Day 6
I am suddenly startled awake by the sound of the Dark Leader's whistle. As the thirty purples that were called file out, I lie back down on the body of the yellow bug. I am surprised I slept so long. The day has already begun.
After a while, I sit up again. The rest of the Pikmin are milling about around the inside of the storage vessel, doing nothing in particular. I unfortunately don't find any amusement in watching them, so I lie back down. Fortunately, it's at this point that I hear the Leaders talk outside.
President: "Just as I thought! Our neglecting this location for a day allowed that mortar shooting thing to set up base right outside, well, our base! It's a good thing you knew how to kill it, Olimar."
I hear the Red Leader give a command, indicating that the body of some creature should be taken to the blue Seed Hut.
Olimar: "Yes, but... I feel like I'm forgetting something. Sir, didn't your exploration of the Perplexing Pool yesterday give you any ideas for expeditions that can take place there?"
President: "Indeed it did! You, Olimar, neglected to search a whole section of that locale before I arrived! We will tackle that distant area tomorrow. But, for now, let us focus on clearing this... What was your name for it again?"
Olimar: "Wistful Wild."
President: "Yes, yes. For now, we should focus on clearing this 'Wistful Wild' of its nasty inhabitants."
Olimar: -sighs- "Very well."
Many crunching footsteps indicate the departure of the Leaders, along with the Pikmin they have with them.
Not wanting to be left with nothing to do, I walk over to the wall of the storage vessel that I know faces the spot where the Leaders were just talking. I press my head up against it and listen.
I hear almost nothing, just indistinct sounds in the distance. I find myself wishing I had a pair of ears like those the yellow Pikmin have. I'd probably be able to hear everything that was going on out there.
Yet, with nothing better to do, I keep my head pressed to the wall, straining to pick up some distant noise. After a while, I do hear something: low gargling roars of some monster or monsters emanating from somewhere evidently very far away. They are joined by a variety of commands from the Leaders, ranging from "attack" to "split into two groups". I am transfixed, listening to the sounds of the battle. Before long, all is quiet again.
I don't move a muscle. Did they win the battle? Crunching footsteps approach, a lot of them. I hear the Red Leader order more items to be taken to the blue Seed Hut. Then, suddenly, a lopsided brown thing drops from the ceiling into the storage vessel. Some of my fellows jump out of the way as it comes down.
Pod: "Initiating valuation of recovered treasure. The artifact is worth... 60 Pokos. I hereby dub this object... the Armored Nut."
President: "Good, good. What do you say, Olimar? Shall we now go finish off those Orange Bulborbs?"
Olimar: "Certainly, Sir. Incidentally, I have a plan for taking care of them. We can't let both Bulborbs attack us at once, but because they are woken up so easily, we will be hard-pressed to deal with each of them separately. However, we passed another poison-emanating wall when we ventured to that clearing where we fought the Creeping Chrysanthemums just now. It undoubtedly leads to the other side of where the Bulborbs lie. My plan is that we use white Pikmin to knock down that wall and then divide our purple Pikmin between us so that we can attack the Bulborbs from either side, making sure they each attack their respective ends of their territory, instead of assaulting us side by side. Do you think you're up to the task?"
President: "Of course I am, Olimar! This plan of yours has my approval!"
Olimar: "Then it's settled. Before I get the whites, however, I should deal with the 48 blue sprouts that have accumulated under the blue Onion today. We need to have as many white Pikmin as possible in the field to break down that wall, but as only 100 Pikmin can be out at a time, we need to make room for those whites by stowing the new blues. After we pluck them, I'll take them to the nectar-filled stones over in that direction so that they can acquire flowers before I dismiss them to their Onion."
President: "...I think I followed that. Okay, Olimar, let's get this over with. No time to waste!"
I hear the Leaders begin plucking Pikmin from the soil. They keep doing so for quite a while. A lot of new Pikmin must have been planted today. When they finally finish, I hear the Leaders walk away with their new troop of Pikmin. Once they are a ways away the Red Leader commands them to break up some rocks, and they do so. A little while later, they walk back and the Red Leader dismisses all the blue Pikmin from his group. Apparently, at least some of the new Pikmin were blues.
The Red Leader's whistle suddenly rings through the storage vessel. He is calling for 70 white Pikmin! I run to the exit nozzle and emerge into the red-and-brown area from two days ago.
It feels great to finally be let outside. The air is fresh and revitalizing.
Olimar: "That should do. Let's go."
The Leaders escort us away from the storage vessel; then, we turn left down a hill, turn right up another hill, left, and right over a bridge. Ahead of us now is an enclosed area where two big black-and-orange bugs lie sleeping.
Olimar: "It's a good thing we eliminated that Withering Blowhog earlier, as it could easily have interfered with this plan. Anyway, now we divide up the purple Pikmin. Fifteen for each of us."
The Red Leader temporarily dismisses fifteen purples and the Dark Leader calls them to him.
Olimar: "Alright, I'm off to knock down the poison wall at the other end. When that is done, I will leave my Pikmin somewhere safe and move to a spot where you can see me at the other end of the Orange Bulborb resting ground. When I give you the signal," -swings right arm downward- "you must run forward and hurl as many purples onto the Orange Bulborb at your end as possible. I will do the same. Be sure to run, by the way, as they will wake and stand too quickly if you do not run and throw at the same time."
