Animal Crossing In Action: Duo Of Justice
Chapter 3: Cherry Blossom Picnic
When the cherry blossoms began to bloom on springtime, Vicki, Serenity, and Lorelei began to smell the air full of cherry blossoms. They saw how beautiful they were. So, Lorelei took a picture of them with her smartphone. Serenity collected some petals and smelled them all at once. Vicki began to daydream while she was feeling the air full of cherry blossoms.
"When you feel the breeze with cherry blossoms, don't you feel the love is in the air with the certain guy you met from the very first time?" Lorelei asked. "I certainly do with Darren by my side!"
"I feel the same way, too, with Nick!" Serenity answered. "And there's no other guy better then him."
Vicki sighed heavily. "You girls are so lucky that you found your own boyfriends; and I don't! I am so jealous now...I wish I have my own boyfriend right about now."
"Oh Vicki, we're so sorry that you don't have one," said Serenity mournfully.
"Yeah, it's so sad that you can't find true love," said Lorelei. "Because my brother feels the same way as you."
"Really? So, he doesn't have a girlfriend at all?" Vicki asked.
"Well...last year, he used to have one. Until several months later, she turned him down, broke his heart, and met someone else. And now, he doesn't have one, not anymore..."
"Oh, that's terrible! Poor Robert, I hope he gets over it, doesn't he?"
"By the looks of it, he never mentions or thinks about her ever again!"
"I believe he's moving on, right?" Serenity asked, as Lorelei nodded at her.
Meanwhile at the gym, Robert started doing the pull-ups with Nick and Darren watching him. After he was all worn out, he landed on his feet and grabbed the towel to clean off the sweats. Nick was so amazed that he hasn't met anyone doing all the workouts, besides the jock villagers.
"I got to say, Robert, how long have you been doing all the workouts like this?" Nick asked.
"Well, for the countless times, but I have to say over a year," Robert replied.
Nick widened his eyes in amazement. "N-No way! A year?!"
"Well, you heard him, Nick," said Darren. "Believe it or not, he does that many times!"
"Wow, if I'm starting to workout, my girlfriend, Serenity will be impressed," said Nick, with a bright smile on his face.
Robert chuckled. "That's what Darren said not too long ago! He wants to make my little sister proud!"
Darren laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah, that is true, but I choose to be myself for now...for Lorelei's sake."
"Say, Robert, do you have a girlfriend by any chance?" Nick asked.
Robert bit his lip and put his towel down. He blinked his eyes for a moment and cleared his throat. He answered, "I used to have one in the past...Until several months later, she betrayed me and fell in love with someone else this whole time. So right now, I don't have one anymore, but I kept on wishing to find true love. Once I will find her, my wish will come true!"
"Man, that's really tough...And my sister kept wishing the same thing!
Robert looked at Nick in surprise. "Oh really?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah, really! Ever since I fell in love with Serenity, she's very envy at me. Because there wasn't a guy who fell in love with her in years, not even she first arrived in StarLily!"
"Is that so?" Darren asked. "That reminds me of Robert, he was so jealous that he couldn't say a word when I first fell in love with his sister."
"Dude, there's no need to remind me, alright?" said Robert abruptly, as he was starting to hesitate. "I think I'm going to hit the showers now. I'll see you later."
At night, Vicki looked up in the sky at the window. She was so desperate that she was hoping to find true love. As soon as she went to bed and fell asleep, she was having a dream. It was the same dream she had once before. She was in her heroic version and met the mysterious guy.
"Um, hello?" said Phantom Angel curiously. "W-W-Who are you exactly? What brings you here? Is there anything I can help you?"
"Actually, it is I, who ask for your help," said the mysterious voice, with the echo sound.
"Then, what kind of help do you want me to do exactly...sir?"
"I'll tell you about it whenever the time is right and not right now I'm afraid..."
After Vicki's dream ended with the shooting star at the night sky, she suddenly woke up by her smartphone. While it was ringing, she quickly picked it up and began to answer.
"H-Hello?" Vicki called in her sleepy voice.
