✿ Return to PNF-404 (A "2-Player" Pikmin 3 RP for Whiteh and Misteh) (Yes, you may watch if you wish; see first post) ✿

Hearing the faint response from Charlie as well as spotting the light from his helmet in the distance, Alph picked up his pace, relieved to find the captain seemingly unharmed. "I'm coming, Charlie...!"

As he noticed Alph's helmet light approaching, Charlie let out a deep laugh, waving his hand in greeting. "Hello there! No need to worry; I'm just fine! Actually, the Snagret suddenly turned-tail and took off... I must have annoyed it until it was at the end of its rope."

"Charlie...!" Alph waved his hand back as he approached the captain, a relieved smile appearing on his face. "I'm so glad that the Snagret didn't really get a chance to eat you..." He puffed, slightly out-of-breath from the sprinting he did just a moment ago.

"I'm glad, too, Alph... I'm glad, too." Charlie smiled, chuckling softly. "We can't rest easy just yet, though... It's just about dark now. We have to find a safe place to hide and stay for the night... Somewhere where nocturnal predators can't find us." Looking around, he could barely make out the shape of a tree root nearby. "Maybe we could dig down next to a large object like that root, then cover the hole with leaves once we're settled inside..."

"You have a point..." Alph noted, silently glancing in the direction of the nearby tree root for a few moments. "... I hope that it will be enough for tonight." He added somewhat nervously.

"Well, if we stay very, very still and make as little noise as possible... Hopefully, we'll be fine." Charlie took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then slowly let it out. "Well, I guess we should get digging as quickly as possible, seeing as it's getting so dark so quickly. Gather all of the remaining Yellow Pikmin for the job..."
Meanwhile, back in the Drake, Brittany sat alone, staring out of the window. It's pretty much dark out there now... Where are the others? The feeling of being the only one of her crew present in the ship at this time of day was rather unnerving. I-I guess it would be alright to eat at this time... Gotta stop jumping to worst-case-scenario conclusions... With a sigh, she went to get something to eat.

"Yes, captain," Alph nodded his head, turning to face the squad of Pikmin behind them and calling all of the yellow ones forward. Gulping, he cautiously lead them in the direction of the nearby tree root.

"I'll watch your back with the remaining Pikmin... We have to work together as much as possible out here if we want to survive." Charlie gave his whistle a soft blow, as not to draw too much attention, and the remaining Pikmin surrounded him. Then, he and his army positioned themselves around Alph, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble.

"Sounds good..." Alph whispered back as he sent the Yellow Pikmin forward and watched as they began to dig. He glanced around from time to time as he kept an eye out for danger, straining to see anything at all in the darkness.

Meanwhile, back in the Drake, Brittany, who was now surrounded in small slices of dragon fruit, was still worrying about the whereabouts of her crewmates. I should probably try to get a hold of them via the KopPad... Nervously, she took out her pink-and-white KopPad and sent a communication signal, hoping that someone familiar would answer.

As he watched the Yellow Pikmin- who were still persistently digging deeper into the ground- Alph heard the familiar sound of his KopPad receiving a signal. Quickly, he pulled it out and responded. "Hello...?" He whispered faintly, trying hard not to attract any predators.

When she saw Alph's face, appearing perfectly unharmed, appear on the screen of her KopPad, Brittany's face lit up. "Alph!" she cried, "You're OK! What are you doing out there in the pitch-black night?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
Charlie stared at Alph's KopPad, looking slightly horrified at the somewhat loud, high-pitched vocal sounds it was emitting. "Shh... Shh...!" he hissed, looking around frantically. "Make her stop yammering so loudly! Please! It's like she's calling every wild beast around us to this very spot...!"

"Oh, um, yes captain...!" Alph murmured to Charlie before turning his attention back to Brittany a moment later. "Yup; we're fine..." He whispered, smiling. "We just got into a bit of a sticky situation earlier, and we ended up not getting back to the Drake in time... So we have to stay out in the wilderness tonight. And we don't have any sort of shelter yet, so we're trying to stay as quiet as possible as not to attract any nocturnal predators..." He added, looking somewhat awkward.

Thankfully, Brittany settled down as Alph explained. "Oh... You have to stay out there...? At night...?" She asked, looking quite worried. Just then, another question entered her head. "... Does that mean I should make sure that everyone's portions of food, including yours, don't go to waste tonight?"
Hearing this, Charlie put a palm to the front of his helmet; the closest he could get to his face. "We're stuck out here with all of the wild nocturnal beasts... And she's concerned about the food...?" he grumbled.

"Yes, but hopefully only for tonight..." Alph replied with a brief nod. Upon hearing Brittany's next question, he stayed silent for a moment to think. "I suppose you could do that... Does that sound OK, captain?" He continued soon after, glancing at Charlie.

"Oh... Alright," Charlie replied, giving in after staying silent for a few moments. "It would have been consumed tonight, anyway... I guess she can take advantage of this moment and have it all to herself," he continued, a small smile coming to his face. He then shook his head slightly, with a soft chuckle.

"Alright; thank you, captain," Alph bowed his head to Charlie for a moment before turning his attention back to Brittany. "You have the captain's permission to eat our portions tonight." He confirmed with a small chuckle.

Although she felt like cheering with joy, Brittany held back. "Oh, yes...!" she squeaked out, trying to keep her voice quiet, but unable to stay completely serious. "Thank you so much, guys! I promise that I'll really enjoy it. For your sake... If that makes any sense. Which it probably doesn't. I dunno."

Amused by Brittany's enthusiasm, Alph couldn't help but chuckle again. "No problem..." He smiled at his crewmate for a moment before stopping to glance in the direction of the digging Yellow Pikmin, who had burrowed deep underground by this point.

"I think the Pikmin have dug deep enough to make a shelter for all of us," Charlie noted, heading over to investigate the pit that had been dug.
"Ahh; I guess I've gotta let you go, now," Brittany stated, hearing Charlie speaking in the background. "I know I told you the same thing this morning, but... Please stay safe. I'll be so happy to meet up with you guys again soon." She smiled softly, with a single little nod of her head.

"We'll try our best to be safe out here... I promise," Alph replied softly, staring up at the night sky for a moment before turning his attention back to Brittany. "So... Bye for now; I hope that we can meet up again soon." He finished, waving his hand before ending communications with his crewmate's KopPad. He then quickly but quietly followed after Charlie to see their temporary shelter.

"I think we should get to work gathering some large leaves now, and maybe some twigs to strengthen the roof," Charlie suggested. "I'm sure there are plenty nearby; everyone get to work gathering...!" After calling a portion of the Pikmin accompanying them to his side, he began to search for the perfect materials to complete their shelter.

"Good idea, captain." Alph responded, loyally marching after Charlie and keeping an eye out for any potentially useful materials- as well as any nocturnal beasts.

"Thank goodness there are so many leaves and twigs lying around... Some of them are big, too; those will be perfect." Pausing to scan the area for danger every so often, Charlie sent one Pikmin at a time to carry a single leaf or twig to the pit, gradually building a sheltering cover over it. "We'll leave a tiny open spot for us to enter the shelter, then we'll block it with one more leaf once all of us- the Pikmin included- are all safely inside."

"Yeah..." Alph agreed as he sent a small group of Pikmin to gather some leaves, watching as they followed Charlie's back to the makeshift den. "That sounds good." He nodded in response to the captain's idea.