The Pikmin OG Day 3

Days in The Pikmin OG archive

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Piku-Lord (cont.)

Mamumin and Sumin returned without a hitch and with a decent collection of leaves and berries, and even some nectar. Like that, the Garden was back in shape. They devoted the next few days to scavenging for as much food as they could. No one had even noticed Brymin's disappearance, though Prophmin noted with some irritation that Wulfmin seemed to be counting to himself. Prophmin, no doubt inspired by the Great Mamuta, decided to help with foraging to make himself less suspiscious. Though Arrmin berated him for a bit, Prophmin struggled on.

Then Wulfmin gave up his counting and decided to explore the rest of the wasteland, and Prophmin deemed it fitting to speak the will of the Great Mamuta once more.

"Fool!"

"What?" Wulfmin asked. "Are you saying you like being here?"

"Of course not! I'm just pointing out the role that the Great Mamuta gave you and you play ever so well."

"Okay, fine. Let's just all head back to the site where the Olimar left and get eaten."

"Really?"

"No."

"The Chosen One warned us against coming to this abominable place, remember? It's bad enough that we're here, now you want to doom us by going in further!"

"Other than the strange water, it doesn't seem too dangerous."

"And the metal beast?"

"I'm not even sure it exists."

"Of course you're not. But you hardly matter."

Wulfmin gave up and walked away. There was one small snag in the form of a metallic-looking gate that blocked their way in. No problem for Mamumin and the purple Pikmin though, so he called the six of them over.

There were only five.

Wulfmin winced, realizing why he was counting the last few days. "Where's Brymin?"

"Haven't seen him," one said.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since that night you all passed out," Mamumin added.

"He couldn't leave then, though," Wulfmin continued.

"He was taken!" Prophmin shouted, rushing up to the group a little too quickly. "As I was returning from my unsuccessful harvest, I heard a ghastly sound coming from our shelter. Moments later, one of the Bulbm--er, a little Bulborb left. I was afraid to tell you, because I know how the will of the Great Mamuta displeases you so."

Wulfmin waved him away, glaring at the ground. "Okay, well. I want you guys to break down that wall." He pointed in the general direction. "I'll be right back."

Wulfmin walked away, mumbling to himself. It was always upsetting when one of the Pikmin died. Maybe it was time for him to do something about it...

So he gathered five sticks and found an out-of-the-way-place, then stuck them in the ground. He did what he could to draw a picture of Brymin near one stick, and the four reds lost fighting the Blazing Snitchbug near the others.

By the time he was done, the gate had almost fallen. He reached it just as it dropped the last bit. No sooner had it when five black tentacles shot out of a pool of deadly water on the other side of the gate and grabbed Mamumin and the four purples, dragging them to the pool as they struggled to get away. Wulfmin didn't hesitate. He whistled for the rest of the Garden, then charged in first and took a flying leap onto the nearest tentacle.

Masamune

Arrmin swore. Except there were no foul words in the Pikmin language, so what he did was mostly mumble incoherently. He joined in the attack on the tentacle and gave it his all to try and attack the tentacles. It was no good. It just continued to pull Mamumin and the purples even further in, ignoring its attackers. He looked in the water and saw something. It was the mouth of the beast. If only there were some way...

"You!" Arrmin shouted to one of the yellows who had not yet quite come up with a name. "A bomb rock, quick!"

The yellow, who had filched a Bomb Rock when the battle began, reluctantly handed it over to Arrmin. It was actually rather odd for the yellow, since he knew that blues were incapable of using tools. Then again, Pikmin seemed to be capable of a lot more things lately...

Arrmin avoided one of the tentacles and looked down at the water and swallowed. He then called Wulfmin over. It was neccessary to do so. He would have asked Mamumin or Sumin, but that wasn't possible since they were in the middle of dying. Wulfmin was a red though and one of the strongest ones.

"Arrmin, what are you doing with that rock!?" Wulfmin asked, trying to avoid getting hit by the trashing tentacles.

"Toss me."

"Into the water?"

"I can't bear to swim, so you'll have to toss me!"

Wulfmin looked in the water and saw the great gaping mouth of the creature. Using all of his strength, he hoisted Arrmin up.

