---

"Oh, of course Australia's made up," Shaula muttered, when Jason had accused her of thinking Australia wasn't real and the moon landing was faked. Why he put her in the same group as those people, she wasn't about to ask - she had participated in enough online discussions to realize that people don't want to listen to your answers: they just want to be right. And as much as she wanted to explain who had turned them into these creatures, it was clear they weren't ready for the truth just yet. "I have bigger things to deal with right now than arguing with you. Same goes to you two," she added, noticing Celina and Mia's exasperated sighs. Usually, it wasn't until she started explaining about the New World Order that people started thinking she was insane. This might have been a new record.

Aerin suggested staying here in Copper City, where it was safe, but Trevor disagreed; at least he understood that they had to find a way back. Shaula followed as he lead the group in search of the thieves, periodically checking the Orgone emitters in her backpack and keeping an eye on the mole people, who, reassuringly, did not seem to be affected by Orgone. They soon came to a lamppost with two hooded figures standing at its base. Shaula couldn't tell whether they were talking to one another or waiting for something, but whatever they were doing was interrupted when Trevor ran over and pinned one of then against a building. Whatever these thieves took must have meant a lot to him.

However, it was soon revealed that the thieves hadn't stolen from Trevor, but from someone else. They had taken an artifact shaped like a golden dragon, which itself had then been stolen from them near a cliff here by (they claimed) the ghost of a yellow dragon. She didn't see what was so important about this artifact, but then it dawned on her: the thieves must have used it to open the portal. If they wanted to get back to Earth, the artifact was their only option. "Now don't you worry, I have a plan for that," Shaula said to Celina, who was worried about the alleged ghost's mind-control powers. If Orgone could work against a global network of E.L.F. towers, then it should have no trouble protecting them from a single ghost.

Jason begins drawing on the walls with a white hot talon. He largely ignores the others, intent on finishing his drawing. He adds large wings, a tall body, and a draconian muzzle. He steps back to contemplate, and begins adding scales. He looks back at Mia, and adds more details, such as talons and a tail. He adds small horns, and begins with meticulous precision on its eyes. His wings glow steadily as he works, providing enough light to see. "Question Shaula. Why do you insist that you're right? Have you never contemplated that you might be wrong?" He keeps drawing, his feathers flickering. He steps back from his dragon drawing, and asks, "Hey Mia, what do you think of my drawing?"

---

It seemed that the thieves would be easier to catch up to than Mia initially thought, though only one of them was there. It seemed the other one had been possessed by some kind of ghost. Normally, she would think he was either insane or on drugs, but considering what had happened so far, it wasn't too unbelievable.

The others began talking about how they would counter this possession ability, and though Shaula appeared to have a plan, Mia wasn't so sure that anything she thought of would work. "We really have no way of knowing how to avoid being possessed, at least until we find out more about how that ability works." She looked towards the thief. Since he wasn't possessed, then there was a good chance that the ghost could only possess one person at a time. Still, they may need more information before they fought him. "Maybe we should ask some of the villagers if they know anything. This might not be the first time something like this has happened, and if we're lucky, they could have a way to counter it."

While all of this was going on, Jason had begun doodling on a nearby wall. Mia hadn't even noticed, until he called her name. "Is that me?" She asked, moving closer to get a better look. "Impressive. You're a pretty talented artist, Jason."

His eyes glow in appreciation. "You haven't seen the cool part yet." He presses his palm against the drawing, and the whole things glows red. And flows along the wall after him. "I made it come to life!" He laughs. "My drawings are animated!" He draws a simple dagger, and pulls it out of the ground. "I can literally draw anything into existence! But keeping it "real" is so tiring. Huff." The drawing stops glowing, and freezes where it is. He puts the dagger back, and his wings stop glowing. The drawing of the dagger fades away like it was never there. The picture of Mia stays on the wall. He chuckles. "My art degree was worth something! Take that Davidson!" He shakes his fist at memories of the past. "I can feel the drawing like it's a part of me now. It's such a weird sensation."

Aerin gave a rather contemplative look at all this talk of ghostly dragons and possession. He looked over his own form. "Hmm, I'm kind of ghostly, I wonder if I could do that..." he mused, looking over the group. He sort of felt an odd pang of hunger as he did so, though not for food. It would leave himself spaced out a little bit before he shook his head and regained his senses.

"Well, i've got nothing for defending against ghosts, but it's not exactly a topic we can research. Though if it's one of these shrimps i'm sure you could take him down based on how easy it was to capture this guy." He'd say, "I'll stick to the sidelines though. I don't really have an interest in this object the ghost is testing people for."

