Poll
Emperor Bulbax: 4
Pileated Snagret: 3
Ranging Bloyster: 2
Empress Bulblax: 4
Emperor and Empress Bulblax are both tied for the vote. So instead of having the two fight to the near death (don't want them killing each other, they would die anyway), I'll just choose the one with the least votes. Yay! The slug gets to die! … erhem!
I've taken it upon myself to replay Pikmin 2 and I just realized that I sort of overpowered the pikmin a little bit. Well, now that I think about it, I wouldn't have wanted to do a three page essay on what a bug would think before it was killed, so I shall do the same here.
This is where things start to get fun.
Fate of the Ranging Bloyster
I want to see Waterwraith's secret weapon he was talking about.
There's never been that much tension in a meeting.
Waterwraith managed to astound us all in the last meeting. For the first time in awhile, he was the main focus of the meeting. And not just because he was calling Titan Dweevil out. Waterwraith has always been the violent one in the Land Council HQ, aside from Segmented Crawbster. It's just that his actions finally took notice and he sounded pretty sure of himself when he mentioned his secret weapon. It's always rough tension between Waterwraith and Titan Dweevil for various reasons. One, Titan has the most dangerous attacks out of all the members of the Land Council. That already nets him 1st place in the Land Council. Two, nobody knows Waterwraith's weakness. On the day he was accepted, he was given a test to demonstrate his abilities. He had no attacks, but all of our attacks did nothing to him (it was required that we attack him to test his reaction and skill). If the Titan Dweevil had seen Waterwraith as he is now, I'm pretty sure he would've given that a second thought. He does almost nothing for the Land Council.
Still though, if what Waterwraith says is true, maybe we do have reason to fear…
Well, it's morning now. Better get out there and wait for the next meeting.
"Ranging Bloyster! Sir!" an antennae beetle was calling out to me.
I had just crawled out of my hole when I noticed the Antennae beetle hopping like crazy towards me.
"Calm down man," I said, "I have all day."
"Sir Ranging Bloyster! I have urgent news. You must report to the Land Council meeting at once!" he practically yelled.
"Another one?" I whined, "We just had one yesterday! And the day before! And the day before as well! What could possibly make this one more important than your frantic jumping make it seem?"
"Ranging Bloyster. Waterwraith has been reported dead!" he said.
Dead? Waterwraith? A Land Council member? Dead? Waterwraith?
"Is everybody reporting to the meeting now?" I asked.
"Yes. Everyone is heading towards the Forest Navel as we speak. This is a command from Titan Dweevil himself. You can't object."
Titan Dweevil has commanded this meeting. I highly doubt that it's because he wants to know who killed Waterwraith. That would've exposed affection, and there are many things wrong with that picture. But I can imagine if Titan Dweevil wants to discuss the position of the Land Council members since one has been exterminated. I'd be lucky if I got a spot. Doubt it.
--
"Titan Dweevil, is what you say is true?" the Pileated Snagret asked.
"Do you know how screwed we are if the pikmin could do that?!" a bulborb in the back yelled.
"There is no doubt that we are all disturbed by these news," Titan Dweevil said as he looked at the spot where Waterwraith used to sit himself, "but this is a sign as to how powerful the pikmin are."
"You were the one who said the pikmin are a little threat! I mean, how could the pikmin have found out his weakness?" the Emperor Bulblax of Bulblax kingdom exclaimed, "if the pikmin had access to this kind of information, they might learn how to take YOU down Titan Dweevil!"
Titan Dweevil didn't seem fazed by this. Instead, he seemed to think more.
"Man at Legs of Hole of Heroes, come forth," he said, as the mechanical arachnorb walked into the moonlight.
"Proclaim your report. What have you found?"
"Well, Titan Dweevil, the Waterwraith sure are an interesting species, I must say," the Man-at-Legs said in a somewhat nerdy fashion, "firstly, the physical form you see him walking around in is actually a thick film of plankton, all chained together in molecular links. The plankton is very small and the water refracts the light so you don't see the plankton. In general, the Waterwraith is actually a bag full of water."
"What does that have to do with how he died?" the Dweevil asked.
"Good question. The plankton, over generations, has grown an immunity to many ailments and substances except for one."
"Like?"
"A rare form of fiber and protein that can only be found in one animal: Purple Pikmin."
"Are you kidding me?" Emperor Bulblax exclaimed.
"I thought the submerged castle could only be accessed by the blue pikmin?" Pileated Snagret said.
Followed by shocked remarks concerning the key element to defeating Waterwraith.
"Yes, Purple pikmin. I do not know how purple pikmin got into Submerged Castle nor do I care. What I do know is that the dust released from a thrown purple pikmin causes an allergic reaction to the plankton on Waterwraith's surface. It's like every skin cell, or exoskeleton to some of you, is ripping itself off of your skin." Many of the council members shuddered at the thought. "Thought so."
"While you were investigating the 'crime scene'," Titan said, putting emphasis in crime scene, "did you find any clues as to Waterwraith's 'secret weapon' he was talking about last meeting?"
