Viridi's Last Stand, Part 4

Chapter 4: Strategies

Castle Hell

Cheren had gone down to the Underworld, as per Nebula's request. The Uno boy had met up with Demon King Grim in his castle and explained the situation. The robed bone-man guided the blood-Demon Prince downstairs, leading him through the prison wing in the castle's basement. "Ya took a big risk, coming here, mon. The Vial's been marked illegal for eons. To just know that dere was a way to overpower the gods would drive mortals mad."

Cheren couldn't help but glance at the prisoners in their cells. They looked very miserable, but Cheren could sense the rage burning in their hearts. …In fact, he recognized the Dual-Dinofols. "So what're these guys in for?"

"You should know. They're in trouble for abandoning their post and siding with Majora. They seem to have forgotten who is de strongest." Grim smirked.

Grim led them to another strong, steel door, opening it to lead them down a stairway. This stairway was more dark than anywhere else in the castle. Cheren could faintly see his own and Grim's silhouettes in this blackness. They reached the end of the stairwell and it felt like they were turning a few corners. Finally, they came to a great, wide hallway, which was alit by the dim ceiling light on the other side. The light shone on a simple, tiny pedestal, which rested an even smaller glass bottle, which had a perfectly flat bottom and six sides around it, like a hexagon.

Grim gently took the bottle and held it by Cheren's face, his eyes wide with wonder. The pinkish-red liquid bubbled and brimmed, reflecting its eerie color off Cheren's glasses. "Be careful, Child. This is da most dangerous liquid in the known worlds. To hold the power to end gods in their hands, what mortal wouldn't feel the slight bit strength?"

He dropped it lightly in Cheren's two open hands. As Cheren stared closer at the bubbling substance, he could already feel the darkness it possessed. An eerie power brewed within it, Cheren knew.

"…" Cheren clutched the vial lightly, giving Grim a light nod. "Thanks, Grim. We'll be careful with this."

"Heheheheheh." Grim chuckled at how ignorant Cheren sounded. "I would, too, boy." With that, Cheren ran off to get back to his own world.

Grim glanced back at the empty pedestal. Slight worry built up inside him, knowing that vial was out there. Still, he was going to see how these mortals faired.

Ashland Park

It was a vibrant day at the city-wide popular park. All around, kids were roaming about, throwing Frisbees, playing tag, or having picnics with their families. Angie McKenzie had just arrived at the park, proceeding to sit with her back against a tree by the fence, and take a nap in the shade. A tiny, colorful ship with a flower propeller—the Onion—flew by the woman's gigantic face before taking land within the grass, hidden from everyone's vision.

The Sector W team stepped out, followed by Sappo and Gibli, and Chiri climbed out of Angie's pocket to come and meet up with Anthony. "Well, it's not what I had in mind to come here," Chiri said, "but I think we can still make good training here!"

"Right… and HOW D'YA know we aren't gonna be stepped on??" Anthony exclaimed, worried at the sight of the gigantic kids. Throughout the park, he could already feel the quakes caused by their running.

"Well, the Onion should be safe." Sappo mentioned. "Whenever humans come close, it sprouts a super potent odor that only human noses could smell, to keep them away."

"So we're SAFE and SOUND!" Gibli jumped.

"YOU guys, on the other hand, are going out in the dangerous stuff." Sappo followed.

"See all these picnic blankets?? YOU guys have to go around and grab food from EACH and EVERY one of them!" Gibli exclaimed.

"Do you Minish Kids Next Door ever do any REAL fighting?" Anthony questioned. "As far as I can see, all YOU all do is grab food like shrimpy ants!"

"SHRINK!" Aranea joked, grinning.

"Well, he's got a point." Sally agreed. "There isn't really much adult-fighting. But it's still really beautiful from this view!" she smiled.

"Well, the bad guy fighting comes later." Sappo mentioned. "But every operative still needs to get used to the Pikmin. They need to be able to survive in the bigger world if they're gonna go on missions."

"Good thing I don't have to do any of this." Anthony stated.

"That won't get you out of training." Chiri stated, motioning him to come along. "Have fun, kids! Don't get squashed!"

"Okay, first order of business is calling your Pikmin out." Sappo explained. "Just pick how many of each color you want."

"We'll take 'em all." Sally decided. All four blew whistles at the same time, and the Pikmin came sliding down the ship's legs.

"Work on grabbing more Pikmin on this mission." Sappo said. "But your main assignment, swiping food off all these picnic blankets! And blaming it on the ants." He said this with a wink.

"But with all these GIANT humans, you'll need to watch yourself!" Gibli bounced.

"'Cause THIS is the life of a Minish."

"Well, it'll be great to experience a different point of view." Sally said positively as they walked forward.

Aranea rolled her eyes. "Always the optimist." (Play "Garden of Hope" from Pikmin 3.)

