Chapter 2- A Call to a New Hero
At Sarasaland Soccer Field...
"C'mon, you slowpokes! Get your legs in gear!" yelled Daisy (in her Mario Strikers oufit, I should add) as she sped around her teammates, dribbling the soccer ball towards the goal. She had been hard at work training for the upcoming Strikers Tournament that was to be held soon, and she knew it was going to be MUCH more intense than the last one. She had been at it practicing every moment she could between all the other sports that she participated in plus any Mario Parties she had gone to over the time between now and the last Strikers Tournament, and she was at the field today with her team of Hammer Brothers and her Kremling goalie to get them and her into tip-top shape for the tournament.
"Guh...huh...huh..." gasped one of the Hammer Brothers, trying his best to keep up with Daisy's speed and trying to steal the ball from her, but it turned out to be futile as he stopped in his tracks and gasped for air. Daisy saw this and said, "Aw, c'mon, Crack! You've got more guts than that! Keep running!" Crack was obviously the Hammer Brother's name, and hearing that, he got back on his feet and sped towards Daisy, going into a head-into-the-back tackle into her. But Daisy, being the skillful and smart player she is, saw that coming and deked out of the way of the oncoming tackle, causing Crack to fall to the gound face-first.
"Sorry, Crack, you have to be better than that if we're gonna win the Strikers Charged Tournament!" said Daisy with a grin as she kept speeding towards the goal. It was then another one of her Hammer Brother comrades came running to her, trying for a sliding tackle and another attempt at a ball steal. Daisy, however, saw him coming as well, and quickly jumped in the air with the ball wedged between her feet, cleverly doing a mid-air dodge and jumping out of the way of the sliding tackle. The Hammer Brother saw this and was too amazed to react quickly that he slid right into the fence surrounding the field. Thankfully, Daisy had turned off the electric current during this practice, but the impact of sliding into the wall was still a bit painful nonetheless. Daisy landed on the ground and began running again with the ball, but then turned her head to her fallen comrade, "Better luck next time, Whack!" she said, obviously referring to the Hammer Brother's name.
Daisy was only a few yards from the goal now, but the third and final Hammer Brother on her team was now hot on her tail, and this Hammer Brother was a bit more muscular than the other two. It was obvious to see that this one was the main offense for her team, and he wasn't about to let Daisy go off easy, even though they're teammates. After all, Daisy did say to give it thier all on this practice, and told them to think of her as the opposing team's captain instead of thier own, so this Hammer Brother was going by that and not letting up one bit. Soon, Daisy was only a yard away from the goal net, with the Kremling goalie at the ready, but the Hammer Brother was still on her heels, and it looked as though he had her...or so he thought. Before the third Hammer Brother had the chance to do anything, Daisy slipped a Starman out of her pocket and activated it, causing her to become invincible just like the Starman always did. The third Hammer Brother didn't have time to react to Daisy's move, and collided with her, causing him to fall to the ground, but leaving Daisy untouched and still invincible for a few more seconds. As she stopped to make her shot, she then said to the Hammer Brother, "Always expect the unexpected, Knuckle!" This was the third Hammer Brother's name, and a very appropriate one due to it's muscular stature among ones of his kind.
Daisy then eyed her Kremling goalie, and just as the Starman's power wore off, she kicked the ball into the air and leaped up to it, arching her leg back and looking as if she was about to kick it straight on. Glowing particles of light scattered around the ball, and this could only mean one thing: Daisy was about to do her Super Strike, known by everyone as the Torpedo Strike. Anyone, Kremling, Koopa, or human alike that had been on the opposite end of this knew it should be feared and respected, for Daisy showed no mercy during the last Strikers tournament. Soon, the glowing particles of light stopped surrounding the ball, and an orange-yellow-colored glow surrounded Daisy. It was time...
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" Daisy gave her battle cry and swung her leg toward the ball, channeling all the energy surrounding her into the ball itself. The ball shot forward at such a high velocity, an F-Zero machine would almost pale in comparison. The Kremling goalie saw this, and braced himself to try to catch the ball, and he did...but the velocity of the ball was so great, it propelled him into the back of the net back-first! According to official Strikers Rules, if that happened, the Super Strike counted, and the team would score the proper 2 points, though that was all going to be changed in the next tournament, as Super Strikes were forbidden from it, and being replaced with what would later be called Mega Strikes, but Daisy still hadn't perfected hers.
