IMPORTANT READ THIS Good and bad stuff

Alright here it is. Actually this only half of what chapter 16 was supposed to be, but a lot has been added, tihs has been possibly the most constantly revised chapter in the entire fic.

Also a big thanks goes out to uhyeahitsteamdark, how Beta'd this chapter and will (hopefully) continue to Beta.

Here's the bad, uh the format got messed up for the revised document. So the old docements up now (without uhyeahitsteamdark's changes) but the revised one will be up shortly, his hard work cannot go to waste. Again thank you

And a big thanks to YOU guys, the readers. Who have waited ever so patiently, but are still going to kill me for killing off the white pikmin.

Disclaimer: I will own Pimkin 3 at E3...or not

I had no idea to describe where I was, I had no idea how long I was there…

A pikmin only spends two seconds in these flowers from what I've seen, but this felt like an…eternity.

I was floating in infinity, anything of direction, any sense of up or down is lost.

I can see my purple body, and feel the mushroom still atop my head. I am still a mushroom pikmin.

I won't be for long.

As I float there, I can hear a rushing noise. I look around…of course, blackness. Nothing at all.

And then it hits me, an invisible wall, it passes through me, as if I am transparent. But I still double over in pain.

A second blow comes, this time something startling happens.

It hits me and my arm suddenly blows away with it, tiny dust particles in a desert. I feel every bit of it, as if it was real.

I try to scream but before that another blow hits me, and my mushroom dissolves.

And then another…

And another…

And another…

The pain is there; my body feels like it is being flayed alive. I scream, but I can't hear myself, my mouth is gone.

I am still there though, and I am able to view what happens next.

The pieces of my body form in front of me into a swirling spherical mass. I want it to come back to me, I want to reach out and grab it. It's impossible though.

The mass glows a deep purple, the colour of my body, but in the middle of it a blue light is beginning to form. It glows brighter and brighter, a silent crescendo, and with it's climax it burst out in a sudden rush of energy. The purple particles are driven away by the sapphire force. They disintegrate in the space around me. What's left is the throbbing pulse of blue energy, and with a whirl this energy comes rushing towards me.

I do the one thing that feels safe.

I close my eyes and wait.

When I come back to being, I can already feel the change, the difference.

I'm stuck, I can't move, I want to see this change. My body is trapped in…dirt.

Yet, my body loved it. It absorbed energy from the dirt; it kept my body in this state. It seemed satisfied down here. If my body was satisfied, then I guess I should be too…

I remembered then…this is how I was born. It was the same process; I was a tiny seedling, just like the beginning.

A full circle.

With one problem.

I cannot be pulled out, there is no one around, and I'm by myself.

Alone.

I struggle slightly, but of course it is futile, my body is firmly planted into the ground. I can feel only one part of my body above ground, my stem and mushro…no leaf.

In moments though it transforms into a bud.

And, after that into a flower.

All the while I ponder on the situation; unfortunately it is obvious I cannot do anything about it. My stem slumps slightly at the news, I am trapped.

I'll have to wait…but wait for what. I am in a vast forest alone; the pikmin that have been with me may not even be alive anymore. I am a singular powerless being.

I feel the days pass with my stem; cold days, colder nights. Sunny days with solar energy drenching my lead/bud or flower (As the cycle goes), and freezing blizzards that gnaws numbly at my stem, sending a chill down my entire body.

All the while my inner feelings slowly change…

After all I've been through, the desert, the Mushrooms, the cold, the cyans, what I have sought for was peace. An end to it all.

And as I rest in the snow, I slowly begin to realize that this may be the place to do it.

I am left undisturbed, at peace. Isolated, yet safe. Stuck here, yet my body intact.

In reality, I feel the best I've felt in ages. I am renewed, reborn, something fresh. It's something I don't think any Pikmin comes across much in a lifetime.

My bud for the hundredth time changes into a flower and I remember back into my foggy past when I was a blue…and how I was jealous of all the pikmin who had a flower or even a bud. I just had a tiny leaf, jealous of how some of the pikmin were able to get flowers so easily. But after all this, I truly feel that I deserve it, a great reward after all the turmoil.

Something I can finally be proud of.

Judging by my stem another day passes.

That's when it happens.

It feels midday, but the sun seems to be covered by clouds as I can't feel sliver of heat against the chill.

My stem droops slightly because of its absence…that's when something grabs it.

My body lets out a sudden jolt of panic and surprise. The intruder feels it too, and it's grip on my stem hesitates, before pulling harder.

I don't resist or fight back, but the snow does. I have been buried for a long time, causing multiple layers of frost to freezes over me.

The intruder struggles with it, it must be struggling hard. I can feel the strain on my head as well, as my flower and stem almost seem to tear off from me…

But then with a rush and a small fountain of snow, I pop out of the ground and am thrown into the air.

I've forgotten how good fresh air tastes. As soon as I am pulled from the permafrost I feel a rush of adrenaline. I feel weightless as I do several flips taking in the entire vastness of the world around me. Before gravity sets in…

And I plummet to the ground below.

The snow does little to cushion my fall, and I land with my limbs sprawled across the ground.

