And on we go! The next chapter will end the DLC arc with King's Leap and we'll get into the last arc of the story before it gets to the cartoon adaptation.
A few fan episodes have already occurred to me but I'm happy to be open to any. Also, feel free to add references from other movies or series.
As for Blood's voice, I would have gone with Jason Dohring who voices Terra in Kingdom Hearts.
Until then
Is it big down here. The three looked around while Mugman was the last to go down the stone stairs. The entire basement was now illuminated. But something was wrong. "Where are all the ingredients?" normally he should have stored them here. Whether for the Wondertart or not. Instead, there were only skulls in the spaces between the columns. Mugman held onto Alicia when he saw one of the skulls. She knew he was afraid and tried to calm him down by taking him in her arms.
Now and then you could see a few barrels but otherwise nothing. That's what they thought until Cuphead saw a pinboard between two columns in which a chef's knife was stuck. But what shocked him the most was the photo with Alicia and Saltbaker. Not only was it creepy enough, but a heart had been drawn around the photo, circling the two of them. "Um Alicia..." She heard him and went to him with Mugman in her arms. Just like Cuphead, they were shocked when they saw the bulletin board. Mugman covered his mouth in shock while Alicia didn't know whether to be scared or angry. "Why does he have so many photos of me and..." She puts Mugman back on the floor as she saw a photo of her mother at the top right edge that had a tear where someone else's face should be. Her father's.
Her eyes changed to her demon eyes. Cuphead sensed her anger and knew why. "What a..." before he could finish his sentence they heard a laugh followed by a cry for help. They knew it was Saltbaker and Chalice. So they followed the laughs until they came to a slight rise with two steps from far away. The door was open and a shadow showed Saltbaker with sharp teeth and raised arms. In his left hand he was holding a kitchen knife that had a crack in it. In general, it looked like they were in the basement of a killer. That would explain the skulls.
"Come on we need to talk to the baker" said Alicia as she walked ahead followed by the two brothers. She went into the room that looked like a generator room. Also, the power box was right next to said generator. Otherwise, it looked like a normal room. If it weren't for the kitchen knives stuck in the table. Saltbaker showed his back to the three until he realized he was not alone. He turned his head and Alicia moved back a bit when she saw the yellow eyes staring at her. "Welcome back, meddlesome brats!" his gaze wandered from the two brothers to Alicia as he grinned. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon". He turns completely around and puts the kitchen knife into the table where the other knives were. His eyes were now even more menacing with the rings.
Cuphead and Mugman, however, were not very impressed by this and stood protectively in front of Alicia which frustrated the baker very much. "No matter, it's too late to stop me now" Alicia didn't know why but she felt something was wrong. But she did not know what it was. "The Wondertart will be my finest work yet!". Cuphead and Mugman growled which pleased Saltbaker very much "A shame I never told you about the most important secret ingredient..." he moved to the side and shows what was behind him. To everyone's shock, it was Chalice locked in a jar. She screams for help, but through the glass it was muffled and could only be heard very faintly. "...A living soul! While you suckers were out doing my bidding, I nabbed your little friend here".
"When her soul is baked into the Wondertart, the cosmic powers of the astral plane will be mine!" Only now they saw all the ingredients next to the jar Chalice was in. "Cuphead, Mugman, Alicia! You gotta help me!" she shouted. Saltbaker leans forward which scared Alicia even more. His grin now looked just like the coachman's from Pinocchio while his eyes wandered to her. "Besides a soul, there is one ingredient missing" before anyone could say or do anything Saltbaker took the glass where Chalice was and pointed it at Alicia.
The wind sucked her to him, but she fought it until she realized that she was slowly getting smaller and shrinking to the same size as Chalice. "Alicia, no!" screamed Cuphead as he watched her get sucked into the jar that Saltbaker sealed and put back in its original place. He connected the jar with a suction knob. "What the..." she looked around, not knowing at first that she was in the jar with Chalice. "Are you okay?" she asked her. Alicia nodded and realized she was back in her demon form.