The blue pikmin quickly looked around to make sure Prophmin wasn't look. Which was fortunate, because Prophmin was currently hiding under a rock and no doubt justifying the death of his comrades. Arrmin looked down at Wulfmin. "Don't tell the nutjob."

"Not a word." With that, Wulfmin summoned all his strength and lobbed Arrmin into the water. The blue pikmin did a few somersaults while entering a long list of incoherent babbling that was not quite swearing but was the closest equivelant. He hit the strange looking water and was submerged. He quickly tried to find his bearings underwater and positioned himself above the creature's mouth. He dropped the bomb and started heading back for land. However, he had barely turned around when the bomb entered the creature's mouth and exploded.

The tentacles were immediately torn off, droping its prey on the ground. The other Pikmin quickly pulled their comrades away as the water bubbled up and expanded. The water then receded as the tentacles began to shrink in size. Wulfmin quickly ran up to the edge of the water to look for Arrmin, but was held back by two other Pikmin. The battle was won, but Arrmin was nowhere to be found.

Luiigii of the Pipes

Brymin awoke some time in the middle of the night to find himself laying in a small clearing. He turned as he heard a sound of teeth behind himself, but saw nothing. As he broke into a sweat at the realization that he was alone and possibly surrounded (or would have if Pikmin could sweat), he tapped his large belly twice and let the drumming sound comfort him.

A pair of red eyes appeared outside the clearing. He tapped his belly faster. More eyes opened. He frantically made up a song as he pounded out a rhythm, then realized it was just calling more of them to him. He started to back away, then stopped and turned around. More eyes were waiting.

One of the creatures stepped into the dimly lit clearing. It, like the others following it now, was a Pikmin. It was about the same size as Gobmin and the other White Pikmin, but completely black. It also had the glowing red eyes, but that wasn't all it had that glowed. Giant, sharpened teeth gleamed beneath its eyes in what Brymin could only assume was a mouth, because he had never seen one before and he certainly didn't remember the Olimar having one because his memory was "erased"... The creatures raised their hands, and three spindly claws slid out of each one.

"Don't worry," said the one directly in front of Brymin, its mouth moving to form every word. Brymin almost laughed. Making words with a mouth--how ridiculous. "This won't hurt."

"Won't hurt," the others echoed at a staggered pace.

"What won't?" he asked nervously. In response, every one of the creatures leapt on him, digging their claws in. Brymin fell over screaming, "It does hurt! It does hurt!" The creatures gathered around him like ants to sugar until he was completely immersed. When they cleared away some time later, nothing was left of Brymin. The Nightmin, for that is what they called themselves, clacked their teeth and retracted their claws, then turned to leave.

The Nightmin at the end of the pack, the runt of the group who always ate last and was smacked if he tried to complain, heard a popping just as he was about to leave the clearing. He turned and saw a single black sprout sticking out of the ground where their feast had been. He turned back and shouted, "Beezlemin!"

Near the middle of the pack, one of the Nightmin turned and headed back to the runt. It replied by simply pointing to the sprout. "He was stronger than we thought," mused Beezlemin. He stepped up to the sprout and pulled it out of the ground. "It seems you were reincarnated," he said to the newly plucked Nightmin. "What was your name?"

Brymin looked at his hands and feet, his new claws popping in and out uncontrollably... Unlike before, where he couldn't see more than two inches in front of himself in this dark, he could now see all the way into the forest thanks to his new eyes. He felt his teeth clack slightly, then wondered how he did it so he could try again. To gnash them. This was all... horribly... wrong. "I... I don't..."

Beezlemin nodded to the runt, who smacked Brymin and loved it. Brymin continued to stutter, so the runt smacked him again. "Next time, he'll use the claws," Beezlemin said.

"Brymin! It's Brymin!"

"You're one of us now, Brymin. Get used to it." The two turned and headed after their pack. Brymin fell down and put his hands over his eyes to cry into them, then realized that he was stabbing himself with a claw and slowly dislodged it. He got up, ready to follow his new pack. After all, the garden would never take him now...

Or would they? Wulfmin was a very rational Pikmin. And Prophmin would surely object, which would make everyone side with Wulfmin. And who knew? Maybe this new form could come in handy... At least, until he found a Candypop Bud and became something normal again.