Stage 11: Ashland Park

Mission: Acquire food from around the park without being squashed.

The team of four started their venture into the expansive park, the air filled with the sounds of screaming, frolicking children, the stomps of their booming feet quaking the ground. The operatives remain hidden below the jungle of grass, so their way forward wasn't as clear. They came to a small area with two ladybugs. They thought the bugs to be rather pretty, but regardless, they had to attack them with their Pikmin. The bugs were defeated, and they decided to have four Red Pikmin carry them back, since they had less of those Pikmin. Both ladybugs sprouted into two total Pikmin, making 13 Red Pikmin.

They came to a ditch in the pathway, too far to jump, with a tiny stick; big as a log to their sizes, on the other side. Fybi decided to flutter over with her Pink Pikmin, and used 10 of the tiny helpers to lift the stick and lay both ends on either side of the ditch, creating a bridge. They walked a little further until they encountered a gigantic girl's sandal that blocked their path. The trail continued on the other side, so they couldn't push it from where they were. They walked to a path on their left, then had to turn another left, where they encountered some beetles. They tossed Yellow and Pink Pikmin onto the beetles as the bugs tried to flap away, but they were defeated in time. Three Red Pikmin took one of the beetles, but they decided to build up Pink Pikmin, too.

Straight ahead was a small open area with two cherries, so they decided to have two more Pink Pikmin bring them back. They followed another knew path and eventually came to the front side of the giant sandal. Considering its size, they had their 56 remaining Pikmin begin to push it together. With their combined strength, the sandal was successfully pushed out of the way, making a path from where they previously were to the new path.

"Tammy, where did you leave our cherries?" a giant woman's voice echoed.

"I left them over here, Mom!" The ground quaked as a little blond girl in a purple dress walked over and studied the area where the cherries were. She was barefoot, so the sandal probably belonged to her. A confused look was on her massive face as she stared more closely at the empty spot. "I… thought they were. Maybe ants found them." She said as she walked back.

"Oh well! We still have more!" the woman said positively.

The kids followed a few more turns before arriving at a strange part of the jungle, in which the ground was a smooth, woven linen, of red and white tiles. This ground was a gigantic picnic blanket, and a titanic, slim woman was sitting on her knees, her legs laid back behind her as they had a few of her black slippers. In front of her were her kids, the blond girl and her older, orange-brown haired brother. The four tiny operatives drew their attention to a long, enormous sandwich in the middle of the blanket.

The four kids' eyes widened, watering with love and delight. "Sooo biiiig!..." Sally drew out, their mouths drooling.

"Ay, but it seemeth yonder giants wilt not let us feast." Fybi figured.

"What to do, what to do…" Sally asked herself. They looked around and spotted a small area on the left side of the picnic blanket field. There was a mound of dirt; like an anthill only their size, so they decided to have the Pikmin burrow underneath it. When they finished, three, spherical rocks with lava-colored cracks popped out, and three Yellow Pikmin grabbed them. "What're these?"

Harvey pulled out a small book labeled Pikmin Instruction Booklet and read, "It says that these are Bomb Rocks, and Pikmin carry them. You can throw the Pikmin, and they drop the bomb where they landed and run away before it explodes."

"Where'd you get that book?" Nea asked.

"Found it on the ship."

"Well, we could probably use them for something." Sally figured.

Fybi watched as the son and daughter were munching on smaller sandwiches. "Methinks yon kids will be getting a bad appetite, nay?"

Both children had set their sandwiches on the blanket and opened their sandwiches to pour sauce in. Aranea hid beside the girl's sandwich and tossed a Pikmin onto the green, salad foothold, the creature running off as it placed the bomb. It began to sizzle as the girl laid the top bread bun back on, and raised the sandwich to her mouth, chomping a chunk off. The bomb exploded in her mouth, and she felt the mini blast as she yelped, "Ow!"

Sally also hurried beside the boy's sandwich and tossed a bomb up, letting the kid bite it. "Ow!" He felt the bomb go off inside. "Mooom! My sandwich just bit me. Or somethin'."

"Mine, too!" his sister yelled.

"Hmm." The mother stood up. "Maybe I should get the bug spray." She said as she walked off.

"Let's get the spares!" the boy declared as he and his sister followed her.

With that, the Sector W team approached and stared at the school-sized sandwich. "Prithee, shalt we call a team of Minish tow-trucks before yon mother bringeth the death spray?"

"Oh, hey, guys!" they looked to the picnic field's entrance to see Sappo and Gibli hurry up, holding large eggs. "We forgot to give you this. It's a powerful nectar that enhances Pikmins' strength. Make sure to get plenty!" With that, they smashed the eggs to the ground and revealed the red nectar. The Pikmin hurried to gobble the substance up, and once they did, blood seemed to pump through their bodies, buffing their right arms then left arms in a Popeye style.

"Oh, so it's spinach!" Sally beamed.

