In the Scorpion Den, Six-Claws snuck away from work to think by himself. He walked around the market, forcing himself to not look at anyone, only the sand that was crushed beneath his talons and claws. Fear and sorrow was filling his mind with every step he took. Eventually he stopped in his tracks, keeping his head to the ground as dragons walked past him.

All those years ago, after Burn took over the Stronghold, Three-Eyes was taken to the dungeons because he was not present when Oasis had died. For his punishment he was sent to stay in a cell for forty years. All because of that? From then on he tried to tell everyone, or whoever he could that it was Three-Eyes who killed Oasis, not a Scavenger. No one believed him, no one listened to him, all he could do was serve under Burn's name.

She was cruel, evil, a tyrant. Murdered dragons and stuffed them; severed their heads and hung them on spears that lined the Stronghold walls. She almost killed Six-Claws. Burn abused him, clawing and lashing at him with a whip. After seven months, Six-Claws escaped the Stronghold, and promised himself that he would never, return to war, and never return to fight. Thus, he began to live in the Scorpion Den, changing his name from Desolate to Six-Claws to hide himself from Burn's army, and let the Prophecy end the war.

They say the past always catches up to you. How could Three-Eyes have returned? How was he back? Should he tell Thorn about him? Should he warn her that he is here? . . . Should he tell her that it was him who started the War of SandWing Succession . . . ?

His thoughts were interrupted when someone screamed bloodymurder. Everyone looked at what the dragon was staring at. . . . There was Aftermath, standing atop the wall . . . holding a corpse with his claw.

"Desolate!" Aftermath shouted. "Look! This is what happens when you do not fight. Remember what Burn always said: 'If you are not strong, then you are dead.' You stand up for everyone you meet, now stand up for yourself. Do not walk away now . . . as you always have." He glared, then threw the body down as he turned and flew away.

The body hit the ground hard, blowing sand all around. Dragons screamed and ran off, others stared at Six-Claws with threatening glares. Six-Claws could not take his eyes off the body that lay before him. . . . It was his boss. His claws and talons were torn off, and the leathery parts of his wings were shredded. Six-Claws then turned his head to the sky, and gazed up at the blazing sun, knowing that Three-Eyes will return . . . and will return with blood on his claws . . . .

The next day, when Six-Claws walked out of his home, he saw guards and soldiers running around the place, spears in their hands, paying no attention to the confused residents. Did Aftermath return? Was he here to fight off Thorn's army? He had to see for himself. As the last of the guards walked by his house, Six-Claws followed them behind, ready to face whatever he may see.

Sure enough, he found himself near the entrance to the Scorpion Den. There was a line of guards, weapons drawn and ready for battle. Six-Claws stayed a few feet away from them, but did not see Three-Eyes.

"You're Desolate, aren't you?" Said a voice.

Six-Claws spun around. To his astonishment, there was Thorn herself, standing before him. "Th-Thorn!" He dropped to his knees. "Forgive me . . . please. I was only curious as to-"

"That dragon yesterday killed one of my citizens because of you?"

"N-No! I did not mean for anyone to get harmed. I didn't know-"

"Who is that dragon, Desolate?"

" . . . He . . . was my friend. . . . B-But I have not seen him in fifteen years! . . . I didn't think he was still alive."

Thorn stared down at him. " . . . Hm . . . stand up, Desolate."

"My name is no longer Desolate . . . it is Six-Claws."

"Tell me, 'Six-Claws,' who was that dragon . . . other than the fact that he 'was' your 'friend.'"

"I called him Three-Eyes, but he goes by Aftermath now. I only was his friend because he was different . . . like me." Six-Claws held up his left hand, showing the queen his six claws.

Thorn stared at his hand with some kind of surprise. "Where do you come from?"

"I . . . used to be a soldier in Oasis' army. Until she . . . ."

"Died? Then Burn took over the Stronghold?"

" . . . Yes."

"So . . . where does your 'friend' come in?"

"I met him at a pond when I was young. We became friends right then and there. I had just been accepted into Oasis' army a few days prior, and he became a soldier as well."

Thorn stared at him. " . . . Six-Claws . . . stop acting as if I am interrogating you . . . but I will warn you that I can kill you for your . . . enemy's actions."

" . . . I suppose you could . . . or should."

"Why would I?"

"Because of what I've done? Because I should have done something? Because if it wasn't for me, that dragon wouldn't have died, and I could have stopped Aftermath."

"No, it's not that. I was considering punishing you for bringing him here. But, I see now that you have no quarrel with this threat. But I will ask you this: Why are you here?"

Six-Claws looked at the ground. " . . . I have nowhere else to go. I could have joined your Outclaws, but . . . I was too much of a coward to do so. I was afraid . . . of him."