"Arrmin!" Wulfmin shouted into the water. "Arrmin!" He looked up, hoping to see Arrmin standing there or hanging comically from the gate after the explosion had thrown him there, but he wasn't. Wulfmin pulled back imaginary sleeves and prepared to jump in, when one of the Blues grabbed him. "Stop! What are you doing?! I have to get him!"

"Sorry Wulfmin!" the Blue replied as he tried to drag Wulfmin away. "It's just instinct!"

"See what has been wrought!" Prophmin exclaimed, standing atop a piece of machinery that he had only recently cursed and apparently forgotten about. "Noble Arrmin has been slain in the name of this foolish voyeur!"

"Voyage," Gobmin supplied.

"Profanities!"

"Noble?! You hated him!" Wulfmin shouted, storming toward the metal perch. Prophmin squeaked and jumped to the other side of it, trying to hide; Wulfmin was not in a god-fearing mood today. When Wulfmin didn't follow him to the other side of the machinery, Prophmin sighed and turned to lean back on it. A pair of beady eyes stood less than a centimeter away from him; he screamed and jumped, hitting his head on a bolt.

"Sorry," Brymin said, grinning wide.

It was fortunate for Prophmin that he knocked himself out on the bolt, or he probably would have blown his cover by saying something stupid like, "I thought you guys could only come out at night," or, "I've already paid my debt for tonight, just wait your turn." Fortunate for him was unfortunate for the rest of the garden, however.

Brymin shrugged and cautiously walked around the machine, unsure of how the others would react.

Masamune

When the Pikmin first say Brymin step into the light, Mamumin instinctively placed himself between him and the Nightmin. He knew about these creatures well... too well. They had their own twisted religion regarding Mamutas, only in their case it was that they are to be killed and sacrificed to the Smoky Progg. The were cannibals, either way, and the Mamutas cared little for them.

But this was strange. Not only did Nightmin never travel outside groups, but they never made theirselves known to other sorts of Pikmin. They attacked lone Pikmin, not groups of them. Something was strange about this, but Mamumin had no intentions of letting it attack the ignorant Pikmin. He was a bit fond of them after all...

Wulfmin stood up beside Mamumin to see what he was being so defensive about. It was a Black Pikmin. That wasn't too unusual, right?

"What's going on here?" Wulfmin asked.

"It's a Nightmin," Mamumin replied. "They're plant-eaters."

"Well that's fine then," Sumin said happily.

"We're plants!" one of the yellows cried, realizing the implication of that.

"But he doesn't seem hostile," Wulfmin replied, hardly phased by this. "In fact he looks a little bewildered and lost."

"Snagret tears," Mamumin replied. "It's a ploy of some sort. A new one, I'll admit, but probably a result of watching your group act so oddly."

Oddly? Wulfmin thought to himself. But what he did say was, "A Nightmin will eat us if we get near, right?"

Mamumin nodded. Or bowed.

"What about Gobmin?" Wulfmin asked. "Would they-"

"No they won't," Mamumin replied. He had forgotten that. "They instinctively avoid White Pikmin as a survival trait. They're actually quite terrified of them."

Wulfmin glanced at Gobmin. "You and the others-"

Gobmin shrugged dramatically. "Yeah, yeah. We're on it."

Brymin watched this exchange silently. He wasn't close enough to hear them and too scared to open his... mouth to talk. If they saw those hideous sharp things... he couldn't bear showing those things to them. But when he saw Gobmin and the others come towards him, he felt a cold chill go up his stalk. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help but feel the urge to just run away.

But he didn't. He was more scared of the other Nightmin. A part of him still considered Gobmin and the others friends. Even if they terrified him, he would hold his ground. He wanted back in the group, despite his... hideous form.

"Alright, buddy. What do you want?" Gobmin asked.

"It's me! Brymin!" Brymin cried.

Gobmin paused. It was true Brymin had vanished, but... "How do we know that?"

"Um..." Brymin panicked as he thought of how to prove it. "I was never a yellow!"

"Proof enough to me," Gobmin replied. "Interesting choice in coloring."

