Thorne breathed heavily, then opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a field of dew-covered grass. He then realized that he was lying on his stomach on the ground. He glanced up at the trees touching the light blue sky, then at the side to see the large body of water sparkling in the early morning sunlight.

When he sat up, Thorne felt a dull, aching pain in the back of his head. He cringed and moved his hand to the throbbing area. Suddenly, he felt something pierce the surface of his skin. He yanked his hand in front of him, and that's when his eyes brightened with alarm.

His hand hadn't changed back to human form. It was still blue and scaly, and there were silver claws reflecting the warm sunlight. Thorne looked over at his other hand. It too was covered in blue scales. He viewed his torn-up boots, and saw that his feet didn't look human, either.

Thorne pushed himself up off the forest foor and dashed for the lake. When he reached its edge, he dropped down on his knees and observed the water's gleaming surface. The alchemist felt a strong wave of anxiety pass over him as he stared at his reflection. There were two fangs curling over his bottom lip.

This was not good. It was morning; he should have already turned back to normal. Much to his horror, Thorne realized that his transformation, if not taken care of soon, would become permanent. Maybe even in just a few days.

Thorne groaned, then lifted himself up from the ground. Then quickly, he ran straight for the Splatalot castle.

As he ran, images of the previous night flooded his mind. The half-human, half-dragon watched the whole thing replay itself, and could even feel all the emotions that came with every scene. Especially anger.

Thorne pushed the last memory out of his head, and ran even faster as frustration pulsed through his blood. He muttered to himself that Gildar and Shaiden should have stayed back at the castle, and wondered why his sister didn't listen to him.

To answer his question, he recalled that Shaiden had told Crocness that she and Gildar came just to make sure everything went okay.

Well, it didn't, did it? Thorne thought bitterly.

Suddenly, a new thought came to mind, and it replaced his anger with fear.

What happened after that?

Eventually, the blue alchemist arrived at the Splatalot Kingdom. He stopped running to catch his breath. As he did, he wondered whether entering the stone fortress was a good idea or not. How violent did he get last night?

He wasn't sure, but the unpleasant feeling he felt in his chest told him that things didn't go very well.

Finally, Thorne straightened up, took a deep breath, then headed for the castle's large front doors. He reluctantly pushed them open, then slowly entered.

Thorne was careful not to make any noise as he walked through the fortress. He set his ears on high alert and listened for any sounds from the other Defenders. It wasn't long until he detected low voices coming from the direction of the dining hall. Thorne instantly set his course for the cafeteria.

As he came closer, the alchemist could pick up more bits of a conversation. The doors to the dining room were partly open, so when he arrived at the side of its entrance, he coud hear everything clearly. Thorne silently laid his back against the wall and listened.

"Does that help?" Kookaburra asked.

"A little bit," Shaiden replied quietly.

A pause.

"Do you want me to get any pain relief medicine?" Gildar inquired.

"No."

"Do you need any, Gildar?" Ballista asked.

"...I'm good," the viking stated less confidently.

Thorne felt the bad feeling in his chest worsen. Slowly, he crept from the wall and peered inside the dining room.

All of the other Defenders were inside the cafeteria. The center of attention was Thorne's sister. Shaiden was sitting on a chair, and Kook was pressing an ice pack on her left arm set on top of the table. One foot was propped up on a chair, and both of her boots were caked with mud. Her right cheek was badly scratched, and her entire face was dark with fatigue and pain.

Gildar was resting one of his hands on the table, watching the blue ninja. Thorne noticed multiple cuts, bruises, and a large welt on his left arm. He couldn't see his right arm, but he imagined it was just as bad. The viking was leaning over the table in such a way that it was obvious that he was in pain.

The blue alchemist immediately realized what had happened, and could already feel guilt well up in his chest.

"I really need a shower," Gildar muttered, running his hand through his mattered hair.

Ballista patted him sympathetically.

Crocness was standing in the corner with a solemn expression on her face. She was busy staring at the ground. She took a deep breath, then looked up at Gildar.

"How hard did you smack him, last night?"

Thorne's eyes darted to the croc-woman. To his relief, he couldn't detect any signs of injury.

"Just enough to knock him out," Gildar replied. "But he'll be fine."

That explains the headache, Thorne thought.

The viking glanced to the side. "He should be waking up by now."

The croc-woman looked back at the ground.

Gildar hesitated. "Crocness?"

The half-human, half-reptile looked back at him.

"About Thorne...did you know that he liked you?"

