OOC: This will be a prequel to...uh, I dunno. Has there been an RP since the Aithalian/Ecliptican War? A prequel to the present Aithalian/Ecliptican time, I guess. It's when Database stumbles onto Ecliptica, and becomes Solaris' subject of experimentation. In real Earth time, it takes place in late Autumn of 2008(Database entered my mind for the first time around November 23rd last year). Even though the forum's title is Ecliptica, bits from Aithalis can be put in(like I did in the RP, The Visitor, near the end, and also like I'm doing here in the Prologue).

IC

Prologue
---------------------------

All was quiet in the Aithalian night. The air was crisp and cold, warning of the Winter season to come. The sky was clear, ablaze with stars, seemingly split down the middle by one of the arms of the Mysticas Galaxy. Inside Aitha's Castle, everyone was asleep. Except for Enya. She was awake, browsing the Sporum. What's this? A thread about the Grox? Heh heh...*Click* Enya entered the thread in curiosity.

The usual. Everyone hates the Grox. You can't destroy them, because they have like a thousand planets....

Wait, what? A screenshot from the game had been tweeted in the thread. An image of a rather terrified Grox, with a transmission message: "Grox surrender. Does not compute." So that's what happens when you capture a Grox planet...

The proverbial diamond was splitting once again, another facet cut into its surface. Wut? But I hate the Grox....don't tell me...owch, my head...

In the cold deepness of space, all worlds unaware, the Mysticas Galaxy twinged.

----------------------------

On the dark planet of Ecliptica, a frozen gale blew, carrying with it tiny fragments of ice that stung the skin of whomever felt the wind. Empress Solaris, however, seemed almost unaware of it, as she stood on a balcony overlooking the city she ruled. Below, numerous crude buildings were scattered, lit only by torches where flames danced, defiant of the bitter cold. The Banshee gazed off toward the distant mountains, where months before, a Shee spaceship had come and stolen away the last norn of Ecliptica.

Aitha Luna...the Banshee clenched her fists. She had invaded Aithalis, only to be thwarted by a puny little human being, Enya, and countless bizarre creatures, one radioactive, that had resulted in the deaths of many grendels, nearly destroying her entire army. Then, out of the blue, a blizzard had come, forcing Solaris to flee into the Aithalian mountains. From there, she had left Aithalis only when the snow had stopped falling. Days after, news spread that the galaxy in which her planet and Aitha's was suspended, had been discovered. The Mysticas Galaxy. Alive and as sentient as the others Enya had created.

Enya. A name that brought both hate and fear into Solaris' heart. "If I die, you'll go....down...with me."

Solaris had never forgotten those words. In her moment of desperation, she had wanted to kill her, and destroy everything. But in the end, she had fled to save her own life.

The Banshee snapped out of her flashback when, far in the distance, a trail of light could be seen streaking through the moonlit night. A meteor, perhaps? But no. The light shone with a deep maroon hue, a color that stirred something in Solaris that she couldn't explain. The light disappeared behind the distant mountains, and Solaris beckoned Obsidia and Darkstorm. "I saw something. If it is some sort of invader, we will find out who it is. If it is a norn, kill it immediately. We won't have another repeat of what happened before, with Aitha and that wretched Phoebus." The Banshee Grendels nodded, as they followed their Empress, while she walked down to the castle doorway illuminated by moonlight. Nearby, a small spaceship stood by itself in the snow, as dark as the castle itself. The three climbed inside, and they flew off toward the mountains.

They soon saw the glow of an alien spaceship, which contrasted starkly with the whiteness of the moonlit snow. As they got closer, Solaris narrowed her eyes. That shape...it was familiar to her, somehow. Two prong-like extensions pointed out the front of it...then suddenly she remembered an image projected onto her supercomputer, from Enya's mind, a spaceship of the Spore universe. But it couldn't be...

This could be interesting.

Solaris landed her spacecraft some distance away, then stepped out of it, Darkstorm and Obsidia following. "Stay behind me. If there is any aggression, I can use my forcefield." The grendels nodded in silence, not saying a word.

The Banshee's feet crunched through the snow, as snowflakes blew wildly all around. They were closer to it now. The spaceship was right in front of them. Solaris leaped behind a tree, and watched. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she heard a soft thud of something landing in the snow, then footsteps. Obviously something rather small, from the sound of it. She squinted in the moonlight, and saw it. A strange, slightly hunched creature, half organic, half robot. A cyborg. Long, pointed ears shifted in the dark, listening to the world surrounding it.