"It wasn't a willing choice," Brymin said with a sigh.

Soon enough the other Pikmin arrived and quizzed Brymin on what happened. He had no idea how the Nightmin got him - or why they even spared the others if they had indeed smuggled him out of the group while the other Pikmins were unconscious. Prophmin woke up during all this and by listening in, gathered that nobody knew he had any part to play in the whole charade. So he decided to play it cool.

"Demon! Monster!" Prophmin screeched. "You can't let him stay! You'll DOOM US ALL!!!!"

"I see nothing wrong with him being here," Wulfmin said.

Brymin beamed at this. Being with the group, regardless of his form, would be good enough for him.

"What do we do now?" Gobmin asked. With Arrmin gone, Gobmin was the only Pik that felt important enough to stand next to Wulfmin and pretend to be important. This annoyed Prophmin greatly.

"We keep looking for Arrmin," Wulfmin said firmly.

"You fool!" Prophmin cried. "He doesn't even have a flower on his sprout! He's gone for good, so forget it!"

"Shut up, already!" Wulfmin snapped. "We're going to give him until morning to show up. That will give us time to gather up some food supplies too."

Luiigii of the Pipes

Gobmin clambored up the stalk up a Pellet Posy, one of the few that had survived in this wasteland. According to Sumin, pellets were the best food source around; a Pikmin could eat at one for days. The other Pikmin had been a bit perturbed by this, as they were aware that new Pikmin were born from the Onion when it received a pellet and were afraid to consider it cannibalism. However, the Mamumin assured them that there was nothing wrong with doing so. Futher experimentation had shown that Pikmin of the same color as the pellet itself benefitted more from it and preferred the taste.

As Gobmin climbed, his thoughts dwelled on many of the new mysteries that had arisen since their quest began. He tried to focus on these strange Black Pikmin and what could be done to stop their feeding on the Garden, but with so little knowledge of them it was difficult to decide on a plan of action. Wulfmin had taken a few 'mins aside to help him build a gate to put over the entrance to their metal fort for the night. A gate was all well and good, Gobmin mused, but what if the Nightmin dug in from underground or climbed in through a hole in the top? They'd never make gates for those in time...

As a hopeful countermeasure, Gobmin had marked the territory by breathing poison all around the base of the shelter. It wasn't enough to kill his comrades (nor, very likely, his enemies), but enough to let anything else know that a White Pikmin was around. Of course, only morning would tell if it would actually make a difference...

A few whacks to the back of the Posy knocked its pellet to the ground. The pellet had stopped on yellow, meaning they would have a decent meal tonight. Typical. If only the things would turn white... No longer bearing fruit, the Posy's petals fell off and it began to sink into the ground to gather nutrients for its next pellet. Gobmin tightened his grip and rode the stalk back to the earth.

As he descended, Gobmin's eyes caught sight of something underground a short distance from their camp. Or rather, several somethings burrowing their way. Gobmin's memory had been horribly fractured after his trip into the Ivory Candypop Bud, but he could feel the bits and pieces of it floating around in his mind, just out of reach of his current thoughts. He grabbed desperately at one of these now and actually managed to catch it. Successfully identifying the mystery somethings, he jumped off the stalk early and scampered over to tell Wulfmin.

Wulfmin was delicately tying a pair of thick metal sticks* together when Gobmin found him. They had found a rather large collection of the objects in a box not far into the wasteland. The sticks were flattened on one end and pointed on the other, which would make them easy to shove into the ground. Wulfmin had also decided to fasten some to the front of the gate, facing outward so as to ward off predators. Gobmin speculated that they had been observation posts for a race of creatures even smaller than the Pikmin. He didn't have time for speculation, however, and called for Wulfmin's attention.

"We've got Himeagea mandibulosa coming at us from inside the wasteland."

Wulfmin gave him a questioning look. "What are those?"

Gobmin grasped frantically for the memory of the creatures' other name, but it wouldn't come. He tried to describe them instead. "You know... they're those purple bugs. Two big points on one end. Burrow up out of the ground."

Wulfmin processed for a moment, then said, "Sheargrubs?"

"I think so."

"How many?"

