Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 8: more surprises
I woke up to the ships engine, and rolled away just in time for it to land right where I was sleeping, whoops. I dusted myself off as Olimar came out, carrying a bowl of space noodles. "Figured you'd be hungry, and I saw you as we landed, so…" he gave me the bowl, and I ate it happily. Then he saw the space float, which I had used as a pillow. "Found the space float, huh?" I nodded my mouth full of noodles. Once the pikmin were out, he sent them to take it to the ship. I yawned, having been up all night. "There is a piece not too far from here, we should go after that." I said, yawning again. "Correction, I should go after that." Olimar said, emphasizing the I. "YOU need rest." "No I don't." I protested sleepily, even though I knew I did. "Tell you what, let's go get the part, and then I'll look around while you rest with the pikmin, sound like a deal?" he was being gentle, and I knew he wanted what was best for me. He was kind of like a father right now, my actual dad never really paid much attention to me, so he was better in many aspects. We went through the area where the stone gate was, and the pikmin started building the bridge from the sticks. I knew me and Olimar wouldn't be able to go on it, but the pikmin were good climbers. They got the automated gear, and quickly brought it to the ship. I sighed with relief, another part collected. I yawned, then checked my watch. The sun had barley come up! Then I thought about something. All the pikmin out were flowers, but the day when we first took a day off they were too. The shock absorber had been closer to the ship than the automated gear, and the gear required more work. Were the pikmin becoming more efficient? I yawned again, I was running low on energy from my night excursion. The thing was, we had plenty of time to get another part, and I knew exactly which one it could be. Unfortunately, Olimar didn't agree. "I know you're going to say we can get another part, but you have to rest." I was about to protest, but another yawn cut me off. "Alex, this isn't debatable, I'll make the pikmin carry you if I have to, you're not working anymore." Yep, just like a father… "Come on Olimar, I know where it is!" I protested. "No means no Alex." "But-" I was cut short by a yelp of surprise as the pikmin picked me up. "Put me down!" I yelled, as they carried me back to the ship. The other pikmin followed, and Olimar went exploring by himself. The pikmin put me down in front of the ship, then they split into color groups. I got up and dusted myself off. They dropped me pretty harshly. I guess they weren't used to carrying living beings. I tried to go back to Olimar, but some of the nearby pikmin picked me up and put me back in front of the ship. They were certainly loyal, though I couldn't understand why they followed Olimar's order to keep me here, but wouldn't let me out. I sighed, and dozed off. I woke up and found some of the pikmin carrying me again. "HEY!" I yelled. They immediately dropped me and ran back to their groups. I rubbed my head, and then I realized I didn't hear them making noise. I knew my hearing wasn't gone because I heard the natural noises perfectly, but I couldn't hear the pikmin. I looked at the map and they were still in groups, but they were silent. Then I realized there was talking. "I wonder where Olimar is." "He's probably looking for more parts." "Are we really supposed to be guarding Alex?" "You heard Olimar, he's supposed to stay here." "But he didn't tell us to keep him here, what if we have the wrong idea?" I got up, wondering who was talking, though I had a pretty good idea. The pikmin burst into noise. "He got up!" "Is he going to try to run again?" "We can take him easy, he won't try to hurt us." I didn't like that last one. I whistled…and they ignored me. "He tried calling us!" "He's smart, but not that smart!" now they were getting on my nerves. I whistled much louder. They all quieted and turned towards me, I did still hear whispers. "Is he angry?" "Does he want out that badly?" "What's he going to do to us?" now I felt guilty for scaring them. I checked my watch and the sun was halfway down the sky. Olimar would be back soon. Then I looked at the pikmin. They were all looking at me expectantly, and I could still hear some nervous whispers. "Who picked me up and woke me?" 4 reds and 4 yellows were pushed from their groups. They were deathly silent, they all were. "Why would you pick me up when I was sleeping?" I asked. "It was instinct! Were sorry!" one of the yellows said. "You are forgiven." I said, and they all gasped in surprise. "You understand us?" one of the reds asked. I nodded, and we spent the remainder of the day talking. I got to know how pikmin feel about us, and they got to know my feelings, as well as some stories that interested way more than just a few of them. The pikmin went back to their onions just as Olimar came running back. I swear I heard their pikmin noises again right before the onions took off. We climbed in the ship, and took off. I had never had higher hopes, or happier dreams.
Wow, 3 days in a row of new chapters, I feel very accomplished. I love the feedback I'm getting, it really encourages me. I want to keep things similar to the game, but also quite different. The next chapter will be easier to stretch out, though still a bit difficult. My main problem is I'm having trouble fitting a story in between the battles, piece discoveries, and the new things Alex and Olimar are learning. I put in some of Alex's backstory in this chapter, and I might put more in upcoming chapters. Remember, I'm open to input, I love criticism, and reviews encourage me. Bye for now!