Hey, guys! It's been a while since I actually sat down and began a FanFic. With my finals over, I have a LOT more time to just write. I really, really love this game. I only have a few more bosses to beat for "S" rank. I thought it would be fitting to create something about a franchise that I adore. I actually have most of this story thought out and parts of it written, it's just a matter of putting it altogether.
This type of writing is new for me, as I've never made a FanFic where a character I create takes more of a prominent role. I'm always afraid they will appear to be very Mary-Sue. Haha. My characters usually are in the background in whatever I write, so I'm very interested to see how this story will turn out.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. I love feedback to improve my writing, so I implore you to R&R. Thanks!
"As you can see, the reason these characters from the early to mid thirties are coined 'rubber-hose' is due to their loose nature with their movements..."
Cassie rolled her eyes as the professor continued talking about the history of rubber-hose animation. She was excited to begin animating, as it had been her life-long dream for as long as she could remember. But was the course "A Brief History into Animation" really necessary? Based on the professor's immense detail of how the different characters moved, talked, and whatever else about rubber-hose, it was anything but brief. It was only week two into the course; Cassie already dreaded how the remaining thirteen weeks would pan out.
She tucked her caramel colored hair back behind her ear as she continued to jot down notes, but mostly doodling different Disney characters. It was the most enjoyment she was getting during the entire hour and a half long lecture.
She turned her gaze at the pencil in her hand. Cassie read the etching, "All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. - Walt Disney." She placed her thumb over the quote, feeling the different grooves the lettering made into the pencil. It was a gift from her mom before she began animation school. She smiled and started to twiddle with the writing utensil between her fingers.
Cassie glanced at the clock and slightly smirked. Only five more minutes until freedom. This was her last class of the week. Less than three-hundred seconds until Netflix, wine, and more doodling.
"And now, class, I have an assignment for you."
The group of about twenty people collectively groaned. The professor just looked at everyone with a plastered smile on her face.
"I want you to research a certain character based on this style of animation-"
Oh, that's easy. Cassie thought. I'll just pick something that Disney did.
"-that is not Disney related."
Her eyes widened, as a few people groaned again.
"I want you to present the character of your choice for four minutes. You can use whatever medium you want, PowerPoint, poster, I don't care. This is due on Monday. Your presentations will be Monday as well. Have a good, productive weekend, everyone."
Cassie sighed and shut her eyes. Welp. There goes my weekend.
She packed up her things and left the room, wondering how in the world she was going to pull off this dumb project. Once Cassie made it back to her apartment, she plopped down on the sofa and buried her face in the flower-printed pillow. After a moment, her face re-emerged, and she huffed.
Cassie glanced around the living room, if you would call it that. It was a small space that fit her sofa, a small table, and a TV stand with a small television. There was a sink and a dishwasher on one side - not even a full kitchen. She gazed at the pine green paint on the walls that had seen better days and had begun to chip off. She looked over to the tiny bedroom attached to the other side of the apartment. It was so small, you could stand in the middle and touch the opposite facing walls. Packing boxes littered the floor, as she was still trying to move in. The state of her apartment mixed with the stress of the project caused Cassie to become annoyed.
Antsy and not really in the mood to begin the assignment, Cassie figured she should start unpacking some more. After all, if she made it further into animation school, she would be living here for the next four years.
Cassie started pulling out various items from the boxes, cursing herself that she was not more organized packing this stuff up before leaving home. After half an hour, various articles of clothing, decorations, and household items surrounded her. She sighed and slumped into the sofa, feeling like she had not even made a dent with unpacking.
The sun came into the window just right, and made an entrance into one of the boxes, shining on one of the last items inside. A golden colored light beamed into Cassie's eyes, causing her to squint. Curious, she peered inside the box and found a familiar book. She anxiously reached inside and pulled it out.
The brown leather cover was worn and more old than she remembered it being. But, she figured, it was likely from the 1930s. The last time her mom read this to her was when she was probably six or seven, but she remembered the book being in better shape. She had only glanced at the book on her shelf at home from time to time, but had not taken the time to read it again. Cassie wiped off the bits dust stuck onto the cover and looked at the title, printed in gold lettering.
