Chapter Text
CYOA: Olimar's Alimony
#1
"I can't believe you!"
Olimar sat in the cockpit of his ship, teary-eyed, as he listened to his wife berate him over the communicator.
"Always running around on alien planets with strange Pikpik monsters!" she cried. "Or fighting a bunch of freaks in some bash tournament or whatever nonense. Well, I'm tired of having to raise these kids without a father just so you can have your jollies playing space explorer. It's over, Olimar!"
Olimar wiped a tear from his bulging eyes. "Please, we can work this out!"
"You're right," his wife sighed. "There is one way we can work this out. Quit your job, come home, and promise never to leave Hocotate again. You can find some other, normal job. If you want to make this work, that's what you have to do."
Olimar thought of all the adventures he had. Crash-landing on The Distant Planet, saving the Pikmin from extinction while getting his own behind saved in return. Searching for treasure with his subordinate Louie(who may or may not have tried to kill him during the rescue mission). Crash-landing again, only to get ditched by Louie and captured by a golden blob monster; only to get saved by a group of Koppaites who Louie nearly got killed(probably a good thing he got left behind again). Not to mention that time he got dragged into that whole 'save the universe from Subspace' mess. He certainly wasn't getting any younger, but was he really ready to leave all this excitement behind? On the other hand, if they got a divorce he'd have even more expenses to deal with what with the alimony, and he couldn't bear to not be able to come home to his children's smiling faces on those rare days when he actually got to stay at home for a bit.
Olimar weighed his options carefully.
A. Agree to quit job and come home.
B. Tell wife to go drown in Hocotate Swamp.
C. Beg wife to reconsider; we can talk about this more later.
D. Tell wife that if she so much as says the 'd' word, he'll have the full force of Hocotate Freight’s legal team behind him. She won't get a single Poko!
E. Announce that you're choosing the Pikmin over her.
#10
"Listen, if I so much as hear the word 'divorce', you'll be sorry! As Hocotate Freight's employee of the month for ten years running, I'll use the full force of our legal defense team to defend myself in court. You won't get a single Poko!"
Olimar's wife stared coldly into his eyes for about ten seconds before flashing a grin. "Heh," she chuckled. "I know all about the "full force" of Hocotate Freight. See you in court, Olimar. I'll have my lawyer send you a notice."
"Wait just one-" Olimar started before the communication line ended. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple as he contemplated the situation he was in.
Drat. I can barely make do as is, I can't afford to pay alimony. Much less hire some Hocotatian suit who can actually put up a fight. What to do...
Olimar stared out the window, taking in the beauty of the strange land he had parked his ship upon for his annual spacecation. He was currently located in the world where the Smash tournaments were held. There were all KINDS of freaks populating this planet, and not just the ones that actually fought in the tournament, either. It was a good thing that the Pikmin somehow grew here too.
Well, the Pikmin have never let me down before. I suppose I could stay here and search for treasure to line my OWN pockets. Though two sets of hands work faster than one. I can't help but find myself wishing that Louie were here...
Olimar glanced at his locked desk drawer. Hidden within was the Zap-o-Matic, a deadly ray gun said to be able to disintegrate anything you aimed it at. He had bought it from a dubious-looking door-to-door salesman.
Of course, I could also save myself all this trouble and just end it. What to do...
A. Begin the hunt for treasure in the world of Smash.
B. Go back to The Distant Planet and find Louie(he doesn't need to know he'd be working off the clock).
C. Sleep away the rest of the spacecation.
D. Wander aimlessly through the depths of space.
E. Commit suicide.
(Written In). CheerUpCrewcut: Go back to Hocotate, nab children, give them to the Koppiates for safe keeping and recruit Louie. Basically my option but without the evasion. [...]
#27
Olimar pulled back on his ship's wheel, preparing to land directly outside of his Hocotate home. He was hoping to covertly sneak into the house and make off with the kids, but with all the noise the ship was making in the landing he could see that wasn't a possibility. After landing and cutting off the engine, he hopped out of the cockpit and onto the ground where his children were already waiting for him. Judging by the lack of a vehicle in the driveway, it appeared that his wife thankfully wasn't home.
"Hey, Papa!" Olimar's son shouted. "Is this your spaceship? It looks pretty beaten up. I thought you'd be driving something... better."
"BRZZT! BRZZT!" the ship began talking through it's megaphone. "Olimar! I can't say that I'm surprised you haven't taught your kids manners."
Ignoring the smart aleck ship's remarks, Olimar addressed his kids. "Son, daughter... wouldn't you like to come with Papa on a trip through space?"
"Heck yes!" Olimar's son responded.
"Where are we going?" asked Olimar's daughter skeptically.
"I haven't decided yet. But I promise we'll go someplace fun, a whole new world you've never seen before. Maybe we'll even go on an adventure together."
"But," said Olimar's daughter. "What about Mama? She still hasn't gotten back from the grocery store."
"Well," said Olimar. "I think she would appreciate a break from taking care of you kids all the time. She practically told me as much herself. So how about we quit talking and go on a space trip?"
As he helped his kids get loaded into the ship, he began wondering what should be done with them. It'd probably be best to leave them someplace safe, though they might be able to help out in the search for treasure...
A. Return to the world of Smash and search for treasure.
B. Return to the Distant Planet and search for Louie.
C. Go to Koppai.
Ca. Pawn off the kids on Alph.
Cb. Pawn off the kids on Brittany.
Cc. Pawn off the kids on Charlie.
D. Visit Olimar's wife at the grocery store.
E. Get some money from Happy Hocotate Savings and Loan.
#34
Olimar had safely stored his belongings in the cargo hold before blasting off towards the Distant Planet. He passed by the world of Smash on the way, glancing back at the planet as he soared by, wondering what kinds of treasure might exist to get him out of this rut. As he turned forward he thought he saw a figure flying after them out of the corner of his eye, but he dismissed it as his imagination.
As he approached the Distant Planet, Olimar spotted a stray meteorite floating in his path. He maneuvered around it with ease, chuckling in remembrance of the time such an inconsequential rock had nearly cost him his life. But not this time. He was too experienced a pilot to be taken surprise by any oncoming hazards, even in this worthless rust bucket of a ship. Yes sir, he'd truly come into his own as a Captain and had developed unparalleled reflexes in-
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Olimar could hear some sort of screeching noise. He looked out the window in search for its source, only to be met with a blinding red light.
***
"...What happened?" Olimar mumbled, pushing himself up off of the ground. He stood up and looked behind him and was met with a familiar site; the wreckage of what once was his ship. Flaming wreckage. That part was new, at least. Then it dawned on him.
"MY KIDS!!" Olimar cried as he jumped into the wreckage and sifted around what was once the cargo hold. There weren't any remains left... so either they were completely burnt up in the entry of the atmosphere, or they had simply fallen out on the way down. Turning away from the wreckage, he spotted the Zap-o-Matic, still intact, and stashed it in his inventory. Olimar whipped out the recording device he always carried on his person.
Captain's Log: Day One
This is Olimar, captain of the S.S. Dolphin. Despite being the unrivaled best pilot of all of Hocotate Freight's employees, I have somehow managed to suffer a crash-landing once again. My dear son and daughter... oh, horrors! They may have survived the entry into the atmosphere given their space suits, but I'm not sure whether they'd be able to survive a fall from such lofty heights. I don't know if I can take this torture any longer... I'm not even sure what to do at this point. I suppose I should...
A. Begin searching for my children immediately.
B. Begin searching for Louie immediately.
C. Use my personal communication device to...
Ca. Call my wife.
Cb. Call Captain Charlie.
Cc. Call The President.
D. Commit suicide with the Zap-o-Matic.
E. Curse the gods for this ill fate.
Inventory:
Recording Device
Communication Device
Zap-o-Matic
#40
Alright, I guess we can go with a few different options at once here.
A. Begin searching for my children immediately.
C. Use my personal communication device to...
Cb. Call Captain Charlie.
Cc. Call The President.
I suppose I should make a couple of calls to secure help first. Then I can begin the search for my kids! Fear not, my loved ones! Papa's coming!
After recording his log, Olimar stashed the recording device back in his pocket and whipped out his communication device. He dialed Captain Charlie's number(he got along most well with him out of all his Koppaite saviors) and waited for him to pick up.
"This is Captain Charlie, I'm sorry to report that I'm not able to answer your call right now..."
Olimar groaned, tuning out the rest of the message and waiting for the tone.
"This is Captain Olimar. I regret to say that I've crash-landed on the Distant Plane-err, PNF-404. I had my kids with me, and I need your help to not only get us out of here but help me search for them. I'll try and enlist some help from the Pikmin in the meantime. Thanks. Bye."
With that out of the way, Olimar dialed up the President and waited for him to pick up.
"Olimar?" a shrill voice responded. "Is that you? Aren't you supposed to be on a spacecation? What are you calling me for? I'm a busy man, and I'd rather not be bothered by an employee who isn't even on the clock o-"
"So sorry to bother you, sir," Olimar grumbled sarcastically. "But I stopped by the Distant Planet and came across a massive quantity of treasure, and I figured I'd need you here... to help oversee the project-"
Olimar was interrupted by the sound of the President hanging up. "Well," he muttered. "He should be on his way now. Hopefully."
Olimar slipped his communication device back in his pocket and began looking around, when he heard a familiar sound. A sort of adorable grunting noise. It was unmistakable; there was a Pikmin nearby, lugging something around. Most likely some dead creature. Olimar began running in the direction the sound was coming from, and ran out of the brush and into the clearing just in time to see some figure pop into the bottom of a rainbow Onion, as a Purple Pikmin looked on in quiet satisfaction. As Olimar whistled and called the Pikmin to his side, out came a single seed, which Olimar noted was of a different shape than normal Pikmin seeds; it had a sort of round bulb at the bottom. He didn't know why, but for some reason Olimar got a chill just looking at it, and was uncertain if he even wanted to pull the thing.
A. Pluck the Pikmin.
B. Ignore the sprout and continue the search for the children.
C. Use the communication device and...
Ca. Call Olimar's wife.
Cb. Call Captain Charlie.
Cc. Call the President.
D. Sit down and await the arrival of Captain Charlie and/or the President.
Pikmin
Purple Pikmin
Inventory:
Recording Device
Communication Device
Zap-o-Matic
#48
(Just some brief changes, I don't want to clog the choices up with "call someone" or "commit suicide" constantly, so from now on you can access objects with numbers via the inventory. Same if you want to throw a Pikmin.)
Olimar bent down, hands shaking, and wrapped his trembling fingers around the stem which poked out of the soil. Leaning back, he plucked the sprout with all his might, causing the creature to backflip out of the ground, shouting in joy as it stuck the landing. Its voice sounded all too familiar. Slowly turning around, Olimar took in the most frightening sight of his life.
Standing before him was his son; or rather, the head of his son. The head had a giant leaf-tipped stem poking out of it, and was attached to a tan Pikmin-esque body.
"Papa!" the Frankenstein monster shouted. "What happened?"
Olimar stood, staring in shock at the creature for a good five seconds, unsure of how to respond.
A. Give the boy a loving embrace and explain what happened.
B. Kill it somehow.
C. Kill the Purple Pikmin. For VENGEANCE.
D. Ignore the question, whistle to bring him into your army, and commence with the search.
E. Sit down and await the arrival of Captain Charlie and/or the President.
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
3. Zap-o-Matic
Pikmin
4. Purple Pikmin
#57
Olimar wrapped his son in a warm embrace and did his best to explain the situation he was in. He explained that they had crash-landed, and that the Purple Pikmin saved him by turning him into a Pikmin. He went on to give him a run-down on the Pikmin, their abilities, their way of life... leaving out the sordid details about getting devoured constantly, of course.
"So," Olimar's son queried. "I have special powers now?"
"Well," said Olimar. "I don't know if I'd say that."
"But I can breath on this planet without a spacesuit now!"
"Let's stop with the questions for now, son. I've called for help, so let's just sit by the crash site and wait for them to come. Then we'll find your sister."
They sat on the ground for hours, watching as the morning turned into the afternoon, which in turn became dusk. Olimar began to wonder whether sitting around doing nothing was really such a great idea; time spent resting on his laurels was time he could have been searching for his daughter. As the dusk began turning into night, he could feel a bout of panic coming on; he'd have no way to protect himself or his son from the hordes of beasts that came out at night with a measly Purple Pikmin.
Just as Olimar was losing all hope, he heard the sound of a rocket engine; the S.S. Drake was landing right next to them. Upon landing, it emitted a blue light, creating a circle on the ground that would beam them into the ship. He whistled, dismissing the Purple Pikmin to return to the Onion. As the little chubster scurried off, Olimar's son began to shift restlessly.
"Papa," he said. "I want to go in the Onion too. Can I go, pleeeeeeease?"
A. Ordain your son as an official Pikmin and allow him to slumber with his kind.
B. The boy is not a Pikmin and must sleep in the ship with Olimar and Charlie.
C. Leave the boy in this spot to fend for himself overnight.
D. Consult Captain Charlie for his opinion on the matter.
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
3. Zap-o-Matic
Pikmin
4. Purple Pikmin
#79
"Son, you're not a Pikmin," Olimar counseled. "You're a born and raised Hocotatian, and what you look like won't change that. Come and sleep in the ship with us."
"Aww," his son sighed in disappointment. "Okay, papa."
With that, Olimar took his son's small three-fingered hand within his own five-fingered grip and led him into the S.S. Drake. Upon landing in the navigation room, Olimar stood in front of the three Koppaites who had saved his life on his last excursion to the Distant Planet. Or PNF-404, as they (quite stupidly, in Olimar's opinion) called it.
"Captain Olimar!" Charlie shouted in relief upon the sight of his old comrade. "I rounded up the crew and came as soon as I was able!"
