#startouched au

"I'm going to go start on dinner, okay hun?" Rose rubbed her husband's shoulders in an effort to calm him as she spoke.

"... A-Alright. I think I'll go lay down."

"Alright." She kissed his forehead. "I'll come get you then."

Olimar nodded, leaning into the gentle touches. He sighed as she walked away, putting himself in a proper posture again. As he tidied up his desk (which it didn't really need, it just made Olimar feel better) he saw the black box again. With a heavy heart, he gently touched it. He had been able to get the files off of the flash drive onto his computer just fine, but an entire ship's AI was a completely different beast. He had no idea how Alph got it on there, and no idea on where to even start with restoring it. It honestly made him anxious, eating him up inside. Was it aware it was in a hard drive, or was it like being asleep? Or more like being in a coma? He knew it didn't have real emotions, but the idea of it being aware and trapped made him feel so guilty.

Maybe he should just ask Alph for some help…

He soon stood up, desperate to stop thinking about the ship and the therapy and money and anything else that caused stress, though he couldn't exactly just do that. He was always, at least, thinking about the golden monster. The bracelet he hid away in his room, taunting him. The injuries he sustained that still pained him. He didn't know what the golden lifeform did to him, exactly. He knew he spent most of his time on the Drake sleeping, same for the hospital. But good Gods did walking hurt now. Well, there was always a mild bit of pain. The kind he assumed to be typical for a man his age with a job as labor intensive as his. But now it was so much more, and he always stayed close to a wall or heavy piece of furniture to lean on for support. Though, he avoided the family shrines. They were barely used, but he wasn't going to risk ruining them. He didn't think he'd fall, he wasn't unstable (at least, he didn't feel like it, but he also wasn't entirely sure what that would feel like), but he was still scared.

He felt almost relieved to reach the stairs. Getting up them was damn near tortuous, but he was thankful to have a railing sturdy enough to put his full weight against without consequence. When he reached the top, though, he couldn't help but wonder if it would've been better to just nap in his recliner downstairs instead. Everything hurt now. Oh well, at least he had plenty of time to rest between now and dinner. As he approached his bedroom, however, his ears flicked. He could hear music from down the hall, certainly from his son's CRTelecaster. He really should take a nap but… oh, he couldn't help himself. Was it too much to ask for some time with his kid? He slowly made his way over to his son's room and gently knocked on the door.

The music immediately stopped. "Oh, uh, come in."

With that permission, Olimar slowly opened the door and smiled at his son. Nova was sitting on the floor, CRTelecaster in front of him. The boy had made the instrument himself over the past year or so, something which Olimar would never stop being proud of. Olimar helped a little, of course, having supplied the electronics that were reused into the instrument and doing a little bit of wiring. Most of it was Nova's work, though. "Mind if I sit with you for a bit? Haven't gotten to hear you play much since you've finished working on that."

Nova paused for a moment. "Sure, you can listen."

"Thanks kiddo." He made his way over to a futon pressed against the left wall, which was currently set up as a couch. It usually was a couch, the only reason Nova had it instead of normal seats was for when Pluto visited. He leaned into it, letting out a slight groan. The futon was far from the most comfortable seat in the house, but it was so much better than standing any longer. Or struggling to sit on the floor... He couldn't help but worry about how winter will go. He'll just have to be better by then, so he can sit with his family around the kotatsu and not in a chair away from them. Hopefully Nova doesn't mind me staying here a while, I really do not wanna get up again… "How's it been going with the CRTelecaster, hm?"

"Alright. Haven't memorized any songs but I can easily read the sheets for them."

"Could you play one?"

Nova nodded. He tapped just a few things on his phone before finding the sheet music for whatever song he had chosen. Soon, the strange electronic noises truly unique to the instrument filled the room. Olimar couldn't help but smile a bit as he hummed to the song. He knew this one, not too well, but it played on the radio often. If Nova was nearby, he'd ask for the song to be turned up. The boy didn't sing the lyrics to it - probably not yet confident in his ability to sing and play at the same time yet - but that was fine.

Olimar could remember when Nova had first asked for some old electronics to make it. Such instruments were very common on Hocotate, had been sense Olimar's great-grandparents were around. It was around that time that interstellar shipment became the most common job on Hocotate, and with it came plenty of opportunities for pilots like Olimar to buy some unused "junk" other planets no longer wanted. Such so-called junk was perfect for making all sorts of things, even musical instruments like the CRTelecaster. Most people made their instruments themselves, and Olimar had wanted to make one himself when he was a kid, but there was no way his father would have let him. Buying one, while possible and not too expensive, was also certainly out of the question.