With their upgraded strength, it only took 20 Pikmin to carry it, and they used their remaining Pink Pikmin and 5 Yellow Pikmin (do math :P). "We'll keep going." Sally decided. "Can you follow them, Harvey, and bring them back when they're done?" the boy smiled and nodded as he stayed with the slow-progressing Pikmin.

They kids made it out of the grass jungle and were onto the wide, stone pavement that cut through the park. They watched as a gigantic Frisbee soared across and landed and slid along the middle of the path, and a brown-haired 10-year-old girl hurried over to pick it up, a happy smile on her face. She sent it flying to a black-haired boy by the fountain, and in between the two was a brown dog. The kids stayed to the side of the path to avoid being stomped, but the dog wouldn't let them by easy. It spotted the tiny venturers and snarled, approaching them with a ravenous look. Sector W backed away in fear, not daring to step closer. Aranea decided to toss their remaining Bomb Pikmin onto its nose, but when the bomb exploded, the dog simply shook his head and relieved the pain.

They decided to throw some Yellow Pikmin onto the nose so the Pikmin could attack it, but the dog shook them off and proceeded to snack on 5 of them, making 7 Yellow Pikmin left; 12 total. They hurried away quickly, and thankfully the dog chose not to follow. They weren't sure how to get around the vicious guardian, but they watched as the Frisbee's shadow constantly soared over them. They looked up as the whirling disc soared over the area, always taking land on the ground on either side. With this in mind, they had their plan, and hurried to where the Frisbee would land on their side. When it landed once again, the kids and 31 Pikmin got on board. The girl didn't seem to notice the tiny travelers as she picked them up, and sent them flying to her brother's side. The Frisbee landed on the ground, and the kids jumped off before the brother picked it up.

With that, they were now beside the fountain, and could hear its waterfalls pouring into the lower end. At their sizes, they sounded like a group of REAL big waterfalls, pouring from the cliffs into a lake below. Unfortunately, the border around the fountain was way too high. However, they noticed a huge math textbook lain flat alongside the border, and the slight corner of a page was sticking out. They hurried beside and stared up, wondering how they could jump to it. Sally nodded at Aranea and used her yo-yo to wrap the Fulbright child, and toss her up to the foothold. The paper wobbled, but Aranea kept her balance. Fybi floated upward and grabbed Nea's hands to lift her up higher, but she was far too heavy for the angel girl. They figured they would need Harvey's help.

At this time, the 20 Pikmin had brought the foot-long sandwich to the Onion. Despite being much larger than the tiny ship, it was sucked right inside like paper to a vacuum. He was amazed at how big that ship was on the inside. Also, the 3 Red and 3 Wing Pikmin brought their beetles back, and each sprout into 2 more. There were now 20 Pink and 15 Red. Harvey whistled all the Pikmin and began to make the journey to his friends. He made it to the pavement and watched as the Frisbee soared back and forth between the two kids. When it landed beside him, he decided to get on with the Pikmin so the girl would send him across, avoiding the dog.

He joined his friends by the math book with all 63 Pikmin together-…Wait… 63? With 5 lost and 4 gained, that should've been 65. (At least they THOUGHT it was 65.) … Harvey sighed and boarded the Frisbee again, being sent back over as he went to skim around the path. He saw that a red and yellow Pikmin got left behind at the log bridge, and called them over to come along. He suspected they would need to keep an eye on stray Pikmin in the future. He rode the Frisbee over the guard dog again. When the brother picked it, he put on a confused look, and called to his sister, "Yo, Brenda. How come we always throw in the same place?"

"Hm… I dunno." She shrugged.

With that done, Sally wrapped her brother and hurled him to the corner foothold via yo-yo. He then wrapped Nea in his own yo-yo and sent her to the cover of the textbook. Fybi flew up with her, and the ledge of the top of the border was close enough so the angel could lift her. Aranea viewed the expansive, reflecting sea that was the fountain's pool. The way the sun made the gigantic droplets glitter was so beautiful, and the fountain looked like it reached to the sky. She wanted to climb this fountain and see the amazing views that would lie on its upper layers. Of course, such a task was impossible at her size. …And she was more jealous of Fybi because she could fly up there.

The boulder-sized droplets pounded against the fountain's border, creating booming splashes that may very well flatten her from this height. She looked into the pool and saw that a lemon rested at its bottom, along with the many coins that children dropped. She yelled to her friends to send Blue Pikmin up, and they did so. Five Blues were sent up, and together they dove into the reflecting waves, Aranea holding her breath as she swam to the lemon. She had the 5 Pikmin grab the lemon, and they carried it toward what looked like a clogged drain, then had nowhere to go.

