Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 16: the commanders job
I woke up in a fit of coughing. That was really wired, it wasn't likely I would get sick because of my space suit…which I had taken off to try to help Flame. That was so stupid! I caught a cold from him! It was still night, but my throat was too sore for me to go back to sleep. I stayed up half the night board, watching the Onions and stars. I noticed the red was flying straighter, though it wasn't perfect, and the blue was starting to wobble a bit. I dismissed it as Olimar woke up. "You're up early" He said "couldn't sleep" I replied weakly. Yep, I was defiantly sick. "Are you feeling alright?" Olimar asked me "a bit sick, but nothing too bad" I said as I started coughing again. We ate, heating my meal a bit more than normal, and then we got out. I had to balance against the ship as the world seemed to spin around me. "Are you sure you're alright Alex?" Olimar said. I knew he was trying to help, but I didn't want him to worry about me. "I'll be fine" I said, turning on the suits fan. It was amazing that I had managed to make this suit rechargeable, but it couldn't filter out Oxygen for some reason. Anyways, I tried to go to the onion, but I stumbled and hit the leg, that was enough to call out the 100 pikmin I'd need for today. "Is that Alex?" "He doesn't look too good" "is he sick?" "How would he get sick?" the pikmin were all looking at me, some talking to each other about my condition. I saw one that was a bit paler than the others, and knew it was Flame. Olimar whistled, and the chatter immediately stopped as they ran over to him. I shook off the dizziness I was feeling and thought about the next part. "There's a part a bit farther from where the Libra was, we could try there." I said. Now the sickness in my voice was apparent to me as well. We retraced the path, and then we went a bit further to the part. The pikmin took hold of it, then stopped. "Why did they stop?" Olimar asked. I looked over and saw Flame swaying unsteadily. Yesterday he couldn't stand without support, so this was preferable, but he was in no condition to lead. That's when I realized why they needed a leader. "That makes total sense now!" I said, right before becoming overcome by a coughing fit. "What does?" Olimar asked after I recovered "the leaders are needed to tell the pikmin where to carry things!" I said, finally realizing why he couldn't stay in the Onion. "So how do they get it back without a leader?" Olimar asked. I stayed silent for a while, before whispering "they don't, the others do." "Are you crazy?" Olimar shouted, before adding "no, your judgment's clouded." But Flame gave me a silent agreement, meaning I had the right idea. "Or YOU can lead them!" Olimar looked at me as if I was insane "I can't lead them!" but I ignored him, and blew my whistle in a way I hadn't before, and the pikmin carrying the part came running…dropping the part in the process. "Huh, guess your right" I said. I couldn't think of what to do, except… "Olimar, think we can get rid of the fire?" I asked. "We can try" was his response. Then I remembered something. I got out a small metal object, and put it in the hole. The pikmin ran after it, and the fire geyser was out. Olimar stared at me wide eyed. "How did you know that would work?" he said, amazed "I didn't" I said, just as amazed. I threw it to the next one, and the pikmin charged. The remaining 4 went out before noon. We switched the reds for blues (not sure why specifically blue), and I stumbled again. Then I realized, no pikmin had come out. That was the same thing that had happened to red…I tried again, and they came out, though a bit reluctantly for some reason. I'd ask about that latter. We took them to the analog computer, and they carried it back with no problems. Aqua seemed a bit more nervous when she was talking to the pikmin. I thought about how sick I figured she didn't want to get sick. I had noticed reds nose twitching slightly, and wondered if there were different signs each color gave that meant they were sick. I dismissed the thought, and realized what I had done with the fire. Where had that come from? My head was fogy, so I couldn't think straight, but I look through my pockets anyways. I found a manual I had written for my prototype…the prototype! I had almost forgotten the reason I was here! The nausea kicked in triple time as I realized I had forgotten my only escape from this hostile part of the world. A few pikmin barely caught me as I fell, and then they put me on my feet again. "Are you sure you're ok Alex?" Olimar said. I didn't even know anymore, I did know one thing: I needed air. Against my better, though clouded, judgment, I took off my helmet…the air didn't help. I burst into another fit of coughing, and I fell as the room started spinning. "Alex?" Olimar said, obviously worried. I was way too weak to get up, and some of the pikmin started carrying me towards the ship. I passed out from dizziness as I felt them drop me.
Well, another chapter done! I might have over did it with the whole sick thing, but I'm keeping it. There's going to be another surprise next chapter, so you guys have something to look forward to! Oh, and don't worry about Alex, I really exaggerated his symptoms because I was stuck on an idea to fill the rest of the chapter. The same applies as always: I love criticism of any kind, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!