He was more than happy to let his own son have it, then, and to help him build it. Seeking out more items for it became such a pleasant habit that it was hard to break. At least his son had spare parts now, should something break or he wished to start another project.

Soon the song was over, Nova taking the time to silence the machine. As he did Olimar couldn't help but smile and clap, even more so when his son's response was an unamused glare. "It was really good, though. You've gotten much better."

"T-thanks. It's - it's an easy song to play-"

"Aw, no need to dampen your achievement here. Progress is progress, and it sounds good."

Nova shuffled around awkwardly, though he was smiling a bit. "There's - one song I can sing and play at once. If you'd care to hear… I'd, uh, also like for you to sing with me."

Olimar couldn't help but smirk a bit. "I thought that you hated it when I sing. That you think I'm bad at it."

"Because you are." Nova groaned, his pure bluntness and annoyance getting a hearty laugh out of his father. "I still… want you to, though."

Olimar's chuckles finally faded away. "Aww, of course buddy. If I know it, that is."

"You do. You taught me. It's Our Corner of the Cloud."

Oh, that old work song. Captain Destiny had taught him that one, when he was still but a young mechanic on her crew. Olimar found himself growing heavy as he leaned into the futon more. "Aw, of course buddy. I take it you want to just sing the responses?" It made sense, it'd certainly make it easier for the boy to sing and play at the same time if he had only four lines to worry about.

Nova nodded.

"Ah, alright. I've never sang with instrumentals, just with voices alone, so start the beat and I'll figure out where to start singing as well."

Nova nodded and began to play his CRTelecaster. Olimar bobbed his head to the beat as he tried to get a feel for it. The instrumental stayed simple, a further aid to Nova in learning. Besides, work songs were never really supposed to need or generally have instruments playing along them. Workers were meant to be able to still work while they sang. For pilots and mechanics like himself, it was a way to pass the time, get closer to the crew, and keep morale high. After a few loops of the simple beat, Olimar finally found where and how to start. In a deep voice that he struggled to keep even, he began to sing,

"We've traveled far across the Cloud, Seen every corner of this Galaxy, We'll bring back the supplies we need, To serve our folks back home, A job so hard, it makes us proud."

… Though Olimar couldn't exactly call himself proud of his job. Proud of how far he's come, from janitor to mechanic to captain, sure. But not really of the job itself. At the very least, Nova seemed to be having fun, soon joining in for the response.

"No matter where we may go, Nothing will compare to our Hocotate Our dear home of ice and snow, I swear, we'll be back there someday."

Olimar's ears wiggled a bit. Since when did his son get so good at singing? Nova had always been better than him, but now the kid sounded amazing. Ah, just another thing to be actually proud of.

"Yesterday, a shipment to Koppai Of plastics, metals, and wires For them to make computers so fancy Which we can build into our own ships Stabilizers and navigators letting them fly.

"But no matter where we may go, Nothing will compare to our Hocotate Our dear home of ice and snow, I swear, we'll be back there someday.

"Today, a shipment to Zelace Of gems, silver, and gold For them to make jewelry so pretty Perhaps we'll pick some up for our love And bring a smile to her face!

"As no matter where we may go, Nothing will compare to our Hocotate Our dear home of ice and snow, I swear, we'll be back there someday.

"Tomorrow, a shipment to Baher, Of paints, clay, and marble For them to make art so fine Their cities covered in murals and statues A gorgeous site like no other.

"Yet no matter where we may go, Nothing will compare to our Hocotate Our dear home of ice and snow, I swear, we'll be back there someday.

"Yes no matter where we may go, Nothing will compare to our Hocotate Our dear home of ice and snow, I swear, we'll be back there someday."

When the song was done, Nova looked over to his father with a smile on his face. "Thanks dad, it really does help."

"Ah, no need to thank me. It was fun." A slight stretching of the truth, as Olimar's chest now felt awfully tight from anxiety now, but he did truly enjoy any time spent with his family.

Nova smiled a bit before setting up the CRTelecaster to be put away. As he did that, he asked, "So… when will you be sent on another delivery run?"

That made Olimar pause. He… really wasn't sure. Nor was he sure when he'd return to work period, since he had tasks at the office he did when not piloting a ship. Sacho seemed empathetic to his plight when he first returned. But even though he certainly needed more rest, the boss's empathy grew strained as Olimar took more time to recover. So he probably would be returning to work sooner rather than later. With a sigh he just shook his head. "S-Sorry kiddo, I don't know. Depends on when my body decides to stop hurting." Or when the boss decides he's done waiting for me… "But I think it won't be too long now."

