And that would bring us to the end of the sequel.
But Alicia's adventures in the Cuphead universe are far from over! The Cuphead Show adaptation will start soon and I will bring it in the Cartoons category.
I also have to admit that for me, every story I write is a kind of journey of its own that eventually comes to an end.
Until the third season is out, I will not accept any suggestions for the moment.
The adaptation, for those wondering, will be set in the middle of the sequel, so Alicia will still be going to college but will be engaged to the devil and will be able to control her demon powers.
Hearing her mother's voice again surprised Alicia greatly. She had not heard her for a long time. But that was not the reason why she was so surprised. Normally her parents would congratulate her on her birthday only days later. That she called now startled her a bit because it was 10 minutes before midnight. "Why are you so quiet? Is this a bad time?" asked Dolly. Alicia shook her head before returning to reality and answering her mother. "Um no not really mother I was just a little surprised by your call".
The devil said nothing while he sat behind her and she sat cross-legged just listening to the conversation. He actually wanted to say something but he let it be because Alicia was very engrossed in the conversation. The mood to tip now brought him nothing. "Good, I was worried that we would forget again" said Dolly. Alicia was not really surprised. Work was always more important to her parents than anything else. She rolled her eyes when she thought about it again. "I guess that's it for this conversation or-" "No it's not yet my little Alice" Dolly interrupted her.
"Me and your dad have a little party planned for you this weekend since you have Monday off right?" That was true on Monday the university was closed because of an event for the lecturers. Alicia and the other students had a long weekend because of that. "Yes that's true but how do you know?" she asked confused. She had told John. So they could only know it from him. "John told us" her mother answered her question. But Alicia wasn't sure if it would be a celebration where she would only see her parents briefly until they were back at work an hour later. Alicia remembered well her 12th birthday and John's 15th birthday which was the same.
First they promised to stay the whole day until the phone rang after half an hour and both disappeared. "And are you happy my little animator?" asked Dolly. I would like to believe that. She sighed before saying anything. "Yes, I'm really looking forward to the party," she said with a fake smile. Luckily her mother didn't see that. But the devil saw it and knew that something was wrong. She had told him that she wanted nothing more than to be together with her whole family as before. Before they moved and the family was no longer what it once was. The call ended and Alicia put her smartphone down on the nightstand before settling into bed and trying to fall asleep. But the devil put a spoke in her wheel and turned her around. She couldn't ignore his worried face.
"Something seems to be troubling you again my love" he said as he gently caressed her cheek. She couldn't ignore him and just go back to sleep. No he was stubborn in such situations and desperately wanted to know what was worrying her. His gaze literally stared at her. She knew this look more than enough. "I just have the feeling that it will be another empty promise like at the last party" the devil knew which one she meant. Lately he kept thinking how much Dolly had changed from when he last saw her.
He really couldn't believe that he had fallen in love with her back then. Of course she was different than Alicia had described her. But that changed his opinion very much towards Dolly. He wanted to have a serious talk with her in private so he could tell her how much she had changed and what she was actually doing to her family. Alicia lay back down and tried to fall asleep. She was still not sure if she should drive at all. Her head said no, but her conscience said yes. Or was that her husband again who was in her head again. But she didn't want to look either, so she fell asleep.
But the devil could not fall asleep as he continued to think of Alicia's words. She was completely the opposite of her mother. She was shy but could express her opinion when she wanted to. And her singing voice was divine. No one could take that away from her. Oh yes, the devil liked to hear her sing. He didn't care if it was a song from one of her favorite movies or a song from her time. He was very relaxed when he heard her sing. "Oh my dearest Alicia I still feel your mental pain" he said as he snuggled up to her. Her head was next to his chest while he put his head over hers. Slowly he curled up with her. Their tails knotted again. His hands slowly ran through her fur while he nuzzled behind her wolf ears.