"It's nice to see you're safe." Alph said. "We were worried we wouldn't make it before nightfall."
"Ooh, is that a new Pikmin type?" Brittany asked, examining Olimar's son. "It's so cute! Where did you find it? Looks strangely Hocotatian."
"Son, why don't you go off to bed?" Olimar asked while pushing his offspring off towards the sleeping quarters. Turning to Charlie, he said "Captain Charlie, I'm in a terrible mess."
Olimar relayed the events he'd gone through as best he could. He confided in the Koppaites the details regarding his wife's declaration of divorce, his need to search for treasure, his invitation for his kids to join him on his spacecation, the strange conversion of his son's physical form, and the daughter that he still had missing.
"Well," Brittany began after carefully reflecting upon what she'd been told. "As you know, the wildlife on this planet is incredibly hostile at night."
"And we can't rely on any Pikmin to protect us while that Onion's in orbit." Alph piped up.
"That's true," Olimar said. "But if my daughter's still alive, I'm not sure she'll stay that way through the night."
"Maybe not," said Charlie. "But it won't do her any good if we go out and get ourselves done in while performing an ill-conceived rescue mission. We may be better off waiting for tomorrow."
Olimar pondered over the best course of action. Despite how much time he'd spent on the planet, he had never had any experience exploring it at night, when all the nocturnal creatures would be out in full force, searching for prey. The closest he'd ever come was spelunking through dimly-lit caves, though that was hardly the same thing.
"I think..."
A. "It's too risky to go out now. We should wait until morning to begin the search."
B. "My daughter may not have much time. We all need to go searching now."
C. "This is my responsibility, so I'll go out and search by myself. You all go into orbit and watch over my son."
D. "One of you go into orbit and stand by, while two of you help me search." (Feel free to write in on who you want to see go with Olimar, as well as whether you think he should take his son.)
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
3. Zap-o-Matic
Pikmin
#92
"Alright," said Charlie. "Let's all try to get some rest. See you in the morning."
Olimar shuffled off to the resting quarters, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to fall asleep on his own that night. As he lied in bed pondering the fate of his daughter and how to deal with the transformation of his son, he couldn't help but be reminded of when he had first crash-landed and spent the night wondering if he'd ever see his family again. It was a good thing his suit had an auto-sleep function.
***
Olimar covered his eyes as he was beamed from the ship and out into the bright morning daylight. He glanced over and found the Onion waiting for him.
"Well," he said. "We may already have an army of Pikmin waiting in the wings!" He ran over to the light the strange object emitted and peered upward; in addition to the Purple Pikmin they'd recruited yesterday, there was a Red Pikmin and a Rock Pikmin. Disappointing. There wasn't anything in the immediate vicinity that could be used for further propagation either. Doubly disappointing.
After calling out the three Pikmin, Olimar turned to face the the Koppaites and his son. "Well, how are we going to carry out this search?"
"I think," said Charlie. "It would be most efficient if we were to split up and search for Olimar's daughter on our own."
"Great plan, Captain." Brittany remarked sarcastically. "Let's explore a dangerous planet on our own with only four Pikmin to split between us. Wonderful idea. Really."
"Four?" Alph asked, before realizing the implications of what Brittany said and changing the subject. "So, Captain Olimar, what do you think we should do?"
A. "I think we should split up. (Write-ins for Captain groupings and Pikmin delegations welcome!)
B. I think we should stay together.
And BONUS CHOICE:
What should Olimar do with his son?
X. Recruit him into the Pikmin lineup.
Y. Keep him close by but separated from the Pikmin force.
Z. Tell him to stay in the Drake.
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
3. Zap-o-Matic
Pikmin
Red Pikmin
Purple Pikmin
Rock Pikmin
#104
"Alright, crew," said Charlie. "Let's move out."
The group moved forward, pushing aside foliage and trotting through the dirt for for several minutes. "You know what's strange?" Alph asked. "Normally there's creatures out to devour us at every turn, but we've yet to see any sign of life in this area."
They shortly came out into a clearing, where they beheld a large body of water made passable by way of a Pikmin-constructed bridge that spanned the length of the lake. Olimar couldn't help but be struck by a feeling of familiarity.
"I think..." said Olimar. "I've been here once. If I'm not mistaken, this is the area where I fount my secre-err, the last ship part I needed to escape this planet. I remember having to build this bridge to reach it."
"Strange," Brittany remarked. "This planet has changed drastically even since we were last here. You would think these bridges would have crumbled to dust. Or at least have gotten eaten by Sheargrubs."
Moving across the wooden bridge, they stepped back onto the dirt, and could make out hundreds of tracks imprinted upon it. They looked like three-toed webbed feet; an army of Pikmin had definitely been here, and recently. As they followed the tracks forward, they came upon a large, circular patch of sand. Sitting in the center was a round, mossy stone with fungus growing out of it. And sitting atop the stone was a familiar Hocotatian.
"HEY!!" Brittany shouted. "It's that jerk who stole our entire juice supply!" She broke out into a sprint towards him, clenching her fists with rage. "I'll give him a piece of my mind!"
"WAIT!" Olimar shouted. "STOP!! GET BACK!!"
Shortly before reaching the stone, Brittany skidded to a halt, but it was too late. A gaping maw exploded out of the ground, swallowing Brittany whole as it ascended up into the open air. The group watched in horror as the creature stepped up onto the ground, the large stone revealing itself to only be a small part of its mountainous body. And through it all, the Hocotatian sat there, stone-faced and unmoving.
"BRITTANY!!" Alph cried as he fell to the ground and adopted the fetal position. "Thisisn'thappeningthisisn'thappeningthisisn'thappening..."
"Louie!" Olimar shouted as he frantically waved his arms at the Hocotatian. "Jump down from there and run over here! Quick!"
No response. As the beast licked its lips, savoring the flavor of Koppaite, Olimar could swear that he saw drool coming out of Louie's mouth.
"MAN DOWN!!" Charlie yelled. "Captain Olimar! What is that thing?!"
"That," said Olimar. "Is an Emporer Bulblax. I had to fight one of these as my final trial when I first crash-landed here." He began scanning the area frantically. "I used bomb rocks to defeat it before, but I don't see any nearby..."
"WHAT DO WE DO?!" Alph sobbed.
A. Run for the hills.
B. Stay and fight. (Note the numbered options you have for that below.)
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
3. Zap-o-Matic
Pikmin
4. Red Pikmin
5. Purple Pikmin
6. Rock Pikmin
#117
As Olimar pulled the Zap-o-Matic out of his pocket, he recalled the salesman he had purchased it from. He'd always had a habit of making questionable purchases from equally questionable individuals, but the Hocotatian he'd bought this from was different. No sleazy appearance, no avoidance of eye contact, no twitches of the mouth or similar tells. A clean, well-groomed, respectable individual with a warm smile and a firm handshake. As Olimar thought back to that man, he knew that what he held in his hands would not fail him. He had complete faith in the dependency of this product.
Hands shaking, Olimar did his best to aim the gun at the Emporer Bulblax's snout and pulled the trigger. Met with a deafening boom and a blinding light, Olimar raised his hands to his eyes as he waited for his vision to clear and his ears to stop ringing. As he regained his senses he beheld an explosion of light high above in the sky, with a corresponding trail of smoke in the process of dissipating.
"Damn it!" Olimar muttered, tossing the Zap-o-Matic aside. "It's just a flare gun! That man cheated me!"
"Now what?!" Alph asked.
A. Run for the hills.
B. Stay and fight. (Note the numbered options you have for that below.)
(Written in) Jkid101094: C - Observe the environment. There may be something natural that can help nearby.
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
Pikmin
4. Red Pikmin
5. Purple Pikmin
6. Rock Pikmin
#122*
"Papa..." Olimar's son piped up. "Maybe I could help? I bet I've got all sorts of special powers! Why don't you throw me at him? I'm not scared!"
Ignoring his son, Olimar quickly surveyed the environment around him. There was nothing in the arena they stood in; just a circular patch of sand, closed off by walls all around except for two points. The first of which was the entrance they walked through, roughly the length of the Bulblax. Running back would most likely get them safely out of reach. The second was a small alcove in the back, which was blocked by the hulking beast's obese body.
A. Retreat past the exit for now.
B. Run to the alcove!
C. Throw the boy!
D. Throw a Pikmin! (See options below)
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
Pikmin
4. Red Pikmin
5. Purple Pikmin
6. Rock Pikmin
#140*
Olimar reached out and clutched his son's hand tightly. "Everyone fall back!" he shouted, leading everyone towards the dual entrance/exit as the Bulblax lurched towards them in pursuit, scooping Alph up off the ground and into its jaws, not even taking the time to savor the taste and instead continuing the chase. They stopped just outside of the Bulblax's reach as it leaned forward, extending its tongue and just barely coming up short. Before the group could have time to even consider thinking up a plan, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching them from behind.
Olimar turned and saw what was simultaneously a wondrous and woeful sight: the portly president of Hocotate Freight had arrived with some of his own Pikmin in tow. Olimar counted twelve whites, two blues, and a yellow before the President lumbered over.
"Olimar!" he shouted. "It's about time I found you! I crash-landed coming in and thought I was doomed to wander this planet forever until I saw that flare, but now I find you slackers here standing around instead of hauling treasure-"
"Excuse me, sir," Charlie interrupted. "Two of our comrades just got swallowed by that beast and we'd like to try and save their lives. So if you would kindly quit your whining and hand those Pikmin over to CAPTAIN Olimar so we could save them, that'd be nice."
The President began stammering, flustered, but he did as told and released the Pikmin, which Olimar brought under his command.
"Captain Olimar," Charlie said. "What should we do?"
A. Retreat back to the Drake and call it a day.
B. Throw the boy!
C. Throw Pikmin! (See options below)
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
Pikmin
4. Red Pikmin
5. Yellow Pikmin
6. Blue Pikmin x 2
7. Purple Pikmin
8. White Pikmin x 12
9. Rock Pikmin
#146***
Olimar hated himself for what he was about to do, and almost couldn't bring himself to do it. But as he gazed into the mesmerizing orange eyes of the white Pikmin, he could sense understanding from them. They wanted to help.
Guilt still intact, Olimar quickly tossed every last one of the white Pikmin at the Emporer Bulblax, aiming square at its snout. The group watched as the Pikmin gave their all into knocking their protuberances into the Bulblax before being slurped up and greedily swallowed. Almost immediately after sending the Pikmin down its gullet, the beast reared back and began hacking violently in an effort to hurl out the already-digested Pikmin. Instead, it coughed up Alph with one heave, then Brittany with another, and finally threw up a third person as it sank back into the dirt, letting out a dying breath as it disappeared from sight.
Charlie ran up to check on his comrades while Olimar embraced the limp body of his daughter.
"Papa..." she gasped out. "It smelled awful in there." After supplying that assessment of the creature's insides, she summarily passed out.
Olimar began to lift her in both arms, but Olimar's son cleared his throat. "Allow me, papa." Olimar stood back and watched as his son effortlessly held up his daughter and awaited direction.
"Olimar!" Charlie shouted, motioning to the now-standing Alph and Brittany. "They're alright, but they could probably use some rest."
The group headed back to the Drake, deciding to call it a day despite it only being around noon. After dismissing the Pikmin to the Onion and tying Louie up(even more tightly than last time) the group took off into orbit, hovering in the planet's atmosphere as they decided upon their next course of action.
"I still don't know how I'm going to deal with the situation with my wife..." Olimar sighed. He wondered how on earth he'd be able to explain what happened to his son, and felt certain that he'd lose custody one his son returned to Hocotate as some strange plant hybrid. They'd think he was being experimented on. Olimar wondered whether he should ask Charlie to drop him off on the Smash planet so he could collect treasure or go home and face the music.
A. Get the treasure to pay off the alimony! This adventure's just getting started!
B. We've done enough. It's time to do the responsible thing and end this.
Inventory:
1. Recording Device
2. Communication Device
2a. Call Olimar's wife.
2b. Call Captain Charlie.
2c. Call the President.
#155 & #156
Olimar had put his kids to bed in the sleeping quarters and stood in the ship's navigation room with Alph, Brittany, Charlie, and The President. Louie sat tied up in a corner. "I'm incredibly thankful we got my kids back unharmed... err, relatively," said Olimar. "But the whole reason I set out on this trip was so that I could find treasure to help pay off my alimony. In that regard I haven't made any progress at all. So if it's all the same to you, I'd like it if you could drop me off at the World of Smash."
"Drop me off, too, then," said Alph. "I can't leave Captain Olimar alone, and I've already got some experience on that planet myself."
"Food!" Louie shouted, drooling in tacit agreement to accompany them to the planet.
"Well, I'm not going to leave you two alone." Charlie said. "No captain worthy of his rank would abandon any member of his crew."
"I suppose it'll give me an opportunity to study new plant life," Brittany remarked. "Besides, I should have gone to that planet with Alphie to begin with."
"Olimar!" the President butt in. "You think I'm going to let you hog all the treasure for yourself?! Especially after you dragged me out here and nearly got me killed in a crash-landing?! And who's going to pay for that wrecked ship, anyway?! And yours?! You're lucky it's just Louie you've got to compete with, because otherwise you'd be getting demoted! Why, you owe me all the treasure you can possibly get your hands on! Good thing I'm here to oversee the project. Yes, let's go to this World of Smash straight away. Why, I remember in my youth, I..."
Olimar rolled his eyes, thankful to have developed an ability to tune out the President's incessant chatter when needed. But he wouldn't need to employ that skill just yet.
"HOLD ON a second," Charlie interrupted, quieting the President down. "How is it that you caused your ship to crash, exactly?"
"How did I CAUSE it?! I didn't cause anything! I was the greatest pilot in the galaxy back in my day, and I haven't forgotten how to pilot a ship. No, there was something else that caused it. I saw a bright red light and the next thing I knew, I woke up next to my poor ship's flaming wreckage!"