Nova nodded, silent as he put his instrument away. "So what's PNF-404 like?"

"Hm? Oh, same as before." Olimar chuckled awkwardly. "A beautiful, wild planet. Can be a little scary, but with Pikmin I'll be okay. We found tw-"

"But you still got hurt."

That made Olimar flinch a bit. "Ah, well, I… this was a bit different."

Nova just huffed. "I see."

"... We found two new kinds of Pikmin! Rock and winged."

"I know." Nova was now looking through his shelf of games for something. "You've told us that already."

"We also found-"

"And you told us about the crabs." Nova cut him off in a flat tone. "And the new bulborb. And the swarming shear grubs. And seemingly everything you'll actually tell us."

That response made Olimar flinch again. Did he make Nova mad somehow? He… couldn't exactly tell his thirteen year old son about the golden monster. So what else was he supposed to say?

His son eventually sighed when Olimar failed to respond to him. "I'm going to play some games before dinner now."

"Oh - yeah, of course. Have fun kiddo. S-See you at dinner then?"

"Yeah, sure."

Well he sure managed to ruin everything. There wasn't really much he could do about it now though. With a sigh he began to stand up from the futon, only to yelp as a harsh spike of pain shot up from his lower back. He fell back onto the futon, groaning.

"P-Papa?!" Nova was quick to stand up and hury over to him. "W-What happened-?"

"I'm alright, I'm alright." He groaned, though he hardly sounded convincing. "Just, sudden back pain. I think I'll need a few more moments…"

Nova frowned but nodded as he gently sat down next to his father. "H-How did - this happen?"

Olimar shrugged. He honestly didn't know what the monster did to him, given he was knocked out for most of his time there. "Ah, n-not sure buddy. But I'll get my rest in, don't worry. That's all that matters."

Nova huffed, ears leaning back. "You sure you'll get enough time off before you have to work again?"

"I - er…" Olimar's ears leaned back.

When he once again failed to respond, his son let out an agitated groan. "Your boss is a di - jerk. He's a jerk."

"Hey, watch your language now." Olimar teased, poking Nova's nose. Normally he'd get on him a little more for nearly cursing like that, but he couldn't exactly disagree with the boy on the matter.

"Sorry, Papa." Nova mumbled. After a few moments, he hugged his father and said "S-Stay as long as you need."

"Ah, no, I don't wanna intrude-"

"Rest."

The sudden command silenced Olimar as he watched his son pull away and boot up his game console. Well then. He didn't want to worry his son more, though, nor did he really want to risk another pain spike. So he let himself relax a bit as he watched the boy play some adventure game he had. He could feel himself dozing off, which admittedly made him feel a little guilty, but he was just so tired. Nova must have noticed, because suddenly Olimar woke with a jolt as his son explained "I'll wake you when it's dinner time."

"Huh? Oh, t-thanks…"

“AAALLLPH!”

The sudden call spooked the engineer, causing him to bolt up and hit his head on the metal floor above him. “Owww…” In seconds someone was by his side, urging him out of the Drake’s maintenance corridor. He rubbed his head as he crawled back out, looking over to a rather worried Louie. “I’m alright, I’m alright.” They were now on their way to Hocotate, straight from PNF-404. Alph still wasn’t sure how he felt about ‘404, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it - Captain Olimar had to get to a Hocotation hospital sooner rather than later, and now the Drake was making funny noises. It’s why he was down here - trying to find the cause and hopefully fix it.

“Y-You sure?” Louie asked, voice quiet.

“Yeah, yeah I am.” Things had gotten off to a rocky start with Louie and his crewmates still didn’t care for him. Alph, however, had decided he rather liked the younger man. He was nice, and willing to help him out with repairs. Poor guy was just worried about his father, he couldn’t blame him (though Alph was surprised that Louie was allowed to be part of his father’s crew, wouldn’t that result in blatant favoritism?). Alph looked up through the repair hatch, ears twitching. “That sounded like the captain.”

“... why not use his comm device?” Louie muttered.

“I’m sure he has a good reason - I’m going to head up there. Want to come with me?

Louie was quiet for a moment before slowly nodding. The two of them then climbed up the ladder and into one of the many storage units in the Drake. This one was home mostly to the tools that would be used in the maintenance corridors and crawl spaces below. After shutting the hatch, he and Louie entered the main room of the Drake where Brittany and Charlie were huddled close together. The captain then looked up at him, sighing with relief. “There you are. Sorry about not using our comms, I… forgot to charge mine, and Brittany can’t get to hers with her arms full. Anyways, we found what’s been making all those noises, but now we have a whole new problem.”

