Disclaimer: pikmin belongs to Nintendo, and so do its characters.

Chapter 1: into the game

I struggled to open my eyes as I looked around the room. The room was pitched black except for the TV and the game pad. The TV had an overhead view of a small field with the Dolphin in it. The Dolphin was fine, except for the fact that the engine was missing completely. The game pad, however, was pitched black. I decided to go to sleep, so I pressed the home button on my gamepad…and the screen lit up with a bunch of options.

"Huh…that's wired" I said, talking to myself. I shook my head and pressed cancel, then I walked out of the room…and fell face first onto the grass. The moment I got up, the game pad rang, and the screen showed the words 'incoming call'.

I waited for it to pick up, thinking it was a sequence, but nothing happened. After a bit, I pressed the A button, and the screen lit up with the S.S. Drake and a white background.

"Hello" it said "as you probably know, I am the S.S. Drake"

"Is this really happening?" I whispered.

"Yes, it is" the Drake said, as if responding to me. My eyes widened "surprised, aren't you?"

"Well…yea" I said.

"There will be time for questions later" it said "right now, you need to find the captains"

"Ok, but how?" I asked. I was still trying to determine whether this was pre-recorded or not.

"I have the signals of Olimar and Louie, however they are trapped by a wall of fire" the Drake went on "after the call ends, I will be able to show you a map. It will have the signal on it, and it will show you what you've seen. Good luck!" the transmission ended, and then the screen changed.

Most of it was black, except for a small area where I was. There was a small circle that emitted pulsing yellow lines. One other thing caught my eye though…there was a red object nearby.

I looked away from the gamepad and walked over to a small opening. As I walked, I noticed part of the map turned into color around where I was walking, and the helmet I was wearing had various information pop up. Not enough for me to not see, but enough to catch my eye. Actually…when did I put on a helmet? Oh well.

Soon, I saw the red object. The weird thing was, it was the red onion…and about 5 red pikmin playing under its light. As I approached, they turned towards me.

"A captain!" one of them said. They all started talking at once, but I was more concerned with the fact that I could understand what they were saying. Was I dreaming?

"Uh…hi there" I said, not knowing what to do.

"He's talking to us!" "No other captain has done that!" "And he isn't using his whistle!" the pikmin were obviously shocked that I had spoken to them.

"Uh…I'm Alex" I said "and, uh…" I trailed off, not knowing how much they actually understood.

"Alex? What does that mean?" "Does he need our help?" "Wait, his ship is broken, maybe that's what he needs!" the pikmin started speculating again.

I sighed "ok, I'm just going to say it" I said, finally tired of their constant questions "I can understand you, and I need your help"

They stared at me, completely silent. I noticed the red that had first spoken was brighter than the others, as if more powerful.

"My name is Flame" the brighter red said "and we would be glad to help a captain, especially one who understands us"

"Cool!" I said. Before I could say anything else, the game pad started ringing again.

I pressed the home button, and I saw the face of Olimar. "Hello?" he asked.

I had to stop myself from screaming in joy "hi!" I said, a bit too excitedly, I felt.

"Good, you can hear me" he said "I am Captain Olimar of the Hocotate freight."

He paused, but it took me a second to realize he was waiting for me to speak "I'm Alex" I said "of…uh…" I couldn't think of what to say. What would happen if I said I was from Earth? Did he even know where he was?

"Memory loss?" he asked. He didn't wait for my reply "that's ok, happens to the best of us. I see your signal, but I can't get to it…do you have any pikmin with you?"

"Yes, I have 5 reds right now" I said.

"Good" he said "we can see an onion a little bit away, but there's a wall of fire blocking us. I think the reds can take it down, but we don't have any"

"Who's we?" I asked, though I think I already knew.

"Oh, I have a partner, Louie" he said "you'll meet him later, but right now, you should find shelter. It's almost sundown and the creatures here are hostile" the transmission was cut off before I could reply.

Looking around, I noticed a dirt wall blocking my only path out…I also knew there was no way I would get it down AND find shelter before sunset. I did, however, see a couple of pellet poesy seeds, so I knew I would be able to bring up the pikmin population in the morning.

"The wall will protect you for tonight" Flame said "but we're going to go into our onion"

"Wait…you're going to leave me all alone?" I asked.

"Without us on the ground, the monsters are less likely to attack you" Flame said "sleep well, you'll need it!" before I could say anything else, he went into the onion, then it took off.

I sighed and looked at a pile of leaves that seemed comfortable, then I laid on them. I kept thinking about my talking with Olimar, and how I can understand the pikmin. After a bit, I fell asleep, thinking about what I would do tomorrow.

Yay! First chapter done! Again, this is based on a dream, so the enemies might be a bit…drastic. Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!