Post by Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual on Feb 8, 2014 2:15:54 GMT -5
Quetzar's flickering red eyes looked down upon the Hub as he soared overhead, his ragged green membranes slicing through the air and holding it captive under their surface as he flew high over the metal coated ground and land bound monsters that tried several thousand meters below. The emerald serpent let his fiery orbs fall shut and breathed deeply, his nostrils sparking weakly as they sucked in the thin oxygen. When the hero breathed out, the sparks turned into a jet of flames. Barreling through the fire as it billowed in midair, curling and bragged like a hungry snake deprived of food, the Sun Warrior rolled his body and let the flames flow over him, simply enjoying its gentle touch and great warmth. The serpent crooned. This was peace. Even if he knew that only violence and chaos awaited him below and that he would only see a roof above him if he bothered to look up, he would always have the sky. The UCA could not take that was from him, and, if they ever tried, he would not stand for it. The sky was the great union, the one thing that all men, women, and children could look up and know that they shared in common. The sky was peace.
Suddenly the sky was filled with glowing yellow particles, and Quetzar realized with a shock that they were coming from him.
The serpent- who had been flying with his back to the ground and his belly facing towards the ceiling- flipped himself over with a wail of alarm. His body, every hair and scale that made up his form, was possessed by tiny golden orbs that seem to bubble from his flesh like spores. A surprised scream filled the air, drawing the attention of those on the ground. Crimson eyes narrowing, Quetzar tried to rid himself of the boiling aurora that surrounded him with a great flap of his wings that generated a fierce whirlwind, but it was to no avail. The afflicted hero snarled in frustration, but forced himself to calm with a low snort. This was not the time for panic. Evening the ragged rush of his breath, Quetzar considered the situation. These... particles, spores, whatever they may be were certainly something alien to his physiology, but they did not appear to be harming him. At least, he could feel no negative sensation. In fact, he could feel no sensation from them all at. Were they even real? Or had his mind finally been torn to pieces by the passing of eternity?
As a rush of agony exploded into the serpent's body, Quetzar concluded that he was, in fact, not insane and that this accursed glow was very much real.
And so was the ground that rushed up at him at a million miles per hour.
Blinding by the escalating lights that engulfed his body, wracked by the pain of every cell in his body tearing apart and reorganizing itself, and his sense of direction stolen by the spiraling free fall that he had entered while distracted, the Sun Warrior was helpless as he plummeted towards the ground, where a small ring of monsters had gathered to watch his landing, perhaps expecting some kind of show or aerial display.
Move, fools! the serpent shouted with his mind. This is out of my control. I cannot pull up. Move! Move now or be-
SLAM!
...
When Quetzar awoke, the first thing he noted was the weight. As he lifted his spinning head, he somehow felt... heavier. His skull did not flow up on his arching neck like it did before, but instead craned slowly skyward as if it were anchored down by tough, inflexible tethers. There was another difference- a rattling. It was his scales, all of them banging and clashing together to create a noisy buzz. The serpent grimaced. That had never happened before. A low groaning whistle escaping his jaws, the serpent pushed himself up and immediately realized that the oddity went far deeper than the increased strain to rise and a new sound effect.
The folded wings that held him up- they were not his.
The wings that Quetzar knew and used in every moment of his life were long, membranous things supported by knobby batlike digits. The ones that supported him now were thicker and fuller, more like gigantic fins or sails that the limbs of a bat. No claws either. Only heavy skin and flattened digits like blunted spines. Red eyes wide, the Sun Warrior thew his head back to survey the rest of his body. Did these changes go further? Could they? The most obvious thing that the serpent saw was the increase in length. His coils now stretched more than a hundred meters more, from an even two hundred meters to three hundred fourteen. The ruby spines that once curved from his back were gone as well, although to make up for it his scales were thicker and glossier, each one like a hardened shield. Quetzar breathed shakily. That explained the troubling weight he had felt when he raised his poor, confused skull.
