Chapter Text
Daisy walked down the stairs to the Echo Apartment’s living room. It’s been three years since she first moved in to join the Smash tournament, so she got used to everyone’s eccentricities. Avoid the fridge not to get in a fight between Chrom and Dark Samus, avoid Lucina and Richter’s room not to get roped into their magic tricks and don’t eat breakfast under the shelf reserved for Piranha Plant.
However, some things have changed since she first came in. “Hey sweetie” Daisy said as she kissed Dark Pit on the forehead as he was sitting on the couch. Daisy sat next to him. “Rough night?” she said as she inspected the bags under his eyes.
“I’ve had better. Not even coffee will help today I’m afraid.” Dark Pit retorted.
“Maybe a bit of tea might help?” Daisy went into the kitchen and hissed. Dark Samus stepped aside, knowing how foolish it would be to go against Daisy during her morning routine. Daisy chucked a can of energy drink towards Dark Pit.
“Bit of a weird tea.” Dark Pit chuckled, opening the can with a fizz.
“I’m sure there’s leaves in it somewhere baby.” Daisy jumped back onto the couch, landing on the apple-green sofa with aplomb. She brushed his hair. “So what’s my lil army boss doing tonight?” Daisy hated how much Dark Pit’s position at the Forces of Nature seperated them.
“Classified business.” Dark Pit sighed.
Daisy gave him a kiss on the cheek. “My butt is hardly classified, but you promised you’ll do it tonight, so I can’t complain.” Dark Pit give her a sly high-five. Daisy picked up a newspaper and sipped the tea she made herself upstairs.
“It’s not like I’m not swamped.” she sighed as she skimmed the headlines. “I’ve been the ambassador for the Mushroom Kingdom’s Parks and Recreation department for seven seasons now.” She looked at Dark Pit. “That’s almost two years. As a princess it’s my duty to have a better job than that, don’t you think?” Daisy shook her head and took a sip from her tea. Dark Pit silently nodded. “I genuinely love it, don’t get me wrong.” Daisy swallowed her tea while talking. “I’m glad I can mean so much to the community. Organizing sports events, parties that end in bloodshed and allowing our children to grow up in a world where they drive karts as babies while getting sniped by the shells of homeless and-or dead turtles is an important duty I take seriously....” Daisy sighed. “but lately it has been such a slump. We merged with the Diamond City department, we’re under supervision of basically every Toad in existence and even Waluigi started working there.” Daisy put down her cup in order to properly emote with her hands. “It’s just not the way it used to be in season three, where we organized the harvest festival.” Dark Pit looked up from his files, confused as to what Daisy was referring to. “I started in the winter of 2019, so the third season was the summer of 2020.” Daisy said, picking up on Dark Pit’s obvious confusion. “That’s when I organized that party to celebrate the coming autumn. It was beautiful to see everyone rallying around that Baby Yoshi.”
“Yeahyeahyeah that was a great party.” Piranha Plant said.
“Thanks Viridi.” Daisy said without missing a beat. Viridi’s spirit has always been around in the Echo Apartment in order to keep a close eye on her subordinate angel, but on request of the inhabitants, she stopped using telepathy to get her messages across. Instead, she established a psychic link with Piranha Plant. She’s still ever-present, but the goofy plant made the idea of an ethereal goddess in the house less unsettling. Viridi happily obliged, because it meant the Echo Fighters all had to take turns watering her vessel, which she found embarrasing for them, and amusing for herself.
“Ah, the princess of parks, always a delight to see you.” Viridi’s spirit talked through Piranha Plant.
“The delight would most certainly be reciprocal if you would show yourself in person, Viridi. How’s life?” Daisy retorted.
“Never-ending, just the usual there.” the plant spoke. “Unless you forgot from the time you challenged me to a duel?” Viridi chuckled. Daisy grunted. “Really bold for a human to challenge me like that though. I would’ve lost if I wasn’t so good and you weren’t so...human.” Viridi’s chuckle sprouted into an earthly laugh. Daisy stood up and walked over to the shelf where the plant stood. “Talk to the Plant, girl.” Viridi gave a quaking laugh.
“No, you listen to the human.” Daisy took one last sip of her tea.
“Let’s face it Viridi, your plan has a few holes. You say that in order to save nature, one must reject humanity.” Daisy said with her most devout voice. “But humanity is not the worst.” she continued. The plant smiled. “You call me Princess of Parks.” Daisy spoke. “And you’re right, we may not be goddesses, Peach and I. We’re still on the fence when it comes to Rosalina. But princesses have a power that you as a goddess have yet to master. And that’s..”
Viridi interrupted her. “Heh, I never pegged you as the person to preach friendship.” Viridi sighed. “I’m disappointed in you.”
Daisy smiled smugly. “No, I’m not talking about friendship here. What I’m talking about, it’s the power of competition.” Daisy said.