Alph’s ears wiggled. “Oh?”

Charlie waved them closer, and so they followed. In Brittany's arms was an annoyed and wiggling…

“... how did a pikmin get on board?!” Alph squeaked at the same time that Louie let out an equally surprised "A pikmin?!"

In her arms was a yellow pikmin, with a light patch on its belly alongside rather long "gloves" and "socks" that were also a lighter yellow. A fairly typical looking pikmin.

“We were hoping you might have an idea.” Brittany sighed. She then adjusted the pikmin in her arms. “No, bad. Stop wiggling.” Of course, it didn’t stop.

“While you were investigating the maintenance corridor I heard the noise again, in a vent. I decided to open the panel and saw it crawling around. Thankfully, I managed to catch the lil’ thing.” Charlie rubbed his forehead with one hand. “So, it was making all those noises. But… what exactly do we do with it?”

Alph crossed his arms, brow furrowed. “Hm, well… we can’t take it back, not now. Not with Olimar here, he should have been sent to a hospital already." Louie flinched at that, looking away. "We can’t waste any time.”

“How is he holding up - stop wiggling!” Brittany asked, then snapped. Finally, the yellow pikmin stopped wiggling, its arms crossed.

“He’s stable. About as good as he can be without professional aid. We can’t afford to waste anymore time though.”

The trio then went quiet for a bit, all trying to think of something. Eventually, Charlie sighed and held his arms out. “Hand it over, please.” Brittany nodded, handing the yellow over to the captain. It made a face at him, before poking his nose. He simply sighed. “We’ll just have to bring it with us, at least for now. Once we get the food to Koppai, we can see about getting it back home. Which means also bringing it to Hocotate.”

“Would it do okay in Koppai’s caverns, though?” Brittany asked. “I’m not sure if the artificial lights are enough for it…”

"It - it should be. Uh, for a little while, at least." Louie mumbled. "Dad and I have… have spent days down in caves with - with the pikmin. I donno how long they can go on for, though… y-you'd have to ask dad."

Charlie was quiet for a few moments before nodding. "Alright. If he's up for it, we'll ask him when he's awake. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep this little rebellious one under control.”

The captain’s description got a snort out of Alph. “Ah, good luck with that, Sir.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Charlie grumbled. “You're dismissed; I think I'll pikmin proof my room and keep it in there."

"Let me know if you need help." Brittany offered.

Alph nodded along. "Same here. And Louie n' I will talk to Olimar when he next wakes up."

"Alright, sounds good to me.

---

"How are you feeling, Sir?" Alph asked as he handed Olimar a fresh cup of water.

Olimar took the glass and quickly downed it before answering. "Mph, the same."

"Ah, I-I see. We, uh, had a question about the pikmin, if that's okay."

At that moment, Louie entered the room with a plate of scaly custard. He silently handed it to his father, who began to quickly eat as he nodded along. "Go on, I'm more than happy to talk about the pikmin!"

"How long do you think they can go on artificial light, like what we have in Koppai’s caves?”

Olimar paused then, leveling Alph with an odd expression. “I… er, well, I’m not familiar with Koppai’s cave lights. I’ve only ever been on the surface of your world.”

“They usually are enough to support most plants… then again, most plants are not also animals.”

“Why are you even asking this in the first place?” Olimar then grumbled. “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to be snappy, it’s just... why?”

Alph nervously looked to Louie, who also just stared at him. With a sigh, Alph answered “A pikmin snuck on board before we left. We found it, and will have to keep it on Koppai for a little while until we can bring it home.”

Olimar paused then, staring at Alph for the longest time. After a few stunned moments, he managed out a quiet "What?"

"I don't know how, or why, but it's here now. So we just got to make sure it'll be okay in the caves. And the ship too, now that I think about it…"

"... We've spent days with them down in pitch black caves. Er, pitch black for most, we were able to see fairly well regardless. So I'd wager that it'll be okay under your special lights for longer. How long, I can't say. Keep an eye on it for any abnormalities, I'm not sure what a sun-deprived pikmin would look like so you'd have to tell me what that looks like."

Alph nodded. "Alright, I'll let the captain know. He took it upon himself to take care of it."

"Hmmm…" Olimar paused. He and Charlie hadn't exactly talked at all since he'd come on board. In fact, their only interaction was on that first day when Olimar (understandably) got angry that Louie had been tied up. Alph wasn't exactly sure about how Olimar must've felt about his captain as a result. After a few seconds, Olimar sighed. "Alright, I'll have to trust him. After I'm done eating, though, could I see the pikmin? I may be able to give Charlie more advice."

