Before anything, I'd like to say a couple things. Nothing too important, really, but I'm sure somebody out there might care.

Firstly, I have had a few people ask if it was alright that they use my Pikmin designs in their own stories. If anybody here has any interest in using a type of Pikmin that I've created, or use a Pikmin based on a type I've created, go right ahead! All I ask is that you give credit to the creator... but that doesn't mean that every clawed Pink and every flat-footed Orange was originally mine. Others have had similar ideas to mine, so of course, they can say and do whatever they want with their own ideas :) I would also love it if you'd tell me when/if you've decided to use one of my designs.

To see what kind of Pikmin I have so far, check out my profile. Who knows, maybe reading through will give you some ideas too!

And secondly, thank you all for your kind reviews. Every single one is great motivation and makes me want to keep going for you guys. I will also be working on updating and rewriting my chapters when I get the chance, but I'll let you guys know when that happens. Happy reading!

(By the way, if the sequel ever gets done, a certain Blue is actually a key character in the whole story. But they will appear here too!)

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"I don't understand," growled the Red Spothai, looking as though he was on the verge of a headache, which must have been awful considering his whole body looked like it was supposed to be his head. "What are we supposed to do with this thing?"

"Jus' keep it around fer a while," replied Ruin, seeming completely unconcerned about the whole matter. He had his eyes closed in what I assumed to be concentration most of the time that we'd been there. Of course, knowing him he could have just been half-asleep.

"But why? Why can't I just eat this thing right now before something bad happens?" asked the Spothai, glaring in the direction of the captured Yellow who was thrashing about in a handmade cage-like structure. Well, I suppose it wasn't completely hand-made, it seemed to be mostly made of some weird branches that were all grown together and reinforced with ropes of grass.

Ruin opened one eye to look at him. "'Cause nobody got hurt, so I dun see the point in killin' an innocent li'l guy." He closed his eye again and sighed. "That, and killin' like that would make ya no better'n them, would it?"

"He's got a point there, I guess," mumbled the Black Spotlo begrudgingly. I'm not entirely sure why, but it seemed as though nobody in Taganae liked Ruin. It almost seemed painful for them to admit that he may be right in anything. It seemed quite unfair to me, seeing as how he was a good, kind and caring person, unlike most of the creatures I had met.

"Now don't you start, Dab. The last thing we need is this nut telling us what we should or shouldn't do! I say we eat the little beast before it kills us all!"

"Oh? And ya think that'll solve everything?" Ruin opened all of his eyes and gave the Spothai a very serious look, which was something I never really expected from him. "Yeh think all the others of its kind would appreciate ya killing one'o their own out'a blind rage?"

"An eye for an eye!" he barked back. "They swarm our kind and kill without reason all the time! Before you know it, we'll all be dead, and it will be all because of ignorant fools like you!"

Ruin snorted and closed his eyes again. "So I'm the ignorant one? Psh..."

"Stop it, you two," growled Dab as he finally stood up. "This is exactly what they want, to cause chaos and disorder. That's exactly why they sent that little runt to us! It could be a distraction or a spark for us to argue amongst ourselves, a worthless little sacrifice to get what they want. They may be stupid, but they can be clever when they need to be. I say we hold this one hostage for now and--"

"Hold on there," Ruin interrupted, "Din't ya just call it a 'worthless little sacrifice'? If it means nothing' to 'em like ya say, why would they care if it was a hostage or not?" Ruin waited for a reply but got none. I could see that Dab was struggling to come up with a good argument, but obviously nothing came to him. Ruin just sighed and shifted around a bit as he tried to make himself more comfortable. "We'll wait it out fer now, 'kay? Not really much we can do 'bout this 'cept keep an eye on it and rebuild the part'o the tunnels that got damaged. Personally, this smells fishy to me... you think this one li'l guy did all that damage on its own, eh?"

"Well, duh! We caught it there at the scene of the crime! Weren't you paying attention?"

"Weren't you? I find it odd how we found the critter all alone, and just sittin' there. Why would it cause all this damage and jus' sit around to be caught when it quite obviously ain't fond'a bein' 'ere?" asked Ruin as he motioned his head towards the cage, where the newcomer was still screeching loudly and struggling to escape.

The Spothai was silent for a moment. "... damnit, Zenk!! Why are you always trying to make things more complicated than they really are, huh?! Kill it and kill anything else that comes near, end of story. I don't even trust that Pink-colored thing that you keep as a pet," he growled while glaring straight at me. I was quite taken aback by that look in his eyes, like he hated my guts. What did I do wrong?

"She is not a thing, she is my friend and a new resident'a Taganae. Get used to it."

The Spothai turned his hateful glare on Ruin, seeming to grow more impatient by the minute. "Well, maybe I don't want to. Maybe it isn't completely unreasonable to feel unsafe with the likes of them hanging around us."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Ruin inexplicably chuckled and shook his head. "Jus' look at 'em, Ordo. Do they look dangerous to you? Why, if'n that Yellow weren't scared to death, I'm sure he'd be as sweet'n tame as a pup."

