Chapter 3: Pies For All

In the shadow realm, the four demons were searching for another dreamer since Viridian successfully snatched the dream life force from Dom. Then, the bobcat demon grabbed the picture of the golden kangaroo who was wearing the red simple-dots dress.

"Hmm, I'll pick this one!" said the bobcat demon greedily. "I'm pretty sure this one holds a unique dream!"

"Sure, suit yourself, Dalilah," said the reptile demon sarcastically.

"Now, what kind of support did you just give me, Solomon?"

"Just do your job already, will you?"

After a bitter chat between the two demons, Dalilah shrugged it off as she began to search for the dreamer. While Solomon was chilling out, he licked his lips and snickered when she was gone.

At the island of Triforce, there was a kangaroo who decided to camp here for only day. While she was staying, she was looking up the recipe from her smartphone. As soon as she found one, she went out to look for the ingredients. Suddenly, Vicki saw the kangaroo camper who was gathering the apples from the apple tree. So, she wanted to find out of what she's been up to.

"Hey Carrie!" Vicki called happily. "What are you doing?"

"Oh hey, I was just planning to make an apple pie," Carrie the kangaroo answered. "But first, I need to gather some ingredients, little one..."

"Ah, I see! Can I help?"

"If you can lend me some ingredients, then sure! I can use some help here!"

"Okay, what ingredients do you need, besides apples?"

While Carrie told Vicki about what ingredients she needed, Sammy and Jimmy popped out their heads from the bushes. They overheard everything from the female characters and started licking their lips. They couldn't wait to try out Carrie's pie. Until suddenly, someone was standing right behind them and started clearing his throat.

"Ahem, may I ask what are you two been up to?" Robert asked, as he crossed his arms and stared at the twins after they've been caught for eavesdropping.

"Uh, we were just...looking for something," Sammy replied, as he came up with a lie.

"Y-Yeah, what he said!" Jimmy agreed.

"Oh sure, what are you looking for exactly?" Robert asked, as he furrowed his eyebrow. "Maybe, I can help you with that?"

Sammy and Jimmy shook their heads in response and didn't need Robert's help after all. The island representative chuckled slyly and had a feeling of what they're really up to recently. He cracked his knuckles as if he was sensing a lie from those two and grabbed one shoulder of each twin. Suddenly, he bonked their heads and pushed them to the ground.

"Um, good luck for finding whatever that is, and I hope you will found it soon..." Robert grinned slyly, as he was walking pass the twins who rubbed their heads and shoulders very lightly.

Vicki was helping Carrie mix the ingredients in order to make the apple pie. First, they made the pie crust; second, they added the apple filling into it; and third, they placed the flat dough onto the apple filling and pressed the doughs together on the edge of the pie pan. Vicki used the fork to poke the crust in the center of the pie to make the tiny holes. Finally, Carrie took the prebake pie, put it into the brick oven, and wait for twenty to thirty minutes before the pie was served.

"There! That should do it, little one!" said Carrie in triumph.

"Alrighty then!" said Vicki happily. "While we're at it, I'm going to clean these up and wash them at my house, Carrie. So, I'll be right back!"

Vicki gathered up all the bowls and utensils and started walking to her house. When she saw Robert who was passing by, he helped her carrying some stuff and went straight to her home together. They cleaned the bowls, measuring spoons, and measuring cups at the kitchen sink. Once they were done, they were resting at the couch for just a bit before they were heading back to see Carrie. All of the sudden, they heard a familiar voice that came out of nowhere.

"Help, protect the dreamer who dreams of making the best pies of all..." Luna echoed desperately, as Vicki and Robert immediately woke up from their naps.

"Ah, could that be the warning from Luna?" Robert asked shockingly.

"Yeah, it sure is!" Vicki replied. "'A dreamer who dreams of making the pies of all?' I wonder if she's referring to...Carrie?"

"You mean, the camper who camps here just now?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Vicki and Robert hurriedly went back to see Carrie before something would happen to her. They immediately left Vicki's house and Vicki quickly shut the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Carrie took out the pie from the brick oven and started smelling it. She glanced at the light-browned, well-done pie and sighed happily. Before she started to slice the pie for herself, she saw the girl with the orange hair, which it was tied in a ponytail, and wore a purple dress.

"My, my, that pie looks so delicious!" said the orange-haired girl gleefully. "You made this yourself, right?"

