"Hey Peach, Luigi!" Daisy called out as she ran to meet the two veteran Smashers in front of Smash Mansion. She pulled two wheeled suitcases with her as a Toad hurried behind her with another.
"Daisy? You're the new fighter?" Luigi asked.
"Surprised? Peach spent the past few months training me how to fight," Daisy said. The Toad dropped the suitcase and ran back into town. Daisy waved goodbye to him. "So are you going to take me to my room?"
"Of course. Luigi why don't you pick up that suitcase? Daisy I'll take one of those off of your hands," Peach said.
"Thanks," Daisy said. She let go of one of the suitcases so Peach could take it and they walked up the stairs to the front door of the mansion. When they got inside Daisy was impressed, it reminded her of her home in Sarasaland. She looked around as she ascended the staircase to the third floor.
Daisy's room was near a balcony overlooking the lake. The room across from hers had a nameplate marked 'Ace.' "Do you want some help unpacking?" Peach offered.
"No thanks, I can do it myself," Daisy said.
"All right then. When you're done Master Hand said he'll give you a tour," Peach said.
"Neat. Thanks for the help. I'll see you guys around." Daisy waved as Peach and Luigi walked down the hallway. She opened the door and pulled in the three suitcases. Her furniture had already been brought over, complete with a flower vase containing daisies. The side table was right by the window so the daisies could get the sunlight she needed and her vanity was next to the closet. She started by unpacking the clothes, putting the dresses on the right side of her closet and her sports clothing on the left side.
Next were the sports trophies, which she lined up on a shelf. After unpacking all of the other items she took her journal and sat on her bed, it was nice and hard, the way she liked it. Daisy took a pen from the side table and started writing in the journal.
Just arrived at Smash Mansion and got my room all set up. It's right next to the balcony which has a great view. After the tour I'm going to find some time to glide down to the lake with my parasol. I want to get in some more training rounds with Peach before my first fight too. Letting my first match as a Smasher end in defeat is NOT an option.
Daisy closed the journal and put it on the side table. She took a few seconds to check her appearance in the vanity before exiting the room. At the same time someone left the room that was to the left of Daisy's room. The other person was a girl with black hair and a white brimmed hat with a small arch of red on it. She was wearing a blue shirt and a dark red skirt, long blue socks came up from her shoes. A yellow bag hung at her right side. "Hi I'm Daisy." The girl took a second to gather her words.
"Nice to meet you Daisy, my name is Leaf," the girl said. She extended her hand, Daisy shook it. "I'm new here, just checked out my room."
"I just arrived too," Daisy said. "When the tour is over let's do something together, us newcomers should support each other."
"Uh sure. Oh I know we could have a picnic somewhere," Leaf said as she put her hands together. "My big brother is a veteran and he told me we can use the teleporter freely,"
"That sounds great," Daisy said. Master Hand warped into the hallway. Leaf leapt back and pulled a red and white sphere out of her bag. She put it back with a sheepish look on her face.
"Most people react like that the first time," Master Hand said. "So I see you two have already met. There's just one more person we're waiting for and then we can start the tour." Right on cue someone walked down the hallway. He was an Inkling boy his two hair tentacles tied into a topknot. "There he is. Daisy, Leaf, this is Nept. Nept this is Daisy and Leaf, like you they just arrived here."
"Yo," Nept said. He walked up to them and shook their hands. "Hey, you were at the racing tournament in the Mushroom Kingdom right?" He asked Daisy.
"I thought you looked familiar. Nice to see you again," Daisy said.
"You two know each other?" Leaf asked.
"A friend of mine is a veteran fighter so she used the teleporter here to invite some people to a racing tournament," Daisy explained.
"I see. Well it's good to meet you Nept," Leaf said, resting her right hand on top of her bag. "Daisy and I were just talking about having a picnic together, do you want to come along? Maybe we could invite the girl from that room over there," She pointed to the room with the nameplate saying 'Ace.'
