Sweating, the Head is roaring and the concentration was in the basement. Alicia didn't think anything else. She lay on her table with her torso and tried to listen to her lecturer for the last 20 minutes. No one had told her that the Story of the Animation would be so exhausting. Of course she knew that the first Animation were hand-drawn until you did everything with the computer but that you would need half a day was already a lot. But if you want to work as an animator you probably have to go through it. She often wondered if the best-known cartoonists such as Don Bluth, Frank Thomas, Max Fleischer, if not Walt Disney, had problems during their studies. "Alicia Powell!"

Her half-closed eyes were now wide open when she heard the voice. It was Ms. Ross. An old strict but lovable person. She had previously worked for Walt Disney Studios before deciding to work as a lecturer at university.

At the interactive board behind her stood everything important that Alicia had written down in her writing pad that lay in front of her. Luckily no saliva on paper she breathed in relief before dedicating herself to the board behind Miss Ross, which not only writes her mood, but also the one who changed other students. A 6000-word lecture on the creation of the Animation Studio. Alicia dropped her head on the wooden table, while the remaining classmates only moaned or gave other sounds. Who wouldn't like it if you got another homework on Friday in the last hour.

"Moaning and grumbling around brings you nothing at all that should you all know" Oh yes the wise words of Miss Ross no one could escape. And just as Alicia knew Miss Ross, no one would give an Animation Studio voluntarily. Honestly, anyone in the room would have taken Disney, Pixar or Warner Bros. No Miss Ross was different. She always had her yellow felt hat with her and filled it with small notes. Everyone was allowed to draw one from them and one was either lucky or unlucky.

And as Alicia knew, she was the first to pull out of the hat. One of the least problems when sitting at the front thought Alicia when the felt hat was less meters ahead of her. She grabbed the hat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Typical She didn't expect anything else. After all, nobody could see what Animation Studio she had or will have. Walt Disney would be ideal just like Studio Ghibli but when she unfolded the piece of paper her joy was gone.

It wasn't Disney or Ghibli. Also Warner Bros or Laika would have been fine. But no life had to play in between and give her an unknown Studio she never heard from.

"Studio MDHR" was on the note.

From the back rows she heard screams of joy, "Yes Disney!" Lucky one. She would prefer to turn around and trade with the person but Miss Rose ran right past her table and wrote something on the board. It was the most important points that must be in the lecture:

- origin year

- Founder

-The background of the name

-Most known film

-Art Style

As with all units, sources must be provided. Of course, you were not allowed to use certain sources * cough * Wikipedia. "This lecture should be finished by the end of the semester and is considered to be your thesis" As if she hadn't already forgotten that. It was exactly four months before the end of her penultimate semester.

One more year and she can apply to any Animation Studio. Well, at least with everyone in the US. But in the meantime she has to prepare for further lectures. The bell rang and the lessons for today were over. Weekend I... come? Oh, yeah, she had to write the lecture. Or had to start at least. I could write the first 500 sentences today Alicia thought to herself as she grabbed her backpack and packed the remaining Stuff inside of it and left the classroom to go to her locker.

And as she already guessed it, a sticker with Alice from Alice in Wonderland stuck on her locker. "Really funny" She didn't even try to tear it down. She just opened the locker door and took out her shoulder bag. "Why do everyone think I look like Alice?" She had no long blonde hair but short brown. She also did not wear a blue dress so why always the comparison with Alice? Her name was Alicia.

That name and the stupid comparison started from middle school or was it high school? No matter. With the name comparison she could live with. But the sayings however. "Oh what's the Matter Alice?," "Are you looking for the white rabbit?," "Off with her head!" were just a few of the examples she had to listen. In addition, she had inherited heterochromia from her mother. Her right eye was blue while the left was green. A nice combination. Just perfect.

Annoyed, she closed her locker and went to the entrance door of the University. She was reluctant to get in touch with her classmates. She was more of a lonely Wolf, and she preferred that. Just down the stairs and then turn right to the parking lot then she was free from everyone else. At least the Weekend. Her car a black Ford Bronco was waiting for her. The car belonged to her but before it belonged to her brother. It was a gift for admission to university. She was in a different city.

Her hometown was 3 hours away. She visited her family occasionally when she had time or it was a holiday. Otherwise, she was talking on the phone with her family. Well, with her brother. When you're talking about devil, her smartphone rang. "Exactly when I open the door" She puts her shoulder bag and backpack on the passenger seat and sat down in the car. With the door closed, she pressed the green button.

"Hey sister" said a young voice. If you can call three years of age difference young. "Hey John," I smile again. "And what does the university do. Are you coming this weekend?". She completely forgot. Damn it! "Unfortunately, I can't. I have to prepare a 6,000-word lecture" She heard his sigh through the smartphone's mic. "I'm sorry" "It... It's all right, Alicia. I know how hard you try for University" The way he said it didn't sound like that. Her parents were often not home. It was always normal for Alicia and John. But when she was accepted by the University and had to move away, John was always home alone.