Aranea swam to the surface for breath and called her Pikmin back. She then had the five clear the hole of its small rocks, and a jetstream was released to make a water geyser on the surface. The Pikmin grabbed the lemon again and rode the geyser as they carried it up. On their own, they carried it to and boarded the Frisbee to fly across the dog. The two children oddly didn't seem to notice the lemon on their toy and sent them flying across anyway.

Aranea got out of the water and dropped down to her friends as they hurried along the right of the fountain. They found a path through some grass blades, which seemed to lead to another family at a picnic blanket under a tree. The team hurried across, but their venture was cut short when they encountered a gigantic mound of dog crap.

"Yuuuck!!" Aranea pinched her nose shut instantly. "Why doesn't anybody pick up?!"

Sally held her sleeve-hand over her nose and said, "Let's get our Pikmin on it." They each sent Pikmin onto the house-sized poo, but the stench was getting to them quickly, making their tiny forms wither. The kids whistled and quickly called the Pikmin back. "O-kay, I guess we're not."

"Let's find another way." Harvey suggested as they left the area. They couldn't find anything around where they were, so the team made their way to the other side of the fountain. It seemed hundreds of miles across the rocky pavement at their little height, but they managed to reach the other side safely. They found another opening through some grass and decided to follow it. Across the jungle, they could see a group of kids playing tag and running about aimlessly, and the quakes felt more active here. Finally, they arrived at a region where most of the grass was bent down and squished. This was the field where the giant children engaged in their little game.

Seeing how fast the kids ran in their enormous, rough-sole sneakers, Sector W was afraid of going out there. No bug would be safe in a field so dangerous. However, as they examined the field, they saw the grass was dented in some areas rather than others. It would seem like the kids' feet never stepped in those areas, at least not much. In fact, the areas where they have stepped had gigantic shoeprints indented in the ground. Sector W waited for one of the boys to dash by before carefully leading their Pikmin across. They took cover in one of the safe grass areas to wait for a gigantic to stomp by. They led their band across further; considering there were 60 Pikmin, it wouldn't be hard to lose some. This little thought was confirmed, as before they could reach the next safe clearing, one of the boys dashed by and SQUASHED a group of Pikmin with great force, making the kids flinch. 5 Pinks were squished, as well as 3 Blue, and 5 Yellow. They watched sadly as the tiny creatures moaned and faded into ghosts. Now they only had 52 left. But only 47 were with them now.

After carefully navigating through the field, they arrived at a pathway that led to a giant boy who was putting powder on his feet, sitting beside a raggedy old shoe. "Well-p, that's ruined." He pulled out a cellphone and spoke, "Yeah, Mom? Can you bring me a new pair of sneakers? …Yep, fungus." He then walked away, wearing only one shoe.

The ant-sized kids approached the sneaker, and could already pick up the stench. "Euuuh!" Sally moaned as they covered their noses. The Pikmin were feeling groggy, so they decided to leave them outside.

"Do we HAVE to go in there?" Aranea asked, squinting her eyes in disgust.

"Ay, 'tis so." Fybi said.

"Not sweet." Harvey said.

The kids entered a hole in the front of the shoe, finding the inside littered with small mushrooms. In the back, where light poured in from the opening, looked to be some kind of white flower pod, with mushrooms growing out of it. The kids walked over as Sally and Harvey lashed their yo-yos at the mushrooms and yanked them off. When all of the mushrooms were disconnected, they watched as the pod grew legs, and its flower propeller spun to life. They smiled, realizing it was a Pikmin Onion. Once it stood on its stubby legs, the pod released a single seed into the shoe's ground. Sally approached the plucked the Pikmin; it was a white one with red eyes.

Harvey pulled out the Pikmin Instruction Booklet and read, "'White Pikmin. These Pikmin have very thin, light bodies which are filled with poison. They are able to withstand poisonous odors, and when they are eaten, they sprout a poison that damages their consumers. White Pikmin are also the fastest Pikmin, and can be extremely helpful when gathering multiple items in one place.'"

"This should help!" Sally beamed. "Let's make more quick." With that, they sent the White Pikmin at a mushroom as it picked it up and brought it to its Onion, making another one. They plucked the Pikmin, and had them gather the rest of the mushrooms, until there were 7 White Pikmin. They headed outside the shoe, and on the path back to the "Tag" field, there was an alternate path that seemed to go around it, on their left side. They went along this path, but found they couldn't cross without fixing the bridge. The bridge led over a pool of yellow liquid; the grossness. The Blue Pikmin couldn't cross because of the toxic, and the White ones couldn't cross because it was water.

The kids decided to explore the field of giant kids; but left the other Pikmin behind, taking the Whites. With less Pikmin, it was easier to navigate through; and they did keep up fast. They found a safe clearing where a pile of bridge tiles sat. They sent all 7 Pikmin to begin work, taking one piece at a time. They moved quick across the field, much faster than the regular Pikmin. When they delivered the first batch of tiles, they were on their way back. However, Sector W's eyes widened with horror when one of the giants was about to run by. "LOOK OUT!!" Sally screamed.