"Not a single clue. None of the shearwigs found any remains of dead pikmin so I conclude that he was lying. "
"None of the Dweevils have reported back either. I doubt that the pikmin went into that cave to slay Waterwraith. If all of the sweets are gone, the pikmin must've been after something else…" Titan said to himself.
"Titan Dweevil," I finally asked, "What about a replacement for Waterwraith? There can't be four members?"
"Ah good point Ranging. But don't expect a spot for you just because you brought it up." The Titan said.
Honestly, I did my best to restrain from whining.
"Since none come to mind right now, the previous ones will be bumped up. Emperor Bulblax has been officially promoted to 3rd and Pileated Snagret of Snagret hole has been officially promoted to 4th." Titan dweevil proudly stated.
"Yes! Rank up again! Thank you Waterwraith!" Emperor Bulblax yelled happily as he walked to Waterwraith's spot. His words earned him a few stares from the others in the Navel. "Uh, but Waterwraith's death is nothing to be happy about…"
"Well, at least it's good to be back in my spot," Pileated Snagret said as he nuzzled in the piece of land.
"Now, we shall decide on who takes the 5th spot in the Land Council. Any volunteers?" Dweevil asked, "Oh, and no vouching for yourself. The others got voted that way so no complaining."
I swear to god, it took me every bit of my dignity to restrain from whining.
"I vote for Empress Bulblax," Pileated Snagret said, "I mean, why not? She holds the highest regard to the bulborb kingdom. Anybody caught harassing the highness will receive an even more grueling punishment than already."
"Hmm, that is true," Titan Dweevil said, "Plus, her place in the ranks can help sow the ties between the bulborb kingdom and the Land Council. Though, I was kind of hoping for Segmented Crawbster to be the one to take position. And we already have good ties with the bulborb kingdom anyways, what with Emperor Bulblax and all."
"Well, the reason I didn't say Segmented Crawbster was because the fact that he has no interest in the Land Council and its ranks. I was simply respecting his lifestyle." Pileated Snagret replied.
"Many thanks to the Snavian over there for speaking out for me," Segmented Crawbster said in a relaxed tone, "Like he said, I really have no interest in the Land Council at all."
"That is true, but who else can we vouch for at this point? We can't count on Ranging Bloyster, now can we? There's no fulfilling any potential over there anytime soon."
To be honest, I wasn't offended by that. It's just how I am.
"Do you understand your position now Segmented Crawbster? There really isn't anyone now that can fill the position," Titan said.
We all stared at Segmented Crawbster for awhile, expecting an outburst of rage or something similar. Segmented Crawbster looked back and forth at all of us looking at him. Feeling the tension and having no remarks or excuses of his own, he thought about it for a while.
"You don't even have to do anything, you know." Titan said.
"Really?" Segmented Crawbster asked. "Damn, why didn't you say that sooner? Sure, I'll do it."
"Excellent. Segmented Crawbster has been officially accepted into the Land Council." Titan proudly declared.
"What about a test or an acceptance challenge?" Emperor Bulblax asked.
"I think Segmented Crawbster's destructive history and demolition tantrums more than account him for a spot in the Land Council. Besides, any demonstration here in the Forest Navel by him is sure to destroy a piece of the Navel. I speak for everyone when I say that."
"Oh," Emperor Bulblax modestly replied, feeling shot down.
"Ok Segmented Crawbster, please take your spot in the ranks," Titan Dweevil said as he pointed to a spot where Prince Bulblax once sat.
Segmented Crawbster only stared at the spot for a few seconds.
"I thought you said I didn't have to do anything." He said.
Was he serious?
"You're not that lazy, are you?" Titan said as the Crawbster meekly crawled his way to the spot.
Guess not.
"Titan Dweevil," I said, trying to act professional, "Waterwraith's death still leaves me at unease. Plus, this is a major violation to the Land Council of a high degree. I do believe some of us would like to know what is to be done about them."
I swear to god, there hasn't been this many eyes staring at me since Empress Bulblax last spawn.
"Ignoring your recent stroke of prime nobility," Titan Dweevil replied, "you do bring up a good point. However, the pikmin cannot be directly punished as for one, they abandon the Earth for the night and two, they are primitive ants, knowing only how to kill, harvest and reproduce."
"Sound like my kind of people," Segmented Crawbster muttered.
"The only ideal punishment is slaughter and massacre. And even then it is hard to make pikmin understand punishment; they don't learn."
"So a massacre is ok?" Raging Long Legs asked.
"Not by my standards. But then again would you be fully functional with the lack of sleep?" Titan retorted.
"Well, what form of punishment would be more suitable?" PIleated Snagret asked.
"I've got a better question. Did anyone care for the death of Waterwraith?" Titan Dweevil asked, "other than the fact that Waterwraith died at all?"
"Why ask a question like that?" I spoke up.
"Because I just wanted to make sure if everyone was ok about observing the pikmin for a little while longer."
"Why would we be ok with that?" Segmented Crawbster asked.