“Competition has lead our race to bloodshed to both nature and mankind itself, but it also drives us to be the best version of ourselves. Whether it’s on the race track, the party board or Battlefield, competition has driven us to inspire others and find other people to love, while we climb towards the top you godessss so proudly possess. Competition and survival has fostered bonds stronger than even your nature, but it’s no use to destroy that power.” Daisy clenched her fist. “If you manage to use that power though, I’m sure our precious planet Earth is saved in no time.” Daisy made sure to emphazise their common goal.
Viridi scoffed. “I have no use of you roaches.” she said.
“You can wage war all you want on us roaches, but our ability to rally together is far stronger than your bombs and we’ve proved it so far.” Daisy got more smug with every smooth one-liner the politician belted out. The plant didn’t reply, however.
Dark Pit glared at his wife. “You have no right to talk to a member of the pantheon like that. I serve Viridi and yet your blabbering mouth insists on disrespecting her and her cause.”
The door opened. A small blonde girl with a staff walked through. “It’s fine Pittoo. I’m not that easily angered.” Viridi spoke, appearing in the apartment for the first time in her own body. “Besides, she’s got a point. I’ve seen her work in those seven seasons of Parks and Recreation. Hillarious, obviously. She may be heavily overestimating the strength of the little roachy blot on this earth called humanity, but I’d like to hear her out.” Viridi sat down on the stool opposite from the green sofa. “I’m here to give you a job, Daisy.” she said while dramatically sliding a file across the table. Daisy opened the file. A logo of bloody flower circled around the yellow bud prominently featured on the first page.
“Project Crimson Flower.” Daisy read the title out loud.
“My newest masterplan.” Viridi proudly declared. “A group of elites destined to rule a world that has done away with humanity’s.....less desireable qualities.” she continued. “You might know one of them as your spouse over here.” Viridi pointed to the picture of Dark Pit in the file.
“Codename Nemesis.” Daisy muttered. “Oh hey, you got Phosphora there as well.” she said excitedly. “Not her best picture, to be fair.” Viridi nodded. “She’s looked better.” Dark Pit chipped in. “Yeesh, what happened to her?”
“So why do you need me for this?” Daisy asked the goddess. “I’m sure Dark Pit can kill everyone in the world with ease.” Daisy said while she held his hand. “He’s really good at sniping.” Dark Pit nodded.
“I know, you can be proud of your angel.” Viridi smiled. “But he’s best in the shadows.” Viridi leaned over the table. “However, I think it’s time to bring my divine right to the surface. The darkness is covered. Hubris has been succesfully met with retribution thus far. Your partner’s business trips, so to speak.” Daisy kept holding Dark Pit’s hand. She felt stronger now that they shared this moment.
“But now, I’m bringing another jewel to my collection. One that shines in the light. One that brings balance in this dark world. Don’t worry, it’s no killing job. That would be highly inefficient, considering you’re human.” Daisy scowled. “No, I am tapping into your....unique talents.” Viridi smiled.
Daisy glowed. “I’m pretty good with a baseball bat, I’m sure that with enough training I might be able to take you on!”
Viridi held in a snicker. “Absolutely not. And yet, it’s this optimism I’d like to employ. Humans aren’t strong, smart, tactical, good with weaponry, magical or even generally good morally.”
Daisy nodded. “Dumbass and proud.”
“Thank you for proving my point. But humans don’t like hardships, which is weird considering they cause it every day. And yet they keep fighting and try to defy gods. It takes guts to do that, mostly in the place a good set of brains should be. Gods don’t need optimism, because they have power. They don’t have to fight for more, because they have everything. But humans don’t have anything, so they have to hold onto whatever they have and scrap for more. More wisdom, more power and more courage. Forever.” Viridi chuckled. “Well, not forever. But you get the gist.”
Viridi showed some fragments of Daisy’s time at the Parks and Rec department. “Look at you, rallying those humans together. You’ve had hardships, you’ve seen humanity’s greed with your own eyes. Taco stand owners that hold onto their money at the expense of whoever’s in their way. Opportunists that sow chaos for their own gains.” Viridi closed the hologram.
“And yet you don’t get lost. You keep screaming your name and continue to fight for what you believe is best. That’s the quality of a princess, and I need that grit.”
Daisy nodded silently. She honestly thought Viridi was joking, but the file looked pretty legit. Plus, she was sure Viridi would melt if she had to praise humans for a gag. Viridi nodded in return and magically lit up a portrait on the page. ‘The Two Jewels’. Daisy looked at it. It didn’t feature the whole army this time. In fact, it had only two pictures. Dark Pit’s....and hers..
Daisy once again read the caption.
“The Adrestia, Princess Daisy”
“The Inescapable, She who brings the equilibrium.” Viridi translated. “She who fights against the darkness, not by reducing the darkness, but by bringing light. Your political experience, connections and fame wouldn’t be wasted talking to dog owners or fetching a mini dinosaur, but to give back Earth her beauty and her nature and by fighting the human greed that has cast its darkness over this world for too long. Your voice will be inescapable, your name unavoidable.” Viridi smiled. “But this time for a cause that will reshape the world.”
The words echoed through Daisy’s head.
‘The Adrestia, Princess Daisy’