The Pikmins' eyes shot upward, their instincts kicking in. Immediately, the quick creatures zipped to the side of the field, avoiding the impact of the giant sneaker. "Whoooaa!" Harvey looked with astonishment. The White Pikmin ran to retrieve the next batch of tiles, and when the giant girl who was playing Tag came, the Pikmin swiftly avoided her sneaker, keeping hold on the tiles as they ran to the bridge.

"If they keep THIS up, we may not have to worry!" Sally beamed. The kids returned to the other Pikmin, carefully avoiding the giants as they waited by the bridge. The White Pikmin gathered all the bridge pieces with no trouble, avoiding the children's feet whenever they came. Soon, they had gathered all the parts of the bridge, allowing them entry across.

Along the new path, there were some gnats, which the kids were able to beat using Pink Pikmin. They brought down four gnats, and decided to have the White Pikmin carry them to their Onion. It only took one each. They followed the Pikmin back as the gnats sprouted into 4 more Pikmin. With the 11 Whites, they had 58 with them now; making 63 in total. They guided the Pikmin across the rest of the path and soon arrived at the vast field of pavement. They led the Pikmin all the way to the giant piece of poo and sent their White Pikmin to begin digging away. The kids shielded their eyes, not wanting to watch the sight. They trusted the Pikmin knew what they were doing.

When they finished, the path was clear for the other Pikmin to cross. They made it to the second picnic blanket, where a rather chubby mother and her 10-year-old daughter were happily chewing on roasted chicken. "Hey! I didn't know Aunt Lizzie was here!" Aranea exclaimed sarcastically.

"That's not Lizzie." Sally corrected.

"Ha ha, I know! But still."

"Prithee, they seemeth rather engaged in their meat." Fybi observed. The angel child looked up at the towering tree behind them, noticing the beehive hanging from the branch. "And methinks I know how to cease them." With that, the angel took her Pink Pikmin and began the long flight up to the bee nest, which seemed thousands of miles in the air. She led the Pikmin above the branch, safe from the bees' sight. She had the 15 Pinks begin to attach the stem that held the nest, and they watched as it fell to the ground. It smashed upon landing, and the mother and daughter stared terrified at the angry hornets. "WAAAAHH!" The two scampered away, flailing their arms.

"Wow, they move fast for their size!" Aranea noticed.

"And so their spoils be ours." Fybi said, floating back down.

"There's another egg." Harvey observed, seeing the small egg on their right side. They smashed the egg open and fed the Pikmin the nectar, letting them spark with excitement. They had 10 Pink Pikmin grab the giant chicken leg and proceed to fly it back to the Onion. The tiny team continued on a path on the left of the blanket, shortly arriving at a field of massive woodchips. They arrived at the park's playground, towering high above them as it nearly reached the heavens. Kids were playing on the playground, so they took note to watch their selves.

There was a cardboard, grey mountain, with several footholds, that led up the playground. One of the woodchips thankfully leaned against the first foothold, allowing them to walk up. They led their Pikmin up several more slopes on the way up, until they reached a particular ledge that was too high. However, a set of tiny sticks was piled above the ledge, so they sent a group of Yellow Pikmin up there to start forming a ladder. They leaned the ladder along the wall afterwards, allowing the group to climb up. Eventually, they reached the top and walked onto the playground's floor, which was littered with gaping holes. They weren't sure WHAT was the point of all these playground holes. I mean, wouldn't kids get stuck in them?

Regardless, they began to navigate around the holes. There wasn't much space between them, so the 48 Pikmin had a difficult time getting around. Unfortunately, 3 Red Pikmin slipped off into the abyss below, so there were 12 Red ones left. They made their way to the playground's bridge, where an 11-year-old boy held himself above the floor by pushing himself up with his hands on the railings. He was on the other side, but the boy built up momentum in his legs before swinging and landing in the center, creating a massive quake. He did the same thing again and swung to their side. Afterwards, he turned around and swung back to the middle, then repeated the process.

Knowing where he would land, the kids carefully made their way across the bridge. The kid made his way to their starting point, then swung to the middle, nearly stomping on the kids inches away. He pushed himself up, allowing them to move further, but the humongous, swinging shadow of the giant made them nervous. He swung to the bridge's end, then was on the way back, and they made it across safely. Eventually, Sector W arrived at the wide, tremendous blue slide leading off the playground. They nodded excitedly and stepped on the slope, and all 4 kids and 45 Pikmin came slipping down the slippery hill at high speeds. They went soaring over the jungle once they reached the end, but soon took land within the grass again. The kids followed another path, the giant smell of ketchup caught in their tiny noses.

Shortly, the team arrived at another picnic blanket. Sally's face beamed at who happened to be sitting there. "Look, Harvey! It's cousin Ruppy!"