"Saltbaker let them out now!" growled Cuphead as he approached the baker. The latter only laughed even more. "That was a good one Cupface but I need her!" "What for?" asked Mugman who was also angry. Saltbaker leaned forward and looked both brothers deep in the eyes. "To get the powers that are in her!" both were only more confused. "She is the only one who can change the Story in this book!". Alicia heard it and was now afraid. Real afraid. If she wished for something, she would wish for her husband to be here. Oh hopefully he'll come when he realizes I'm in danger. She really hoped so.
The latter sat growling on his throne and sensed how she was in danger. "Oh that Saltbaker!" he growled as he stood up and took his trident that was leaning next to his throne and teleported away. "But first, I'll take those ingredients... and then I'll use your heads as serving dishes!" That didn't make things any better when both brothers jumped on his table and suddenly shrank themselves to Chalice's size.
Both looked Saltbaker in the eye. He exercises his hands by pulling his ascot and pushes away a pre-ready sliced Desert Limes. A flame appears at the top. Alicia prepared to write down the fight while Chalice made herself comfortable next to her. That she was as scared as Alicia was clear. She hugged her right arm and did not let go. Saltbaker pulls out a gigantic version of the Icy Sugar Cubes wearing a chef hat with the word SUGAR on it. As he did so, the cut Desert Limes flew toward the two brothers. Both jumped or ducked as they flew either down or up like a boomerang. With a hammer and a stake he broke the gigantic sugar cube into several small pieces which he blew away with his mouth. These floated up and down and threatened to hit both brothers. But as with the limes, they dodged the cubes and parried the pink ones.
Angry that both brothers were still alive Saltbaker conjures a roller and flattens the Distillery Dough that comes in. He uses some cookie cutters to cut out some animal-shaped cookies and uses his magic to bring them to life. These jumped up and down while both brothers either dodged them or fired at them. Meanwhile, a basket full of Gnome Berries appeared who runs across the battlefield. Saltbaker squishes it with all his might and causes all the berries inside it to fly out of it. The Basket cries and walks away while the berries rain down on the two brothers. But even these the two brothers dodged as well as the rest of the animal cookies.
Frustrated that his ingredients and even the flame couldn't do anything, he hit the table with both arms, causing both brothers to vibrate briefly like the rest of the table. Is that a mushroom? Alicia asked herself as Saltbaker put it in his head. His eyes briefly turned red as he slowly began to grow and take both brothers and the jar Alicia and Chalice were in. Yep definitely Super Mario. He broke through the basement and took the entire house. She knew again to think of Bon Bon's cookies with which she was briefly as big as Saltbaker right now.
"You stay here and don't move until I'm done with the two cups!" he said, placing the glass on a table half over the precipice. From the other hand he takes the two brothers. Both were now as small as a normal sugar cube. Or that's how it looked from Alicia and Chalice's perspective. Saltbaker summons four Pepper Shakers by snapping his fingers This sneezed peppercorns out of their caps. Some were pink and were parried by the two brothers while dodging the flame that was with them on Saltbaker's hand. In his other hand he took out a few mint leaves which he threw into the air. These slowly landed on his hand and almost threatened to hit Mugman if Cuphead hadn't pushed him away. Unfortunately, he was hit by them. This made Saltbaker laugh until three Pepper Shakers hit him in the face.
That was enough to break his glass body. He shrieks in agony as his eyes roll into his Body and he releases a massive amount of salt. The table on which Alicia and Chalice were standing tilted and both fell down. But neither of them was hurt. When they opened their eyes again, they saw nothing but salt and broken glas pieces of Saltbaker's Body. "Where are Cuphead and Mugman?" asked Chalice as she and Alicia looked around. But they found no sign of the two brothers until they heard two screams and saw them both land on the ground.
The floor was just salt, padding the fall for the two brothers Alicia and Chalice saw in the background as well as the lifeless glass body of Saltbaker who was smiling. But that was not what worried either of them. From the salt came two hands. The chef claps his hands together to create two dancing salt clones who bounces along the battlefield while a saw blade slides along the floor. Both brothers dodged the salt clones as well as the saw until they stopped dancing. In the reflection of the glass, Alicia saw something. Something she actually knew from her nightmare. It was Saltbaker who was all salt and had hollow eyes.
