Cerise met up with her parents and swept the crumbs off her dress. Her dress had a red knee length skirt with maroon puff sleeves. It was her favorite, and she wore it when visiting Uncle Mugman, Aunt Cala, and her cousin, Shelby. These visits were frequent, a once a week occasion.
Cerise, her father, and her mother met up with their relatives, and Cerise hugged Shelby's slightly pudgy body. Her father interrupted the girls, and Uncle Mugman had one more thing to say as well.
"Girls, one more thing," her father and Uncle Mugman added.
"Oui, Papa?" Cerise asked.
"Please don't go into suspicious looking places. I dealt with it before."
"The same goes for you, Shelby," Mugman said, "You shouldn't even go there too considering…and Cerise…Just be by her side but…"
"Are you okay, Pa?" Shelby asked.
"It's…complicated."
Shelby nodded and adjusted her blue skirt, tank top, and teal, beaded bracelet. She has been with Cerise before, but Cerise…
"I'll be fine. I've been exploring befo—" Cerise said.
"Cerise!" Shelby said.
"Well then, go ahead. Also, Cerise, please use your judgement," Cuphead said.
Cerise smiled and nodded. She and Shelby bolted outside of the house. This will be the best day of my life.
"Are you sure we should do this," Shelby asked.
"Don't worry, we've been adventuring for a while," Cerise said.
The girls ended up at a Casino. The place seemed empty, but a feminine looking devil and dice headed man showed up in front of the Casino.
"I'm so sorry for startling you, my name's Clover," the feminine looking devil said.
"And I'm King Dice," the dice headed looking figure said.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Cerise, and this is my cousin—"Cerise said.
"Shelby," Shelby said.
"Do you wanna play a memory game?" Clover asked.
"Yeah, we'd love it! but we were going for an adventure. We needed something new for once."
The girls headed to the Casino, and they played memory games with cards. King Dice applauded and praised Cerise and Clover: Shelby was about to play, but the girls were interrupted by someone with a devilish looking face.
"Excuse me, number one, I need to talk to those girls," the devilish man said with a grin.
"Oh, sorry, sir, but did we do…something…wrong?" Shelby said.
"No…it's just for personal matters, nothing bad really."
Shelby quivered. Can you blame her? No? Yes? Maybe? A shame the girls didn't…but Cuphead told them not to go to suspicious places. Intriguing.
Cerise never cared. She never cared about anything. All she cared about was..this. She got her and Shelby in danger no matter what, but Shelby stood by Cerise's side even if Cerise was…
The girls headed to the Devil's office, and the Devil plopped his butt to his seat.
"I heard you want an adventure, right?" the Devil asked.
"Yes, we do! We'd do anything for that!" Cerise said.
"Okay, calm down! If you want this offer, go for it, but we have to get to the bottom of this!"
Cerise and Shelby looked at each other as they stood around. The Devil picked up a book from his shelf as well as a piece of parchment from under his desk.
"Where were we?" the Devil muttered, "Oh, right. Hold on a moment."
The girls climbed to a pair of chairs. The girls fanned themselves with their hands, and Shelby wet herself with water from her hand. Cerise's dark chocolate ice cream hair drooped all over the floor, and Shelby…ended up sweating. Shelby's dead octopus sagged in her head with all of them ending up sweating…except for the Devil.
"Aha! Well, I'll give you an adventure for once," the Devil said, "However, if you refuse, I'll take your souls! Besides, you don't want to be on my list, do you?"
"What list?" Cerise said.
"It's a party list my daughter was putting up."
"By the way, was your daughter the one playing cards with us?"
"Yes, that's her. She's just wonderful, isn't she?"
Cerise and Shelby nodded and smiled. The girls noticed the resemblance in Clover, but Clover wore a purple suit while her nose was small, round, and purple. Could she be…no. Perhaps.
"You know what, mister, I can't say no to an adventure! I'll take the offer," Cerise shook the Devil's hand, "Thank you."
"This isn't a good idea, this isn't a good idea," Shelby muttered.
"Well, good luck on your adventure!" the Devil said.
The Devil grabbed his pitchfork, pointed it to the girls, and he casted them up into the air with it. The girls vanished out of sight in his office. The Devil sat back on his chair.
Cerise ended up at her home, and the same things were in her room. She hopped out of her bed and walked around the corridors and hallways.
"Maman, Papa," Cerise called, "Oh wait a minute."
Cerise ran outside and looked for Shelby since she and her family were visiting her, Uncle Mugman, and Aunt Cala. They weren't missing or something, but if her father and her mother visited Shelby, then Shelby would've had a say in it.
As Cerise ran for help, Shelby ran as well. They bumped and clinked heads into each other.
"This was such a bad idea! This was such a bad idea! Cerise, what were you thinking?!"
