Chapter 13: Big World, Small Heroes
Captain Olimar of the Hocate Freight delivery company had crashed his spaceship, the Dolphin onto a mysterious world. The parts of his ship had scattered, leaving him stranded. Fortunately, he encountered small creatures who called this planet their home. They were known as Pikmin, and they aided in Olimar's quest to rebuild the Dolphin and return home.
"Captain's Log. The Pikmin's curiosity led them to me, and when I blew on my whistle, they seemed to take on my command and follow. If only Alph can do the same. They have been helpful in my journey on this planet. My hope is that I can return home before my oxygen runs out," he said.
The Pikmin chirped and whistled as they carried the parts of the Dolphin to where Olimar had set up his camp. "It seems many of my parts have been damaged, but with the enormous amount of resources that are on here, perhaps I'll be able to adapt. Hopefully it would be enough to allow me to leave. Captain's Log out," he said.
Samus had taken her gunship to investigate the planet. Accompanying her were Mario, Link, Zelda, and Kirby. There, they hoped they could find any information on the Crosses of Light and Darkness or any heroes who can aid them in the incoming war.
"So, what do we think of this place?" Mario asked. "It's bigger than any planet I've seen," Samus said. "How many planets have you seen?" Mario asked. "A lot," Samus said. "Do you always try to avoid conversation?" Mario asked. Samus said nothing. "I'll take that as a yes," Mario said. "Oh my. This is definitely an extraordinary vessel. It is capable of flight, something we only achieved with Vah Medoh. You say there are many of these where you're from?" Zelda asked. "Yes," Samus said. "Fascinating. You must tell me all about them," Zelda said. "No," Samus said. "I know that Fox said you weren't much of a talker, but I didn't think he'd meant you're this much of a talker," Mario said. Samus said nothing. "Well Link doesn't really talk much," Zelda said. "Yeah. Well he's pretty much been like that since the moment we met," Mario said. "Oh?" Kirby questioned.
Samus kept quiet, as she thought of her past. She remembers her mother being killed by the Space Pirate, Ridley, and her father sacrificing himself to defeat the space pirates, leaving Samus orphaned. Since then, when she had found out that Ridley had been alive since that attack, she dedicated her life to slaying the dragon. When Zelda had mentioned Ridley, all the memories of the past had flooded Samus once more. Knowing he was involved with this, she knew that this would be the opportunity to kill that dragon. The only thing that mattered to her was getting to him.
"Hey Samus, is that supposed to be blinking?" Mario asked. "Hm?" she mumbled. Ahead of her, in her distraction, she had noticed a bulldozer, 100 times bigger than her gunship, was getting closer. Samus navigated through the controls of the bulldozer, when Mario noticed the big handles. "Whoa. That is big," Mario said in awe. "What is this contraption?" Zelda asked in awe. "This is a bulldozer, although it is way bigger than it's supposed to be," Mario said. "A bulldozer? What is its purpose?" Zelda said. "Well construction workers normally use it to move dirt, or move heavy objects," Mario said. "Fascinating!" Zelda exclaimed.
Samus landed the ship near a giant glass bottle hidden in the large strands of grass. "Wow. These things are practically trees," Mario said. They exited the ship and now found themselves in a world where objects are so big that they were the size of ants. "Do you think the people here are giants or just like building giant stuff they can never use?" Mario asked. "Let's get moving," Samus said. "Wait. Shouldn't we mark where the "ship" is?" Zelda asked. "There's a giant glass bottle next to it," Samus said. Zelda looked. "Fair point," Zelda said. They all walked through the large blades of grass. "Mamma mia. Do you think they have large spaghetti here?" Mario asked. "What is spaghetti?" Zelda asked. "What? You don't know what spaghetti is?" Mario asked in shock, "It's only one of the finest Italian delicacies around. Hey, how about after all this, I'll make you a plate of Grandma Maria's family spaghetti." "Hm, perhaps it would be nice to give it a try," Zelda said. "Let's focus on the now, instead of looking forward," Samus said.
They stopped as they heard the chirp of a Pikmin. A small, red Pikmin walked past them. "What is that? It looks like a walking red carrot," Mario said. "Hm, it is indeed a fine specimen. Perhaps if I could study it more. Like that one time I had Link eat a frog," Zelda said. Link gulped. The Pikmin looked at them, waved and continued walking until it hid itself in the blades of grass. "Hm. Looks like that little guy is by itself," Mario said. Mario was about to take a step until Samus stopped him. "Wait," Samus said. "Huh?" Mario questioned. Following the red Pikmin was a blue, yellow, white and purple Pikimin, while also being followed by many more Pikmin. "Looks like they're going somewhere. We better follow," Samus said. "Why? Is it a hunch?" Mario asked. "No," Samus said. Some of the Pikmin carried bolts and pieces from what looks like a rocket ship. "Let's go," Samus said.
