Meteor Effect

Hurting Hermits 9:The Walls Of Reality Collapse Around Me

Yawning widely Joe blinks and stands up. Only to fall back down a moment later. Rolling over he gets up again and stumbles into the dresser.

Rubbing his ear he shakes his head, "Did I get an ear infection..." He frowns, that doesn't sound right. Looking at his legs he shrugs. They look normal.

It might be the meteor messing with him, he'd always known that Avar wasn't the best when it comes to dealing with emotions, but what he's done to the hermits is unacceptable.

Shaking his head he pulls a face, where had that thought come from...

He makes it to his kitchen before he's completely overwhelmed by a wave of pure wrong. Gasping he huddles over his sink and looks up. Something that was in the back of his mind like a half-forgotten dream.

His fangs feel too sharp in his mouth. It feels wrong. His vision is a bit blurry and something about the lack of input catches him off guard.

He doesn't end up with too much time to think about this as Scar calls a meeting soon after.

______

As the hermits settle into the area under town hall Joe locks eyes with Max and frowns. Head in his hands he looks away. Seeing the small, cat-like dragon is like bad deja vu.

He knows he's seen the dragon before he had shown up for Hypno... but where.

As the other hermit settles around he sees what else has happened. Keralis has two extra arms, Xisuma's stuck walking on all fours, Zedaph has horns, Wels is a dragon, Etho has three tails, Impulse has stiffened, and Xb, Ren, and Cub are all stuck in their different forms.

Come to think about it, he feels like he's in the wrong form. Like he's been still for too long.

Xisuma shifts awkwardly and starts talking, "Does anyone besides the obvious feel different?"

Raising his hand Joe waves, "I'm not sure how to explain... It's like memories?"

Max zips over and squints at him, "Avar can't give memories."

Joe blinks harshly, "Am I just going crazy?"

Max scrambles back from Joe a bit, and dips into a respectful pose, "With Aver using so much magic and then doing this, he broke a seal."

"What?" Joe chirps.

Max opens his mouth to explain as a small thump sounds as Cub flops to the ground. A few minutes later Xisuma gasps, "The white list is down..."

"It's being sustained by magic," Joe murmurs, his fangs poking over his lips as if they don't quite fit.

"Joe?" Xisuma asks softly, his tail thumping on the couch, "How do you know that?"

"I don't know..." Joe mutters softly, "I just know it."

Jumping down off Hypno's shoulders, landing next to Joe Max flicks his tail, "He's an eldritch being. He was Lady Vex's adviser."

At the confused blinking of the hermits Max explains, "The eldritch beings lived for about two centuries, then would return after being born again. It was a way to keep them from attacking the world. Not that most of them would have. But their patrons would have to allow them to remember and take their true forms."

"So the burst of magic unlocked Joe's memories?" Doc hisses, "If the Karl guy got his true form why does Joe look normal."

Joe blinks surprised, "He's the new one."

"What?"

"Before Aver took the magic, there was a new being forming from the magic. It was unassigned as far as anyone could tell. It may have gone dormant and surfaced recently. Without a patron, it has no limits."

Max nods, "Your memories are becoming clearer?"

"Yep," Joe grins widely, "It's interesting, I've been so many people."

Humming Max returns to Hypno and curls around him.

Joe blinks at his hands and looks back at the hermits, "This is weird."

Gently punching his shoulder Cleo grins.

_________

Gasping Joe tumbles out of his bed. Shaking, he grabs his communicator. Clenching his teeth he frowns. That dream with his true form again... it feels right and each time he has it the vampire form feels more and more invasive.

Scratching idly at his wrist he scrambles away from himself when he spots the flaking skin. After a quick inspection, he finds more and more flaking bits all across his body.

Joe Hills: Hey X I need some help

As he sets the device down he feels something in his back give out as twin tails flick into sight. Rubbing his arms he feels soft almost velvety fur. It's been so long since he's felt this form, but it feels so good.

Antlers branch from his head as his arms clatter to his sides as small wing shapes float around his head. His ears pull out to the sides and taper off, as his at symbol emblazons itself into his chest.

Blinking harshly at his hands he gasps as a murky form appears in the mirror.

"It's a dream, it's all just a dream," Joe murmurs as he crouches to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.

"Joe, you in here?" A voice- Bdubs calls over, "Xisuma sent me over," Pushing the door open he spots a star-covered form and screams.

The towering figure jumps to its feet and straightens to its full height. Ten feet tall at least. It has four arms and a pair of thin lion-like tails.

In a heartbeat, the monster is gone.

Bdouble0100: uh joe's gone, there was a monster in his base and I can't find him

{MainChat}

Xisuma: @all we need to find joe

Xisuma: I cant find him and bdubs said somewhere by the winery.

Bdubs: can't stay awake, sorryy

Xisuma: that's ok, we'll look around his base.

The sound of a scream startles Joe into motion. Rushing towards the tree line he stumbles as his legs rearrange. A burning sensation fills him as the remnants of his human form disappear.

A wolf howl draws his attention. Running faster he flickers and finds himself next to a set of towers.

The sound of rockets fizz by his ear and instantly a shell of magic forms around him. Opening all seven eyes Joe looks down and stands up to his full height. He can hear Impulse and Zedaph telling a really sleepy-sounding Tango to run over and grab False or to go back inside; he had had a particularly nasty respawn a few days before and is still recovering.

A wave of guilt crashes over him as his shell cracks and he crouches on the ground, "Howdy."

"Oh, thank goodness," Zedaph groans, "You scared us."

"Sorry," Joe rubs the back of his head as he sits on the ground. Tango wanders over and looks up at him then flops down next to him, "You're really tall."

Joe grins at that, "that I am," He yawns, showing off his slightly creeper-like fangs, or is that part of his face... it's hard to tell. The height of his true form nears twenty feet.

Skidding to the ground Cleo marches over to Joe, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," He answers, "Just really tired..."

Impulse shoots the main chat a message and grins, "Xb says you can use one of his beanbags... you're a bit too big for it though."

"Look at his arms," Tango gasps, "It's all in segmu, segmin- uh little parts."

Wiggling his disconnected fingers Joe grins, "The bean bag sounds good."

Soon after, He and Cleo make their way over to the water arena, and Joe curls up on the beanbag and passes out.

He sleeps for a few days straight and when he wakes up he's much more stable. Able to explain more about what he is and easily swap between forms.