Cerise shrugged, "I don't know, but have you seen my parents?! I swear they're at your place!"
"Well, my parents are gone, and I tried calling Aunt Bon Bon and Uncle Cups. I tried and I tried, but it turns out they're gone too!"
"Shells, calm down. Maybe, it's your parents and my parents that are gone. There could be others here, not gone."
"Are you sure?"
Cerise turned around, but she turned to glance back at Shelby. Cerise moved her head up as well as wiped the tears on her face. Shelby embraced Cerise, but Cerise couldn't breathe.
"Yes, and we can call our friends for help," Cerise said, "Spiro, Cole, Zephyr?"
"Where are you, Zeph? Where are you, Spiro," Shelby said.
No response came out. The wind roared, and the crickets chirped. It seemed like Cerise and Shelby were the only ones there, no one responding to them or the sounds of crowds. Nothing came out and about.
Cerise and Shelby walked around to a house wrapped around in vines. It must've been Cole, Cole Carnation. He always grew vines and flowers all over the place. Cole and his brother, Zephyr, kept on calling as well.
"Mommy, Daddy, where are you?" Zephyr asked.
"Mom, Dad?" Cole asked.
Cole always wore a leotard with see through ruffled sleeves and skirt, and he always had a flower on his head as well. He swung vines in front of everyone and anyone including his brother.
Zephyr looked like a gardener. Well, for his outfit, but he wore his outfit with suspenders.. He sat in his cloud without getting down.
"Hey Cole. Hey Zephyr," Cerise greeted, "Are you having the same problems as us? Missing parents?"
"Speaking of missing parents, what happened to them? All of them? My parents have been missing," Cole added.
"Really? Hilda and Cagney have been missing too? Huh."
"Apparently so."
"I guess it wasn't my parents, aunt, and uncle then."
Cole glared at Cerise. They had been childhood friends for a while, and Cerise had given Cole a kiss on the cheek every time. Cole and Cerise would make great charmers. They always socialized and had fun, but Cerise's recklessness stood out from Cole's.
Cerise glared at Cole, and she always put herself, Cole, and Shelby in danger.
"Were you and Shelby going out somewhere?" Cole asked.
"Well, Shelby and I went to someplace, but missing parents was not expected," Cerise said.
Cerise stood quiet, but she smirked.
"What was that place? Why did you want to go there? Well, have you've gotten an answer?"
"It's not what it seems, Cole. Shelby and I went to the Casino, and all of this happened when the both of us got transported home!"
"Casino? Devil's Casino?"
"It was some dice headed man named King Dice, some girl named Clover, some—"
"Wait, dice headed man…oh wait, he was that guy in the tales. Well, did he wear a purple suit?"
"Yeah."
Cole slapped his face. I hurt Cole. I hurt Cole. Oh crud. No wonder.
"If you do something stupid again, can you please make sure this madness doesn't happen again?!" Cole calmed down, "Why did you even go there?"
"I wanted an…adventure, and Shelby…was doubting everything and anything about the place."
Cole nodded. Cerise looked at Shelby and Zephyr running around as they looked for their parents and yelled their names. It wasn't fair, and it won't be ever again, especially since Cerise and Shelby messed it up. Cerise insisted on going to the place, but Shelby didn't.
Cerise faced Cole again, and she frowned. Cole looked at her with widened eyes.
"Shelby and I will head back to the Casino," Cerise said.
"Well, I'm going with you," Cole said, "I want my parents back too."
"Just hold on a moment, I need to talk to a friend of mine and Shelby's."
Cerise and Shelby left Cole's house, and they called Spiro's name.
"Spiro!" Cerise said.
"Where are you, Spiro?" Shelby added.
A ghost cup resembling Mrs. Chalice showed up.The ghost boy waved "hi" to them.
"Spiro, you're here!" Cerise said, "It's so nice to see you."
"Please be quiet," Sprio said, "You can't let the Devil know about me and my parents' whereabouts."
"Your family was hiding?" The girls whispered.
"Yeah, my mom was able to hide all of us. I gotta go."
Spiro left his place. Spiro's situation was…Mrs. Chalice can get away with things, but Spiro's father was the Blind Specter. It wouldn't have looked pleasant on the list, but…
The Carnation-Berg boys met up with the two girls. Cerise was in front of the gate the whole time. However, they started walking.
All of the kids walked along the Isles. It was a long trip, but they made it through and through. During the walk, two voices from the distance were calling the two girls. Their voices got closer as the kids got closer. They looked like the girls a little bit.
"Girls!" the two fathers said.
"Pa, Uncle, I can explain," Shelby said.
"Papa, Uncle," Cerise said, "I thought you were with them. What happened?"
"We were able to escape," Mugman said, "However, the rest attempted, but they failed."
"So does it mean Maman and Aunt Cala are still there?"
