Summary; our three interrupt explorers have located a new area on PNF-404! Scans indicate this location is BURSTING at the seams with edible matter. With the promise of more fruit, Brittany, Alph, and Charlie venture off. Little did the captains know, they were about to mean a creature that'll shatter everything they knew about the universe.

Notes: Going to use the European version of Charlie because I find him a lot more charming and more fitting with this fic.

Also there are some spoilers for pikmin 4. The only relating spoiler is that I am using the final boss but not as a true enemy~

It should have started normally. A routine morning meeting before heading down to the strange and largely unknown planet. Charlie smiled at his two crewmates, watching them yawn and shuffle down into S.S Drake's cockpit. Being the first to wake does have its perks, the Captain found the sleepy expressions of the other Koopai's face rather adorable! Not that he would tell…

"Good Morning!" Chimed out Charlie, placing his hands on his hips. He smiled as Brittany murmured something that sounded like a greeting then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Mornin' Captain." Replied Alph. He yawned and stretched a little. "Why are we awake so early?"

Turning slightly Charlie nodded to the control board. Soft beeps and gentle flashes of light greeted the engineer's eyes. A shiver ran down Alph's spine, shaking away any remaining sleep. Feeling invigorated, Alph power walked to the controls, his hands flying around the board once they were in reach.

"While on my morning walk around the S.S Drake," Began Charlie, following with his head. "When all of a sudden there was a bunch of beeps coming from the ship's radar! Of course I had to investigate it. From what I can tell the ship has picked up a-"

"Whole new location!" Squeaked out Alph, a broad smile spreading around his face. He turned sharply around before continuing. "And from the looks of the scans, this place is bursting with a ton of different types of fruit!"

"Oh that's wonderful!" Chirped Brittany, clapping her hands toward. Then frowned slightly as a thought flew into her mind. "How come we didn't know this place in the other scans? Slightly a place with this much edible matter would have been picked up."

Humming in thought, Alph turned back to the S.S Drake's controls and began to type.

"Well from the data the S.S Drake collected, the location is rather small compared to the other places we traversed." Alph said slowly, eyes darting from one screen to the next. Charlie and Brittany walked up behind the busy engineer, watching the screens as well. He turned to look at his crewmates and pointed at some of the pictures all of them took throughout their adventures.

"It is always heavily forested as well. Given how large this planet's flora can grow, it's possible that it was simply well hidden."

There was a pause in the conversation as the koppai trio were deep in thought. Brittany was the first to break the silence.

"Then again we could have discovered two other locations without the data guttons we discovered earlier." Mused Brittney, placing a hand on her cheek and tilting her head slightly. "Perhaps given the extra power, only now that our scans could pick up this place. A whole containment is much easier to find than this plot of land."

"Make sense." Agreed Charlie, nodding his head sagely. "Well then, shall we land there or…?"

"Lets!" Chirped Brittany, excited out the idea of getting more and possible new fruit. She turned to Charlie with sparkles in her eyes, or maybe that is just the light bouncing off of her glasses. Either way Charlie chuckled light heartedly as he returned his gaze back to Alph. Cute…

"I see no harm in exploring this new area." Said Charlie placing his hands behind his straight back. With a firm nod, Alph's hands flew across the super computer's buttons, switches, and levers. Excitement soon filled everyone's heart as the S.S Drake shuttered then began to descend into PNF-404. Trailing beside them was the ever faithful Pikmins' colorful onion.

Alph was not kidding when he said that this place was heavily forested. Both Charlie and Alph had to sear the ship through rows upon rows of massive trees. If they can help it, none of them want to experience another crash on this planet. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief when the S.S Drake safely landed with a light bump. Alph briefly watched the Onion land beside the ship before joining his crewmates prepping. Today they are exploring a brand new area, there is much to prepare. Extra medical devices, charged up Koppads, and so much more. After what felt like forever and one pout from Brittany about how long it's taking, Charlie gave the crew the all clear to move outside.

Today was just simply beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the line of trees swayed in the gentle wind. Brittany was the first to notice how the trees are growing. The first thing that struck all three Koppais was how heavy the trees were with fruit. Charlie whistled softly, Alph let out a breath and Brittany clapped her hands in pure glee. Each and every tree had those delightful pink and fuzz Mock Bottoms.

"There's so many Mock Bottoms!" Charlie commented, craning his head back to get a better look. "My friends, I believe we have struck gold! Well with this type of fruit but still!"

