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Jake's vision comes unfocused, as if in a dense haze. Calmar's saying something, he's sitting in a chair. His lips are moving, but the words are muffled, as though Jake is hearing them through a layer of thick cotton as Jake's mind comes into focus.

<Welcome back, Jake,> says a voice, crystalline and cool. Winter. The snow vixen's presence wraps around Jake's mind like a blanket of fresh snowfall. Jake tries to blink but nothing happens. She then tries to move her hand or any part of her body but no response. A panic comes over her as she realizes she can't actually feel her body!

A soothing wind comes to Jake, calming her, as Winter says, <Calmar was just updating me on the situation.>

The notion of having a body comes back to Jake as she becomes fully aware of herself. She's sitting in a chair across from Calmar. She blinks a few times and takes a deep breath to ease her racing heart.

Calmar's eyebrows arch as he notices the subtle shift. "Ah, you've awoken. I hope you had a good time bonding." There's a subtle innuendo to his voice as he adjusts his posture causing his chair to creak softly. Seriousness comes to his face and voice as he continues, "It's imperative you understand the gravity of what is happening though we haven't time to go into that now. You do need to know that it's a great boon for the world that Winter has chosen you. You will be a bulwark against an ancient evil."

The room feels suddenly colder, not from Winter, but instead by the weight of destiny that starts to press down on Jake's shoulders. "Evil? The attack on your shop..."

"The Ghoul King Hrashkar," Calmar explains solemnly. "A scourge upon not just our town but the entire world has, for brevity, awoken."

Jake feels Winter's presence stir, a gust of frigid wind sweeping through Jake's thoughts. <I was made for this fight,> Winter reassures her. <Together, we are strong enough to stand against this threat. We must protect the world.>

Tension fills Jake's body as she tries to understand what she's agreed to as she clenches her paws into fists. Even with Winter's assurance, now that the time has come, doubt fills her mind. How could she, a normal person, with no amount of training even think of fighting some unknown force of evil power? How could she even think that she could protect the entire world!? Yet, despite the enormity of it all, there's a spark of something else within her--an ember courage that refuses to be smothered.

"Okay," Jake breathes out, releasing the tension in her fists. "What do I need to do?"

Calmar's wrinkled face softens as he retrieves a small orb from his robes. It seems like an ordinary black ball but as he sets it upon the table's surface, it shimmers with hidden power. With a deft motion, Calmar taps the orb as he mutters a word. Instantly a holographic image bursts forth, hovering in the air between them above the circular stone.

The scene is a spectacle of massive destruction. Dust, smoke, and haze choke the air. The area is a mingling of charred remains of knickknacks, support beams, roofing, and everything else that had been the Magic Emporium. And there, amidst the devastation, a monstrous figure is moving within the wreckage. The thing is massive with putrid grey-green skin and thick muscular arms and legs. A small, multi-eyed and multi-mouthed head is on top of the grotesque torso. As it moves, it grabs large debris and hurls it like a child throwing crayons. The creature bellows, a sound that resonates with malice, shaking the very foundations of the holographic projection. It tears through the rubble with abandon, each swipe of its clawed hands toppling whatever is in front of it.

"What is that thing!?" Jake yells in surprise, her gaze transfixed by the violence within the image. Her heart pounds against her chest.

"Winter," Calmar's voice cuts through her dread, pulling her back to the moment at hand. "You possess the power to confront this ghoul."

She swallows hard, nodding as she watches the monster ravage the emporium. Her paws curl into fists again as the chill of Winter's presence coils around her knuckles with reassurance.

"Right," she says, steadying her breathing. Her eyes linger on the holographic image, doing her best to take in the scene and the terrible creature. It's a truly frightening thing to look at but she does her best to desensitize herself to it before she has to see it for real.

"Winter," Calmar says calmly, "Please explain the basics of magic as I prepare a path for you."