President: "I did fine with those Creeping Chrysthanemums! Er, Chrythsansethums... Chrysanithemums..."
Olimar: -smirks- "Almost, Sir. It's 'Chrysanthemums'."
President: "Of course! Yes, I knew all along. I was just testing you Olimar. I don't want to attack these big things and have your plan backfire, now do I? I needed to make sure you're right on the money with your skills today!"
Olimar: -rolls eyes while turning to go- "Right..."
President: "Now get going, Olimar. Don't waste any more time. I'll be waiting for your signal."
Olimar: -turns back around- "I'm not the one who's been wasting time, Sir. I was actually just about to leave when y-"
President: "You're wasting time right now! Move!" -points-
Olimar: "Alright, I'm going." -leaves with a grimace-
We turn right, the Red Leader taking us whites and half of the purples around the outside of the enclosure, along the wall that separates us from those big sleeping bugs. We eventually reach a poison-spewing root wall on our left. The Red Leader commands us whites to knock it down. We swarm to it and smack it with our flowers until it is demolished.
We move through into a smaller alcove behind the place where the big bugs are sleeping, across which I can see the Dark Leader. There is a plant in one corner of this small place that consists of a fat, off-white stem poking out of the ground ending in a dome of the same color. In another corner is a hole in the ground that undoubtedly leads to another underground expanse. Are we going to enter this hole today?
The Red Leader dismisses us whites and calls the purples to him. He then positions himself in a place where the Dark Leader across the way can see him. In one swift motion, he makes a swinging movement with his right arm, and then he and the Dark Leader both run at the two sleeping bugs, hurling purple Pikmin at them.
The purples land hard on the bugs. Within seconds, the back of the bug closer to us has been broken by the blows from the Pikmin thrown by the Red Leader. I watch as it writhes in agony and falls, belching up a huge seed as it does so. The bug being attacked by the Dark Leader is still alive, however. It throws some of the purples from its back and dives at two of them, snatching them up in its jaws. But, in the next instant, one purple Pikmin, thrown by the Dark Leader, hits the side of its main body, at the same time as another purple, thrown by the Red Leader, hits it in the eye. The force of these two collisions causes the big bug to spin on the spot and lose its hold on the two Pikmin in its mouth, both of which tumble onto the ground, along with spurts of red blood from the bug's impacted eye. Defeated, the bug joins its motionless fellow.
The Leaders call all the purples together. Six of them are now leaf-bearers.
Olimar: "Well, that's six injuries and no deaths. I must say, a job well done, Sir. There was nearly an incident at the end, but I'm glad you reacted so quickly."
President: "Ah-haaaa! I knew I could do it! You see that, Olimar?"
Olimar: "Indeed."
President: "Well then, let's round up the spoils of this victory!"
Olimar: "Right."
The Red Leader commands the purple Pikmin to divide into three groups of ten, two of which are assigned the task of carrying the two bug carcasses back to the place where the Seed Huts are, while the third carries the fat seed to the storage vessel. But, before the twenty purples carrying the bugs can depart, the Dark Leader commands them to carry the carcasses specifically to the blue Seed Hut.
Olimar: -raises eyebrows in surprise- "Sir, how do you know that command?"
President: "You've used it twice already today. I thought I'd try it, since we'll need plenty of blue Pikmin for tomorrow's venture. And, naturally, I got the command right!"
Olimar: "Indeed you did get it right..." -checks the sun's position- -lowers eyebrows- "We don't have much time left today, but we can easily get one more treasure. I discovered a plant that my Treasure Gauge seems to respond to. We should be able to carry it back to the ship with these white Pikmin."
President: "Excellent! Show me!"
The Leaders walk back over to us. The Red Leader then commands us to dig up the rest of the off-white plant, the one growing in a corner of the area we're in, and carry it back to the storage vessel. We obey, but as I dig with the others, I feel disappointed that we're not going into that hole just nearby. But, then the Dark Leader calls us to him, halting our digging. Are we going to go underground after all?
President: "Olimar, why aren't we going into the hole that's right here? Surely there are plenty of treasures within."
Olimar: "The sun's already setting, Sir. We don't have enough time to put together an appropriately proportioned team of Pikmin for tackling these depths and make it back here before nightfall. We'd have to rush everything to get in there before dark and that wouldn't be good. Besides, we need to tend to the purple Pikmin with leaves in addition to getting this treasure back safely. For the sake of efficiency, Sir, would you permit me to heal the wounded purples while you see the whites safely home? I happen to know there is a deposit of nectar on the ledge behind the ship."
President: -nods- "Very well, Olimar. I can handle these white runts. Just make them start digging again."
Olimar: -nods back- "Thank you, Sir."
No, sadly, we're not going into the hole today. The Red Leader commands us to resume our digging so that we can take the plant back to the storage vessel. After he does so, he leaves, walking back through the place where the big bugs once slept. But, he stops partway and starts slowly looking in every direction. I can't figure out why he's doing this, and nor, apparently, can the Dark Leader.