Brittany giggled and Alph laughed alongside, both ecstatic. The amount of fruit here is staggering, enough to put them at ease with both in terms of fruit juice and seed harvesting. As Alph and Charlie trotted over to the large onion, Brittany stayed behind, her joyous mood slowly dropping as she continued to view the Mock Bottom trees. Something… Isn't right…

"Huh… The trees are in a straight line." She murmured, carefully examining each and every tree. Here on PNF-404 nearly all flora were bigger than Koppia is used to. Hardly anything back on their homeworld can compare to these titan size trees. Yet the more Brittany looked the more unsettled she became. This… looks a lot like an orchard. Nothing in the wild can have trees growing evenly spaced out let alone in straight lines.

Something or…A cold shiver went down Brittany's body, Someone had planted these trees here. A cold dread began to creep into the pit of her stomach, chasing away any hunger.

"Brittany?"

Alph's soft voice broke the botanist's train of thought. She flinched slightly then looked over to Alph, almost surprised at the large army of pikmin behind him and Charlie. An even 20 of all 5 colors that added to a hundred pikmin. Each pikmin standing at attention and ready for orders. Despite it, the counts did little to comfort Brittany. Sucking in a quick breath, Brittany smiled.

"Ah, sorry Alphie! I'm ok." She quickly chirped, stepping forward and joined her crewmates with the pikmin. "Let's hurry and start collecting, these Mock bottoms are not going to harvest themselves Heheh~!"

Even if someone planted these trees, there is little evidence that their owners are still around. SPERO's scan showed that PNF-404 held no signs of intelligent life forms, just a hoard of fruit. Fruit they need to save not only her family but the whole world of Koppia. Brittany hoped the owner won't mind a few missing fruit here and there…

With the sheer amount of fruit and sprawling trees, Charlie ordered everyone to take a chunk of pikmin and explore the area.

"We'll be here forever if we don't split up… For maximum efficiency, everyone take some pikmin and gather the fruit separately."

Brittany didn't like this idea at all yet she can't argue Charlie's logic. There has to be at least over fourty trees and each heavy with fruit. If they were to stay together, it'll take them MONTHS to do one tree. Granted one tree would give them more than each fruit for a long time, they needed seeds from many different trees for a healthy gene pool. With a silence sight, Brittany nodded and walked to a randomly picked Mock Bottom tree.

"Brittany?" Drawled out Charlie, having stopped and is now squinting slightly at her. "Are you ok? You're quieter than normal."

"Of course I am, j-just stunned at the amount of trees and fruit." Brittany replied. Which was true!

"Hm… If you say so. Well, the land is pretty flat so we're all within running distance."

"True… I'll keep that in mind."

And with that the captain turned away to his appointed tree. Brittany played with her fingers for a moment before she too continued to walk. Eyes on the prize Brittany eyes on the prize.

'Do this for my people…'

A few hours into the day Alph found himself gazing up at his appointed tree, in awe at the sheer size. It was nearly as tall as some of the skyscrapers back at home. Already he collected four Mock Bottoms and there's still tons to collect! He can't wait to recount all of this to his family, all of his brothers will just fall over each other in surprise! An idea struck him and Alph quickly took out his koppad, he had to take some photos for his family! And maybe the news as well! In fact everyone needs to know these titan size trees and how much fruit they produce! He's pretty sure that all the scientists would want to know the full size of matured Mock Bottom trees. Hm… How to get a good angle… Backing up as far as he dared, Alph turned his koppad this way and that, trying to get a good picture. Maybe if he just...

Plop…. Click!

Smiling, Alph sat up from the ground and looked at his picture. A few free pikmin gathered around him, chirping curiously, and crowded around their leader. Alph marveled at the picture he had taken, it's no easy feat to cram such a large tree and structure into one small picture frame!

Wait… structure? Alph looked at the right hand corner of the picture riiight behind the tree, low and behold, it appears to be a…

"... House…? Is that a house?"

Zooming in on the structure, Alph can just make out the color and shape. From the slight blurry picture, it looked to be a box-like house with dirty white walls with a faded red roof. On one side there was a large opening that led into the house. If Alph had to hazard a guess it almost looked like a dog house. A dog that's thirdy times larger than a typical dog. Gripping the sides of his koppad, Alph breathing became quick and uneven. The pikmin sensing his sudden change hummed worryingly. They all chirped at one other as they questioned why their leader was suddenly scared…

If there is a house then there are house dwellers. Alph gulp then got up from his spot. He needed to find Brittany and Charlie stat! If there was a possible giant roaming around these fields-

Thud…

The ground shivered slightly causing Alph and his squad to freeze. No…

Thud…

It's getting closer. Alph's mind worked furiously, trying to convince his frozen body to move! RUN! Pikmin squeaked in freight, huddling closer for comfort.