He turns into a pair of salt tornadoes with multiple faces that slowly close in on the brothers as the Ground slowly opens as glass platforms fall from the top to the bottom. Both brothers jumped on them before the ground was completely gone. Saltbaker's heart then appears and bounces throughout the area in between the pillars. Both brothers fired at this and parried it when he was pink for a brief moment. It didn't take long for Chef Saltbaker to be defeated. The salt tornadoes start to break apart and he yell in pain as his heart stretches about.
He was defeated and Alicia and Chalice were safe. Well, fortunately they were no longer small. But they were still locked in the jar. "Damn we're still locked in here!" said Alicia as she banged on the glass. Chalice followed suit until she saw someone trying to get out of a pile. It was Saltbaker who was more than exhausted from the fight. But where were Cuphead and Mugman? These also jumped out of a pile of salt under which they were buried. Both looked around until they saw both of them. "There they are Mugsy!" said Cuphead when he saw both of them and went to them. His younger brother followed him. "Alicia, Ms. Chalice!" said Cuphead when he was with the two.
"Thank goodness you two are okay!" Mugman said as the glass the two were trapped in shattered. Both were glad to be out again and were embraced by both brothers. Alicia saw Saltbaker who was still a little bruised from the fight. Was she still angry with him? Yes, she was. "That dastardly Saltbaker! He had us hoodwinked the whole time!" Chalice said as both brothers disengaged from her and Alicia. Somehow I'm glad that I had already guessed that. Alicia had already had a feeling that he was just using her to get the ingredients. Even though she wondered why The Moonshine Mob, Esther, Skye, Glumstone and Mortimer were so protective of the ingredients. Aren't these ingredients a dime a dozen? She was confused.
Chalice saw her questioning face "Is something wrong Alicia?" she asked her "I just wonder why the ingredients were so important when you can buy them in almost any store?". The two brothers wondered the same thing. "I can answer that question" said a voice behind them. It was Saltbaker who had regained his wits. "They are not normal ingredients" Yes of course Sherlock! "The Moonshine Mob can use the Distillery Dough to transport their moonshine more easily as the barrels come alive with the magic and their moonshine tastes better than any other by far!".
"The Desert Limes allow anyone who eats them to either grow to an enormous size or give one the strength of a hundred men for a short time" he puffed out briefly before continuing. "Mortimer can control ice and snow with the Icy Sugar Cubes and Glumstone uses the Gnome Berries to make peace with the Gnomes" now she remembered again what Skye said about the Pineapple Mints. They are used either as a weapon or when disarmed to give new recruits like Alicia the ability to fly the plane like a pro. Even scaredy cats or people with a fear of heights could fly a plane without any problems.
Then that would be already clarified why these ingredients were protected so much. Not only that they were powerful. No. Because if they were in the wrong hands, you could do some mischief with them. But the mood changed when it started to shake. The bakery was really taken in the fight and now came the payment for it. "Gadzooks! This place is coming down! Let's get outta here!" Chalice suggested as the others agreed and ran after her. Fortunately, a wooden beam served as a stairway up which they could use to escape from the bakery more quickly.
"Eeeeek!" the three cups screamed as they ran out of the bakery. Alicia was right behind them as the floor gave way beneath her and she fell to the bottom floor. But before she fell into the pile of salt she suddenly felt fur. Wait what? She opened her eyes and saw that she was in the arms of the devil who had caught her. "Did you miss me, my love?" she didn't know why, but a tear ran down her face when she saw him again and buried her face in his fur. "I guess that means yes" he had to grin and disappeared with her. "No! My bakery!" Saltbaker shouted when he saw it completely destroyed and only a pile of rubble and the roof remained. Dejected, he sat down in front of the three cups standing next to the fountain, also exhausted from running.