Indeed, the 7-year-old blond boy, Rupert Dickson, and his parents, had this blanket occupied. "Uh-oh. I hope that doesn't mean the werecats are around." Aranea said worriedly.

At this time, the seven-year-old boy was desperately reaching up for a tasty chilidog, kept out of his reach as his father raised it high in the air. "Come on, Daaaad! Just one biiite!"

"You didn't finish your park-laps, son." Chad stated.

"Chad, just him have it." Emily Dickson smiled.

"Sorry. If he wants this dog, he needs to learn to take it."

Fybi glared hatefully at the adult. "Ay, to rob someone of the joys of luscious meet. Unspeakable."

"Should we teach him a lesson?" Nea asked.

"I dunno, guys… Uncle Chad was big before, but now…" Sally felt intimidated at the muscular man's imposing size. Chad Dickson was definitely the most gargantuan person they've seen in this park.

"Come on, we got the other two, didn't we?" Nea asked.

"I guess… hmm…" Sally recalled their poisonous White Pikmin.

"Well, until you earn this the right way, I'll have a few bites of this myself." Chad decided, turning from his son and lowering the chilidog near the ground as he squirted mustard on it. Sally hurried over and tossed 3 White Pikmin into the hotdog, and Chad conveniently raised their side to his mouth, smiling haughtily as he chomped, chewed, and swallowed. His eyes widened and his face wrinkled, coughing tiny drops of saliva, among them the White Pikmin. The poison they sprouted seemed to affect him, as he fell to his back in unconsciousness, his colossal body shaking the ground greatly.

"Hahaha! Whatever you say, Dad!" Rupert laughed.

His mother stood up with a smile and said, "I'll get the extra one.", then walked off.

Since Rupert no longer desired the "poison" chilidog, it was free for taking. They spotted a nectar egg along the right corner and went to break it, giving the Pikmin some power. 10 Reds and 10 Blues lifted the hotdog and began to carry it off, and Aranea decided to stay with them. Rupert merely stared confused as the food was carried away by what he assumed were ants. The teeny-tiny kids scurried beside him toward the next pathway. He glanced down on his left, seeing 2 Pikmin, who were falling behind, run by right away. Suddenly curious, he turned and crouched down on all fours, watching as the itty-bitty bunch scampered behind the grass blades. Sally was last to follow, but she turned around to see the gigantic face of her cousin looming at her. Sally smiled brightly and waved, quickly hurrying to her friends.

Rupert gaped in speechlessness and confusion as his mother returned with a new hotdog. "I brought the extra. …Hey, where'd the other go?"

Rupert sat up, pointing in the kids' direction. "Mom! I saw Cousin Sally!"

"Cousin Sally? I didn't see her here." Emily looked around.

"No, no! I saw her… but she was really small!" Rupert held his thumb and index a few inches from each other.

Emily chuckled. "Your father has got to stop working you so hard." Rupert frowned grumpily and looked after his cousin. He crawled a little forward, vaguely seeing his tiny cousin with the strange, colorful creatures. He wasn't sure what those things were… but he was very curious.

Soon, the kids arrived at the stone pavement pathway again, seeing the park's exit just ahead. In the distance, they could see a little Goal Flag, raised by some Minish children. "Hey! There's the exit!" Sally pointed.

"Finally." Harvey said, coolly flicking his yo-yo as always. "Let's get outta here." With that, the operatives made for the finish, eager to complete another tough mission. (End song.)

Stage Progress: Red Pikmin: 12. Yellow Pikmin: 7. Blue Pikmin: 15. Pink Pikmin: 15. White Pikmin: 11. Total: 60. Author's note: somebody check my math, in case I miscalculated.

With Anthony and Chiri

The bucktoothed Sector Leader was bent over, his left hand and both feet planted on the ground as his eyes were closed. "Seismic Sense is one of earthbenders' most helpful senses. View your surroundings and see how many humans are in the park.

Anthony could feel the vibrations caused by every giant human. He had a clear vision of them, as if he was having a bird's-eye view. "I see… 16 humans. My mom is one of them, of course. 2 kids playing Frisbee. 4 playing tag. 2 kids at a picnic blanket, and their mom. A fat girl and her mom. Mr. Dickson; he's recognizable. There's also Ms. Dickson and Rupert; jerk. There's a kid with foot fungus; his mom just came, that makes 17. …There's also 3 dogs."

"Very good, Anthony." Chiri smiled, giving a light clap. "'Course, you missed the kids on the playground. I guess you can't sense things through metal, yet; that's advanced."

Angie was still laid back in the shade of her tree, a relaxed smile on her face. Her eyes remained close, and she was close to sleep with the calming sound of rustling leaves and happy children. However, she felt a presence that disturbed her peace. She frowned, honing her Seismic Senses. In the distance, 50 miles from the park, she felt several presences that didn't belong.

