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Chapter Text

The go here feature was more helpful than Pom could ever imagine, being a shortie, her legs always got sore, and when she was riding on Oatchi, her head got sore from telling him where to go, that was all gone now.

The thicket sunlight was extra good, it was so cold, and this warmed everything up. Pom's stress declined more and more, until she could barely remember why she got so scared, there was nothing wrong-

"ENEMY NEAR NEWBIE!"

Instant scrambling around, the shock got Pom up and ready to fight, whiplashed so much so that she held a white Pikmin as if it was a dagger. But there was nothing, just a Spectralid.

"What was that for Dingo?..." Pom laid on the ground, still recovering.

"I mean- uh- the radar said there was an enemy, like- I can't look at the cameras all the time! That's a Collin thing!"

Pom stuck her tongue out at that and got back on exploring.

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It was the final trip to the Blooming Arcadia, there was only a single treasure left, which was somehow missed during the chaos of the previous explorations, but there was no rush now.

Collin always liked the look of it, he found the area really relaxing, with the petals everywhere, something very suitable for a nice day out, which is why he suggested everyone went with Pom to "help". He wished that the Beagle was bigger, it wasn't a pleasant ride.

Despite that, everyone realised why Collin wanted to go here so badly, they made a plan together to split up to look for the final treasure. Although, they couldn't escape the relaxing feeling the area gave off, except for Dingo.

"If I get that treasure, I could be noticed above the rookie for once, maybe, maybe..." He thought to himself.

There is was, shining brightly in the sun, a bright red gemstone that sparkled with more than Sparklium, Dingo knew exactly who to impress with it, no Pikmin should be needed, he went to grab it...

His hands got stuck on the sticky jewel.

After a moment of struggling, Dingo realised he needed help. "Anyone?..." He asked sheepishly, Yonny, who was having a paddle nearby, rushed out the water to assist, still grinning with amusement of how helpless the Ranger looked.

He better keep this a secret.

Chapter Text

Everyone was pretty sure that was the last night mission, there were no more leaflings to cure, but it was the hardest. Everyone stayed up so late, of course they were tired, that's why Shepherd said they could have the day off.

Collin's plan was clear, to get as much sleep as possible, while doing living necessaries between rests, he's been in so many jobs, of course he could filter out the noises of Shepherd's praise towards Oatchi, or Yonny being Yonny.

Dingo, for his own reasons, wanted to stay up, no one knew why, Bernard had enough energy to tend to the castaways. It had only been an hour and Dingo was already passed out on the floor, Shepherd took the time to carry him to a place where Yonny couldn't get to him first, it's happened before.

After a while, Collin woke up to find Pom beside him, equally as tired. He was too exhausted to be shocked, so he just asked "Is it another bad dream?..." Pom nodded. "Everyone is too busy... Even the Captain... But I can't sleep...."

Rolling over, Collin gave Pom a space on his bed, she could sleep the best near the other officers. Pom wanted to thank Collin, but he had already fallen asleep, she took her share of the blanket and slept too.

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Shepherd felt someone knocking on her room door, she was about to go to bed, but she felt like it was important.

"Captain? Are you there?" It was Collin, his voice was distinctive.

"What is it?"

"It's about Pom".

Something in Shepherd froze, there was no easy way to tell what could be wrong with Pom now. The planet had changed her a lot, all the nightmares, yet all the learning, the good and the bad. She was still scared of many things, and that made Shepherd worry excessively.

"I'm wondering if you could go with her on her next mission, I'm a little nervous that something might... Happen, you know?"

That was a relief, there was no night terrors to diffuse or tears to dry. Shepherd thought about it, as a Captain, it's priority to assist her crew, and being that close to Oatchi would make her day. But, the Pikmin.... Eh, why should she worry? They're plants anyway.

"I agree, make sure to tell her".

Collin lit up, the rookie would finally have someone else to get rid of her loneliness. That was a thing that she never wanted to talk about, but Giyans can be good at reading people, if they try or care enough.

She never had much emotion on most missions, but Pom smiled the most that day.

Chapter Text

Oatchi pulled Pom out of the S.S Shepherd strangely smoothly, he expected there to be some loud noise, but nothing. It wasn't even loud when he pulled her into the strange structure that would give her the shiny suit and the big glass bowl, that needed to be done, he had a feeling.

Oatchi saw Moss close by with Olimar and Louie right next to her, she must have done the same thing. Even though Oatchi was really, really excited, he couldn't bark, the others were resting and it was very dark. Just little whisper yips should be fine.

"I remember, behind those rocks and beyond, there's the place we want, it's not that far, our friends should be happy".

"Yes miss!"

The two dogs picked up their respective owners and put their elusive plan into action.

When they all arrived, Oatchi nudged Louie, prompting him to wake up. When he saw just who was in front of him, he lit up in glee.

"Plush!"

Olimar and Pom woke up too, but they weren't as happy being away from the command post, but there was something more dire. There, again, was Louie heading towards the Ancient Sirehound. But he didn't jump on, he didn't go any closer to it, to Olimar's confusion.

"Plush wants to play".