Uncle Mugman nodded. It was true, all true. Cerise couldn't stand all of this, but her mother along with Shelby's mother were far away.
Uncle Mugman continued on, "Your mother…I mean everyone, was captured and under the Devil's arrest. However, we…told you about us. Also, what happened to Chalice and Blind Specter?"
"Don't tell anyone about their location," Cerise and Shelby said.
"So does that mean, Chalice and Specter have been…hiding?" Cerise's father said, "Along with Spiro?"
Cerise and Shelby nodded. They couldn't say anything about the location. Everything about them had to be mentioned: no location, no location at all. No one shoule know about the location at all.
Cerise clinged to her father. Her father made this clear, but Cerise was stubborn and strong willed, way too stubborn and strong willed. She shouldn't have done such things, but she did. She was not just some spitting image of her father with pink skin, she was her father, inside and out. Cerise grew up with her family: her aunt, her uncle, her cousin, and her parents. The Elder Kettle had passed away so many years ago, and the girls were left naive. The girls' fathers took that place instead, they had to.
"J'suis desole," Cerise said, "I should've known that it was bad!"
"Don't blame yourself, Cerise. I was that way too," her father said, "Your uncle and I went to that place, and we were in trouble."
"Were your family and friends captured?"
"No, your uncle and I had to take their souls."
"What?"
Cerise stared and gasped. What was I hearing from this? However, it was for the best. At least Cerise knew better.
"Well, everyone, let's keep going. I've had enough," Cerise said.
Everyone continued walking along the isles again. They all passed the town without saying a word. Cerise walked with her head down. This was the worst decision. Why did I let this happen so bad. How would everyone feel?
Cerise and Shelby walked together. Cerise was wrong, but she'll make up for all the horrible things she's done to everyone, every single one of them.
"How did Uncle Mugs feel about this?" Cerise asked.
"You shouldn't have done all this, going to the Casino and all," Shelby said, "Pa was upset about this."
"Did you tell him it wasn't entirely your fault?"
"I told him about you, and he understood me this time. He was talking about his experiences with Uncle Cups. You're too much like him, and I could just see it, all of it."
The kids and brothers made it to the Casino, the place of misery for everyone. They all fell into debt to the Devil once, then twice for running away from it, and a third time…well…
The rest of the debtors were gone, and everyone was stuck. They didn't know what to do at the moment. Suddenly, King Dice, the Devil, and Clover scared them. The fathers and cousins stayed, but the Carnation-Berg boys ran away..
"Well, well, well," the Devil said, "It looks like those girls are your daughters, aren't they?"
"Ugh, if you're back, who's she?!" Cerise's father pointed at Clover, "Some pawn to your game?"
"Yes…and no!" King Dice horned in, "She's our daughter and Princess of the Underworld!"
The fathers stood clueless, but Clover's resemblance was clear. She invited Cerise and Shelby to the Casino, she did such awful things, and she even had the list of debtors and tracked each and everyone of them down. She was never able to keep an eye on the brothers, not at all.
The fathers and cousins got their guns ready as they pointed at the enemies. They fired at them. It was a big shot since they combined it together. However the Devil, King Dice, and Clover dodged it.
After that, Everything got chaotic as the brothers and cousins continued shooting, and the Devil, King Dice, and Clover continued dodging and running away too. It wasn't just that, but the debtors escaped and joined the fight. All of them used their abilities and aimed at the enemies.
Cole and Zephyr ran to the fight along with their parents. This was gonna be bloody…and chaotic. During the fight, the Carnation-Berg couple ordered the boys to stay low.
The girls' mothers ran to the chaos and to their husbands and daughters. They were glad to see them again. However, Aunt Cala turned into a gorgon, and her mother pointed with her gun as they shielded themselves, the fathers, and the girls.
On the other hand, three ghosts flew around on the spot, and it wasn't just Spiro. However, his parents, Mrs. Chalice and Blind Specter came to battle. They've been hiding for days until now.
The Carnation-Berg boys ran into the fight and joined as well. They couldn't stay low anymore, and the Carnation Berg parents couldn't fight alone. Cole bolted, and he grew flowers every step he went. Zephyr turned into a woman holding a scale.
The Carnation-Berg family combined powers and brought some new ones: Cole turned into a woman in a cloud dress with long curly hair. Zephyr threw star shaped vines like it was a boomerang.
The fighting continued on and on until the Devil and King Dice ended it all right here and there. The Devil, King Dice, and Clover stood in front of everybody. The Devil almost raised his pitchfork, and he did anyway.
The Devil built an arena with his pitchfork, and he put everyone in their seats except for Cuphead, Mugman, Cerise, and Shelby. Mrs. Chalice, Blind Specter, and Spiro sat without the Devil's help.
