Jake ducked his head back into the river. One of the Insectoids kept looking over. The group of Goblins walked along the river that led to the coast. Five Insectoids were walking behind them, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

The line of Kobolds was walking two by two, most of their heads hanging down as they stared sluggishly at the ground.

Only three without blue scales. Jake frowned, looking at the small sliver of green weed in his hand. It would have to do, barely enough for one really, but what other choice did he have?

Closing his eyes, he hovered in the water of the river, concentrating on the energy around him. He slowly gained an awareness of his surroundings, as if a rough sketch of the river's banks and bottom formed in his mind. He was pretty sure that it was the same river that he and Mason had come across and met Sandra when they first arrived.

There were barely any large things around. The Hydracii had fled when he had entered the water, as had all of the larger fish. Now all that was left where schools of silvery fish, and a giant eel hiding below a sunken tree trunk.

Curious, he tried to sharpen the image, but all that happened was that his range extended a bit more. This was the first time he was attempting this, and he had no idea what he should be doing. So far, he had not taken the time to try out the water abilities that he had gained.

As the small energy particles flooded towards him, the memories that he inherited from the primal consciousness began surfacing. Instinctively he began gathering the particles, feeling their energy ignite something deep inside him. If felt like an engine began roaring, and he realized this wasn't the first time he had felt this. This was the feeling he had whenever he went out of control back in his Kobold body, but not now. Now he felt a connection to the water, so strong as if he could command it to do as he wanted, move as he wanted—attack whom he wanted.

--

As the Goblins walked along the muddy banks, the movement of water in the river began slowing, changing direction. It started rotating, and soon a whirlpool was changing the roaring sound the river had been making.

On the riverside, the Goblins and Kobolds stared in panic at what was going on. Behind them, the Insectoids began backing up towards the jungle.

With a suddenness that was jarring, a wave formed in the whirlpool and began growing in height. One meter, two meters, four meters, eight meters. It towered above the land, and with a scream, the Goblins turned and ran.

The Insectoids were long gone, and the Kobolds, tied to each other, started yelling and screaming. One of them, a thick, incredibly dark blue one, had some energy left, and tried guiding the whole group to the forest. It was too late. With the sound of a collapsing building, the water column slammed down onto the muddy ground next to the river and engulfed the group of Kobolds.

Instead of rushing forward and into the jungle, the water stayed where it was. Then as if it had done its work, it receded, like hands drawing the Kobolds into the river. A moment later, the river was calm again, but there was no sign of the Kobolds. Only a muffled roar emanated from the river.

--

Jake slowly swam forward, three Kobolds hanging on his tail while a large group curiously swam around him. Besides the three who were chewing on the weed, the others seemed energetic. After their initial fear of Jake wore off, they were mostly curious. He could understand that, if you got swept away to find yourself eye to eye with a dragon that starts roaring at you, that this might be somewhat disconcerting.

Forcing his weary body to continue to swim upstream, back along the direction the Goblins had taken, Jake felt dead tired. Besides that, his stomach kept rumbling like a truck engine every now and again. At least none of them was a Fiend, he sighed to himself, the face of David bubbling up for a moment.

"So, where are you taking us again?" One of the Kobolds swam next to him, staring at him with large, curious eyes. She spoke with a slight accent, and Jake wondered where she was from.

Examining her, Jake realized she looked an awful lot like he had before turning into a Dragon. Dark-blue and silver-colored scales, with hand length blue hair that swirled around her head as she swam forward. I wonder if she is going to change as fast as I have?

"To a safe place, with more Kobolds. But it's going to be a long swim and after that a long walk. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

She laughed ruefully in response. "I was about to ask you the same thing, I mean. You're a Dragon! How did you do that? I didn't see that option anywhere!"

Staring back at her, Jake grinned. "But you've already found the option. It's just going to take a while!"

Around them, the other Kobolds were swimming closer, most with curious looks on their faces. Jake looked around, examining them all quickly. There were more blue scales than anything else, and he wondered.

"Did any of you go into the water after you arrived here?"

Most of the Kobolds began shaking their head, but the one he had been talking to frowned. "After I woke up here, I found some others pretty soon, and one of them started bossing us around. He told us not to go into the water because it would be dangerous!"

Wake up here? Jake furrowed his thick, scaly brows. "You woke up here? Could you tell me who you are and how you got here?"

She seemed to hesitate for a second but then smiled at him. "My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizz. My friends call me that. I was on a train when the whole world turned to shit. After it crashed, like most of the other things did, I survived and managed to get out with my friend..." She fell silent for a second, a distinct look in her eyes, but then she shook her head.

Jake saw the pain of loss in her eyes, but she just continued.

"We hid inside an old church and saw hordes of those disgusting Goblins roam around the streets. They were capturing anyone who didn't do as those retards on the news said. Were none too gentle about it either! My friend was also a Kobold, but with wonky colors. Not like most of us here, but with purple and black scales!"

While Lizz talked, the other Kobolds silently swam around her and Jake, looking at her and listening. Some were nodding as she spoke, but others seemed conflicted.

"-And when they were about to grab us, we all fell unconscious again. After I woke up, Ellie and the church were gone. Instead, I was in the middle of some jungle together with a few other Kobolds I had never seen before."

"That's weird, I tell ya!" One of the completely blue Kobolds swam closer to her, frowning. He was one of the few completely bald Kobolds, his head covered in large scales with light blue edges. It almost looked like a tattoo was covering his head.

Jake turned to him, thinking the same thing, but curious if the other had the same reason for it. "What do you mean?"

"Well, see, me and some others, we were being chased by some monsters. Dogs they must've been before and all that. But anyway, we were running from them towards one of those weird areas. You know, the ones that just popped up out of bloody nowhere and replaced my favorite pub, The Slimy Toad!"

The Kobold was speaking in another unfamiliar accent, and Jake was wondering where he came from when he heard the name of the pub. With a suddenness that surprised even him, he turned to the Kobold that fell quiet.

"You're from Liongates city?"

"Yeah, Mate! I don't believe it! You were in the same shit hole when this all bloody started?"

Jake laughed, the memories of his previous life surging up, and for the first time since turning into a Dragon, he felt a semblance of his old life come back to him. It didn't last longer than a few seconds, but when it was gone, he realized he missed his parents.

The group of Kobolds was silent now, swimming next to him, apparently sensing his mood. Taking a deep breath of water, Jake grinned at the Kobold and nodded. "How about you explain what you meant when you said it was weird."

"Sure thing, matey! Well, we were fleeing and all that, when we ran into this enormous jungle. It had appeared all across the central part of town. As soon as we enter that place? Boom! Everything changes! One of us, he gets the jitters and turns around right away. But there is only jungle all around us! We walked through that bloody place for months, eating roots and insects the size of meh leg! Most of the others didn't make it. There's monsters in those there jungles! Things you wouldn't believe!"

"I believe you. That is how I got here too. But we found a river and a group of soldiers after a few days. And... other Kobolds."

After the first two, the other Kobolds, safe for those he was dragging, began telling the tales of how they got here. It was a welcome distraction for them all, and slowly Jake noticed a feeling of comradery spread throughout the group.

Kobolds began laughing and talking with each other, and only a few hours after he had saved them, they all seemed completely different than before. It must have something to do with the water. He wasn't sure, but it had to be either that or the fact that they were all very alike. Some sort of kinship?

Close to where he wanted to leave the water to travel through the jungle, he heard a gasp from behind. One of the three Kobolds on his tail was clutching his chest, his eyes wide.

"We are going up now before they drown! Follow me!"