"Geez, here we go with giving things genders again..."

I sighed and looked away from the three. I grew tired of their conversation a very long time ago, but I didn't say anything. I doubt any of them would have listened anyways, except for maybe Ruin Zenk.

But... hm... that odd Yellow creature did catch my interest. Two new colors in two days, I couldn't believe it. I hardly got to know anything about that Green, but while those boys were talking I figured that I might as well try to communicate with the Yellow. He sure didn't seem to be in any kind of talkative mood, but I guess I also hoped that I could manage to help him calm down and find out why he attacked the tunnels.

I stood and quietly made my way over, so I wouldn't disturb the others. The Yellow didn't seem to notice me walking towards him. Or atleast, if he did, he didn't really care.

"SCUM!! MONSTERS!! MINDLESS BEASTS!!"

The Yellow screeched loudly in frustration, trying with all his might to bend and break his way out of his tiny prison, but he seemed completely blinded by his anger. I was surprised by his size as I walked up to him, as he seemed quite tiny. He had a thin body compared to a Pink like me and was quite short, as well as short-tempered. I couldn't tell how old he was supposed to be, but he must have been quite young as his skin appeared flawless, if not a bit dusty or wet from being inside of Dab's mouth. That and he only had a leaf on the tip of his stem.

I was a little shy as I approached him, having no idea what I could even say. Afterall, he was quite upset at being imprisoned and probably didn't have polite conversation on top of his priority list. I probably wouldn't either.

As I got near him, suddenly he stopped violently thrashing around and gave me the most hateful and angry glare I'd seen in my entire life. It was so powerful that I almost wanted to run away, but I stood my ground. As calm as I tried to look, my voice betrayed me as it shook in fear.

"H... hello... w-what's your name..?"

He sneered at me in disgust. "My name? You want my name at a time like this? It's no wonder they don't consider you a threat, you're a complete moron..."

I was surprised at his hostility. It was much like the Oranges in the beginning, except he didn't look like he could hurt a fly even if he tried.

"I... I'm sorry, I... I just... wanted to talk..."

"You wanna talk?" He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh geez... look, kid, I'm kinda busy trying to escape from certain death, so unless you feel like making yourself useful and helping me, go away!"

He then went back to trying to get out of his cage, doing his best to ignore me. I had to admit, I felt kinda bad for him, even if he did seem to be a jerk. I then thought that maybe he was only acting so mean because he was afraid for his life. I looked down at my claws, then gazed at the ropes supporting the cage and holding it together. Maybe...

"Wait!" I glanced over to the three larger creatures, who were too busy to notice us, then turned back to the cage. "Try to stand back or something... I'll help you."

He didn't do anything but stare at me. Maybe he didn't take me seriously or something, but atleast his hands were out of the way. I slashed my claws at the ropes and cut through them. It took a minute or two, but soon they all gave way and the cage burst open quickly and unexpectedly. I panicked at first, but realized that the others were still too busy to see what we were doing. Did they ever get along?

He climbed out of the cage and watched the group warily. I was about to try and say something to him, when he suddenly ran away.

"H-hey!" I began to ran after him, but apparently the others heard me shouting. I screamed in terror when something suddenly scooped me up in its jaws. I was way too scared to even struggle or try to escape, but luckily it seemed as though I wasn't about to be someone's dinner.

"You idiot, you let it get away!"

I cried out in fear when I was suddenly spat out and hit the ground. I laid there for a moment, dazed and hurt from the impact.

"I can't help it, they looked the same to me! It's too dark in here!" Ordo screamed back defensively. He and Dab exchanged some heated words as I tried to gather my senses again, and was slowly helped to my feet by a certain hairy eight-legged creature.

"You okay there, Pink?" asked Ruin Zenk in a concerned tone, ignoring the argument going on behind him. I tried to nod, but moaned and held my sore head instead. "Yeah, you'll be a'ight, just take 'er easy. Ain't yer fault the li'l scamp got away."

"For the love of... stop talking to that stupid plant, Zenk!! I said it can't understand a word you say, didn't I?" I turned my head to look at the other two, who had apparently stopped fighting and were now glaring at us.

"Shut up, Dab. Now we have to go chasing that stupid little runt again before it causes even more damage, come on and stop wasting time!"

I didn't even get the chance to say or do anything before the two spotted beasts ran away in hot pursuit of the little Yellow. Ruin heaved a great sigh beside me and shook his little head. "Them two've got all the brains'o'a blade'a grass." He then looked down at me with a tired look in his eyes. "We din't come down here for no drama anyways, eh? C'mon, I'm--"

"Starving," I finished for him in a low tone of voice, feeling quite tired and sad at the same time. This long day was only going to get longer, I could feel it.