Thorne stood over the stone wall of the Finishing Platform, his Mulching Mace in hand. His eyes scanned the darkness of the night, searching intently for any signs of the enemy. He and the other Defenders were waiting for the mythical monster to come.

The Defenders were dispersed all around the castle. Skabb was behind the moat's Splatzooka, and prowling behind the Beastly Battle Axes were Gildar and Ballista. Crocness was lurking in the moat, Shaiden...well, she was a ninja, so no one knew where she was waiting. The rest of the Defenders were positioned in the courtyard, completely prepared to defend the crown.

The Defenders had been out for about an hour, growing more and more impatient and excited. Just as Skabb was about to comment that the enemy was taking forever, the moat trembled. The Defenders in the moat locked their gazes over the Defenders' Douse. There was a flapping sound, then a shadow covered the moat's entrance. Then suddenly, above the arch of the Starting Platform, a roaring bergundy dragon appeared.

The dragon actually looked navy blue because of the dark lighting, and was about the size of a schoolbus. It had large wings and a thick tail that acted as a whip. It's teeth were long, sharp, and egg-white in color. The claws it possessed were covered in a slimy substance, hence sparkled in the moonlight. The beast's eyes were gold and gleaming with fierceness.

The barbarian's eyes were just as fierce. "SKABB RULES! GAH!"

"DEFEND THE CASTLE!" Gildar roared.

The dragon, in response, gave a mighty cry, then flew in. The Defenders in the moat welcomed it with slime, splat balls, and even some stones.

The dragon flew up towards the Splatzooka. Skabb screamed angrily, then shot a splat ball at the beast's stomach. The mythical creature roared, then twirled its tail in the air. Using it, the beast knocked Skabb from the Splatzooka and into the moat. The monster then bit down hard the Splatzooka, destroying it.

Suddenly, Skabb jumped into the air. He screamed and brought his Basher Masher down on the beast's skull. The dragon withdrew with a loud yelp. The beast unintentionally came into Ballista and Gildar's firing range.

Gildar threw stones at the beast as Ballista fired an arrow at it. The arrow pierced the top of the dragon's eyelid, making it scream. She laughed.

"I'm on fire, tonight!"

The dragon, unamused, snarled, then leaned its face towards the two. Before it could proceed with its coming attack, Gildar punched its snout. The beast threw its head back in pain.

Gildar turned to Ballista. "Your fire's not as hot as mine, though."

The huntress glared at him. The dragon, enraged, lowered its head and opened its mouth. Out came red flames. Gildar and Ballista barely manged to avoid them by leaping out of the way. The beast snorted, then prepared to do the same thing again.

Just then, a small stone hit the dragon's temple. It cried out with pain, then turned to see Thorne glaring at it.

"Hey, lizard freak!" he shouted. "Come over here!"

The dragon narrowed its eyes, growled evilly, then flew straight for the mace-wielding Defender.

The alchemist bravely gripped his weapon, then swung it at the coming dragon's chin. The spikes made contact with its large jaw, which infuriated the monster. The beast roared, then unleashed its whip-like tail. The dragon brutally smacked Thorne, sending the alchemist flying into the Stockade. Thorne landed and rolled across the purple boards of the Pardoning Platform. He groaned, then lifted his head to see the dragon flying after him, claws extended. Thorne growled, pushed himself up, then charged for the beast as it burst in. He whacked at its claws with his mace. The beast fell back a few yards, roared, then attacked again.

With a quick twist, the dragon whipped Thorne again with his tail. Thorne fell to the floor of the Stockade. Before he could react, the beast pinned him down with its large paws. It bore it's teeth at him in such a way that Thorne thought that it was evilly smiling at him. The dragon took one of its oozing claws and swiftly sliced it across Thorne's forearm, making the alchemist flinch.

Suddenly, a ninja star cut through the air and scraped the dragon's neck. It roared, then turned to the fierce blue ninja on top of the catwalk. She bore her teeth at it, then unsheathed her Splatana. The dragon roared again, then went after the ninja. Shaiden somersaulted away from its powerful smack, then pierced her sword into its shoulder. It only growled, then smacked at her. Shaiden dodged and blocked the attacks with her ninja moves. She was doing great until it twisted and swung its tail at her. The dragon successfully knocked her into the Stockade, then held her down.

Just as the beast was about to bite the ninja's head off, Thorne smacked its cheek with his Mulching Mace, breaking a tooth. The dragon cried out in anger and pain. Thorne hit it again, freeing Shaiden from its strong grasp. Suddenly, the other Defenders arrived, each wielding a dangerous weapon of their own. The dragon growled, then opened its large jaws the breath out some fire. Tinkor retaliated by using his Splatmobile to launch an exploding splat ball into its mouth.

The dragon arched back and screamed, saliva dripping from its mouth. The other Defenders yelled back and shot slime and rocks at it. The dragon cowered back in pain every few seconds. Finally, it gave a roar of defeat, darted back for the moat. The Defenders followed after it, and but were unable to hurt it anymore while it retreated. The warriors gathered on the wall above the Starting Platform and watched as the beast flew away.

"DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK!" Skabb screamed.

The Defenders glared at the monster until they could no longer see it. They were all quiet long after it was gone, each trying to catch their breath.

After a little while longer, Knightriss broke the silence.

"I think we should all stay inside the castle, tonight. Just in case this thing does come back, we need to be ready."

The Defenders quietly agreed. They were all too tired to make the trip back to their own places, anyways. With that, each Defender turned and followed their leader towards the castle's front doors.

Before Thorne walked away with the others, he looked at the cut across his arm. It had stopped bleeding, but it didn't look okay. The dried blood was a bit of a purple color. It stung a bit, but cuts usually do. The alchemist turned his arm up and down, wondering if he should run some tests on it.

"Thorne, you alright?"

The alchemist blinked, then turned around. Crocness was a few paces behind him, watching him carefully. Thorne put his arm down and turned it towards his side so the reptile woman wouldn't see the long cut.

"I'm fine," he replied.

Crocness waited for him to expand on his answer, but when he didn't, she nodded. "Alright. Just checking."

Thorne nodded, then followed after the half-human, half-reptile towards the castle. While he was walking, he looked down at his forearm. It was now tingling. He stared at it for a moment, then shook his head.

I'm fine. I'm just fine.