THUD!

A low growl came from right behind the Koppia, rattling him to his very core.

Shaking Alph turned slowly around and could only stare right into the red eyes of the biggest dog he has Ever seen… The beast towered over him, its thick shaggy fur rustled in the wind. Lips curled slightly to show up the tips of its large and sharp teeth. Each tooth is easily the same length if not longer than Alph's whole body. Terror drenched Alph's mind and for a moment he couldn't think.

And a moment was all it took for the beast to lunge forward, its maw wide open.

Charlie hummed a tune to himself as he watched his pikmin lift the fifth Mock Bottom off the ground then scurried over to the S.S Drake. In his opinion, today is a great day! Not only did they find probably the largest supply of fruit, they gathered what felt like months worth of fruit juice and probably dozens if not at least a hundred seeds. They probably don't need to visit this site again with how much they collected today. Maybe he could convince Brittany to allow them all to have one jar of juice tonight, as a treat. Speaking of her… Charlie frowned a little as the memory of her worried face returned to his mind's eye. He regretted not pushing though, something clearly was bothering her. She hides it well but Charlie is a seasoned captain, he can tell by how stiff her body was that something was bothering her. Sighing, he made a note to talk to her later on the ship. He's in charge of these two and if anything happened to-

A scream pierced followed by what sounded like a deep bark through the air causing his blood to freeze into ice. Something terrible happened. Whistling to all of his pikmin, Charlie ran towards the sound while pulling out his Koppad. It rang a couple of time before Brittany answer, but not Alph.

"Brittany!" Yelled Charlie. She's safe! However Alph didn't answer his calls. It must have been him that screamed…

"Charlie! W-what happened? I heard a scream!" Quickly replied Brittany fear and worry in her voice. She appeared to be running as well given how shaky her koppad is.

"No idea! All I heard is a scream and then-"

THUD!

Charlie stopped dead in his tracks, the ground rattled. Looking around the ex ranger tried to locate the source of the tremmer. Then…

THUD THUD!

"Charlie?! Come in Charlie! What is happening?!" Brittany yelled into her koppad only to have her voice fall onto deaf ears. With eyes as wide as dinner plates, Charlie could only stare at the large… No, Huge… No. As a Koppia-like Titan emerged from the horizon.

This captain regretted taking his crew here. He regretted it with all of the fibers of his being.

Who knew that the world would end with a whimper. It sure did start out as a bang though. I remember when the first bombs fell from the sky, like a parody of rain. They crashed and burned everything, turning a colorful world into white then ashen. Mom wouldn't stop crying, worrying, while dad is out there… Somewhere, fighting. Honestly I don't remember what we were fighting for. Was it land? Resource? Or something more petty like showing off who was the strongest in the world. I don't know… All I knew was one by one my family left the farm and never came back. I'll never understand why mom left…

Best not to think about it.

Today marks the first day of peach season. Every tree that my ancestors planted is heavy with peaches. I'm glad they survived the war, I'm not sure if I want to live in a world without peaches!

Rustle rustle… Hm…? Oh!

"Hello Fizzgig!" I cooed at the two legged dog. He may not be the oddest thing that came out of the war but in my opinion one of the better things. He whined happily, wagging that fluffy tail of his. Kneeling down, I gently stroked that shaggy fur from his face. A farm is not a farm without a dog, I'm glad he survived puppyhood like the trees. It makes living less lonely.

Hm? Ah.

He was holding something in his mouth.

"What'cha got there buddy~?"

Holding out my hand, Fizzgig dropped whatever he was holding in his mouth into my palm. He looked up proudly, tongue flopping to the side as he panted, waiting for praises.

"Got a coin? Bottle cap? A…"

What…

I… Ok now the world just got weirder. I can deal with this is are where I draw the line. Shaking on my palm is possibly the smallest person I ever saw. Granted this is probably not a human. Humans are not one and a half inch tall, with blue hair, and a space suit. It doesn't take much to conclude my thoughts. Sitting on the ground and I was vaguely aware that Fizzgig crawled into my lap. Peaches can wait, I got a person in my hand. But not just any person…!

"Oh my word you're an alien."

Alph wanted to cry, in fact he's sure of it. He didn't care about his tears, however, he feared for his life. One moment he was in a peaceful Mock Bottom forest gathering fruit and the very next moment a huge dog scooped him up into its mouth. At first he thought this was it, Alph is going to get eaten just like Charlie. Only that no one could save him, this beast is just too much for any pikmin to handle. However instead of chomping down, Alph felt the dog move, bouncing far far away from his crewmates.