Pom exhaled with relief, and Olimar grinned, he figured it out. "Awww! Mossy! Did you bring us here to have a playdate with Louie's dog?" Pom smiled, he was being such a Dad.

It didn't take much work, but while Pom was looking for the dog toy, Oatchi and Moss could barely stay still with the excitement, the Sirehound just stayed calm, ironic. She pulled out the soft Pikpik carrot toy and threw it towards the pups.

That's all it took to satisfy the three. Despite the toy being smaller, the Sirehound still managed to make the most out of it. Olimar pulled the other leaders close, partially because the early morning was cold, but also because he didn't want Louie to cause any trouble.

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There didn't seem to be any ship parts down there, but Olimar had a feeling that there was something that would interest him. The entire entrance was enveloped in water, so only blues could go down, so they did.

The amount of fire down there was astonishing, but they were hopefully, easily avoidable. A big bulborb looking creature covered in what could be lava made Olimar freeze, none of the Pikmin looked happy with getting close, maybe next time he'll get some notes.

The next sublevel was bigger, nothing seemed too interesting, Olimar saw what he thought was a dwarf bulborb, but within closer inspection, it was a type of grub dog he had never seen before! While documenting what he could, he started to hear some humming, maybe it was Moss.

*BANG*

Olimar couldn't remember anything clearly after that. He could see flashes of Pikmin spirits, the bomb rocks were futile, he just needed to run, just run anywhere, far away, he could barely see because of how fast everything was.

When he could finally think straight, Olimar started to write about the... Lifeform that entered, Moss was exhausted and rested near some purple flowers, some that had never been seen before.

Louie was lured in a similar way, he just had a feeling that the cave was important. His new green dog was shaking at the sight of it and refused to go near, so he just jumped in, without anything else.

The place reminded him of burning meat, the good kind. He found a big thing that was basically cooking itself, after a while of inspecting it, he heard a loud bang that made him fall over. Treasure? Food? He was curious, he went towards the noise.

Ow.

Chapter Text

It was hard to see, but all of Shepherd's clothes had fur on them, all of a result from Oatchi wanting cuddles, and she could never resist that. The problem was that the fur got everywhere, and even though no one was allergic, it wasn't especially pleasant, especially for Collin, who was the only one who had the time to vacuum.

She cautiously poked her head out of the bathroom, her clothes were fresh, her hair was washed, maybe she'd like to be completely clean for an hour or more. It couldn't be that hard to make it all the way to her room and close the door, Shepherd walked carefully and quietly.

But there was a squeaky toy on the floor.

Within seconds of it being stepped on, Shepherd could hear the thunderous tapping of Oatchi's claws draw closer, and closer, she couldn't tell where he was coming from, but he was quick. If it was going to end like this, she didn't want to bruise her face, Shepherd barely made it to the carpeted area before being tackled.

Did she fight it? No. But Oatchi sounded like he was fighting, a couple of hours without physical affection was too long! His barking made Pom think there was something wrong, so she arrived just as fast, only to see her Captain, the reliable Erma Shepherd, completely powerless against the yellow fluff ball. Oatchi's eyes were now on Pom, uh oh.

Pom was knocked down too, her neat pajamas were now riddled with fur with how much Oatchi was snuggling, it would upset her if it didn't make her feel cared for. The puppy was having the time of his life, both of his favourite people were there to make him happy.

Eventually, Oatchi was satisfied with the (forced) snuggles he got, and rested easily on the couch. The girls on the other hand, were too exhausted to get up, but not the bad kind. Pom could only roll over until she was in Shepherd's grasp, she instinctively pulled her into a less ticklish hug, she smelt of coconut... And Oatchi.

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It couldn't be that hard, she had completed the last four areas completely for Dingo's approval, but no matter where Pom went, the treasure gauge wasn't going up, and Oatchi couldn't detect anything. Yet there was still one last treasure to be found, Pom was obviously depleted.

"I-I'm sure it's somewhere," Collin tried to comfort her. "Maybe just take a minute and-".

Everything was cut off by intense russling, Oatchi got scared and ran for cover. After a while of suspense, the figure that rose out of the bushes... Looked weirdly like the rest of the castaways. It still had a lot of differences, It's hair was dark, not to mention how it was the biggest thing anyone had ever seen.

The Rescue Corps were completely silent, Yonny pondered about how it could breathe oxygen without any presence of leaves, but he knew better than to say that at the moment. It didn't look like it was going to attack, when it stepped back towards them, the treasure gauge spiked, Pom put two and two together quickly.

"Rookie! You're going to-!" Dingo's plea meant nothing as Pom turned off the communicator, she was going to get that treasure. The giant figure finally noticed her because of how different her colour was compared to the ground, Pom was starting to regret this, would it crush her? It started to mumble.

"This is too cute and small to be an umibozu... I was told it was dangerous to venture far away".

Pom couldn't understand anything the giant said, but it didn't seem to be upset or aggressive, it just grinned. Still, none of the others were coming out of hiding, so she had to try to get the treasure herself, even if it couldn't understand her either.

"Ah! You're squeaking! Are you hungry?"

