Well Great, What Do We Do Now? (A.S, NES, SWL, Col)

[ThePopcornFairy]

The moment Evan identified a falling ship as the origin of his transformation, Natalie snapped to attention. Not that she wasn't already at attention; how could she not be with her friend looking like that? When Elsa stared at her knowingly, she nodded right back, assuring her that they were on the same page. This was no coincidence. It couldn't have been. And as put off as Natalie admittedly was by Evan's slimy form and how much she hoped that it could be undone, something told her that for the sake of their present threat, this transformation was to their benefit.

"Well... Evan... I know this has to be tough," she slowly began, wanting to express empathy before jumping to the point for the sake of not sounding insensitive. "Trust me, I think we've all been in that 'Why did this have to happen to me?' mindset. No one can blame you for being upset about it. But on the bright side... you said it yourself that your current state offers its advantages against these snake creatures. If it's within your power to exterminate them with ease, might as well take advantage of it, right?"

"Totally!" Eric happily insisted, waving his arm around in dramatic fashion. "You shoulda seen him out there! He was movin' with the flow and grace of waves on the ocean, yet he burned the snakes from this mortal plane like the tongue of a fire! ...Ooh, that was kinda poetic. I gotta write that down!"

While Eric grabbed a pen and notepad from behind his back to jot down his thoughts, Natalie turned back to Evan with a light sigh. "But that ship that... apparently fell on you... we may know something about it."

Wringing her hands, pausing to get her story straight, Natalie elaborated, "See... right after I ran into Elsa up in the mountains, we saw a ship fall out of the sky too. Or rather... the front half of a ship. Inside was this catboy and his... pet... pygmy dragon, I guess."

"DRAGON?!"

After shushing the ever-elated Eric, Natalie continued, "He was injured, so our first instinct was to take him to the hospital. He passed out soon after we found him, so we didn't really get to ask him a whole lot. But... I vaguely remember him mumbling something about... what was it...? The 'limus'? Finding the limus to stop... something?"

With a nervous grimace, Natalie looked down at Evan and awkwardly choked up, "Maybe I'm wrong, but... maybe he was talking about whatever turned you into this?"

[DanteMGalileo]

Arti lightly tapped his frying pan on the edge of the table, trying to draw some attention. He liked to fancy himself the leader of their SBURB session, mostly based on his ability to get shit down to the most basic form.

"Okay, okay. Let me see if I can summarize the shit that's going on. Evan turned into some kinda moldy-smellin' slime thing that is for the most part still shaped like Evan that changes colour and pH whenever a certain gemstone is thrown into him. Something about a downed ship in the woods. The dude out there got infected and that potion may be a cure for something related to whatever. Also, something about a catboy, a pet dragon, and limus, trying to stop the infection with something related to the limus?"

Those looks were mixed, but Arti assumed he was right. "Dumb question, but do we know where this shit came from? If we can't kill it at the source, it'll just keep showing up. That's rule number two of infectious shit."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan stared up at Natalie for a moment, surprised yet somewhat relieved to hear her half of the story. Yes, the injured pilot was one thing, but at least now he had some hope of a lead when it came to his own condition. "Now that you mention it... I do remember seeing the ship break in half mid-descent. If this 'limus' really is what's done this to me, that means he was bringing it to us to fight these creatures. So he's gotta know what exactly we're up against and what we're supposed to do about it. ...Not to mention what I'm supposed to do now that I'm apparently this ultra-important living weapon."

He peaked over his shoulder as Arti bluntly simplified the events leading up to this point, frowning and shaking his head. A little dodgy when it came to the details, but at least he was on the right track. Before he jumped back on track himself, a rogue element in Arti's ramblings caught Evan's attention. "Potion?"

In an answer to his own question, Evan looked down at the coffee table, noticing the empty potion bottle, the memories quickly returning. "Oh right, right..." He warily turned to Swift. "I'm guessing that was you? You look like you took a dive while you were down south. ANd let's be fair here, phobiosis is the last thing we need to worry about right now..."