"Thanks, that sounds cool. Ace is from my world and a fellow member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon so I'll try to get her to come," Nept said, puffing out his chest.
"Does… does everyone else already know each other?" Leaf asked. It was easy to see the panic in her face.
"Relax Leaf, there's plenty of people here none of us know. You said your big brother is also a veteran right?" Daisy comforted.
"Right, I'm feeling a little better now. Thanks," Leaf said.
"Now let us begin the tour," Master Hand said. He led the trio around the mansion, showing off the various rooms. Leaf quickly snatched a book to put in her bag when they went into the library. When they left the armory it took everyone a few seconds to realize Nept had stayed behind to stare at the weapons and they went back to grab him. At the garage Daisy daydreamed about driving the various vehicles stored in it, like the small spaceships that Master Hand referred to as Arwings. The tour ended in the dining room, since it wasn't time for lunch they were the only ones there. "And that concludes the tour, the kitchen is through the doors in the back. Come to my office if you have any more questions," Master Hand said. He teleported out of the room.
"Well since we're here I think it would be a good idea to start packing for the picnic," Leaf said.
"I'll text Ace and ask her if she wants to come along," Nept said, pulling out his phone. Leaf led the way into the kitchen. Thankfully the various cabinets were all labeled with what they contained. Daisy opened the refrigerator as Leaf started making a sandwich for herself. Leaf pulled out the red and white sphere from earlier and opened it. A stream of white light came from it and arched into the ground, forming into a creature. It was a quadruped with bright green skin and a yellow bud growing out of its back.
"This is Fushigisou, you can just call him Fushi," Leaf said. "My brother also has an Ivysaur so I gave him that nickname to make things easier. Fushi the berries are over there, could you grab some for me?" Vines extended from the leaves around the bud on Fushi's back, pulling open one of the cabinets and grabbing a few bags with berries one by one.
"She's cute," Daisy said. Nept grabbed a bag of potato chips from the cabinet.
"Well this is all I need for my lunch," Nept said.
"Ugh, Nept you're such a rookie it hurts." The trio turned around, Ace was standing in the door of the kitchen. An Ink Tank was resting on her back and a Splattershot was in a holster on her hip. "Thanks for the invite by the way. Where are we having this picnic?"
"Either that lake by the back or one of the other worlds," Daisy said. She grabbed a picnic basket from the cabinet above the refrigerator and Nept put the bag of chips in it.
"Sounds good. Also why is Ivysaur a different color all of a sudden?" Ace kneeled down to get a closer look at Fushi.
"This is a different Ivysaur from the one my brother has, the color difference is a rare trait he was born with," Leaf explained. "I don't think we've met yet, my name is Leaf."
"So you're Red's little sister?" Leaf nodded her head. "Cool. I'm Ace." Ace held out her fist, Leaf gave her a fist bump. "I heard the Hands have already scouted two new locations for the tournament. Moray Towers from my world and some place called the Great Plateau from Link's world. How about we go check out that Great Plateau place for the picnic?"
"Sounds good to me," Daisy said. Leaf nodded in agreement again as she put her sandwich in a ziplock bag.
"Moray Towers, really? That place is no fun to fight in," Nept complained.
"Hey you didn't have to endure it before they added those Ink Rails. That was the real Charger hell," Ace responded. Leaf packed in some food for her Pokemon as Daisy got food for the rest of the group. Nept snatched a box of cookies and Ace grabbed some drinks. "Oh Nept it's a rule to always be combat ready when using the teleporter so I grabbed your gear for you." Ace took a small pouch out of her pocket and pulled out a vastly larger Inktank and Splattershot with a holster, Nept took both.
"Thanks. Did Sheldon make the holster?" Nept asked.
"Yeah, it's one of his projects for the Splatoon. Not much use for it with Turf War and the like," Ace answered.
"Let's get going already," Daisy said. She picked up the picnic basket and led the way out of the kitchen.