"Because one, it will help discover the pikmin's true intentions if we continue to observe them and two, this meeting is long overdue, if anyone hasn't realized yet."
I looked up to see what Titan was talking about. The moon was already at the other side of the sky and the meetings usually end when it's halfway there.
"Answer the question and I can end the meeting."
A few seconds of silence passed as everyone took their time.
"Yeah," "ok," "why not?" "Who really cared about him?" "I'm ok with that."
"Very well then. Meeting adjourned."
I was still stunned by what I just saw.
--
Morning was about to come and I wanted to return to the Shower Room. Though I am a slug, I only move slowly to conserve energy. So my travelling speed is much faster than expected. I was so damn tired… …
…
…
Ranging…
…ging bl…
…Ran…
…ster..
…nging bloy…
…Ranging…
…Bloyster…
…
...
…
WAKE UP!
"Uh! Blubbery Moofin!"
"Ranging Bloyster! I have terrible news!" the Antennae Beetle said, panicked.
"Is it so bad that you had to wake me up?" I said, still groggy.
"I was originally sent here for a notice on further meetings to be held in the future," the Beetle gasped for air, "But it's so terrible it's life threatening!"
"… The note for future meetings?"
"No! Outside! The electric gate has been torn down! The whole lake has been drained! Pikmin!"
No.
Why me?
Why would they target me?
"Antennae Beetle!" I ordered, trying to remain calm, "Go send for help from anyone in the vicinity!"
"Easier said than done! The last residents where in Submerged Castle and Waterwraith's dead!" he was not gonna calm down.
"Well…is there anyone in the Perplexing pool at all?"
"Not a soul. Nobody was outside when I came here. What should we do? You're in danger!"
I thought deeply for a second, then I remembered the secret Emergency signal that the Antennae Beetle's can use.
"Beetle! Send out the emergency distress signal to the other Beetle's! Tell them that I need help and quickly! There isn't much time!"
"But it's been so long since the signal's been last sent…I'm not sure if I can remember how to do it…"
"Just…try, okay? And if it doesn't work… go seek for help mandatorily."
"But…you might be dead then…"
"I can hold my own. Just go send the signal and hurry!"
"O-of course sir!" and with that, the panicked Beetle jumped off.
I did my best to remain calm. For one, there were pikmin coming to kill me. Normally that would only be a joke, but the pikmin have already claimed lives, the likes of Beady Long-legs, Man-at-Legs and of course, the dread Waterwraith. To have taken down such giants and creatures… no! I must remain calm! I can't abandon hope yet. I'm a Bloyster. I was born as one, and I'll die as one! I don't care if it's a whole army of pikmin, I won't be killed by any of them! Absolutely-
Ooh… pretty… light… must eat…
…
…
…
Ugh. What happened? I suddenly felt hypnotized and lost conscious for a second. It was really strange… the last thing I remember was a bright red flashing light that swayed back and forth. I think I tried to eat it. It was so strange…
All of a sudden, a strange creature leading an army of the pikmin walked in. There were some reds, some yellows and less whites than reds and yellow. The strange creature had a red…
…
So…
Pat! Pat!
…pretty…
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
…
Gah! What the?!
The light disappeared and I suddenly felt this extreme pain in the gills. I heard whistling… did the pikmin whistle? I turned to my left look and I saw half of the pikmin army over there behind me. There was a blue pikmin creature who looked-
…must…
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
…eat…
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
TWEETWEEEEEEET!
Ugh! My…gills…it's hard to breathe…
In front of me was the blue creature I was looking at earlier. His shiny light was turned off and I didn't fall under hypnosis. Ugh… it hurts so much.
There was a bright red flash behind me. I tried to resist looking but my mind was so hazy I couldn't focus. Damn…even when my life depended on it, I can't think.
…must…
Pat! Pat!
…look away…
Pat! Pat! Pat!
…can't…
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
…breathe…
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
… … …
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
… … … … …
Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!
"GET OFF OF ME!!" I finally yelled.
I finally stopped breathing. I could feel my intestines shriveling up painfully as the world started to get dark. Death was waiting for me…
My gills deformed into a small bulb as my body completely melted into a liquid substance. I lost sight as the world suddenly flashed white. All that remained was a large round metal object that I had never known existed within me, but now it was completely covered in my acidic remains. I sank into the ground as the bubbles of my corpse disappeared and the only trace of my existence was the gills that were being picked up by the pikmin. And then, time stopped.
All this time, I had lived for only three years. And yet, I never knew if I was happy with my life… I just wanted a peaceful life without any kind of fighting. But I was asking for too much in this predator and prey world. Deep inside, I acknowledged the pikmin. I didn't like them and they didn't like me. One of us was gonna die first anyway.
Yeah, I have no regrets. I'm proud of the pikmin for what they've done until now. For a few months, they were the most pitiful of animals, doomed for extinction. But they've progressed so far in the short time they've made their stand. It's almost like I want to be… one of them…
To die in their name… is dying in nature…
…
…
…
R&R