With that out of the way, Evan's focus snapped back to Arti's question regarding killing the invasion at the source. "That's just one of many questions to ask this flyboy catboy once he's recovered from his crash landing. All we know is that the creatures originate from that red cloud. We have no idea where the cloud came from, how to get rid of it, or what might be hiding in it. I'm not even sure how to approach this revelation that the dust these creatures emit is infectious.

Finally, Evan turned Ace's way, sadly looking between her and the boy in her arms. "On that note... what did happen to Patrick? How exactly has this infection affected him?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift tapped her chin, curiously observing as the pieces of this story came together. Pilot crashes onto the island, the back half of his ship drops something on Evan that turns him into slime... right in the middle of an invasion of creatures that Evan now had the capability to kill with ease. Of course this guy would know what was going on. There was no way any of this was a coincidence. Heck, she would've been tempted to go question him now if not for her own exhaustion and the fact that he was probably being treated for his injuries as they spoke. If Nat and Elsa felt inclined to hospitalize him, it wasn't for nothing.

And yet, while the story behind Evan's transformation, the person behind it, and their connection to the invasion fell into place... Swift still had no idea how her transformation fit into any of this.

When questioned about the potion and her damp, dirty appearance, Swift sighed and nodded back at Evan. "Yeah, that was me. And Ranuen. Long story, but, uh..." She shot the tiny swordsman an awkward look. "I'm willing to wait to go into detail. The more orderly we can keep this exposition dump, the better. Especially considering I'm... not actually sure what purpose our side quest serves yet."

With Swift keeping silent for the moment, Ace took the floor. (Metaphorically. She was still loathe to bring Patrick inside like this.) Given how likely it was that Patrick was not the only one out there infected by the dust, it would help to know what else they had to look out for. "Well... Patrick and I had split up for a while. When I found him, not only was he coughing up dust, but... it's like he had lost his mind. He was casting spells haphazardly at... this... hapless passerby... Even attacked me once or twice."

Useful information regarding the dust aside, it was probably best not to mention the shady encounter with the God of Mischief... At least not right now...

"I-I could tell he was still in there somewhere, but... but I guess the dust was compelling him to attack anything it saw as a threat. So he did, brutally enough that he eventually knocked himself out by draining more magic than he had to spare."

[ColArana]

Swift wasn't keen on revealed what had happened to her yet. Ranuen simply shrugged and let her keep her silence. She'd let that slip when she wanted to. That left the rest of the discussion at hand. Hearing the exposition, Ranuen pushed his mind to think of some explanation or course of action. ....Not necessarily the easiest thing for him. "I mean... that guy's probably kinda important to all this." He commented. "....Might be worth paying him a visit and seeing his condition? I don't suppose anyone here has healing abilities?" He asked, hopefully.

Hearing the news about Patrick made Ranuen frown in concern. Attacking haphazardly? That was bad. "Got it. Red dust makes you go psycho. ...Well. If there's a cure for it.... That guy will probably know, won't he?" He suggested. He was trying to be careful not to intrude his opinion too much. Ranuen was the stranger here compared to everyone else. He didn't want to upset anyone.

[ThePopcornFairy]

Natalie nodded to Evan. "Yeah, El and I already agreed we'd check in on him tomorrow. Feel like he's kinda our responsibility, after all. Might as well make good on that..." Then she looked down at Ranuen and sighed. "Patrick's a healer. Probably the only one we have, too. Guess that's all the more reason to see if this Koeham guy knows of a cure."

She nervously stared up at Ace, not just out of concern for the effects the dust had on Patrick's mind on top of his body, but because she could tell there was something that Ace had deliberately left out of her story. Something about this passerby that she didn't want them to know. Natalie could only guess why, but in the grand scheme of things, what mattered most in this particular case was Patrick. For the sake of not giving herself more to worry about that night, she opted to let it slide for now. If this omission was important, surely it would come back up later.

For now, Natalie turned back to Evan and Swift, eyeing the former in particular. "So yeah. Tomorrow we check in on our catboy, figure out what he knows about these wyrms, see if he can cure Pat, and ask what he wants to do about you. Seems simple, but all good plans gotta start somewhere. That said... what's up with you, Swift?"