Seeing that her goal was successful, Daisy went and helped her Kremling goalie up. "Nice try, Krunch, but you gotta be ready for anything." she said to the Kremling known as Krunch. After helping him up, she turned around and whistled loudly. "Whack! Crack! Knuckle! Front and center!" In about a second, the three Hammer Brothers were lined up in front of her and standing upright, completely motionless except for breathing. Obviously, these three had much respect for Daisy. "You all are really good players..." she began, pacing in front of them, "But you need to keep up that practice! Whack, you're the brains of this team, so I want you to come up with a good strategy in the next day! You clear with me?"
"Yes ma'am!" said Whack, saluting her.
"Crack! You're the evasive one on our team. You need to practice your dekes and try to make it so the opponents won't EVER get the ball from you. Understood?" said Daisy to Crack.
"Gotcha!" said Crack, also saluting her.
"Finally, Knuckle..." said Daisy, moving over to him, "You're our brawn, so I need you to try and aim your tackles better, but don't forget that brute force won't win all your battles. Is that clear?"
"You got it, boss!" said Knuckle in a slightly lower tone of voice, then saluted her.
"As for you, Krunch..." said Daisy, turning around and facing the Kremling, "You're a great goalie, but even though my Super Strike is tough to block, you're gonna need all your wits about you to parry those Mega Strikes. Just be glad that I haven't perfected mine yet! You got that?!"
"Right-o, Miss Daisy!" said Krunch with a southern accent.
"Alright then, we'll call it a day for now. Hit the showers, all of you, and I expect you here first thing in the morning! You're all dismissed!" said Daisy, and with saying that, the four teammates went off towards the gym to shower off, while Daisy went over to the parking lot to get in her car, the Power Flower (from Mario Kart DS for any who don't know) and drive on home to her castle and call it a day.
As Daisy was driving home, she decided that it was too quiet around right now. "Maybe some music will calm my nerves..." she said as she turned the radio knob in her car. Soon, peaceful music was playing on the radio, calming Daisy's tense nerves from the harsh day of soccer practice.
Suddenly, the music was cut off by an emergency news flash. "We interrupt your music to bring you this devistating story!" came the radio host. This got Daisy's attention as the host went on: "It has been a tragic day here in Shroom City, as what witnesses believe to say was a gigantic version of the evil Koopa King Bowser terrorized the town during the opening of the new store today! To make matters worse, Bowser defeated the Mario Brothers and was about to finish them off before Princess Peach decided to willingly go with him in exchange for sparing the Mario Brother's lives. Now, Princess Peach is once again kidnapped by Bowser, but the Mario Brothers are now in serious condition and are in no way currently going to try and attempt a rescue. To be honest folks...this reporter fears for the future of the Mushroom Kingdom...sniff...okay cut this off, I'm getting emotional!" The reporter was cut off, leaving Daisy totally surprised at what she had just heard.
"What...? Bowser got Peach, and defeated Mario and Luigi?!" she said with wide eyes. "No...Peach...I...NO!!!!!!" she yelled, then immediately pulled a U-turn and went for the exit to the Mushroom Kingdom that she had passed a moment ago, driving like she was in the Mario Kart Grand Prix and not caring who or what got in her way. She sped through Shroom Ridge and Toad's Turnpike before she finally reached Shroom City...
...Or at least what remained of it at the time. Many buildings were destroyed, and many wounded citizens were lying on the ground, getting treatment from Toad Nurses and Doctors. Bent telephone poles and cracked sidewalks and streets also showed just how much destruction Giga Bowser had really caused a while ago. As Daisy slowly drived through the trashed city, she looked in horror at the carnage that had happened, almost not able to breathe and feeling sick to her stomach seeing most of the Mushroom Kingdom folk lying on the ground wounded. Soon, though, she came to a police line, and a Toad Policeman stopped her and her car in thier tracks. "Sorry, missy, you can't go past here. Lots of trouble been brewin' here. Be best if you head home." said the cop.