"So Nept, Ace, how exactly do you two know each other?" Leaf asked as Daisy threw open the dining hall door.
"We're both part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon," Nept said, taking out his Splattershot and twirling it before returning it to his holster. "It's a secret group dedicated to keeping our home city of Inkopolis safe. I'm agent 4 and Ace is agent 3."
"Wow that's cool," Leaf said. "Wait should you guys be talking about it so openly then?"
"It's fine, you're not from our world," Ace said. They reached the teleporter room, Ace held the door open for the rest of the group. Leaf walked over to the console that controlled the teleporter.
"I've got it set up. Everyone ready?" Leaf asked. When she got the affirmative she turned on the teleporter and ran over to join the others. It turned on and in a flash they were absent from Smash Mansion.
The group appeared on a ruined staircase. Behind them were the ruins of an ancient temple and a snow covered mountain, and in front of them was a large tower. It was a clear and sunny day, which Fushi made his appreciation of clear with contented sounds. "Let's go climb that tower, the view from there is going to be great" Daisy suggested.
"Good thinking," Leaf said. "I'd love to explore this place with my Pokemon some time so the tower would let me scope the area out.
"Are you sure? It looks like a pretty big climb," Nept said.
"That means we'll be in the perfect mood to eat once we get to the top," Daisy said. Nept looked at the ground and mumbled his reluctant agreement. The sound of turning gears filled the air.
"Uh, you guys hear that too right?" Ace asked. Before anyone could answer a machine stepped into view, climbing up from a small depression in the ground that had a small pool of water. It had six long legs and a single glowing eye. A red targeting laser came from the eye and targeted Daisy. "That's a Guardian, everyone move!" The group scattered immediately as a blue laser beam created an explosion where they had been standing.
"What is that thing?!" Leaf yelled.
"Who cares we need to destroy it before it kills us," Nept shouted back. The Guardian took aim at Daisy again.
"I'll distract him," Daisy said. She waited until the Guardian began charging and leapt away, hovering in the middle of air away from the laser and explosion. Ace changed her hair and ink color to blue and gave a hand signal to Nept. They fired their Splattershots as they ran towards the Guardian, submerging themselves into the ink whenever the targeting laser turned to them. It was enough to fool the Guardian, whose attention kept on returning to Daisy. She had placed the picnic basket behind cover so it wouldn't get damaged before running back into its view.
"Fushi use Leech Seed," Leaf commanded. A small seed shot out from the bud on Fushi's back and landed on top of the Guardian, vines erupted from the seed to cover it. Ace leapt up from the ink and fired shots into the Guardian's eye before submerging again. Nept copied the motion. The Guardian's targeting laser turned to Leaf.
Instantly Leaf made a run for cover. Without prompting Fushi arched forwards and shot seeds with the force of bullets into the eye of the Guardian. Daisy landed back on the ground and used white magic to create a turnip in her hands, she threw it into the eye of the Guardian as it aimed at Fushi. "We aren't damaging it enough," Ace said as she leapt out for another shot. Leaf was crouched behind a ruined column, shouting orders to Fushi and too filled with panic to focus. "Leaf warp back and get someone from this world," Ace yelled over the sound of another missed Guardian laser.
Leaf stopped cowering, something about Ace's request had enraged her. She was a trainer, running while her Pokemon fought wasn't what she did. It was her job to come up with a plan. That was what she had always done for her Pokemon. Whatever the Guardian was it would pay for making her lose her composure as a trainer. Leaf pulled down the brim of her hat. "No. Everyone I have a plan. Ace, Nept, what else do you have on you?"
"Just some Splat Bombs and a Roller, I don't think ink works on this thing," Nept answered as a turnip nearly hit him instead of the Guardian. "Watch it Daisy!"
"Sorry."
"Nept keep a closer eye on what everyone else is doing or you're going to get yourself killed," Ace said.
