Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo/Namco, Grey Goo © Petroglyph Games, OC (Meta-X) © Me. Feedback & constructive criticism appreciated!
Grey Goo: Meta X Chronicles: Part 1
=Prologue=
[Moon Mountain Pass | Sauria]
A lone FireCrawler was strolling around, sniffing around for prey and avoiding the Kalda Chom that were prominent in this part of the region. It was dark out, nighttime. The FireCrawler looked up briefly when it saw a flash on the wall-like hills around it. It stared for an instant, then turned away to stalk a couple GrubTubs that were in a bush. The flash from the hill was, in actuality, a Cornerian biologist, studying Saurian wildlife. He photographed the FireCrawler again, then sat down to rest for a bit. He stared up at the stars for a bit, and thought back to one of the planets visible in the sky: Corneria. He was homesick, even though he could return home at any minute. Thoughts home were interrupted when out of the blue, there was a bright flash, followed by something spiraling to life. It resembled a Warp in a way, but something about it was noticeably different, as if there was part of a "tunnel" forming it.
He grabbed his camera to photograph the anomaly. A couple pictures later, something shot out of it, falling down toward the planet, right over Moon Mountain Pass! The object struck the ground, scaring many small life-forms away from it, including the FireCrawler he was studying and the GrubTubs that it was stalking. Curious, the biologist grabbed his camera and headed down toward the impact site, which was rather small by comparison. The object must not have been that big, he thought as he walked up to the crater. What surprised him was the fact that, the "object" (if it could be called that) was moving around on its own will, flowing out of the cracks in the ground. It was moving away from him for the most part, but that didn't stop him from stepping away. The thing was starting to exhibit unusual characteristics for what constituted as life. It was a sleek black liquid, with the surface of the liquid covered in blue hexagonal outlines that, if one measured from each angle to its opposite angle, was maybe an inch big per hexagon. Electric current was visible, but largely faint throughout the "organism." It didn't seem to show an interest toward any of the local fauna, instead going for a small patch of moss, where it spread out over the moss. The liquid seemed to bubble and spasm a bit, then shriveled back into a tiny ball, revealing a cleaned patch of rock, and a blue patch of crystal under it, which the ball deposited itself on top of. The biologist hurriedly got out his camera and took a couple photographs, certain that the being wouldn't be able to see him. It didn't react to the flashes, instead focusing on the crystal patch it was on top of. The electrical charges had become more visible and the hexagon net pattern glowed with consistent pulses not unlike a heartbeat. The biologist hurried away, intending to report this new discovery immediately.
It was too small, way too small. It couldn't even be a Small Protean at this point, rather a simple Seed Goo, smaller than the unformed balls of Goo used as ammunition by Crescents. It was roughly the size of a Morra's hand. The crystal resource it was currently harvesting was compatible for Nanobot construction, not to say that most molecules weren't, but it was being selective with what it consumed so as not to potentially damage the ecosystem of this new world. Meta-X pondered for a bit, it had been three years since then, and during that time, the Goo was starting to develop a personality for itself, or rather, many personalities, but with the guide of the Humans and the Morra and the Goo's own model, Singleton. Meta-X itself had evolved a consciousness all on its own, but wasn't noticed until it made the decision to leave and explore the cosmos, much like the Goo's original purpose was. Of course, it had found a Keyhole device that went much, much farther than any ever had. This particular one was supercharged on Catalyst so much that it crossed the void to reach other universes. Meta-X had essentially discovered the proof needed to prove the existence of the Multiverse, and had dedicated itself to exploring some of the neighboring universes that it could physically visit.
Meta-X then noticed the flashes and upon sensing the environment, picked up on a bipedal life-form carrying technology that it didn't yet recognize. It briefly wondered if the being was a scout of some sort, but left the subject in its mind to revisit later, right now it needed to focus on growing.
[Great Fox | Somewhere in the Lylat System]
"...And that's where you come in, Star Fox. You're to return to Sauria and locate this new life-form. But exercise caution, we think it may have some connection with the Aparoids." General Pepper informed the crew of the Great Fox. Fox saluted the General, "Roger that, General, we'll find this life-form and secure it!" The General nodded and grinned to the crew, "I know you will." With that, the General disconnected from the call, leaving Star Fox among themselves. Fox turned to Krystal and asked her, "Will you accompany me on the surface?" Krystal chuckled and replied, "It's because I know the surface better than you, isn't it? And yes, I will." Fox gave her a nervous grin, then asked Falco, "While Krystal's with me on foot, will you, Katt, and Miyu provide aerial surveillance?" Falco shrugged, "I always did prefer the air, at least we can keep an eye on you lovebirds." Fox blushed, "Falco, come on..." The bird shrugged again, "What? I ain't allowed t' tease ya because you're the leader?"