Thorn stared. "I was not asking why you came to the Scorpion Den. I was asking why are you here specifically?"

"I thought he was here."

"He will be."

"How do you know?"

"Last night, one of my guards found another dead body outside of the Den. Carved on his chest was the word: Tomorrow."

Six-Claws' head dropped. "Oh no."

"Six-Claws, I understand your concern, but what is making you so anxious about this dragon in the first place? Why are you afraid of him?"

Six-Claws paused, and looked Thorn dead in the eyes, and said: " . . . Because . . . he started the-"

"My Queen, the intruder approaches."

Turning her attention to the soldier, Thorn replied: "Then make ready." She turned back to Six-Claws. "You stay here, out of trouble. You hear?"

"Y-Yes," Six-Claws replied.

Thorn walked seven feet in front of the soldiers, and looked out to the desert. There was a dragon, dressed in black, his face covered by a hat, constantly twitching as he approached. He walked into the Den, his head jerking side to side every few seconds. He stopped a few paces away from Thorn, lifted his head, and gave her a wicked smile. Behind the line of guards, Six-Claws could only watch with wide eyes, knowing that there was almost nothing he could do right now. Aftermath saw him, giving him that glare he always had.

"So," said Thorn, examining the dragon up and down, "I hear your name is Aftermath, is it not?"

Aftermath twitched. "Word gets around, doesn't it?"

"I have heard stories about what you have done. Now, tell me: Why are you here?"

" . . . Heh . . . to meet an old friend. Is that wrong?"

"I protect my residents from dragons like you."

"He is not an Outclaw."

"He lives in my domain."

" . . . Yeah?"

"Yeah. My men have told you to leave before . . . and I would suggest you do so. We would rather have peace than have someone like you here."

Aftermath stared hard at her, twitching as he did so. " . . . Well I'm not sure you understand what I'm trying to do, Miss. We have seemed to have developed some kind of emotion called . . . empathy, throughout our lives. Do you know, why, we dragons are here today? It is because of the Scorching. We have killed for our own kind, because we sought a world we rightfully deserved. . . . Do you know where we lived before? Darkness.

"We were free to do whatever we want, yes, but, nowadays . . . we follow sovereigns. Queens to guide us, tell us what we are supposed to do, what we are supposed to think." He shook his head, as if he were on the verge of a mental breakdown. " . . . None of you understand what we used to be. Powerful, strong . . . bloodthirsty. And now you kill for peace? For your own breed? No . . . that is wrong . . . . Sounds to me that someone needs to remind you about what dragons truly are." He lifted an arm. "Come . . . let me show you what we as dragons are capable of."

Thorn stared at him with a face that somewhat meant she was offended by what he had said. She roared and delivered the first blow. Aftermath smirked. He easily caught the strike, and kicked her down to one knee. He raised an arm, about to claw at her face, but then he spun in a circle, and kicked her in the neck, knocking her to the sand.

"You are not strong," Aftermath growled. "You are not a dragon. You only disguise yourself as one."

A spear was thrown, landing right next to Aftermath. He looked up and saw the soldiers advancing on him, weapons raised and mouths built up with fire. Aftermath smiled, and charged at them, but Thorn grabbed his tail, and pulled him down. He growled, and as more spears were thrown, Thorn lashed a claw, hitting Aftermath in the chest, then again at the leg. Aftermath snarled. Thorn lashed a claw across his face, and kicked him to the sand. One spear landed near Thorn. She picked it up, took aim, and with a roar, swung at Aftermath. He saw this coming. He lashed a claw, breaking the weapon in half, lunging at Thorn. Like the psychopath he was, Aftermath thrashed as hard as he could, grabbing Thorn and throwing her to the ground. He stomped on her head, and did so until blood fell out of her ears.

With a rage filled roar, Aftermath raised his claw, and brought it down on Thorn. A soldier suddenly rammed into him, trying to bring him down, clawing at his side, yet that did little to slow him down. Aftermath grabbed the soldier's arm, breaking it, then shoved him down. More soldiers came, throwing their weapons as hard as they could. Aftermath dodged all attacks, and threw a claw at whoever got near him.

Behind the line of guards, Aftermath saw Desolate, staring wide eyed and fearful. He smiled wickedly, and made his way towards him. More soldiers came his way, but none proved to be any match for the intruder. Aftermath thrashed claw after claw at his enemies, knocking them down, throwing them to the sand, breathing his fire, setting them ablaze, coming closer and closer to Desolate, who only stood in shock, watching as all the guards fell like flies to the dragon of his past.

A soldier lashed his spear, but Aftermath caught the weapon, and kicked the dragon in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. Aftermath threw the spear to the side, and shot a fireball at the guard's face. Another dragon flew at him. Aftermath jumped, kicking the soldier in the neck. The soldier landed, coughing up blood. Aftermath tore the helmet from the dragon's face, then clawed at his neck, instantly killing him.