"They were still underground. They looked like a giant blob made up of smaller blobs."

Wulfmin, who didn't quite grasp the concept of infrared vision, said, "Oh." He finished tying the metal sticks, then set them aside and whistled for the Garden to gather. Most had just come back from the woods, carrying berries, pellets, and the occasional blade of grass if they couldn't find the former two; they promptly dropped these where they stood and ran over.

Prophmin, naturally, was the only one not to run over and rather sat cross-legged on a metal stick that had been shoved into the ground. Externally, he was trying to divine the words of the Great Mamuta. Internally, he was desperately trying to decide if, "There was a metal gate in my way," would be an adequate excuse for the Nightmin next time they confronted him. The answer kept coming up, "No."

While the Garden congregated, Wulfmin reflected on the Olimar's method of tackling Sheargrubs. Unable to see underground (or so Wulfmin assumed), he was often caught by surprise and could only order the Pikmin to swarm the Sheargrubs before the Sheargrubs swarmed them. Wulfmin had an advantage over the Olimar--sacriledge to think maybe, but he had every intention of exploiting it.

"How many of you have been practicing your throwing?" he asked. About a third of the group raising their noticably beefier arms. Wulfmin instructed each to find two non-throwing partners, then grabbed Gobmin and a White Pikmin who had recently changed his name to Puffmin (not because he breathed poison, but because, he reasoned, if Bulborbs and Mamutas could be infected by Pikmin, what's to say he wasn't an infected Puffstool that was...um...VERY infected? (most remembered at this point that Puffmin was Yellow before he was White.)). Wulfmin directed the Pikmin into three rows, with the throwing Pikmin taking point and their partners forming a line behind them for easy grabbing.

Mamumin gaped at the scene. Outside intervention or not, no Pikmin should be able to come up with a plan like this. Now somewhat unnerved by their order and quick thinking, he volunteered to stay in the back...the far back.

Wulfmin turned to face the group. "All right. When they emerge, aim for the soft space between the two carapaces. If a solid hit doesn't do them in, a few thumps following that will."

He took a breath and prepared to continue, but a distinctive sound turned him back around. Pink and purple bugs wedged their way out of the dirt and crept menacingly toward the Pikmin. Throwers reached back and placed a hand around their first ammo's stalk. They threw in unison, a multitude of colors raining through the sky onto the hapless bugs, crushing them helpless. A few of the more ambitious Pikmin ran over and finished off the Sheargrubs that hadn't been targeted, while others hefted the bug carcasses onto their backs...then remembered that there was no Onion to take them to and, embarassed, shuffled them over to the side. Sumin had tossed one of the Bulbmin, which was happily nibbling on the pile. The other yelped and tried to run over, but Sumin held its stalk at the ready for the next set of grubs.

The thrown Pikmin returned to the rows just as the second set of grubs emerged, giving the Pikmin pause. Unlike the other Sheargrubs, these were black and yellow, with beady red eyes. The pupils of their eyes were oddly-shaped and seemed to be resizing in accordance with their current prey. They did not rush the Pikmin, but simply sat and watched them. More of these burrowed free of the ground on each side of the Pikmin, boxing them in.

Wulfmin motioned for the others to wait, then turned to Puffmin. Puffmin bowed his head, also offering his stalk to Wulfmin. Wulfmin grabbed it and tossed him with one smooth motion, an attack that would have even reached the Sheargrubs from their current distance.

Would have.

The following scream would haunt Wulfmin to the day of his reincarnation.

As Puffmin soared toward one of the Sheargrubs, it glanced upward at him, eyes dilating as they pinpointed his location. There was an almost mechanical "pop" as the Sheargrub's mandibles shot off its face and caught Puffmin in mid-air, sending him flying backwards. The mandibles had hit horribly well, piercing through both of Puffmin's arms and causing the haunting scream; when he hit the ground, they embedded themselves and effectively prevented him from moving. The Sheargrub that had shot him clacked what was left of its mouth as it gauged Puffmin's distance away from it, then burrowed underground to come up directly underneath him.