Seems like his capture garnered some attention... the others were talking about how to avoid possession, and Shaula had some sort of plan, somehow. Trevor didn't really have much, if any faith that her muffin things would work to stop that, and Mia came up with a more sane plan... ask the populace about the ghost dragon to see if THEY knew anything about stopping it. Trevor dropped the thief, and he scurried away like the mouse he was, and Trevor started asking around. "The ghost? NOOO! Stay away from there! The ghost is all-powerful! He's the reason why we don't go into our own crop mines, anymore! Didn't you see the giant metal wall on your way in? That's to keep him in, and us OUT!" and "Ghost? You mean like the one that's haunting most of our crops? I'd stay away from him, he's evil," were good examples of the information Trevor got from them. Unfortunately, Trevor couldn't get any ideas on how to stop the possession from talking to them, but he DID know where the ghost WAS, which was behind that metal wall that seemed to be guarded by a golem made of rocks and stones... of course, now Trevor had a new problem... how was he going to get past the wall? His claws were only so tough, and that thing couldn't be thin enough for a simple slash to work. While he was thinking, the moles all started to line up for something, well, maybe not ALL of them, but a pretty good portion of them... oh, right, the event or whatever. That probably wasn't important for any reason, right?

Celina though about all this as she followed Trevor. Those moles were afraid of that ghost... and who could blame them. A creature able to possess someone like... that is not something fun at all. At least the group know where to find that ghost... behind that metal wall, but how to pass it would be another issue in itself. How can someone pass a huge metal wall anyway. She though about it as she saw all the moles go and head towards the event. Geez.. its not like we could draw something on the metal wall like a door just like the cartoons... unless... She sighed at this. That would really be funny if it would work for this, but it would also make it scary if someone were to use that at someones home to get in, but considering earth was in an apocalyptic state, it would surprise her if any good condition homes would be left standing. But if that does not work... She sighed at bit as she whispers to Trevor. "If we need to pass that door... might need to have that drill they are so fond about to break the metal wall... unless some kind of magic that we have could break the wall or bypass it. Not sure what limit that whole art magic has. Maybe... just maybe it could create a door." she then says to him calmly, thinking about it a bit.

Jason shrugs, and takes off. He flies ahead, circling around. What a strange place. He lands briefly, and draws a small handgun, slipping it in his pocket. Might as well be prepared. He lands next to them, and sighs. "I could try drawing a door. But I'm not sure what the limits to my drawing ability are. I'd have to dismiss quite a few of my drawings." Some of the drawings surrounding him begin to fade away.

---

It seemed that the moles didn't have any way of defeating this ghost, aside from sealing him away behind a metal barrier. It appeared to be sturdy enough that they wouldn't be able to break through it with only their abilities. On top of that, there was a stone man guarding it. "I don't think he'll just let us through, huh?" Mia muttered, mostly to herself. If they tried to force their way through, it would likely end in a fight.

There were a couple of plans to get to the other side. Jason or Celina could draw a door with their art magic, or stealing the drill that these mole people seemed to be lining up to see. She had doubts that the first option would work, and the second option would certainly anger the townsfolk. Mia, fortunately, had another idea. "The thieves ran into this ghost, and one of them made it to this town. He had to have some way to get here from the other side of that wall. Why not ask him?"

---

Shaula looked at the wall that blocked their way. It was made of solid steel and was much taller than any she had seen before. Standing in front of it was a creature made of rock, guarding the cave from any intruders stupid enough to enter. Celina whispered something to Trevor - hopefully an idea.
"I don't think he'll just let us through, huh?" Mia said.
"Doesn't look like it," Shaula replied. Jason suggested drawing a door with magic, and Mia wanted to ask the thief for help. The first was too ridiculous of an idea to even consider (though Shaula had to admit, it would not have been the strangest thing she's seen today), and the second seemed to be ruled out the moment the thief scurried away. Meanwhile the mole-aliens were all too terrified of the ghost to help. Figures. The New World Order turns everyone into monsters, and what do these aliens want to do? Gawk at a drill. In Shaula's not-so-humble opinion, it wasn't even that great of a drill. But then an idea struck her. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't dream of stealing from people like this. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and despite what Trevor said, she wasn't sure these aliens really counted as "people," anyway. They'd get over a missing drill.

"The aliens're all obsessing over some big drill, right? Let's just take that, drill down the wall, and then all we have to do is get back that relic or whatever and we're home free," Shaula said. If they had any sense, they would agree. The showcase didn't look like it had started yet, so they would need to act fast if they were going forward with this plan.