"That's what happened to me." Olimar stated. "Something caused that crash. Just how crash-landings have there been between us, anyway?!"
Charlie began scanning the void around them as they closed in on the World of Smash. "In any case," he said, "There won't be any crash-landings THIS time. I'll make sure of that."
As if on cue, the room was suddenly illuminated by a glaring red light sourced from outside the ship.
***
Olimar snapped into consciousness and leaped up off of the ground. He was getting used to this; there wasn't even any groggy confusion as to what happened this time. The instant he stood up, he grasped the full weight of the situation he was in; after having just reunited with his kids, rescued Louie, and safely escaped from The Distant Planet in the Koppaites' ship YET AGAIN, he found himself back at square one. Except this time there was no flaming wreckage. Odd. He must have fallen out mid-crash-landing. That, at least, was new to him. Feeling around in his pockets, he also found his inventory empty. Great.
Olimar walked over to the cliff edge he had landed on and gazed out at the world in front of him. The planet was a mish-mash of all sorts of different environments, each one based upon some other freakish location out there in the universe. There was even an area that was like a smaller version of The Distant Planet. He wondered which to begin his search in.
A. Mushroom Kingdom
B. Hyrule
C. DK Island
D. Planet Zebes
E. Hoshido
F. Dream Land
G. Bionis
H. Dracula's Castle
I. Kanto
J. Smashville
K. Vigrid
L. Eagleland
M. Port Town
N. Distant Planet
NOTICE:
If I didn't include a franchise it means I don't feel like I can do anything with it. So don't write-in.
Also, each area will naturally have some focus on characters, enemies, etc. from their respective franchise, but this IS a crossover planet. So even if you choose Planet Zebes, you may find Yoshi snoozing in Brinstar for whatever reason. Expect random shit.
#171*
***
After traveling for some time, Olimar strolled into the sprawling cityscape that was Port Town. The area was an architectural wonder; not for the actual city itself, but for the incredible structure that floated three miles above it. A massive track curled around in the heavens, upon which races were held constantly. To add to this, surrounding the track were massive cargo ships, hinting at the true nature of this city; it served as a space harbor.
As he walked down the street, Olimar noticed advertisements for an upcoming race plastered all over the city. He tore a nearby poster off its wall and studied it; Captain Falcon, an old 'acquaintance' of his, was featured prominently. Based on the advertisement, this seemed to be some sort of new twist on the classic F-Zero formula. There would be two people per vehicle; one person driving, the other using weapons to attack other drivers. Fun. Apparently all the famous F-Zero pilots competing in the race had yet to select a partner as of printing. Try-outs for the position were being held at the Race Center. Whichever team won would be given some sort of fancy new racing vehicle. Olimar decided to hold onto the poster for now.
Looking down towards the horizon, Olimar could make out the Race Center building peering up into the sky. Also visible was the parking area of the space harbor, lined with no shortage of spaceships that were as massive as they were high-tech.
"I could certainly use a better form of transportation than my legs." Olimar mumbled, considering his next course of action.
A. Head to the Race Center.
B. Make your way to the parking lot!
C. Wander around aimlessly.
Inventory
F-Zero Race Poster
#178*
A. Head to the Race Center.
After a good deal of walking, Olimar finally made it to the Race Center. He struggled to push open the massive double doors, nudging his way into an impressive foyer. He walked up to the receptionist's desk and asked, "Is this where I inquire as to the race?"
She stared at Olimar as if he were an alien.
Oh, right, Olimar thought, They can't understand me.
Olimar whipped out the F-Zero Race Poster and pointed at it vigorously.
"...Oh," she said, looking plainly unimpressed. "You're going to try and apply for the race. Alright, then. They're holding their try-outs right now, just down that hall. Find the door with your driver's name on it and enter.
Olimar followed her directions and found himself walking down a long hallway, lined with doors corresponding to the various F-Zero drivers. He wondered which racer he should try and team up with.
A. Black Shadow
B. Blood Falcon
C. Captain Falcon
D. Dai Goroh
E. Dai San Gen
F. Don Genie
G. Jody Summer
H. Mr. EAD
I. Octoman
J. Pico
K. Samurai Goroh
L. The Skull
I know it's tempting to just choose Captain Falcon, but please take the time to check out some of these colorful characters. You might find one you'd rather see Olimar pair up with.
https://www.giantbomb.com/f-zero-gx/3030-20448/characters/
Inventory
F-Zero Race Poster
#185
Olimar walked into Dai Goroh's room clutching his poster. He immediately had it yanked out of his hands by some human child who proceeded to toss it in the air and start slicing it to ribbons with a Katana. Olimar watched in awe as a scrap of paper in the shape of a sexy Hocotatian woman floated gently down and landed in the child's hand.
"Cool, huh?" he said, waving the paper about in front of Olimar's face. "Bet you've never seen anyone with this kind of skill with a sword!"
Olimar just stood there awkwardly, now devoid of a poster with which to communicate his intent.
"So, you've come to be my partner in the big race today, huh?" Olimar began to nod but the boy just kept going. "Well, I guess I'll let you join my team. I've had literally thousands of applicants come in already, but I'll take a chance on you. Consider yourself lucky."
Olimar stood and stared.
"Well, I guess we'd better get going. The race is starting soon. Come on, let me show you my slick ride!" With that, Olimar was led by the hand to the Race Center's teleporter, which promptly beamed them up to the race track. As Olimar was led by the hand to his vehicle, he turned and made eye contact with a familiar face as they passed by each other; it was Captain Falcon, who simply smirked and nodded. Olimar never liked that guy; it was bad enough he killed a squadron of his Pikmin sticking a landing, but he even had the gall to drag him into that whole Subspace mess. He was so absorbed in his memories of Captain Falcon that he failed to take a good look at the Captain's racing partner.
"Here we are!" Dai Goroh announced, letting go of Olimar's hand to climb into his vehicle. "The Silver Rat!"
Olimar stared at the pitiful sight in front of him. It looked like the boy had dug this thing out of some landfill; even the Hocotate Ship looked more impressive than this thing. Looking around at all the high-class vehicles nearby, all of which seemed to be piloted by adults, Olimar began to wonder whether he should go through with this.
"What are you waiting for?" Dai Goroh asked with a pleading look on his face. "Come on, get in so we can race!"
A. Climb aboard.
B. Turn tail and make a mad dash for the exit.
C. Turn traitor and plead with Captain Falcon to join his team.
D. Demand that Dai Goroh hand over the wheel. [Adjusted. CheerUpCrewcut: D. Suggest you pilot while Dai uses his skills to attack the other racers. If he declines then A.]
Inventory
#192 & #193
Olimar pointed at the wheel with vigor, and then pointing at himself.
"What?!" Dai Goroh practically screamed. "I'm the second-best pilot here! Only Papa is better than I am!"
Hearing this display of affection, Olimar couldn't help but be reminded of his own son's glowing admiration of him. He started to get emotional. But not emotional enough to ignore good sense. Once again, Olimar pointed at the wheel and then at himself.
"NO!!" the boy yelled. "Nobody drives the Silver Rat but me!"
Olimar sighed, shook his head, and reluctantly crawled into the back of the vehicle. It was reckless, but he couldn't just travel this world on foot. He needed that prize. Unfortunately, he wasn't physically capable of climbing up into the vehicle. Dai Goroh rolled his eyes and groaned as he helped lift Olimar into the machine.
"Now listen up, rookie!" Dai Goroh commanded. "The rules are different this race. The F-Zero races don't get as much viewership as they used to, so they decided to borrow some ideas from the Kart racing in the Mushroom Kingdom. There are these things called item blocks scattered all throughout the field, and if we drive into one then you'll get a weapon to throw at other racers. I had to construct a hatch in the back which you can use. Understand?"
Olimar barely understood what the heck the kid was talking about. As such, he just stared at Dai Goroh, unblinking.
"Alright! Here we go!"
Olimar could hear a voice blaring through the air: "3... 2... 1... GO!!"
Olimar watched as the cars all around him jolted forward, with the Silver Rat accelerating at a relatively slow place. They were in dead last. Olimar shook his head in silence as the vehicle ran into its first item block. Suddenly a bolt of lightning had materialized within the palm of his hand.
"What are you waiting for, use it already!" Dai Goroh demanded.
Olimar opened the hatch and dropped the bolt of lightning out of it. Next thing he knew, all the other racers had been shrunken down to about his size. Dai Goroh laughed with glee as he smacked into as many vehicles as he could, knocking them aside as they made ground. As the vehicle drove into another item block, a green shell poofed into existence atop Olimar's open hand. Opening the hatch, he carefully aimed for the vehicle in front of them and tossed it, landing a direct hit that set the poor souls careening.
"Hey, that looks like fun!" Dai Goroh exclaimed, getting up to switch places with Olimar. "Let me try it!"
Olimar smacked the boy's grasping hands aside and pointed at the wheel. "Get back over there!" he shouted, knowing that his words would not be understood. "You're going to get us killed, pay attention to the track!"
Dai Goroh grabbed Olimar by his helmet's antannae and tossed him into the driver's seat, taking position in the back. Olimar quickly grabbed the wheel and just barely managed to avoid crashing into the fencing. Veering left and right to avoid the parade of destruction unfolding before him, he quickly found himself in second place and gaining upon the vehicle in the lead: the Blue Falcon. As Olimar got nearer, he watched as a familiar-looking Hocotatian head popped out of the vehicle, looked directly at him, and threw a banana peel on the track in front of the Silver Rat. Olimar veered right, just barely managing to avoid the item as he smashed through an item block, granting Dai Goroh a banana peel.
Damn it, Louie! Olimar cursed to himself. The Blue Falcon slowed down and swerved to avoid some wreckage, granting Olimar the chance to catch up to it, driving side-by-side. He watched as the machine hit another item block, granting Louie a green shell.
"Get directly behind it!" Dai Goroh demanded. "I want to hit them with this!"
Olimar watched nervously as Louie opened the hatch and reared back, shell in hand. The Silver Rat was an easy target, and getting directly behind the Blue Falcon would only make things easier for Louie. Olimar considered his limited options.
A. Ram the Blue Falcon.
B. Get directly behind the Blue Falcon.
Inventory
#198*
Olimar veered to the left and rammed the Silver Rat into the Blue Falcon. This merely knocked the Blue Falcon somewhat askew; the Silver Rat, meanwhile, was sent careening straight into the fencing, smashing into the metal railing and skidding alongside it as the machine's speed slowed, allowing the Blue Falcon to cross the finish line and win first place, with various other racers coming out ahead of the Silver Rat before it finally finished the race.
"I HAD IT!!! You're the worst partner ever!" Dai Goroh cried, jumping out of the vehicle and running off in tears. "That prize should have been mine!"
Olimar sighed and watched as the prize vehicle flew down onto the race track in front of the Blue Falcon, its pilot hopping out and walking over to shake Captain Falcon's hand.
"Congratulations!" he shouted. "It's my honor to award you and your partner... say, where is your partner?" The pilot and Captain Falcon looked around in confusion, having lost track of Louie. Suddenly the sound of an engine revving could be heard as the prize ship blasted off and careened down towards the land below, flying who-knows-where.
"I'm not surprised." Olimar mumbled, turning towards the exit. It looked like this plan was a bust; he'd just have to continue the adventure on foot. He considered where to travel next.
A. Mushroom Kingdom
B. Hyrule
C. DK Island
D. Planet Zebes
E. Hoshido/Nohr
F. Dream Land
G. Bionis
H. Dracula's Castle
I. Kanto
J. Smashville
K. Vigrid
L. Eagleland
M. Distant Planet
Inventory
#210**
Olimar beamed back down to the Race Center and stumbled out of the building, still somewhat dizzy from all the excitement. He paused and bent over to catch his breath, placing his hands on his hips in the process. In doing so, he felt something solid resting within his suit pocket. He fumbled around and fished out his recording device, apparently still intact after the crash. It was buried deep; he must have failed to notice it when patting himself down after the crash. In any case, he was glad to be able to once again keep a log of his adventures.
"This is Olimar, Captain of the S.S. Dolphin. After having been beaten by fate at the race track, I have regrettably missed out on my chance to acquire the vehicle I need to search for my family. I suppose I have no choice but to continue my search on foot. There's no point in trying to comb my way through this urban jungle any further; my time would better be spent searching elsewhere. So it is with a heavy heart and grim determination that I set out towards DK Islan-"
Olimar found himself interrupted by a hand clapping itself upon his shoulder. He turned and looked up at the masked face gazing down at him.
"Hey, little buddy!" Captain Falcon said with a grin. "That was a great race! You almost had us; I can't believe that Silver Rat nearly came out ahead of the Blue Falcon."
Olimar ignored his old acquaintance and pressed on.
"Hey, hold up!" Falcon shouted, running after him. "The little dude I was partnered with was one of you people, right? You know him?"
Olimar nodded, still moving forward and refusing to look at the blithering blowhard.
"Well, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I am a bounty hunter. And that little friend of yours just pulled a pretty huge theft job. They've got a nice bounty on him. Not quite so much that I'd normally drop everything and go after the guy, but it sort of reflects poorly on me, right? So I figure maybe we could team up? We could take my Falcon Flyer! Much faster than walking on those sad little legs, right?"
A. Spurn Falcon's advances.
B. Agree to let Falcon accompany you on your quest.
Inventory
Recording Device
#219**
Olimar sighed and nodded his head reluctantly, signaling his agreement to allow Falcon to join him.
"YES!!" Falcon shouted in jubilation, snapping his fingers to call upon his beloved Falcon Flyer. "Off we go, little buddy! Bet you're glad to be cruising around in this baby instead of that hunk of junk you were in last time! Man, I can't believe you let yourself be seen in public driving that thing. If I were you, I'd be more worried about..." Olimar tried to tune him out from this point on.