Alph nodded. "Sense you're almost done, I can go get him now."

"Fine by me."

Alph nodded before turning to Louie. "Keep an eye on him for me. Okay?"

Louie nodded as Olimar groaned a bit. "I'm not going anywhere, you know."

"Hmm, sounds to me like he's plotting an escape!" Alph winked as he spoke, getting a chuckle out of Louie. "I wish you luck in controlling that one."

"Oh, now you're just being a brat."

Alph giggled a bit as he left the room, waving Louie off as he went. He then hummed as he made his way through the Drake. They really were going to bring a pikmin to Koppai, then… it would be under Charlie's care, so he'd make most of the calls, but he couldn't help wondering what the best thing to do for it was. Would the media want to see it? Almost certainly, actually. Was that a good idea though…?

He reached the Captain's room before he could dwell on it too much. He hit a button to the side of the doorway, a faint buzz sound being heard from the other side. The two halves to the door then slid apart from each other, Brittany right on the other side. "Hey Alph. We just finished pikmin-proofing Charlie's room. Or as pikmin-proof as we can get it."

Alph stepped in, looking around. Charlie was sitting on his cubby bed, watching the yellow pikmin use spare blankets and pillows to build its own nest. Inside, he could see it already had a toy - a plush duck of sorts. "Ah, where did it get that?"

"Turns out our captain can sew." Brittany teased, smirking at said captain.

Charlie flushed a bit before crossing his arms. "Mom taught me to care for myself, that's all. Really, I normally mend clothes… had to make that thing on the fly based on what little I know."

"Ah, for once you're being humble about something, and it's actually fairly impressive." Alph began to tease as well, causing Charlie to huff and look away. The young engineer giggled before kneeling down to the pikmin and stroking its stem. "Hello, trouble." The pikmin cooed and purred as it leaned into his hand, soon grabbing onto his arm so he couldn't move it. Alph giggled more before looking up at Charlie. "I talked to Olimar. He said he wasn't entirely sure, just repeated that pikmin survived for days in caves with no light at all. So it should last longer under our UVB lamps. He also said to keep an eye on it, as he doesn't know what a sun deprived pikmin looks like."

"Hmph, I suppose it's something at least."

"He also asked to see the little one and talk to you. He didn't know much about the lights, but he seems certain that he can give advice in other areas. So, uh, I'm actually here to get you, if you'll come. And if this pikmin decides to free my arm." He looked down at the pikmin which had now latched its arms and legs around his arm, rubbing its cheek against him.

Charlie paused for a moment before nodding. "Sounds good. I'll talk to him then. You, uh, may have to carry the pikmin in though. Once it's set on doing something it very much is set on doing said thing. Only the Stars know what it wants half of the time, though."

Alph snorted. "You learned all of that in, what, the past hour or two since we found it?"

"Oh don't get us STARTED, Alph!" Brittany then exclaimed. "So much has happened in those two hours. So much. So much."

Alph raised his brow at the captain, who slowly and eerily nodded. Oh, Stars.

He slowly and very carefully detached the yellow pikmin from his arm before holding it. It squeaked and whined, but eventually leaned into him.

"Oh, sure, act like a doll now that Alphie is here. Uh-huh, yeah, okay." Brittany poked the pikmin where its nose would be if it had one, earning a squeak from it.

"If it being mildly annoying is it acting 'like a doll', then I'd hate to see it when it's actually causing problems."

"Again, do NOT get me started Alphie."

Alph giggled a bit more as he looked over to his Captain. "Alright, we shouldn't keep Olimar waiting."

Charlie nodded again as Brittany let out a quick "Wait, let me come too!"

With yellow pikmin in tow, the three of them headed back to the med bay. Olimar had finished eating, his plate gone - Louie must have brought it to the kitchen. Now the two were just quietly discussing something, though they went silent as the group entered the room. Olimar's eyes then went wide as he smiled, arms reaching out. "Ah, let me see it." Alph handed the yellow pikmin over, who sort of just stared at the captain. "It must be a younger one you guys grew. It doesn't seem to recognize me."

"You mean all pikmin don't just immediately love you unconditionally?" Louie teased in a quiet voice.

Olimar snorted at that. "No, they seem to have the most affection for whomever plucked them. At least, for a time. I do think the pikmin talk and gossip, based on what I've seen. And grow to have different preferences."

The group chuckled again, though soon Brittany asked "Actually, is that why it was behaving better for Alph? Because when he walked in, it calmed down."