How many times she wanted to go home just to do something with her brother. Walk in the woods, visit the city or play video games and watch old cartoons. Her favorite was Balto. The story of the wolf dog rescuing a small town from a Disease. Her brother liked more The Iron Giant. "What do you have to write about?" said the voice from the smartphone. She easily startled. Was I absorbed in thought again? "About an Animation Studio" A quiet "Oh" heard her from the smartphone and couldn't resist a laugh.

But she knew it wasn't going to be easy. The note in her left hand since the last lesson still shows Studio MDHR and not Disney. "Do you need help by any chance?" She didn't really want to admit it, but. "Yes I could use your help"

She told him the name. Like her, he didn't know the studio. "I could see if Mother knows something" How should Mother know about the studio? "I'll call you later." She was alone in the car again. She buckled and started the engine. The parking lot wasn't that crowded anymore. Only a few cars parked. Most belonged to the lecturers or other employees.

The car turned and drove out of the parking lot on the left. She had some work to do before it went back to her apartment. The shopping for the next week had to be bought. Fortunately, the nearest supermarket was just around the corner from the university. A small Costco next to a Laundry and a Car Dealership was her destination.

Just buying the most necessary. No more and no less. She got out of her car and retrieved her shopping bag from the trunk before she made the car and went to the entrance of the supermarket. It took less than 20 minutes already she was out of the supermarket and sat in the car with full shopping bag. Her apartment was just two blocks away.

The next street turned right and she was in front of the house where her apartment was. It was a small house with only two floors and four rental apartments. A small yard was located behind the house with plenty of parking, a small garden that is maintained by the lodger Miss Grey and a fountain that has already looked better. Leaves lay in and around him. The water was no longer clear but dirty.

Alicia looked at him just before she walked to the back entrance with her backpack, shoulder bag and shopping bag. "Good afternoon Alice" said Miss Grey. She looked out the window and greeted her. Alicia nodded and greeted her before she tried to turn the door handle with her free hand.

The door opened and Alicia almost flew but she could still catch herself with her left foot. Thank God. The old wooden staircase was still to be overcome before she was in her apartment. Every step she stepped on the stairs sounded through the hallway. Fantastic.

But the stairs were only short and already it had arrived at the top. Her apartment door is on the left. A small door spy and the number 3 in scratched gold colors was stuck on the door. She took out her key from her jacket pocket and opened the door.

The apartment wasn't really big. She had a small kitchen with built-in stove, refrigerator, counter top and cupboards. A bathroom with toilet and shower, a washing machine and a wardrobe. A bedroom with a bed, wardrobe and a desk that she rarely used and was more likely to be a place for empty or almost empty bottles and dirty clothes. And her living room. The largest room in her apartment. A small couch stood in front of a wooden table on which her laptop stood, a TV that stood on a chest of drawers and a filing cabinet with all her files. There was nothing more in it than an unopened box that her mother brought two weeks ago. "I hope this will help you with your studies" Thanks Mum.

Even more waste of space in her too small apartment. But first the purchase had to be put away. She took off her shoes and jacket and took the shopping bag into the kitchen. The goods that come into the refrigerator put them only on the table before she admitted the remaining things.

Just as she was about to open the refrigerator, her smartphone was ringing on the table. You can't be serious. Moaning, she went to the smartphone and took it in her hand. Her brother called her again.

"Yes," she said. "Hey you I've got good news about the studio" She was no longer angry or annoyed no she was very pleased to hear that. "Mother said she would have packed you our favorite children's book that came from the studio" favorite book? She put the butter in the refrigerator and closed it. "What do you mean?" It was true that earlier Animation Studios also released books from their works. She had a lot of books from Disney. From Lady and the Tramp to The Lion King. But how should this help her with the lecture? "Just look. I have to hang up now "

Fantastic. She moaned again. But it doesn't bring her anything she had to get through there. Again. "So you stupid box then let's see what you have" From the kitchen stomping towards the living room she stood in front of the box her brother was talking about. The box was already open. Alicia just had to open the box and she was smiled at by several books. From drawing books to old children's books, she found nothing to help her. Oh, yes, Disney was there. But unfortunately she had to pull another studio out of Ms. Ross's felt hat.

The sorted books she put on the couch behind her. Soon the small pile became a huge one that claimed half the couch for itself. Nothing with Studio MDHR. She was about to give up but then she saw it lying at the bottom of the box. A book called "Cuphead Don't Deal with the Devil"

She took the book out of the box and took a closer look at the cover. A silhouette of a red teacup was on the title. The name Cuphead was above the silhouette and the last part of the title below. But what delighted her more was the name of the author. Studio MDHR was at the top in the middle. Alicia couldn't believe it. "Finally" she embraced the book before it lay beside her laptop on the table in front of her. Alicia couldn't work like that. At least not with all the clutter.

It took less than 10 minutes and already the living room looked more neat than before. The box was now in the hallway while Alicia began to work on her lecture. She opened her writing program and took her writing pad out of her backpack. That was one of her ticks she had. Always write everything on paper before it is written on the computer. "So good book then show me what you have to hide" she opened the first page and it was a preface. If you could call it that. The two founders presented themselves roughly and hoped that the reader liked the story. Already kind of weird

Alicia kept scrolling and two figures waved at her. Both were humanoid but had as the title already said cups as heads. Both wore like Mickey Mouse shorts only the colors were red and blue. A black sweater covered her arms and torso and ended on white gloves with four fingers and said head. Both had no visible neck. They both wore brown boots on their feet. So both figures looked almost the same except for a few differences. The shape of the cup, the noses, the eyes and the straws that stung from their heads were different. Two names stood over the two figures. "Cuphead and Mugman" whispered Alicia.