KND Moonbase; Meeting Room

"Fellow Kids Next Door Leaders, I thank you all for coming here today." Cheren spoke professionally as he sat at a big, round table, where several Sector Leaders had gathered. There was Numbuh 78-Speed—Mike Strongarm—from the Bike Hub, Numbuh 14.1589—Sarah Jane II—of Sector N, Numbuh Midnight—George King—of Sector IC, Numbuh W473R—Chimney—of Sector W7, Karin Kurosaki of Sector JP, Bon Clay Jr. of Sector KB, and Nagisa Shiota of Sector SA.

"Hi, Broooo!" Aurora Uno, who sat on his right side, happily waved.

Cheren rolled his eyes and gave a minor wave. "Hello, Sis."

"I was in the middle of applying pre-news-segment makeup, so this better be good." Melody Jackson stated spitefully.

Cheren eye-rolled again. "Unfortunately, Anthony couldn't be here. We called his dad and he said they were out. Anyway, I have gathered you all here because, as you may be aware, we are currently planning a strike on Viridi's homeworld. While Nebula's operatives are trying to find the homeworld's coordinates, we'll be planning the assault."

"Oi, Cheren-chaaan!" Chimney yelled; her face sporting her usual wide, hyperactive grin. "Why we PLANNIN' the assault when we don' know where the homeworld is!" ("Gyom-gyooom!" her rabbit, Gonbe agreed.)

"Because, Chimney, while we may not know where the homeworld is, it doesn't mean we can't plan a possible strategy."

"Sooo, we're making a strategy based on assumption?" George King asked, questioningly.

"Sigh, yes, George, but it never hurts. Let's bring up the hologram." As he spoke, a dim, green projection of a grid board, with a few landmarkings, appeared on the table; with one of them being a huge fortress. "Viridi's lair is there." Cheren said, pointing at the fortress. "Her defenses are here," several walls rose up, "and WE'RE all the way out HERE." A fleet of tiny ships appeared miles away from the defenses. "And for now, we're assuming she lives in the usual environment."

"If she's a NATURE Goddess, Ah reckon she'd be hangin' 'round a forest or somethin'." Sarah said, her country accent thick as ever.

"Even so. Let's plan out how we're going to do this. Sector L's News Cop will be hovering above the atmosphere with their Juicy-Gossip-"

"Trademarked." Melody said.

"-Satellite and examine Viridi's field lineup from a safe atmosphere." The hologram showed a helicopter high above the rest of the action. "We'll be able to count her number of ground troops and send the necessary airships to breach through. Once we've blown up a good number of her troops, Sector W7 will fly in on their R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.-"

"Someone think up an acronym!" Chimney spoke up.

"-and charge through with enough force to breach Viridi's walls." The hologram showed a train zipping around the air until it drove and crashed through Viridi's fortress. "Chimney's report claims they'll be just fine, but just in case, better get in escape pods. With her fortress breached, that's where Mike's Bikers will come in." The hologram showed a series of kids on bikes speeding into the lair. "You will all charge in and begin to lay waste to any of Viridi's inside troops."

"My dad's bike conquered Mt. Everest!" Mike Strongarm exclaimed. "It'll conquer ANY of these mountain-made mush-heads!"

"Hehehe!" Emily Garley of the KND Museum giggled at his gloating.

"After Mike's troops have dealt away a good number of the internal defenses, we'll be sending in other troops. Aurora, that calls for you and Sector V, in which I will be accompanying you."

"Typical Cherry." Melody eye-rolled. "Always has to be the star."

Aurora giggled. "My brother's so cute when he talks professionally!"

Cheren glared at both of them. "Anyhoo, the majority of you will be helping to fight off Viridi's outside troops, but feel free to fly in and join. Also, George King, as timebenders, I want you and your sector to calculate a specific schedule; when the time comes of course. …No pun intended."

George sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, don't forget, my sister and I are still in training."

"I'll trust your judgment. Anyway, that's the basic gist, I'll inform you of any updates to the plan." Everyone secretly thought that there would be. "And don't forget, the GKND are participating in the fight, too, and Nebula's agreed to round up all the Supreme Leaders from the Galactic Kid Council. She'll be calculating her own strategies with multiple Kids Next Doors. So prepare to fight alongside multiple cultures. Glomourians, Kateenians, Skypians, Merpeople, you name it. Also, as an added advantage, we've determined the Forces of Nature are part-Nightmare, ergo they are vulnerable to Nightmare weaknesses. Gather up all the night lights and teddybears you can, and make sure your mommies make you warm glasses of milk. Any questions?"

"I might." Someone on the other side from Cheren raised his hand. "What'm I supposed to do about my cadets? Cancel their training?"

"We'll have to bring you along, too, Marcus." Cheren said. "It'll be too dangerous for your cadets, so you'll have to give them some days off."

