Author Notes - For this family, I decided to make it so the Goolix was directly related to the Wraiths. So you've been wondering where it was this whole time, now you know why. Also this contains this story's only use of foul language, but the really harsh stuff is censored so I'm not sure if that counts.
WRAITH FAMILY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Exspiravit
Class: Clearderma
Order: Iraedeusium
EMILY'S PERSONAL NOTES
I…
I…
I have nothing. When the gigantic single-celled-organism looking thing is the most normal member of the family, you know you're dealing with true nightmares. Such as that water guy. F–k him, seriously. So hard. That thing is made of nightmares themselves and I will not be convinced otherwise. NIGHTMARES! Bullcrap he's just some sort of psychological thing or whatever Olimar tried to claim. Those screams of my dying Blue Pikmin were as real as real could be!
And that Plasm Wraith? I was fortunate enough that I wasn't her primary target, but I cannot imagine the hell Captain Olimar endured. Good god, that guy needs a break. Hopefully, all the treasure I've found will be more than enough to buy back the S.S. Dolphin and return it to him. That ship's a beaut and he deserves to get her back. On the plus side, she kinda reminds me of that police guy from that one space show I really like. (If I mention the names of the show or characters, I may get into trouble)
And, well... there's no denying that she must be the most fascinating creature on this entire planet. And THAT is saying something.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCES
All members of this family appear as though they are made of fluids inside of solid matter. The Binuclei siphonophorus (Goolix) in particular appears to be nothing more than a massive drop of a watery substance, barely held together by a thin cell wall. Inside of its body are two nuclei. One is small and round, and could be easily mistaken for an eye of sorts. The other is shaped like a soft yellow cube.
The Amphibio sapiens (Waterwraith) and the Amphibio audeumius (Plasm Wraith) closely resemble each other. They are both big humanoid species made of compact fluids, with noticeable limbs without hands or feet and no discernible facial features. The Waterwraith is translucent and typically rolls around on cylindrical stone rollers, while the Plasm Wraith is made of a strange opaque golden fluid. Sometimes, the Plasm Wraith will change form to appear translucent without a discernible shape.
Many people have wondered if the Plasm Wraith and the Waterwraith are in fact the same creature. They are instead best described as brother and sister.
HABITAT
The Goolix lives in similar areas to the Mamuta, though far rarer and without any clear connection between the two species. It spends one half of its life hiding underground, emerging to the surface in warm forests every other day. It appears during the days that the Mamuta does not.
The Waterwraith, thus far, has thankfully only been observed in a single area: a cavern known as the Submerged Castle. This cavern is covered in concrete and dirt, and filled with puddles and ponds of varying size and depth. All reports state that it only appears if one occupies any given floor for more than two minutes, whereupon it will drop down from the sky and give chase.
The only place the Plasm Wraith has ever been found is the Formidable Oak, as the only species to be found for miles around. It is unknown if this is its true place of origin, or merely where it lives for now. Due to its destructive capabilities, it is constantly monitored in case it leaves its home.
DIET AND DEFENCES
The Goolix has no true means of self-defence, and in fact cannot really attack at all. It relies strictly on its watery body to drown. Any insects who are drowned in its body are absorbed for nutrients. If it is attacked, its two nuclei may collide suddenly and hurt it. Note it appears to be biologically immortal. Feeding only serves for enjoyment, and once it is defeated its body will slowly regrow over the course of two days.
The Waterwraith is seemingly invincible. This phenomena has best been described as its physical form 'being anchored in another dimension'. A sudden and loud sound will scare it into becoming solid for a few seconds, where it can then be attacked, but otherwise nothing can hurt it. It travels by thick stone rollers, flattening everything in its path. Even the most powerful of creatures struggle against its powerful rollers. Once they are destroyed, however, it becomes harmless.
The Plasm Wraith demonstrates an astounding malleability. It can morph its body into almost any shape, including making its limbs sharp enough to pierce flesh. It is also capable of changing parts of itself into certain elements: fire, electricity, water, and crystal. It is even capable of doing so to create toxic gas, though this capability is rarely seen.
It is worth noting that both Wraiths have demonstrated a lack of a need to eat.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The Goolix is seemingly the only Goolix there is, and all other Goolixes seen are in fact the same one after it regenerates. It remains distant from its brethren. It chooses to stay in the Impact Site, seemingly refusing to be with the rest of its family. Whether or not it does so by intention or is even aware of its cousins is unclear, though there is no denying that it lives as far away from them as possible.
The Waterwraith and the Plasm Wraith are, much like the Goolix, the only ones of their kinds. Thus, it isn't clear how they would interact with others of their species. Their interactions with each other, however, are worth noting.