He didn't want to fall asleep yet, you could see that. He was also absorbed in thought. Should I really come with you? he kept asking himself. Alicia didn't seem to mind if he was with her. But he had to take his human form again. She had explained to him several times that not every human would react like she did when he suddenly ran around in his cartoon form in her world. As she told him, in both movies Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the cartoon world was connected to the real world. Be it the Warner Bros portal through which the Nerdlucks went or Toon Town which is considered its own city. The book, on the other hand, was different. It only served as a portal to enter or leave the world of Cuphead.
Alright I will accompany my beloved Alicia and then I will have a serious talk with Dolly. Slowly he also fell asleep and hugged Alicia. Both lay quietly in bed and waited for the next day.
The next day, amazingly, Alicia woke up in her own bed. The devil was still lying next to her with both his arms wrapped around her chest. The left hand was still stroking her cheek even if only very slowly. She liked it, though, and didn't want to get up and pack her things. After all, she had to drive three hours to be at home at all. Maybe a little less if I take the shortcut. She tried to stand up again but her husband's arms prevented her from doing so, which frustrated Alicia again. "Oh come on" she sighed as the devil started to grin and slowly opened his eyes.
He turned around with her so that she was now lying with her back on the bed and he was standing over her. Both hands were on the right and left of her head while his lower body lay half on top of her and prevented her from running away. Slowly he approached her until he was completely on top of her and started purring again. His head was now next to hers. "Lie still my love" he said as he rubbed his head against hers."Well what else can I do" she said nervously as she heard the purring stronger than usual. Yep, he really does purr like an oversized cat. She had to admit it, sometimes he looked like a black cat.
He looked at her while he stopped purring and lifted his head while staring at her. Before she knew it, he kissed her again. This time it felt different than before. But she did not know why. Maybe because she was back in her world and not in the cartoon world. Both lips parted from each other before he put his hands behind her back to lift her up so she landed in his furry belly. He had to chuckle again when she tried to get the hair out of her mouth. While she managed to get the hair out of her mouth he gently stroked her back. She felt it and was calmed again and leaned her head against his belly. His tail wagged again when he saw how happy she was. But he knew that she would have to leave soon. Unless he could help her. His powers worked in her world just as they did in the cartoon world.
"What time is it anyway?" she asked him. He reached for her smartphone that was lying next to him and touched the power button. "It's 10 o'clock," he said. When Alicia heard that, she immediately jumped up. Or that's what she wanted if her husband didn't have a tight grip on her. "Hey take it easy my love" he said and stopped her from getting up. "But I..." he stopped her lips with his fingers before she could talk further. "Take it easy my love you'll get there in time" he said snapping his fingers. Almost everything stopped at once. Everything except Alicia and the devil. It felt strange when everything outside stood still like a statue and you could only move yourself. But she already suspected that the devil had such power.
But it was also scary when she thought that he could have kidnapped her without Cuphead or Mugman being able to stop him. Of course she thinks differently now and was happy when he was with her. But still she wondered why freeze time. He already suspected that she would ask him about it. "I'll explain everything when we're on our way to your home".
Driving a car through a city that was frozen in time already scared her very much. But she quickly realized that it was not only the city that was frozen, but the entire earth. The highway, the country road, almost everywhere they drove along was frozen in time.
"And why did you do that again?" she asked him as she looked to him. The devil was sitting in the passenger seat, not yet transformed. "So that I can see your world in peace without you having to worry" he explained to her. He had always wanted to go into her world and explore it. Sure the Inkwell Isle's were huge but he knew every corner of the islands. But her world was bigger than his. There were so many places he could explore. But the trip to Alicia's home had priority. Just like the conversation he still wanted to have with Dolly." We'd have to stop for a minute," Alicia said as she pulled down at a rest area. Her fuel gauge showed that she had only half a tank left. And besides, she had to go to the bathroom urgently since 30 minutes. She parked next to the gas pump and immediately jumped out of the car into the gas station and into the bathroom. The devil had to chuckle when he saw her and also got out to stretch his legs.