***
DK and Diddy were slumbering peacefully when they were suddenly waken up by the deafening sound of an engine, not unlike the noise made by the airship their nemesis had once possessed. They bolted out of their treehouse and looked around frantically, unable to spot the source of the noise, which had begun to deplete into nothingness. Whatever it was had vanished. The two sauntered over to make sure their banana hoard was unmolested.
It wasn't.
"OOK OOK OOK!!" DK screamed in fury, beating his chest powerfully.
"EEK EEK EEK!!!" Diddy screeched, beating his chest substantially less powerfully.
Their banana hoard had been stolen once again. They raced out of the room and prepared to mount an assault on their recently-returned reptilian rival when the sound of an engine roaring once again met their ears.
***
Olimar and Captain Falcon emerged from the Falcon Flyer. Olimar patted his newly acquired gun holster, complete with an actual gun, which Falcon had gifted to him. While Olimar certainly didn't appreciate the condescending manner in which he'd been given the weapon, he did appreciate having a means by which to defend himself. Falcon said he was about 80% sure the gun had seven bullets left in it.
"Well, here we are! DK Island!" Falcon announced. "You really think your little thieving friend is here?"
Olimar didn't think that at all. Frankly, he wasn't too concerned with Louie's whereabouts; he was the last person Olimar was concerned with saving, save maybe his boss. But he wasn't about to tell the owner of his ride that; heck, he couldn't tell him if he wanted to.
"EEK!!"
The two had barely stepped onto solid ground when they were met with the sight of an angry chimpanzee barreling towards them on a barrel jetpack, peanuts popping. "EEK EEK EEK!!" It cried, firing away.
Olimar fumbled with his gun holster, trying to retrieve the gun housed therein. While he occupied himself with that, Falcon shouted "Show me your moves!" as he darted towards the simian and made an impressive leap into the air. Olimar watched in awe as Falcon jutted his knee out, landing a hit square in the monkey's belly, sending him smashing into a nearby tree. Olimar watched in even greater awe as a massive gorilla leaped out of the brush, preparing to take advantage of the element of surprise and levy a swing at Captain Falcon just as Olimar managed to remove his gun from its holster.
A. Shoot the gorilla.
B. Shoot the chimpanzee.
C. Shoot Captain Falcon.
D. Warn Captain Falcon.
E. Sit back and watch the event unfold.
Inventory
Recording Device
Gun (Bullets X 7?)
#234
Olimar decided that he wasn't in any rush to help out Captain Falcon, so he figured he'd just see how this whole thing played out.
DK's punch connected with Captain Falcon's back, sending the bounty hunter soaring across the island. Olimar watched as Falcon's limp body flew in an arc across the sky, falling below the tree line and out of sight on the far end of the island. Having dealt with one of the interlopers, DK turned to face Olimar, supplying a scowl that sent chills down Olimar's spine. He considered his options.
A. Attempt to diffuse the situation.
B. Stand your ground.
C. Charge at Donkey Kong.
D. Flee to the Falcon Flyer.
Going back to numbers for inventory objects, so if you want to shoot someone just select 2 and specify who
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#243
Olimar raised his hands up in surrender and stood perfectly still; a universal sign that he meant no harm. DK punched Olimar square in the chest, sending the poor Hocotatian flying across DK island.
***
"Little dude?"
Olimar groaned as he opened his eyes and waited for his vision to de-blur. He looked up and beheld the sight of Captain Falcon standing above him, hands on his hips, with a huge smirk on his face.
"Finally up, huh? Took you long enough. I guess I shouldn't hold you to the same standard I hold myself. Personally I was never even unconscious, but I guess it's no big deal that you were. Nothing to be ashamed of."
Olimar stood up and brushed himself off, cursing himself for not absconding into the Falcon Flier when he had the chance.
"Well, little dude, that stupid ape launched us to the back of DK Island. Nothing but forest around here."
Olimar took a look at his surroundings. Falcon was right; they were in the middle of some forest, with a snowy mountaintop in the distance above them and the beach/jungle area where they were launched below them. Olimar could swear he saw smoke coming from beyond the mountaintop.
"Well, little guy, where we headed?"
A. Back to the beach!
B. Stay in the woods!
C. Explore the mountaintop!
D. Follow the smoke!
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#249
Olimar began heading in the direction of the smoke trail before being stopped.
"Whoa there, guy!" Captain Falcon shouted. "Hold up! We don't need to walk, remember? I can just call the ol' Falcon Flyer with a snap of the fingers! Come on!" With that, Captain Falcon lifted his arm on high and let out a mighty snap of his gloved fingers.
...
Nothing.
"Come on!" Falcon cried, snapping again. "Come on, come on, COME ON, COME ONNNNNNNNNN!!!" Falcon snapped his fingers over and over. Olimar started to wince as he could tell it was getting physically painful for Falcon. Emotionally too.
"Oh no, something's up with the Flyer!" Falcon cried before turning around and sprinting back towards the beach. Still running, he looked over his shoulder and called "I'll catch up with you later dude, you go on ahead! Or don't! Whatever, man!"
Olimar watched as Falcon's graceful form darted out of sight before turning and heading in the direction of the smoke. He trekked for hours as he made his way up to the peak of the mountain. As he began to reach the top he noticed two large forms coming into view. One was a cozy-looking shack in which he could see a nice, warm fire burning. The other looked to be some kind of shoddy machine with flight capabilities. He considered investigating.
A. Check out the shack.
B. Check out the machine.
C. Ignore both and continue on.
#262
Olimar decided he'd had enough wandering through the snow for now; he needed that fire. After making his way up to the shack, he knocked on the door.
"EH?!" a voice shouted at him. "Who's that?! Who could possibly be knocking at this hour? And in this place?!"
Olimar waited patiently as he heard the sound of whoever was inside getting out of their creaking rocking chair as they made their way towards the door. It sounded like whatever was inside had three legs. After what felt like a millennia, the door finally opened slightly as a pair of eyes peered at him from inside.
"Whaddya want, freak?" the creature demanded. "Can't you see I'm trying to enjoy this nice, warm fire?!"
Olimar nodded, crossed his arms as he curled up into himself to express his coldness, and pointed inside towards the fire.
"Oh, you want to come inside and listen to an old man's ramblings, do you? Alright then. Always happy to impart some wisdom on you young'uns." With that, the door opened wide, revealing a small, shriveled old ape. He was hunched and held a cane in his hand. "Then name's Cranky Kong. No relation. Well, that's what I wish I could say, but there actually is a relation, even though you'd never think it. Come on in and sit down in that chair there, I've got a lot of complaining about my grandson to do."
Olimar happily made his way into the shack and plopped down into the chair closest to the fire, happy to be free of the bitter cold, if only temporarily.
"Alright, sonny, I gave you warmth. Now it's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain and hear an old feller out. And you better not fall asleep like my grandson does, or I'll knock you in the noggin!"
Olimar could tell he was in for potentially hours of complete and utter boredom. He considered his options.
A. Sit and politely hear this senior out.
B. Dart back out into the cold.
C. Attempt to communicate your situation with Cranky.
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#266
Olimar leaned back in his chair and politely nodded toward Cranky, indicating that he was ready to listen.
"Alright, well let me tell you all about my horrible grandson Donkey Kong. Yes, that Donkey Kong. Apparently he's famous even though he does jack-all for anyone but himself these days.You want a simian hero, well, you should have seen how I was back in my younger years! I fought Mario like a true Kong! These days my worthless grandson is out kart-racing and playing tennis with that cursed human. He's a traitor to his kind, that Donkey. Did you know that he hasn't even visited me in over a week?! His own grandfather! And last time he did, he just strolled in here WITHOUT KNOCKING, munching on a banana without any sort of banana to offer me! After all I've done for him! And that Diddy Kong isn't much better! One time I was just minding my own business, cranking my old phonograph, when he starts blaring some devilish contraption blaring that awful rap noise! I cranked and cranked and cranked some more to try and vanquish that evil stuff, but I couldn't overcome it. Not even with my good arm. Now Dixie, I like. I don't know what she sees in Diddy. Personally I think she could do better. Maybe find some other, better Kong out there."
At this point Olimar was struggling to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to get whacked - his helmet might crack - but his eyelids weighed down on him like cement. He was tempted to activate his suit's auto-sleep function, but he had to stay strong. For his family.
***
Five minutes of Cranky's ramblings had passed and Olimar was about to give in to sweet release when he heard noise coming from outside.
"Of course in those days I could throw barrels with one arm like it was a sack of flour! Oh, how I wish to be young again. Then again, when you're young you never-"
Olimar concentrated, trying to block out the old ape's spiel and listen to whatever was outside.
"Falcon..."
Oh no.
"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!!"
Olimar was hit with a burst of cold air and debris as the front door was blown upon in a show of flame.
"What in sam hell was that?!" Cranky cried, grabbing for his cane to get up out of his chair. "Almost gave me a heart attack! What do you think you're doing, young man!"
Captain Falcon strolled into the shack, ignoring Cranky and walking over to Olimar, lifting him up out of his seat with one arm. "Those damn, dirty apes! They wrecked my ride, dude! The Falcon Flyer has been reduced to a pile of flaming rubble! Come on little guy, we need to find that Donkey Kong and his little guy and make them face the music!"
"Wait a minute," Cranky interjected, smacking Falcon on the head with his cane. "What's this about Donkey Kong! You say he wrecked your vehicle!"
"That's right," Falcon said. "Why, do you know him?"
"Do I know him?! I'm his grandfather! Doesn't surprise me one bit he'd be reckless enough to do such a thing. Never had any respect for anybody else's property, least of all mine. Well, come on then. Let's go find him. I want to give him an earful!"
Falcon held Olimar up to his eye level and gave him a questioning glance. Olimar glanced back equally questioningly.
"The elderly can be kind of a bummer, dude," Falcon whispered. "Do we really want to take cranky here with us?"
A. Agree to take Cranky.
B. Leave Cranky.
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Gun (Bullets x 7?)
#270
You guys are going to need to make a choice pretty much immediately after this one, so short update:
Olimar wriggled free of Falcon's grasp and fell to the floor. He turned and motioned Cranky and Falcon to follow as he walked outside of the gaping hole where the front door once stood.
"That Donkey!" Cranky mumbled. "My door would still be here if it weren't for him. I'll have to make him fix it."
"Oh, don't worry, old man," Falcon said. "We're gonna fix him."
Olimar stood outside the cabin and glanced once again at the nearby flying machine, and then back towards the smoke rising over the mountaintop.
A. Head for the flying machine.
B. Ignore the contraption and follow the smoke!
Inventory
A. Recording Device
B. Guns (Bullets x 7?)
#277
Olimar and company made their way over to the strange machine that lay before them.
"What's that piece of junk?" Falcon asked as they came upon the plane.
"Come on, broski," a voice responded. "Is that any way to talk about a lady?"
Olimar turned toward the voice and saw... another ape. This one wearing shades and a bandanna around its head. Great.
"Funky!" Cranky yelled. "We need to find Donkey and Diddy! They broke these feller's flying machines and darn near brought my shack down! Use your fancy flying thingamajig to help us search!"
"They broke your ride?" Funky sympathized, "That's a real bummer, brochoski."
Falcon hung his head in regret. "Yeah, she was slick. I can't believe she's gone. Really makes a dude rethink his place in this world, you know?"
"I hear what you're saying, broseph! Anyway, yeah, with this little lady I can fly you anywhere on the island!
Olimar pointed towards the rising pillars of smoke behind them, signaling his desired destination.
"Oh, you want to go to the factory, little bro? Not a problem. Forget having to hike up the mountain, 'cause we're gonna ride the air!"
Olimar had his doubts about this simian's piloting skills, as well as the machine's flight capabilities, but he didn't feel like trudging his way up the mountain in the freezing cold, so he reluctantly climbed aboard with his allies.
"Next stop... the factory!"
Olimar winced as the plane engine began hacking and sputtering as the vehicle lurched forward and took flight. Soon enough the plane began to come over the peak of the mountain, allowing for a view of what lay beyond. Olimar was surprised to find that there were actually two different sources of smoke; one was the factory Funky had mentioned, but before that lay a pile of wreckage on the ground, smoldering brightly amidst the surrounding snow.
"Alright, bros!" Funky called. "Should I bring us down in front of the factory?"
A. Land in front of the factory.
B. Check out that pile of wreckage.
C. Take us back to the cabin.
D. Fly us right off this island.
Inventory
A. Recording Device
B. Guns (Bullets x 7?)
#283
Olimar pointed down at the pile of wreckage with great emphasis, hoping the message would get through.
"You want to check out that gnarly crash site, little bro?" Funky asked. "If you say so."
Funky steered the plane down and landed fairly roughly upon the snow before the crew hopped out and approached the smoldering remains of some sort of vehicle. Littered upon the ground surrounding it were numerous yellow objects. Olimar noted that they appeared to be the casing of some sort of fruit.
"What's with all these banana peels?!" Cranky said. "Who ate all these and didn't offer me any?!"
"Wait a minute," Falcon muttered. "This is the prize vehicle that little friend of yours ran off with."
Olimar stared at the shrapnel lying about; he was right, this seemed to be the very same aircraft. Given the evidence at hand, Olimar could piece together what had happened; this wouldn't be the first time Louie had absconded with someone's food supply. There didn't seem to be any sign of Louie's remains being present, so he must have survived the crash. Olimar searched the area for footprints and found a faint trail leading down a path that led back towards the beach. Louie must have gone that way.
"Looks like we've found the trail!" Falcon said, having walked up beside Olimar. "Looks like your little friend's about to be brought before the knee of justice!"
