Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 15: another gift
I woke up after a terrible dream where we had to collect even more parts. I shook it off, trusting Olimar's ability to avoid crashes. We ate, and then looked at the map. "We should go to the forest navel next" I suggested. Olimar nodded. We landed in the forest navel after the red onion nearly crashed into us again. I'd have to ask them about that…anyways. I looked at Olimar and realized he needed cheering up. I looked at the map and remembered the Libra was in the area. Thinking about it, I remembered there was fire, but there was also a high-up place. I went to get the reds…and none came. "That's weird." I said. "Let me try." Olimar said. No one came out. "Let's get yellows, we can get reds latter." Once 100 yellows were out, we started off. What I had forgotten, was the main area was heavy on fire. It was hard maneuvering, but we managed to get to a safe spot, and then through the fire spouts. The yellows brought it down, and we went to switch them for reds. This time the reds came down, but Flame seemed nervous. The pikmin had no problem getting the part back, and then Olimar went off to train, leaving me with most of the pikmin. "What's up with the Onion, Flame?" I asked he shuffled his feet, not answering. "…are you ok Flame?" I asked. He wasn't usually like this, and I was afraid something was wrong. "The Onion Malfunctioned and I can't fix it because I keep being called out here." He made it seem like it was my fault! "You can go repair it now" I said. Flame shook his head. "I have to be out, no one else can keep the pikmin organized." There was something else wrong. I noticed his voice was softer than normal, his skin was paler than normal, and he seemed weaker, almost as if… "Are you sick?" all the pikmin looked at me when I asked the question…and the nod from Flame made them start talking to each other. He was sick! That's why! Wait…pikmin get sick? I didn't know whether to be excited or devastated by the discovery, especially since it was the leader. The reds are the least likely to get sick because of their warm body temperature, so I had no idea what to do. I did know he needed rest, but he was the leader, who could replace him? "Have pikmin gotten sick before?" I asked him. He shrugged, obviously not knowing. I had no idea what to do though! I sent two pikmin in and got Aqua and Daisy out. "What's up?" both girls asked. "Flame is sick" I said "You said we couldn't get sick Daisy!" Aqua said, obviously not knowing that. "Well, pikmin can get sick, but my pikmin are more vulnerable. Yours live in the water, so you guys have adapted good immune systems, reds are in a warm environment, giving them a better chance to defend against them, my pikmin live in the natural environment, so our immune systems haven't developed the same. Its wired he would be the one to get sick." Daisy said, obviously a bit confused. Flame seemed embarrassed, and kept quiet, whether from the sickness or embarrassment I didn't know. "Do you know how to cure him?" I asked, worried he'd end up killed. "The onion will be able to help as long as he stays in it, I think that's the reds procedure" She said. I hadn't seen her this worried about who seemed to be her opposite. In fact, I hadn't seen her this worried ever. "Wait, I live in an environment where sickness flourishes?" Aqua asked, panicking. She started freaking out again, and a couple blues had to calm her down. I could tell the rest of today was going to be a long day. "Daisy, Flame can't stay in his onion, he's the leader!" I said. "Well, we could try another tactic, but it's risky" she said. "What tactic?" I asked, worried about what she might suggest. "Well, we could put him in his element, but he'd have to go alone" she replied. Oh boy, that wasn't good. There wasn't any fire nearby, and the nearest place with fire was filled with enemies. "Are you sure there's no other way?" I asked. "I don't think so." Daisy said. "Daisy, the protocol for pikmin is based on a pikmin-based society, right?" Aqua asked "yea, we didn't know anything else existed, why?" she said back. "Because, the solution is right in front of us" Aqua said. I realized what she was hinting at. "I can't lead the reds! I don't fit in the Onion!" just then Flame coughed, or at least made a coughing sound. "You have a point there, what else can we do?" Daisy said. Just then Olimar came back. "How come these two are out?" Olimar asked, a bit confused, "and why is one of them farther away from the others?" "The one apart from the others is sick" I said. "Pikmin can get sick?" Olimar asked. I knew the others couldn't understand. Olimar whistled at Flame, and he immediately jumped up with a surprised yelp. "I'll be back Alex." Olimar said, grabbing flame. I talked with Aqua and Daisy for a bit before Olimar came back. Flame looked better, but not by much. "You won't believe how hard it was to get this guy in fire, but I did it" he set Flame down and Flame stumbled to the Onion, leaning against the post for support. "How did you know to do that?" I asked, "I figured if they were fire, and they have a higher body heat as you've said, then fire would help them" well, that solved that problem. I looked at Flame and realized he was suffering from home-sickness too, probably my fault. The pikmin went back into the onions as the sun set, and we climbed in the rocket. The red Onion took off a little more stably today. I fell asleep thinking about each pikmin's personality.
Half way there! I think I found more ideas for filler chapters, but it can be very hard. I was stuck for an idea, so I took a risk in this chapter. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with the story, but I'm trying to get more action in it. Remember: I love criticism of any kind, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!