"Hm, maybe. Or maybe it thought it could cute its way out of things. Which, look at it, it absolutely can."

"Oh, Stars above can it." Charlie laughed a bit. "But, I was told you could help…?"

"Ah, yes! Pikmin care, well, I used to keep them on my ship. Started to let them on one day and then they just kept letting themselves on board. Couldn’t exactly tell ‘em no, they’re too cute! … And there were too many.” He began to laugh a bit. “Tip one, they have a high prey drive." He then pointed at his torn ear. "This happened when a yellow pikmin went chasing a flying bug in my ship and said bug landed on my ear."

Alph winced a bit. A pikmin did that? Well, he supposed he saw them do arguably worse things to larger creatures. But still, nearly the entire lower half of his ear was just gone.

"Hmm… so play could keep it calm, in theory?" Charlie asked, reaching over to pet the pikmin a bit. It purred, then seemed to pout when he stopped. With a sigh, Olimar began to pet the pikmin instead, resulting in it purring loudly and snuggling up into him. "Yes! In fact, if you know anyone who has experience raising or caring for Hocotation toddlers, they'd be perfect for tending to a pikmin. Pikmin and our tots are very similar, which is to say both are very cat-like." Olimar began to laugh hard then, even bouncing in place a bit from how excited he was. The pikmin squeaked then giggled as it, too, was bounced in turn.

Charlie snorted a bit, but nodded. "I know someone, then."

"Hmm… what else…?" Olimar hummed a bit, finally calming down from his excitement. As he calmed down, though, he groaned and leaned back a bit. The pikmin squeaked as he leaned back, instinctually reaching up to touch his forehead.

“D-Dad-?!?” Louie stood up then, stepping closer.

“I’m okay, I’m okay… I think I got a little too excited there. Ugh…” he held a hand to his head. “I’ll talk more later, I think I just need to rest.”

The three Koppaites exchanged nervous glances, watching as Louie gently touched his father's arm. There was nothing more they could do for Olimar, though. With a sigh, Charlie gently reached for the yellow pikmin and held it close. It whined and looked at Olimar before snuggling against Charlie.

"L-Let us know if you need anything." Brittany managed out in an uncharacteristically meek voice.

"Mph, I will. Probably will get my son to do it first though, heh." Olimar chuckled a bit before groaning and holding his head.

"... alright, let's let him rest. I think his son can handle him." Charlie ordered. Brittany slowly stepped out, Alph following only after he got another nervous look at Olimar. Charlie turned back to the other captain. "Rest well, please."

---

Charlie wasn't entirely sure why his body was stirring already. He looked up at the ceiling of his cubby bed, trying to fall back asleep. Seemed sleep just wasn't coming though. With a groan he sat up, stretching. His ears then wiggled as he heard a quiet thump! It was soon followed by scratching sounds, another thump, and the squeaking of an annoyed pikmin. Oh boy. I'd better see what it's up to… he pulled the curtain of his cubby bed back, triggering the automatic lights to slowly fade on.

The yellow pikmin looked up and around, confused, before spotting Charlie. It then chirped excitedly before scrambling over to the Captain, pouncing on him and knocking him back. He groaned a bit, but he could hardly be mad at the excited creature who was now looking down at him. "Mornin', trouble." Charlie teased, petting its stem back. It immediately began to purr at the touch, though soon jumped off anyways. This time, as Charlie sat up, he got to watch it slide against the metal floor of the Drake and gently bump into a wall. It immediately flung itself again just to slide across the floor and bonk against the other wall. "Hm, excited?" Charlie began to chuckle as he watched the little pikmin scurry about. He then sat on the floor, sliding his hand side to side in front of him. Because this is a good idea.

The pikmin soon saw the hand movements and went wide eyed. It stared at his hand, watching it move side to side, before leaping over and pouncing on it. Charlie yelped a bit as he, unsurprisingly, got scratched in the process. The pikmin then squeaked in worry, reaching out to see his hand.

"It's not too bad." Charlie assured. "See? No blood."

The yellow pikmin still hugged his arm, ears drooping. Charlie gently pet it before reaching for the small duck he made for the pikmin. He tossed it behind the pikmin, causing it to dart away and pounce on the small plush.

Olimar sure wasn't kidding about comparin' them to cats and Hocotation toddlers. It's so cute… as the creature bat around its toy, Charlie then got an idea. He remembered hearing about a test to see how intelligent an animal was… he knew pikmin were incredibly smart, but they were also so so stupid. Nor was he sure if they were animals or people. Everytime he started to think one way, he'd see the pikmin do something that convinced him it must actually be the other. This wouldn't answer that, of course… but it'd be funny.

