Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 17: change of heart
I woke up with my throat still sore. Whatever I had caught, it wasn't going away any time soon. I ate, not saying much, and then we left the ship. There was a part in the water just there…I wonder why we didn't get it before. Anyways, I called out the blues, who came quicker than last time, and we went to get the part. I looked at Aqua nervously, but she was fine. There was surprisingly no resistance as the pikmin carried the part, which happened to be the Anti-Dioxin Filter, back to the ship. Olimar was elated to have that part back. "I need to write a report, you can relax for the day." He said, as he climbed into the ship. With my foggy head, I wasn't able to think of much. I tried to think of ways to cure myself, and that brought me to my Family…but I wasn't the one crying. I looked up to see Aqua balled up, sobbing softly as a couple blues tried to calm her down. I got Daisy and Flame out, and she calmed down quickly with Flames help. I sent the other Blues into the Onion. "You guys explore, I want to talk with Aqua a bit" I told Flame and Daisy. They walked off talking, just like Aqua and Daisy had the first time I got home sick. "You ok Aqua?" I asked her, more than a little worried. She nodded "I just miss my family, that's all." I nodded, "Flame told me how he got stuck, why don't you tell me how you got here?" Aqua looked at me, seemed to try to compose herself, then started telling me her story. "Well, it started when I was chosen to go out to the field. I wasn't chosen for ability, I was chosen for strengthening. Well, the Onions malfunctioned and we ended up lost in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't see the flight screen, but I knew the reds had ended up in the water somewhere. I couldn't save them though because my leader wouldn't listen to me, and I had no idea where the yellows went. Unfortunately, we pushed the onion too hard, and it dropped into a cave. We barely avoided a crash landing as we careened towards the ground. We landed in the water, and everyone got out. They told me to stay with the onion while they looked around. I thought very negative thoughts as I watched them leave, but I was determined to do my job and prove to them I was stronger than they thought. The time went by, I couldn't watch the sun, so I had no idea how close to night it was. Then I heard a roar, and I knew it was sunset. My first thought: they abandoned me! Then I heard a scream. 'Aqua! Leave without us!' they didn't abandon me, they were trapped! I wanted to stay and help, but I had to follow orders. I quickly ran inside and took off. I was inexperienced with the controls, so it was hard to navigate. I saw the exit, and I headed straight for it. In my excitement, I hit a button, and the onion shot up, and straight into the ceiling. It plummeted down, and splashed into the water. I was thrown into stasis as the onion did the only thing it could: it buried under ground. I waited there for someone who could command me to come along." She gave me a sad smile as she finished "wow, it must drive you crazy" I said "it certainly does, that's why I'm so anxious all the time, and the reason blues are so sad. I felt like I could have helped if I had spoken up, but I was the weakest link, and they could have thrown me out for disobeying orders." She sighed again. From what Aqua said, she was like a rebellious kid. It seems like pikmin colors develop their personalities, just like humans do. "Wait, so your onion malfunctions too?" I asked "yea, all of the onions do. The onions constantly need readjustment because their mechanical part fails all the time. Onions were originally plants that evolved a bit more advanced than others because of how small they are. Pikmin are the onions seed, originally we were stationary, growing into an onion when the old one is destroyed. But a mutation caused one of the seeds to become part animal, and the instinct allowed the first pikmin to break free and defend its nest. Pikmin help the onion through a symbiotic relationship, we keep it running and it keeps us safe. We have to constantly readjust and upgrade the onions to help make our battle for survival easier, but it's not too hard. I just wished we hadn't gone so far off track." She sighed, and I figured I wasn't getting any more information out of her. I noticed a look in her eye that seemed admiring, but she turned away. Thinking about it, she was a bit different from the others. Each leader had a unique quality none others had: flame had a different mindset than his group, Daisy had a natural leading ability, and Aqua seemed scared. No other pikmin was scared. My wondering thoughts stopped when I was hit by a pounding headache. "You need rest Alex" she said. The care I heard in her voice was only matched by Olimar's. I dismissed it to hallucination, and climbed into the ship. The sun was setting anyways, and I saw Aqua run to get Daisy and Flame before it was too late, but I saw a glint of light off metal too. I jumped out of the ship. "Alex! What are you doing?" the question was lost as I picked up…a glitter dress! I ran back with it and quickly climbed in as the ship took off. I fell asleep soon after we were put into orbit, my mind too clouded to think straight.
Well, now you've heard Aqua's story. I got too carried away with the story and almost forgot the surprise I promised, so I put something in at the last minute. I have no idea where I'm going to go with the dress, but it was the only thing I could think of. The next chapter may be a bit, but it should be pretty good. Remember: I love criticism of all kinds, Reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!