Name: Juniper Woods
Vehicle: Flower Power (If Juniper has to compete in Kristoph's demented competition, she might as well help out Mother Nature by driving a smart car with a single pink flower sticker on the side.)
Vehicle Armor: 1/5 (Unfortunately for Juniper, her vehicle offers all the protection of a wet cardboard box on a windy day, but at least it's small, making it a harder target to hit… but not impossible.)
Vehicle Speed: 2/5 (Being the sweet, demure girl that she is, Juniper has never had the inclination to drive aggressively or fast at any point in her life. And even if she wanted to, she couldn't on account of her weak constitution.)
Vehicle Handling: Very tight (Sure, Flower Power's small size and lackluster armor means that it'll be crushed like a bug if ever in a collision, but what it lacks in defense, it more than makes up for in turning capabilities.)
Special Weapon: 5/5 (Mist of Paralysis- By expelling a large cloud of powder made of the infamous curare plant from Flower Power, Juniper is able to temporarily paralyze all nearby drivers whose vehicles aren't sealed airtight. Why a girl like Juniper has a paralyzing plant on her person, you may ask? She went to a school where Aristotle Means was a professor. Connect the dots.)
Bio: Hello, I'm *Cough! Cough!* Sorry, I- *Cough!* I suffer from coughing fits when I'm- *Cough! Cough!* nervous… Ok, I'm better now. As I was saying, ever since I was a little girl, I've had a deep love of plants- they're beautiful, provide fresh air, and remind me of many spring days in which I would walk through the forest with my grandmother. But unfortunately, massive, soulless corporations don't care about those kinds of things as they mercilessly clear-cut our forests to build shopping malls and pave over our fields to make parking lots! Well, the plants may not be able to fight back, but once this is all over, they won't have to.
Having come out of the competition victorious, Juniper Woods stands before Kristoph Gavin, the host of Debauched Steel, to claim her prize: a single wish for anything her heart desires. However, the aspiring judge finds the act of claiming her prize easier said than done as she bursts into a violent fit of coughing.
"Cough drop?" Kristoph calmly asks as he extends his hand out, prompting a clear bottle of hard, yellow lozenges to appear in his palm.
Juniper takes a long whiff from one of the sunflowers on her hat. "No thank you, Mr. Gavin. It's just… I… I start coughing when I'm nervous." The young woman meekly replies as she eyes the ground, occasionally glancing up to look at Kristoph's grinning face.
"Well now, I don't see why you should be, considering that you're the winner of Debauched Steel.
"Yes… but you're… you're…" Juniper stammers, pulling her wide-brimmed hat over her eyes out of fear.
"A psychopath? Killer? Deranged television host with godlike powers and perfectly manicured nails?" Kristoph smirks.
"Y-Yes…" *Cough! Cough!*
"Well, worry not, Ms. Woods, for you are in no danger." Kristoph calmly reassures Juniper as he gently puts a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to peek a wide, apprehensive eye from underneath her hat.
"I'm not?"
"Of course. I may be a killer and a destroyer of lives, but there is a method to my madness. I only hurt those who have wronged me, and I assure you that I bear no malicious feelings towards you. However, if you hesitate in making your wish, as the uncultured youths of today would say, 'your ass will be grass'." Kristoph sneers, prompting Juniper to gulp as she pulls on her pigtails.
"S-Sorry… My wish…" *Cough! Cough! Cough!* "My wish is-" *Cough! Cough!* "My-" *Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!*
Juniper takes a long whiff from one of the sunflowers on her hat as the demented host of Debauched Steel lets out a sigh of mild irritation and pushes up his glasses.
"Sorry about that… My wish is for humans and plants to live in harmony."
"Granted." Kristoph states with a sinister grin.
The demented host raises his arms in the air, causing bolts of electricity to stream between his hands, emitting a blinding light. When the light diminishes, Juniper finds herself in a version of Los Angeles identical to her own, only filled to the brim with plant life- towering trees growing in the middle of the streets, skyscrapers covered from top-to-bottom with thick vines, and flowers springing up from nearly every crack in the sidewalk.
"Wow!" Juniper gasps as she gazes around the modified city. "Mr. Gavin really made this place so much lovelier, just like the forest back home! Plus, the air… it's so much fresher…!" The aspiring judge sighs, taking in a deep breath. "Though I can't help but wonder where everyone else is…"
At that moment, Gumshoe, who is screaming in terror, bumps into Juniper as he sprints by a full speed, inadvertently knocking her to the ground with little effort.