"Hmm… I'll bet." A muscular boy sat back with his big, dark-grey boots rested on the table. "By the time I come back, those kids better have done 800 rounds of wall-punches. Or I'll give 'em a day off to remember."

Arctic Base Drill Sergeant – son of April Dickson and Fernando Drilovsky

MARCUS DRILOVSKY

"You won't be gone long." Drake Puncture, Leader of Sector Q, said coolly as his right, robotic claw spun around. "Sector W took out a whole fortress of troops when their leader was smallified! We got this in the bag."

"Well, I'm glad we're all in agreement." Cheren smiled. "Also, Sarah, Emily, as three of our smartest operatives, you two and Sarah's brother will be in charge of vamping up our weapons. But get as many scientists on it as you can. But right now, everyone should get home and rest up. It won't be long until Nebula's operatives locate the homeworld, so-" Suddenly, a TV screen at the top of the room came on, showing Nebula's face herself.

"Hate to interrupt, Cheren, but there's been a slight—Aww, look, it's Cheren's little playpals!" she said tauntingly.

"PLAYPALS?!" Chimney screamed, eyes furrowing angrily, but her grin remained fixed, as she jumped on the table. "I PLAY WITH YOU, PAL-SAAAN!" She furiously stomped her feet as she spoke. "LEMME AT 'EM! LEMME AT 'EM!" Aurora and Emily had to keep her back as she tried to run at the TV screen.

"Just speak, Nebula." Cheren told her.

"I sent Vweeb and his friends on the mission to follow Viridi's troops. But I've lost contact with them, and our secret backup troops were knocked out, too."

"So I guess we're gettin' delayed after all?"

"The invasion's still gonna go as planned. I'm gathering all the Supreme Leaders and they're rounding up all available troops. I sent some Wisps out to locate Team Vweeb, and I'm hoping they'll have found Viridi's world if they're located. So carry on as normal." With that, transmission ended.

"So, Iiii DON'T have time for beauty salon?" Melody asked.

"Siigh. All right, you have your assignments, so return home, rest up, get weapons ready, and prepare to move out soon. Dismissed." With that, the band of leaders exited the room and went to go meet with their sectors. Aurora walked beside Cheren as they were headed for home.

"So, how are we going to beat Viridi again?" she asked. "I mean, we can cut through her troops, but she's a whole different person."

"I got something that can work." Cheren said. "…I just… hope I don't…"

Aurora noticed his look as he turned away. "Well, you probably need time to plan. See you at home, brother." With that, Aurora walked ahead to the hangar as Cheren stood in place.

Cheren tilted up, and once his sister was gone, he walked beside the window-wall. He reached in his coat pocket and held up the tiny glass vial, containing the red, demonic substance. Cheren was frowning in worry as the bubbling red reflected off his glasses. He's sensed it before… but he feels it stronger. This was a dangerous substance. One that could drain away any mortal's hopes and dreams, with a single drop. They wouldn't die, but would feel more lifeless than ever. To be able to downgrade a god… Cheren had fear of its power. He didn't want to use it on anyone… but has he got a choice?

Cheren sighed, once again conflicted. He tucked the vial in his pocket and hurried to his ship.

Planet Harnita; Dunfree Household

It was calm and quiet at the Dunfree house. The vegetarian woman, Nova Dunfree, smiled and hummed to herself as she watered her exotic, alien plants. She looked up when a knock was heard at her door. "Motherrr! It's me!"

The pink-skinned woman smiled, set her water can down, and went to open her door. "Hello, Arianna, back so soon? Oh?" Something about Arianna caught her eye.

"Yes, I am. The mission was great!" Arianna sported a smile wider than usual, her green eyes wide and blank.

Nova couldn't stop staring. "Ummm… your clothes."

Arianna stood on her doorstep, wearing only a green, grass-made dress. "I found this during the mission. It's much more comfortable than my old clothes."

"…Well… it does seem more natural." Nova said; though she wasn't really fond of the look. "But where's your brother and your friends?"

"They're somewhere else." Arianna said, still smiling. "I wanted to come home first. May I come in, Mother?"

"Well… it's your house." Nova reminded, stepping aside as her daughter came in.

Arianna walked by her mother's plants, looking at them and still smiling. "The plants smell lovely today, Mother."

"Hm hm hm!" Nova laughed. "Thank you!"

"We should bring them to a more natural setting."

"I suppose. But they bring the house life."

"Yes. But it feels too dull here."

"You… think so?"

"It's no matter." Arianna smiled; still. "I'm certain we can make things more forestated in time."

"Ummm… well, whatever suits your preferences." Nova said, feeling more unsure of her daughter's mysterious tone.

The mother went back to watering her plants as Arianna walked upstairs. The wide-eyed, smiling girl creaked open the door to her parents' room, and stepped inside. She looked at the small table in the back, eyes focused on the glowing, green ball that sat on it.