CRASH!!
Olimar flinched in response to the sound of a loud crash coming from within the factory, followed by the screeching of apes and some sort of low, guttural, beastly roar.
"That's Donkey!" Cranky said, identifying the screeches. "Sounds like Diddy and Dixie are with him. Let's go give him what for!"
"Ooh, tough call, dude," Falcon said. "I don't know whether I'd rather deal with the ape or the alien first. What do you say, little guy?"
A. Investigate the factory.
B. Follow Louie's trail.
Inventory
A. Recording Device
B. Guns (Bullets x 7?)
#292
"I'm gonna show that Donkey what fer!" Cranky screeched, running into the factory. Olimar signaled for Falcon to follow Cranky's lead. Funky stayed behind by his plane, seemingly distracted by something. After moving through a narrow corridor, the three came out into massive, open-air room. The first thing that caught Olimar's eye was a mind-numbingly huge airship bearing a sort of reptilian quality to it. It bore giant propellors along with ginormous exhaust pipes that bellowed fumes into the skies above.
Laying on the ground before the airship was a pot-bellied Crocodile, hogtied and currently being assaulted by three apes.
"MERCY!!" the fat croc cried, "Why are you attacking little old me?! I didn't even do anything yet! Stop! PLEASE!!"
Donkey, Diddy, and Dixie continued to mercilessly pound the crocodile, who proceeded to cry crocodile tears.
"Donkey!" Cranky yelled at his grandson. "K. Rool isn't the one who stole your bananas, ya ninny! Now quit whupping him and come get your whupping!"
Donkey turned and glanced at Cranky. Then his eyes moved to to Captain Falcon, and then to Olimar. His eyes shifted between Falcon and Olimar before locking onto Olimar and charging straight at him, fists raised. Olimar futilely fumbled for his gun, aware that there was no way he'd be able to ready himself in time to avoid the punch that was seconds away from sending him flying.
With lightning speed, Cranky leaped in front of Olimar and swung his cane square at DK's fist. DK yelped in pain and clutched his punching fist within his other fist, wincing at the stinging sensation he'd been subjected to.
"Donkey! You settle down this instant!"
Donkey did not settle down, instead opting to make repeated attempts at approaching Olimar, only to be consistently batted away with his grandfather's cane. Nothing was getting past the old-timer.
Olimar looked over and saw Falcon come under assault from Diddy and Dixie. Diddy began firing peanuts rapid-fire at Falcon, who managed to dodge them with surprising efficacy. He started running into difficulty, however, when he was forced to trade blows with Dixie's hair, preventing him from avoiding the oncoming fire.
"Little dude! I could use some help!" Falcon cried. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"
Olimar turned back to Donkey Kong, who was still being held back by Cranky, though the latter seemed to be tiring out. He didn't seem to have much time left.
"You!" K. Rool cried to him. "Won't you come untie me? I can help you defeat that cursed Donkey Kong!"
Olimar considered his options.
A. Untie K. Rool.
B. Flee.
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Guns (Bullets x 7?)
#298 & #299
Olimar ran over to the incapacitated Crocodile and started untying the knots that bound him. Olimar's tiny, nimble fingers were able to get the job done surprisingly quickly.
"Ye have me thanks, matey!" K. Rool said, suddenly speaking in a completely different manner. Olimar stared blankly at the crocodile and blinked. When his eyes were back open, the crocodile had completely changed costume; now he wore a pirate hat, coat, and held a giant blunderbuss. "Just leave it to Kaptain K. Rool to make these apes walk the plank!"
Kaptain K. Rool aimed his gun at Donkey Kong and fired some sort of strange blue substance at the ape, causing him to completely freeze over. After DK was sufficiently incapacitated, K. Rool stomped over to where Falcon was seconds from defeat and turned Diddy and Dixie to ice without skipping a beat.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA!!" the Crocodile laughed. "Well don't just stand there, mateys! Grab that rope and tie these landlubbers up before they thaw!"
Olimar and Falcon stepped to it, wasting no time in tying the three apes up.
As Olimar worked on DK's rope, Cranky commented, "Better make sure to tie him up nice and tight. Donkey may be an idiot, but he's got more raw strength than any other Kong. Even I'm not quite as strong. A couple dozen knots or so should do it."
After tying the three apes down, the group waited for them to come to. It didn't take long.
"OOK OOK!!" DK screamed, attempting to break his bonds.
"EEK EEK EEEK!!" Diddy and Dixie screeched, the latter having her hair pinned down as well.
"Listen up, and listen up good!" Cranky shouted, shaking his cane. "These fellers here ain't done nothin' to ya. Beyond giving you the whupping you deserve, that is. They weren't the ones who took your bananas."
"That's right," Falcon interjected. "It was the little alien dude that did it. Like my little friend here, but cooler-looking."
Olimar rolled his eyes and sighed as Funky Kong came barreling into the room. "Bros!" He called. "So get this: I was standing there looking at the beach, just like I do every sunset, when I noticed that big Croc dude's ship sailing out into the horizon! I think he finally left us alone for good!" Cranky then noticed the Kaptain standing over his three friends, all of whom were in bondage. "Oh. Bummer, bros."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" K. Rool screamed, storming out of the room to see for himself.
"Well," said Cranky. "Better untie these three while K. Rool's not here to stop us. If you don't behave, Donkey, I'll smack you upside the head all over again."
Olimar and Falcon warily untied the apes, who fortunately decided against commencing a third assault on them. With that deed done, Falcon did his best to try and explain the situation they were in to their simian allies. Upon learning of the true identity of the banana thief, the Kongs were sufficiently enraged. After hearing of Louie, DK ran his pointer finger across his neck, signaling his intentions for the Hocotatian.
"You know, bros," Funky said. "I'd be happy to give you a lift out of here. I'll drop you off wherever you want."
"Oh, no!" Cranky cried. "My idiot grandson has done enough! I won't let him come with us!"
"...Us?" said Falcon.
"That's right! I reckon it's time I go on an adventure of my own! Show these young people what a real ape can do! Besides, it sounds like this Loofie feller's to blame for wrecking my shack. He's primed for a whupping."
"Ook ook!" DK said, attempting to plead with Cranky.
"Oh no! Ain't traveling with you again!" Cranky turned to Olimar. "Either he goes with ya, or I go with ya! I'm sure you know the right choice here."
Olimar looked back and forth between Cranky and the three younger monkeys. True, the younger ones had attempted to assault them on multiple occasions, but there were three of them. And they weren't elderly.
"Don't look at me like that!" Cranky demanded. "I'm old, sure, but I've got a lot of fight left in me! Don't tell me you're seriously considering taking them instead!"
"We should take the three," Falcon whispered to Olimar. The latter raised his arm to point at his choice, but was interrupted.
"MY GALLEON'S BEEN STOLEN!!" K. Rool shouted, stomping back into the room. "It's nowhere in sight! Some filthy landlubber's gone and stole from the Kaptain!" K. Rool noticed the freed apes and started to growl, but shook his head and said, "There are bigger fish for me to fry. I need me Galleon back, and I need the head of whoever stole it!"
Olimar glanced looked at K. Rool, and then back to the airship. It would be nice to have a proper aircraft to travel around in.
"We could make a run for the ship and just take off ourselves." Falcon suggested quietly.''
"Come on, mateys!" K. Rool cried at Falcon and Olimar. "I need me crew to help me track down that landlubber! We'll scour every inch of the world if we have to! We might even find a treasure haul!"
Olimar pointed at the apes quizzically.
"I'll be put in Davy Jones's locker before I let those three aboard my ship as anything but prisoners. The infirm ape can come if he wants."
Olimar considered his options.
A. Recruit DK, Diddy, and Dixie and have Funky drop you all off somewhere.
B. Recruit(or get recruited by) K. Rool and bring Cranky along.
C. Run for the airship and attempt to make off with it.
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Guns (Bullets x 7?)
#306
Olimar pointed at K. Rool and Cranky. The three Kongs hung their heads in dejection.
***
"So, this spacefarin' acquaintance of yours is the one who stole me ship?!" K. Rool said, having been briefed on the situation by Falcon.
The four had already boarded the ship and stood in the craft's control room, preparing to take off for whatever destination was next.
"Well, we'll find him, have his guts for garters, and bring home a huge haul of treasure to boot!" K. Rool guffawed a bit and then asked, "Err... where do you think we should be searchin'?"
A. Mushroom Kingdom
B. Hyrule
C. Planet Zebes
D. Hoshido/Nohr
E. Dream Land
F. Bionis
G. Dracula's Castle
H. Kanto
I. Smashville
J. Vigrid
K. Eagleland
L. Distant Planet
#327
***
"So, ye think there be treasure here, do ye?" Kaptain K. Rool asked as the group marched out of the airship and onto the firm ground. "Looks completely uninhabited."
Olimar nodded profusely. Regardless of whether this was the real Distant Planet or not, he could always rely on there being treasure around. It was actually a pretty faithful recreation of the real thing, truth be told. The only notable difference aside from the smaller side was that there didn't seem to be any Onions; the Pikmin could just be found growing or roaming out in the wild.
Olimar took a second to really survey their surroundings. The leaves had taken on hues of red, brown, and orange. He had been to a similar location once; he'd dubbed it the Wistful Wild. It was the most dangerous location he'd ever been to. Hopefully the recreation wasn't crawling with hostile wildlife. As he scanned the environment, his eyes rested upon a mound of dirt sticking out of the ground; no doubt it led to a cave.
"It's so quiet here," Cranky remarked. "No Donkey screeching, no Diddy blaring that infernal rap music... just an ape and his thoughts. It's nice. Reflective. I wouldn't break this silence if you paid me a million banana coins, it's just too precious. Yep, it's nice to just stand here quietly and take in nature's serenity, completely uninterrupted by-"
"SO," Falcon interjected. "This is where you're from, little dude? Where should we go, then?"
Olimar considered his options.
A. Wander around in search for Pikmin and the missing crew.
B. Into the cave! Treasure abounds!
Inventory
1. Recording Device
2. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#335 & 336
Olimar led the crew forward, hoping to find some Pikmin to arm himself with. The group marched forward, eventually coming upon a small pool of water. Olimar was simultaneously enthused and disappointed to find a small squadron of blue Pikmin in the process of hunting some Wogpoles. It'd be nice to have the company of some Pikmin again, but the blues were probably the least useful. Great traversing the water with, but not much else... still, it was better than nothing. Olimar whistled and brought the Pikmin over, wondering what they'd have even done with the Wogpole without an Onion to bring it to.
"Watch out, Olimar!" Cranky yelled, leaping in front of him and smacking the Pikmin away with his cane. "These little jits are tryin' to jump ya! Look lively!"
Olimar sighed in frustration at his inability to explain the situation.
"Old man," Falcon interjected. "Those little dudes are friends with our little dude. They're like... little minions."
Cranky relaxed, allowing Olimar to call the Pikmin back over to him.
"Aye, just remember who be in charge here," K. Rool said. "If I say they need to haul treasure, they better haul some treasure."
Olimar ignored the crocodile and began to continue moving forward when he heard a deafening screech. The group looked around in alarm as the shrill noise pierced the air from somewhere nearby. The horrifying sound was followed up with an equally chilling one: the sound of Pikmin being devoured.
"This way!" Olimar shouted, running in the direction of the source. The group quickly came upon a horrific sight; a Purple Pikmin being shredded to pieces inside a toothy maw. Olimar couldn't believe it; all the creatures he'd encountered thus far tended to swallow the Pikmin whole. Even the fanged Bulborbs weren't successful at chewing the Pikmin apart like this; never before had he seen such a violent death. Even after the poor creature's spirit had moaned and left this earthly coil, its remains were still being torn apart in the mouth of the monster. Olimar scanned the creature in question; massive yet lean, purple in color, reptilian in nature, a huge wingspan... he had had a run-in with this creature before.
"Dudes!" Falcon whispered. "That's Ridley! The little dude and I had a run-in with him once; barely made it out alive."
"Aww, he don't look so tough!" Cranky mumbled. "I've swatted horseflies with this here can that were bigger than him!"
"Aye, that reptilian be no match for this reptilian!" the Kaptain chuckled. "I be thinkin' I won't even be needin' my blunderbuss!"
Falcon and Olimar glanced at each other and shook their heads in disbelief.
"Look, dudes," said Falcon. "You're no match for that thing. Ridley is the leader of a legendary band of space pirates; I'm not sure there's a bigger bounty in the universe than the one on his head." Olimar nodded rapidly in agreement and brought his finger to the helmet space in front of his lips, signaling for the group to remain quiet. The group was currently hidden from sight behind foliage, with the creature standing in a small clearing just in front of them.
Olimar looked over and noticed a variety of Pikmin hiding underneath a group of Quattris Infectum; clovers, as laymen called them. There must have been at least twenty Pikmin among them; the clovers were poor cover for such a large, colorful group. Sure enough, as Ridley finished gnawing on the shredded remnants of what was once a Pikmin, he turned and flashed a horrific grin at the cowering Pikmin.
"I still say I can whup him good!" said Cranky, patting his cane.
"What do we do, Olimar?" Falcon asked.
A. Everyone attack Ridley!
B. Sneak quietly away.
C. Send in someone as a distraction while Olimar gets the Pikmin.
D. That cave is looking pretty nice right about now.
Pikmin
1. Blue Pikmin X 5
Inventory
2. Recording Device
3. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#354
"ATTACK!!" Olimar screamed, pointing towards the space pterodactyl and blowing his whistle.
Falcon raced forward before anyone could react and attempted to land his trademark knee of justice attack square in Ridley's jaw. Just as it looked like the tip of the knee was going to connect, Ridley clawed Falcon square in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground as he cried out in pain.