"Hi Vicki, this is Lorelei," Lorelei answered on her smartphone. "Listen, I already asked Robert and Darren about the picnic you planned for today. And they said they will love to come!"
"That's great, Lorelei! Thanks for the response!"
"No problem, Vicki! We'll see you there today!" Lorelei hung up her smartphone, as Vicki did the same thing on her own smartphone.
Later in the morning, Vicki made some sandwiches and packed some food and drinks into the picnic basket. Nick was very curious about her behavior lately. As if he noticed that she wasn't in her usual self lately, then he might want to know right away.
"Hey big sister, I don't want to disturb you and all, but you're acting so strange lately," said Nick suspiciously.
"Oh, what do you mean by that, little brother?" Vicki asked.
"Well, you see...how do I put it this way? Ever since Robert and the others first arrived in StarLily, you're not your usual, normal self anymore. I mean, you're acting so weird lately...Does this have to do with the new hero who saved your life back then?"
Vicki immediately closed the lid of the picnic basket and began clearing her throat. "Nick, listen...Not only he saved my life, but he also helped me fight the new evil in order to save StarLily."
"Yeah, I know. Serenity and I were there and saw everything back then. So, when did you two first met AND where exactly?"
Vicki didn't answer Nick's questions and carried the picnic basket right away. She went by the door and said, "Let's just go then!"
Nick sighed. "Fine, but you didn't even answer one of my questions!"
Meanwhile at the hotel, Robert and the others went downstairs and left. Lorelei carried the picnic basket while Darren put his arm around her. When they saw Robert's face, they thought he was acting so different lately because he hasn't said a word at all.
"Hey big brother, is everything alright?" Lorelei asked. "You seemed to be quiet and acted so strange lately."
"Oh yeah, everything seems to be alright, little sister," Robert replied.
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that! I mean, this isn't like you at all!"
"I have no idea of what you're talking about!"
"You see...when we first came to StarLily, you don't act your usual self anymore. Is this about the cute heroine you saved back then?"
Robert flinched as his face was turning red all over. He gulped and said, "L-Lorelei, t-that doesn't concern to you at all!"
"Oh really? By the looks of it, you seemed to like her after you rescued her from Arrowhead's threats."
"I witnessed that, too," Darren chuckled.
"Anyways, when did you two first met?" Lorelei asked suspiciously.
Robert sighed as he began to clear his throat and said, "Can you guys at least dropped the subject already? Let's just hurry up and get going, shall we?"
"Oh come on! Just answer my question already!"
It's a beautiful day of springtime for everyone to have a picnic. Especially, the cherry blossoms were blooming and its petals fell from the branches. Nick and Serenity sat on one spot of the grass area while Lorelei and Darren were sitting on another spot. Isabelle joined Tom Nook, Digby, and the others at the picnic bench. Vicki decided to have a picnic for herself at the town tree. But Robert decided to join her, instead of joining Lorelei and Darren for the picnic.
"Hey Vicki, don't mind if I joined you?" Robert asked politely. "I would've joined Lorelei and Darren, but I'd rather join you for a change if it's alright with you."
"Oh hi Robert, I wouldn't mind at all; so be my guest!" Vicki replied, as Robert sat down next to her. "Would you like a sandwich? If you like, it's in the picnic basket and help yourself out."
"Why, of course! And thank you very much!" Robert took out the sandwich from Vicki's picnic basket and took a bite out of it. "Wow, this is delicious!"
"Do you like it?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
While Vicki and Robert were enjoying the picnic together, Lorelei took out her smartphone and took a picture of them. Nick was so shocked that his jaws began to drop after he saw them having a picnic together. Until suddenly, Sammy and Jimmy were standing right in front of him and Serenity.
"Hey Nicky boy, Serenity, don't mind if either of you can share us some food?" Sammy asked.
"Yeah, or maybe some leftovers?" Jimmy asked.
"Guys, don't you two make your own food at home?" Nick asked in a disgusted tone.
"Sometimes, but that's not our thing though," Sammy answered.
"Then, why don't you two just pick a fruit from any fruit trees you see?" Serenity suggested.