Wulfmin shouted back and ran toward Puffmin, the other Pikmin breaking ranks and following. The Speargrubs, Wulfmin hastily named them as he rushed to save Puffmin, all made a mechanical "click". Mere steps away from Puffmin, a set of mandibles shot forth from his left and caught Wulfmin between them. He was carried some ways by the mandibles until they crashed into a piece of metal sticking out of the ground...and embedded themselves in that too. Not as intelligent as the other Speargrub, the one that had caught Wulfmin crawled over the ground toward him.

As this was happening, mandibles began flying from everywhere. The rest of the Pikmin seemed to be luckier than Puffmin, as none of them were impaled in the process, and several had managed to dodge the shots altogether. A pair of mandibles flew at Sumin head-on; with perfect timing he caught them and planted his feet, only sliding a short distance before he broke their momentum. He then smashed them on the ground, leaving the super-strong points.

Another pair shot at him while he pondered what to do with the points, but Mamumin jumped between Sumin and the teeth, taking it directly in his chest. Fortunately for Mamumin, his silicon-derived body could take more punishment than one single set of mandibles. Unfortunately for Mamumin, this seemed to attract the attention of several other Speargrubs, and they started firing at him as well. He hobbled toward the line, stopping only at brief moments to break free Pikmin that had become trapped in his path, then began crushing the bugs in rage. He was joined by Brymin, leaping from shadow to shadow and onto a Speargrub's back, where he used his newfound claws to all but tear it into pieces. Amidst the chaos, Mamumin noticed that Brymin had a leaf wrapped tightly around his mouth, most likely to prevent the temptation for a snack afterwards...

Gobmin, meanwhile, dodged and weaved his way through the projectiles until he had come close to a Speargrub that had yet to fire. Noticing his proximity, the creature fired in defense. Gobmin flipped over the mandibles and landed on the Speargrub's back, then leaned over and spit poison into its mouth.

Prophmin had been left out of all this, being outside of the box formed by the Speargrubs. His back turned to the scene, he hummed loudly to himself to drown out what was obviously a desperate play for his attention by the rest of the Garden. Something whooshed past him, just missing the tip of his ear; he glanced down and saw a Speargrub's mandibles. Prophmin hopped off the stick and picked them up to examine them, then turned and saw the Speargrub they belonged to. It crept toward him a ways, then stopped and opened its mouth wide. It began sucking up air with incredible pressure, almost dragging Prophmin off his feet. Prophmin glanced down at the mandibles, realizing that the creature was trying to get them back. He shrugged, turned them around, and then let go. The stupid thing didn't even stop sucking until the points had driven home... Prophmin returned to his pole and noticed for the first time the pile of Sheargrubs. Pikmin they weren't, but even the Nightmin might forgive him for a feast of that size...as long as he could get those bloody demin to stop eating it...

Sadly, everyone had forgotten about Puffmin as the battle broke out save for Wulfmin, who struggled helplessly with the mandibles in order to get free. The Speargrub that had gotten Puffmin burst from the ground beneath him and grabbed him by the middle, then dragged him underground, pulling him free of the mandibles. There was a nasty slurp, and then the Speargrub reemerged. It crawled around a moment, then suddenly froze and rolled over onto its back, dead.

Wulfmin had other concerns now. The Speargrub that had caught him was right next to him, trying to get its mouth close enough to his leg, which had the annoying habit of kicking it between the eyes every time. Wulfmin's struggling prevented him from seeing a flash of blue**, which swooped past Sumin, grabbing the mandible points out of his hands, then leapt onto the piece of metal that Wulfmin was trapped against. The mandible points rocketed away from it and into the Speargrub's soft middle. It groaned and rolled over.

The blue blur leapt down and rolled the Speargrub away, then turned and started pulling at the mandibles that held Wulfmin. Wulfmin glanced over at his savior and, despite a significant lack of mouth, grinned.

Director

A little way away from the garden was a red pikmin, his hands swollen from training. He punched the rock brick in front of him, over and over, again and again. This pikmin was no ordinary pikmin, he was an Olimin, a pikmin that had been with Olimar. Unlike Prophmin, he never had been rescued, he had been left, due to an oversight by Olimar, eyes filled with greed from a central ship component. He had survived only by fighting, fighting was all he knew.