Cranky bounced up on his cane as Ridley reared back his tail, preparing to finish off Falcon. Just as the tail started darting forward, Cranky's cane came smashing down onto Ridley's skull as Cranky bounced off the space dragon and onto a nearby tree branch. Ridley whipped around and shot fire out of its mouth and straight at Cranky, setting the tree ablaze and scorching the old ape, who fell to the ground and began rolling around in an effort to extinguish the flames that were tickling his beard.
Ridley slammed his massive right hand down upon Cranky and began to attempt to crush the simian, but was met with a cannonball to the spine that knocked him over. Ridley leaped back up and faced K. Rool, who was in the middle of firing a volley of spiked cannonballs. Ridley took flight and soared far above the oncoming ammo before crashing back down straight onto K. Rool, shattering the latter's belly armor and exposing his gut to attack. Ridley bared his fangs and prepared to chow down on crocodile insides.
Olimar clenched his fists and prepared to act.
A. Attack! (See options below)
B. On second thought, wait and see what happens.
Pikmin
1. Blue Pikmin X 5
Inventory
2. Recording Device
3. Gun (Bullets x7?)
#360
Olimar fumbled to get the gun out of its holster as Ridley sunk its teeth into K. Rool's belly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!!" K. Rool cried out in pain, thrashing about in a futile attempt to get the space pirate off of him.
Olimar lifted the gun, aiming straight at Ridley's head, and pulled the trigger.
Bam!
The bullet went flying straight through Ridley's skull. Olimar watched as the creature's eyes rolled back into its head before it exploded in a burst of golden goop. A thick layer of the gold plasma sprayed everyone, coating them in the offending substance.
Falcon and Cranky, now on their feet, hobbled over to K. Rool, who lay on the ground, wincing in pain.
"The beast got me pretty good," the Kaptain coughed out, clutching his bleeding stomach. "But me body's tough. I think I can still get around." Cranky and Falcon extended their hands, helping to lift K. Rool off of the ground. The three moved over to Olimar, who stood wide-eyed, smoke still curling up from his gun. Olimar knew exactly what this goop was; he'd been covered in it before.
"I was about to finish the job myself," said Cranky, who was visibly struggling to stand. "A few more seconds and I'd have had him. Still, nice work saving the croc's behind, Olimar."
"Yes," K. Rool croaked out. "Thanks for havin' me back, matey. If not me belly."
"So what the hell is up with all this goop?" Falcon asked, shuddering in revulsion. "I didn't think Ridley would be so delicate that his guts would just explode all over the place from one little bullet."
Olimar shook his head and sighed in exasperation, frustrated once again with his inability to express his thoughts to his allies. He started pondering just how to get around the language barrier when the goop started moving on its own, crawling off of their bodies and slouching off into the brush, out of sight.
"How be the goop movin' on its own?!" K. Rool cried in disgust.
Olimar waved his hands frantically and motioned for the group to vacate the premises, but became distracted by the sound of Pikmin. He looked over and watched as the group of Pikmin they'd saved came out from their cover and began hesitantly approaching him. Olimar whistled to call them over. He counted four blues, five reds, four yellows, two whites, three rocks, and seven winged Pikmin. Smiling, Olimar patted one of the whites on the head; it was nice to be reunited with the Pikmin after all of this. They gave him hope.
That hope was lessened somewhat when the air was permeated with beastly roars, grunts, and screeches. Olimar stared in horror as countless numbers of hostile wildlife emerged from the brush in the direction where the goop had slunk off to. Bulborbs, Bulbears, Sheargrubs, Shearwigs, Wollywogs, Bloysters, Blowhogs, Snitchbugs, and Cannon Beetles moved in on the group. There were even three or four Snagrets that had popped up out of the ground.
Olimar considered his options.
A. Fight!
B. Retreat to the ship!
C. Retreat to the cave!
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
Inventory
7. Recording Device
8. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#368
"I think I can take about half of them," Cranky said, wielding his cane in his still-trembling hands. "You fellas take care of the other half."
Olimar shook his head and pointed in the direction that they had came.
"He be right," K. Rool stated. "It be foolish to risk our lives fightin' these things. We be needin' shelter."
Olimar nodded and led the group back towards the cave, with Cranky sighing in defeat before bringing up the rear. After a bit of speedy hobbling the group came upon the cave that they had elected to ignore before. Olimar pointed at the hole, signaling for the group to jump in.
Falcon nodded and leaped in headfirst, shouting "Falcon DIVE!!"
K. Rool attempted to jump in next - and found himself stuck, completely clogging up the entrance with his massive midsection.
"You bloated crocodile, they're catching up with us!" Cranky cried. "Squeeze your way in there!"
K. Rool tried cramming himself through in desperation, but it was futile. "I be stuck! FALCON!! PULL ON ME LEGS!!"
Olimar shook his head, knowing full well that Falcon had fallen way too far down to do anything. He turned and watched as the creatures came out of the foliage and began closing in. When he looked back at his allies, he saw Cranky bouncing on K. Rool's head, attempting to push him through.
"Just... a little... more..." he said, progressively knocking K. Rool further and further into the hole. "There!" he cried as K. Rool went plummeting into the darkness, with Cranky following suit, still riding atop his makeshift pogo stick.
Olimar wasted no time jumping in after them, with his army of Pikmin following suit.
Hell Hole
Sublevel 1
Olimar waited in midair as the Pikmin screamed all around him, anticipating the eventual drop onto hard ground.
Instead he dropped onto a soft gut.
"YEEEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWW!!" K. Rool screamed in pain as Olimar bounced off of his stomach and onto the ground. "Watch where ye be landin' next time!"
Once again, Olimar found himself in the dank recesses of a cave. The particular level they were on seemed fairly peaceful; there weren't any enemies in the immediate vicinity, though who knows what beasts might lie around any of the corners that surrounded the central room they found themselves in. Somewhere in this cave, Olimar knew, there was yet another hole that they could dive through to delve even deeper.
Olimar looked around at his allies. Falcon's shirt was stained with blood and ripped open, his fresh wounds perfectly visible. Cranky's beard was partially singed and the old-timer seemed to have trouble standing. K. Rool was lying on the ground, clearly preferring not to stand. Even the Pikmin seemed pretty exhausted. He considered whether they should set up camp and rest.
A. Set up camp and rest.
B. Forget that, check the area for treasure!
C. Find the hole and dive deeper.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
Inventory
7. Recording Device
8. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#374
Olimar pointed at the ground and lied down, letting his allies know that they should rest for the time being. Falcon and Cranky eagerly obliged, and K. Rool immediately dozed off. After a few minutes of lying on the ground, Olimar realized that there was no way he'd be able to fall asleep. Without anything to keep his mind occupied, he found himself tortured by fears of what may have happened to his children or the Koppaite friends he had made. Deciding that he had no choice, he activated his suit's auto-sleep function and knocked himself out.
***
"UNGH!!" Kaptain K. Rool's eyes snapped open, having heard a thunderous noise echo through the cave. It sounded like a giant rock had fallen from above and crashed onto the ground. This was followed up with a ghoulish, otherworldly moaning. He looked around warily, failing to pick up on anything out of the ordinary in his line of sight. He looked at his gut, and saw that the healing process had begun; the armor had started to grow back, but it was still heavily cracked. Best to let it heal some more.
He lifted himself off of the ground and addressed his comrades.
"Alright, crew, I be thinkin' we've had enough sleep for now." K. Rool stated flatly. Falcon and Cranky had already been stirred awake by the noise as well, and were willing enough to get off of the ground. The Pikmin were also alert. Yet their (second in)commander apparently couldn't be bothered to lift his sorry behind off the ground. "I said, I be thinkin' we've had enough sleep for now." K. Rool glared at Olimar with the intensity of a thousand suns, his eye swelling up and becoming particularly bloodshot.
"Wake up!" Cranky yelled, tapping Olimar in the chest with his cane. "You're making the crocodile looney!"
"Come on!" Falcon said. "Wake up, little dude!"
Olimar continued to lie there, totally unconscious.
"Somebody wake that layabout up before I-" K. Rool's threat was interrupted by the sound of stone grinding against the ground. As the seconds passed, the sound was growing louder; whatever the source of the noise, it was getting closer, and fast. K. Rool turned and watched as a massive form rounded one of the room's corners and showed itself to the group.
It was some sort of ghostly apparition, sitting atop two slabs of stone that it was using as a sort of steamroller to get around with; the grinding stones were absolutely massive, and could easily crush the group. And the thing was heading right for them.
Kaptain K. Rool pondered what orders to give his crew.
A. Hold your ground and fight!
B. Retreat!
#380
"We be needin' to find a way out of here! Fast!" K. Rool commanded. "Everybody retreat!"
"I'll grab the little dude!" Falcon said, effortlessly lifting up Olimar and carrying him under his arm. As the group started to head in the opposite direction of the creature, Falcon paused and said, "Wait, what about the little dude's little dudes?"
Kaptain K. Rool turned and saw that the Pikmin were just standing there, cowering before the oncoming steamrollers that threatened to crush them. He took out his blunderbuss and activated the suction function; the Pikmin went flying into his gun, screaming as they were taken into the vortex. K. Rool put the gun back within his coat and patted it. "That takes care of that."
The group hurried around a corner and through a long corridor. Eventually they came upon another mound of dirt with a hole in it. The apparition was hot on their tails; Falcon and Cranky wasted no time jumping in. Not willing to get stuck again, K. Rool made a point to widen the hole with a bit of digging before jumping in.
Hell Hole
Sublevel 2
"Ooh, this ain't good for my back!" Cranky complained, after having endured a second fall.
K. Rool wasn't feeling too good himself. He brought himself to his feet, turned, and jumped back at the sight of some sort of beast marching straight towards them. It had a long snout, a red back spotted with white dots, and a massive stem protruding from its spine. Marching behind it was a squadron of around ten of what looked like its offspring.
"This thing doesn't look so tough," Falcon chuckled. "I'll take care of this with a good old Falcon kick."
"I be givin' the orders here," K. Rool reminded his underling. "Ye don't attack unless I give the say-so."
Falcon rolled his eyes and looked at K. Rool expectantly.
A. Give him the say-so.
B. Retreat!
#388
"Alright matey, go ahea-"
"Falcon KICK!"
Kaptain K. Rool blinked as a layer of golden goop coated his face. This time the goop wasted no time in shuffling itself off of him and the others as it slid off into the darkness. K. Rool decided to ignore the substance for now and focus his attention on the screaming offspring that were running around in circles.
"UGH, I'd rather listen to some of Diddy's rap music than hear their wailing!" Cranky complained. "If they don't shut up soon, I'll whack 'em good!"
K. Rool considered whether it'd be best to rid themselves of the seemingly helpless creatures.
A. Kill the little buggers.
B. Lovingly suck them into your blunderbuss.
#394
The Kaptain whipped out his trusty gun and activated the suction function, prompting his gun to hungrily devour the squealing little beasts.
"Alright, me crew," he said, facing Cranky and Falcon. "We be facin' something of a labyrinth. We better search the place for treasure. I be thinkin' it be best for us to split up."
"Alright, dude."
"Sure, sure, I'll be glad to not have you two whippersnappers slowing me down."
With his crew having gone off in search to the north, K. Rool decided to tackle the winding halls of the south. After a few minutes of strolling through various twists and turns, he became frustrated at the lack of anything resembling treasure. Just a bunch of dirt and rock all over the place. Eventually he rounded a corner and came across another mound of dirt sitting before a dead end. He took the time to dig around the entrance to make the whole suitable for his size. Once done with that, he glanced down on his gut to see how the healing process was going; the healing process was going well, but the belly armor still had some cracks. Best to stay out of harm's way until it finished.
He was about to continue looking around in case he missed anything when he heard something come crashing down into the room. That same ghostly wail permeated the walls as the grinding of stone reverberated along the ground. That thing was back. K. Rool looked back at the exist and considered his options.
A. See to the crew's safety!
B. Flee to the next sublevel!
#395*
Kaptain K. Rool would never dream of abandoning his crew. Defying any choice the participants in this CYOA may have had, he sprinted forth through the halls of the labyrinth, anxiety mounting as he turned around each passing corner. As he approached the apparition he heard Falcon start to scream for help. K. Rool pointed his blunderbuss downward and activated the rocket boosters on his gun, propelling himself forward and moving him quickly towards the distressed wailings of his ally.
K. Rool bursted into the main room to find Falcon and the still-unconscious Olimar tucked inside a small alcove, too narrow for the creature's steamrollers to get into. The thing was just rolling back and forth in agitation, apparently frustrated at its inability to reach them.
"Dude, I can't get out!" Falcon called at K. Rool. "You gotta get this thing off my ass!"
"What's all this racket?!" Cranky demanded, rounding a corner and walking back into the main room. "Gah, it's the ghost again! Don't worry, I'll whup him!" Before K. Rool could intervene, Cranky bounced up into the air and down upon the creature. His cane rebounded harmlessly off of the gelatinous mass. Cranky continued jumping up and down on the thing in a futile effort at damaging it, but the creature didn't even seem to notice. Finally he gave up and leaped over to where K. Rool was standing. "Well, I've done all I can think to."
K. Rool scratched his head and pondered the situation. Even though he and Cranky were standing completely out in the open, that thing wasn't showing any interest in pursuing them. It seemed dead-set on crushing Falcon for whatever reason... or maybe it was the pint-sized spaceman it was after?
"Matey!" K. Rool yelled over at Falcon. "Throw the little matey over the creature and at me! I'll catch him!"
"What?!" Falcon cried. "Why? You gonna run off with him and leave me here?!"
"A true Kaptain never leaves his crew behind! Now throw him here!"