The final difference was revealed when Quetzar gave his hooked head a hard shake. The furlike feathers that fell into his eyes were not a deep emerald green like his scales, but a starch white. Drawing a whistling breath of shock- he had been quite prideful of his silky flowing mane- the Sun Warrior spat a burst of fire that blasted a small section of the gridded metal flooring to slag, then cooled the patch of molten ground with a gust of wind from his wings, creating a crude mirror. The serpent gazed in and saw himself- and he did not recognize the face. A small horn that gave way to a a wild crown of pale hair jutted from between his serrated brows and there were more fangs than ever before hanging from his hooked upper jaw. Practically the only thing that remained the same were his red eyes, and even they were ringed by tired black bags that made him look far older than he had previously. Had his youth been stolen from him too?
Quetzar could only stare at his unfamiliar reflection and wonder how his appearance could have changed so drastically. Was this the work of the UCA? The cruel trick of some master of magic? An illusion perhaps?
A sharp pain shot into his skull and scattered his wondering. Quetzar shrilled and beat his head against the ground. Although a voice in the back of his mind cried for death the pain was so great, he was beginning to understand. The agony that warped his skull at this moment was the same as the pain that had pounded his body a few moments ago. It was the agony of change. New memories were rushing into his brain and colliding with the old ones, creating a frenzy of mental anguish that only began to end as the foreign memories destroyed the past thoughts and replace. In his final seconds trapped in between minds, Quetzar understood.
This new face was his, but another version of him. A him from a universe parallel to the one that he knew as home. And something had caused a shift in the dimensions, a slight movement that had switched the places of two distinct Quetzars. And there was only one event of such magnitude, such destructive potential, that had gripped the UCA during his time in it.
Orsa-Terminus.
That vile creature, a beast born from death and destined to swallow all worlds if he had not been stopped, must have been the cause of this. Nothing else, not even the Horsemen, were strong enough to cause such damage to the multiverse. Quetzar spewed angry flames as the last of the pain in his head subsided and he realized that he would soon no longer be the him that he had always been. Curse Orsa! Damn him to hell!
He didn't want to go! Didn't want to be replaced! The Sun Warrior vomited a column of golden fire that seared the air and any beast unfortunate enough to be close to the serpent and his fit. Damn him! Damn him!
...
A moment later, the Quetzar of Earth H-945 closed his jaws and blinked curiously. He coiled his body neatly across the grave of the Quetzar of Earth H-594. The old one cocked his head. Why was he on the ground? Why had he been scorching the air? And why were so many monsters staring at him? Their eyes, like his, were confused, but also disturbed and perhaps even frightened.
The Sun Warrior shrilled curiously in the back of his throat. What had happened?
Suddenly the sky was filled with glowing yellow particles, and Quetzar realized with a shock that they were coming from him.
The serpent- who had been flying with his back to the ground and his belly facing towards the ceiling- flipped himself over with a wail of alarm. His body, every hair and scale that made up his form, was possessed by tiny golden orbs that seem to bubble from his flesh like spores. A surprised scream filled the air, drawing the attention of those on the ground. Crimson eyes narrowing, Quetzar tried to rid himself of the boiling aurora that surrounded him with a great flap of his wings that generated a fierce whirlwind, but it was to no avail. The afflicted hero snarled in frustration, but forced himself to calm with a low snort. This was not the time for panic. Evening the ragged rush of his breath, Quetzar considered the situation. These... particles, spores, whatever they may be were certainly something alien to his physiology, but they did not appear to be harming him. At least, he could feel no negative sensation. In fact, he could feel no sensation from them all at. Were they even real? Or had his mind finally been torn to pieces by the passing of eternity?
As a rush of agony exploded into the serpent's body, Quetzar concluded that he was, in fact, not insane and that this accursed glow was very much real.
And so was the ground that rushed up at him at a million miles per hour.
Blinding by the escalating lights that engulfed his body, wracked by the pain of every cell in his body tearing apart and reorganizing itself, and his sense of direction stolen by the spiraling free fall that he had entered while distracted, the Sun Warrior was helpless as he plummeted towards the ground, where a small ring of monsters had gathered to watch his landing, perhaps expecting some kind of show or aerial display.