That seemed to work, figure pulled out a tiny bluish sphere out of a bag on it's side and put it on the ground, that was definitely the treasure, Pom couldn't be happier, she got the final treasure from what could crush her in an instant, with no violence! She couldn't wait to tell everyone about it, another lifeform that wasn't fixated on killing? A miracle!

"I can't wait to tell the others about this tiny thing, maybe it was related to the tiny carrots another guy mentioned?"

The giant kept on muttering to itself as it went back into the bushes.

Chapter Text

The puppy couldn't remember much before being taken by the big people. Whatever they did, it didn't hurt enough to be remembered either, but for some reason, it could suddenly use elemental powers, that helped it escape.

Not that long after, there was a lot of noises flooding the streets, things like alarms, then the big people left, forever. Could the Sirehound miss them? Maybe not, they weren't very nice to it, but something they did lead it to not ageing, that might be good.

Now that there was no people that could be seen, the creatures took over, and mostly walked around. But when any of them saw the Sirehound, they ran away, even when it wasn't going to eat them, upsetting. So it travelled far to find a place to live.

A nice muddy area with soft dirt was the perfect place to dig a cave, it's den ended up being quiet, big, and still, lonely. It wondered constantly if there was any other dogs that it could be friends with, but no matter where it looked, nothing at all. The big mushroom looked like a fun playmate, but the mushroom hated it and always hid.

Whatever was happening before, wasn't important now that there was a boy in front of it that looked like the big people, only tiny, and he wasn't running away. He wasn't scared at all, and climbed on it's legs and onto it's back, that felt nice, like being petted. The Sirehound wagged it's tail at the realisation it wasn't alone anymore, and headed off towards it's den so they could play.

Chapter Text

How lovely it was to spend a few hours doing nothing. It took a long time, but all the castaways were safe and delivered home, and all the officers had free time before they had to put on the most sophisticated clothes they could and go to Russ's family's celebration ceremony.

Russ had left about half an hour ago to "go get something", it didn't matter what it was, the quieter, the better, Pom and Oatchi were asleep on the couch, and Bernard had already done all he could to control his tics. The door bell rang suddenly and woke the two, they weren't mad, just curious.

Russ came in holding a box, grinning with excitement. "What is it? What IS it?" Bernard was the closest. "Kee hee... We had enough spares, they'll be some at the party too". He opened the box, and revealed 6 golden Pikpik carrots, ripe as ever. "I've already had mine, now you can all have an after mission treat!"

Dingo held his, admired the shine... And started to tear it bit from bit while he ate, he was too excited and hungry to have good manners around the captain, he'd surely get embarrassed if he could see himself. Collin was satisfied even looking at it, going through sleepless nights for the mission was worth it while he starred at what he wanted for years.

Pom looked at her carrot too, she didn't know whether to eat it slowly and enjoy the flavour or just chew it as fast as she could since she was hungry. But, Oatchi didn't seem to have any carrot for him, so Pom happily shared. In the end, nearly everyone had a bit of carrot juice on them, but at least they could get a change of clothes before the inevitable ceremony.

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"I've never seen this place before, will it be safe?"

"Well, I looked a lot at the cameras during your expeditions, Pom, and this place just seemed... Right."

Collin sat near the small cliff at the end, Pom sat too, he said that it was something important, and she couldn't bear to say no. The sun was setting, all the colours blurred into each other like glowsap soaking into leaves, a nice crimson-orange colour, nothing like what happens at Giya.

Despite how high up they both were, Pom felt at peace, just the two of them, she snapped out of it when Collin started to speak.

"Um... There's a reason that I brought you here, alone".

"Did something bad happen and you're trying to distract me?"

Collin quickly shook his head, then again, he didn't know if Pom's room was locked before they left. Great, now he was even more paranoid! He just had to say what he needed to.

"I've been thinking a lot, and..." Collin took a deep breath and talked faster. "I really like you Pom so-".

"Huh?"

Collin's cheeks burnt, she must have figured it out, and she looked so confused, be calm be calm-

Pom simply replied by grinning wide and hugging Collin so much he fell over, she was snuggling, a clear sign of affection, even if the helmets got in the way.

"I was too shy to confess, and of course I like you back!" Collin felt like he had just burst into sparkles, Pom looked so happy now that she returned those feelings. She looked down over at the cliff, even through the emotions, she didn't like how high they were, or how dark it was.

"Can we go back Collin? It's annoying with the helmets". Collin nodded and gently picked Pom up, to her amazement. She felt so light and soft.

Chapter Text

"Dingo, you need to wake up".

Pom was simply ignored when the ranger shuffled deeper into his sheets, just another few minutes... Or hours of sleep, it would be fine. Pom however, was not fine with this, she'd surely get told to go back in if she left without him, this was wasting precious mission time. She had to use the last resort.

Oatchi was bought into the room, and Dingo never tried to sleep in again.

Everyone was resting or doing their own thing, Dingo grabbed a random cup off the counter, he was too tired and thirsty to check if it was his. It didn't taste as bitter and burning as glow sap, it was more like berry water, not the poisonous kind. Dingo heard a small whine behind him.

"That was mine..."

Pom looked more upset than angry, she probably didn't want to cause a fuss.

"I... Uh... Forgot to check, what even is this stuff anyway? Berry water?"

