Author's Note: Hope you guys didn't get too attached to Yukin. Ya, he's gone. He was just the first victim of the underground marauders…And I edited it. Something got cut out…/

3 Years later…

Jewel looked up from her work, startled. A comet passed in the night sky, lighting up space. She sighed, thinking about all the things that had happened…Only three years ago, she had been 16 and reaping the benefits of life. And then it had happened. Everything had gone wrong. The monsters from underground had attacked, destroying entire villages, killing all in their path. Nothing had been left alive in their wake, and the rest of the villages quickly obeyed their orders. Now all Pikmin were slaves. It was a law, and to be taken for granted now. Pikmin, being naturally rebellious, didn't like the slave life; however, those that had risen up were soon met with mysterious accidents.

The sound of a whip jolted her out of her thoughts. "Get to work!" shouted a Bulborb. Jewel grimaced as she bent down, panning through the water again. The Bulborbs hadn't gotten much better off, though they were obviously better off than the "filth that was Pikmin".

Jewel kept panning through the river, searching for minerals. The comet was still glimmering above her, and lit her way. She took another step…and tripped over something hard. She reached back, grabbing it. She pulled at it, but could not get it out. She took out a small pick, and stuck it into the ground. She then pushed on it, lifting the thing out of the ground. The stone tumbled to the side, water washing the dirt off of it. And as the bright moon shone on it, it shone gold.

"Sir!" A Segmented Crawbster stood at the flap of the tent, beckoning to the leader of this regimen.

A heavily cloaked creature stood up, rubbing its forehead. "Yes, what is it, Seamus?" the figure asked.

"A Pikmin struck gold!" Seamus exclamied. "Master Loki, we've finally found the golden nugget!"

Loki was now fully aware of the situation. His eyes widened. "It can't be," he said, with a grin to show that he was kidding. "Finally! Now we need only five more of the sacred stones…" Loki noticed Seamus looking at him with an expression of curiosity on his face. "Well?" he commanded. "Go get that Pikmin!"

Moments later, Jewel was shoved, somewhat roughly, into Loki's tent. She glanced about, nervously, not sure if she had done something wrong. Loki turned his ice-cold gaze on her, and she immediately looked away, not wanting to face him. "You have done well, Pikmin. Much better than the treacherous scum I was greeted with when I first came aboveground, three years ago. You've found the accursed Sun Stone that no other could find; how did you do it?" he inquired, putting emphasis into his question. Jewel looked to either side of her, and, seeing this, Loki commented, "No need to fear, Pikmin. We are alone here. Just you…and me." Jewel opened her mouth, about to talk, when an alarm rang. Loki's eyes narrowed, and he held up a claw to signal to Jewel that she was to wait where she was. Jewel was happy to oblige as Loki ran out of the tent. Jewel sat there, twiddling her thumbs, as she heard things running around outside. She was used to taking orders and doing them. Every Pikmin had gotten used to it after the initial attack. Sure, no one liked it, but after three long years, not a single soul even considered fighting against the empire.

And with a sudden rip, a section of the tent was cut in two, and a male Red Pikmin walked through the gaping hole. "Quickly, come with me if you want to live!" he barked. Jewel hastily got up and ran after him as he left. She looked from side to side, and saw flames licking at the various buildings and tents of the camp. Monsters and cretins were running around, panicking. Not that there was a difference between the two.

The Pikmin soon led her into the forest, and, when they were far in and when the smell of smoke had almost abated, he stopped her. "I am Marrow," he said, introducing himself. "I am a rebel Pikmin. Heard of me?"

Jewel's heart leapt; if only she could go back to her joy-free life, which seemed a lifetime ago...And these rebel Pikmin might overthrow the enemy…"Of course I've heard of you!" Jewel exclaimed. "You're one of those brave Pikmin that fights against the empire!"

Marrow gave her a long look. "Yes...you wouldn't happen to be a spy?..." He left off, gesturing for Jewel to answer.

"Of course not!" she protested.

Marrow gave her a grim smile. "Good. I would've had to kill you if you were. Now, follow me." And at this, Marrow turned and ran further into the depths of the jungle. Jewel did her best to keep up, and ran after him, despite her aching legs. His speed soon overwhelmed her, and she slowed down, falling behind. He soon noticed, and came back for her. "Dammit, can't you move any faster?" he complained. Upon seeing her expression, he added, "Sorry. I've just been in rough conditions. We have time, though not much. Come on, then. We're close to camp now!"

With that, they kept moving, albeit at a slow pace. By the time it was dawn, they made it to a camp, bustling and full of working Pikmin. There was the occasional Bulborb, and a couple of Snitchbugs. It was beautiful to Jewel.