Chapter 25: The Fight with the Bulblax

Day 17…

As we approached the Final Trial, there was a welcome sight waiting for us. Unlike yesterday, the final arena was occupied by two giants fighting: the Snake and the Emperor Bulblax. As we descended, we noticed the Snake wrapped around the Bulblax, and the Bulblax leaping high into the air. As it landed, we landed and jumped out of the rocket.

We heard a rumble and felt vibrations. Dust floated from the arena above. "This is fantastic!" Olimar exclaimed. "They're so occupied with each other that we'll be able to reach them unnoticed. And they'll be weakened from their fight."

"We can finally finish this," I said, grinning.

The ten pikmin we had changed yesterday we changed back into reds, along with several other pikmin. We took our time clearing the obstacles, even though we had done it twice already. We knew we had to save our strength, and rushing would only tire us out for the potential finale. However, it didn't take us very long to reach the top. Before we did, however, I had to stop.

"What's wrong?"

I was panting, my head growing lighter. I didn't know if it was because of our height or the suit, and when I explained he said it was the latter.

"Jason, if you feel any light-headedness or nausea, I want you to leave the arena immediately. Get to safety and rest."

"I can handle it, Olimar," I panted.

"No, Jason, you can't. The suit is starting to die on you. This isn't a matter of pride or weakness, Jason. I want you to promise me right now that you'll leave if you start to sicken."

"I- I promise." I winced.

When we reached the metal gate, we joined our pikmin. Dust floated above. The sounds of fighting had silenced.

"Are you ready?" Olimar asked. I nodded, gripping a pikmin tightly.

All of a sudden, the Snake burst from the hole, its health dangerously low. Startled, we forgot to throw pikmin until it had passed us, seemingly blinded by pain. It crashed into the tree stump, shook itself, and slithered with incredible speed off the ledge. We threw a few pikmin at it, but it curled up, heightening to several times our height, and jumped over the side. We ran to the ledges to get a better view as it fell, spinning rapidly, and dug a large hole in the ground.

"Damn," I muttered. "It was so close to death, too."

"We'll fight it later, unless your Emperor Bulblax has as much speed."

"Nope. It's large and slow."

"Then it won't escape."

As we walked back up the ledge, a smell pierced the helmet. "Can you smell that?" I asked.

Olimar replied with a large sniff. "Burnt skin?"

I looked over the ledge again. "That Snake was more injured than I thought."

"And what could your Bublax do that would cause such an odor?"

"Something terrible."

We walked back to the gate and crept through the hole. Standing in the middle of the arena, its health in the yellow, panting and facing us, was the Emperor Bulblax. It was just as large as it was in the original, its eyes on stalks, staring at us, its mouth grimacing in pain. There were some bruises on it, possibly from the Snake's tail, and a line around its back that was clearly from when the Snake crushed it. Even though it saw us, it didn't move.

"It's really beat up," I said.

"It's been choked, slapped, bitten-" Olimar pointed at a pair of bite marks that had penetrated the creature's hard shell. Blood was seeping from both holes. "- and it's still standing. Be cautious."

"Don't have to tell me-" I dropped to the ground. I started panting. It was worse than before; it wasn't a pain, but I couldn't see straight, and my body felt weak. Olimar lifted me up.

"Jason, leave. It's a predator; it can sense weakness."

"I'm not weak." I pushed him away and got to my feet, although I wobbled. "I'm not going to show it I'm weak. I'm going to kill it."

The Bulblax licked its lips and shook itself. It scraped the ground and, when we took a step forward, charged at us with surprising speed. Due to its size, it cleared half the arena in only three steps, and we barely got away in time. It crashed into the gate and fell backward, the arena's slope causing it to lose balance and topple. It rolled several times before landing on its side. We took the opportunity to throw as many pikmin onto it as we could.

And now I'll share with you something horrifying: the creature was at less than half health. I'd guess three-eighths. We managed to throw all of our nearly 100 pikmin onto it, and they got to whack it for several seconds before the Bulblax got to its feet. In all that time with all that power, they knocked off about another eighth. This thing had so much health. So much.

After getting to its feet, the Bulblax shook itself to knock all of the pikmin off. It then jumped into the air and, after we whistled and saved our pikmin, dove into the ground. It submerged and disappeared.

"It'll come back," Olimar warned. "There is no place it can hide. It's too large to travel."

"So avoid that spot?" I asked.

"Avoid it like the plague."

And so we moved to the opposite end of the arena. Unfortunately, Olimar was wrong. The creature was able to move from its spot of submersion, but it created a line of rubble as it traveled, making its path obvious. It moved with surprising agility and reached us within a few seconds. We barely moved out of the way before the beast stuck its tongue out of the ground and whipped it around. It had a long reach, so much that some of our pikmin were captured and eaten.

