Backing up slowly, Jake tried his best not to make any sudden movements or loud noises.

The creature seemed undisturbed and just looked at him, cocking its head sideways just like his parent's old german shepherd used to do.

When Jake took the last step out of the cave, the creature blinked at him. Then it pulled its neck out of the cave and lazily swam away, disappearing into the maze.

Feeling the tension drop, Jake looked at Tergin, but the wounded Kobold had finally passed out. Getting an incredible urge to shake the other awake and ask for an explanation, Jake pushed the feeling down. He tiredly shook his head and wished he could curl up and sleep somewhere. Instead, he started moving through the reef again.

As he traveled, he kept looking around and soon noticed that the colors were fading a little. Shadows stretched and deepened, and darkness began encroaching quickly. He didn't have a lot of time left. If they were caught out here after dark, he had no idea where they could hide to be safe.

The soft noises that had been surrounding him began to fade until Jake could only hear the soft surging of the sea. Within moments it became so dark that the only illumination came from small, orange plants that glowed from the inside. A loud roaring tore through the silence, causing him to jump and look around in the gloomy surrounding. It seemed to come from the direction he was heading in. Feeling his heart rate increase, he knew he needed fo find another way. Looking around for another route, he quickly saw that the only way was back. That or he had to swim over the coral.

Steeling his nerves, Jake decided to scout a bit. Swimming forward, towing the unconscious Kobold with him he wondered why he wasn't getting tired. Suddenly a large shadow hurtled his way, and he barely managed to dodge to the side. From the corner of his eye, he saw the dragon-like creature from before flying passed him. Bleeding all over it slammed into a coral wall.

A low roar came followed it and looking toward the direction of the feral sound Jake saw a shadow approach. Backing up against the coral side of the passage, Jake placed Tergins unmoving body. He maneuvered it into a small gap just in front of the wall, hopefully out of sight. Then he crouched down and tried to make himself as small as possible.

Staring at the shadow, he first thought it must be some octopus or squid, but then a flat snakehead attached to a thin neck floated into focus, quickly followed by another. Each head was dark gray and the size of a shovel blade and within moments five heads were swirling around, looking around. The necks were attached to a body like that of a sea lion but then covered in dark green and purple scales. Four paws, not yet wholly formed flapped close to its belly, propelling it forward.

Jake involuntarily held his breath when he saw mouths, filled with crooked yellow teeth and pupilless black eyes. The word Hydra floated through his mind. After a moment of inspecting its surroundings, the Hydra rushed forward. Three of its heads kept an eye on their prey while the other two looked around for any possible trouble.

The hammerhead dragon shook its head, blood dripping from gashes all along its slender frame. Its eyes were half-closed, and Jake could see the thing was breathing harshly. Almost the same length as the Hydra, it looked to be only half its weight, and he had the feeling it was at a disadvantaged.

As he looked at the thing, he felt a sudden pang of pity for it. It was obviously not some mindless beast, or it would have attacked him in the cave. Looking at the Hydra rush forward, its multiple heads spreading out and snapping at its prey, Jake resisted the feeling. He was in no position to help. Ever so slowly his hands moved down to the small ditch where he had put Tergin.

A sharp hiss caused him to jerk his head up, and his heart skipped a beat. One of the Hydra's heads was looking straight at him. It had its mouth open and breathed in his direction. The water in front of the black maw became hazy as if it was heating up quickly and Jake swallowed. Hoping the Dragon would provide him with a distraction he looked over, but he immediately realized it was hopeless.

The Hydra was using two of its heads to attack the cornered Dragon, and it blocked one leaving the other to bite at its flank. Wining, it turned to the other head trying to snap it, but at that moment another one attacked its other side. More and more of the heads joined in until only the one staring at Jake wasn't ripping the Dragon to shreds.

The hammerhead dragon was desperately trying to ward off the attacks but holes and gashes covered most of its neck and flank, and it became sluggish.

Jake cursed under his breath. He knew that if he were still here when the Hydra finished the Dragon, he would be next. Looking in the direction the two combatants had come from, he wondered if he should make a break for it. Remembering Tergin, he looked down at the still form. An idea crossed his mind for a moment. He knew he would be much faster, maybe fast enough, if he didn't have to drag him along. The moment lasted until he remembered that without the other, he would have died that morning. The rugged Kobold had pushed him out of the way just when a giant crab monster pounced at him. It had cost Tergin his leg.

Feeling hopeless, Jake looked at the two monsters. Both were at least three times as long as him and armed with razor-sharp teeth. And what did he have? Nails that probably wouldn't pierce their skin and some unreliable magic he had no control over. Looking around for a weapon of some kind, the only thing he found were rocks. Deciding anything was better than nothing he swam to a rock the size of a basketball, ignoring the sharp gaze of the Hydra, and picked it up. Right away, he noticed how light it was, and he tried tossing it up. It slowly drifted up and then back to his hand, and cursing he was about to drop it in disgust.

A soft cry distracted him, and he looked at the two fighting monsters. In a stroke of ridicules luck, the hammerhead managed to get its jaws around one of the Hydra's necks. It was now using the last of its flagging strength in a futile attempt to bite it off, leaving itself even more defenseless. Smelling victory, the Hydra ignored the head that was stuck and used all of its remaining ones to try and finish the fight as fast as possible.

Feeling the tension rise, Jake lost any cool he had left and began panicking. He needed to do something! Grasping at straws, he looked at the rock in his hand, trying to focus the weird energy on it. When nothing happened, he tried focusing on the muscle in his abdomen. It didn't react, and he felt his panic rise higher. Then he felt a soft contraction, and again. The more he focused on it, the faster it contracted, but nothing else happened.

Another cry, loud and drenched in pain made him focus on the fight. A massive wave of blood was discoloring the water, as it seemed the Hydra had managed to hit a major artery. The blood spread everywhere, and within moments Jake tasted the blood in his mouth. As soon as the first drop of blood touched his tongue, the muscle went crazy. It shuddered once before contracting explosively. Then it began pulsating, and a burning heat surged through his veins. Any sense of control he still had moments ago was lost, and a haze of red formed across his vision. Without the chance to run or react, primal rage filled his mind, and he blanked out.