I seem to be a bit rusty…

With a soft groan I pull myself to my feet. Dazed but intact, I turn to face the intruder…

And come face to face with the Leader.

Only it's not THAT leader.

This one is different from what I remember.

Instead he's slightly taller, with a head the even odder shaped then the former leader, plus the light on top of his head is a light blue, not red.

I stare at him strangely, he mirrors my look.

And I remember another thing from my past. How that one pikmin had described the return of the leader…with a partner.

It seems obvious that this is said partner.

This one lacks the confidence of the other leader, he seems curious of me, but nervousness is biting at his side. He eyes his surroundings, as if he's looking for something that could explain the situation.

I also notice that there are no pikmin with him (besides me). He is alone, which is extremely rare for any leader, blue or red. I begin to look around too, to see if their might be anything, that could explain the "blue leader's" appearance.

"Hey anyone else here!" I shout. My voice echoes throughout the forest, rebounding off cavernous trees…Apparently not.

My voice though draws the Blue Leader's attention again. He looks my way again and stares at me with dull eyes. He seems tired, almost at the edge of exhaustion.

The sound of a shrill whistle emits through the air, emitting from Blue Leaders helmet. The sound sends a pulse through my body, and my stem goes rigid above my head, my flower's petals straight and taut.

It's been a long time since I've heard that.

Blue Leader gives a satisfied nod, and turns around and starts to jog away. I simply stand there, surprised that he can actually manage to run through the deep snow with such a bulky suit on.

Then again, he does look a lot more in shape then the original "Red Leader".

After a moment of running though he stops turns around and looks at me. His dumbfounded surprised face makes me almost want to wave at him.

"Yes I am right here buddy. Surprise?"

And then I remember…

"Ah…yes I'm supposed to follow you…" I let out a short chuckle to myself.

The Blue Leader looks at me thoughtfully, before letting out another blast of the whistle.

I remember the command from long ago…Come…

"Fat chance buddy…" I say to myself, I then turn around and start to slowly walk away. Before long a can hear a small noise behind me.

I turn to see the Blue Leader slowly following me. I chuckle at the irony of the situation before turning around to face the Blue Leader fully.

The Blue Leader is alone; it is only him and I. This peaks my curiosity but I pay no further attention to it.

The Blue Leader approaches me yet again, he is eyeing as if I was a danger. I guess I've been through too much to come across as the average blue pikmin. As he gets closer, he reaches out to touch me, his hand seems hesistant…

I playfully throw myself into the air, flipping over him, and landing behind him. The Blue Leader turns around sharply, ever alert. He gives a shake of his head, most likely in annoyance.

That's when the ground explodes between us.

I am thrown back by the force of it. Coughing snow out of my tiny mouth, I glance up through the spray to see a massive creature rise up from the ground between me and the Blue Leader. It's long, yet thin curving blue body is crested by a white head with sharp yellow eyes. Also on the head is a long orange beak, incredibly sharp…

I slowly back away in fear, as the creature continues to extend to its full height.

A loud CAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHH emits from the beaks, sending a chill down my body. I barely feel it though, I'm steaming with adrenaline.

I urge myself into a full force sprint, trying to get as much ground between me and the creature as possible. I don't get far though, as right behind me the ground sends out another explosion, throwing me back to the ground.

I look back to see the creature's beak, embedded in the snow, in the place were I was merely a second ago.

With little effort, the creature pulls it beaks back out of the ground. And with little pause sends them flying back down to me.

Out of desperation I roll to the side.

Another shockwave as the beak hits the ground right beside me. Looking back I can see that my stem is still between the two open jaws of the creature.

I quickly pull it out of that space, just as the beak closes with a massive snap. My relief is barely shown through sheer terror.

The beak rises again, this time intent on finishing the job. My timing will have to perfect if I want any chance of living.

The beak never comes though.

Instead the shrill sound of a whistle fills my ears. Confused I look around to see the tiny form of the Blue Leader, waving his arms and continually blowing his whistle. Attracting the creature's attention…

It works, the creature turns it's massive snake like body around to face the Blue Leader. A let's out another loud CAAAAAUUUGGGGHHH.

I want to help the Blue Leader, return the favour, contradict everything the I've believed in my time as a mushroom pikmin. My instincts say no though.

And out of terror, I run deep into the forest. Away from the creature. Away from the Blue Leader. Never looking back.

So the reason why this chapter took so long (besides laziness always a key) is uh well I wanted to incorporate Alex's and Kaen's idea into this chapter. I originally had something along the lines similar to that, but changed it, luckily Kaen put me back to my senses (The former idea with Louie was better from the start).

Also thanks to everyone else for their suggestions!

V

And now for a big announcement! Killer Raptor, Great Thumbs of Wisdom, and V Rex are currently producing a triple collab fic! Titled "Perspectives" (Actually it's something else, but sadly I forget. Effff...you...GameTalk!). It will deal with the wilder side of the distant planet, each chapter focusing on some creature (from the game or made by us) that all thrive in the same small ecosystem. Unfortunately said ecosystem has lost it's ability to support so many diverse creatures, so conflict is bound to arise.