The Bulblax then crawled out of the ground, but we were ready. We charged at it and threw pikmin, but it jumped into the air to dodge.

"This thing is too large to be that quick," I gasped.

We whistled the pikmin we threw, but the creature dropped and landed, crushing another few before they could escape. It then opened its mouth, trilling its tongue.

"Run!" I shouted. "Run behind it!"

It was a risk, but it paid off. It shot its tongue out and licked the dirt in front of it. Thankfully, it didn't turn around, and we were ready when it did with pikmin in hand. It faced us and was met with a barrage of pikmin. Clearly taken by surprise, it flinched, falling onto the bottom of its shell, and we were able to knock another chunk of its health before it recovered. It jumped to its feet and opened its mouth.

Something was wrong. "It's not trilling," was my only observation before the Bulblax shot a large ball of dark green acid at us. Olimar moved out of the way in time, but I, who not only took a stupid amount of time to announce something I could see with my eyes, but also felt another spout of light-headedness, was unable to clear the acid. A large chunk, about twenty, of my pikmin was melted on contact. Literally, as soon as the acid touched them, their frail bodies evaporated. A few who were lucky to dodge the ball walked into the acid as it splashed across the arena, and they quickly melted into the ooze.

Olimar and I met on the other side of the arena. "I'm sorry," I gasped. I held my head and leaned against Olimar. "I should've listened."

"Too late," Olimar muttered. The Bulblax opened its mouth again. "Move." He pushed me in one direction and dove in the other. The acid ball splashed against the wall, a sizzling and smoking emanating from it.

I got to my feet and it, of course, turned toward me. "It really does sense weakness," I muttered. My head was clearing, but I doubted I could react in time for another ball. To my luck, the Bulblax's eyes widened and it leapt into the air. I could have cheered for my luck, had it not been aiming for me. I jumped out of the way and my pikmin escaped unharmed. It slammed into the ground. The arena itself shook, and sand started to seep through the ground. The arena had cracked, and it was breaking apart.

"Olimar!" I shouted. "The arena's falling apart!" The Bulblax jumped into the air once more. I dodged, and it slammed. Sand was seeping even faster. The arena shook and started to dip. "We're gonna fall!"

"Jason, get to safety," Olimar replied. He charged at the Bulblax, which was shaking the sand off itself. "I'll kill it."

I was about to argue, but I felt nausea returning. I ran to the gate and climbed up to it. The arena was dipping deeper and deeper. It was nearing 45 degrees. Olimar knocked most of the Bulblax's health when the creature roared.

"Get up here! It's going to take the arena down!" I shouted. I don't know how I knew, but I knew. Olimar whistled the idle pikmin and climbed up to the gate. The Bulblax jumped high into the air, higher than it had ever done before. I grabbed Olimar and pulled him to safety, and the pikmin followed. The Bulblax slammed into the ground, causing the arena to literally snap off of the wall. The arena and the Bulblax fell to the ground, causing a pseudo earthquake.

A branch from one of the trees fell and landed where the arena once was, creating a ramp that led to ground floor. The rumbling stopped. We lost forty pikmin in that fight. But the Bulblax, from what we could tell, was dead. There was half the day remaining.

We slid down the branch and landed safely behind the ship. The arena had created a giant crater in the middle of the two onions and Dolphin. Dust billowed from the hole. From what we could tell, there was a path of stones that led down the hole. There was no sign of the Bulblax or the arena itself. There were drops of acid and piles of sand nearby.

"We did it," I muttered. We grinned at each other. "We beat the Bulblax!"

"That leaves one beas-"

A sudden, loud roar echoed from the crater. The ground started to shake, and a green mass rose from the hole. The Emperor Bulblax was on its last bit of health, but it was angry, and definitely alive. It stepped forward slowly, limping, one of its eyes damaged and part of its back deflated. It walked up to the ship and pushed into it, knocking it over.

"The Dolphin!" Olimar shouted, and we charged toward it.

Before we could reach it, another loud sound. This time a hiss. In a flash of brown, the Emperor Bulblax suddenly found itself encased in a shell. A shell that was crushing it, squeezing the life out of it. The Snake, equally as hurt, had wrapped around the Bulblax. The Bulblax's health dropped slowly, and it cried in pain as the Snake applied greater and greater pressure.

We could do nothing but watch in horror as the Snake crushed the Bulblax to death. As the ghost of the Bulblax exited the creature's body, so did another object: the Secret Safe. The Snake saw this ship part and dove for it, swallowing it whole, before we could so much as move. It then stared at us, daring us to get closer, before jumping into the hole and disappearing.

And now the Snake had two ship parts. And I only had one and a half days left.