In the exceedingly rare instances where they have been seen interacting (only once, and the scientist returned with serious but non-lethal injuries), they act very friendly towards each other. They were seen to exchange embraces and appeared to be communicating humorous stories. When a falling rock frightened the Waterwraith, the Plasm Wraith proceeded to comfort it.
Their relationship can best be described as that of a brother and a sister, with the Waterwraith being much like a little brother and the Plasm Wraith like a big sister.
COURTING AND CHILDREARING
As all three are seemingly the only ones of their kind, it appears that the family is incapable of reproducing. It is, however, possible that they are capable of doing so and they simply see no need to. Another possibility arises that they are indeed more of them out there, but they just haven't been found yet. Considering their immense might, it is probably for the best that they appear to be incapable of reproducing. If they could, the ecosystem - and perhaps this very galaxy itself - would tremble.
OTHER NOTES
The Goolix has only recently been classified as a member of the 'Wraith' family, due to its similarities in composition and regeneration capabilities. Before this, it was incorrectly considered to be nothing more than a big amoeba.
The possibility that the Wraiths are from another world and there are more of them out there has not yet been disproven.
NOTES FROM OTHER RESEARCHERS
Goolix -
The Goolix is deceptively simple. At first glance, it may seem like a harmless puddle of goo that moves on its own. But even after we defeated it with a swarm of Blue Pikmin, it somehow returned only two days later. It must be capable of some sort of regeneration! We should be quite thankful that it isn't all that strong compared to its cousins. If only the Wraiths were this peaceful... - Alph
I don't mind this big guy. But it IS a little boring. I dunno... it's just a puddle of water. It can't do a thing to Blue Pikmin, and it just sorta, well, oozes everywhere. It oozes a LOT, actually. In fact, I've never seen anything that oozes so much. - Brittany
Be warned! It may look harmless at first, but that body is made entirely of water! Sure, it won't hurt us in our suits. But any Pikmin that isn't blue will drown within its body! Luckily, a swarm of Blue Pikmin will easily take it down. ... For a while, anyway. - Captain Charlie
Waterwraith -
This model is almost perfect! … A little TOO perfect. FRIGHTENINGLY perfect, actually. It's invincible and mows down everything without a sweat or a care. Not to mention that it has the amazing ability to give us all heart attacks. Its only flaw is that loud noises scare it so much that it becomes vulnerable, but that's a small flaw in the grand scheme of things. - Alph
IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHATEIT-IHA- - Brittany (Emily's Notes: This actually went on for about twenty pages.)
… Alright, my heart is still beating. While this thing is terrifying in just about every way, I can't help but be impressed. Almost nothing can stop this beast! In fact, the only thing that can is a loud noise. Which is nothing to be ashamed off. Coming from someone who's been in a war or two, you learn to be petrified of any loud noises… - Captain Charlie
Plasm Wraith -
What a marvel this creature is! Constantly adapting to new threats, it can manipulate fire, water, electricity, and its own body to form wings or an armoured carapace. It takes several squads of Pikmin on frequently rotating duty to keep up with its shifting nature. How I wish I could construct anything so effortlessly flexible! Ahem...its attacks leave behind little pieces of itself, so if you can eliminate those before it reforms, you can wear it down little by little. - Alph
Wow, it really did not want to let go of Captain Olimar. Is that budding inter-species romance I smell? Anyway, I bet that gunk would make for some good lotion. I should've bottled some up so I could sell it back on Koppai. - Brittany (Emily's Notes: Hey. Hi! Excuse me, but what the f-?)
This thing doesn't know what it wants! One minute it's soft, one minute it's hard. First it's big, then it's small. It hunts Olimar, but doesn't want to hurt him. We're practically doing it a favour by taking it out! Anyway... That Olimar guy must ooze charisma to get such an alien creature to follow it anywhere. He's a ship captain and I'm just a squad captain, but that still gives us something in common! I ought to be taking notes!- Captain Charlie
Author Notes - Random story: when I watched a certain episode of Deep Space Nine with my mother, she directly compared Odo to the Plasm Wraith. Granted, all she said was 'the thing from Pikmin', but I knew exactly what she was talking about. If you have no idea who Odo is, he's essentially a puddle of shiny goo morphed into a humanoid shape, capable of changing his form and even state. Sound familiar?
I really like what I did here, especially when it came to the 'family' aspect. Like, a LITERAL family, consisting of a protective yet wrathful older sister, a rowdy little brother, and a cousin who wants nothing to do with them. Hence why Emily used gendered pronouns for them in her personal notes. Which, of course, raises the question as to why the Goolix wants nothing to do with its cousins...
A question I'm not going to answer, because we're ending WITH THE PIKMIN FAMILY, BABY!