He grabbed a thin sheet blanket from the foot of his bed. Once the pikmin's back was turned, he tossed it on it. It squeaked in surprise, before immediately being able to get the sheet off of itself. It then leveled Charlie with an unamused expression.

The captain just shrugged. "Sorry…?" Well, it passed the sheet test with flying colors!

Charlie then yelped as it pounced at him again, sheet in its hand. The both of them ended up covered under it, the little critter giggling in delight. Oh, he couldn't help himself. He began to laugh hard as well, holding the little one close.

He then heard the entry-request buzz sound from his door before someone immediately entered his room anyways. Most certainly Brittany.

And oh, he was right. After a few moments of silence he heard her voice ask out "What in the Stars' name are you doing?"

Charlie managed to get the sheet off of him, the pikmin still latched onto his shirt. "Ah, I woke up and the pikmin was pretty wired up. So I was playing with it."

That got a snort out of the pink haired woman. "Oh, I see. Well, I want you to know you looked absolutely stupid. Still do, actually."

The captain just shrugged as he smiled goofily. "Anything for the little one."

That got a soft, genuine smile from Brittany as she leaned against the door frame. "Well, we're both awake. Others are still sleeping. Want some breakfast? I'll put some aside for them."

"Ah, sounds good to me."

---

It wasn’t much longer until Alph stirred awake, quickly heading for the kitchen. Louie joined him part way there. Brittany was already there, as usual, though Alph was surprised to see Charlie up so early as well. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have been - the yellow pikmin sitting on Charlie's shoulders was most certainly the reason he was already awake.

"Morning captain. Morning Britt. And morning, Louie." Alph hummed.

Brittany smiled and waved at him, though it faded when she saw Louie. "Your rations are right here. In a second, I'll also get Olimar's food."

"T-Thanks…" Louie mumbled, though he got no response. Alph quietly patted his arm before getting their drinks, handing Louie his.

"So, how's the pikmin doing?" Alph asked, hoping to keep the mood light.

"Well! It woke up early this morning, was super playful… woke me up too." The captain then laughed a bit. Ah, so Alph's theory was correct. "Gotta say I'm getting awfully attached to the critter. Will be sad to see it go home…" As if on cue, the little pikmin began to giggle and nuzzle into Charlie's hair.

"Awww… it is adorable. Can't blame you." Alph chuckled a bit before taking another drink of his juice.

"Yeah…" Charlie sighed then, reaching a hand up to the pikmin. It nuzzled against his hand instead, now purring.

The crew soon finished breakfast, the pikmin eventually climbing down off of Charlie (a process which made the captain wince a few times). Alph grabbed a glass of juice for Olimar and reached over for a plate of scaly custard, but the little pikmin began to climb up his side. With a sigh, Alph used his free hand to lift and hold the pikmin against him. "Mind if I take the pikmin with me for a bit, Charlie?"

"Go right ahead; it has chosen you this morning." The captain answered before finishing off his own cup of juice.

"Ah, I am the chosen one." Alph teased, nuzzling the yellow pikmin. The little one purred at that, snuggling in even closer. "Louie, may you get the plate of food for Olimar?"

Louie silently nodded as he lifted the plate up. Alph said a quick thanks to his crew again before leaving for the med bay with Louie.

"Thanks for the help, Louie. Very hard to say no to a pikmin." Alph chuckled as he nuzzled said pikmin again.

"Ah, y-yeah… anytime." Louie mumbled a bit.

Alph smiled wide as they entered the med bay, turning now to Olimar. The captain was also awake, thankfully, though… he seemed rather tired, actually.

“Olimar? We got you breakfast - you feeling okay?” Alph nervously asked.

Olimar slowly turned to him, not saying anything for a moment. Eventually he sighed and admitted “N-Not really. I do want food, though.”

Alph nodded, frowning a bit as he set a glass of juice down. Louie then handed Olimar the plate. As Alph expected, Olimar focused on the plate of (somewhat) solid food over the fruit juice. “Y-You let us know if you need anything, okay?”

Olimar nodded slowly. “I see you have the pikmin with you.”

“Huh? Oh - yeah, it chose me this morning.” Alph then giggled.

"Mm, I see." The captain then smiled warmly, looking over the little yellow pikmin. "May I see it?"

Alph nodded, gently handing the yellow over to Olimar. He tucked it under an arm as he ate, watching as it cooed and purred. The group then stayed quiet for a blissful moment, simply watching the little creature as it now crawled away and began investigating Olimar's cot.