"Meh, been there, done that!" Jimmy replied.
Sammy took a peek look at Serenity's picnic basket. What he saw were some potato chips and graham crackers. So, he took them away from her basket and started to run off with Jimmy following him.
"We'll just take these, thank you very much!" said Sammy, as he ate some potato chips and gave some to Jimmy.
"Hey, give those back!" Nick and Serenity exclaimed in unison.
After Sammy and Jimmy finished up some potato chips and graham crackers they took from Serenity's basket, they walked up to Lorelei and Darren.
"Well, well, if it isn't Lorelei and Darry boy," said Sammy, "do you guys mind if you can share us some food?"
"If you two are poor, we'll give you some food," said Lorelei sternly.
"But you guys are a bunch of bullies," said Darren arrogantly.
"Oh yeah, how so?" Jimmy asked.
"We saw you both taking some food from every villagers' baskets, including Serenity's!" Lorelei explained.
"So what?" said Sammy. "Even if they don't give us some, we'll take them that wasn't touched or eaten yet!"
"Yeah!" Jimmy agreed, as he was looking through Lorelei's basket and saw a bag of mixed nuts. So, he immediately took it away from her basket and showed it to them. "Like those nuts that you don't need anymore!"
"That's right! And thanks for bringing all the goods! Bye!"
"Wait a minute, they don't belong to you!" Lorelei and Darren shouted, as the Slapjack brothers walked away with their mixed nuts.
After Sammy and Jimmy ate all of the mixed nuts, Sammy threw the empty bag into the trash can. Then, they encountered Vicki and Robert who were sitting at the town tree. When Vicki saw the twins were approaching, she quickly gave some leftover snacks to Robert before she closed her picnic basket.
"What's up, Mayor V, Goldfield?" Sammy asked smilingly.
"It's Goldstein, not Goldfield, Sammy!" Robert corrected him. "And we were just-"
"Hanging out and talking!" Vicki interrupted. "Also, sharing some food with Robert. If you both are planning to take them away from me, then you're not getting anything!"
"Open your basket, Miss Silverwing," said Sammy, getting annoyed.
"Yeah, let us see your basket for a minute!" said Jimmy.
"Dudes, my basket is empty now!" Vicki exclaimed, as she was clutching her basket. "So, there is nothing in there!"
"Just give us the basket, Vicki!" said Sammy, as he took the basket away from her. When he opened it and shook it off, he and Jimmy saw nothing inside of it. "Hey, it IS empty!"
"Yeah, it really is empty!" said Jimmy.
"Well, I told you so!" Vicki argued.
Before Vicki returned her basket from the Slapjack brothers, Robert noticed a loose thread from Sammy's pants. So, he had an idea and whispered to Vicki about it.
"Hey guys, I'll give you an apple, it's on me," said Robert, as he was showing off the apple, Vicki gave him, to the Slapjack twins.
"Do you mean the mayor gave you an apple?" Sammy asked, as he was pointing at Vicki.
"Yeah, we just saw her giving some food to you!" said Jimmy.
"Guys, just take the apple, alright?" said Robert, as he threw the apple and then it rolled down to the town plaza.
Sammy and Jimmy saw the apple rolling and started to chase after it. When Sammy caught the apple, he heard something very unusual like the paper got ripped off, but it was actually a cloth. While he was leaning down, he felt something breezy and ripped on his butt. He touched the back of his pants and found the hole all of the sudden. Vicki and Robert started to laugh, including everyone after what they saw in few seconds ago. Lorelei started to take a picture of Sammy while Nick, Serenity, and Darren continued to laugh out loud. Sammy stood straight up and glared at Robert while Jimmy covered his older brother's bottom with his own jacket.
"You nerd, you will pay for that!" Sammy growled, as he was pointing at Robert. "We'll meet again next time!"
"Yeah, next time is payback for sure!" Jimmy argued, as he and Sammy went home.
Vicki and Robert laughed so hard and then smiled at each other that they completely forgot about the Slapjack brothers. Then, they both looked at the cherry blossoms that were blooming right above them. They began to smell them and then looked at each other. Suddenly, there's a white-spotted, light blue alligator who was right behind them. Her eyes were flashing red as she was starting to flee.