Cuphead stopped gasping and looks angrily at Saltbaker. "Serves him right for duping us!" he was still angry that they had done his dirty work. But one thing was still open "Where is Alicia?" asked Mugman as he looked around. It was just the three of them and Saltbaker coming out of the bakery. "Wasn't she behind you guys?" asked Chalice. "Yes she was right behind us until..." he fell silent as his pupils shrank. "Until what?" asked Chalice.
"The ground gave way under her!" he said, and was about to run to the pile of rubble when out of a puff of smoke appeared the devil and Alicia. He slowed down with his feet before running into them. "Alicia!" he yelled, hugging her leg. Mugman and Chalice heard him and ran to her as well, completely ignoring the devil who was just happy that his queen was okay. But when he saw Saltbaker, his eyes burned with rage. He broke away from Alicia who looked at the three cups before looking at the destroyed bakery and then at Chalice. Somehow she felt sorry for her right now. Not only that she won't get her body back, but also that with the betrayal of Saltbaker. Sure he wanted to use her to use her power but now she felt sorry for him too.
"Tell me Chalice what's going to happen to you now?" Cuphead agreed with her "With the bakery destroyed, you're never gonna get that Wondertart, Chalice", "That's okay... if some poor soul has to be sacrificed for me to live again, it just ain't worth it". Alicia agreed with her. Sacrificing a soul to get a body would not be fair. "But mark my words, boys and Alicia! I'm never gonna stop searching" She held out her right hand, which startled Mugman a bit, so he stepped back and threatened to fall if Alicia didn't catch him. "And in the meantime, if you ever find yourselves in a scrape, I'm just one cookie bite away".
She stretched out her arms and moved both boys closer to her. Alicia, who was standing behind her, bent down and took all three in her arms. "Besides... who needs a Wondertart when they can have three new best pals instead!" Everyone was happy about it. Only Saltbaker and the devil were not. These two still had a score to settle. "What, I didn't know she was your-" "Wife?" the devil finished the sentence as Saltbaker got down on his knees at his feet and begged for his life. Or, after all, before his soul? Alicia was still angry with him and yet she didn't want anything bad to happen to him.
But he should pay for what he had done to the four. "Wait, I think I know a better solution!" she said as she walked over to the two. The devil and Saltbaker looked at her in confusion. And so it came to trial after Saltbaker was taken away by the police who were nearby and overheard everything. The judge, an anthropomorphic owl in a judge's robe and wig, was equally unenthusiastic about the action. "All right, Mr. Saltbaker, you're released from jail for the moment and you're going to have to do community service!" he said, pointing the judge's gavel at him as a tear ran down Saltbaker's face. He nodded "Yes Mr. Owlton!".
And thus began the community service hours for Saltbaker. Mr. Owlton handed him a list with all the tasks he had to do. His handcuffs were removed and he immediately went to his first task. His first task was to help Glumstone and the gnomes plant the Gnome Berries. "Here's more fertilizer!" said Glumstone as he held four more bags of fertilizer with two gnomes on them. One gnome was holding a cup in which the other was filling up with a jug of juice. His next task was to help the Moonshine Mob move their barrels. One of the police ants shook Raul's hand while two of the fly goons stood on the platform and motivated him. "Come on after this load there are five more to go up!" said one of the Fly Goons as he pointed upwards where the rest of the Moonshine Mob were waiting for the barrels of baking flour.
"You forgot to clean that spot there!" said Mortimer as he pointed to the spot. The whale remained lying on the ice floe, still with its mouth open. Saltbaker nodded and cleaned the spot where Mortimer pointed. One of the snow monsters sat in the background fishing while he waved at it. One of the icicles was next to the bucket Saltbaker used to clean the broom he used as a toothbrush. Next, he went to the boat man and re-stained his boat. After a short break, he went to the pile of rubble that was previously his bakery. Besides a chimney and an entrance sign, there wasn't much left of it. Sadly he sighed and went to his next task.
