Chapter 11

Rednaxela

The pikmin had made fast work of the vine wall. Ambrose was positive a shard was behind it, and as the wall came down, there it was. On top of a Flare Cannon, Comedy Bomb, Shock Therapist, and Monster Pump.

"An Emperor Bulblax, and now a Titan Dweevil," Olimar moaned, "We don't even have red, yellow, or blue pikmin."

"Ah, Dad, as bad as a Titan Dweevil is, there's something coming your way," Sage reported. Seconds later, a projectile hit the Titan Dweevil, and a dirt cloud erupted. Miraculously, the shard survived, and flew from the crater. Mia leaped up, and caught it.

"I have it," Mia reported, "If this thing's a threat, we don't have to fight it."

A statement which turned out to be false. Before the Hocotatans could turn around, a forcefield extended from the crater. Four crab-like legs dug their way out of the earth, and a metal sphere stood erect.

"It kind of looks like an Arachnorb," Olimar said.

"It kind of looks artificial," Mia remarked. The machine aimed at Mia, and fired a bolt of electricity. Much to Olimar's amazement, the R&D chick backflipped, dodging the attack. Three white pikmin weren't so lucky.

Experimentally, Olimar threw a purple pikmin onto a leg of the machine – it seemed to be the only weak point on it. The purple pikmin latched on and attacked, and it seemed to be doing some damage. After a second, thought, the leg jerked, throwing the pikmin into the air. It took aim at its flying target, and fried the pikmin.

Taking note of its defense, Olimar tossed another two purple pikmin onto the robotic leg. The pikmin dealt heavy damage to the appendage, with a noticeable crumple and smoke leaking. The machine attempted to toss its attackers. Waiting for this, Olimar called the pikmin back to his side, saving them from frying. The machine prepaired to fire, an action that turned out the be a mistake. The wound couldn't take the stress of the charge, and exploded. The machine faltered, but quickly recoved.

Thinking he had gotten the concept down, Ambrose sicked five of his orange pikmin on the second leg. Unwilling to have its balance completely compromised, the machine swiftly launched a counter-attack. Ambrose sent his pikmin back to his side, so the machine instead fired directly at Ambrose, who barrel-rolled out of danger.

The machine tried a different offense. It charged the leg closest to Ambrose, and stomped the ground. The leg sent a shockwave a short distance, which Ambrose was able to dodge. Three of his pikmin, however, were hit. Ambrose would never forget what that loss felt like.

Not wanting any more surprises, Ambrose sent a pulse of orange energy at the machine, which quickly reflected back to its conjurer. The information he got was more than he bargained for, and he wasn't complaining. With a more detailed knowledge of his threat, Ambrose commanded one of his pikmin to attack a specific component, a magnetic piston, of the machine's legs. It broke before the machine could launch another counterattack, and as the piston wiggled uselessly, the leg went limp. Unable to maintain its balance, the machine toppled to one side. Its two operational legs continued to squirm, and Olimar chuckled at the notion that the machine was still trying to fight.

He was surprised to find that the robot merely righted itself. A panel opened on the machine's top, and what appeared to be a teenage boy rose out of the machine. His true nature was explained by the myrad of cords retracting from him.

"They really have a lot of faith in you two," The entity remarked, "I have tried to dispose of you dozens of ways: Missiles, tanks, meteors; they've blocked them all. But when I try to kill you with cyborg cephalopods, or this tank, they let me try."

"Who are you?" Olimar demanded.

"I am an antagonist," the entity stated, "I cannot allow you to retrieve the shards, and I will do everything in my power to stop you. Of course, you can always drop out, it saves me a lot of trouble."

"Hm. The memory shards are so valuable that you will 'do everything in your power' to keep them from our hands," Olimar remarked, "I think I will continue my search."

"Very well. I'm Burger King: Have it your way," the entity stated, "However, the price of your choice will be somewhat more costly than a Whopper." The entity retreated back into his mechanical orb, which began shining. It shot up, and the resulting vacuum pushed Olimar forward. He lost his balance, and fell down.

"First Wosber, and now this 'Rednaxela,'" Mia said, "Who else is going to oppose us?"

"Rednaxela? Is that his name?" Olimar asked, "Where did that come from?"

"Lucky guess," Mia replied, "It seems the shield went with the robot. We can continue our search."