Relieved, she walked out of the gas station and saw the devil filling her car with diesel. "Um is this the right one?" she asked him as she stood next to him. He looked down at her and pointed to the flap where you fill the tank. It said diesel on it, not gasoline. As she guessed, the fuel gauge was moving so the devil knew exactly when to stop. With the full tank she of course also paid the tour continued. It didn't take long for Alicia to see the downhill she always drove down when she went home. The descent was surrounded by trees that led to a small wooded area. At the bottom she turned right and followed the road until she reached her town, or rather the small suburb.
She saw the house from far away and also the three cars. Besides the Ford Raptor that belonged to her brother, there was a GMC Yukon and a Jeep Wrangler in the garage. The Jeep belonged to her father while the GMC belonged to Dolly and was a company gift. Since there was not enough room, she parked on the side of the road and turned off the engine. She was about to say something when the devil had already changed into his human form and with the snap of his fingers time went on normally again. No one noticed the Ford Bronco that was suddenly standing there. "Alright then, let's go" she said and got out of the car together with the devil. John saw them first and went to them together with Duke. Of course he knew that the man next to her was the devil in disguise. But he hugged him anyway.
"So how was the drive?" he asked her as he took her suitcase which she pulled out of the trunk. "It was relaxing" she said while the devil stroked her cheek and went with her into the house where she was hugged strongly by her father. He was as big as the devil if you leave out the horns of course. His black hair already had slight gray streaks while his beard was completely gray. However, this was shaved off and you could see only small places where something grew back. Otherwise, his brown eyes shone joyfully at her. As Alicia had already guessed, he was wearing his work clothes and not his T-shirt with a cowboy riding a bull on it.
"There's my little Alice our birthday girl!" he said as he squeezed her tighter and wouldn't let go. "Oh honey you're going to smother her before I can hug her!" said a feminine voice behind him. Alicia, who had freed herself from her father's embrace, now saw her mother standing in front of her. She was as tall as Alicia and had white hair that was obviously dyed because all the family photos showed her with brown hair. She was not wearing her work clothes, unlike James Alicia's father, but normal clothes. Her mother walked up to her and hugged her. However, no one noticed the person standing behind Alicia. John was the first to notice the devil in disguise and was a bit startled. He still remembered what happened last time and didn't want to annoy him at all.
But the devil was not angry but surprised that both her parents were here and did not again put their work above everything else as it usually was for Alicia. "The presents are in the living room, but don't open them until I get the cake and the camera from the kitchen," said Dolly as she pushed Alicia into the living room. Her father and John followed her. Duke, lying on his blanket, wagged his tail when he saw Alicia. He got up and walked to her. "Hey Dukey how are you?" she asked him when she saw the bandage around his front paw. She knew he had had surgery recently and was worried about him. But the St. Bernard was more than happy that she was back home.
In the kitchen, Dolly was cutting the cake when suddenly her work phone rang. "Oh no please not today" she said quietly as she looked at the phone and saw the number from her work. She was about to answer it when she suddenly heard the door to the kitchen close and she turned around. Standing in front of the kitchen door was a young adult man with a black polo shirt with gray trim and a small pocket with something metallic hanging out of it, slim fit jeans with a chain on the pocket, gray sneakers with matching gray socks and he wore a small gray scarf. He still had the fedora on his head. He has a Royal Beard and short black hair. But what Dolly noticed immediately were the yellow eyes that glowed unnaturally in the dark. Yes, it had suddenly become dark in the kitchen.
"So we meet again Dorothy Powell" the man said as he walked slowly toward her. At first she was confused until she saw the young man turn into the devil. Not just any devil but the one from the Cuphead book. The memories of that time jumped back into her head, as did the marriage proposal the devil wanted to make to her, which she rejected out of loyalty to James. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a trembling voice as she pointed the knife she had just used to cut the cake into several pieces at him.