She looked at Dingo, she really needed to label the cups, but they ran out last mission, so she was told.

"It was refreshed... Something...... I think it's berry water".

Dingo ruffled her hair. "You'll get better memory when you grow up, newbie".

"I am an adult, and you forget whos cups are what!"

The Lumiknoll fell over like a sad sandcastle, Pom just stood there, wondering how many people saw her mess up, again. Yonny tried to comfort her, nobody knew that a Long legs was going to burst through the darkness that suddenly.

Dingo bit his tongue, the shame, the failure, he'd be lying if he said he didn't know what Pom felt. Still, there was a chance to get the glow sap they need.

"You seem to be having trouble, do you want me to help you out, newbie?"

Pom nodded, there couldn't be shame in asking for a little help.

"Okay, okay, but I'm only doing this because it's my job!"

Dingo was lying again.

Chapter Text

Everyone had a feeling that the sky was darker that day, the area was called the 'Sun-Speckled Terrance', wouldn't there be a bit more brightness? It was already midday, and the clouds kept on gathering.

Still, the exploration for the missing officers continued as normally until Pom felt a sudden ping against her helmet. The Ice Pikmin she had found a few days ago ran for cover just before the rain started pouring, the Reds tried to be resilient, but the amount of rain eventually scared them, so they hid too.

"What a situation..." Collin's voice was still clear despite the raindrops on Pom's helmet, "most of your Pikmin don't look like they'll ever come out in this weather". Oatchi didn't look happy either, the rain kept on making his fur heavy and wet, Pom noticed and let him undercover too.

"Are you sure you'll be alright with only a few blue Pikmin, Pom? Isn't the rain interfering with your vision at all?" Shepherd questioned. Pom shook her head, she thought it would be weird to say, but she felt calmer under the rain, just pitter, patter, pitter...

Pom only had a few blue Pikmin because of the onion limits, but it should be fine, her sensors detected no nearby enemies, so they must have gone to hide away as well. The Rookie continued on bravely, until she heard lightning.

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Shepherd walked towards the kitchen with a Pik Pik carrot in her hand, she knew Louie would be there, and he'd have to answer her questions if he was going to get fed. She was so curious about the dog he tamed, and Louie was probably the one who knew the most.

And of course, Louie was digging through the fridge, he thought he was alone, so he looked a bit startled when he noticed Shepherd.

"... hungry..."

Shepherd showed him the carrot she got from Russ, she'd give it to him, on a condition.

"I'd like to know more about the big dog you had, the Ancient... Something, I forgot, Olimar and Dalmo named it".

Louie seemed to agree to answer her, anything for a carrot.

"...I called it Plush. It was soft and a bit dirty all over, the tail was the softest, I guess".

Shepherd grinned, he was so lucky to know all this, she'd give anything to be in his place.

"How did you tame it? Did you feed it anything?"

"Plush was happy when it saw me... Then I climbed on it and it didn't shake or bite me. I gave it the green juice to make it happier when we reached the bottom, then I think it wanted to be left alone because it didn't look at me until I was cornered".

Oh. Louie fed it glow sap.

"Louie I- oh... The 'green juice' must have affected Plush someway, that might explain why it changed".

Louie seemed legitimately concerned now.

"Did I poison it? I-I'm sorry..."

"No, no, I'm sure it's fine. We all saw it perfectly fine after Pom stopped it's rampage, it just ran, it didn't look hurt".

Shepherd still felt bad that they needed to use force against the dog, but it all worked out.

"The creatures hid when we went into the den, I think Plush might be fine on its own, but can we feed it if it comes back? I liked my pet..."

"Sure we can, here." Shepherd passed Louie the carrot. "You cooperated just fine this time".

Louie took the carrot without hesitation. "I liked this, I'd like to do it again another time..."

Chapter Text

Collin peered again into the monitor, Pom was gracefully walking alone the shore now, the afternoon sun shining on her hair like the pearl her Pikmin were bringing back. Wait, when did he start thinking so poetically? He shook his head, you're on a mission Collin! Do your job!

Besides from watching the exploration like it was a live show, there was nothing much to do besides sit around or eat what was rationed. Collin didn't mind watching Pom at all, it wasn't hard, and sort of enjoyable.

He still couldn't shake the warm feeling he got when he looked at her, but the airconditioning was working just fine. Collin just wanted to help Pom, she saved him when he could have died after the crash, he just thought that she deserved happiness.

Pom managed to kill two water dumples with a single rush, she kept the Pikmin away from danger and she was proud of it. Collin was proud too, she was so good at this, maybe the best he knew of. She was so talented and nice and cute- oh. Oh stars. He liked her.

Collin knew that there was others in the room with him, so he had to be quiet with his realisation. He didn't know how he was ever going to be right for her, or if she'd like him. He noticed some Pikmin sprouts on the radar, so he mentioned that to stop his mind and heart from racing.

Chapter Text

"If I was a leafling, I wouldn't be upset at all if I wasn't full of Dandori thoughts".

"I know-I know, just stay still Yonny".

Only a few minutes ago, Yonny had made a mistake in the lab, and the (thankfully non toxic) chemicals were blown nearly everywhere on him. Dingo had walked in at just the right moment to be automatically obliged to clean up.