"Ow…" Juniper moans as she stares up at the noodle-loving detective with tear-filled eyes.
"Sorry about that, pal." Gumshoe sullenly states as he helps the young woman back up on her feet. "I was trying so hard to get away from them that I wasn't watching where I was going. Hope I didn't hurt you too badly."
"I'm… I'm more startled than anything, really. But who are you running away from?" Juniper asks as she cocks her head in confusion.
"Them!" Gumshoe shrieks, pointing a large, shaky arm as a large hoard of red, blue, and yellow plant-like creatures about three centimeters in height charges towards him.
"Aw! They're so cute!" Juniper squeals with clasped hands against her cheek. "What harm could such small, adorable things do?"
"They're pikmin, pal! And while they may look cute, they- Ah, they got me! Save yourself, pal!" Gumshoe wails as dozens of pikmin swarm him, pulling the large detective to the ground with their sheer numbers as they bludgeon him with the appendages on their heads, some with leaves, others with buds, and the rest with flowers.
Upon seeing Gumshoe taken down by the pikmin, Juniper runs around a corner, where she witnesses several rotund purple pikmin and yellow pikmin with large, pointy ears slowly carrying Apollo down the street.
"Please put me down." Apollo grumbles with a disheartened expression. "I- Wait, this isn't what I meant! This isn't fine!" The attorney screams as the pikmin put him down under a yellow, bulbous object with a black and white band running across its midsection that is suspended by three stilt-like legs, prompting a beam of light to be emitted by the structure which pulls him inside.
"Apollo!" Juniper shrieks at the sight of her crush being beamed up by this strange object.
After a few seconds, the object releases several yellow seeds from the large, white flower on top of it, which take root upon landing on the ground before quickly sprouting into yellow pikmin, prompting the aspiring judge to flee once more.
As Juniper runs through the plant-infested city, she quickly learns that Gumshoe an Apollo aren't the only ones who are suffering and that the pikmin are just the tip of the iceberg- witnessing Franziska fighting against a large, bipedal plant with a bulbous red and white polka dot head with yellow petals that is wearing a matching speedo and losing quite badly, Phoenix and Edgeworth lying on the ground, desperately squirming, but to no avail, under the massive girth of a scowling, green, man-sized squash, and the seedy man who pretended to be Director Hotti being pestered by small, black specters with glaring red eyes and stumps on their heads with two branches resembling horns.
As Juniper gazes upon what her world has become, her eyes the size of saucers as she stands completely motionless out of fear, she reels back as she sees Athena get blasted into the wall of a nearby building by a being wearing a suit of sky-blue armor covered in spikes and jewels and a matching helmet that covers his face.
"Is that all you've got?" Athena huffs as she limps towards the armor-cladded being, gripping her right shoulder which was dislocated upon impact with the building.
"You simple-minded fool…" The knight-like being sneers with a shake of his head. "When you and the rest of your miserable kind are returned to The Void, remember that it was I, Exdeath, who sent you there. Now die!"
Exdeath raises his arms, causing a black orb to appear out of thin air and engulf Athena as it starts to grow, consuming everything that it touches.
"Thena…!" Juniper shrieks, falling to her knees as she is overcome with grief. "No! This wasn't what I wanted!" The aspiring judge screams in frustration as tears stream down her reddened cheeks. "We were supposed to live in peace with the plants, not dominated by them as their enemies!"
"Oh, but I assure you, Ms. Woods, not all plants in this new world hate humans." Kristoph telepathically states to Juniper. "In fact, there are several that would love to get to know you better… as dinner. Just ask Diababa."
"Diababa…?" Juniper questions as she hears the sound of moving water behind her.
Upon turning around, the aspiring judge sees a large pond filled with purple water, from which a massive olive-green plant with two brown appendages, one on each side with a bulbous head and fangs, emerges from the water, opening its tri-hinged mouth as it lets out a bloodcurdling roar, revealing a huge orange eye on its tongue.
Unfortunately for her, Juniper is unable to react before the massive plant lunges at her, devouring the aspiring judge whole and then proceeding to let out another loud roar.
As this is happening, Kristoph watches the scene unfold from atop a barren hill on the outskirts of the city, perfectly safe from the hostile flora.
"Flowers are without hope. Because hope is tomorrow and flowers have no tomorrow. And now, Ms. Woods, neither do you." Kristoph sneers before turning to the camera. "I am Kristoph Gavin, and I thank you for watching Debauched Steel."
A/N: I would like to thank JordanPhoenix for submitting the idea for this chapter.