"Your Highness, it's a..." Darkstorm began. Solaris slapped him, and ordered him to be quiet. The grendel whimpered, and lowered his ears.

There was a strange, metallic sound, like speech, but completely foreign to Solaris' ears. It sounded like a curse, perhaps of fright. The creature had heard them. Out of the darkness, a small ball of plasma burst forth from a weapon the stranger carried. It hit a branch above them, which broke off and landed behind them. Solaris growled, and activated a forcefield around herself. Then, she stepped out into the moonlight. The weapon fired again, but the plasma only bounced off before Solaris, and struck the alien spacecraft.

The Banshee snickered. "I take it you don't have a clue where you are", she said to the creature. The alien made a motion to go back to its ship, but Solaris hissed, "Make any sudden moves, and I'll blow that to bits. I know you can understand me. You have a Universal Translator, do you not?"

The creature tilted its head, and spoke again. That strange, digital voice. It had a high edge to it, as though it were female. It backed away from under the spacecraft, and as the moonlight hit it, Solaris could see it more clearly. One slanted emerald-green eye peered at her, the other glowed red, not an eye at all, but some sort of bionic device.

Solaris smiled. "Just as I suspected." She took a few steps forward, and the creature cursed again, lifting its weapon and firing at the Banshee's feet.

The Empress snarled. "DON'T toy with me, Grox..."

The one organic eye widened, staring at Solaris. The Grox, for that is indeed what she was, almost seemed to quiver in fear.

"Yes...I know what you are. I think you also know you're not in your own galaxy, anymore. That is why you are frightened. You don't have hordes of your comrades beside you, to take the shots that were meant to end your life. Although I can't understand exactly why you are here. Enya always hated the Grox. But, she must be hiding something, for you to have entered the Mysticas Galaxy at all. Oh yes, I understand the Grox cannot survive on T3 planets. This is a T0 planet, if ever I saw one. Though, we don't have such numbers here. It's just a lifeless, barren planet. It always snows here." Saying this, the Banshee kicked up a flurry of snow in anger, and the Grox jumped and covered her face, shivering.

"I'm not going to hurt you...what did you say your name was? Anyway, you are like me. You wish to rule the galaxy. Thus, we are allies, not enemies."

The Grox tilted her head quizzically, at the mention of a name.

"What...Enya didn't give you a name? I know creatures in the Spore universe don't have names. The ones who entered this galaxy were named by Enya. Ancina, the Weebit, for example."

The Grox narrowed her organic eye, as the strange sound of her voice seemed to grow rougher.

"Yes...Weebits. The ones who started a war against the Grox long ago. But the Weebits lost that war." Solaris laughed gleefully. "Anyway, it's cold out here, and...you have nowhere to go. Care to join me?"

The Grox shivered again, and Solaris thought of something. "You know...I can make you stronger. Far stronger. You will no longer be hindered by chunks of metal and stubby appendages. I can make you entirely organic, as were your ancestors, only more powerful than they ever were." The Banshee lifted her hands, baring her claws. "See these? I can give you claws, too, to be used as weapons of war. Slice your enemies to bits." She grinned maliciously, swiping her hand over the bark of a tree, leaving deep marks behind. "Think of it. You have such intelligence, but you have not the proper strength to fight outside of your spaceship. I can change that. Rearrange your DNA. I am an expert geneticist, even more so than that pathetic Aitha Luna. HA! She thinks multicolored norns are so grand."

The Grox blinked slowly, and seemed to ponder for a bit. At last, she nodded hesitantly.

"Very well. Bring your spaceship to the castle, and meet me at the entrance. I will see you there....Database."

OOC: Lulz. I'mma put an amusing conversation with Ancina in here.

IC: Back on Aithalis, the night had passed, and the sun had risen into the sky. Everything outside sparkled in silvery frost, and Enya was banging her head against the throne room window in frustration.

"Yes, Ancina...a Grox personality. I told you...." THUD. THUD. THUD.

The Weebit had a random sack of popcorn, and was munching furiously on it. "The Grox are our enemies! Besides, you hate them! You can't have a Grox personality."

