By the time the Devil and Dice arrived back to the Inkwell Hell Casino, sure enough, complete chaos was overrunning it. All of the regular customers have already fled and once they went inside, they saw the place was totally wrecked from the big battle against the meanie-bags. Everyone was ecstatic to see the Devil and Dice again. The true owners of the casino… It hadn't been easy but somehow the 9 casino employees managed to restore order to the casino and destroy all the meanie-bags that have been wreaking havoc.

"Except for one," Hopus pointed over to one meanie-bag still hoping around on the dining-tables. "I was hoping to keep it as a pet?" But the stern disapproving frowns from both the Devil and Dice said it all. "Right… I'll get rid of it," Hopus said sheepishly.

The Devil walked among the ruined remains of his casino and still couldn't stop frowning and shaking his head. "Look at this mess. It's going to take forever to get this place up and running again." The Devil was already summoning his loyal imps. "Get this place cleaned up, straighten out the kitchen, and fix some of the property damage," he asked them.

"It's not so bad, boss," Dice said while picking up a broom and started to help with the cleanup. "Although I think you might want to send an imp to clean up your office. It's a real dive in there."

With the help of Hopus, Pip and Dot, Pirouletta and Phear Lap, they've managed to fix the casino back up. Hopefully by tomorrow things could go back to normal. The Devil had gone to clean his office and catch up on his mail, documents and other business dealings. It took the whole day to get the casino back into shape again. Dice was starting to feel really good and was happy to take a break with the others. The Inkwell Hell Casino was his home. It was the only place he'd truly felt like he belonged. Here with his employee friends and the Devil… The others were itching to know of Monty Bank's fate.

"Ha! Eaten alive by a chest-monster… It's exactly what he deserved after all the problems he'd caused around here," Wheezy said after Dice told them what happened at the mausoleum.

"I feel sorry for the chest-monster," Chips Bettigan piped up. "That ol' chest monster is gonna have one major bellyache for swallowin' that gross thing called Monty Bank!" Everyone laughed.

"(Hic) Drinks are on me! Everybody drink up!" Rumulus said, going around with a tray of drinks.

While the others continued conversing with each other, Dice looked thoughtfully down at his Inkwell Soda. He'd been distracted with cleaning up the casino all day that he didn't have much time to think. But now that he sat here listening to the other conversations, Dice realized that something's been on his mind all day. Now Dice got up and decided he needed to see the Devil. His poker-cards curiously watched him leave while keeping guard around his Inkwell Soda he left behind.

The Devil was in the middle of straightening his papers and filing away documents when he heard a knock at his door. When he turned around, he saw it was Dice. "You have a moment?" Dice asked him. The Devil nodded and Dice stepped inside.

Dice didn't know where to start. These old issues that kept surfacing in him… Maybe it was time to talk about them. But before Dice could get a word out, the Devil was already taking Dice into his arms and his lips found Dice's. For a moment, Dice took this precious moment to lose himself in the Devil's passionate kiss, to cherish being in his arms and feeling the Devil's tail wrapping around his waist possessively. The Devil's caressing lips left him breathless and weak in the knees as always. And finally the Devil drew back with fire blazing in his ruby-red eyes.

"I don't think I've thanked you properly for coming to my aid," the Devil explained to a love-struck Dice. Still holding Dice close, the Devil rubbed his head affectionately into Dice's die-head. "I'm sorry. Did you have something you wanted to say?"

It took a moment for Dice to remember why he came here if not for the Devil's attention. "Listen… What happened back there at the mausoleum…?" Dice hesitated and wondered how to put it into words. He's never had to talk about it before. It's always been something he avoided addressing. "I did tell you I had a pretty lousy childhood. I grew up at the orphanage."

"Dice…," the Devil started but Dice held up a hand.

"Wait… Just let me say this. What I didn't tell you was that I was badly mistreated at the orphanage. A day didn't go by where they made me feel unwanted and unwelcome. Nobody wanted to adopt me. They treated my presence as an annoyance and inconvenience. I got fed up with their cruel treatment of me. So I left and I've been living on the streets ever since. In a lot of ways, I think it still affects me."

Once Dice finished, he looked into the Devil's eyes and realized he felt finally felt better to say it out-loud. The Devil gazed back at him and actually smiled. "Dice, I've known all along what was buried in your soul." When Dice gave a look of surprise at this, the Devil chuckled and thought he better explain himself. "You still haven't figured it out? The real reason why I've hired you above all the others?"

Taking Dice's hands into his, the Devil smiled into Dice's eyes. "You were smooth and charming when I first laid eyes on you. But the second I looked into your very soul, I knew. You'd known suffering; you've been cast aside too. You were lost and forever unwanted. You've been hated and made into the villain. I looked at you… and I saw myself. Nobody knows that kind of pain better than I. You reminded me of me. That's why I chose you."

It was times like this that Dice forgotten how clever the Devil could be sometimes. "You're the only one who's ever treated me with any respect and saw my self-worth. I'm going to Inkwell hell for this…," Yet Dice grinned wickedly. "But it'll be worth it."

The Devil and Dice shared another kiss and an embrace. From that moment on, the two went on to become the two most villainous characters on Inkwell Isles. Everyone soon knew both their names. Together with the Devil's devious schemes and King Dice's conniving ways, they made for a deadly duo. The Devil's Casino only continued to grow in power and prestige. It was the most dangerous place and many concerned parents were warning their children to never deal with the Devil. Thanks to King Dice's skills in conning suckers, the Devil earned a lot of soul-contracts from many citizens of Inkwell Isles. The Devil and King Dice were at the top of their game.

Until one day, two little cup kids ended up stumbling across the casino and decided to gamble for fun. But as they say, folks. The rest is history…

The End

Welp it's finally finished. I'm glad I was able to rewrite this like I did. I personally think it's better than my last one. I thank you my reading peeps for reading this until the end. You've all been wonderful. Stay safe, stay healthy and have yourself a fun summer!

Sincerely, ActionGal07 A.K.A AG07