"Is the explosion from the bombs powerful enough to throw the Guardian off balance?" Leaf asked. She ducked her head back behind the column before the Guardian could target her.
"Oh I see. You want us to knock it over, good thinking," Ace said.
"Exactly, put them on the front side so the Guardian gets sent backwards. Daisy get the Guardian to target you for the next blast, once the bombs go off Fushi is going to use solar beam but it needs a few seconds to charge even with sunlight. Ace and Nept, you two should get away from the Guardian once the bombs are out," Leaf said. "Everyone understand. Good, Fushi use Solar Beam."
"Hey ugly," Daisy loudly taunted as she stepped into the Guardian's targeting beam. At the same time Nept and Ace popped up in front of the Guardian to drop Splat Bombs right under it. Fushi began charging solar energy in the bud on its back. The laser fired. The Splat Bombs went off. Daisy dodged. The Guardian titled backwards. Fushi sent Solar Beam at it. The force of the beam knocked over the Guardian.
The Guardian's legs bended downwards and towards the ruined column next to it. It pulled itself back upright using the column. The targeting laser was aimed at Daisy, who was running directly at it with a battle cry of "just admit defeat already you loser." Daisy sidestepped the laser and was right in front of the Guardian. She leapt up and slammed her hip into the Guardian, tilting it back. Ace tossed a Splat Bomb to add more force to push it back, Nept threw his as well when he realized what the plan was. The Guardian fell over once again, its 'head' was on the ground with its legs moving wildly through the air to find something solid.
"Everyone go for the legs with your strongest attacks. Fushi pull the legs off with Vine Whip," Leaf ordered. Right as one of the Guardian's legs touched the column Fushi's vines wrapped around it. After some struggle the leg snapped off. Ace and Nept covered the Guardian in ink, swam up it, and used their Rollers to slam the legs off of it, ducking into ink before the Guardian could fire a laser at them. Daisy took out a golf club and beat one of the legs with it until it detached from the Guardian.
"Only two left. Ace, Nept team up on one. Daisy help Fushi with the other one." The two Inklings regrouped at one of the remaining legs and sent it crashing off with a simultaneous strike from their Rollers. Fushi's vines wrapped around the last leg and pulled on them, a strike from Daisy's golf club added enough force to sever it from the Guardian's body. Ace and Nept ran in front of the Guardian's eye and finished it off a burst of ink from their Splattershots. The blue light faded from the Guardian as it became an empty husk.
"Yeah! That's what you get for messing with the NSS," Nept cheered. Daisy walked back to where she had hidden the picnic basket and picked it up. Leaf rejoined the rest of the group.
"That could have gone a lot better," Ace said, forming her left hand into a fist. Her hair turned back to its usual orange color.
"I think we all did great," Leaf said. "Is everyone still up for climbing that tower? I think it might be safer up there."
"Of course," Daisy said. Leaf pulled out the red and white sphere from earlier and it sent out a red beam of light to Fushi that absorbed the Pokemon.
It took some time but when the group ascended to the top of the tower they all agreed the view was worth it. They could see a castle far off in the distance, wide plains of grass, and even a distant volcano. Nept stayed towards the center of the tower and away from the edges. Leaf sent out Fushi and her two other Pokemon, a small turtle like Pokemon nicknamed Zenigame and a dragon like Pokemon nicknamed Lizardon. Daisy handed out the food from the picnic basket. "I'm pretty sure I've heard Link and Zelda talk about those things before," Ace said.
"So that's why you knew what they were called," Nept commented.
"We should tell them about our fight with it then, we might have missed a weak point," Leaf said.
"Something about the way it showed up felt weird, but I can't place my finger on it. Oh well, we can worry about it later. Those Guardians aren't that tough," Daisy said. The conversation shifted to lighter topics as the newest Smashers enjoyed their picnic. When the meal was over Leaf reactivated the teleporter and they vanished in a flash of light, returning to Smash Mansion.