"There has been traces of photosynthesis in leaflings. It must be so easy to survive that way, and there would be so much time saved".

"Honestly Yon, leaflings don't have mouths, I'd rather eat and taste like a normal Ohrian than eat sunlight or whatever you're talking about".

He couldn't say that the photosynthesis wasn't true, all the leaflings they saved had no signs of malnutrition.

"How did you get all this gunk so deep in your hair? You're so lucky that there's no damage, but you really need to shower after this".

"I will Dingo, but wouldn't it be revolutionary for me to become a leafling? It can be temporarily, but I could make so many discoveries!"

Dingo stopped combing him. "Yon... I wouldn't like that..."

"Hmmmm?"

"You know, I think the Onion only makes leaflings if the guy is injured... Or dead... I wouldn't want you to".

Yonny grinned. Dingo really did care about him, the stubborn ranger could really have some compassion.

"I think I've done as much as I can, you gotta wash the rest off".

Yonny nodded. "I was just teasing, I won't do the leafling thing, heheh..."

Chapter Text

In his red, leafy state, Olimar didn't know that he was Olimar, but he didn't mind about his identity. The only things that he really wanted to think about was Dandori and saving explorers succumbing to the oxygen and making them into perfect sprouts just like him.

Although, the last castaway he had managed to save had struggled and cried for reasons that Olimar couldn't comprehend, who wouldn't want salvation?

The castaway was successfully saved after some time, becoming a wonderful green colour and going off for it's Dandori challenges. Yet Olimar felt exhausted for once, and could only rest on a rock with his dog.

Olimar felt something poke his stem, he stood up to see a red Pikmin. It made some concerned noises, that he could sort of understand. "it's dangerous in the open". The Pikmin began to walk back where it came from, "...follow me, leader". Olimar woke up Moss, he would never leave her behind.

The two instinctively followed the Pikmin until it reached a red onion, another bunch of Pikmin surrounded them, squeaking words Olimar was sure he's always understood. They looked up at the onion and then their leader, "rest?..."

Olimar was a bit charmed by the offer, but he was busy, there must have been someone in danger, or some task to complete. He explained this to the Pikmin, but they just tilted their heads, "but... We try to care for leader". Olimar felt a fuzzy feeling in his chest and leaves, he had to listen to them, he hadn't been able to relax in ages with all the Dandori.

Moss felt safe underneath the onion legs, Olimar was tightly packed inside, he was surrounded by many Pikmin who were all pressed against each other like one big hug, but Olimar felt like it was right for him.

Chapter Text

Louie still didn't have much eye contact while Olimar talked, yet he didn't need to. He already told Olimar about how he felt about the Captain, in his own way, Olimar was quick to pick up on it, and agreed to help him.

"It'll be fine Louie, you told me that Shepherd's nice enough, just try to listen this time, okay?"

Louie nodded, Olimar gave him a thumbs up and went back to Moss, as Shepherd walked towards Louie, he was lucky that he was naturally good at hiding his emotions, or else he'd be barely keeping to together!

"Olimar told me that you... Wanted to spend time with me? Correct? I'm fine with that, I have free time".

"...okay".

The two started to walk down the isolated path where Pom first landed, Louie liked how quiet it was. He wanted to look more at Shepherd, but he didn't know if that was weird, Olimar told him to try not to be weird, and anyways, eye contact made him feel wrong. The least he could do was talk.

"I... Remember that the Rescue Corps has a lot of other puppies, that must be nice".

Shepherd was a bit surprised at Louie suddenly talking, but wasn't upset. 

"It is really nice, sure, it costs a lot to keep them in good shape, but anything for my crew".

Stars, her voice sounded nice.

"...I wish I had my own dog back home, but Nana's allergic, at least we have the bugs".

Just the mention of bugs made Shepherd shiver a bit, Louie may have noticed.

"I know it probably makes me weak as a Captain, but being honest, Louie, I'm not good with creatures at all..."

Louie glanced at Shepherd, and sat down, he looked completely distracted, but he was thinking.

"I'm not good with people. They're loud, and they don't make me feel good, with what they say to me".

Shepherd looked a bit concerned, and crouched down to his level. She was very close, but it didn't make him feel bad, despite him trying not to blush.

"But... Olimar was different, he helped and never yelled when I didn't pay attention... And you're different too, you don't make me feel bad".

That made Shepherd blush a bit, her? Different? Louie rarely talked that much either.

"Well- uh... Thank you Louie, you don't need to feel bad now, everything's been sorted out here, and I'm sure you'll be fine, you must have been scared too, right?" 

He was, he was too scared to think, and could have hurt everyone because he wanted to be alone.

"Thanks, too..."

Louie pointed back to the command post, it was getting a bit too cold for his liking. Despite him acting mostly the same, Shepherd felt a bit closer to understanding Louie. Somewhere along the way, he grabbed her hand,  regardless if he was tired or just wanted to, it felt nice.

Chapter Text

Shepherd had only recently arrived at Koppai, and Brittany already wanted to take her out somewhere, she thought that maybe the Giyan would refuse due to the long trip there, but she seemed more than pleased to be with Brittany, they held hands as they left, hoping that Nelle wasn't woken up by the knocking.