Falcon sighed and threw Olimar overhand, sending him flying over the creature and into the hand of K. Rool, whose claws grasped the spaceman's helmet. Sure enough, the monster immediately turned its attention away from Falcon and started heading towards K. Rool. The Kaptain ran around the creature in a wide berth, meeting back up with the now-freed Falcon and running onward to join up with Cranky. The group turned and faced the monstrosity that was bearing down on them. The group had their backs to the southern corridor, which led to the exit. K. Rool considered his options.
A. Fight the creature!
B. To Sublevel 3!
#401
"Full retreat!" K. Rool commanded, turning and leading the group back south towards the exit. They took several turns, moving deeper into the labyrinth until they finally reached the exit. K. Rool stepped aside and let his allies jump in first before leaping into the cavern himself, Olimar in tow.
Hell Hole
Sublevel 3
K. Rool braced himself for impact, falling back-first with Olimar pressed against his chest. He landed square on his ass, which made for a surprisingly soft landing. After getting to his feet, he turned to Falcon and said, "I be needin' you to hold on to Olimar for now."
"Fine, leave me with the monster bait," Falcon mumbled, tucking Olimar's light body underneath his arm.
K. Rool surveyed the area. It looked to be largely the same as the last area; same main room with various hallways branching out into different paths.
"Well," said Cranky. "After the way your bright idea of splitting up turned out, I say we go with my bright idea: stick together."
"Arrr," K. Rool mumbled, nodding. "That be best." He led the group through a hallway to the north, down various twists and turns that seemed to contain nothing but empty space. There didn't seem to be any treasure at all down here, but at this point he was more concerned with escaping this dank hole. Eventually the group found the exit, which K. Rool once again made a point of enlarging.
Having done that, he addressed his crew: "We be needin' to decide whether we want to go down farther or face that ghoul head-on now."
"I say we keep running," said Falcon. "I can outrun that thing any day, but it doesn't seem like we can hurt it."
"Pah!" scoffed Cranky. "That thing won't stop chasing us until we give it what for! I say we give it the whupping of a lifetime!"
"Well," said K. Rool. "If we're going to confront it, we best be headin' back to the main room. Don't want to get caught in these tiny passageways." He glanced down at his golden gut and was relieved to see that it appeared more or less healed. Not a crack in sight. He turned back to the exit and considered his options.
A. Return to the main room and prepare for a fight.
B. Try our luck running one more time.
#405 & #406
"That beast will chase us to the depths of hell and back!" K. Rool shouted. "It be time for us to stand up to the monster!"
"But we can't even hurt i-" Falcon began, but seeing that Cranky and K. Rool were already running back, he sighed and followed suit with Olimar in tow.
Just as the group made their way into the main room, the slabs of stone fell from above, followed by the creature itself. Upon (apparently) sighting Olimar, it reared its body back and lurched forward, moving rapidly towards Falcon. As Falcon ran out of the way, Cranky bounced up and landed upon the ghoul.
"I'll jump on this thing's head all the live-long day if I have to!" Cranky yelled, refusing to let up in his futile efforts.
As the creature got Falcon into a corner, the Captain leaned back and hurled Olimar at K. Rool. His aim was less than perfect, and the Kaptain found himself having to run over and perform a dive through the air to catch the spaceman. He came crashing to the ground with enough force to cause the entire cavern to tremble. As soon as it felt the shaking, the beast let out a pained wail and huddled over, becoming encased in a solid purple substance while becoming immobile. As Cranky landed on the monster, the cane connected with a satisfying thud, prompting the beast to shake the ape off and continue huddling over.
"...Did he just hurt it?!" Falcon cried in disbelief.
Before K. Rool could fully process what had happened, the beast shook the substance off and continued its rampage straight at him. K. Rool squatted down and leaped into the air as best he could, and came crashing back down once again, shaking the cavern with his immense weight. The same purple substance once again took over the immobilized monster.
"It's vulnerable! ATTACK!!" K. Rool shouted.
As Cranky leaped back into action and started smacking the creature down, Falcon jumped into the air and reared back.
"Falcon... PAAAAAAAAWNCH!!!"
The ghoul was knocked to the ground by the blow as the stone slabs shattered into pieces. The beast lifted itself off of the ground, resuming its invulnerable state, and started running around the place in panic. K. Rool stared at the display for a moment, chuckled, and jumped back up into the air; sure enough, the creature huddled onto the ground, solidified. Before Cranky or Falcon could do anything, K. Rool whipped out his gun, aimed square at the creature's kneeling form, and fired all of the Min. The multicolored Pikmin and Bulbmin rocketed forward, knocking into the creature and bouncing back off and into the ground. By the time the gun had been emptied of its contents the ghoul was reeling, teetering back and forth on its legs as it exploded into bursts of... substance. In a matter of seconds the thing was no more.
The group stood for a few seconds in silence. Cranky broke that silence.
"What a pushover!" he complained. "Even my grandson could put up a better fight than that."
K. Rool was about to congratulate his crew on a job well done when he felt something moving about in his hand; Olimar had woken up.
***
Olimar processed what he had been told as he followed the group to the exit, Pikmin and Bulbmin alike in lockstep behind him; apparently these three had encountered and managed to defeat a Water Wraith while he was out cold. Without the help of Purple Pikmin. Admittedly, he was impressed. They gave him renewed courage as he jumped into the hole and fell into the furthest reaches of the cave.
Hell Hole
Sublevel 4
Final Floor
Olimar lifted himself off of the ground and glanced behind them: a geyser was sitting right there, ready to free them of this nightmare.
"Is that the way out?" Falcon asked.
Olimar nodded and then surveyed his surroundings. They were in a large, featureless, circular room; this spelled trouble. As his eyes rested on a form sitting in the center of it all, Olimar nearly jumped for joy; a mound of treasure was just sitting there for the taking! Olimar's spirits were deflated, however, when he noticed a familiar-looking Hocotatian sitting upon the pile of treasure. Motionlessly. As if he were asleep. Olimar had experienced something very similar to this before, and his heart sank as he realized what they were about to be faced with.
"WAKE UP, SIR!!" Olimar screamed at his boss.
"Zzzzzrnk?! Huh?!" The President snapped awake. "Olimar?!"
"RUN OVER HERE, QUICK!!"
"Who do you think you are?" the President huffed. "Ordering me around like you're my boss! Ooh, if Louie were just a little less incompetent I'd-"
Before the President could finish his rant, the pile of treasure beneath him began rumbling. The President hopped off and scurried over behind Olimar as a massive, spider-like form arose from the ground, with the treasure still latched onto its giant form. Olimar had seen this before: the Titan Dweevil.
"Not that thing again!" the President complained. "And who are these three? Friends of yours? Or do I need to take some of these Pikmin for myself and fight them off?"
"They're... acquaintances." Olimar replied.
"HEY!!" K. Rool shouted. "That THING has me blunderbuss!"
Olimar looked at the Dweevil and saw that it did, indeed, have K. Rool's gun. Except this version was considerably larger, two wieldy for even that crocodile to wield. And that wasn't all; it was also packing an enlarged version of Cranky's stick, Falcon's glove, and the gun Falcon had given Olimar.
"This looks dangerous," said Falcon. "Shouldn't we just run while we have the chance?"
This was likely to be a harrowing battle, Olimar noted. On the other hand, the four treasures that other Titan Dweevil carried were worth a fortune. He was certain that these things could fetch a pretty penny as well. Olimar looked back and forth between the monster and the exit, considering his options.
A. Fight the beast!
B. Let's get out of here!
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#414
Olimar turned and pointed at the geyser, signaling his intent to escape.
"Right on, little dude!" Falcon said, leaping into the geyser's water and rocketing upward before anybody else could react.
"That thing's got an even bigger stick than me!" said Cranky, still in shock as he leapt into the water. "I guess there's no shame in knowing when to quit."
"Olimar!" said the President. "You've got a lot of explaining to do!" With that, he jumped in and flew out of sight.
Olimar sighed, braced himself, and jumped into the geyser's path alongside all of his Pikmin, rocketing up and into the light. The Bulbmin were left huddling around the geyser, desperately trying to join the group but unable to jump into the spray. K. Rool shook his head in pity and affectionately sucked them into his blunderbuss before exiting the cave himself. The treasure hunt had been a wash, but he was just glad to have gotten out of this hellhole alive and with his all his crew intact.
***
"Hmph!" the President grunted, having been brought to speed on the events since the crash. "Well, now that I'm here to oversee you slackers, we'll be swimming in treasure in no time. Shouldn't take long for us to find the others, either."
Olimar rolled his eyes and walked away from his boss and into the ship's control room, where Kaptain K. Rool was preparing to lift the ship off the ground.
"So, matey," he said. "Where are we headed now?"
Olimar considered his options.
A. Mushroom Kingdom
B. Planet Zebes
C. Hoshido/Nohr
D. Dream Land
E. Dracula's Castle
F. Smashville
G. Vigrid
H. Eagleland
#438
***
Olimar stood at the front of the ship with his boss, Falcon, and Cranky. The ship had landed, and they were waiting for Kaptain K. Rool to make an appearance. What they got was something else entirely; as the Crocodile entered the room, Olimar could see that he had changed into a completely different outfit. Gone were the blunderbuss, coat, and pirate hat; now he donned only a crown and a cape.
"Come, subjects!" he decreed as he marched out of the ship and onto the ground. Olimar continued staring on. Cranky caught Olimar's gaze and did a swirling motion around his head with his finger, signifying that the croc was loony. Olimar had deduced that much. Olimar shook off the weirdness and followed the crocodile out onto fertile soil. As he emerged out of the ship, he could see that they had landed on a field that was populated with various humans wielding armaments.
K. Rool took a deep breath and announced his presence: "I am King K. Rool, ruler of Crocodile Isle, and these are my subjects! What goes on here? Some sort of squirmish?!"
A blonde man on a dark horse rode forward. "Warriors from the Outrealms!" he cried. "Come to assist us in our time of need! Friends, these Hoshidan monsters you see before you have killed our dear sister in addition to their numerous other crimes. We ask you to join us, and help us bring them to justice!"
A man in garish red armor scoffed and addressed the group: "It is not as he says, friends! These Nohrian scum have killed our precious sister, and we must answer these crimes with fresh blood! Join us and help us avenge our poor Corrin!"
Olimar watched as the two men glared at each other, failing to conceal their burning rage at the other's presence. Beyond them stood several different soldiers in their armies, each one with weapon drawn and ready to attack. Blood was clearly going to be shed here one way or another.
"Hmm," King K. Rool mused. "To which one of these factions should I lend my immense power?"
Olimar glanced at the two sides and considered his options.
A. Convince K. Rool to join the Hoshidans.
B. Convince K. Rool to join the Nohrians.
C. Convince K. Rool to try and make peace with both sides.
D. Convince K. Rool to declare war on both sides.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#446
Olimar tapped K. Rool from behind, causing the portly monarch to turn around and raise a nonexistent eyebrow at Olimar. Olimar thought for a moment before deciding to flash a two-fingered peace sign. K. Rool stared blankly as if unfamiliar with the concept. The language barrier was really starting to get to Olimar; this time, he tried shaking his hands together diplomatically. K. Rool continued to give Olimar the blankest stare imaginable.
"He wants you to make peace!" Falcon groaned.
"Err, okay," K. Rool mumbled, turning back to the army before him. "Friends! Tensions are running high! My subjects and I do not want to fight; we wish for peace! Why don't we all simmer down and convene a conference in my ship here? We can work this out with... diplomacy."
The two men stared at K. Rool for a solid thirty seconds as total silence echoed out from their respective armies.
"There can be no peace with these nefarious Hoshidans," the blonde remarked. "The idea is laughable and frankly somewhat insulting. In any case, I won't stand by and risk letting warriors from the outrealms be coerced into joining with Hoshido. In the name of King Garon, you're coming with us, whether by will or by force."
"Ha!" scoffed the other man. "As if we would ever let such powerful warriors be conscripted into the Nohrian army. We're taking them back to Hoshido with us, no matter what opinion you or they may have on the matter. Hoshidans! Prepare yourselves for battle! We spill the blood of the Nohrians and take the outrealm warriors alive!"
Both men drew their weapons as the standing armies behind them readied themselves. Looking over the battlefield, Olimar could see that they were utterly outnumbered; just one of the two standing armies would be enough to overwhelm them. Olimar looked back at the ship, dismayed in his realization that they wouldn't have time to safely escape. Olimar glanced over at K. Rool, who was scratching his chin, deep in thought. Olimar decided to push him in one direction or another.
A. Convince K. Rool to surrender to the Hoshidans.
B. Convince K. Rool to surrender to the Nohrians.
C. Convince K. Rool to declare war on both factions.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#453 & #454
Olimar tapped K. Rool again, and when the croc turned he pointed at both factions and gave a fighting stance, indicating his position on the matter. K. Rool grinned maliciously and muttered "I was thinking the same thing myself."
King K. Rool turned to the men and announced his intentions. "After careful consideration, we've decided that the best course of action for the nation of Crocodile Isle would be to..." After giving a dramatic pause, K. Rool body checked the Hoshidan leader. "DECLARE WAR UPON HOSHIDO AND NOHR!!" The man's blade, brimming with electric powers, skimmed along the ground. K. Rool darted forward, picked up the sword, and faced the Nohrian leader before turning to his allies and shouting, "ATTACK!!"
In an instant, the plains had become a battlefield, mired in complete chaos as the armies scrambled to capture the outsiders as well as to kill members of the opposing faction.
A Nohrian mage atop a horse was firing off a barrage of spells at the Hoshidan army. Falcon noted that he would be a problem and dashed forward, leaping into the air and taking the mage by surprise as he performed a Falcon Kick, knocking the man off his horse and sending him tumbling to the ground. The man jumped up and casted some kind of fire spell that sent flames hurtling at Falcon. Falcon dodged the attack with ease, jumping over the fire and kneeing the man straight in the chest.