Oddly, Jake knows Calmar was not talking to her even though he had addressed her directly as Winter previously. The cool presence of her new companion fills her mind. <That creature is a galmag. A ghoul sent by the Ghoul King. These creatures are wrought with hatred and they thirst for destruction.>

Doing her best to focus on what Winter is saying, Jake peels her vision away from the orb's projection and closes her eyes. <So, what can I, we, do?>

Winter's presence seems to shake for a moment (a chuckle?) before it refocuses and answers in her normal cool serious tone, <As our title implies, ice magic will be our forte with some parts of water and trickery at our disposal as well.>

<Trickery? Like deception?>

<We are a fox after all!> Winter responds with an uncharacteristically laugh before settling down. <Your magical training has not begun so I will oversee casting spells and managing mana. You will need to focus on everything else like hiding, moving, and determining what spell to use when.>

Thinking back to the Role Playing Games, RPGs, she's played, Jake wonders, <Does mana fuels spells?>

<Yes...> Winter responds in surprise as her voice trails off. Her form seems to turn into a cloud as it moves through new parts of Jake's memories. <I see. Your understanding from 'RPGs' is a good enough approximation. As you are untrained with magic, we will keep the number of spells limited. Remember these, 'ice dart', 'fog', and 'sensory deception'.

"Just like an RPG..." Jake mutters softly aloud. The fact that she has some sort of familiarity with her abilities is reassuring.

<Some additional things to consider,> Winter continues. <Is that fog takes a while to cast. Ice dart can be cast quickly but can also be strengthened with time. The longer we cast it, the more lethal it becomes. Fog is synergistic with ice dart. Casting ice dart within fog allows for a faster formation.>

"The door to this sanctum remains connected to our anchor in my former shop." Calmar says as he enters the room, taking Jake's attention from what Winter was explaining. "The anchor has not been severed. I've altered this door's link to be the anchor's in the Emporium."

<Anchors are points in the real world that are connected to this place.> Winter adds for clarification.

Jake nods, not bothering to inquire further how anchors actually work and how links can be changed. She takes another preparatory breath as she feels Winter's anticipation building even as dread starts to fill Jake's heart. Jake walks to the door and reaches for the knob.

"Remember," Calmar says with encouragement, "Winter and I are with you."

Giving no answer, Jake twists the doorknob, opens the door slowly, and slips through as she closes the door quietly behind her.

---

The air is thick with smoke and dust. As she takes her first breath in the destruction, she nearly gags as the acrid dust fills her lungs but before she can cough, her mouth starts to move as she mutters a strange word.

<I should have done that prior to going through the door,> Winter says apologetically as a bubble forms around Jake's short muzzle. <That will give you breathable, filtered air. It's a fragile water spell. It will be dispelled if too much force is applied to it.>

Giving a silent thanks to her companion, Jake takes a few cleansing breaths as she starts to move through the wreckage, being as quiet as possible, as she steps between different piles of wreckage for cover.

Scurrying to a beam she remembers seeing from the projection, Jake knows she's getting closer to her target as the loud sounds of debris being tossed around grow louder. Stopping behind the beam, she goes back to what Winter was explaining earlier as she asks, <Can ice dart be fired in bunches or really quick to simulate hail?>

There is no response from Winter as her presence shifts around as if uncertain.

<Winter?>

<I am considering your question but cannot come to a conclusive answer.>

<For another time then,> Jake thinks as she peers around the pillar and looks for the next twisted beam or pile of debris to hide behind as her triangular ears are filled with a deafening cry of frustration.

Instinctively, Jake cowers as her ears bend down trying to mute the loud cry as a massive concrete slab flies over her head and crashes against where she had just come from. A plume of ash and dust puffs out as an even denser haze fills her vision.

<We're ok,> Winter assures Jake as her fear builds, <You're not alone, I am here.>

<Thanks...> Jake responds as she gets up on shaking legs. She collects her wits before peeking around the pillar again and sets her jaw. There, through the dust, is the creature. Her heart stops as she takes in the frightful thing. It looms over the area like a mountain of moving sinew, each step causing the fractured ground beneath it to protest with a crunching groan.