"Ah, pikmin, you gotta love them." Olimar sighed. "They're rather adorable, and very loving themselves. I don't know where I'd be without them - well…" he suddenly got quiet then, looking away as his ears pinned back.

"... well, what?" Alph asked, his own ear flicking a bit.

Olimar didn't answer for a few moments. Eventually, he just shook his head. The yellow pikmin was now scanning the entire room over from the top of Olimar's cot, which was slightly elevated.

"D-Dad-"

"I'm alright kiddo, I'm alright." The captain answered rather quickly before offering Louie an uneasy smile.

Louie just frowned in response.

"... we're in a similar boat." Alph eventually spoke. "We, well… the pikmin were really the ones who saved Koppai. Without them, we'd be doomed."

Olimar was silent for a few moments before managing out a breathy "Yeah…", his voice barely above a whisper.

Alph's ears leaned back then, reaching an arm out to offer support. He stopped himself, though, unsure of Olimar's comfort levels or even what to do, really. He then spotted the yellow pikmin out of the corner of his eye, turning to see it reaching for Olimar’s glass of juice. "H-hey, don't tou-" Alph began.

He was cut off, however, when the pikmin struggled to keep a grip on the glass and dropped it on the floor, shattering it and sending juice and glass shards everywhere. The pikmin squeaked and quickly crawled backwards.

Alph flinched hard, ears leaning back as he stepped away from the pikmin. He then made eye contact with Olimar for a brief second, who had that same look of terror on his face. Alph felt his stomach twist. Olimar quickly looked away then, shaking hard.

Charlie then entered the room, looking around. "What happened, is everyone okay?"

The pikmin immediately began squeaking loudly, reaching for Charlie. Alph frowned a bit and looked at the captain. "The pikmin, it-"

"GET OUT!" Olimar suddenly snapped, still shaking hard. "NOW." Alph flinched from the shout, everyone going silent. Even the little pikmin stopped its insistent squeaking, looking at Olimar with wide eyes. After a few moments the captain covered his face, curling against a wall. "I - I'm sorry… just…" his voice sounded choked up, like he was fighting back tears. "... please go."

Alph gently lifted the pikmin up, handing it to Charlie. He looked over to Olimar, frowning, as the captain continued to tremble. Louie gently reached out to him, only for his father to harshly recoil away. Ears leaning back now, Louie looked at the others. "I'll clean this up." He whispered, though that too still caused Olimar to flinch.

Alph decided it best to simply nod to Louie, before quickly leaving the med bay with his Captain.

---

The three crew members were now in the kitchen, the furthest point from the med bay that wasn't a bedroom. The pikmin was sat down with a small plastic cup, slowly drinking fruit juice as if it were nectar.

"Guess they need alternative forms of nourishment if they don't have access to the sun." Brittany sighed, watching the little pikmin. "It's awfully silent though… what happened earlier, after it dropped the glass?"

Alph shifted his weight between each foot. "Olimar was… overwhelmed, probably. He’s already not doing the best, after… whatever had happened in the Oak. The glass shattering seemed to spook him. The pikmin began to squeak loudly and then Charlie came in to talk to me, and I began talking. Then Olimar snapped for everyone to leave the room. He apologized, of course, but Louie couldn't even whisper without it making Olimar flinch."

Brittany frowned a bit, now gently petting back the yellow's stem. "He must be getting worse. He was already in enough pain… how much longer till we get to Hocotate, Alph?"

"Another day or two."

Charlie sighed. "We'll have to do our best for him, then. Much as I hate to say it, hopefully he'll sleep through most of this."

Alph nodded. "He needs the rest, anyways."

"What did that golden monster even do to get him to this point?" Brittany asked, ears flicking. "Other than keep him trapped for… Stars know how long."

"Long enough to partly starve him." Charlie grumbled. "Hocotations can hold out longer than us Koppaites though… he may have been there for weeks."

That made the other two go quiet.

Eventually, Alph asked "But did it do anything else…? He was, well… you saw how he was when we first got him to the ship."

Charlie just shook his head. "I don't know. There's no use in guessing, though. We just need to hurry him home and… hope for the best."

Alph and Brittany quietly nodded, the woman still petting the pikmin as it had finished its drink. They'd be at Hocotate soon. They could only pray to the Stars that Olimar would be okay. Though, questions still ate away at Alph. He was beginning to think that, maybe, things were worse then Olimar was making it seem to be. In fact, all of PNF-404 seemed off, between their and Louie’s freak crash-landings, strange artifacts they had found, and the wraith… Alph also got the sense there was yet more he didn’t know about.