As some of his team headed out of town and towards the wall, Trevor decided to head towards the event, and after waiting in line for an annoying amount of time, he finally took a seat, somewhere in the back row, and wondered what about this drill made it so interesting. Turns out, not much really made it interesting as they showed it off. The weird drill with flames coming from the tip somehow managed to easily, and readily punch through a metal sheet that was just about as thick as the wall the others went to. Hmm... I wonder... Trevor thought as he left the short event, and ignored the moles around him who were all partying, save for the group of guards who looked equipped to take down whatever or whoever would try to steal the device. While Trevor was lost in thought, he somehow made it to the wall, and while there was still the issue of the golem, he at least had an idea of how to get past the wall, itself... then again, this move MIGHT even work in a fight, too, so... meh. The golem tried to attack Trevor, and without so much as a word of warning, he tried out his new attack by flying back and up, putting his claws out in front of him, spinning like that drill, while also breathing fire, and then launching himself at the thing, and while he didn't exactly hit a weak point, that still seemed to go right through the rock creature, doing at least some damage to it... though... Trevor wouldn't exactly be able to attack right until the world stopped spinning for him, as well. "Hey, guys... I think I know how to get through the wall... gonna be a little dizzy for a while, though," Trevor said as he desperately tried to just take a seat somewhere, only ending up falling on his back for his efforts.

When Celina saw all the guards around the drill and heard the ideas of the others, she though that it would be stupid to even try to steal that drill. It would simply anger the mole people that didn't seem hostile to the group at least. She looked at the drill and how it was coated in fire to drill even the toughest walls. Irony here that it would be exactly what the group would need, but she then noticed that Trevor was leaving. She looked at the group and gave a sign to follow before going to head to go see him... only to see him spin quickly and then break the stone golem guardian with a fire spin attack that looked like a drill effect. It pierces the golem and at least did some damage to it. Well that was going to help a lot. She then heard what Trevor said and quickly headed to catch him before he falls on his back, trying to cushion his fall. She then looked at the golem, thinking a bit at this. That whole using fire before and the rune that she somehow copied. Would she be able to do the same thing? If she could... then maybe she could do it to the wall also. But one thing crossed her mind. What if the wall resists. Maybe if 2 persons do the same move it might be enough to break the wall. So for that, she needed Trevor to not be dizzy right now.. The issue though is that the creature still standed there. Surprising considering the large hole that Trevor left in the creature. She then tries the same move on the golem, aiming on the leg to try to make it fall down, going for a flame drill like Trevor. She hoped it would work.

---

The drill was able to easily tear through a steel plate not unlike the one blocking the path to the ghost. Stealing it was not only morally questionable, but while the guards were around, it would be very difficult. Still, it seemed like the only option at the time.Mia went over their options in her head. They could lure the guards away and take it, but getting such a large drill to the wall without being noticed would be nearly impossible.

While she was lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that Trevor had already began approaching the wall. It wasn't until Trevor used his newfound power that she happened to turn her head. "Damnit, Trevor..." She muttered under her breath, rushing over to assist him. It seemed that he'd been inspired by the drill, because this attack certainly did look like it. Perhaps it could get through the wall, as well. It seemed to significantly damage the golem as well, and though he seemed a little dazed afterward, Trevor didn't appear to be injured too badly.

Mia hadn't used any offensive spells until this point, so she was unsure if her magic could do anything besides heal. It took a moment, but she was eventually able to form a rod of light with a pointed tip. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an arrow. She quickly flew to Jason - she'd seen him make weapons before. "Jason, could you make me a bow?" Though she'd never really shot a bow before, if her magic could create arrows, it was in her best interests to learn how.

Jason looks at the glowing arrow in Mia's hand in surprise, and nods. "I'll try, but it's gonna have one heck of a draw strength. Gimme a minute." Many of the drawing around him fade away, the lines making them up blending and vanishing back into nothingness. He measures Mia's arms, and draws a metal bow with his claw. He pulls the bow out of the wall, and "erases" bits of scrap metal that came with it, by slicing them off with his white hot talons. He then hands the new metal bow to Mia, and draws his small pistol, hiding it with his enormous wings, and loads a clip. "Let's go find out what we're up against here." His wings and feathers begin to glow, slowly and steadily, and the items he drew flicker with the same golden flames.