<Tell me what to do.> Winter's cold determination bleeds into Jake's mind as resolve breaks through the terror as her heart starts to beat again.

"Big target," Jake whispers to herself through the water bubble. Her mind starts thinking about tactics. "It'll be easy to hit. Maybe slower too due to its size, but I know it's unbelievably strong."

Adrenaline starts to surge through her body as she prepares herself. She doesn't want to attack yet though, even though her heart is beating fast enough to endure any action. She knows from all the games she'd played, that acting recklessly usually ends in disaster.

<The dust is settling around the galmag.> Jake starts to think as a plan begins to formulate in her head. <We know where it is, it doesn't know where we are. Can you make an image of something? Us?> Her eyes scan for a good location and points toward the front of the shop, <Maybe there. As if we are entering from outside. A noise too if you can.>

<Yes,> Winter confirms, <That can be done. Anything else?>

<Cover...> Jake considers as she thinks about a safe way to attack. <For the darts to form, can we be crouching or hiding behind debris or rubble?>

A bit of time passes as Winter's form jitters as if in thought. <Better to have a direct firing path. Being too close to anything can interfere with the ice formation.>

<Then fog will be our cover.> Jake resolves then confirms the initial plan. <Image of us then noise. When the galmag moves to attack the image, fog and then dart.>

<Good plan,> Winter approves chillingly. Her presence is a comforting source of strength to draw on. <Just remember, you are responsible for movement and reacting to its movements and attacks. I will be managing mana and casting. Ready when you are.>

Steadying herself, Jake takes one last glance at the creature, now ominously still as if sensing something is about to happen. Fear prickles down her spine as she says, <Now!>

Her mouth speaks an intricate set of sounds as she watches an image of a short furry fox girl appeara near the entrance of the destroyed shop. Gasping, this being the first time she is seeing her new form, she can only marvel herself! Her beautiful pure-white fur, her black paws, and her long swaying bushy tail culminate in an incredibly cute fox girl! Fearlessly, the illusion walks toward the galmag as a sly grin crosses her short fuzzy muzzle as her deep-blue eyes stare at it.

As the image nears the creature, she stops and puts her paws to her hips as another series of sounds escape Jake's mouth. The illusion says in Winter's voice, "How dare you cause such destruction!"

The galmag turns much faster than its size should allow for as it bends its massive form so an eye can look toward the sound.

The illusion moves its arms around like a stereotypical magical girl would and points to the galmag saying, "I am Winter, the Snow Vixen, and I'm here to freeze you!"

It takes all of Jake's willpower not to start laughing at Winter's mockery of so many animes but the comical scene is broken as she is nearly thrown back as the galmag lets out a terrifyingly low guttural laugh that shakes her to her core.

<Stay focused Jake!> Winter's mental voice breaks through the sudden panic welling inside her, snapping Jake back to reality.

<Now!> Jake commands as she remembers her plan. <Use the fog now!>

As the galmag strikes down with tremendous speed and ferocity at the illusion, the ground shakes as if there was an earthquake. As new dust shoots into the air, a heavy, wet, fog blankets the area.

Jumping toward a clearing she saw previously, Jake aims her shoulders in the direction of the ghoul as she thinks, <Ice Dart!>. As if instinctively, Jake raises her arms as if aiming her shot as she starts to speak a long, seemingly repetitive, series of odd words as a needle of ice starts to form between her paws.

Waiting to react, Jake lets herself marvel as the bit of ice in front of her seems to grow as Winter speaks each word. The fog around her seems to grow less thick as the water is drawn toward the growing ice shard.

<I never asked how big the ice dart should get!> Jake realizes as she tries to make it sound like a question toward Winter. She can feel Winter's presence is focused elsewhere though and does not give a response. This is Jake's decision, she knows, as more questions swell into her mind. <How long should we wait? How big is enough? What does it take to kill this thing?>

A feeling of weakness fills her body as she's brought back to the casting. Her paws drop down as the large chunk of ice seems to waver in the air. She starts to stumble but fights to keep her balance and refocuses on what she must do as she corrects her stance and does her best to steady her heavy paws in the direction of the galmag. Unsure if she can keep her arms up, she commands, <Fire!>.