Everyone put their eyes on Crocness. After she was quiet for a moment, she slowly shook her head.

"I had no clue."

Kook glanced at Shaiden before looking back at Crocness. "Um...do you..." He shrugged. "...You know..."

Crocness stared at him, her face expressionless. "I don't feel the same way."

She stated the fact so coldly and stoically that Thorne stepped away from the door. He stared at it, unsure how to react. Then, as he realized that Crocness had just rejected him, a new emotion began to fill his heart.

He was hurt.

Thorne started breathing heavily as he tried fighting back his heartache. He pushed it away, but it just came back. The more he fought, the more hurt and angry he became. Finally, the pain came back so strong that he lost control and roared.

Almost instantly, the dining hall's doors swung open. Skabb and Ballista were standing there, watching as Thorne slammed himself against the wall. He roared again, then turned towards the door.

"Dragon boy's back," Ballista called, a bit of scorn in her tone.

Thorne snarled, then threw himself to the ground. Ballista and Skabb glanced at each other, then ran out and grabbed Thorne by the arms. He instinctively fought to be let go, but he fought even harder to retain control of himself.

The other Defenders had gathered near the door to see what was going on. Ballista groaned as Thorne jerked left and right. She looked across at Knightriss.

"What do we do?" she shouted.

"Get him in here!" Crocness called, cutting her leader off.

With another loud groan, Ballista and Skabb dragged the half-human, half-dragon into the dining hall. By the time they got him inside, he had calmed down a little bit. But not by much. Crocness cut her way through her fellow Defenders and knelt down next to Thorne.

"Thorne, please, calm down!" she pleaded.

Crocness's voice made Thorne pause. He looked up at her. Suddenly, his eyes flashed and he cried out again. Skabb and Ballista held him even tighter as the alchemist continued to struggle. Crocness looked at Knightriss, who gazed back helplessly.

Just then, Thorne felt a cool, firm object on the back of his neck and the very top of his back. For whatever reason, it made him feel calmer, and his violent jerks began to stop.

"Just chill, mate," Kook said, putting more pressure on the cold ice pack. "Take deep breaths."

Thorne obeyed. As he let air fill his lungs, he felt drops of sweat roll down the side of his face. After a minute, he was able to open his eyes. He looked around at the alarmed expressions on his fellow Defenders' faces.

No one spoke for a minute.

"Feel better, mate?" Kook asked.

Thorne sighed in reply.

Shaiden carefully sat up. She flinched when she felt a sharp pain in her leg, but spoke calmly and carefully. "Thorne, why are you still half-dragon?"

The alchemist looked at his sister, then at Crocness, who was standing next to her. He felt another sting of pain and jerked forward with a cringe. Skabb and Ballista clenched him even tighter.

"Easy, mate," Kook said, pressing the ice pack down a bit harder.

Thorne clenched his teeth together and began taking deep breaths again. A minute later, he came to his senses, and was able to speak between heavy breaths.

"My condition...it's becoming...it's becoming permanent. And I...I haven't figured out how to... cure myself."

Shaiden's eyes sparked with panic.

"And I...I wouldn't be able to figure anything...anything out today." Thorne glanced at his blue arms locked in Ballista and Skabb's steel grip, then gazed at his sister helplessly. "Not like this."

A silent minute passed. Shaiden sighed, then turned to the leader of the Defenders. "What are we gonna do?"

Everyone else turned to Knightriss. She glanced at everyone, then drew in a deep breath. She hesitated.

"Well...there is one thing that we can do," she replied. "I don't like it, but..."

Thorne put his eyes on her. "What?"

Knightriss was silent for a long moment. And when she finally spoke again, her voice was quieter than usual. "We could put him in the dungeon until he's completely human again."

No one, not even Thorne, said anything, so Knightriss continued.

"I had Tinkor make special bonds and chains a few weeks ago. They're supposed to be dragon proof. If we chained him up, he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone."

"Do it."

Everyone stared at Thorne in surprise. A sudden look of anger darkened his face.

"If you already had them ready for me a few weeks ago, then why don't you do it? Chain me up!" Thorne jerked. "Just do it! Now!"

The barbarian and blonde archer tightened their grip around Thorne's arms. Thorne took more deep breaths, then looked back at his fellow Defenders. No one protested. The alchemist moved his gaze to Crocness. She kept silent, as well.

"I have no control," Thorne said in a low tone, looking down at the floor in front of him. "You need to do it."

Knightriss sighed. "Very well."

A/N: I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Sorry if this one was a bit unbelievable.