"Yeah, it seems like you and your new buddy got into some deep crud," Eric mused, head in his hand, smile wide with curiosity, the irony in his metaphor completely intentional.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Works for me," Elsa chimed in response to Natalie's plan. "Learning more about these things would be useful and all, but it would kinda suck to fight this fight without our mage. Plus, who knows? If our kitty had some kinda human-to-slime converter and a potential dust cure onboard his ship, maybe he has other cool stuff buried in there somewhere!"

"To be fair, we did stop exploring the wreckage after we found the case of gems..." Evan mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully, trying his best not to be bothered by the fact that his fused arms and legs barely resembled arms and lags by that point.

He looked up at Patrick again. While he was willing to accept that they would have to wait to speak to this Koeham guy, he had to wonder what they should do with Patrick for the time being. He wouldn't stay unconscious forever, and as far as Evan knew, no one there had the ability to keep him sleeping until they obtained a cure. No one except Ray, but of course, he was down for the count alongside Patrick and Van. It was probably for the best, not to mention the least they could do, if someone kept an eye on him overnight.

But he would bring that up in due time. Right now, the attention had shifted to Swift. Her and Ranuen's journey had been alluded to a few times, but now that they had discussed all they knew about Evan's transformation, Koeham's arrival, Patrick's possession, and the potential connection these events had, it seemed to be an appropriate time for Swift to elaborate on what she got up to in the rainforest while all of that was going on. "Y-Yeah, are... Are you alright, Swift? Potential phobiosis exposure aside, I'm... guessing something more relevant happened to you guys?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"I hope so..." Ace sighed, still staring down at Patrick. "Like I said, I know he's still in there. I just don't know how aware or in control of his own actions he is. Whatever the case may be... I don't want to imagine fighting this battle with him playing for the other side.

Swift sighed and nodded, agreeing with Ace's sentiments and the plan that had been established. Sure, there wasn't much to the plan, but it was hard to come up with any long-term solutions when they still knew so little about their situation. Their hope was currently riding on this Koeham guy, it seemed. Swift agreed that the alignment of these events was too perfect for any of them to be coincidental, but still, if it somehow turned out that this catboy couldn't help them –if he couldn't tell them more about the wyrms, cure Patrick, or turn Evan back to normal– she was going to be hella ticked.

Well... now that that much had been established, everyone was looking at her. Guess this was an appropriate time as any to delve into her story.

"Sooooo..." She tapped her knee, pondering how to approach this. "I met Ranuen out in the rainforest. We talked a bit, he agreed to help us fight these things. Then... Then it was like... the ground split open... and this sort of ghost-like being made of silver light emerged."

Dead silence and wide eyes. Swift had a feeling that would be their reaction.

"I-I felt... strangely drawn to it, so I followed it to this temple... the same temple we explored the day you got sick, Evan. It disappeared when we got there, so Ranuen and I went inside to see why it wanted us there. Thennnnn..." Her ears flattened nervously. "You remember how we heard a sort of loud rumbling before that gross fog started rolling in that first time we were there? Yeah, turns out it's 'cause there's a dragon in there."

"A dragon?!" Ace choked up, staring at Swift in dismay. "Cripes, as if we didn't have enough to worry about!"

Swift shrugged. "Well, he didn't bother following us when we escaped, so maybe he's not ready to visit the surface yet. B-But back on track. We found the dragon's lair, Ranuen kept him distracted... and... I found these carvings in the wall, glowing with the same silver light as that ghost that led us there. When I touched them... the light sort of... drained into me. And when that transfer was complete, the dragon got me in his jaws..." She could sense Evan flinching next to her. "...but I... managed to avoid being sliced in half by... briefly, involuntarily turning to stone."

She stood up, averting her gaze from the various shocked and intrigued reactions her friends were giving her. "After that, I turned back to normal, we escaped out into the rainforest, and upon further inspection of my person, I found this..."

Then, as the piece de resistance, Swift lifted her shirt just enough to show everyone her midriff and the tattoo that had been branded into it, prominently displaying a southward-pointing compass surrounded by the symbols for the elements of earth, metal and nature.

