bad's lap.

"Why, you're in the dragon lands." She calmly took him. "Eat some... It'll help you heal faster."

The prince looked down in the bowl of disgusting coloured mush, and wrinkled his nose. "Ewww... What is it? And what is a man and a..." His green eyes flicked back up at the Hurricane, noticing her long, antenna thin ears. "Wind elemental doing in the dragon lands."

"Its a mixture of fire berry, grass rabbit meat, and spine root. Its good for you. Eat." She pushed it closer. "As for why we're here? Well we're slaves, normally. Recently strange things have been happening and our master's been acting weird."

His nose still wrinkled Strong Bad brought the bowl up to his mouth and poured some of the mush into his mouth. Despite its look it tasted like cinnamon and under cooked meat. Kinda gross, but not to the degree he was expecting. He ate a little more. "Slaves, huh? Who in this place keeps slaves?"

"Why the king of the dragons of course." The Hurricane gave a light giggle. "Who else."

He dropped the bowl. "What? Trogdor's close by?"

"No... Calm down." She stood. "So, what was a cutey like you doing half dead in throat of a dead dragon?"

"Uh..." Strong Bad thought back, his memories foggy of what happened last. He strained to remember, then shook his head. "Where are my friend? They weren't eaten were they?"

She shook her head. "You were alone, and the dragon was otherwise empty." Then she walked over to her companion and quietly asked him a question. He turned to her and, with a silent sigh, gave her a weak thumbs up.

The fire prince sighed with relief. If he was alone that meant his fairy and the princess were probably still out there. His back spazzed a little, and he felt something brush against the base, near his pant line. He reached back to sweep it away, thinking it was a bug. Instead he felt warm scales. Turning his head found red scaly wings about the length of his forearm, and they were coming out of his very own back.

He screamed.

His attendants swiftly turned in surprise, just in time to see the bowl crash over the side of the bed. The Smith quickly turned his attention back to the Hurricane.

"Hold him down, Mushy!" She called to her companion before calling to Strong Bad. "What's wrong, kid?"

The Smith hurried over and pushed Strong Bad down on the bed with all his strength. It was barely enough to keep the fire prince down.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?" Strong Bad cried as he wriggled under the scarred human's weight. "That, Lady, that is not normal!"

"Huh?" She looked at his flapping wings. "Oh, you just gained them, didn't you? You really are still a kid."

Slowly the fire prince calmed enough to look to the wind element with a focused, questioning look. "What?"

She picked up the bowl, chuckling mildly. "Personally I thought you looked a little old to be fifteen, but then again I can never tell with the dragons with shape shifting powers-"

"Wait." Strong Bad interrupted, getting a steadying hand up from the Smith as he shifted back into a sitting position. "One: I'm not a dragon, and two: I just turned twenty like... Two weeks ago or something."

With a look of surprise the Smith turned to the Hurricane. He motioned to Strong Bad before crossing his arms. She frowned slightly, before looking away.

"But the wings, the quick recovery, that blue hair and bright eyes. You have all the signs of being a dragon."

He growled, pushing back the raggedy sheets that were over his body and stumbling to his feet. "I'm half human, half shadow element... Or at least I thought I was." He sighed. "If that isn't turn then everything I believed about me, and my family is a lie."

"Then I guess someone lied to you, kid." The Hurricane quietly whispered. Strong Bad briefly glared to the woman before he marched out the room, slamming the barely attached door on his way out. The Hurricane was about to follow him, but the Smith stopped her and followed instead.

Strong bad found himself outside and took a few steps away from the one roomed shack, only to sit in the dry grass. He couldn't leave, anyways. His cape, gauntlets and mask were still in there, after all. He sat quietly a few moment before a shadow loomed over him.

"Thanks for you help, but I think I just might as well be on way, wind-witch." Strong muttered before looking up. To his surprise it was instead the quiet man who stood above him, a strange look on his mistreated face. "Huh? Smith?"

The Smith sat a little ways from the prince. He gave him as warm of a smile as he could muster before taking up a stick and beginning to write in the dirt.

"Wait, you actually can't talk?" Strong Bad leaned in closer, but not too close. The man, did have a rather unpleasant odor to him. "Or make any sounds at all?"

The Smith put a hand over his neck a moment before he finished writing. Then he got up, nodding before taking his leave, back into the shack. Strong Bad watched him go a moment before he looked over to his writings.

'You're life was never a lie, young prince. You are a miracle of magic and life, a blessing for your family and loved ones. Never forget that, Strong Prince of Fire and Mischief.'

"Huh?" Strong Bad had to read the little message a couple more time before he bit back tears and a smile. "Magic, of course..." He hurried to his feet and went back inside, to get his gauntlets and cape, as well as his boots. He had a mission to complete and friends to, hopefully find.