"I-I did, but someone actually helped me though..." Carrie answered, as she was being flustered.

"How very sweet...So, did you like baking pies, like this one?"

"Why, of course I do, little one! I love to bake all different varieties of pies, not just apple pie though."

"Ah, I see... In that case, I might as well take your dream life force away from you! Ha ha ha!"

The orange-haired girl revealed to be the bobcat demon, Dalilah. Once she revealed her true form, Carrie gasped and started to panic. The demon used her power to steal the kangaroo's dream life force. After that, Carrie transformed herself into the nightmare monster. As soon as Sammy and Jimmy regained their consciousness, they immediately spotted the bobcat demon and the vicious monster. Their faces suddenly turned pale while they were standing there frozen stiff and their mouths were wide-opened. Once again, they fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Vicki and Robert found out that they were too late. Carrie got turned into a nightmare monster after Dalilah took her dream life force. So, it's time for the duo to transform into their hero forms. Phantom Angel immediately kicked Dalilah from behind and crashed her to the ground. The bobcat demon stood up and glared at the dynamic duo.

"Ugh, just who are you people?" Dalilah asked, wearing her disgusted look on her face. "And why do you have to interfere?"

"We are the Duo of Justice, of course!" Phantom Angel replied. "The name's Phantom Angel, the hero of melody and purity!"

"And the name's Masked Swordmaster, the hero of strength and intelligence!" Masked Swordmaster replied. "And as for why we 'interfered' you, that's because we're going to stop you from whatever it is you're planning with those dream life forces you stole from the dreamers!"

"Oh, do you mean this one?" Dalilah asked, as she was pointing at the mystical light orb in her hand. "Well, I'm afraid it's a top secret, so I'm not telling to either of you!"

"Then, we're going to have to force you instead!" said Phantom Angel, as she took out her dream rescue staff and tapped it very lightly on the palm of her hand.

"Sorry, I don't have time for this, angel cake... But this nightmare monster sure has plenty of time to deal with you both. Until then, enjoy your fight in misery and farewell!"

After Dalilah disappeared with the dream life force in her hands, the Duo of Justice were now dealing with the nightmare monster who turned out to be Carrie. The kangaroo monster unleashed her power of the pies and started throwing them at the dynamic duo. Phantom Angel and Masked Swordmaster quickly dodged them because they realized that they were not ordinary pies. They were like bombs or smokeballs that could be hazardous more or less. Each "mystery" pie contained explosion, toxic, icy wind, and shockwave.

"Whoa, as far as I can tell, those pies are, so, not edible!" Phantom Angel exclaimed. "They are, so, like dangerous AND disaster if you ask me!"

"I'm fully aware of that!" said Masked Swordmaster, being frustrated. "But the big question is how do we stop this monster when she keeps throwing pies at us?"

"How about one of us has to distract her while another has to stop her somehow?"

"That is a good suggestion! How about you distracting her while I'll do something to stop her in the meantime?"

Phantom Angel nodded. "Y-Yes, I'll distract her as much as I can."

"Okay, let's get this show on the road! And just be careful out there, Phantom Angel!"

The Duo of Justice started to split up in order to stop the nightmare monster. Phantom Angel was distracting her while she was throwing the hazardous pies. Masked Swordmaster was heading for cover in order to avoid the nightmare monster. He took out his newly and updated cannon called the shooting star rescue cannon. He immediately aimed at the monster from behind and ready to fire.

"Rescuing cannon sticky goo!" Masked Swordmaster shouted, as he fired the nightmare monster with the sticky goo.

Once the nightmare monster became immobilized, this was the chance for Phantom Angel to turn Carrie back to normal. She used her healing magic on the evil kangaroo so her normalcy would finally return. Carrie fainted and collapsed to the ground after the nightmare curse suffocated her.

Few hours later, Carrie served the apple pie and gave each slice to Vicki and Robert, including herself. Two humans and the kangaroo camper were ready to dig in. While they were eating, Sammy and Jimmy were finally awakened and smelled the apple pie. They were begging Carrie for a piece of pie, and she served them right away. They immediately grabbed their slices from her and started chomping down. Vicki chuckled at them anxiously while she was staring at them. Robert, on the other hand, sighed heavily and shook his head in disbelief. Everyone was glad that Carrie's pie was the best thing ever!