"Faster, stronger, faster, stronger", spoke the red Pikmin

Olimar had named him Boxmin, because his hands resembled Boxing gloves. Oddly enough this was the trait that allowed him to survive. As Wulfmin and the Blue Pikmin who was adorned with an eyepatch were defeating the nigh dead Speargrub, Boxmin had just noticed them. He approached the group who had killed the beast. As he approached the Blue Figure began to speak with Wulfmin. they welcomed him, except for one...

"He may be with the Nightmin, a disguised one! Mamuta give me a sign'

Boxmin punched Prophmin square in the face, he fainted, and then Boxmin began to speak with Wulfmin, eager to see his kind after so much time.

"I am not allied to any Pikmin that you speak of, I am Boxmin"

The Blue Pikmin and Wulfmin stopped talking. Wulfmin extended his hand, Boxmin did not take it, he would not trust another, not after Olimars betrayal. He began to ponder why there was such a large mass of Pikmin here...

"What brings you to my forest."

"We are searching for a nectar that will make us like the Olimar"

"That name......... He is no one to me but a traitor"

Boxmin looked into his hands, his brain searing with thought... could this nectar make him stronger than that traitor Olimar?

Masamune

The return of Arrmin had been surreptitiously broken up by the arrival of this strange red Pikmin. To say Wulfmin was concerned was an understatement. This wasn't the first 'wild' Pikmin they had encountered... but so far he seemed the most hostile.

As for Arrmin's return, Wulfmin was grateful to see his old friend again. He looked a bit worse for wear though. His left hand and right leg had been replaced by what looked to be a bit of dried squid tentacle and a rose thorn. As way of explanation he seemed to only say, "Bombs hurt" and nothing else. It was a point of conversation he seemed to have no interest in pursuing.

"You speak like you know the Olimar," Gobmin said as he puffed on his pipe.

"Yes I do. He left me alone... stranded!" Boxmin grumbled in anger. "He never came back for me! Or even looked!"

Wulfmin didn't like the sound of this. The other Pikmin were murmuring among eachother. It was true that there had always been some question as to the purpose of Olimar's visit to the planet. Prophmin had long held that Olimar was a god like the Mamuta and had been sent to save them. But the collection of those strange objects that the Olimar's Onion absorbed had always been strange. No matter how many objects his Onion consumed, the Olimar's Onion never produced anything.

What had been the Olimar's real purpose?

"Ye still survived," Arrmin noted. "How?"

"Fighting hard," Boxmin answered. It was easy to see why. He was nearly as large as the Purple Pikmin, though he didn't appear to be quite as powerful. "Where is your Onion?"

"We left our Onions," Wulfmin replied. "This is our third day since we left."

"Two weeks for me," Boxmin replied. "Though it sometimes feel as though it's been a month."

"You're welcome to join us," Wulfmin said. It was a risky thing allowing Boxmin to join. Boxmin's ideas about Olimar could be dangerous and he could potentially turn the Pikmin against Wulfmin if he was so inclined. And with those hands of his...

"Hmm. Maybe or a while. Why are you in the wastelands?" asked Boxmin. "Even Bulborbs aren't stupid enough to wander in this far."

"Why are YOU in the wasteland?" Arrmin asked, somewhat cranky his return had been overshadowed by this newcomer.

"I though I saw a Yellow Onion fly over yesterday," Boxmin answered. "I wanted to know why they'd go there."

"Go where?" Wulfmin asked.

"The Great Tree," Boxmin answered. "To the Pikmin Hive."

Luiigii of the Pipes

The Pikmin Hive had enticed the imaginations of the entire garden. Prophmin in particular was thrilled to hear that some Yellow Pikmin had been heading that way, hoping even more so that it was some of his friends from the Olimar's garden that could tell the rest about the paradise they were living in and how foolish Wulfmin and the others were for leaving.

They first stayed a night within their shelter. The makeshift gate had proved easy to place with Boxmin's help, though he mocked the garden for hiding from their adversaries the entire time. Prophmin had carefully passed the word around that putting the Sheargrubs in front of the gate would be helpful as well. Thus, in the morning the Pikmin were all pleased to find themselves alive and in place, though terrified to find the pile of Sheargrubs completely gone.