[ColArana]

Ranuen had sympathy for the situation at hand. It had to be rough, not knowing if you could trust your friend. He wondered if it might be even worse for Patrick. What if he was still in there? Acutely aware of what he was doing, and powerless to stop it? Ranuen shuddered at the thought. "Well, here's hoping your new friend in the hospital will know something like a way to help him." He commented nervously. And then Swift took over with her depiction of events.

Ace seemed to take note of the dragon and Ranuen grinned. "Yeah, a dragon! It was amazing!" He commented. "Definitely lived up to the hype. Strong bastard. Emphasis on both those words." He added, far too cheerfully for the near-death experience he and Swift had run through. Swift also clarified that the beast hadn't come out after them. He overlooked Swift as she showed the tattoo again. He wondered if they'd have anything to add regarding it, or if they'd seen anything that might be a clue....

[ThePopcornFairy]

"MORE DRAGONS?!"

"Eric, seriously, what is it with you and dragons?" Natalie groaned, trying her best to calm him down mostly out of respect for Swift. It seemed safe to say that this dragon she and Ranuen had encountered wasn't the friendliest.

Of course, the fact that they both got away from the dragon apparently unscathed was a huge relief, but the method in which Swift enacted that escape was certainly unorthodox, so much so that Natalie had to lean back slightly in confusion and surprise. Turning into stone was a new one for Swift, undoubtedly granted via that light she had apparently absorbed inside the temple, but knowing that didn't make it sound any less strange. And sure enough, the power she had received had left its mark.

"Uh... Whoa..." Natalie leaned forward again, studying Swift's new tattoo with morbid fascination. It took her a moment to make out the smaller symbols from where she was sitting, but eventually she identified them as the emblems of earth, metal and nature, a realization that only opened up more possibilities as to what Swift was now capable of. What exactly was giving her these powers, though... that was the real question.

"Oh, now that is cool!" Eric cheered, fists gripped with excitement. "So can you turn into the other elements too? Can you control them? What awesome abilities of awesomeness have been bestowed upon you, girl?!"

[DanteMGalileo]

Okay let's see if I can't put together something resembling what the fuck is going on.

"Sweet tat," Arti said, eyeing the marking on Swift's stomach. "Uh... did it hurt? Asking for a friend. Or is it more like henna?" He scratched under his chin, trying to piece together the puzzle...

"Wait, you ran into a DRAGON? What kinda dragon are we talkin' about? Western? Eastern? Little whiny turd that steals your pocket change? Big fat thing that's responsible for ruining more than just village? Kinda need to be more specific there..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Whoa-ho-hoaaaaa..." Elsa was absolutely eating this story up, mesmerized by Swift's retelling of this adventure she had missed out on. Strange apparitions, creepy temples, a freaking dragon, a mystical force that equipped Swift with sweet new elemental powers... all completely awesome to the diamond daredevil. "That is so cool! You lucky ducks! What was the dragon like?! How'd you fight 'im?!"

Evan, on the other hand, was completely silent, confused and unnerved by Swift's tale. He took the news of the dragon in a rather subdued stride, cringing only when she mentioned that it had her in its mouth for a brief moment; he was glad to know that Swift and Ranuen had escaped it in one piece, but he also knew that Swift had evaded worse monsters in the past. What really drew Evan's attention was the reveal of Swift's new abilities and the symbol on her stomach that came with them. For a while, he just stared at the intricate tattoo, even long after Swift had dropped her shirt. It was just so... unworldly, in a way. He wasn't sure why he used that word to describe it, but that was simply the first thing that popped into his head. Something about it just seemed to convey that whatever had strengthened her, saved her from the dragon, was far bigger than any of them were aware. Whatever it was, it didn't make Evan feel nervous so much as it made him feel... intrigued.

Of course, maybe that just stemmed from the thought that when it came to bizarre transformations, as far as Evan was concerned, he got the short end of the stick.

Carter, having kept silent for much of the conversation, circled around and stopped near Swift, giving her a hesitant sniff. "S***, I can still smell the dragon on her. That and whatever I smelled on you before you turned half spider, Ev."

