I've had a strong desire to do a Pikmin fanfic for some time now. I mean, it's an awesome series and I can't wait for the third. From an author's view, what I found most writeable about this series is the Pikmin themselves. Thus, this is Olimar's various thoughts and speculation on the Pikmin themselves. It's set at the end of Pikmin 1 and it's a short minific. Hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pikmin. All rights to Nintendo.

-Friends That I Know Nothing Of-

Captain Olimar could never really make heads nor tails of a Pikmin's nature.

It had been thirty days since he had first crashed onto the Pikmin world; due to a stray asteroid floating through space. Although Olimar had first tried to remain positive; he could not help but feel fearful. This planet could be crawling with all sorts of foul life-forms, which it was. How was he meant to track down thirty ship parts in such a short time while under threat from these beasts was quite frankly unknown, and also seemingly impossible.

This had all changed as soon as he came across that red onion. Shooting seeds into the air, where they floated gently into the soil around the onion, that was when Olimar first discovered Pikmin. He had known nothing about Pikmin; and as it was now, he had barely made any headway of their fascinating behaviour. But he mustn't be so studious with them. Pikmin...were different from the other life-forms on this planet.

It was hard to describe now. Was it the fact that every command Olimar gave, they carried out? If he told them to knock a wall down, they did it. If he asked them to carry a ship part even though various giant red Bulborbs surrounded them, they'd do it. If he pointed in the direction of water...they would dive in, and not all of them would be able to swim. If he called them back in desperation, they would come back...most of them, anyway. Even though this planet seemed peaceful, death haunted Olimar everywhere, wherever it was a creature the Pikmin defeated or, dare he mention, a Pikmin themselves.

Olimar was baffled. The Pikmin seemed to want a leader to follow, and Olimar was that leader. Was it because they liked the sound of his whistle? Did they think of him as a good leader? He was unsure. Unsure of that and so many other things about these small, strange creatures. When a Pikmin died, they did not get angry with Olimar. They merely carried on with his orders...almost as if they had faith in the Captain.

Olimar, standing in front of his ship, ready for take off back to Planet Hocotate, turned to face a small group of Pikmin that had gathered before him. They were staring at him, as if waiting for him to issue an order like always. Olimar gave a tiny smile, and waved at them. The Pikmin in response tilted their heads to the right. The Captain of the S.S Dolphin sighed. Although this trip certainly hadn't been his most pleasant and relaxing, he considered it a good thing to have crash-landed on this planet and met the Pikmin, who helped him in his time of need...who had faith in him always...who were his...friends, if it was okay for him to describe them as such. Did they consider Olimar their friend? It was another note to add to the list of mystery concerning Pikmin.

But, although this crash-landing had, in the end, been a good thing...all good things must come to an end. Turning away, Olimar readied take-off in his ship. Turning to his new friends, the Captain waved a final goodbye at the Pikmin.

They took this as a command to attack a nearby giant Bulborb. Olimar gave another sigh as the S.S Dolphin took off into the stratosphere.

"Pikmin...a mystery. Friends I can only begin to scratch the surface with..."

That last part of the fic was the good ending of Pikmin 1; I thought it was a good moment of interaction between Captain Olimar and the Pikmin and so I decided to add it in. Considering this fanfic is just under 600 words, I'm pleased with the outcome! It was nice to work on and I look forward to exploring more Pikmin in the future...maybe I'll start re-playing the 2nd game on Gamecube...after Paper Mario TTYD, though. =P

I hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading and please leave a review!

~Blue Toad~