"Cuphead: Don't Deal with the Devil."
In the middle of the cover were the two cup brothers, outlined in the same gold that the lettering had. Cassie opened the book and smiled, surprised that even though the cover may have been worn, the contents inside were well kept. She glanced at the pictures and read the story one more time of how the two brothers went to the casino, bet their souls, fought the debtors, and eventually freed them from their servitude to the devil. It was a dark children's novel, but it was somewhat inspirational - how good conquers evil.
Cassie started beaming. This was going to be her project.
But it's not animation... Cassie began to doubtfully think, and her hopes dropped a little bit. Getting an idea, she poured herself a glass of wine, grabbed her laptop, went to the table, and began to do some research.
The topic of Cuphead was harder to find than she had originally thought. Cassie eventually stumbled onto a website that specialized in classic, hand-drawn animation. She found minuscule items about Cuphead, but they were there. Cassie clicked on one of the articles, and read quietly to herself.
"In 1929, Studio MDHR was formed. The company attempted to create a character that was similar to Mickey Mouse in hopes that it would gain popularity. In 1930, Cuphead was born and began to be known in different parts of North America. However, with the Great Depression taking its hold on small businesses, the studio vanished into obscurity not even five years later."
Cassie sat back in her chair, a little saddened by the information. She took another swing of her wine and continued to read.
"They are rare and few and far between, but there still exists small segments of animation," she smiled at that sentence, "where Cuphead and Mugman are fighting their foes, more specifically, the Devil. They also exist in a few short stories, the most well-known one being, 'Cuphead: Don't Deal with the Devil.'"
There are other stories? Huh. I'll have to look into that sometime.
Cassie scrolled to the end of the article, and to her surprise, the "segments" of animation were there. There were only two videos and they were only about thirty seconds long. The one video was of Cuphead and Mugman fighting the Devil, both cups wielding finger-guns. The other one was of King Dice, looking mischievous and sly, while chatting with the two main characters. Cassie's eyes were drawn to the lanky, loose figure of King Dice and she watched the video again.
She realized something. He was not a typical main character, but also not one that is simply in the background. He's unique in that way.
That's it. He's the character I'm going to present.
A sudden knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts. Glancing at her phone, it was 10:30 P.M. Who would possibly be coming over at this time of night? The total of about three people Cassie considered to be friends were not exactly party people. Cassie cautiously moved to the door, still unsure of the relatively new environment she was living in. Shady people could be anywhere, and there was no peep-hole in the door to check who exactly was outside. She slowly opened the door, to find not a person, but a relatively small box on the floor of the hallway.
Cassie picked up the box. It was very, very light, and she questioned if anything was even in there. She looked to find a label of any kind to see who sent this to her, but... nothing. The box was blank on all sides. Glancing around her environment, she checked to make sure nobody was around. Cassie then swiftly moved back inside, and locked the door.
She walked back to the desk and gingerly placed the container on the surface, wondering what in the world was inside. Eager and nervous, she quickly opened the box to find a... pencil?
It was a dark blue with silver swirls and curls that you would only see if the light hit the writing utensil right. Playing with it between her fingers, it didn't feel like a normal pencil. It was smoother and softer, but still felt sturdy. Something etched near the eraser caught her eyes. She read the letters and felt her eyes go wide.
"To C.E.M."
Cassandra Elizabeth Martin.
Those were her initials.
She dropped the pencil on the table in shock, and to her surprise, the tip did not break off. Tentative, Cassie decided to pick it up again, and had an idea, wanting to play around with this mysterious pencil. She used the book as a reference, and began to draw. When Cassie was done, she held up the paper, feeling satisfied. The drawing of King Dice looked almost identical to the one in the book.
Damn. If I was alive in the 1930s, the studio should have hired me. Cassie thought. She walked to the couch and placed the paper in her backpack, not wanting to lose the drawing for her project in the clutter of her new apartment.
Cassie flipped through the book again, and looked at the two brothers. Their style was so simple, but still likable. She stared at Cuphead, her urge to draw still strong. Cassie wanted to have as much fun as she could with this dumb project.
