-Pikmin Exploration-

S.S. Cafe

The crew had rested up and was enjoying a home-cooked dinner by Louie. Choclate Cytoglob pudding, Nomadic Jellydrift steak, deep-fried Spiderspook strips with Caldera Ray-and-ketchup dipping sauce- practically every new species they had encountered was sitting on their plate.

Kupan and Olimar were barely eating anything. Kupan, on one hand, had brought the one Rock Pikmin on board the ship for "study", and was attempting to give it the majority of his meal.

Kupan: "Come on, little Pikmin. Louie says this mashed Glowfish breast is absurdly high in iron. And with enough iron, you'll be hard enough for use as a weapon..."

The Rock Pikmin still had no clue what the crazy man was talking about, and it didn't seem to be eating anything.

Louie: "Dude, thanks for advertising my grub, but the Rock Pikmin isn't having any of it."

President: "I don't think it can. No mouth, remember?"

Kupan: "Then I'll shove down the freaking STEM if I have to!"

Olimar, on the other hand, still didn't completely trust Louie and his cooking. It was lethal before, but after his "experience"...

Yo: "Hey, Cap'n, why aren't ya eatin'?"

He looked down at his Jellydrift steak. "Seriously, Yo? Not only is this stuff literally poisonous, but I'm... not one for Louie's cooking."

Yo: "Can I have it, then?"

Olimar: "Fair enough. Take it."

The entire steak vanished within the span of seven seconds. Everybody looked at Yo, astonished at what he had done, as he wiped his mouth and helped himself to a couple of warm and gooey Subterranean Drillbug rolls.

Louie glared at Olimar. "Well, it's nice to know that Yo appreciates me and my work!" He then pulled out a plate of chocolate-coated pastries. "Now, who wants a double chocolate Crawlworm cookie?"

Everyone (except Yo, who was still eating the Drillbug rolls) dreaded this recipe. It was mainly the fact that it was made from a parasite- who knows what was in it. Fortunately, the crew was saved by the bell- literally, as N10DO's intercom came on.

N10DO: Vzzzrt! Attention, all passengers! We are entering the Desert of Disaster! Please keep all arms and legs inside the spacecraft at all times!

Kupan: "Can I bring Rocky?"

President: "Heck no, it's night. Poor guy won't stand a chance."

Kupan: "DANGIT!"

Desert of Disaster

Little known fact about deserts- while they may be hot in the day, at night, temperatures are almost rock-bottom. The entire crew was shivering as they exited the ship- the rubber Anti-Electrifier suit didn't help matters. The native life, however, seemed to adapt seamlessly with the nightly change. Desert Bulborbs buried themselves in the sand, their eyestalks poking out to sense intruders. The infamous Pikmoths lay embedded in the ground like actual Pikmin. The air was filled with absolutely massive amounts of nanoscopic glowing spores, belonging to a type of plant known as the Bloominous Stemple.

Pecha: "This is... the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

Yo: "Sure is pretty, but I'll bet getting even with dose Pikmoths 'll be even more beautiful."

Louie: "'Nuff said. Get the Black and Orange Pikmin."

Yo and Louie took out 10 Pikmin of each color, just to be on the safe side. Yo prepped an Orange Pikmin with a bomb-rock as Louie plucked one of the Pikmoths. The thing looked less like a Pikmin than the mutated ones they had seen during the day. The shark-like mouth ringed the stem like a demented crown. Its dark yellow flesh wrinkled to the point it resembled a raisin more than the beast it had once been, and had shifted to a dark crimson- the color of blood. Even the moth wings had warped, wrapping around the blood-red chunk like a cloak. While the Pikmoth didn't seem hostile in the slightest now, Louie still dropped it and ran while Yo bombed the whole group to death, not caring a few Black Pikmin had been caught in the blast.

Louie: "That was the most mind-scarring thing I've ever seen in my entire life! And I play horror games!"

President: "Forget them, Louie. Just think of the sweet juicy treasure that lies buried beneath the sand."

Louie: "Sir, you take almost all the treasure already. That thought won't cleanse my mind of what I just witnessed."

President: "Fine, I guess whatever's under that sand dune will go to the Pikmin instead of in your recipe book."

Louie: "SCREW THE PIKMOTHS! I'M HUNGRY!" (XD)

Olimar: "How do you always know what to say?"

President: "I'm a corporate president. Manipulation is in the job description."

With Louie motivated, the crew headed back towards the ominous sand dune in the distance. Olimar realized Pecha was right about what she had said about loads of treasure that day- there was something in that sand dune that was making the treasure sensors go completely bonkers. Finally, they arrived. Despite the fact that the Desert of Disaster was livelier at night than in the day, the dune seemed completely barren. Even the Stemple spores seemed to avoid it. They entered the metallic frame (actually an overturned car) that surrounded the dune. Immediately, the air felt colder, more forboding. Everyone began to sense a weird presence watching them.