Suddenly the beast stopped then he heard… A voice? That can't be, it's too loud, too low, too… Big. Next thing he knew the beast opened its mouth and dropped Alph. The world tumbled around him as he fell, a messy blurry of colors and drool. Finally he stilled. He needed to open his eyes to see where in the world he was. Stomach churning, Alph cracked his eyes open then looked up.

He instantly regretted it. His eyes met the biggest creature he had ever seen. It looks like a Koppai but… Wrong. Its eyes and nose are too small, its mouth is too wide, hair covering the top of its head, and so much more.

And he was laying on its palm, compared to this Titan he was barely a few millimeters tall.

Alph instinctively curled up into a tight ball and let out a small sob. It was the only thing he could do. He just hoped beyond hope that this creature is merciful.

The Titan's voice was loud and deep, making the Koppia finch. Alph hugged his torso as he continued to cry. Maybe it's tormenting him by taking its sweet time before crushing the life out of his body. To punish him and then Brittany and Charlie for stealing its fruit. It can easily do that. It can crush him. It can throw him with such force he'll turn into mist on impact. So many horrible things! It can…!

It can… Its humming.

Hum? Opening his eyes once more Alph looked back up at the Titan and this time really studied it. Again Alph was struck on how similar looking the Titan is to a Koppia, the eyes, the nose, the mouth were all in the same places with key differences. On its brow were… lines of hair? Just about the eyes, and from how knitted together the Titan looks… Concern? Yes Concerned, for him. Its hum was deep but not unpleasant, a soft tune only it knows. Alph is reminded of when his grandpa hums a lullaby to him as a child, singing away any bad dreams. Maybe… Just maybe he'll be ok. Yet he still felt unease, Alph knew nothing of this giant. Still the fact that it's trying to comfort him is a very good sign.

When the Titan finished its song, there was an odd but not so bad silence between them. Alph continued to stare, barely realizing the scale of this situation. He's just glad that mercy is granted to him.

Charlie sat at the foot of S.S Drake, head in hands. This Koppai is not one for myths and legends. He is a Koppia of science and logic, two tools he wields in his many years as a ranger. As a child he once believed the tales of giants so tall their heads touched the sky. These Cloud Gathers and Star Catchers were his favorite stories and partially the reason he wanted to explore space. He eventually grew out of these stories, afterall no being on any planet that his kind or the neighboring kin grew to be THAT big.

Now? Now this Cloud Gather Titan has caught Alph. His crewmate and friend… This was his fault, he should have ordered more scans of the area! Maybe if he wasn't so blinded by the idea of more fruit he could have prevented this from happening! Alph would be here with him right now! This mess is his. His fault…

Brittany stood in front of him and fidgeted. She never saw Charlie like this, he was always so brave to the point of annoyance. Now he looked broken. How can she comfort him? Sighing, Brittany looked behind her and at the massive figure in the distance. Even far far away did that beast look so large… No She can not blame him, no one was prepared for this kind of stuff. It was only moments ago did a large dog steal Alph away much like Vehemoth Phosbat did with Charlie, only, bigger, and with more fur.

At first together they yelled out plan after plan on how they could save Alph from the beast yet for all of their efforts were in vain. Brittany shivered and bit back bile while looking at the Titan. Sure they met many creatures that were large yet this? This defies any logic she knew. The amount of energy, nutrition, and so many other factors of life have to come into play for a creature to grow so large! Most planets follow the same logic as Koppia, you just don't grow past a certain limit. Yet this planet continues to break this logic. Perhaps all of them should have known that something like that would live on a planet full of giant fruits.

"W… What… What should we do?" Croaked out Brittany, looking back at Charlie. For once in her life she felt lost. Charlie raised his head out from his hands to look at Brittany. For a long uncomfortable moment he was silent, thinking. Looking into her worried eyes, Charlie took a deep breath. Can he really give up so easily? With a grunt, Charlie stood up and pulled out his koppad.

Alph's signal is strong and his life signs are still showing. He is Alive. There's still a chance. Looking back up and past Brittany, Charlie watched as the Titan Cloud Gather slowly got up from where it sat. It too saw the sun beginning to set. One of its hands was out and holding something. That something, someOne, has to be Alph.

A creature like that needs rest, so there must be a place where it slept.

"We're going on a rescue mission." Stated Charlie with a firm tone that left no room to argue. He's going to fix this mess.