The next morning at the castle, Crocness was standing outside Kook's room. Tinkor and Gildar were inside, tending to the injured bird's wounds. The half-human, half-reptile shifted her footing impatiently. She had been waiting for about ten minutes.

Since the half-human, half-dragon's sister was out hunting, Crocness decided to find out how Kook was doing. In a way, she was kinda glad that Shaiden wasn't back yet. She still hadn't figured out how exactly she would tell her that Thorne, her one and only brother, somehow becomes a dragon when he gets angry.

Crocness took a deep breath and looked down at her boots. How are we gonna change Thorne back to normal?

Suddenly, the door beside Crocness swung open, and Gildar appeared in its frame. The water monster straightened up as the viking walked into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

"How is he?" Crocness asked, looking at him.

Gildar glanced behind him at the door. "He's in a lot of pain," he sighed. "But he's keeping his spirits up by telling a bunch of...jokes."

Crocness wondered why Gildar could never got any of Kook's jokes. Or any joke, for that matter.

The viking flipped his dark hair. "But, hopefully, his arm will heal in a few weeks," he stated, trying to sound positive.

The reptile woman nodded. Just then, the blue ninja appeared in the hallway.

"Morning, guys," she greeted, walking up to the two Defenders.

Gildar's eyes widened. "Whoa, Shaiden! What happened to your face?"

"Very funny, Gildar," the ninja retorted, rolling her eyes.

"No, Shaiden, really," he replied. "You look like you just came out of a boxing match, and didn't do very well."

Now that Shaiden's face was illuminated by the lights in the hall, Crocness could notice that there was a long cut stretching across the ninja's right cheek. There was large, dark bruise engulfing it and her eye.

The ninja put a hand to her cheek. For the first time that day, she winced. "Oh, that. The stupid dragon did it." Shaiden clenched her hands into fists, and a wave of anger washed over her face. "Next time, though, it won't get away so easily. I'll make sure that its tail is ripped off when it returns."

Crocness frowned.

"That reminds me," Gildar said, "I've gotta work out some more today. That thing's not gonna get away with hurting Kook, if I have anything to do about it!"

The viking fiercely punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand. The water monster glanced at him, slightly impressed by his strong loyalty towards his friends. Gildar coughed.

"I'll see you ladies later," he stated.

With a polite wave and a turn on his boots, the viking walked away. Once he was gone, Shaiden walked in the direction opposite of him. Crocness followed her.

"Shaiden, I need to talk to you," she said.

The ninja glanced sideways at her. "What about?"

"About Thorne."

Shaiden looked at her, suddenly more interested. "What about him?"

Crocness paused to figure out how to start. "Have you noticed that he hasn't been acting like himself, lately?"

"Yes." The ninja cocked her head. "Why? Do you know what his deal is?"

"I have an idea..."

Shaiden stopped marching, then gave Crocness her undivided attention. "So? What's wrong with him?"

The half-human, half-reptile shook her head. "You're not gonna believe it."

The ninja crossed her arms indignantly. "I once watched Skabb eat three whole racks of unicorn ribs. Try me."

Alright. The water monster inhaled deeply. "Thorne's the dragon."

Shaiden blinked. "What?"

Crocness glared at the ninja. But, calmly, she said, "Thorne's the dragon."

Shaiden groaned. "Oh, Crocness, come on. You can't be serious."

The crocodile woman clenched her teeth. "You see? I told you that you wouldn't believe it!"

Shaiden uncrossed her arms and started walking away. "Thorne fought against that thing with us, remember?"

Crocness followed. "Not last night, remember? Kook said he was feeling sick, and that was because he was transforming!"

Shaiden turned down the hallway where the blue Defenders' bedrooms were. "You watch too many sci-fi movies, Croc."

The two stopped at Thorne's door. Crocness put her hands on her hips.

"I'll prove it. Dragons destroy everything they touch. I bet you that his room's a huge mess."

Shaiden rolled her eyes and clasped the door's handle. "Please. I bet you that he's in bed, completely human."

The ninja pushed the door open, and her jaw dropped. There was a large hole in the wall that led outside, and almost everything in the room was scratched, overturned, or ripped up. Sitting on the bed patiently was the ninja's brother himself.

Thorne, who appeared to be fully human again, was looking straight at the two ladies, and his expression hardened with anger when he saw the large bruise on his sister's face.

"Well, I guess we were both right," Crocness stated dryly.

Shaiden found her voice. "Thorne, what happened?" she cried, stepping inside.

The alchemist glanced at the wreckage, then at Crocness. "Didn't she tell you?"

The ninja stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened, and she whipped around to Crocness. The water monster nodded, and Shaiden turned back around to Thorne.

"You..."

Thorne crossed his arms stiffly. "Yeah. I was the dragon...am the dragon...that attacked last night."

Shaiden gaped at her brother. "YOU were the thing that smacked me in the face?!"

Thorne snorted, then moved his gaze to the ground.

After Shaiden finished yelling at her brother that she was going to smack him upside the head later, Crocness proceeded to tell her all about Moray, his occupation, and possible connection to the dragon with the oozing claws. Thorne stared at the ground and kept quiet the whole time. The only sounds that he made were angry sighing every now and then.

The ninja, once again perfectly composed, nodded slowly once the croc-woman ceased speaking. "So, that means if Thorne was the dragon last night, then the dragon that attacked the few nights before hasn't come back yet, and we need to protect the castle from both."

Crocness nodded. The blue ninja shook her head and groaned. "Great." Shaiden turned to look at her brother. "What are we going to do about him?"

The way Shaiden put emphasis on the word "him" made the alchemist growl under his breath.

"Thorne and I talked about it last night," Crocness said. "We've concluded that he needs to be as far away from the castle as possible when he transforms."

Shaiden nodded.

"We also need to warn the other Defenders of the real danger we're in," Crocness added. "I'm gonna need your help convincing everyone that Thorne's the dragon that attacked last night."

"Got it," Shaiden replied, nodding once more.

Thorne clasped his palms over his knees, then stood up from his bed. "Fantastic," he muttered. "I'm going down to the lab. I need to figure out what exactly is happening to me."

With that, the alchemist walked briskly out of his room. He paused at the door, then looked behind him at his sister and croc-friend. A sudden look of anger crossed his face. "Oy, this ain't your room! Get out!

Shaiden rolled her eyes, and the two obeyed. Afterwards, Thorne slammed the door shut, then paced off to the lab, leaving Shaiden and Crocness by themselves.

The croc woman turned to the ninja. "I promised that I'd go with him tonight."

The ninja stared at the croc-woman intently. "What? Why? Didn't you see how destructive he got last night?"

The half-human, half-reptile shrugged. "Well, someone has to keep an eye on him. And as a half-crocodile woman myself, I could probably help him deal with his changes."

Shaiden crossed her arms. "I suppose, but I'm his sister; I should be the one accompanying him."

"Yeah, with a large bruise like that on your face," Crocness replied sarcastically.

The ninja's eyes narrowed. "At least let me go with you."

"Shaiden, Thorne feels horrible...at least I think he does...about hurting you. He needs to take his mind off of it. If he doesn't, his guilt will turn into anger (if it hasn't already), and then he'll transform."

The ninja's eyes sparked as if she was about to smirk, but her face stayed straight. "Not if he can't see me."

Crocness paused, then scanned her friend's blue outfit, suddenly noticing the black cases and sheathed Splatana. That's right, she's a ninja.

After a moment, Crocness took a deep breath. "As long as Thorne doesn't see you, you can come."

Shaiden nodded. "I'll be lurking in the shadows."