Without a sound, the ice dart shoots off at an impossible acceleration leaving a straight line through the fog and dust right toward the galmag. Jake falls to her knees panting as weariness fills her body.

An uneasy silence fills the air as she looks toward her foe. Its monstrous form turns toward her revealing a sizeable icicle protruding from its arm. Confidence builds as she realizes she actually hit it!

The galmag lets out a slow, low, horrible, laugh as it reaches up with the other arm and pulls out the shard from its arm. A plume of grey-green particles puffs out of the wound as it starts to close. Casually, the ghoul tosses the ice across the building where it shatters through a wall.

<Good first shot,> Winter says with chilling comfort. <You'll need to stay steady though. There's no time to explain more but we'll feel tired the more mana we use. We're recovering now.>

Looking around for the attacker, one of the galmag's eyes seems to focus on Jake. It's huge torso tips a bit, as if trying to get a clearer view of the magical girl before it.

<Move!> Winter yells.

With as much energy as Jake can muster, she kicks off the ground sluggishly toward a pile of rubble nearby.

The galmag's massive body turns in Jake's direction as a gurgling noise comes from its mouths, "Grere ra groo rittla grox?"

The confidence drains from Jake as she sees its mouths, or maybe single mouth, that encompass the entire base of its head. Multiple rows of fanged, razor-sharp, teeth are exposed as it speaks.

<Stay calm,> Winter coos, her voice a like a cool breeze. <You know you can hurt it.>

Anticipation starts to come back to Jake as she can feel herself recovering from her bout of weakness. Getting her feet beneath her, she gazes toward her opponent, considering how to attack next.

<Move!> Winter yells.

Jake jumps without thinking and without knowing where she's jumping as a thunderous crash emanates from where she had been. As she lands, there's no good immediate cover but turns toward where the noise had come fromand sees that there's now a large piece of concrete flattening her previous hiding spot!

Turning quickly to face the monster, she gasps as the earth seems to crack in front of her as a large foot stomp comes lands. She can barely start to wonder how it had gotten so close before she sees its arm moving towards her. She jumps straight up, barely missing the attack, as the depressurized air behind the thick sweeping arm stops her momentum and pulls her down with a woosh of air that makes her land hard on her paws.

Another deep laugh comes from the galmag as its other arm swings toward Jake.

Taking a split second to assess her situation, Jake realizes she needs to get to a safer distance. Knowing she probably can't outrun this thing, she sprints toward it and ducks easily under its legs as a tremendous impact comes from behind her as its fists splinter the ground where she had been standing.

As she passes the galmag, a retched stench assaults her nose even through the purifying bubble. It's a smell akin to rotting flesh! She does her best to ignore it while she continues running away from the ghoul as she looks for her next hiding spot. A swirling of the wind against her long fur alerts her to something but she doesn't date look back yet. Winter's presence seems to move toward the right in her mind, a signal. She jumps that way as the back hand of the galmag slams down where she had been!

Turning in midair, knowing where she'll be landing, she tells Winter, <A quick dart, now!>

Words tumble out of her mouth as she raises her paws. A needle forms and is shot straight into one of the galmag's eyes.

A horrifying scream echoes through the destruction as the ghoul stumbles back as its arms flail. Another wall and its remaining roof collapses as an arm smash into it. It roars again, full of rage and anger, as it picks up a large slab of concrete and starts to rotate around with it like a hammer thrower.

Without a thought jake races across the destroyed shop, vaulting over piles of debris as she tries to get away from what she knows is coming. A massive displacement of air passes right behind her as the huge slab of concrete crashes through the front of the shop and destroys any remaining structure that was still left as a massive crash comes from across the street outside.