"Oh I am here in company with my wife and queen" said the devil as he stopped a few steps in front of her. She was still trembling and processing the words he had just said until she realized what he meant. Alicia was his wife and queen of Inkwell Hell. Shocked, she dropped the knife and refused to believe it. "Your reaction tells me you don't think I'm married to her" said the devil as he picked up the knife with his tail and put it in the sink while Dolly got down on her knees and had to process the whole thing first. She always wanted to protect Alicia from him. That's why before she left the book forever she left a note for her. But what good would that do when she was married to him?
She looks up at him and was more than angry. "Did you make her do it?" she asked him. He looked at her confused. "DID YOU FORCE HER TO MARRY YOU?!" she yelled at him while tears ran down her cheeks. The devil had to grin "Of course not she decided to do it herself" he said and went to the still ringing service phone. "Unlike you, she voluntarily chose me over being alone like she usually was" he said, picking up the phone. Dolly realized what he meant by the words. She was not a very good mother and she realized that again when the phone rang again. Tears ran down her face as she sat down in the corner and cried.
"My mother was right. I am a bad mother" she said as the devil knelt in front of her holding the phone. "It's not too late" he said and handed her the phone. She knew what he meant and wiped away her tears while the devil handed her a piece of paper to clean the snot out of her nose. In the living room, no one noticed that Dolly and the devil were in the kitchen, still talking. "Mom is taking a long time with the cake," John said as he looked at the closed kitchen door. Alicia and her father heard this and Alicia was sure it didn't mean anything good. So much for work coming first. Her face no longer showed joy but sadness. She didn't want to open the presents, she wanted to leave right away.
But suddenly the kitchen door opened and Dolly came out with the devil in disguise. "Hey sorry we took so long but Alicia's fiancé introduced himself to me and we were so engrossed in conversation we almost forgot about you" said Dolly as she put the cake on the dining table while the devil or as he introduced himself to James and Dolly as Lucifer Bates. James was very pleased and you could already see that both were the same size. Well, the devil would be bigger anyway because of his horns. But that did not bother them. The birthday party went as planned without any calls. For Alicia it could not be better. She had always wanted such a birthday party for years and now her dream was fulfilled.
But she wanted her father to know what Lucifer Bates looked like in reality. Therefore, she waited until evening to show him his true form. Was her father frightened that her fiancé and husband was the devil? Yes, he was, but he accepted it and said to her, "As long as you are happy with him, so am I," which pleased her very much.
For the next few months, nothing really changed in Alicia's life. Either she visited Inkwell Isle's or a few of the residents visited her. Her studies continued and she had reached her final semester. Now she had to cram more than usual because the final papers are very hard. Some students in her class had told the others about how hard they were. "The examiners, in most cases, ask for things that we are not taught anything about" said a five-year senior student. Of course, he was referring to the written exams. For the practical exam, everyone was supposed to make their own short film with their own characters. These were then viewed and evaluated by the examiners.
Alicia had already received her evaluation and was positively surprised when she learned that she had no mistakes and had passed this part of the exam. With that, 50% had already been achieved. Now she had to achieve at least 30% in the written exam and then she made it. Thus, she continued to study until the day of the written exam appeared. Everyone was more than nervous. Alicia included. She did not like exams at all. But she had fortunately taken her tranquilizer tablets that she always took when she had to write an exam. Jazz and Soos stood next to her and prayed that the exam would be easy. "Do you seriously think they will make the exam easier?" said Alicia.
"No of course not but one can hope, can't one Alice?" said Jazz as she grinned at her. Alicia smiled and was about to say something when the door to the exam room opened and Ms. Ross asked the students to enter the room. The tables were all away from each other and lined up in fourths. There was enough space that you could walk past the tables without bumping into them with your leg. On each table was a writing pad, a pen, a name tag and a card with a cat hanging on a rope with its front paws. Underneath it was written "Hang in there". Alicia had to smile and was glad that she sat in the middle row and not in the front like Jazz.
