Author's Note: Yay, first fic! Constructive criticism would be welcome.
The day started out perfectly normal.
I felt the usual tickling sensation as the onion prepared to eject me. My body began to form and separate from the dormant tissue, and my mind slipped into it. The familiar shape of arms and legs sprouted out, and I finally felt the onion pushing me out of the small opening and into the daylight.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the light, and I started to descend down the pole. The cheerful chirping of my azure brethren filled my mind.
Red, yellow and blue pikmin bustled around the base; collecting nearby pellets, killing a stray dwarf bulborb, or simply chatting. Sunlight filtered through the clusters of leaves and the overhead foliage cast shadows all over the base. The three onions stood gracefully on the ground, forming a triangle. Swift iridescent flint beetles scurried around with pikmin pursuing them, determined to catch them and bring them back to their onions.
I saw a red pikmin coming out of their onion.
"Hi Aya," I said to her.
At the sound of my voice, she ran over to me. "Ira, do you know where some bulborbs are? If I kill one by myself, then I'll have to be made leader! A position that is rightfully mine."
I shrugged. "Some other reds just killed one. They might know."
She thanked me, and ran off towards her kin. I doubted she would become leader, even if she managed to kill a bulborb (a near-impossible feat for only one pikmin to do), since we had never had a leader and probably never will.
I meandered around, looking for something to do. While I wandered, I felt a light tap on my back. Turning around to see who it was I could see a yellow pikmin staring at me, his feet shuffling fretfully. He looked up at me with wide eyes.
"What is it?" I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended it to.
"Umm… well," the yellow glanced down at his feet. "I- We needed someone to help us carry a ten pellet and, well, you didn't seem to be doing important."
"Sure," I said. The yellow scampered off into the woods, and I followed. After a while, I could see yellow and blue dots surrounding around a circular object; a pellet. As I got closer, I could discern the color of the pellet. Blue. I unconsciously started to run faster, the thought of fellow blue pikmin urging me on.
When I arrived at the clearing, I could see three pikmin futilely trying to lift the pellet off the ground. I ran over to it and gripped it tightly in my claws. The yellow who had guided me here did the same. Together, we raised the pellet and started marching towards our onion. I couldn't wait to see the new blue pikmin! I could hear the gleeful thoughts of my brothers as they carried the pellet.
"So," a blue said, nodding towards the two yellows, "What's your name? I'm Torak."
"I'm Des," said a yellow.
"Yuta," the other yellow said, barely audible over the constant noises of the forest.
"I'm Ira," I said.
"Seri," said the other blue.
The emptiness of silence filled the air. Finally, Torak spoke again.
"How long have you guys been here? I was born last winter."
"Yuta was born in the time of Olimar," Des said.
Torak nearly dropped the pellet. "Olimar…" he whispered.
I had heard the legends of Olimar. A pikmin-like being with hypnotic powers who brought us back from the brink of extinction. Our savior. A god.
The forest opened up to reveal our base, which seemed even more crowded than usual. We walked towards the blue onion. I could almost hear the sounds of newborn blues, ready to be plucked the soil.
Then the first explosion came.
It was so sudden. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a red streak heading towards the base. Illuminating the sky, it outshone the sun. And for one second, it hung in the air. Then it fell.
Shockwaves erupted from the place the red missile had fallen onto. The onion closest to the detonation, the yellow one, flew up into the air as fire consumed its broken body. I watched in fascination as the once-glorious creature gave into the inferno. I could see the two yellows collapse as the onion spiraled farther into the sky and fall, the burnt, crumpled thing barely resembling an onion.
The nearby pellet posies had caught fire. At the sight of the deadly flames, I ran. Other pikmin had the same idea, and ran towards the forest, even the incombustible reds.
"Help," a familiar voice said. I turned around, and saw Yuta. He looked so small, his body curled up into fetal position next to the smoldering remains of his onion. I scooped up his surprisingly light body and ran away from the fire.
I could see the other pikmin running in front of me. As I ran, a red glow flashed above me. I looked up, and saw another of the deadly projectiles fly above and plummet down towards the ground in front of the horde of desperate pikmin. They were flung into the air and broken in half by boulders, dead on impact.
I stopped and turned, but it was too late to escape the blast. A deafening noise filled the air as I was flung forwards and crashed into a bush. Even though the soft leaves had cushioned my fall, my body was racked with painful tremors.
I just wanted to sleep, but I knew I needed to find shelter before I could rest. Looking at a nearby rock, I could see a small hole under it. Slowly, I crawled towards the opening.
I could hear the whistling sound of another missile heading towards the base. I prayed that it wouldn't hit anywhere near me. The missile landed, and I heard the faint sound of an explosion. Then…
Fire raced up body, ripping apart my flesh as my body screamed in agony. I curled into a ball as the immense pain took over all my other senses. Screaming, all I could think of was the pain. I could hear the screams of my brothers in my mind, their pain alongside mine.
A long, pained caterwaul escaped me. I didn't care if any predators heard me. All I wanted was for the torturous anguish to end. Was I dying? My body yearned for death, anything to escape from this hellish feeling.
Unconsciousness gradually crept over me, the pain diminishing. With my last ounce of strength, I pushed Yuta into the crevice as I gladly slipped into oblivion.
That was short, but anyways, thanks for reading!