"Ah. What the heck? I'll draw him for fun." she proclaimed out loud to nobody else in the room.
The drawing of Cuphead did not take nearly as long, as he was not as detailed as the King. She held the finished drawing, slightly smiled, and put it back onto the table.
Cassie pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. 11:26 P.M. She had worked on this project for longer than she thought. A yawn had made its way out of her mouth and she smacked her lips. With the mixture of staring at the laptop screen for a few hours and the buzzy feeling from the wine, Cassie was more tired than she thought she would be at this time of the night. She made her way back over to the couch, pulled up a blanket, and propped her head on the same flowery pillow as before.
A few minutes of shut-eye wouldn't hurt... Then I'll get back to work...
"Cassie!" a small voice called out, but to no avail. She was still sound asleep. The only movement she made was flipping from her right side onto her back.
"CASSIE!" the voice cried louder. That jolted her awake. In a swift, ungraceful movement, she fell from the sofa onto the hardwood floor with a firm 'thud', limbs flailing and thrashing in the blanket surrounding her. She stood up, groaning and still half asleep, looking around for the person who called her name.
"Mom? Is that you?" she asked. Cassie glanced all around the apartment, confused. There was nobody anywhere - she was alone. Cassie looked at the time. It was 2:56 A.M. She sighed, exhaustion beginning to settle in. Convinced that she was probably dreaming, she sat back on the sofa and started to lie down again, her eyes getting heavy.
"No! Over here!"
What the hell?
Cassie stood up, a touch more quickly this time, and slowly walked toward where she heard the voice coming from. She ended up at the desk - the only things there were her laptop and the drawing of Cuphead.
"Huh. That's strange," she pondered aloud. Cassie looked at her laptop, wondering if she possibly left any of the tabs open. That would have made the most sense, but nope. She closed all of them before she took her nap. She looked toward the ceiling, slightly puzzled.
"If it wasn't my computer making the noise, then what else could it be?" she asked herself, scratching her head. "The only thing left on the table is the drawing of Cuphead, and it would be absolutely absurd if-"
She looked down at the sketch, not even finishing her sentence.
"Heya, Cassie." the drawing of Cuphead replied, slightly waving his hand at her.
She had never screamed louder in her entire life.
"Shhh. Shhhh," the cup hissed, worriedly glancing around. She wouldn't stop screaming.
Suddenly, Cuphead leapt off the piece of paper, and slapped the girl across the face, finally shutting her up. The petrified look on her face was replaced with one of shock.
"Would you keep it down? Your screamin' makes it sound like you're gettin' murdered or somethin'."
Cuphead sat on the edge of the desk, and looked at the twenty-two year old. Cassie placed her hand on the cheek that was slapped. It stung for a moment, but mostly just startled her. She stared at him, mouth agape.
"So, I drew you, and you came to life? You're really just... hanging out here in my apartment?" Cassie asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around this bizarre situation.
"Yeah. Except I'm not the real Cuphead."
What?! Okay. This just got waaay more confusing.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Only my creators drew the real me. Anyone else who draws me, I become a copy. It's the same with all the other characters. The real Cuphead has no idea that I even exist," the cartoon stated, gesturing to himself.
"But how? How is this even possible?"
"It's because of your pencil," the cup replied, pointing to said object on her desk.
"My... pencil?" Cassie picked up the writing utensil that laid so perfectly on the wooden surface. She looked at the initials again, questions appearing in her mind.
Where did this come from? Who even sent this to me?
A light tapping on her forearm snapped her out of her thoughts. "What does C.E.M. stand for?" the cup boy asked.
Cassie looked at him, the thoughts that she was either drunk or dreaming beginning to disappear. He actually tapped her. There was no way she would have been able to conjure up a crazy story like that, even if she was drunk or dreaming.
"They're my initials. Cassandra Elizabeth Martin is my full name."
"Huh. It's almost like the pencil was chosen for you."
"What?" Cassie questioned. This was starting to sound ridiculous.
"The pencil specifically has your initials on it, and it's probably unlikely that someone else in this building has the same exact initials. It's probably meant for you." the copy theorized.