"I know, I know. I dunno how it happened, either. But she's there. I can feel it. I'm not exactly sure WHERE she is..." Enya squinted in thought.

Ancina glared. "What if she's watching us right now? Up there in one of those stupid-looking spaceships..."

"Watch yourself, Weebit. You're getting popcorn everywhere. Also, don't be paranoid", Enya replied in a snarky voice.

"What do you MEAN, don't be paranoid, Miss Freak Out at the Slightest Thing? I know what my ancestors said about the Grox..."

Enya laughed. "Ancina, your ancestors didn't even have arms."

"I KNOW they didn't. That was rather silly of you, by the way", the Weebit said, pointing a clawed finger at her creator.

"You guys were gonna be birds at first...", Enya whined.

"Well, who cares. That's not the point. The point is they still had the same ideals as the modern Weebit. We are warriors, and we destroy whatever pisses us off. The Grox piss us off", Ancina added, before stuffing popcorn in her mouth.

Enya walked over to the right side of the window, and pressed a button in the wall that was low to the ground, should a norn wish to push it. Nothing happened. "Wait, what the hell?" Enya asked no one in particular. In frustration, she kicked the button, and a hologram of the galaxy popped up. "There. Kick it if it doesn't work....you see this, Ancina?"

"It's the Mysticas Galaxy. Big deal", the Weebit said sarcastically.

"Exactly", Enya replied. "See how big she is? Light years of stars. That Grox is just one. One. The chances that she could take over one city on one planet, much less the entire galaxy, is very slim. Even Solaris, with her army of grendels, couldn't take us over."

"The Grox still piss me off", Ancina retorted.

(Arg, that's it, I'm playing a Spore creature. Eventually, this will have some sort of relation to the storyline. )

Deep in the forests of Aithalis, something stirred.

Three figures rustled through the leaves, cloaked in shadow.

They stopped.

One spoke.

The voice was very choppy, demanding, and spoken as if in a shouted whisper.

"You kill. Kill now."

A crossbow shot through the forest.

The squeal of a dying animal was heard. Cheers went up around the small group.

"Get food. We eat. Now."

The sounds of flesh being ripped off bone were heard. This continued for some time. Then, another, sightly deeper voice spoke.

"You sure this is right?"

Immediatly, the other two shadows sprang up and surrounded the third, walking around him in circles.

"You question? You think? You have MORAL?"

"Sorry, no." said the third, circling as well, trying to stare at the other two shadows.

"You have emotion. You have THOUGHT. It will infect the rest of us. You're probably the one who let all those Caljuns loose a few days ago."

"No! It was not me! I swear!"

"LOOK at that FEAR in your eyes. Ever since we arrived in this Galaxy, Forth, you've been acting very strange. And we don't like strange. We don't like strange when it's still walking and breathing."

"NO! PLEASE!"

"PLEASE!" shriked one of the circling shadows. It let out a huge laugh, like monsterous bird. "LOOK AT HIM. PLEADING LIKE THE EMOTIONAL BABY HE IS...."

There was a roar. Screams went up the area. Blood splattered the trees. The screams were cut off.

The moon shown, shining down into the bloodstained area. There he was. One Kilotrano, standing in the middle of two fallen, bloodied bodies. His claws were outstretched. He looked around, panting, his crocidilian mouth half open, his bony eyes wide.

"Oh Gai." he said, staring down at the bodies. "What's happening to me?"

He stared at his reflection in a pool of blood.

"I've got Emtha." he said, gasping. "I've got Emtha. Oh Gai, it hurts so much...."

He clutched his stomach and ran from the scene.

The moon disappeared behind the clouds yet again.

OOC: ^^^^ Epic. Also, YAY! Now things can get interesting.

IC: "Obsidia! Help me hold her down."

The female Banshee Grendel obliged, ambling up to where Solaris stood over a cold metal table. Database lay upon it, screaming for her life. Off in the corner, bloodied pieces of metal and wiring had been carelessly thrown, showing here and there bits of muscle where they had been attached to the Grox's body. There was the sickening sound of flesh tearing, bones cracking, then the burning sound of a laser that was used to cauterize the wounds.

"You'll thank me when I'm done", Solaris growled at Database. Then a spray of blood and frenzied screaming, and the metallic thud of bionic implants striking the hard floor of the isolated room.

----------

In Aithalis, Enya crumbled to the floor, whimpering.