The tables were sorted alphabetically. And since Jazz's last name was Adams, she sat right in front of the examiner's table. "Now then, Ms. Ross, please pass out the exam papers," said the examiner, a slightly older man with thick glasses who was about to retire. Ms. Ross handed out the exams and answer sheets. Alicia knew how the exam was going and was ready for anything. The two hours of exam time passed in seconds. While the finished students waited outside, some continued to write. Alicia was also still pondering and wanted to answer the last question. It was about Walt Disney last movie he made before he died of lung cancer. There were no real answers she could choose. She had to write down the answer.
Come on, what movie was that again? She thought and thought until she remembered and wrote down the answer before the examiner's alarm clock rang asking not only her but also the others to stop writing. Alicia gave the examiner the answer sheet and exam papers before she and the rest of the students walked out of the room. Ms. Ross told them that the exam results would be determined in the next few days. It will also be decided who will have to retake the exam and who will pass. By then, Alicia had time off and decided to visit the Inkwell Isle's to distract herself. Of course, that went with the devil as her husband. "Don't worry, my dearest, you can do it" he said, encouraging her. She lay back on his stomach as he stared at her and slowly stroked her cheek as she slowly fell asleep.
Everyone on the island knew about the exam and hoped very much that she would manage to pass it. It was not easy, she said to herself. But she didn't care about that for now. She wanted to disappear into her husband's fur and ignore the university completely. The devil noticed that she was more relaxed than usual when he watched her. He liked it and began to purr like a cat again. That she meant a lot to him was obvious. After all, he was happy that she was with him and was no longer alone. However, time flew by and the exam results were delivered to all students by mail. Alicia was surprised when she saw the envelope and without thinking about it went upstairs to her apartment to open the envelope. She pulled the ribbon holding the envelope closed and took out the papers with her results inside. "Oh please tell me I passed" she said softly several times as she slowly opened her eyes and saw the results.
She had 95% and thus passed the exam. She immediately shared the news with her parents, brother and friends. Everyone was very pleased with the result and congratulated her. With the exam passed, she only had to go to the graduation ceremony and then she had until March off until she would then work at Pixar. She had already found an apartment in Richmond that was not far from the studios. Actually only 15 minutes by car and she was there. She will start as an assistant for animation technicians before she will go to different areas of the company to decide where she will go. Until then she will work under the guidance of Pete Doctor who volunteered and was very enthusiastic about her work.
"I like the two cups very much" he wrote to her via email. The graduation ceremony followed immediately and amazingly all students passed. Ms. Ross was very pleased. In addition to the students, their families attended. Alicia's parents and brother were also there. When Ms. Ross stood on stage and asked all her students to come up to collect their award, Alicia felt relieved. Finally, after four and a half years, she had made it and was finally an animator. Her parents clapped and were more than happy that she had made it. "And you said she couldn't make it, but she's top of the class," James whispered to Dolly as she nudged him away.
After the ceremony and goodbyes, Alicia packed the last box into the moving truck before closing it up. The apartment she had lived in for four years was now empty and looked the same as the day she moved in. Empty. "Feels weird" she said as she looked to the window where her apartment was. She missed it already but her new apartment was waiting for her in Richmond. She got into her car and looked at the box that was on the passenger seat. The Cuphead book was on top. Her mother, of course, knew about all the adventures she had taken with the two brothers. "Oh yes, those were the days but unfortunately I had to move it when we had to move" said Dolly as she looked at the colorful pages.
Tears ran down her face as she remembered all the things. Alicia forgave her mother and apologized for the words she had said back then. Dolly knew that the overtime would eventually bring her something good. So both mother and daughter decided to travel to the world of the book to see the islands again. Of course, Alicia did not want to visit the islands for the last time.
Time passed and Alicia felt comfortable in her world as well as in the book world. Working at Pixar had allowed her to climb the career ladder where she not only earned more money but also found new friends and colleagues. But even as queen of Inkwell Hell, things had changed for her. She now had the same powers as the devil and was also as strong as him. Every time she came home her husband was already waiting for her to lure her back into the book. She didn't say no to that and did it.
Her adventure seems to be over but that doesn't mean that new adventures are waiting for Alicia.