Koppai parks were something special, especially to a foreigner. Since it was early in the morning, there wasn't many people, so both women could walk without being swarmed by loud reporters or anyone just wanting information from the two 'Death Planet' survivors, Shepherd still tried to be ready to protect, to Brittany's amusement.

A park bench was neatly placed below a maple tree, they both seemed to agree to take a rest, and some time to talk about things, Shepherd was still taking in the fact that her girlfriend had survived against an unidentifieable lifeform, that turned out to be another one of those wraiths, but she didn't look too affected at all, thankfully.

"So Erma, who exactly is managing the Corps until you go back? The bald guy or..."

"Pom said she'd handle it, she's still young, but of course I could trust her".

Brittany stared blankly. "Pom?"

"Ohhhh! She introduced herself as Pomera to you? She's so proper with strangers, but she barely uses her full name with any of us, maybe she was shy".

Brittany mentally facepalmed herself, the connection between the names was so obvious, but hearing Shepherd's voice was so nice, she couldn't help but shuffle closer.

"That reminds me Brittany, I managed to get a gift for you before I left, luckily Yonny cultivated some just for fun".

Just hearing the word 'cultivated' made Brittany's heart flutter, she watched eagerly as Shepherd pulled out a chilled container with chopped up Slapstick Crescent pieces.

"Do you like it? I've got the seeds in another container if-"

Shepherd managed to hold onto the container as Brittany lovingly embraced her, she warmed up at the suddenness.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Chapter Text

Another day, another day spent waiting for the Rescue Corps HQ to sort everything out and sent everyone home. Olimar didn't have to be worried, his family were apparently notified of his survival as soon as he was rescued, and the Sparklium energy harvested could charge spacesuits for longer than needed. That didn't mean that being safely stuck wasn't boring.

Despite being able to write whatever notes he could about the planet, it was getting a little too repetitive. Olimar could only sit up as his brain buffered about what next to enter into his logs. Pom was bored too, she'd finished all the quests she could, and there wasn't much to do except pass the time in the S.S. Shepherd.

Olimar heard someone walk towards him, he spoke before looking up. "Dingo, I'm sorry if Louie brings ingredients in your space, but I really can't- oh, hello Pom, what's the matter?" Pom tilted her head at the first part, "I was gonna go to the ship to play some games, I was wondering if you'd come?" Olimar knew he wasn't the best at board games, but there was no way he'd turn it down.

He had no idea why he expected board games, so many people younger than him had gotten into video games, especially his son. Pom snuggled into the couch and gave Olimar a controller, it sounded like there was something rattling inside, but she was sure it was fine, Russ said it was, he bought the console and controllers.

Title screen text of the game came up on the television, it was some form of Giyan text that Olimar hadn't learnt much about. Pom noticed his confusion and spoke up, "I don't know much of those words either, but Russ taught me how to play". After what seemed to be a selection of something, Olimar realized how charming the game looked, the characters that he and Pom were playing as looked like little figures, almost like pikmin.

Olimar wished that he listened to his son more when he was talking about these things, or else he'd know how to at least look like he knew what he was doing. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when Pom told him to press the bottom button to jump, there was so many buttons, too much to keep track of.

An enemy was coming towards him, Pom was too far away, so Olimar decided to jump over it, but he already forgot what jump was, he knew he was getting old. He pushed whatever button he thought was right, and to both of their surprise, his character had grabbed hold of the enemy, and threw it to it's demise.

Pom's eyes sparkled with innocent amazement. "How did you do that? That was really, really cool!" Olimar didn't exactly know how to answer that, "I pushed some button when the creature, and then it happened? I'm not entirely sure". Pom still smiled, she reminded him of his kids.

Chapter Text

Yorke pondered whether he should have told his family before about the trip him and the others to this mystery planet, but he's been flying back and forth every since he got his licence. This time would be no different, even better, he'd be saving many Koppaites, just like Dobbs did! The voyage would hopefully take only few weeks or less.

He looked at his stash again, spare parts, fuel, tools, very important fruit juice, surely, the others remembered to bring the other resources, they had to. Yorke was just about to leave the house, to where the spaceship was, when he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye.

No, it wasn't a burglar, despite the stress of remembering all his siblings, Yorke immediately recognised a half conscious Alph at the computer. He knew that the boy had studying to do, the finals were in a week, and there was no time to waste, but Alph looked very sleep deprived and starving, Yorke couldn't just leave without taking care of him!

Alph on the other hand, felt like everything was fine, he just had to finish another module, then maybe, he could sleep. But it was difficult, deep down, he knew he needed rest, and his big brother, even though he was always busy travelling. Alph tried to mumble out a, "I'm fine" or "don't worry", but Yorke shushed him and picked him up.

Well, Yorke did have to save Alph's work first, he was heartbreaking whenever he was upsetted. Yet he didn't look too upset being taken away from the computer, maybe he was a little overwhelmed with the testings, and did want to be taken care of by Yorke, Alph didn't want to worry him, but he felt so lonely whenever he had to leave.