The Devil shot flames with his pitchfork all over the arena. Cerise ran to it, but she burned her fingers. It was dangerous. Never become drawn to the flames again, the flames of hell, or any flame. She burned many times for it, and it wasn't worth it.
During the fight, Cole grew a vine from the ceiling and climbed it. Zephyr climbed the vine with Cole, and the boys headed there. When Cole and Zephyr finished climbing, Cole got rid of the vine as the boys remained up high in the ceiling. Spiro flew up on his own.
Cerise's father shot with Peashooter and Mega Blast as he let it flew all over the arena. However, the three opponents dodged it and cheated. King Dice thought the shot was over, and he ducked but got burned for thinking it was over.
King Dice launched a stack of flying cards around the arena. It kept flying in swirls until it hit either Cerise's father or Uncle Mugman as they collapsed on the floor. Cerise kept on running until she saw both her father and uncle in trouble although Shelby ran immediately to them. Cerise noticed them and ran immediately towards them.
Uncle Mugman shot with the regular peashooter until he switched to Charge, and the Devil got hit. The Devil suffered a bad headache. Clover and King Dice grabbed the Devil's arms and got him up, but the Devil kept on collapsing. The Devil got back up again.
Clover turned into a snake and slithered around the arena. The cousins and fathers ran as fast as they could, but they fell and collapsed from it. Clover slithered towards them, and she never stopped. However, the girls got back up, and the brothers tried to get up. However, it failed, and the brothers got each others' hands.
Cerise had one more thing in mind. She felt she could try first since everything she did was her fault, and she needed to make up for it. Cerise shot gumballs from her fingers and dodged from Clover as fast as she could. However, she couldn't run any longer. She eventually fainted, burned her face, and got up. However, Shelby shielded her.
"Don't you dare hurt my cousin!" Shelby said.
Shelby used the water gun and changed settings to high pressure, and the water hit so hard. Shelby hit the floor in a sitting position. She got herself back up and ran to Cerise and her family. The Carnation-Berg boys dropped themselves to the arena, and Spiro flew down. Cerise and her family attempted to combine their powers, but the kids got it covered including Cerise and Shelby. The Devil, King Dice, and Clover stopped the kidsas the family and all the debtors left the arena after this.
Cole and Zephyr ordered Cerise's father and Uncle Mugman to leave the arena as they opened an arena gate. Cerise and Shelby followed, but the gate closed on them. Cerise's father and Uncle Mugman already left the arena and remained on the other side of the gate.
"Papa!" Cerise said.
"Just go. You have to undo what you've done," Cuphead said.
"Pa?" Shelby said.
"Just help Cerise. Go now," Mugman said.
Cerise, Shelby, Cole, Zephyr, and Spiro ran and went after the Devil, King Dice, and Clover. Cole shot vine after vine, Zephyr turned into the same woman with scales and spun the weights around him in a big circle, Spiro shot eyeballs, and the girls used their guns.
Clover, King Dice, and the Devil used the same powers they used against Cerise's father, Uncle Mugman, Cerise, and Shelby. On the other hand, the kids have been trying to use their powers, but they were not working. The kids used their powers at once. However, the Devil, King Dice, and Clover did the same until everything hit them. Everyone left the arena for good.
Cerise stood up along with Shelby in front of the crowd, and the rest watched the girls. Most of them stood, scratched their heads, or shrugged, but Cerise's family and friends glared at them or brooded.
"To all Inkwell Isle, I'm sorry for what I've done," Cerise took a deep breath, "I was selfish, and I hurt everyone. All I cared about was trying things and moving forward, but my discovery of the Casino led to trouble. I didn't mean for everyone and anyone to get hurt, but I…didn't know. You don't have to forgive me, but I hope I can stop causing trouble like this."
"Cerise, I forgive you, but don't do this again," Aunt Cala said.
"Yeah, don't. You've probably learned already, but still," Cerise's mother horned in.
"I won't anymore, Maman. I won't do it this time."
Cerise looked at Cole. Both her and Cole looked like a mess: messy hair, tattered clothes, scars, burn marks, and all. However, they made it. They defeated the Devil, King Dice, and Clover for good. Cole and Cerise embraced each other, and Cole gave her a flower.
Cerise thanked him, and Cole smiled and complimented her. Cerise felt the same too as they both blushed. However, Uncle Mugman caught Cerise blushing as he smiled and waved.
The next day passed, and everyone gathered themselves around the Isles. Cerise and Shelby met up with Cole and Zephyr while the parents partied and hung out. The kids along with the girls hung out as well while Spiro, Mrs. Chalice, and Blind Specter weren't able to show up.
Cerise hugged Cole one more time, and Cerise gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. However, Cole was dazed, in shock, and fainted in front of the kids. Perhaps Cole had a soft spot after all.