"Enya...what's wrong? Should I get Aitha?" Ancina's sarcastic face was replaced with a look of concern and fear.

"No...I just...felt something. Like...a self is going through a hardship...pain....I don't know....oh bloody hell, my head hurts."

The Weebit walked up to Enya, then gently picked her up. "Well, you're going to rest now, okay? I'll bring you some medicine or something. Could be one of your migraines."

Enya smiled, patting the Weebit with her automail hand. "You're a good buddy. Even if we fight."

"All friends fight sometimes", Ancina replied. "Among Weebits, it's a sign of affection." She grinned broadly, then carried Enya to her room.

(wtf should i post)

(You just tweeted. )

Forth rushed through the forest, stumbling, gasping. The leaves parted, and he was finally at the edge. He looked upward.

There ahead loomed a castle, a great shadow against the blackened night.

"Cough.... maybe they have... cough... The Doctor... cough.... or technology..... ahch..... to get rid of this..."

He stumbled forward, walking towards the castle.

He was almost at it when a norn guard suddenly stopped him.

"Hey you." said the norn. "What's your buisness here."

Instinct took over the Kilotrano's brain as he rose up.

"Behold, The Mighty Empire of Kuma...."

The last bit of his strength evaporated as he fell to the ground.

Enya lay on her bed, eyes closed, thinking. She still sensed...something. Then she heard a random norn cry for the Queen, and the patter of feet across the marble floor. The great door at the castle front opened, then she heard more footsteps, and frantic voices.

"Hey, Ancina, go look and see what's going on, would ya?" Enya asked.

"Sure, Enya", and with that, the Weebit was gone. Several minutes later, she came back in. "Looks like some creature found its way here. I recognize it. A creature from the galaxy of a friend of ours."

"A creature, eh? So what is it?" Enya rubbed her head, and looked curiously at the Weebit.

"It's a Kilotrano. Apparently, he went up to one of the guards, started to speak, then promptly collapsed."

"Wut?" Then Enya smiled. "Looks like you're not the only Spore creature in the Mysticas Galaxy anymore. Not one of my own creations, either."

"It's odd", Ancina replied. "But very interesting, nevertheless. We'll see what comes of this. Aitha is tending to him now. I wonder how he got here?"

Enya tilted her head in thought. "Probably the same way you did, Ancina. But who knows?"

Suddenly, a spaceship flew down and crashed into the garden in the castle. It sat and burned there for a while, until there was some scratchings noises, a thud, and a muffled 'Help'.


(MY HEAD HAS GONE BLAAAAAAANK)

A small spaceship had made it's way into Galaxia, via wormhole. Painted completely with red and blue, with various missiles and lasers planted on the bottom. Quietly, it flew into the atmosphere of Athilas.

The spaceship flew around the planet, not bothering to be secretive. Loud snorting and giggling can be heard outside of the spaceship as it destroyed trees and zapped the local wildlife. But, zapping non-sapient things loses it's novelty quickly.

As it flew, it found a large town near the castle of Athilas. It just hung around in the air, as the pig-snouted captain looks at the busy norns below. The curled-tail creature grabbed for the microphone, and out of the ship boomed his message.

"Fair day, things of thing! Me, a captain of the glorious Cambabis empire, come in peace!"

There was a short silence, and then there was some careless abduction ray abuse. The Cambabi captain snorted and giggled louder then before as he watched the norns fly high into the sky and onto the ground with a splat.

The thing inside the spaceship gave up on getting any form of help, and gave the top a good kick and the whole thing flew away.

The Roennix looked out of the wreckage, replaced his hat, and stepped out, then promptly fell over due to his stupidly designed legs.

Forth awoke with a groan. All he could see were the blurred shapes of lights. A shadow stood over him. He blinked, and the shadow came into focus. He could see the shadow moving, could see a pair of dark blue eyes.

He sprang up from where he was and starteds screaming. Standing over him was a strange being, with feathers splaying out if its head like a mutant peacock and a small, beaklike mouth.

It was the Gai. He knew it. They had found him.

"Kilotrano NOT be captured!" he squealed in a traditional Kilotrano voice, much higher than his real one. "Kilotrano NOT recieve lobotomy from life seeker GAI!"

He jumped up and flew at a nearby wall, banging his head against it.