Either Alph was easy to read, or Yorke was good at understanding feelings, and he tried to comfort him as he placed him into his futon, and placed one of the juice cans next to it, one missing wouldn't matter, for Alph's sake. Yorke's Koppad was blowing up with buzzing notifications, Nelle and Dobbs were getting a little impatient or worried. Yorke promised Alph he'd be back soon, and hoped he could keep that promise.

Chapter Text

Pom had a feeling that she was being stared at, but she couldn't figure out- oh, Louie. He wasn't the biggest on eye contact, yet he preferred to stare at people when he needed their attention, especially when he was at his least verbal. Yet, it wasn't that bad, like Olimar said, he was just different, sort of like Pom, and as long as he wasn't starting anything destructive, things didn't have to get loud.

"...Hungry, I'd like a bulborb this time".

"Have you missed anything, Louie?"

"........Please..."

And with that, the Karutian travelled back into another cave to get the bulborb. That should have been easy regarding Oatchi's power, but Pom fell off after he rushed, and fell dangerously close to the bulborb, she was a little shook, but no real harm done. 

Once Louie got the corpse back, he smiled, just a little, and casually hauled it onto the S.S. Shepherd, like there was nothing wrong. Some Castaways never got used to it, especially the Koppaites.

Now, to cook it, Louie usually spit-roasted bulborbs with the bigger-than-usual sticks, but he wanted to do something different, to experiment. He sliced a bit of the spotted meat off, and began frying it. Luckily, it didn't go up on flames, but Louie knew that the meat itself wouldn't get far, some spices would work.

Shepherd just wanted a glass of water, but she opened the kitchen door to what looked like a crime scene, the sight of a bulborb corpse, it's blood on the tiles, and Louie just cooking didn't make her exactly comfortable. Still, the captain kept her composure, not saying anything, even though it was pretty weird.

Before the crew could even check their rations for dinner, Louie had already finished cooking and prepared the plates for the seven crew members, plus him and Olimar. Needless to say, everyone was impressed, Louie had gotten food for himself before, but never fed everyone yet, perhaps this was an apology?

Bernard, who had been all over the galaxy and had to eat way weirder things, was barely phased by the bulborb meat, it was better than the usual things. Even Pom, who disliked such complicated meals, couldn't resist the temptation, eating the bulborb that scared her felt like revenge.

Louie was pleased with himself, hopefully the others wouldn't be mad when they found out about the remaining corpse and dripped blood, yet to be cleaned up.

Chapter Text

Olimar and Louie walked side by side, it was just a normal day. Although they could heard some machine claws beeping, something like loan collectors used, oh well.

"Nice of the President to invite us treasure hunting, eh Louie?" Olimar asked.

"I hope he brought lotsa Pikpik!" Louie was only excited about the food, but Olimar noticed a note attached to the ship.

"Louie! Look! It's from the President!"

Olimar started reading the note.

"Dear lazy dolts, the all devouring loan sharks have taken over Hocotate freight! I'm now a forced guest at the Hocotate swamps! I beg you to repay the debt!-if you can". The note read.

"We gotta repay the debt!" Olimar was now very alarmed.

"And you gotta help us!" Louie said as he pointed at the sky, quite unusually. Olimar tilted his head a little, Louie had been weirdly talkative all day, maybe the thing he was talking to was someone that actually was helping.

Olimar faced the same area where Louie pointed. "If you need instructions on how to control the ship, check out the enclosed captain's manual".

Well, whoever they were talking to did not read the manual, because they both crashed into a tree upon arrival.

Chapter Text

"Oh Russ~!"

Yonny came into the lab, really happy about something, well, he was happy about anything.

"Oh hello Yonny!... What are you holding?" Russ questioned.

"Heh, I found this outside, it looked really pretty, so I wanted you to have a looksie!"

Russ thought that Yonny had found a really shiny raw material gem, but that wasn't the case at all. It was an insect, and not a very pretty one.

"Eh? Come on Russ, it won't bite, I think..."

The last part definitely didn't help, Russ continued look away and cover his face from whatever... Creature Yonny brought in, it didn't matter what it was, he didn't want to be near it.

Yonny found this quite amusing, to see a once confident scientist, go all "shy" whenever he saw a bug. He couldn't help but want to show him it more.

"Come on, come on Russ! I really want you to see..." Yonny's words trailed off when he heard Russ... Sniffling? That wasn't what he wanted.

"Please... I-I'm not, comfortable..." Russ managed to say, muffled by his hands and now completely turned away.

Yonny looked around, a bit guilty that he made Russ cry, he was only messing around! The thought of everyone else finding out about what he did was a bit scary, so he had to fix this somehow.

"Hey, I found something that isn't a bug, is that better?" Yonny asked, Russ looked back at him, wiping the tears from under his glasses.

He pulled out a scallop from his pocket, Russ didn't look as upset anymore, it was one of the prettier organisms in the world, he took it without hesitation.

"I just... Found it around my room, I thought it looked nice". In reality, Yonny carried all sort of small creatures in his pockets just because he could. It was a miracle that he didn't pull out another insect instead.

"Now, are you sure that the bug is gone?" Russ asked, Yonny nodded, and left the lab, unknown to Russ, the bug was kept safely in Yonny's pocket, ready to be dissected and preserved.