"LEO!!" a nearby girl atop a horse cried, rushing up.
"Stay back, Elise!" Leo cried, struggling to get up off of the ground. Elise raised her staff and healed her comrade, who stood, revitalized, and calmly mounted his horse as he turned to face Captain Falcon.
Cranky had bounced straight into the fray, taking any opportunity to smack a soldier of either faction upside the head with his cane. After knocking against the skulls of various victims, he found himself faced with an axe-wielding woman atop a dragon, flying straight at him and poised to strike. Cranky just barely managed to dodge the oncoming axe slice, which cut off a considerable portion of his beard.
"You little hussy!" Cranky screeched, waving his cane. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to grow this luxurious beard?! I might not even live long enough to get it straightened out!"
The dragon turned around to face Cranky as the girl laughed psychotically. "Ah ha ha ha, you and your ilk have been very naughty. Xander told us to capture you, but I can't let you get away with keeping us from avenging poor, sweet Corrin..." With that, the woman darted forward and feigned an axe strike, prompting Cranky to leap out of the way, just as she anticipated. The wyvern whipped around in response, smacking Cranky to the ground with its massive tail.
Olimar weaved in and out of the way of various soldiers as he did his best to protect the Pikmin that were in his charge, ordering them to move about and get out of the line of fire. The President was acting as Olimar's shadow, huffing and puffing as he tried to avoid the conflict and keep squarely within the pack of Pikmin.
"Olimar!" the President complained. "We're supposed to be searching for treasure, not getting caught up in some crazy war! You need to put a stop to this now! And quit moving the Pikmin around so much, keep them around me!"
Olimar ignored his boss's bloviating and moved through the battlefield, smacking soldiers upside the head with Pikmin when he could but otherwise keeping his own army safe from the combat. It was strange: throughout it all, over the roaring noise of battle, Olimar could swear that he heard constant whistling, not unlike his own. As he broke out of the thick of things, he came across a horrific sight: Cranky Kong, lying helpless on the ground as a soldier atop a wyvern was flying high in the air, reared back and twirling an axe over her head, preparing to come crashing down upon the ape. Olimar was standing too far for his Pikmin to reach the dragon, and he wasn't sure they'd be able to get so high up anyway. He didn't see that he had any choice in the matter; if he didn't use the gun, Cranky would get the axe. Olimar quickly removed the gun from the holster and aimed it upward.
A. Aim at the woman.
B. Aim at the dragon.
C. Never mind, just watch and see what happens to Cranky.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 6?)
#458 & #459*
Unanimous votes for B! Good choice!
Olimar aimed at the wyvern and fired his gun, sending a bullet that pierced the midsection of the great beast. It didn't seem to do a whole lot of damage to the creature, but it did send it reeling. The woman, who was leaning back with a two-handed axe raised over her head, was unable to keep her balance. She went careening from the back of the creature and plummeted straight to the ground, still holding onto the axe which dropped like a lead weight. The woman had the misfortune of landing on the blade of her axe, which ripped through her body and jutted out the front of her midsection.
Olimar shook his head in grief at what he had just done, but refused to waste time dwelling on it. He commanded a small group of Pikmin to carry the unconscious Cranky and turned back to the battlefield. He stood and watched for a bit as soldiers darted about from point to point, attacking and defending when necessary. He noted that the Nohrian soldiers seemed to be faring far better than the Hoshidans despite their equal numbers. As more and more bodies fell and the battlefield quieted, Olimar could more distinctly make out the whistling noise he had noted earlier. The whistles seemed to be occurring directly before the Nohrians took action, as if the sounds were acting as commands for the troops to obey. This was all very familiar.
Olimar decided to track down the source of the noise and scanned the battlefield. After a few seconds of searching he found nothing. Suddenly a flash of light caught his eye; standing atop a hill overlooking the battlefield was a short, stocky figure, heaving heavily as it blew into its whistle. The flash he'd noticed was a bright green light that was emitting from atop an antennae that protruded from the helmet the figure wore. Olimar was speechless.
Falcon was dodging magic to the best of his ability; ducking from bursts of fire here, leaping over gusts of wind there; he was trying to wear down Leo, but Elise kept healing him. He had tried going after the healer(not that he intended to kill such a helpless-looking girl), but Leo kept him at a distance with his tomes.
Suddenly the magic stopped. Falcon paused, standing perfectly still in anticipation of the next attempt at blasting him with magic. Yet nothing came. The mage stared at Falcon for a few seconds before slowly withdrawing a particularly ancient-looking tome. Falcon waited, ready to dodge whatever blast came at him with his lightning-fast reflexes. Yet nothing came.
Falcon was seriously contemplating just rushing Leo when tree branches suddenly erupted from the earth around Falcon. Before he could even react, he found himself ensnared in a cage of intertwining trees, with nary a crevice large enough for Falcon to slip out of. He was captured.
K. Rool was thrusting the sword out at the Nohrian leader, sending bolts of lightning flying as the latter galloped about on his horse, dodging the oncoming blasts with ease.
"Amateur!" shouted the disarmed Hoshidan leader from behind K. Rool. "You have no training with Raijinto! Do you really expect to be able to land a blow on Prince Xander with it?!"
"Prince Ryoma speaks the truth!" Xander yelled. "You're outmatched! Just surrender!"
K. Rool launched another bolt of lightning, which Xander('s horse) roundly dodged. Xander began to smirk, but was quickly interrupted by a flying crown to the face.
"Ungh!" Xander grunted, falling to the ground. He lifted himself off of the ground just in time to block a swipe from Raijinto. "Heh. Even that sword is no match for Siegfried!" K. Rool leaped back and prepared to launch another bolt of lightning; Xander gave him no quarter, raising Siegfried in the air and firing a bolt of dark magic straight at the crocodile, stunning him. Xander quickly mounted his horse, galloped forward, and performed a leaping strike straight into K. Rool's gut, smashing his armor to pieces. K. Rool fell over to the ground, unmoving. Xander moved his horse between K. Rool(still gripping Raijinto) and Ryoma, and pointed his sword at his opponent. "You've lost."
Ryoma winced and groaned before shouting "FULL RETREAT!!" as he darted away, shouting back "This isn't over, Nohrian prince. We run only so that we may live to defend Hoshido from your advances!" Xander considered giving chase, but elected to watch over his new captive instead.
Olimar mounted the top of the nearby hill, approaching the figure that was looking over the battlefield from afar. Before him stood Captain Charlie, who stared back at Olimar with glazed, unblinking eyes.
"Captain Charlie!" Olimar shouted. "What are you doing here? Why are you giving orders to this army?!"
"Are they paying you?" the President chimed in. "Do they have lots of treasure?"
Charlie met their queries only with silence. He stood unmoving for a little while before rearing back and whistling with all his might. This was followed by the sound of countless feet and hooves stampeding straight towards them. Olimar turned and watched as the remaining Nohrian forces - which was most of what they started with - closed in on them. Soon enough Olimar found himself surrounded by soldiers on all sides.
"I surrender!" the President cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Don't hurt me, I give up! I'll come quietly!"
Olimar looked at the numerous Nohrian troops and then back at his own platoon; he might be able to put up something of a fight, but he didn't think his Pikmin would be enough to take everyone down. And if he was incapacitated, who knows what they'd do to the then-leaderless Pikmin.
Olimar considered his options.
A. Surrender.
B. Fight.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 5?)
#484 & #485
Olimar raised his arms in surrender.
"A wise decision." Xander remarked, scowling. "Seeing as how I've lost two sisters today, I don't know that I would have humored any further resistance."
Olimar allowed himself to be taken into bondage by the Nohrians, joining his fellow captured allies in a long march towards who-knows-where.
***
Olimar sighed in defeat as he languished in the stocks of Castle Krakenburg, located in the town of Windmire, the capital of Nohr and home to King Garon. Olimar had learned that much from listening to various conversations held by his captors. He'd also learned that this Corrin person had apparently met their end at the hands of a vicious, fire-breathing dragon that had devoured her in short order not long before they'd arrived. Apparently the Nohrians believe the dragon to have been acting on the behest of the Hoshidans, and vice-versa.
He looked around at his cellmates, each looking equally miserable. They had each been completely disarmed after capture; the Pikmin weren't even kept in the same holding cell. Now they were stuck in a prison for what may well be the rest of their days, if they weren't executed first. Olimar tried his best not to think about what would happen to his kids if he weren't able to escape this place - or worse, what may have already happened to them - but it was difficult with the complete lack of anything to keep his mind from wandering.
"This blows!" Falcon cried. "They can't lock me up in here! I'm Captain Falcon! F-Zero Racer 07! Bounty hunting extraordinare! I can't rot in some prison cell, I'm supposed to send others to rot in some prison cell!"
"Well," sighed Cranky. "I guess I'm lucky to have lived a long, full life. I just wish I could have finished this adventure and taught my no-good grandson a thing or two about adventuring."
"You think you have it bad?!" said K. Rool. "I am a king! A reasonable raving, derange-able despot! I don't belong in some prison! They even took my crown!" K. Rool patted his exposed, bald head and sighed. "I hate that my subjects have to see their king like this."
Olimar wanted to join in and clue them in on how much worse he had it than any of them, but the damned language barrier wouldn't allow it. Just when he was ready to give in to his greatest fears and succumb to his mounting emotions, he heard the sound of someone approaching them.
"Prisoners!" the guard shouted. "His highness King Garon has summoned you for an audience!"
The group stood up and allowed their hands to be tied up as they were marched into the castle's throne room. Olimar stared in awe upon the massive man occupying the throne, bearing a beard that was equal parts hideous and resplendent. Beside him stood Xander and Leo, both of whom regarded the prisoners with a similar sort of coldness as his father.
"Hello, prisoners." the King remarked with a deep scowl. "I imagine you're wondering what sort of grim fate awaits you."
As he spoke, the king fiddled with something in his hand. As Olimar looked closely, he could see that it was K. Rool's crown.
"I may not have toppled a certain Kingdom like I'd hoped, but I did manage to capture one pitiful excuse of a monarch." He waved the crown around mockingly as he said this, prompting K. Rool to growl.
"Frankly I'm not the type to take prisoners." said Garon. "Ordinarily I'd have you executed without a second thought, but it's not every day that warriors from the outrealms fall into my hands. I believe I could use you. If you were to pledge allegiance to Nohr and agree to follow my commands, I would be willing to spare your lives. What say you, fallen monarch?"
Olimar began to sweat as K. Rool stepped forward. Not only were they disarmed and outnumbered by the guards in this room alone, but countless numbers could be found throughout the castle. They had no hope of escape, and if K. Rool mouthed off...
A. Persuade K. Rool to join Garon.
B. Persuade K. Rool to refuse.
#493
Olimar tapped K. Rool from behind and pointed at Garon, nodding rapidly.
"Oh, don't worry," K. Rool sneered. "I have every intention of helping out." Turning to Garon, he said. "I accept your offer, though of course we'll need to make negotiations regarding our freedom once this whole sordid affair i-"
"Remove them, arm them, and march them straight to Hoshido." Garon interrupted with a dismissive wave of the hand. "And if even one of them dares to step out of line, kill them all without hestiation."
Next thing they knew, they were being shoved out of the throne room and back towards the stocks, where they were given back their belongings. Olimar was enthused to be reunited with the Pikmin. Getting his gun back wasn't bad either.
As the group was led back out of the stocks and down a long corridor, they found themselves confronted with the healer girl from before.
"Xander!" Elise pouted. "I want to come too! I have to fight for Corrin!"
"Absolutely not!" Xander shouted. "After what they did to Camilla, I couldn't possibly let you be put in harm's way."
"But you need an expert healer!" she protested. "Even warriors from the outrealms aren't invincible! I could be the difference in whether you take Hoshido!" With that, she moseyed up to Olimar and pressed her face against the glass of his helmet, staring at him with sad eyes. "Tell my big brother, warrior! Don't you think having me as a healer could be useful?!"
A. Nod in agreement; having a healer watching out for them could be the difference between life and death.
B. Shake your head in disagreement; this girl must be kept out of harm's way.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 5?)
#499 (Final Update Post of Topic)
Olimar nodded vigorously, uncertain that they'd be able to come away from this unscathed without her help.
"At least if she comes along we can keep an eye on her," Leo added. "I'll pair up with her at all times, if need be."
"Fine," Xander sighed. "You can come along, Elise. But stay AWAY from combat. Focus on healing."
"Yay!" she cried, wrapping Olimar in a death-grip hug.
"Well, if everyone's ready, it's about time we head off now." said Xander.
"Not so fast," a voice echoed through the hall. Olimar looked around and reared back when two figures appeared in a puff of smoke. The first was a sinister-looking individual wrapped in mage-like attire, and the second was Captain Charlie.
"Iago." Xander stated flatly. "What is it?"
"Don't tell me you were going to leave without your new tactician!" Iago cried, placing his hands on Charlie's shoulders. Just as before, Charlie had a glazed look in his eyes, and didn't seem particularly responsive to what was going on around him. "This brilliant mind brought you to victory in your last battle! You wouldn't dare think of leaving him behind on your march to the capital, would you? Would that be any way to thank him? Who else would command your troops? That morbidly obese reptilian has-been?"
Xander rolled his eyes and looked at Charlie uncertainly, then over at Olimar. "You two look similar. Warriors from the same land, perhaps?"
Olimar nodded.
"Well then, let me ask you... do you think we should take him along?"
A. Agree to take Charlie.
B. Leave Charlie here.
Pikmin
1. Red Pikmin x 5
2. Yellow Pikmin x 4
3. Blue Pikmin x 9
4. White Pikmin x 2
5. Rock Pikmin x 3
6. Winged Pikmin x 7
7. Bulbmin x 9
Inventory
8. Recording Device
9. Gun (Bullets x 5?