Then the treasure sensor went absolutely ballistic.

It began humming with such frequency that the glass on Olimar's helmet felt like it would break. The needle went back and forth so fast it fell of the small nub that kept it on the device. Olimar eventually shut it off, fearing it would attract unwanted attention.

Louie: "GEEZ! I could feel that baby humming all the way over here! Either we found a nest of Antenna Beetles, or we hit the jackpot! WOOO!"

Olimar: "No.. it isn't either of those."

Pecha: "Are you saying that some other creature has the capability to disorient the sensors?"

Pecha was more right than she knew, Olimar thought. He knew the beast was still alive, thanks to Brittany, but the fact that it was here...

Olimar: "There's only one eldritch abomination powerful enough to cause this much havoc by being in the vicinity."

Kupan: "And that would be?"

Olimar: "The Plasm Wraith."

As if waiting for a cue, the Plasm Wraith burst out of the sand like a rocket. Its golden hide glinted hypnotically in the moonlight, and the hole in its head gave a clear view of the horizon. However, it also had a yellow glowing cube sticking out of its chest, something Olimar was certain wasn't there before.

But if there was one thing he was certain of, it was that it wanted them dead.

Olimar: "Everyone, RUN!"

The entire crew did absolutely that, taking off every which way, doing anything they could to throw off the monster. While the cowardly president buried himself in the sand to hide, Kupan ran off to the ship to get the one Rock Pikmin they had obtained, Pecha and Louie ran off in opposite directions to try to fool it, and Yo punched and kicked its leg to get its attention. Despite all this, it seemed to be focusing all its hatred and malice on Olimar- not even the Pikmin, but Olimar himself.

Olimar ran as fast as he could away from the wraith, but it just began following him, plodding along with the same bizarre waddling gait it had on their last encounter. Thinking quickly, he threw an Orange Pikmin down its gullet, along with a bomb rock. The resulting explosion blew the Plasm Wraith apart, but the blobs of goo merely congealed back to their original form. Olimar then tripped over a large salt crystal in his path, falling over on his back. He watched in horror as the Plasm Wraith's arms morphed into sharp spires of whatever material it consisted of, then brought them down on him and his Pikmin troop...

...then randomly stopped and unleashed a massive shriek.

The spikes devolved back into the stubby little nubs it usually had for arms. It dropped to the ground, the skin near its torso bubbling erratically. Then, behind the beast, he saw something too bizarre for words. His crew was throwing not Pikmin, but Louie's food supply, at the monster. Yo and Louie had already finished throwing some massive spoonfuls of mashed Glowfish breast into the region that was bubbling, and now Pecha was firing a large cannon-like apparatus filled with the rock-hard Drillbug rolls. Even the President was in on it, chucking Cytoglob pudding at it, though his aim sucked and most of them went through the hole in its head. The Plasm Wraith eventually decided it had had enough, and dove back under the sand.

Olimar: "Th-Thanks for saving my life, guys. But, uh... What's with the food fight?"

Yo: "Louie's idea. He figured since all da Pikmin went to you, we needed something as powerful as dem to attack it."

Louie: "And what's more powerful than food made from deadly creatures?"

Olimar: "There's still something off about the Glowfish breast, though. I mean, the rest of the food did nothing, but that stuff made it look like it was going to vomit."

President: "Well, the Rock Pikmin wouldn't eat it. Maybe the Glowfish was spoiled? Or just gross?"

Louie: "Hey!"

Just then, Kupan came over the horizon, carrying the lone Rock Pikmin.

Kupan: "NEVER FEAR, KUPAN IS... Huh? Party's over?"

Pecha: "BWAHAHAHAHA! SERIOUSLY?! Hocotate's Super-Soldier not only late to a battle, but one with an opponent we decimated with ground-up MEAT? OK, I'm posting this on Spacebook!"

Kupan: "YOU SON OF A BRICK!"

N10DO: Bzzz-rrzzz! Shut it! Both of you! Daybreak is apon us! Get back into my hull ASAP!

As the crew boarded the S.S. Cafe, Olimar thought he saw something glinting in the sand- a chunk of that box the Plasm Wraith was carrying, he realized. He quickly snatched it befre the ship took off.

==As Pit once said, sorry to keep you waiting!

OK, so since there were no real new enemies in this part, I'll tell you something about Pecha, Kupan and Yo. In Japan,Olimar's name is Orima, which can be flipped around to say Mario. Louie, quite obviously, references Luigi. Well, I designed them to fit with this theme too. Pecha is Italian/Spanish for Peach, Kupan is a corruption of Koopa, both an enemy and Bowser's Japanese name, and Yo is a shortening of Yoshi.

Anyway, please review!