Chapter Text

Even months after getting back to HQ, Shepherd still couldn't rest normally. It was nothing bad, it was just that the other rescue pups had gotten quite a bit of separation anxiety from the amount of time away from her. Most nights were spent with the Captain petting them to sleep, she was truely powerful in that way.

Pom was similar, she didn't have to stay up for the pups, but resting was really difficult. She should have been able to finally feel safe, she had her own place in the building for her to stay until she could afford her own home, it was the least they could all do, since she didn't have anywhere else.

However, there wasn't much that could be done to permanently stop how Pom woke up at night, always fearing the worst, seeing what she saw back on that dreaded Death Planet, so clearly again. Several hundred thousand lightyears away from there, in the security of Giya, and everything was coming back to haunt the small and damaged Karutian.

Most of the time Pom awakened like this, she would look in her drawer, and see all the gifts that was given just for her. From her crew, from the castaways which she had sacrificed everything for, she felt a sense of protection, and tried her best to sleep.

For some reason, this wasn't working the way it should one night, paranoia kept eating poor Pom up, she felt so alone.

"Get over it Pomera... You're just about a grown adult, these nightmares..." Pom's voice trailed off as she realised that forcing things weren't going to help anything. She needed someone else.

She wondered for a while if the others would be mad if she was looking for them at this hour, she was never allowed to go out of her room at night before. Still, the Rescue Corps, they were different.

Shepherd called out her name, quietly, but it still made Pom tremble a little. She wasn't mad, just a little incapacitated by the puppies on her lap, and patted the spot on the couch next to her to sit down. Pom felt relieved.

"I couldn't sleep again... Sorry, it was hard to handle this time..." Pom started, Shepherd tiredly smiled. "I don't blame you, we don't have the budget for cooling where it's needed, I should be worried if these little guys will crawl into the freezer".

Pom shook her head "I'm okay with the heat, it's just... I'm scared of the things I've seen on you-know-what, I wish I could forget..."

Shepherd quickly stopped smiling. "I don't think anyone can forget what happened, but you, you've done the most, but you never complained, it must have been so hard".

"Right, but... I'm the most scared of losing everyone, t-there must be so many things like what I've seen, I don't even know if they're r-real but they're dangerous!... I don't want to lose y-you, you're the o-o-only..."

Pom slowly collapsed into quiet sobs, Shepherd pulled her close, wetting her nightee with tears and confusing the pups in the process. This poor girl, this was the only place she had left, and it could easily be taken away from her like everything else.

One of the puppies nuzzled Pom on the cheek, it might have helped a little, her crying slowly quietened down, and she could talk mostly normally again. No wonder they were so highly respected.

"T-thank you Sammie...I'm so sorry Captain, j-just please don't leave me too..."

"I swear I won't, I'll protect you for as long as you like, that's what Captains are meant to do".

Chapter Text

The Empress Bulblax fell and perished, but not before spitting out a castaway, Pom quickly got to her feet and got the Pikmin to bring it to the Beagle.

She waited patiently as Collin scanned their ID card, only to be caught off-guard when all the other members on the line gasped. "Yonny... Yonny Papillon?" Pom read aloud, oh! He was another Rescue Corps member!

Pom was kind of embarassed that she couldn't even recognise the names of her coworkers, but she hadn't had much time to know them before all of this, and even if she did, her shyness would have gotten the better of her. Oh well, she was saving them all anyway, so she had plenty of time now.

As her luck would have it, Yonny had fallen asleep when she got back, and Dingo was unwell due to drinking something he shouldn't again. Still, there was a meeting that morning about how Yonny could cure those Leaflings, that would be the right time to introduce herself.

When Yonny saw Pom during the meeting, he looked her over curiously. "Sooo... This is the new recruit who's saving us all? I have a good feeling about her, nice to meet you, new blood!". He shook Pom's hand and went back to discussing the possible Leafling cure.

So, she had to go out to get the cure in the unforgivable night, that would be fine, she hoped. Everyone had to sleep or wait for this night mission first, which gave Pom some time in the ship.

"Why does Yonny call me new blood?" Pom asked Dingo suddenly. He answered her quickly, barely looking up.

"It's just a Yonny thing, he's a bit... Y'know..."

"Unusual?"

Dingo snapped his fingers. "Yes! Kinda, he can be weird, but that's, well, his thing, and he's good at his job, so... Just trust him with this night stuff".

Despite all of Pom's fears, the first night mission went rather well. It was dark, cold, and horrifying with the creature's red eyes, but Oatchi, Yonny, and those new Pikmin stuck by her side until the end.

"Yayyy! You got the glow sap, and survived the whole night". Yonny congratulated her, if you could call it that, but she too, was glad she didn't meet an embarrassing end with a baby Bulborb.

Pom was about to sleep off the whole mission, when she heard talking from beyond her door.

"My, our new blood didn't let anything get to the Lumiknoll, I suppose that's why you recruited her, I can tell she'll fit in just fine, or has she already?"

Yonny's words made her smile and ease up a little, she really did have a lot of respect. Even when the doctor started loudly working with the glow sap, she was comfortable, ear buds were very effective.