Catching her breath as she hides behind a pile of rubble, Jake collects herself and takes a cautious look toward her opponent. It's slowly coming toward. It doesn't seem to see her but probably knows her general location. She leaps to another bent column and then another, letting the dust hide her motions. The galmag seems to notice her movements though as it changes its advance with each of her movements. She needs to blind another eye. Deciding to do what she had done previously; she readies herself as she feels the anticipation building within her.

Sprinting out at an angle that will bisect the galmag's forward movement, she waits for its first attack. As it throws a first toward her, she jumps into the air and instructs Winter to fire a quick dart. As she brings her paws up Winter's form shakes violently as Jake realizes her mistake-galmags are not dumb and can learn. In that instant, she sees its other arm coming right at her at a terrible speed!

With no way to change her trajectory, a fleeting prayer passes her mind as the massive limb reaches her. A compressive force, like a metal bat hitting a ping-pong ball, smashes into her. The sound of rushing air registers in her brain as a tremendous jolt sends her flying. She feels one impact and then another as she tumbles limply in the rushing air. A delayed cascade of sharp pain comes to her as she feels herself bouncing off the ground before her body slams against a final solid obstruction.

Consciousness is hard to keep as pain envelops her entire body. She coughs as she gasps for air as her body limply falls to the ground. The pain seems to dissipate quickly as she opens her eyes and sees a spinning world. After another cough, her hearing returns as she hears herself giving off whimpering groans.

With a reassuring tone, Winter says cooly, <You're ok Jake.>

Feeling completely drained and weary, Jake blinks a few more times to clear her vision. Energy starts to come back to her as she manages to get her feet under her and stand up on wobbly legs. Looking back to what had stopped her movement, she sees an impression the size of a short magical girl fox etched into chrome siding.

In disbelief that she's still alive, she takes a moment to assess herself and is amazed to find that no bones are broken, and she seems to still have full mobility and the pain she had felt seems to be all but gone!

<Stay here a moment longer,> Winter instructs. <The mana is more plentiful out here.>

Silently nodding without asking for more clarification, Jake kneels and considers where she had gone wrong. She now knows that galmags are not mindless thugs as they can learn. She was still missing something though. About herself. <What am I?>

Before she can even finish that thought, the answer comes to her. In RPGs there are tanks, healers, utility, and damage archetypes. Of the damage types, there are usually rogues and casters. Winter is fundamentally a caster! Somehow her original plan had played into that well without her even realizing it. Not wasting time to chastise herself more, she considers her options.

As a spell caster she cannot allow herself to be caught in melee range with a foe. At best she won't be able to attack and at worst she'll be dead. At the same time, without a tank or someone else to take the heat off her, she's a sitting duck if she's ever spotted.

A sly smile comes to her muzzle as she paraphrases what she and Winter had discussed earlier. "I am a fox. I am deceptive and tricky."

Being alone as a caster was always hard in RPGs. Having a tank or an inanimate pet would be ideal. Or some sort of stationery or slowing spell would help too. Unlike traditional games, her skillset relies on illusions and sounds to divert her enemies' attacks.

Confidence continues to build within Jake as she feels her body filling with energy again. She starts to step forward into the rubble-strewn street. As she nears the destroyed shop, she starts to give instructions to Winter. <I'll need a moving illusion-simple is fine if that saves mana. And a quick blinding flash if that's possible. Two noises, quick ones, again conserving mana.> Jake can feel Winter listening as she's explaining everything. <For fog, can it be localized?>

Winter's feeling shifts, as if startled out of concentration. She answers slowly with a bit of uncertainty, <I should be able to.>

<Good. Here's the plan.>

---

More wrenching and crashing sounds emanate from the debris as the galmag has gone back to its original task. It seems to think that it had killed whatever had attacked it.

Moving as silently as possible, Jake absentmindedly crosses her eyes to check the bubble that Winter had cast again is still there. Her gaze shifts back up and focuses on the monster's back. Looking a bit to her right, she confirms the thick small box of fox that Winter had conjured just moments ago is still there as well. She feels the anticipatory energy brewing in her, every cell of her body excited to move.

