"I don't bloody care what you think. I am going back to find Jake!"

Standing on a beach filled with smooth round pebbles and rocks, Mason was struggling with three Kobolds that were trying to hold him down.

"You can't help him! He is faster than any of us in the water, and he can breathe it as well!" Sandra shouted back, struggling to keep one of his arms pinned down.

Mason roared, his muscles bulging as he resisted the three's attempts to hold him down. All of a sudden, his roaring turned deeper, causing the stones around him to shake, and he lifted both of the Kobolds from the ground, holding them in the air before tossing them away. The last one, who was standing in front of him, pushing against his chest to hold him back, stepped away, a shocked look on his face.

"Hey now, take it easy. We are just trying to…" That was as far as he got when Mason kicked him in the chest, hurtling him towards the water. The Kobold made only a single dull sound when he hit the ground before rolling over twice and staying still.

"If you hurt him, I will have your hide!" Sandra had picked herself up and was now rushing to Mason, an angry snarl on her face.

Before she reached him, Bolyr tackled her from the side while yelling at her. She struggled with him for a moment, roaring in anger before she heard what he was saying.

"Don't try and stop him! He is out of control, look at his eyes!"

Still getting used to the fact she could understand him, she eased up. Taking a look at Mason, who was still standing in the same spot roaring at the sky.

"Let me go!" She hissed but made no more attempt to act.

Slowly releasing his hold, Bolyr stepped back, turning to look at Mason.

"He is awakening his heritage… If you get in his way now, he will rip you apart without knowing what he is doing."

Sandra sniffed before turning towards where Jayden was still lying on the ground, unmoving.

Seeing her walk off, Bolyr shook his head and looked at Ensir. "This is getting ridiculous… I hope the elders arrive soon. They should have heard that ruckus just now…"

Ensir nodded before looking back at sea. "Are we leaving Tergin there?"

Bolyr kept his gaze on Mason and shook his head. "We cannot help him. If the spawn of the sea dragon cannot get him out of there, what could we possibly hope to accomplish?"

Without replying, Ensir gazed at the darkening sea.

--

Jake got the idea that waking up was a bad idea. His arm hurt like hell, and his head and back felt like they had been used to indent cars. Hearing a soft keening noise, Jake tried to remember where he was. He faintly remembered having yet another dream in which he was a dragon, something about fighting off rivals that were trying to encroach on his territory.

Cracking his jaw to try and relieve some of the stress on it, he noticed something stuck between his teeth. Forcing his jaw open, he heard a soft ripping sound, and then a wave of blood flooded his mouth. Confused, he coughed while opening his eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't. He was lying on the ground, staring at a ripped-off Hydra head, its eyes were partially eaten by small fish that kept darting in and out to take a bite. Guessing he had something disgusting in his mouth, he spat a few times and almost closed his eyes when he saw a large chunk of bloody meat drift away in the water.

Groaning, Jake tried to sit up but fell back in agony. It felt like his arm was on fire, which was weird, considering he was underwater. Using his other arm, he managed to push himself up from the seafloor.

Drifting up gave him a chance to look at his arm, and he almost became nauseous. The maw of a Hydra head was locked tightly around his lower arm. The teeth stuck deep inside, penetrating his scales, while the dead eyes lolled about in the head, looking at nothing in particular.

Swallowing back a mouthful of bile made him cough when some pieces of raw meat got stuck in his throat. Annoyed, he spat and tried to pry open the jaw of the Hydra, but it was clenched shut, and no matter how much he pulled, it didn't budge. Pain and adrenaline rushed through him, making him growl in anger. He began ripping apart the lower jaw of the thing. Bits and pieces of flesh and sinew flew everywhere until he could finally snap open the jawbone, prying it off. As he did, he felt the teeth exit his skin while hearing them scrape against the hard scales.

Tossing the head aside, Jake inspected his arm and swallowed when he saw the damage. It had multiple puncture marks, some of which had ripped open, showing his bone. He hoped that the fact that it wasn't bleeding a lot was a good sign.

The soft keening sound he had heard when he woke up came again. Scanning his surroundings, Jake found the hammerhead dragon lying on its side, not too far away. Next to it was the unmoving body of the Hydra, all of its headless necks sprawling around it.

The dragon was trying to move closer to the corpse, but it was unable to drag itself the short distance due to its injuries.

Swimming forward, Jake looked around. Blood and bits of meat covered the entire area. Small fish and snakes darted in and out, grabbing pieces before rushing off to hide in the reef as if they had found some great trophy. High in the water, three of the colossal tortoise were snapping up fish that came to close, while keeping their distance from each other.

Still somewhat out of it, Jake stopped next to the badly hurt hammerhead dragon.

"You look like shit…" he croaked before cringing at his remark.

The dragon only looked at him with big eyes, before gazing longingly at the corpse, trying to drag itself towards it.

"You want this? Fine, I guess you've earned it." Unsure why he felt the need to help, Jake moved towards the corpse and began dragging it. It weighed a ton, even in the water and moving it took all his remaining strength. The fact that he could only use one arm didn't help either. He finally managed to move it close enough, and as soon as the dragon could reach the corpse, it began tearing off pieces of meat, swallowing them whole.

Curious, Jake wondered why all the surrounding creatures stayed away from the main corpse, but seemed anxious to eat all the small morsels. In a moment of astounding stupidity, he tore off a small piece of meat and began chewing it. Realizing what he had done, he almost spat it back out again. Then he realized it tasted like a mix of salmon and beef, and he realized he was very, very hungry. Ravenous, he began ripping off large pieces, devouring them almost as fast as the dragon.

--

Time passed quickly, and Jake only came back to his senses when the sea was beginning to turn orange from the rising sun. Looking down, he saw the almost unrecognizable corpse of the Hydra. Most of the meat was stripped from the bones, and even the water that surrounded it seemed cleared of morsels and remnants.

Sighing, Jake stretched his weary muscles, flexing both his arms. A small popping sound coming from his arm made him look at it curiously, and his mouth fell open. The wounds were almost all gone, leaving only some white lines on the dark blue scales and seemed to be functioning fine. The plopping sound had come from some remaining cracked scales on top of the healthy skin that had fallen off.

Stunned, he examined himself. As far as he could see, he had no more visible injuries. The worst lasting damage was that what remained of his jeans now resembled something the Hulk had left behind. A soft keening caused him to look to the side. The hammerhead shark was hovering close by, staring at him intently. Some of the sand on the sea bed underneath it was swirling in the air, causing a small tornado. It was looking at him before keening again.

"Now, what do you want? Shouldn't you be getting out of here before more of those Hydras show up?"

"He is thanking you... "

A rough, cracked voice startled Jake, and he whirled around. Propped up against the wall, nibbling from a small piece of meat was Tergin. Although his voice still sounded weak, he looked much better than before.