As soon as the alligator went behind the clock tower, she encountered the lady with short, dark green hair and red eyes. When the alligator nodded at her, the green-haired lady used her magic to communicate with someone.
"Master Allen, it looks as though Alli found your rival," said the lady, "and he's having the good time with the mayor of StarLily!"
"Then, I want that guy exterminate once and for all, Ivy!" said Allen. "And make sure the hero of this town, Phantom Angel doesn't get in your way, understand?"
"Yes, master! I'll make sure of that!"
The next morning, Robert came to the town plaza all by himself. He touched the town tree and looked at the cherry blossoms above him. Until suddenly, someone knocked him to the ground. One minute later, he got up and turned around to see who it was. Not only he saw Alli, but he saw Ivy as well.
"Ugh, you...!" Robert groaned. "What are you doing here; and what are you planning to do now?"
Ivy laughed and answered, "Allen wants me to get rid of you, of course." Then, she used her attack right at him.
Robert dodged Ivy's attack and said, "If Allen wants you to get rid of me, then you'll have to fight me first! Knight power action!"
After Robert transformed into Masked Swordmaster, he drew his sword at Ivy and said, "As the hero of strength and intelligence, I won't let you harm anyone in this town! So, come at me!"
"Now, whoever told you I'm after anyone in this town?" Ivy asked. "As I told you before, I'm targeting you, no one else!"
When Masked Swordmaster was flinched, Ivy used her attack once again to stop him. He quickly dodged them and used his sword to cut off her attack. Suddenly, Alli threw the banana peel on the ground, and he got tripped on it that he didn't see that coming. Then, Ivy used her vines to wrap him up and bind him. Masked Swordmaster tried to break lose, but the vines were too strong to break through.
"Good job sneaking up with the banana peel, Alli!" said Ivy, as she praised Alli's approval.
"It's always a pleasure, graaagh!" said Alli. "And the job is yours, Ivy!"
"Very well, I'll send him into another dimension where nobody knows about this, not even Phantom Angel know where that is! And Alli, I'll leave all the guarding to you now!"
"Understood, graaagh!"
After Ivy sent Masked Swordmaster to another dimension, Alli started to walk around the town plaza. She began to grin as her eyes were flashing red.
Meanwhile, Vicki was inside of the Roost to drink her coffee. When she sensed something very troubling, she paid Brewster some bells and left right away. She ran passed Nick and Serenity who happened to stop by at the Roost. She quickly looked around before she could transform into Phantom Angel.
Back at the town plaza, Alli was sitting at the town tree. When someone tapped on her shoulder, she looked over to see who it was, and it was none other than Phantom Angel. Alli tried to run away from her, but the angel stopped the alligator right away by grabbing her arm.
"Stop right there, Alli!" said Phantom Angel. "Just talk to me and answer my question!"
"I have nothing to say to you!" Alli argued. "Just let me go already!"
"Tell me! Who's the boss that brought you here? Because I can tell that you're being brainwashed like the others!"
"I'm not telling you! But you can drag me all you want!"
"What about I'll take you to Booker and Copper instead? So that way, you can tell me everything!"
Meanwhile at another dimension, Ivy's henchmen took Masked Swordmaster, who was tied up to the pole, and put him to the quick sand. While he was struggling to escape, one of her henchmen hammered the pole down and got away from the quick sand right away.
"Well, that is too easy I've got to say!" Ivy laughed. "Once you'll be sinking into the quick sand, you'll be entering to the death zone! And nobody will know that you're here, not even Phantom Angel!"
"You think the quick sand will let me die, huh?" Masked Swordmaster argued, as he clenched his teeth. "I'm afraid it's going to take more than just quick sand, you know!"
"Ha! We'll see about that!"
Back in StarLily, Phantom Angel rushed to the town plaza after she took Alli to Booker and Copper and made her explain everything. When she ran passed Nick and Serenity once again, they decided to follow her as well. As soon as she arrived at the town plaza, she used her new power that she couldn't use before.
