Disclaimer: I own neither pikmin nor its characters
Chapter 19: closer than it seems
I woke up to the rising sun…but something was wrong. Well, a couple things, actually. I was in a sandy area, dense trees a couple yards away in every direction. The next thing I noticed was I was pikmin sized again, which meant Star was visiting again. But why would he visit me? The moment that thought crossed my mind, I noticed the scariest thing about all this. The sky was a dark orange, the sand was blood red, even the trees were a fiery color. Something was defiantly wrong.
"Your right Alex, and that's what we came to talk to you about" Star said.
"What happened? And why is everything red?" I asked. The dream pikmin never visited me with only one night in between unless something big was going to happen.
"The coloration of your surroundings reflect how your feeling, and right now, you feel stressed by the danger" Starlet said
"Ok, but what was so important you came to me so quickly after the last visit?" I asked.
"We visited Dream city to talk to the Dream council last night, and they were in a panic" Star said
"What? Why?" I asked
"If the enemy you face remains unchallenged here, the whole world could be in danger" Starlet said
Well, this defiantly took on a story-like feeling. Now I was saving the world? "No, someone else could handle it, were worried about you" Star said, reading my thoughts
"Look, I'm not sending the pikmin back" I said
"Alex, this isn't about you anymore. On Monday night, he will attack your house. There's no might, he WILL attack if he stays here." Starlet said "that's why we came, the warning isn't minor anymore"
"Wait, so in a week he's going to attack?" I asked. They nodded "so you're saying I have to activate the return home feature now?"
"It's not our request anymore. We asked the dream council for permission to tell you 2 days in advanced, and they told us to tell you now" Star said
"But He'll know, he'll stop me from activating it" I said
"Not if you program it right" Starlet replied "if you turn on stealth mode, by programming it differently, then it can do all the preparations it needs without alerting anyone, then it can go into the final procedures.
"How do I do that?" I asked
"Program it to find all the targets and locate their time first, it'll take longer. But the difference is worth it. Instead of being available that morning, it will be available around noon, if you time it right." Star said
"What about the pikmin, I'll never see them again!" I said
Star and Starlet just looked at each other, then at me "you don't have all your memories, do you?" Starlet asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked back
"Alex, you've already seen the pikmin before" Star said
"Well I know that, how else could I have gotten the pikmin leaders here?" I asked rhetorically
"Do you remember how the Emperor Bulbax wanted you dead? How the Titan Dweevil and the Plasm wraith were after you as well, even though you didn't do anything?" Starlet asked. I nodded "you traveled into the past, but you had already sent something there"
"What do you mean?" I asked
"Alex, the games" Starlet said
I thought about the pikmin games, but I had practically lived them. Then I remembered something I had done. I was very young when I started programming, and when I had first played pikmin, I had thought it needed a more realistic aspect to it, so I modified it. There was a glitch in the program though, and a parasitic creature was put in. I took it out while in the game, but the code was still in the program, but I couldn't find the bug.
I could feel the color drain from my face as I realized I had created the bloodthirsty creature that had almost destroyed me, the pikmin, Olimar. Me changing the program made it real, and the parasite I had put in wanted me dead. I guess it had combined with the programming of another monster and wanted Olimar gone as well.
My vision became darker, but the sun was still high in the sky. "Alex?" I faintly heard Starlet. I heard the faint footsteps of pikmin as I started swaying. I finally fell, and the pikmin caught me.
"It's not your fault Alex, you were only about 6 or 7, you didn't know the consequences" Starlet said, trying to consol me.
I wasn't paying attention. The realization that most of what happened was my fault had made a huge impact on me. It definitely didn't help that the area was now black.
"Star, do something!" Starlet said, panicking
"What can I do? I don't know how to help him!" Star replied
"Do one of those distraction things" she replied
"Those only work on pikmin, and only when they aren't at the verge of unconsciousness" he shot back
"What do we do? This never happened!" Starlet said. Seeing them panic, however weakly I could focus didn't help at all and actually made it worse. My vision flickered from blurry to dim, and I knew I wouldn't last much longer. What would happen if I passed out while they were still with me?
"Star! What will happen?" Starlet was in full panic now
"I don't know! Dream council never told us!" he replied, all composure gone. This had to be the scariest thing for them since leaving the waking world, since this is the only time they have been in danger.
"That's it! He's dreaming!" Star finally said
"And that helps how?" Starlet said. By now all the others were running around in panic
"Wake him up!" Star said
"What? Do you know what that could do?" Starlet asked
"It might hurt a pikmin, but humans are used to nightmares" he replied
They ran to the onion, and suddenly I woke up screaming.
Another chapter written! I have no idea where this came from, but there it is! Actually, I know some sources. I thought a bit about how the ending might be, and I figured I would leave enough room for two options. Also, I was rereading one of my earlier stories, and I realized there was something I never explained, so I decided to sort it out here. Remember: I love criticism, reviews encourage me, and I'm open to input. Bye for now!