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

When Alph heard the sound of his KopPad receiving a signal, he instantly looked down at it and responded upon checking to see who it was from. "Captain...! Do you need something?"

"Yes, actually," Charlie replied. "Brittany spotted the Onion, and we're about to head in the direction she apparently saw it in. Just follow our signals, and be careful not to catch the attention of any dangerous creatures!"
"Ahem..." Brittany stared down at Charlie. "I'd appreciate it if you could help me get down now. I don't want to be stuck here all day."

"Got it," Alph responded with a nod. "I'll try to meet up with you two soon...!" He added before continuing onwards, keeping a close eyes on the others' signals and occasionally glancing around to make sure there were no harmful creatures in sight.

After helping Brittany down from the rock, Charlie hopped off of the small rock he was standing on himself. "Alright; Alph said he'd meet up with us. Let's get moving!" Motioning for Brittany to follow, he headed in the supposed direction of the Onion.
Brittany followed, but, as usual, not without speaking up about something. "Uhh... I'm the one who spotted it in the first place. I'm pretty sure I should be the one leading the way there."
Charlie stopped in his tracks. "... You have a point, Brittany. I guess my leadership took over; I'm sorry! Go on and lead the way; I'll follow close behind...!"
"Huh... Alright; thanks!" Brittany nodded, smirking a little, impressed that she convinced the captain to actually follow her. Suddenly, she took off running in the direction of the Onion. "Try not to get left behind, slowpoke!"
Laughing, Charlie quickly followed.

Alph picked up his pace once again whenever he saw Charlie and Brittany's signals suddenly moving along at a quick speed. The Onion must be fairly close by...! He thought, feeling a wave of excitement as he ran along.

Soon, Brittany and Charlie arrived at the multicolored Onion, which was surrounded by swarms of various Pikmin types, all going about their business.
"Well," Charlie commented gladly, "they seem to be thriving; a good sign!"
Brittany approached the Pikmin themselves, getting a closer look at them. "Yeah... They look perfectly healthy; good!"
To the amazement of both of the Koppaites, the Pikmin appeared to remember them from the last time they saw them. Squeaking and cheering, they surrounded them both, with some of them even hugging their returning allies.
Charlie laughed heartily. "Would you look at that; they remember us...! And not only that, but they're really happy to see us!"
"Are they hugging us?!" Brittany asked, surprised. "I don't know if this is part of their natural behavior or not, but either way, it's totally adorable!"

Shortly after his two crewmates, Alph arrived at the destination of the Onion, himself. "OK; I've arrived-" He cut off his announcement upon seeing the current scene. He had never seen a Pikmin display this sort of behavior before, so he was rather amazed.

"Alph, hello...!" Charlie greeted, waving a little. "You've come just in time for the big reunion!"
"And they even remember us... It's incredible!" Brittany added. "Now we can really get down to business... Hunting down that extra fruit!"

"Amazing...!" Alph exclaimed as he knelt down in front of a small cluster of Pikmin. He got back to his feet in a moment, however, when Brittany mentioned the main reason why they had returned to PNF-404 in the first place. "Right," he responded with a nod.

Charlie examined the area's map and radar on his KopPad. "Well, here's some good news... More fruit seems to have appeared since our last visit! The radar's detecting fruit scattered throughout the entire area; if we want to make the most of this day, I suggest we all split up and head in separate directions. We can cover more area that way."
"I second this suggestion," Brittany added, gathering a group of Pikmin to take with her. If we all split up, that means I'll be alone, and therefore won't be bothered by anyone if they need someone to throw to some distant ledge, she thought to herself.

"That sounds good," Alph replied, also agreeing with the captain's plan. He then started in gathering a group of Pikmin to bring along with him and making sure that he had at least some of each type present.

Brittany was the first of the three to get prepared and leave, looking forward to some peace and quiet away from the others. Maybe if I find a small fruit, I won't tell the others, and just head back to the Drake with it to have a little snack... It's not like our lives depend on it or anything this time... Keeping this plan in mind, she began to search a little harder.
Meanwhile, Charlie was just setting off in a completely different direction, determined to find any of the various fruits that his KopPad's radar was detecting. I wonder if it would be possible to collect enough fruit and seeds to completely eliminate any risk of Koppai ever having another food shortage in the future...

After taking a moment to plan a good route on his KopPad, Alph headed out into another different direction. I'd better be careful... There could be some fierce predators nearby. As he marched onwards, he made sure not to step on anything that could produce a particularly noticeable sound, such as twigs or dried leaves.

Eventually, Brittany actually came across not one, but two pieces of fruit. One, an orange, was huge in comparison to any Koppaite, but the other, a single green grape, was far smaller. Completely ignoring the orange, she sent a single Rock Pikmin to retrieve the grape and secretly bring it back to the Drake. Perfect! Those are particularly sweet and tasty, too... Now to just head back to the ship without anyone knowi-...
Suddenly, a small, frightened cry came from the direction that the Rock Pikmin headed in, interrupting Brittany's thoughts. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with a huge Whiptongue Bulborb, which had just caught the lone Rock Pikmin with its long, sticky tongue and swallowed it. Shocked, she gathered her 29 remaining Pikmin together with a blow of her whistle. "Now," she cried, pointing straight at the huge predator, "CHARGE! Avenge your fallen ally!" Obeying their leader's orders, the Pikmin all let out a battle cry at once, then charged forward in unison to attack.