"NO!" Shouted a voice.

Aftermath craned his neck to see Thorn. She examined her guards, all in pain and bleeding. She looked at the intruder, who smiled, his face showing only evil. Thorn raised her head to the sky and roared. She charged at Aftermath, who threw a claw as hard as he could, right at the SandWing's neck. Thorn was brought to the ground. Aftermath lashed at her face, but after three strikes, she caught his arm, and pushed him aside. Thorn stood back up, glaring, tail raised, ready to stab him with her tail barb.

Thorn breathed a fireball, but Aftermath lashed his wings, dodging the flame, and ramming into the SandWing's side. Thorn quickly breathed another fireball, coming into impact with her enemy's head. Aftermath put his hands to his face, growling in pain. Thorn lashed him across the head, knocking off his hat. Thorn kicked him in the shoulder, forcing him onto his back. Right as she was about to kill him, Thorn gasped. She saw his eyes . . . his three eyes.

Aftermath laughed, stood back up, and said: "What's wrong? Never seen anyone different?"

Thorn was speechless. Aftermath lunged, bringing her to the sand, thrashing at her face as hard as he could. She tried to fight back, but the next thing she knew was that she started to cough up blood, Aftermath then proceeded to slam her head against the sand. He stood up, grabbed his enemy by the shoulder, lifted her up, clawed her in the neck, and threw her to the ground once more.

Aftermath knelt down, grabbed her by the head, and said: "You can't beat me. You can't kill me even though you crave for it. The only reason you can't win . . . is that you are weak. A dragon is strong . . . you never were."

He dug his claws into Thorn's neck, causing blood to fall, soon breaking through the scales . . . then to the muscle. Thorn tried desperately to fight back, but her lack of air forced her to grow weary. The guards around them took notice of what was going on. They wanted to help their leader, but were in too much pain to move.

All of a sudden, a voice broke through the air: "Three-Eyes." Silence fell. After a moment the voice continued: "It's me you want, isn't it? You're here for me, then why don't you come and face me? Leave all of these dragons alone. Whatever it is you'll do to me, do it. You say none of us are real dragons . . . then show me what a real dragon is."

Aftermath tossed Thorn to the sand, got up, and glared at Desolate, Six-Claws, his old friend.

They stared each other down for a long minute. Aftermath smiled, scoffed, then said: "This is new, Desolate. You were always the reasonable one . . . weren't you?"
Six-Claws scowled. " . . . And you were always selfish . . . ignorant too."

"Ignorant!? Oh no, Desolate, I was merely observing the fate and destruction happening in the world."

"But I know what you've done . . . and so does Burn."

Aftermath's smile faded. " . . . I could kill you right here and now . . . but a real dragon deserves a proper death." He turned, and started to walk away. He stopped, and craned his neck. "If you're wondering where you should find me . . . go to where this all started . . . where it all started."

Without saying anything else, Aftermath took to the skies, and flew off.

Six-Claws watched him leave. He looked down at Thorn, and at all the guards, knowing that this was all his fault. . . . But there was still a chance to stop Three-Eyes, and he knew exactly where to find him.

He didn't expect to find him here, but Six-Claws decided to go there anyway. The pond. The small pool of water in the desert, where he first met Three-Eyes. He did notice that he was there, but decided to get a drink of water anyway, all those years ago. When he looked up to see Three-Eyes, Six-Claws instantly reacted, told him his name, and asked if he wanted to be friends. That is how it happened. They were young, and different . . . at least that is what they thought for a while. Six-Claws never thought Three-Eyes would go those lengths to kill Oasis, and frame it on a Scavenger. He had already tried to convince people of the truth about the death, but who would believe him at this point?

Maybe, if Six-Claws could beat Aftermath, he could force him to tell the world that it was him who killed Oasis. But, if he did that . . . what would happen next? Would the War for SandWing Succession still go on? Would it stop? He had no other choice but to fight.

Now here he was, fifteen years later, living like a coward, away from the fight. He could have joined Thorn's Outclaws and helped them end it. But no, he didn't. Instead, he ran away after he couldn't take the cruel tyranny of Burn, and changed his name to Six-Claws to hide from her, and from the world.

Now was time to take a stand. No more hiding from the fight, no more running from the war. . . . Six-Claws, Desolate, the SandWing, will face his past, and end it . . . once, and, for, all. To show the world who is the true murderer of Queen Oasis.

Six-Claws turned around, face filled with bravery. When he looked up, he gasped.

"I knew this would be the first place you would come to."

Aftermath lashed his claw hard at Desolate's head, throwing him to the ground. His vision went blurry, and the last thing he saw before blacking out was Aftermath standing over him, chuckling to himself.