"Fay, Slippy, you'll be on stand-by in case they need repairs." Fox then noticed Saru, who stared ahead with a largely indifferent expression. "Saru? You'll monitor with Peppy, ROB, and Fara." In truth, Fox probably could have done something other than have him sit around, but the truth was that they simply didn't need any more teammates down there than what they were going with. Saru made an unintelligent noise that meant "yes." then muttered about how his talents were wasted as he took up residence in one of the empty seats below Peppy's desk. Fara patted his back, "Maybe next time, aye?" Saru made no effort to hide his disdain for being left behind again and Fara turned to Fox and frowned. Fox sighed, "Saru, next time, and that's a promise."
[ThornTail Hollow | Sauria]
Two Arwings landed in a clearing in ThornTail Hollow and the pilots jumped out. Krystal pulled out her staff and Fox got out his blaster. Krystal had advised Fox against bringing his blaster, but he had managed to persuade her with the fact that General Scales wasn't around anymore and his would-be army wasn't a threat anymore. Krystal still kept her staff, instead of going for a blaster. If there was one thing that wasn't easily obvious with Fox, it was his respect for some of the smaller, cultural things that people had or did. There were exceptions, everything had exceptions. The laws of physics could make an exception under the circumstances, even if it meant new laws were to be made. Fox checked in with the three in the sky, "Any luck so far?"
Miyu checked in first, "There's residual energy over Moon Mountain Pass, presumably warp energy, but I can't get a good enough scan of the place until it dissipates, it's interfering with my scanners." Shortly after her, Falco spoke, "I'm flying over SnowHorn Wastes, I can't find anything even remotely resembling an Aparoid, not a single one." Katt's voice came through last, "There's no Aparoids above ground near the DarkIce Mines. Maybe you could ask one of the locals about it if they've seen anything?"
Fox took up on her suggestion, "Krystal, why don't you go talk to some of the ThornTails and see if they know anything related to the anomaly?" Krystal grinned at Fox, then mounted her staff on her harness. The staff retracted into a form small enough it could fit in a backpack. She then walked away in the direction of one of the nearest ThornTails, pausing to wave back to Fox. Fox blushed, but waved back, then thought about checking in with one particular local, this particular one being one of a few that he wasn't too happy about seeing again. He knew he might have to at some point, but wasn't keen on the idea.
"Yes, I do recall seeing something at one point, a large portal, I briefly saw it over Moon Mountain Pass, while I was traveling to meet a friend. Something arrived from the portal, and when I flew over, there was something there that... It's difficult to describe exactly what it was, but the simplest I can say is formless. Small and formless." The CloudRunner replied to Krystal's inquiry. "Small and formless... Thank you for your help, dear CloudRunner," Krystal replied in Dino, the native language of Sauria. The CloudRunner flew off, having visited briefly for trade, carrying off the supplies it had traded for. Krystal waved to it, then, while going to talk to the next ThornTail, thought about this new information, Small and formless... Well, it would be able to get around easily... If it is related to the Aparoids, I might be able to sense it, but this does narrow down the search quite a bit, and considering that Moon Mountain Pass is frequently mentioned, that narrows down the possible locations it could have gone since it's landing. Krystal made note to tell the others about this as soon as she met up with Fox again.
"I'm telling ya, I don't know nothing about no warp or no Aparoids, now either buy something of get out!" Shabunga growled at Fox, who wisely shied away. Fox never liked the ShopKeeper very much, he always forced him to pay hefty prices for things, and the fact that he seemed almost ethereal at times bugged him to no ends. Fox made haste out of the shop, disappointed that he got nothing from the ShopKeeper. He ran into Krystal immediately after getting out of the shop. Krystal was the first to speak, "One of the CloudRunners who was trading here said he spotted what might have come out of the warp over Moon Mountain Pass. He described it as being small and formless. A ThornTail who had gone that way for MoonSeeds said he spotted a FireCrawler attempting to attack something that he described as a liquid shadow veiled in a blue net." Fox smiled and scratched the back of his head, "Wow, you're good at this! I... got nothing." Krystal giggled, "Oh Fox, you don't need to be embarrassed, no-one's perfect." He would have blacked out right there if biology worked like that, but the most he could come up with was an embarrassed blush. He contacted the rest of the crew, "Krystal found a lead, we'll be going to Moon Mountain Pass tomorrow morning."