Another thunderous crash comes as more of the building collapses in front of the creature, a cacophony of guttural snarls escapes from its terrifying maw. The creature, vast and relentless, rears forward as its thick arms smash down with an earth-shaking force. Wood, metal, and concrete break effortlessly.

<Ready?> Jake asks, her arms shaking from fear and excitement.

<Yes.> Winter replies simply.

<Now!>

Words flow from her mouth as a brilliant burst of blinding light erupts around the galmag's head just off center. A deafening clang echoes through the air as the creature goes off balance as its arms flail trying to catch itself from falling over.

Winter says more words as a blurry image of herself appears from her left side, running away from her. This is also the side that had not been blinded by the light. As planned, the galmag's good eye tracks the image as it lets out a roar of frustration and starts to move in the direction the illusion ran. A loud pop echos from the far side of the shop, opposite where Jake is now, the result of another word that had come from her mouth. The galmag stops, as it looks in the direction of the new sound.

Jumping from her cover and sprinting to the still-present fog, the last set of sounds are spoken as a girly laugh comes from where the illusion had run as Jake reaches the cloud. She kneels down to give herself a better posture for the coming weariness. Raising her hands into the fog so they're pointed toward the galmag's head, she readies herself. A cacophony of words spill from her mouth as ice starts to form in the thick fog.

The ground shakes as both of the galmag's fists slam down onto the pile where her illusion had gone. A thunderous clash of sound, wind, and dust sweeps past Jake but she stays focused on her single responsibility: to aim her shot. The dart's ever-growing size is now as large as a short sword.

<Not yet!> She tells herself as the galmag leans down, examining the crater its attack had left.

The fog finishes dissolving into the dart as Jake's line of sight clears. The first wave of fatigue hits her, but she keeps her aim true as she doesn't have a clean shot yet. She needs to be patient. It's painful but she fights through the growing fatigue as she continues to speak the incantation.

The galmag, recovered from its surprise, straightens its posture as it slowly turns as all of its eyes scan the surrounding area. It takes a step toward where she's kneeling as it seems to notice her.

<Keep holding!> Jake screams to herself as her eyes grow heavy, her arms feeling strained, as if she had been holding water buckets up for an hour. She bits her lip, hard, eking any remaining power out of herself even if it requires self-inflicted pain as she tastes blood in her mouth.

A profound joy comes to Jake as her plan seems to have worked. Like before, the galmag leans forward as if to get a clearer view of its target.

<Fire!>

The javelin-sized dart silently shoots forward forcing wind to race past her to fill the void it had left. A sound like a needle piercing fabric, comes to Jake's ears as she sees the galmag's head vanish in a puff of grey-green smoke as its form falls backward limply to the ground.

The power of her attack leaves Jake in a state of disbelief as she realizes her dart has left a noticeable hole in a cloud that was just behind the monster and the trajectory of the dart.

Profound weakness fills her as she limply falls to the ground. The adrenaline that had been keeping her upright is now completely drained away as she realizes her job is done. Every muscle in her body aches, trembling from overexertion as she fights to keep her eyes open as she watches the galmag's body start to dissolve into a mist bit by bit.

<Well done Jake!> Winter says with pride. Her voice is a cool celebratory warmth. <I knew you could do it!>

<We did it...> Jake corrects her. The raw, untrusting, part of herself relaxes as she says it.

<There's not much mana left in here. Are you able to move toward the galmag? That will help us collect more.>

With some effort, Jake slowly gets to her feet and stumbles nearer to the galmag's corpse as the dissolving mist seems to move toward and into her.

Before she can ask Winter what's happening, a crashing sound comes from the front part of the building. Her ears shoot up and rotate toward the sound as she turns her head in that direction. Focusing, she can hear something. Screams? Hadn't everyone run already!?

Feeling stronger now, somehow, she dashes toward the front of the store. As she gets to the front, the sounds become more discernable. There's a blaring alarm as more screams come from across the street. Taking cover, she looks out to see what is happening and gasps.