His next job was to help in Esther's saloon as a waiter. Jack the bartender handed him a plate with two wooden mugs full of beer while holding a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs in his other hand. "Hey let's have a taste!" said Esther as she held onto the chandelier that was a steering wheel and used a fork to steal a meatball. Through this action not only the spaghetti flew to the ground but also the two mugs full of beer. The commotion in the saloon did not change, which did not please Jack.
The next task was a bit more strenuous. He had to help Brutus, Radar and Jet assemble a plane. Alicia, who was visiting to fly the Stormwulf, saw him tinkering with the engine while Jet used a jackhammer to tighten the screws on the left wing. "Here's the right wing," Brutus said. "Great it goes there!" said Radar as he pointed to the spot where the wing was still missing. When the plane was finished, Saltbaker sat down on a tree stump and was about to eat lunch when he saw someone standing next to him. It was Alicia. She sat down next to him, which confused him. "And how are you?" she asked him as he swallowed a bite of his sandwich. "Well my arm hurts from all the working but so far I'm fine" he said and bit into his sandwich again. "Good to hear" she said, enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. "Why are you sitting next to me?" asked Saltbaker as she looked to him.
"Because I already feel a little sorry for you and I don't think it was your intention to bake the Wondertart" she said. It was true what she said about the Wondertart. He didn't mean to bake it. And now he had to pay with the price that his bakery was in ruins. Sadly, he looked down at the ground and saw his prison clothes. She saw it and felt bad. "If it makes you happy I could help you rebuild your bakery" Alicia asked him but he refused and thanked him anyway. But Saltbaker wanted his bakery to stand again. So he decided to ask two people who could help him.
He was sitting in a castle room playing checkers with two characters. The King and Queen of Games were on the other side of the table. The King is a short and plump man in the appaerance of a King piece from chess. He has a large, thick mustache and a small light pink nose. He has a large crown with pink and blue crystals and a round cap with two shades of blue. He wears a king's dress with a king's robe and white gloves. He possessess a golden scepter with a crown-like design. He also has short legs with light blue shoes.
The king sat on his throne and was thinking about which move to make next. Saltbaker removed most of his pieces. The queen stood behind his throne. She has a red and blue long-sleeved dress patterned with diamonds. She also has yellow skin and a floating head and lanky arms. She wears lipstick, diamond earrings, and a royal crown with blue and pink jewels. Her ruffle collar, crown and the tall cylindrical body make her look like a queen chess piece. "You can put it there!" she said while the king was still thinking but decided to put the piece there. But Saltbaker won the game of checkers, which didn't please the king much, so he looked at his queen, who smiled nervously at him before turning to Saltbaker. "What did you wanted from us again?".
At midnight, Saltbaker hauled a wheelbarrow of construction remains to his destroyed bakery, which he rebuilt alone without any help. Days passed and the bakery grew again and was once more the old bakery Saltbaker knew and loved. The news spread like wildfire. Everyone went to the new opening of the bakery. Even the brothers, Alicia, the Devil and Chalice. Even the guardians of the ingredients came and were delighted with the pastries he offered. "Yes today all for free on the house!" he said as everyone took a piece and ate it.
That they liked it could not be overlooked. But Alicia waited a little longer before she took something. Or she would if the devil didn't appear next to her and give her a piece of strawberry cake. Skye also joined her and ate a piece of the custard. The day couldn't get any better if it weren't for the king of games who joined Alicia with his queen. The difference in size between her and the two was obvious. The queen was a head taller than her while the king was as tall as Cuphead and Mugman if not a bit taller. "We have heard that you are also a queen from another world and that you have a special gift" said the king as he walked up to her. The devil was not sure and stood behind Alicia. "Is it really true that you are the daughter of Dorothy Powell?" asked the queen. How do they know my mother? Alicia asked herself.
"Yes I am Alicia Powell the daughter of Dorothy Powell and you are?" the devil pulled her closer which Skye noticed. "These are the King and Queen of Games who live in their floating castle" Skye said as she pointed to that very castle. It was a kind of floating island in the air on which there was a castle. Why do I think of the movie Castle in the Sky? It didn't look like the castle in the movie and it certainly didn't have the robots. But still it reminded her of it. "Yes, this is my castle" said the king as a tear ran from his eye which the queen wiped away with a handkerchief. The devil was not so impressed. But his kingdom was also much bigger and not just an island floating in the air.