Cassie immediately placed the pencil on her desk. "Hold up. I'm only here to do animation school. I don't want to get involved in any magic mumbo jumbo. I believe in this stuff in Disney movies, but not in real life. I'm out," she held up her arms, pushed herself away from the desk, and stood up.
The lights in the room flickered ever so slightly, making the girl jump. There was a faint rumble of thunder outside. The rain began to tap on the windows, almost begging to be let in.
"This apartment is old. That was probably just the bad lighting in here," she said to Cuphead, but mostly to herself.
"I-I don't know, Cassie," he replied. Her stomach began to twist with nerves. That had never happened before.
"Don't mind my question, but did you happen to draw anyone else with your new pencil?" Cuphead asked slowly.
"Yeah. I drew-" she suddenly stopped, her heart suddenly beginning to beat very fast.
"King Dice..."
Cassie scurried over to her backpack and pulled out the drawing paper from earlier. She gasped as she found that the paper was blank, as if nothing was ever on it. She looked back to the character on her desk, fear in both of their eyes as the rain continued to pound harder. If a copy of Cuphead was able to jump off the paper, that meant that a Dice duplicate was definitely somewhere in her apartment.
Knowing that the King, even just a copy she created of him, was the "Devil's right hand man," immediately made this experience more terrifying.
"Cuphead?" Cassie whispered like a scared little girl. She creeped over to the desk, and clenched the pencil. It wasn't much, but if it was magical, it could be used as defense. "I have a feeling that I'm in danger."
Cassie looked to the character, except he was no longer sitting there. Glancing down, she saw that he was back on the paper, just the way she drew him. The crack of lightning lit up the tiny living room, the thunder accompanying it stirring her fears.
The feeling of being completely alone was eating her up inside. She was confused, scared, and began to convince herself that she hallucinated the whole conversation.
Until she felt something very hard hit the back of her head.
Cassie fell to the floor, seeing many, many colorful stars. She gripped the pencil in her hand tightly as her head pounded. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing for the pain to stop. After a moment, she felt someone... or something begin to attempt to pry the object out of her hand.
She suddenly heard a sizzling sound and a deep voice cry out in pain. Cassie looked up, vision still slightly fuzzy, to see a creature with a lanky man's body wearing a lavender colored suit... with a die for a head. She saw him grabbing his right wrist, and looked at the steam coming from the hand.
The pencil... He got burned from touching the pencil... It wouldn't let him take it!
Cassie looked as the cartoon's right hand sprouted a flame and began to burn. The flames were slowly creeping up his arm. Cassie realized that since he was mostly made from paper, the fire was easily eating him away. Horrified at the scene unfolding, she began to stand up as fast as she could, and made her way toward the door.
"Where do you think you're going, doll-face?" the copy of King Dice asked, and swiftly moved toward her.
Weak and still unsteady, she made her way toward the door. Cassie gripped the door handle, ready to turn it to leave-
But found herself ripped from the door and onto the floor.
Before she could process how quickly Dice maneuvered her body from an upright position to lying on the ground, he placed a foot in the middle of her chest, knocking the air out of her. For being a cartoon, he was much stronger than he appeared to be.
"Since I am unable to send the pencil to the boss without it burning me alive," King Dice explained, casually watching as the flickering flames devoured most of his right arm, "I guess I'll just have to send you with it there instead," he finished, his eyes glowing a wicked emerald.
Before Cassie could say a word, he grabbed the storybook laying on the arm of the couch with his remaining hand, and opened its crisp pages. The book was glowing- wait. It was glowing?! Dice held the book above her as it swiftly sucked her in, Cassie screaming the entire time. When she was gone, he hopped over to the desk, as the flames had consumed his entire right side, and placed the book on top. The King started to cackle, and only ceased to do so when he was nothing but a pile of ashes on the hardwood floor.
And there we have it! Chapter One is done!
FYI: the "history" of MDHR and Cuphead I made up. I played around with it to better fit in my story.
I'm planing on having the next chapter up in a couple days. I'm my own worst critic, and I'll keep revising my chapters until I'm satisfied. Until next time!
-TheLexTurtle