Daisy didn't want to listen, but knew she couldn't fight the law. But she had another idea, and climbed out of her car, walking to the policeman. "Don't you know that I'm Daisy, princess of Sarasaland and best friend to Princess Peach as well as the Mario Brothers? I think I deserve to know what has happened here!" she yelled.
The policeman eyed her over, almost tantalized at looking at her in her sports outfit. Shrugging that aside, though, he said, "You do match her discription, yes, but I'm sorry, you can't pass here, princess." said the policeman.
"Oh pish-posh! Let the princess pass!" came an old Toad's voice from behind the police line. As it turned out, Toadsworth was here the whole time, making sure nothing happened to Princess Peach, only to see her being taken away by Giga Bowser. He didn't want the princess to see him, so he had cleverly blended in with the crowd. Seeing that Toadsworth's word was above all others while the princess was absent, the policeman allowed Daisy to go over the police line to talk with Toadsworth.
"T-worth, what happened here?! Where's Peach and the Mario Brothers?!" said Daisy in a panicked tone.
"Oh, my dear princess Daisy..." said Toadsworth in a sad voice, "It seems that overgrown brute Bowser somehow became gargantuan and decided to crash our little get-together today! I just can't believe that that...that..that...MONSTER did all of this!" As Toadsworth finished his sentence, he turned around and showed Daisy just what he meant. Daisy looked up over Toadsworth and saw many things a person need not see; Injured people lying around everywhere, buildings reduced to rubble, cars crushed under Giga Bowser's weight, and many other things too numerous to mention. Daisy was in shock at this sight...so much that she had nearly fainted.
"It just pains me that the princess is in such gosh-awful hands as of now." said Toadsworth, causing Daisy to look at him again, but she still had the shocked look on her face, "You'll at least be glad to know that no one was killed in this whole thing, and Master Mario and Master Luigi are resting well, even though they are in no condition to save the princess...oh, my...I hope she's alright..."
"Th...thanks for the heads-up, 'Toads...I'm...gonna go home now..." said Daisy, still amazed that Bowser did all of this. She slowly turned around and hopped back in the Power Flower and drove off.
A little later on, a few miles from her castle, Daisy had pulled over to the side of the street and was crying her eyes out, her head buried in her arms over the dashboard. Even though she was strong-willed, she couldn't take this horrific scene that she had just saw, and now knowing that the Mario Brothers are out of commission and her best friend was kidnapped by some deranged psychopathic beast, she just couldn't take it anymore. She continued to sniffle a bit, but then suddenly stopped. Her head stayed buried in her arms for a bit longer...but then...
"Peach...Mario...Luigi...everyone else in Shroom City..." Daisy said quietly under her arms.
All of a sudden, Daisy lifted her head up from her arms, but instead of a look of sorrow, she had a look that no one, and I mean NO ONE wants to be around when she had it: A look of rage. Her eyes were literally on fire, and she looked beyond angry, almost to the point her whole face was red. She had clearly not liked what Giga Bowser had done to her friends, and she was not going to take it anymore!
"...THAT SCALEBRAIN IS GONNA WISH HE WAS IN HELL AFER I'M THROUGH WITH HIM!!!!" she roared out loud, letting out her anger. With saying that, Daisy thrusted her foot down on the accelerator and sped off towards her next intended destination: Her castle.
What does Daisy have in store for the seemingly invincible Koopa King?
End of Chapter 2
knock, knock, knock!
Twilight: "Huh? Who in the world could that be?"
Twilight gets up and answers the door...
Daisy: "SURPRISE!"
Twilight: "Huh?!! Daisy? What're you doing here?!"
Daisy: "Hehe, I'd thought I'd come here and thank you personally for making me the hero in your story. It's about time I showed the world what I can REALLY do!"
Twilight: "Oh...I see. Sure, no problem. I've been a fan of yours for years, so I thought it was about time you got some due credit."
Daisy: "Awww...you're such a sweetie. So, what am I gonna do to Giga Bowser, huh?"
Twilight: "Haven't decided...yet. Guess we'll have to wait for the next chapter, huh?"
Daisy: "Aw, phooey...Oh well, how about a game of Mario Strikers until the next part?"
Twilight: "You're on!"
Daisy: "I call myself to play!"
Twilight: "Aw, darn...I'm best at playing as you...Ah, well...I'll be Luigi. You're going down, princess!"