"Phantom sonic hearing!" Phantom Angel called, as she placed her hands around her ears and slowly closed her eyes. It took her for a few moments to locate the whereabouts of Masked Swordmaster and the villain. Until suddenly, she heard voices that came out of nowhere. They're not around in StarLily, but they came from somewhere unfamiliar. "Ah, I think I heard them, but the sonic waves led me straight to the town tree?"
"Hey Phantom Angel, what are you going to do?" Nick asked.
Phantom Angel looked at Nick and Serenity and answered, "I'm heading to another dimension..."
"But how on earth are you going to get there?" Serenity asked.
"Well, let's just say...Serena taught me a trick in few weeks ago after Teb was gone forever." Phantom Angel summoned her guardian staff and called out her new, different power. "Phantom teleportation portal!"
After Phantom Angel summoned the portal, she was ready to enter it. Nick and Serenity watched her go through the portal before it disappeared. They hoped that she would return safely from wherever she went just now.
Back to another dimension, Masked Swordmaster was still struggling to get out of the pole and away from the quick sand. Few moments later, something appeared right above Ivy and her henchmen. When they looked up, they saw Phantom Angel falling from the portal. And finally, she landed on them that made Masked Swordmaster chuckled very softly.
"Phew, that went well..." Phantom Angel sighed. "I wasn't expecting that to happen, but I guess that would do!" Suddenly, she spotted Masked Swordmaster who was sinking into the quick sand. "Ah, Masked Swordmaster! I'll get you out of here in no time!"
"Will you get off of me, you clumsy girl?!" Ivy shouted, after she pushed Phantom Angel away from the top of the crowd. "And how on earth did you get into this dimension? I thought nobody would find it!"
"Like, I would tell you that, not! Anyways, let me stop you first! Guardian icy freeze!"
Phantom Angel used her staff to freeze the ground. Not only she stopped Ivy's and her henchmen's feet, but she also stopped the quick sand. Then, she quickly pulled Masked Swordmaster out of there with all her might. She magically enlarged her wings in full power until his feet were out of the quick sand. Finally, she untied him from the pole and summoned the portal to return back to StarLily.
"Oh Ivy, there's something I have to tell you," said Phantom Angel slyly. "Thanks for bringing Alli to StarLily! So, I brought her to Booker and Copper until I'll find a way to bring her back to her normal senses!"
"You did what now?!" Ivy shouted, after she saw the two heroes entered the portal and disappeared. "Hey, get back here! Both of you!"
While Phantom Angel and Masked Swordmaster left the dimension and went through the portal, she had a chance to ask him a question. "Say, Swordmaster, do you know these villains, like Ivy?" she asked. "Because it looks as though that they knew you..."
"Actually yes, I do know them since last year..." Masked Swordmaster replied, without hesitation.
"L-Last...year?"
Masked Swordmaster nodded. "That's right, whether you'd believe it or not."
Before Phantom Angel could say any more, she and Masked Swordmaster were finally arrived back to StarLily. They both made it in one piece and took a look at the cherry blossom of the town tree. After that, there faces were getting closer to each other and slowly reached their lips. But suddenly, Masked Swordmaster shook his head for a bit as he realized something.
"I think it will have to wait for a bit until the time is right for both of us, don't you agree?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, you're probably right," Phantom Angel agreed. "We may not know each other very much, but we just met three times right now."
Masked Swordmaster nodded. "Yeah, that's true; I'll tell you what. I will tell you a bit more about myself and my past if you will tell me a bit more about yourself and your past. How's that?"
"I'm cool with that. I have no problem to tell you about myself or my past!"
"Then, I believe it's settled! And I should be going right now. So, I'll see you next time!"
After the heroes said farewell to each other and parted ways, Phantom Angel looked at Masked Swordmaster and slowly turned away from him. She felt that her heart was starting to beat as she put her hands on her chest and sighed as her cheeks were slightly red. Masked Swordmaster looked at Phantom Angel from behind and quickly looked straight ahead. He sighed very softly and began to smile while his eyes began to twinkle. They both had a very good thoughts about each other that they would never forget.