President: "Olimar, what are you doing? Get back to the landing site and help out those purples!" -points-
Olimar: "...Yes... Sir..."
The Red Leader promptly starts walking again. Before long, he is out of sight.
Not long after that, our digging is completed when the plant pops out of the ground, nearly toppling over, but we manage to hold it steady, while ten of us lift it and begin to carry it back to the storage vessel. I am not among these ten.
We follow the Dark Leader as he follows the Pikmin carrying the plant back to the storage vessel.
Pod: "Initiating valuation of recovered treasure. The artifact is worth... 30 Pokos. I hereby dub this object... the Anti-hiccup Fungus."
At this point, the Red Leader walks out from behind the storage vessel, accompanied by the thirty purple Pikmin, all of which have flowers again.
President: "Excellent! How much did we get for the bloated seed, Olimar?"
Olimar: "The Seed of Greed was worth 70 Pokos, Sir."
President: -eyes bulge- "WHAT WAS THAT!"
Olimar: -takes a step backward- "Wait, Sir, I wasn't the one that named it!"
Pod: "Olimar is correct, Mr. President. The seed in question has sucked all the nutrients from the surrounding environment, growing massive and healthy at the expense of everything around it. I did indeed dub it the Seed of Greed, as the name seemed appropriate."
Olimar: -smirks- "Guilty conscience, Sir?"
President: -takes a step backward- "No, I didn't mean..." -suddenly scowls- "Olimar! How dare you speak to me that way! You'll get no more help from me today!"
Olimar: "That's fine, as the sun is already setting. Goodnight, Sir."
President: -steps into the light of the Pod- "Humph!"
The Dark Leader is sucked up into the floating vessel.
Olimar: -looks at the ground- -sighs-
I stand there for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened. It seemed as though the Dark Leader was scared of something that I couldn't see.
My thoughts are interrupted by the Red Leader dismissing all the Pikmin in the area. I join the queue outside the nozzle that leads to the storage vessel's interior and have soon joined the purples and whites inside. I then hear the Red Leader enter above us.
I remove myself from my fellows and listen for more noise from above. I didn't do enough today to be tired. After a while, I hear the Red Leader's voice.
Olimar: "Captain's Personal Log: dictated entry. Day 75. I have made an astounding discovery today. As I was walking back from tackling two Orange Bulborbs, I recognized the huge hollowed-out stump that they had been sleeping in. I realized that I once referred to this Wistful Wild as the Impact Site, the place where I crash-landed when I was first marooned on this planet. The Wistful Wild includes more area than I was once able to access when I called it the Impact Site, and we land in a different spot now, offering a backwards look at the locale. But, the main reason I did not recognize this place when I first set foot in an area I should have remembered was because the climate here has changed an alarming amount since I first left for Hocotate. No longer is everything green and bright; all has changed into a harsh environment where life is a struggle to maintain. ...What a world..."
The Red Leader stops, but I keep listening. Soon he speaks again.
Olimar: "It will be interesting to see what science can say about how the climates of this world change. But, I have no hope of ever leaving this planet guilt-free if Louie cannot be recovered. The irony of it all is that the President has an unnerving amount of skill when it comes to handling Pikmin, something that Louie never managed to acquire. I doubt the plan I executed with the President today to win against those Orange Bulborbs would have gone so well with Louie leading one of the two teams. Yet, the President wanted Louie dead and sent him here with me in the hopes that he would not return. Well, in a sense, the President got his wish, for Louie did not return, and now the President is doing everything he can to make Louie's disappearance permanent... and... it's working..."
The Red Leader pauses again. I hear a sniffling noise before he continues.
Olimar: "I must salvage this innocent, lost life. The President must not be allowed to win this battle. I cannot let the President gain complete control of me as he almost managed to do yesterday. If only there was a way I could control him... Telling him the name of the Seed of Greed had a profound effect on him today. Perhaps the key is getting to his conscience... In any case, I'm glad he's already asleep. Louie's life is not the only one at stake here, for I wouldn't put it past the President to attempt another murder if he was angry enough with me..."
The Red Leader breaks off for a third time. I can hear the frustration in his voice as he resumes once more.
Olimar: "...Why, though? Why is the President like this? I would be wondering right now what his hidden motives are if I wasn't relatively confident he has none. Coincidentally, there is a metaphor here worth noting: He is that Seed of Greed, siphoning life from everything he interacts with, swelling with power... only to be ultimately consumed... by a monstrous bug..."
The Red Leader finishes and does not start up again. I lie down on the floor of the storage vessel, as all the spots on carcasses and objects are taken. If only I could understand the Leaders' speech. If only I could comprehend what was going on between the two. If I concentrate hard enough... maybe... in time... I will be able to learn.
Still lost in thought, I don't know how long it takes me to get to get to sleep.
Olimar: "What am I going to do?"
A special thanks to those people who made this chapter possible: SolGardien, my editor, and Sianaris, writer of Our Fair Leader, another awesome Pikmin story that never ceases to inspire me to write more of mine; check it out while you're waiting for my next chapter. -winks-