Move, fools! the serpent shouted with his mind. This is out of my control. I cannot pull up. Move! Move now or be-
SLAM!
...
When Quetzar awoke, the first thing he noted was the weight. As he lifted his spinning head, he somehow felt... heavier. His skull did not flow up on his arching neck like it did before, but instead craned slowly skyward as if it were anchored down by tough, inflexible tethers. There was another difference- a rattling. It was his scales, all of them banging and clashing together to create a noisy buzz. The serpent grimaced. That had never happened before. A low groaning whistle escaping his jaws, the serpent pushed himself up and immediately realized that the oddity went far deeper than the increased strain to rise and a new sound effect.
The folded wings that held him up- they were not his.
The wings that Quetzar knew and used in every moment of his life were long, membranous things supported by knobby batlike digits. The ones that supported him now were thicker and fuller, more like gigantic fins or sails that the limbs of a bat. No claws either. Only heavy skin and flattened digits like blunted spines. Red eyes wide, the Sun Warrior thew his head back to survey the rest of his body. Did these changes go further? Could they? The most obvious thing that the serpent saw was the increase in length. His coils now stretched more than a hundred meters more, from an even two hundred meters to three hundred fourteen. The ruby spines that once curved from his back were gone as well, although to make up for it his scales were thicker and glossier, each one like a hardened shield. Quetzar breathed shakily. That explained the troubling weight he had felt when he raised his poor, confused skull.
The final difference was revealed when Quetzar gave his hooked head a hard shake. The furlike feathers that fell into his eyes were not a deep emerald green like his scales, but a starch white. Drawing a whistling breath of shock- he had been quite prideful of his silky flowing mane- the Sun Warrior spat a burst of fire that blasted a small section of the gridded metal flooring to slag, then cooled the patch of molten ground with a gust of wind from his wings, creating a crude mirror. The serpent gazed in and saw himself- and he did not recognize the face. A small horn that gave way to a a wild crown of pale hair jutted from between his serrated brows and there were more fangs than ever before hanging from his hooked upper jaw. Practically the only thing that remained the same were his red eyes, and even they were ringed by tired black bags that made him look far older than he had previously. Had his youth been stolen from him too?
Quetzar could only stare at his unfamiliar reflection and wonder how his appearance could have changed so drastically. Was this the work of the UCA? The cruel trick of some master of magic? An illusion perhaps?
A sharp pain shot into his skull and scattered his wondering. Quetzar shrilled and beat his head against the ground. Although a voice in the back of his mind cried for death the pain was so great, he was beginning to understand. The agony that warped his skull at this moment was the same as the pain that had pounded his body a few moments ago. It was the agony of change. New memories were rushing into his brain and colliding with the old ones, creating a frenzy of mental anguish that only began to end as the foreign memories destroyed the past thoughts and replace. In his final seconds trapped in between minds, Quetzar understood.
This new face was his, but another version of him. A him from a universe parallel to the one that he knew as home. And something had caused a shift in the dimensions, a slight movement that had switched the places of two distinct Quetzars. And there was only one event of such magnitude, such destructive potential, that had gripped the UCA during his time in it.
Orsa-Terminus.
That vile creature, a beast born from death and destined to swallow all worlds if he had not been stopped, must have been the cause of this. Nothing else, not even the Horsemen, were strong enough to cause such damage to the multiverse. Quetzar spewed angry flames as the last of the pain in his head subsided and he realized that he would soon no longer be the him that he had always been. Curse Orsa! Damn him to hell!
He didn't want to go! Didn't want to be replaced! The Sun Warrior vomited a column of golden fire that seared the air and any beast unfortunate enough to be close to the serpent and his fit. Damn him! Damn him!
...
A moment later, the Quetzar of Earth H-945 closed his jaws and blinked curiously. He coiled his body neatly across the grave of the Quetzar of Earth H-594. The old one cocked his head. Why was he on the ground? Why had he been scorching the air? And why were so many monsters staring at him? Their eyes, like his, were confused, but also disturbed and perhaps even frightened.
The Sun Warrior shrilled curiously in the back of his throat. What had happened?