After a little while of moving forward, Alph stopped in his tracks as he spotted a lemon half-buried in the ground in front of him. Great; found something...! And it's pretty large, too. Quite satisfied with his find, he sent a few Yellow Pikmin ahead to dig it out of its mound of dirt.

At the same time as the others, Charlie came across some fruit as well; a highly-impressive dragon fruit. Goodness, he thought, this is only the second time I've ever come across one of these...! He sent roughly half of his Pikmin to carry it, then slowly followed behind them with the rest of his Pikmin, ready to fight off any dangerous creatures that may get in their way.

Meanwhile, Brittany's situation was getting worse and worse. By now, due to her carelessness resulting from the shock of the creature's sudden attack, the Whiptongue had eaten all but five of her Pikmin; one of each type remained. There was nowhere to run, as there were tall ledges in all directions, save for the one blocked by the beast. I-I think I should call the others, she thought, backing up towards the wall with her remaining Pikmin, keeping the grape she found safely behind her at all times. ... But then again... If they noticed this fruit I found, I wouldn't be able to sneak it back and eat it myself... I still have some Pikmin left; I think I'll take a risk and keep fighting! Looking determined, she began tossing her remaining Pikmin at the creature's eyestalks; its weak point.

Patiently watching the group of Yellow Pikmin he had sent forward as they dug out more and more of the lemon, Alph sat down for moment to rest, not seeing any potential threats nearby.
Soon enough, the Yellow Pikmin had fully uncovered the large fruit and were now attempting to lift it up... which seemed to be going nowhere.
"Oh, uh, looks like you guys need some extra sets of hands..." Alph noted, quickly tossing some Flying Pikmin towards the lemon. "There; that should do it." He then began to head back in the direction of the Drake, all of his Pikmin following along eagerly.

Eventually, Charlie and his portion of the Pikmin crew made it safely back to the Drake with their dragon fruit. "That went perfectly... Now to wait and see what the others found." He simply sat on the ground and waited, and his Pikmin did exactly the same, mimicking him.

Meanwhile, Brittany's desperate attempt to finally defeat the Whiptongue Bulborb was going very well... until the beast shook the Pikmin off of its face. Before she could even blow her whistle to call them back, the Whiptongue shot out its deadly tongue, catching and swallowing all five of Brittany's remaining Pikmin at once. "NO...!!" she exclaimed, feeling both fearful for her safety and grief-stricken over the loss of so many Pikmin's lives.
Now extremely desperate to escape with her fruit, and with no chance of taking the creature down on her own, Brittany got behind the grape and pushed it, trying to run as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, the weight of the grape greatly limited her speed, and the Whiptongue swiftly caught her with its tongue. She managed to grab hold of a thick root just in time and hung on stubbornly, fighting against the Whiptongue's attempts to pull her into its mouth with all of her strength.

After a while, Alph had managed to return safely to the Drake without running into anything more than a couple of Dwarf Bulborbs along the way. Upon spotting Charlie, he waved his hand. "Captain...! I see you've returned, too." He greeted, walking up to Charlie and sitting next to the captain, watching as the Flying and Yellow Pikmin brought in their find.

"Ah, Alph!" Charlie nodded his head a little in greeting. "Yes, I have. We somehow stumbled across a Firebreathing Feast! And I see you've found a very nice-looking Face Wrinkler there, too."
Just then, a familiar-sounding squeal of terror could be faintly heard somewhere in the distance, causing Charlie to jump to his feet. "... Did you hear what I just heard...?" he asked Alph, sounding a little shocked.

"Yes; I did...!" Alph nodded his head quickly, also jumping to his feet. "It sounded like Brittany... What do you think is going on?" He questioned, a look of worry appearing on his face.

"I'm not sure," Charlie replied, staring in the direction of the sound worriedly, "but she sure sounded terrified... We're going to find her, and if she's in danger, save her from whatever mess she's in!" He charged off in the direction of the sound, his Pikmin charging bravely after him.

"Right...!" Alph nodded briefly and followed right behind the captain, his own group of Pikmin bravely scuttling along with the rest of them.

Soon enough, Charlie arrived at the scene, spotting his lost crew member trying desperately to prevent herself from being eaten. "Brittany," he called, "we're here to save you; don't panic!"
"Ch-Charlie?!" Brittany stuttered, looking almost shocked. Partly due to her being taken by surprise, she suddenly lost her grip on the root the was holding, letting out a yelp as she was suddenly yanked towards the Whiptongue's mouth.

"Yes; we won't let anything happen to you!" Alph added in reassuringly. He then gasped in shock when he saw Brittany lose her grip, getting pulled back relentlessly by the Whiptongue, and he didn't hesitate before tossing a group of Red Pikmin up at the large creature's eyestalks.