But why did they want to talk to her? "I'm guessing you're not here to have coffee with me, I assume?" Alicia asked nervously. She hoped that they didn't feel threatened by her and the devil standing behind her with both arms wrapped around her. Skye had no problem with that and continued to eat her pudding with relish. When two kings and queens meet, there must always be a reason. Either to form an alliance or to fight each other. She hoped for the first if possible for nothing at all. She wanted to stay a little longer on the island.
But she was reassured when the king told her how much he was looking forward to inviting her soon to his castle together with the two brothers and Ms. Chalice. "My fighters are very much looking forward to fighting you" Wait, what? She hoped he meant the three cups and not herself. Before she could ask, however, the two disappeared into the crowd. The devil sensed that she was not well and looked down at her. She had eaten half of her strawberry cake and seemed to be no longer hungry.
"Is something wrong my love?" he asked her as he put his head on her shoulder and looked at her. She did not look directly at him. "It's just that I don't know if they mean me too with the fight" she said while leaning against his chest and eating the rest of the strawberry pie. Gently, he stroked her cheek and tried to soothe her. But she stared at the flying castle the whole time. He thought no longer as he disappeared with her in a cloud of smoke and appeared on the same platform where she met the angel and the demon. Both were not here as well as the huge skeleton.
"Why are we here?" she asked as she looked around. He looks down at her while turning her around so that she is looking up at him with her head on his furry belly. His grin was impossible to ignore. To be honest, she had missed it and snuggled into him while he stroked his hand along her back. He didn't have to answer her question anymore because she was reassured again and felt comfortable around him. He felt that. And he also liked that she was with him again.
"Aww how cute" suddenly said a voice that startled Alicia. "Do you always have to spoil the mood?" said another voice. Confused, Alicia looked up and saw the devil, the angel and the demon. Both of them looked a bit worn out. However, the devil ignored her and was more than happy to have Alicia in his arms again. That was all he wanted. "How are you two doing? I was so worried" she said looking at both of them. The angel and the demon were flushed when she said that. The angel squealed like a little child looking forward to something while the demon scratched the back of his head.
"Oh your majesty you don't have to worry about us" said the demon slightly nervous "Besides, nobody can kill or seriously injure us in dreams" said the angel. The black eye said something else. Also the right horn of the demon was slightly torn. Saltbaker had already done a lot to both of them in the dream. But she was no longer angry about it. "We'd better leave you two alone," the angel said as he and the demon disappeared.
Barely a second later, they were both lying in the guest bed where Alicia always slept with Chalice. But with the devil, it almost felt like she was back in Inkwell Hell. Back in the bedchamber. "Oh how I've missed this" said the devil as he laid her on his stomach and kissed her passionately. She was again very surprised by the kiss and enjoyed it without any problems. Or she would if she didn't hear voices calling for her. Don't tell me that everyone who came to the opening ceremony is looking for me now. She hoped so, but the door to her room opened and Cuphead, Mugman and Chalice entered. "Um..." both brothers looked startled and were bright red in the face when they saw them cuddling and looking nervously at the door. Chalice looked nervous as well before she and the two brothers were pulled away by Skye, Saltbaker and Mortimer.
"You guys leave them alone for a minute" Skye said as she closed the door. Alicia didn't know why but she and the devil had to laugh when they saw that. The look on the brothers' faces was priceless. "I think I should go check on the others" Alicia said as she got off the devil's belly and slowly walked to the door until she noticed the devil's tail was wrapped around her waist again. "You and I should go check on them" he said and walked with her to the door. The others were already waiting downstairs in the entrance area of the restaurant and talked until they saw the two.
Cuphead ran to her first as she and the devil arrived at the bottom of the stairs. "Alicia, we need to talk to you about something important," he said. You could see the nervous look on her face. Oh man.