"KILOTRANO NEVER ENTER INTO AGREEMENT!" he screamed, turning around, outstreatching his claws, and flying at the feathered blur. His vision had still not yet steadied.

Aitha jumped as the Kilotrano awoke and began screaming. Nubila and Phoebus stood nearby, and they leaped before their Queen as the creature charged toward her.

"Your Majesty, he is delusional!" Nubila cried, holding her hands out in front of her.

Aitha remained calm, and spoke slowly to the frantic creature. "What in the Mysticas Galaxy are you talking about? Gai? I have heard of no such thing."

Meanwhile, outside, in the city boundaries, Astra came upon a most bizarre scene. Norns being sucked into the air, and dropped fatally to the ground. "Oh, dear!" She had heard of the Spore universe from Enya many times, and the shapeshifter had referenced the Abduction Beam.

The Pkunk had been appointed as a lookout for Aithalis, months ago. She disappeared into the shadow of a building, pulled a small device from her iridescent blue robe, and spoke frantically into it.

Moments later, numerous small spaceships zipped through the sky, alerted of the intruder's presence. They encircled the strange spacecraft, prepared to use force if needed. "You are surrounded! We ask that you disable your Abduction Beam at once, and state your purpose of visit", came a projected norn's voice.

------------------

On the edge of consciousness, Database was reeling. Curled up in a dark room, she writhed in pain. Where her right forearm and leg had been, only stumps remained. After the brutal removal of her bionic implants, Solaris had begun giving her periodic, excruciating injections. The Banshee had mentioned these as being the catalyst for a genetic shift, the rearranging of the Grox's DNA. So rapid was this transformation, that she was wracked with pain, unable to sleep, and barely able to move. Database wanted to die, to escape this horror. But the Banshee gave her no peace. Always those crimson eyes gazed at her through the darkness, piercing the haze of her anguish, watching her as her very cells reshaped and regenerated.

the Roennix stood up, replaced his hat AGAIN, and was just about to set off towards to castle when another spaceship appeared. This one didn't crash though, it hovered above him. The Roennix screamed, dug a hole, and hid in it. There was a buzzing, and a voice boomed out of the spacecraft.

"Are you food?"

Then the spacecraft lowered itself gently to the floor, and the Roennix had to run away to avoid being smushed. He recognised the ship from it's jagged wings and guns.

"ITS YOU! HOLY HELL YOU FRIGHTENED ME" The Roennix screamed, as the cockpit opened up to reveal a strange, dog-like creature with no eyes.

"Hi Dave" the creature said.

"My name isn't Dave, it's Kevin" he grumbled.

"Whatever" it said, and stepped out. "So where the hell did you get us now? And why did you crash your Vanturne again?"

"Because I didn't like it" Kevin said and pulled a face.

"You're insane"

"WELL YOU HAVE NO EYES"

"You have stupid legs"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW? YOU CANT EVEN SEE?"

"I HAVE SONAR, DIPSHIP"

"AHAHAHAHA"

"YOU HAVE A PONYTAIL"

"AT LEAST I HAVE HAIR. YOU'RE COMPLETELY BALD"

"I HAVE FUR"

They continued throwing insults at each other until someonee interupts

The small spaceship immediately shuttled off the abduction beam, which was already abducting a norn when it was turned off. Some stifled giggles can be heard as the norn screamed and cried for help. The captain turned on the microphone again.

"Hello! I'm one of the many captains of the glorious empire of the Cambabis! You wish to know why we come here to your planet? Because we are BORED! Nobody likes being bored! What do Cambabi do when bored? They play! I wish we had friends to play with, but others hate and despise us! They don't want to play with us! But we don't care, we play with them whenever they like it or not! We are the Cambabis! We will do as we please! And if you don't like it, we will make you like it! Now, lets have some entertainment!"

He sounds angrier and angrier with every word he spoke. The co-captain gave a signal to his crew. They worked quickly, and soon an anti-matter missile was headed for the surrounding spaceships. Some excited shouts come from the spaceship, cheering, whooping, and more giggling.

Forth stopped and blinked. He could now make out Aitha's shape more clearly, although everything was still blurry.

"You are not Gai." he said, peering at Aitha. "You are strange being. Straaaange."

He slowly walked over to Aitha.

"Are you ruler of this hall?" he asked. "Are you? Be quick about it. I have little time."