---

If they could only get to the drill fast enough, all they had to do was drive it away and ram it at the wall. Unless it needed a key. Do mole-aliens even use keys? Before she could figure out an answer to that question, however, they had made it to the wall, and Trevor was already fighting the guard. He had launched himself at the golem, spinning and breathing fire in an impressive imitation of the drill as his attack went straight through it. Celina cushioned his fall. If he could manage to do that again, they might not need to steal the drill. Shaula noticed Mia and Jason preparing to fight and realized she should figure out something fast.

She took an Orgone emitter from her backpack and threw it at the golem. It bounced off harmlessly. The golem looked over and, notably, did not double over from pain as the Orgone energy surged through its body. "Course. Orgone doesn't actually affect any of these aliens. Why would it be that easy?" she said. Shaula raised her arms toward the golem. "Fine, then. I can do this. It worked last time." Water blasted from her palms and knocked her backwards. Regaining her balance and planting her feet more firmly in the ground this time, she shot water at it again.

While the strange item didn't do much, or rather, any damage to the golem, Celina's copy of Trevor's move seemed to do quite a bit, though, Trevor could only assume that she'd be dizzy, just like him, afterwards. The others spoke, and someone shot water at the golem, dealing some pretty decent damage to it, as well, and even managing to erode its head, a little bit, but now it was Trevor's turn, again... Trevor got up and tried his best to punch the golem, however, his dizziness actually caused him to miss, and said miss probably prompted the golem to smash one of its arms right into him. "Uuuuugh... owwww," Trevor managed to say after getting smashed into the ground by a literal boulder, albeit one that was loosely connected to a bunch of other boulders, forming a vaguely humanoid shape. The golem then took a bit of time to just punch into the nearby wall, causing some loose rocks to fall around the place, only to then patched itself up with said rocks, healing itself just by using the environment around it. This... wasn't going to be an easy fight, unfortunately. The golem then slowly approached Mia, its speed being even less than that of Shaula's, or Celina's.

---

As Mia pulled back the bow's string, she could see what Jason meant when he told her about the draw strength. She couldn't hold it back for long, and when she fired it, she completely missed. The golem was such a large target, as well. She would need some practice if she wanted to use this ability in combat anytime soon. "I'm sorry Jason, but I think I'm done with the bow for now." She placed it on the ground, though she kind of felt bad for having Jason make this weapon only to fire once and miss.

In the short time it took to fire the arrow, Trevor had gotten a serious beating from the golem. Now, it was coming for her. It stood between the two of them, but it was much slower than Mia was. She ran off to the side, kiting around the golem in an attempt to reach her injured teammate.

He shrugs. "Don't worry about it Mia. I can just make another one later for you to practice with." The bow fades away, and he tosses a barrage of fireballs at the golems head in an attempt to melt it. "Get Trevor out of there! Don't let it step on him!" He lifts a large spear, the head of the weapon blazing with white flame, and puts it into the golems back when it turns to follow Mia. "Oi! Rock head! Over here, you pile of pebbles!" He backwings, sending himself hurdling backwards, and lands awkwardly. "Get it in the head!" He pulls out his gun, and begins shooting the golems face.

Now this was bad. Celina felt very dizzy after what she just did, stumbling around and having some difficulty being able to aim. And as what she saw while her world was spinning, Trevor had the same issue, actually missing his move on the golem. Celina though about it and tried to draw something, actually summoning a bird... sort of? The things wings were very crooked, its beak seeming like it was made to be a very badly drawn toucan beak, and its tail seeming like a snake tail. The thing started to fly... before crashing down right at the golem's feat and disintegrating. "God dang world spinning... ugh..." she then said before falling face first on the ground, dizzy right now. She shook her head, hoping to regain her senses soon. This was not good at all right now for her. At least with her slime form she would not really get hurt too much by physical attacks. At least that is what she hoped.

Shaula

---

Shaula spun around at the sound of gunshots to see Jason shooting a pistol at the golem's face. "Jason! You brought a gun with you and didn't tell us!? There was a giant spider, we could have used it!" she hissed. It would have gone to better use against the spider, because the golem seemed to be able to regenerate any damage done to it. They needed a new plan. Getting it away from rocks was out of the question; they were in a cave. Really, though, they didn't need to kill it. They just needed to get through the wall.

"Celina, Trevor!" Shaula said, "We'll distract the rock alien! You try and get through the wall! Do that drill thing again!" She ran around the golem (picking up her Orgone emitter along the way) and shot water at the golem to keep it away from everyone else. "Jason, keep shooting! Get it angry at you!" If Jason could get it distracted, then all they had to do was break through the wall, and it would be easy to outrun it. And then all they had to worry about was that dragon...