"Where is Jake?"

Bert started and turned around. Melissa had propped herself up on an elbow and was staring at him. How she wasn't still unconscious with the bones sticking out of her arm was beyond him.

"You need to stop moving! You're gravely injured."

Melissa snarled. "Shut up. Tell me where Jake is!"

Bert flinched. "We don't know. He froze the entire lake, killing the Goblins. But that was hours ago. The ice is still there, and we have no idea what happened to him and the others."

Melissa made to get up, and Bert shot forward. "Please, stop moving! If you move too much, you might perforate a lung!"

"She won't listen to you. She is too stubborn for that." Melissa stopped moving, staring behind Bert. Sam stood there, shaking her head.

"I told you not to get too close to that guy! Look at you, can barely stand. And for what, a Dragon? Fool."

Melissa blinked, the corners of her mouth dropping. "This has nothing to do with him." She lay back down and closed her eyes.

"It was my stupidity that got us caught! The only reason I am still alive is that they somehow found out I was close to Jake." Melissa pursed her lips, a sad look in her eyes.

Sighing, Sam moved closer and sat down next to her. "So, what happened to the others?"

Mellisa shook her head, but the sad look slowly faded. A snarl replaced it as she looked at Sam. "They knew things, Sam! Our route, who I was!"

Bert had backed up a bit, but now he stepped forward. "Did you find out how?"

"No. The Insectoids grabbed us halfway here, and ..." she hissed, shivering. "They ate them, Sam! While they still lived! Made me watch!"

Melissa lay back down, staring at the green and purple canopy of leaves far above them. Small tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

Sam scooched closer, the angry look replaced by one of worry and sadness. She placed a hand on Melissa's shoulder and shook it slightly.

"This isn't your fault. You know that, right?"

Melissa didn't respond, and her eyes slowly fell closed as her breathing eased up.

Sam swallowed, a worried look spreading across her face. "Is she going to..."

Bert stepped forward and shook his head. "No, but she's lost blood, has

internal injuries and is in shock. She needs rest and a proper doctor."

"I've heard that there are a few people with medical knowledge. I'll see if one survived and send her here."

With a last look at Melissa, Sam got up and headed towards the edge of the frozen lake.

Groups of Kobolds stood around, looking at it, whispering amongst themselves. Many were wounded, favoring arms or tending to small cuts and stab wounds.

The glazed over Goblins partially embedded in the dark blue ice resembled a macabre statue park.

"Damnit, you stupid Dragon. You better not die on us now!" Mellisa growled.

--

Jake felt the cold around him, comforting and still. Half of the water-energy particles had changed into silvery snowflakes, and they moved through the ice as easily as through the water.

He couldn't move, but at least his mind was gradually clearing up. As it did, he realized that his body had changed. He wasn't clear on the details, but he could see part of his tail. Where it was first mainly blue, with some silvery highlights, the silver scales had spread, creating a smoky pattern that covered the top half of his tail.

Besides this visual change, there was the fact that the cold didn't bother him. Instead, it cleared his mind and refreshed his body. The always present hunger was still there but lessened as if behind a curtain. Without the ability to move, he began analyzing his recent actions and realized how much he reacted on impulse and instinct—fear of losing his friends, pain when it happened. A desire to leave, mixed with the reluctance to abandon the other Kobold to their fate. His emotions decided everything; barely any rationale had been used.

I guess this must be how a Vulcan wants to think; he snorted mentally. He was happy that hit humor had survived the ice.

A soft crack in the ice sounded like a cannon firing, shattering the peaceful silence around him.

The icy energy seemed agitated and moved around erratic. With the sound of a water drop falling on a bucket, one of the snowflakes disappeared. In its place was a blue water energy particle that rushed out of the ice. A second later, another snowflake vanished, then another, and suddenly it sounded like it was raining. Blue energy shot out of the rapidly melting ice.

As the layer surrounding him became thinner, more light filtered through, and soon the peaceful darkness was replaced by a glittering light. Shadows moved beyond the ice, and Jake made the quick deduction that it must be Tergin and the others. The connection he felt to the ice was fading but didn't disappear. He knew that he could freeze the water around him if he wanted to.

The last of the energy lakes dissipated, and long cracks shot through the ice, obfuscating what was behind it.

Jake frowned and felt the ice around his face crack and shatter. Blinking in astonishment, he flexed his body, and the entire column of ice ruptured, pieces of ice shooting out before drifting up. Water surged to replace it, slamming into him. With it came the familiar energizing feeling, but also the return of his emotions. As if floodgates opened, they surged to the fore; fear of what had happened to Melissa was prime, rivaled only by the hot pain of Emma's recent loss and the dull ache of Mason's unknown whereabouts.

However, unlike before, a cold calm underlined it all, balancing it.

With some effort, Jake resisted the urge to rush to the surface and find Melissa. Instead, he closed his eyes and stretched his body, feeling the strength in his long muscles. His ability to sense things in the water around him had expanded, and he felt a large group of things swim towards him.

Eyes snapping open, Jake stared at the dozens of Kobolds swimming towards him.

Tergin was in the lead, a stunned look on his wide-eyed face. As he stopped a few meters away, Jake realized two things immediately. He had grown a lot, and he was ravenous. Again.

"Are you alright?" Tergin sounded in awe, his voice carrying far through the water.

Jake smiled, wondering how much he had changed for Tergin to stare at him this much. "I am fine. We need to go up and find out the situation."

With a flap of his tail, Jake swam up, feeling small remnant ice hit his scales. They were floating up from the rapidly thawing bottom of the lake. The layer of ice above him was cracking, but still thick and eyeing it, a childish idea sprouted. Using only pure muscle power, he shot forward, rapidly outpacing the shocked Kobolds.

--

"The ice started melting an hour ago, but at this pace, it will be a day before we can get through," Bert whispered as he helped Melissa stay on her feet. "You need to lie back down. If that old nurse sees you up again, she will take it out on me!'

Melissa didn't respond but leaned forward. "Look, I think something is coming up!"

She pointed at a dark shadow that was quickly getting larger as it came up from the bottom of the lake.

"Uh, perhaps we should back up!" His voice rising two octaves, Bert drew Melissa back. They barely got three steps away from the icy edge when the ice burst outwards with a thunderous crack. A silvery blue shape shot up like a blur, while thick chunks of ice crashed back on the wobbling sheets of ice.

Scared screams and worried shouting came from deeper within the overgrown island.

"About time..." Mellisa whispered as she stared at the car-sized dragon.

She was sure it was Jake, but only because there wasn't another Dragon around. He had changed so much! Dark blue scales lined the bottom of his belly, tail, and the insides of his legs. Hand size, silver scales covered the other areas like a shiny coat of armor. The frills, blue and silvery before, had hardened and turned to a dark silver collar. Three small horns grew from the back of Jake's head.

A low rumble echoed across the area, and she laughed when she saw Jake hold his stomach and fold double.

"Glad not everything's changed." Her voice must have carried because Jake's head snapped in her direction. She thought she heard him murmur her name, but she could be imaging things. As he walked towards her, one of the places of ice below his feet shifted, and with a muted cry, he disappeared back underwater.

"Ok, you can bring me back now. He seems to be fine, and I think I am going to go unconscious in a minute." She had barely finished when she slumped against Bert, who groaned as he kept her from collapsing.

Shaking his head, Bert yelled for some help as he carried her along a trampled path.