After earning a flat frown from his master, Carter sniffed again and added, "Plus... I-It's weird, I can... almost swear I smell angel on her."

Evan blinked, slightly dumbfounded by that last part. What did angels have to do with this?

Shaking off that much, Evan took a deep breath and murmured, "Um... Do... Do you think... who... whatever gave you these powers wants you to use them in this fight? Maybe? Th-The timing of everything else that's happened tonight has lined up so well, I wouldn't rule out that possibility."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Was kinda hoping the thing about the dragon would fall to the wayside for the sake of our present crisis..." Swift grumbled, lowering her shirt and folding her arms. "He was big. Like just about Smaug levels of wet-your-pants gargantuan size. Occidental, black, breathed acid, looked like he was half dead, sadistically happy to kill us. I managed to get a few slices in, but for the most part, Ranuen was the one who kept him busy."

She took a deep breath and scowled at the floor, worried about when that dragon would inevitably rear his ugly head again, dreading what would happen when he did, but trying her best not to dwell on it. Not now, at least.

In response to Eric's inquiry, Swift sighed and grunted, "I don't know. Beyond accidentally turning into a rock, I haven't tried anything. I've kinda been too tired, too distracted, too overwhelmed, and too trying to help an injured friend get to safe ground to experiment with whatever I now possess."

"And too 'holy crap a freaking dragon tried to eat me,' I presume?" Ace muttered.

"Yeah, more or less. What I do have, however, is a theory," Swift added with a wag of her finger. "I'm not sure what kind of forces are at play here, what their intentions are, or why they've singled out me of all people. All I know is that one, these wyrms don't seem to be able to ingest rock or metal, so I could probably get good use out of these powers once I get a grip on them, and two... I got them in the Stone Temple. And the Stone Temple is not the only well-known set of ruins on this island. If I received Earth, Metal and Nature powers from the Stone Temple, what if I could receive more from the others? I mean fire and lightning could definitely be useful here..."

It was clear from the tone of her voice that not only had she given this phenomenon a great deal of thought, but the prospect of venturing out to see if her theory was correct was actually starting to appeal to her on some level.

[ColArana]

Ranuen chuckled at Swift's disappointment that the dragon bit had been what had been primarily seized upon. "Nah, that's about right." He laughed. "Besides. You're upselling me way too much. I kept that thing busy only as long as he let me, I'm sorry to say..." He commented with a downturn in his tone. "But yeah, after that whole big... thing, Swift took me straight here, or at least as straight as we could, out of that rainforest. She's not had much of a chance to rest or do anything except come here." Meanwhile, Ranuen had at least as much chance to rest and recover as someone riding shotgun in a car.

Evan and Eric were touching on a topic Ranuen had already considered, and Swift answered in the affirmative. More than that, she'd confirmed the existence of other temples. "Yeaaah, I'm thinking she's got these new powers of hers for a reason. Definitely. And I personally think it's got something to do with what's going on. Maybe that's something else to ask hospital guy when he wakes up?" He suggested. "He might know something about this too." Even if he didn't, it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. Probably.

[ThePopcornFairy]

"So you're gonna travel to the other temples to get the rest of your powers?!" Eric excitedly asked, throwing his arms up with glee. "HOORAY! A QUEST!"

"Whoa, Eric, let's slow down for a minute..." Natalie awkwardly insisted, feeling like she was still several helpless steps behind in this conversation.

Warily, she turned to Swift and continued, "I guess I can understand that kind of curiosity. The want to go to these other temples and see if you're right about there being more powers for you to earn. Heck, given the looming uncertainty, I dare say going through with that could lead to some answers. I mean, we could ask Koeham if he knows what's going on, but... I don't know. This feels... different than what we experienced through him. This feels like something with stronger ties to the island itself than to anything he's involved with... or even the wyrms."

"Oooooooooh..." Eric drummed his fingers together. "Perhaps you're being granted the combined power of the island itself! Like you're Captain Planet on steroids!"

"Whatever the case may be, I have to ask..." Natalie tilted her head and brushed her bangs aside. "This... ghost that led you to the temple. You say it just... emerged from beneath the earth? Any idea what that thing was supposed to be?"