They followed the Pikmin. "So, what's your twos story?" Mario asked. Link questioned. "Us?" Zelda asked. "Of course. Obviously if the villains are being tactical, then there must be a reason why they went after you," Mario said. "Well, we were in Hyrule, preparing for the return of the Calamity Ganon," Zelda said. "Ganon? Do you think he might be connected to Ganondorf?" Mario asked. "I haven't met this Ganondorf, but I heard Kohga mention him," Zelda said. "Well in summary, Link was chosen by the Master Sword, we chose four Champions across Hyrule, including Revali who you've already met," Zelda said. "The bird with the punchable face," Mario said. "I suppose so. And then… there's me. The princess who contains the power to seal the Calamity Ganon," Zelda said with regret in her voice. "Why do you say it like that?" Mario asked. "Well, I have been training for most of my life to unlock this power, and everything I did," Zelda said with a tear falling from her eye, "No matter what I did! This power won't come out!" "Hey, hey," Mario said calmly, "No need to get upset. I'm pretty sure it takes time to unlock," Mario said. "I wonder if it is because there is something wrong… with me," Zelda said.
"No," Samus said as she came to a halt, "You're putting too much pressure on yourself. Either way it wouldn't matter because your kingdom has already been invaded." "Samus!" Mario chastised. "It's the harsh truth. A mercenary always deals with it," Samus said. "Well I'm not sure about you, but we're not mercenaries," Mario said, "We're, well we're as human as we get. So are you." "You have no idea who I am," Samus said sternly. "No. Well tell us. You've been keeping awfully quiet about yourself!" Mario yelled. "Listen plumber! We have nothing in common!" Samus yelled, "You have no idea what I go through! What I've been going through for years!" "Enough!" Zelda yelled.
Link took a deep breath in and out. Kirby looked at everyone with a questioned expression. Then from up ahead, they heard chirps but this time it was if the chirps were made of distress. "Let's go," Samus said with resentment. "Yeah. Let's a-go," Mario said. They broke through the blades of grass and witnessed Pikmin running around, chirping in distress as a giant creature with a mushroom pattern on its back end. Then they all heard the chirps of whistle.
"Purple Pikmin! Pick up the rest! Yellow Pikmin! Zap the Bulborb!" Olimar ordered. The Pikmin chirped like soldiers and followed orders. Yellow Pikmin cluttered the Bulborb and as they hit it with their stems on their head, they also caused some electrical current. The Purple Pikmin all helped the Pikmin who fell. "Blue Pikmin! Spray water on the Bulborb!" Olimar ordered. The Blue Pikmin chirped and sprayed water on the Bulborb, causing the electricity from the Yellow Pikmin to harm it more. It was until the Bulborb roared and left. "Good job team!" Olimar said.
"Excuse me. Sir?" Zelda asked. "Huh?" Olimar turned around and saw the gang, "Why, I didn't think I'd see life here! Besides the Pikmin, and the occasional monsters." Olimar got down from his rock and he was probably slightly taller than Kirby but shorter than Mario. "Captain Olimar, of the Hocate Freight Delivery Company," Olimar said. "A captain? Then you have leadership skills?" Zelda asked. "Well if the Pikmin are anything to go by, then I suppose so," Olimar said. Olimar's makeshift oven beeped. "Oh, the meal is ready. Would you like to join me?" "Sure thing. I could go for food," Mario said.
The gang all sat down at a table created by the Pikmin, although it was pretty small. As they ate, Olimar mentioned that he had been stranded on the planet. "You've been stranded here?" Mario asked. "Yeah. It's pretty wild. It's a good thing that the Pikmin were the first ones to find me. Let's just say the wildlife here isn't friendly," Olimar said. "How do you control these creatures?" Samus asked. "Well, they seem to be fond of my whistle. I'm not sure why, but since then they have aided me in repairing the Dolphin," Olimar said. "You named your ship after an aquatic mammal?" Samus questioned. "Yeah, because I like dolphins," Olimar said.
"Listen, Olimar. You may not know what is happening in the universe, but there are currently sinister works against us. We could use your aid in the coming battle," Zelda said. "A war? Sorry, but I'm not the fighter type. I let the Pikmin do that for me," Olimar said. "Our enemies will no doubt have an army. We're still building up, but with your help you'll at least add to our numbers," Mario said. "Eh, I'm not sure," Olimar said. "Well, if you can't fight, then your Pikmin might be able to aid us. They may not do much, but they can add something. Unfortunately we cannot control them, but you can," Samus said. "So you want me to act as a trainer for the Pikmin? Giving them orders?" Olimar asked. "Precisely. Besides, I am sure we have enough space for them," Zelda said. "Hm. Alright. But I have conditions," Olimar said. "What exactly do you have in mind?" Samus asked.
The Pikmin all carried Olimar's ship's parts to Samus' ship. They also carried what looked like giant onions. "Onions? You're gonna eat them like that one movie?" Mario asked. "These Onions help grow the Pikmin numbers. As long as I carry Pikmin sprouts, I can grow more," Olimar said. Olimar then had all the Pikmin enter the gunship. Olimar went inside with Link and Kirby.
Mario took a deep sigh. "Look Samus. I didn't mean those things. I know I don't know your past," Mario said. "And I won't expect you to know," Samus said. "Then why not tell us?" Mario asked. "I keep things to myself. My past is for me to know," Samus said. "I sense you're hurting," Zelda said. "Hurt. That word is just a simple description of my past," Samus said. "You know, if you talk about it, then maybe," Mario said. "No!" Samus yelled as she stormed into her ship, leaving Mario and Zelda. "She isn't going to talk," Mario said. "Perhaps she will in time," Zelda said, "We're just gonna have to be patient." "I suppose so. That's very wise of you," Mario said. "Impa says I have my moments," Zelda said.
They entered the ship and it took off, leaving this big world and bringing new small heroes to aid in the incoming battle.