There's a massive concrete slab protruding from the side of the building and fire is pouring from that area! People are running from the entrance away from the theater and away from the destroyed Magic Emporium.

Staying hidden, Jake watches the fleeing individuals looking for anyone that might be in trouble. Some last stragglers race out as a loud metallic snap echoes down the street. Her eyes snap to the source, the theater's sign's lower support just broke and the massive edifice is starting to swing back and forth like a swing from its top support arm. Gravity seems to be winning as that arm is starting to bend from the stress.

More motion cause Jake's eyes shift to two figures emerging from the smoky theater entrance - a woman dragging an old man.

Snap!

The sign's remaining support gives way with a screech. The massive neon-lined structure begins its final descent towards the two helpless figures. Time seems to slow, each tick of time stretching into an agonizing eternity.

Without a thought, Jake flings herself from her cover toward them.

<Wait!> Winter screams.

With each step, any lingering weariness fades, as she demands her legs to move faster. She sprints forward. The woman looks up in horror at her impending demise.

<You>

Knowing there's no way to stop in time, Jake alters her direction to barely pass the two individuals and instead changes her vector toward a pillar next to them.

<will>

Willingly, Jake slams into the concrete column, hoping it will be able to support the impact, as all her momentum stops with a loud thud. Not waiting for the pain to register, she kicks off the still-standing pillar to reach the kneeling woman and prone man. The woman's arms hang loosely at her sides as she watches the sign approaching. The dread in her eyes and limpness of her body all tell Jake in that moment of a second that she had already given up. That she knew she was going to

<die!>

As Jake lands next to them, she wraps her tiny arms around their bodies and screams as she concentrates all her energy, all her magic if even possible, into her legs for a final jump as the neon sign crashes down a heartbeat later.

Still airborne, she uses her tail to help rotate the three of them as she pulls them in as close to her as possible. A moment after that, her back hits the street with a terrible force as the two people land softly on top of her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Their momentum forces them all to bounce and start to tumble and roll even as Jake does what she can to shield them from the worst of it until they come to a stop.

<Idiot!> Winter cries as a blizzard of frost assaults her mind. <We didn't have enough mana to protect us from that!>

<Sorry.> Jake manages to respond as she coughs for air. <I couldn't just watch them die.>

Relaxing, Jake lets the two people tumble to the ground; safe and alive. She takes an extended breath, filling her lungs again when she hears a pain filled scream come from the woman!

Sitting up, she looks over to the woman and gasps in horror. The woman's screams dissolve into frantic cries as she looks down to where her legs should be; but, below both knees, is nothing but gushing blood. Jake's eyes follow a trail of blood leading back to the crumpled sign where two leg bones protrude from the impact point. Taking not even a second to look at the old man - he seemed fine enough.

<Winter! I need power!>

Reaching down, Jake manages to pick up the woman and starts to run to the anchor door. The profound weakness is starting to come back but she does everything she can to ignore and push through it.

As she gets into the store and approaches the still-dissolving galmag, she feels a pull in her mind to go toward it. Knowing Winter would not steer her wrong, she obeys and runs up to the galmag.

<Stay here a moment.> Winter instructs in a way that leaves no doubt that this must be done.

Waiting impatiently, Jake watches as the grey-green mist that's dissipating in all directions seems to change direction again and migrate toward her like iron filings coming to a magnet. As ever more mist makes contact with her, she can feel the tingling excitement building up inside of her again, restoring her strength and ridding her body of any weakness. Wanting to know what's going on but also knowing there's more pressing issues at hand, she simply asks, <How long?>

<A bit longer.>

The wait is agonizing. The woman's cries stop as her body becomes limp! <We can't wait any longer!>

<I know.> Winter responds pointedly.

Jake's body seems ready to pop now with how much energy she has. She's giddy with excitement and drive. She's not focusing on her excitement, though; as she only has one objective-to save this woman, somehow.

<Go!>

Without a second's hesitation, Jake dashes to the anchor door, opens it, and runs in not even thinking to close the door behind her.