She took her pen and wrote something down on her writing pad. The style for the two figures was rubber hose. Which at the time was used in old cartoons. Once in a while, she looked over her writing pad and briefly shrugged. Did the two cups just moved and smiled at her and waved too? She blinked several times to be sure that it was just her imagination. Yup just an imagination. Alicia kept scrolling and the story started.

Once upon a time, in a magical place called Inkwell Isle, there were two brothers named Cuphead and Mugman. They lived without a care under the watchful eye of the wise Elder Kettle

Above the text was a picture in which the two brothers Cuphead and Mugman hunting two butterflies with a fishing net. In the background, Elder Kettle described in the text sat on a wooden rocker chair. Steam ejected from his nose and little Zzzz formed from the cloud. He seemed to be asleep. Behind him was a cottage surrounded by trees and bushes. She opened the next page.

One day the two boys wandered far from home, and – despite the Elder Kettle's many warnings – ended up on the wrong side of the tracks and entered the Devil's Casino

Both brothers were now in front of the Casino. Above was a Creature. Poker cards, red dice and white chess figures were scattered all around the Building. The brothers seemed to be very excited about the sight of the casino. She scrolled on to the next page.

Cuphead and Mugman now stood around a craps table. What Alicia quickly noticed was that the table had the shape of a Coffin. There were also two skeletons at the table. One wear a light brown fedora and held a stick in his hand. Another person was at the table. Just like the two brothers, the person had a human body only the head was that of a Dice. A conventional six-sided die, face two through six are painted with their own corresponding number of round purple pips. The only side number one has the features of a human face, with eyes, eyebrows, a mustache and a mouth. A single purple pip in the center of his Face serves as a nose. The figure wore white dress gloves, purple dress shoes matching his tailcoat, lavender waistcoat, dark purple pants and a bow tie.

Inside, Cuphead and Mugman soon found themselves on a winning streak at the Craps table. "Hot dawg!" exclaimed King Dice, the casino's sleazy manager. "These fellas can't lose!"

Alicia continued to scroll while taking notes. If the book came out in this day and age, it would be removed from the market immediately. I mean a casino in a children's book? Well then there were other times and there was little emphasis on children then as now. She looked at the next page. In addition to the two brothers, the skeletons and the manager King Dice, another person was now in the picture. Or rather, the back of the person's head. Two white pointed horns grew out of the person's head. The skin or rather the fur of the person was black and bushy. The ears on the sides ended in tips and strongly resembled the ears of Link and Zelda.

"Nice run, boys," laughed a newcomer. The brothers gasped. It was the casino's owner – the Devil himself! "Now, how about we raise the stakes?" he suggested with a toothy grin.

I knew it. Thought Alicia when she looked carefully at the back of the head. She knew that the devil used to be used in old cartoons. Although she knew only a few cartoons. She kept scrolling and taking notes. The next page showed the devil in a close-up. Can that be called like that? How he holds two red dices in his hand and smiles mischievously. She could now see the face of the devil and noticed that he had yellow eyes and that he was not wearing gloves but claws.

"Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours!" the Devil boomed. "But if you lose, I'll have your souls! Deal?"

If she were at the place of the two brothers, Alicia would definitely have said No. The heck she wouldn't have gone inside the building at all. But she wasn't the main character of the story. She always thought that as a child when her mother read her children's books. What if the main character had acted differently. Then how would the story end? The Wizard of Oz would end up with Dorothy losing her farmhouse with her aunt and uncle, Charlie could never have visited the factory and even Alice would never have met Wonderland and its strange inhabitants.

Cuphead, blinded by easy riches, nodded and grabbed the dice for a throw. "Good gosh, Cuphead, no!" cried Mugman, for he understood the danger. But it was too late!

She had to giggle. Cuphead's eyes no longer showed his pupils but dollar signs. Mugman hid behind the table while seeing his brother rolling the dice. King Dice smirked. He knew what was about to happen. His face said that at least.

"Snake eyes!" laughed the Devil while slamming the floor. "You lose!" The brothers trembled in fear as he loomed over them. "Now about those souls..."

The next page shows how the Devil stood bent over the two brothers and how the text explained hoped for the souls of the two brothers. But both brothers would not give up their souls so easily. Even if they had lost. She opened the next page. Cuphead and Mugman lay to kneel the devil and begged for mercy.

The brothers pleaded for their very lives. "Th-there must be another w-way to repay you," Mugman stammered. "Yes, p-please, mister!" Cuphead added.

Even if it sounded weird, she cared for the two cups.

"Hmm, perhaps there is," the Devil snickered, pulling out a parchment. "I have here a list of my runaway debtors. Collect their souls for me, and I just might pardon you two mugs."

And her concern was justified. Both brothers had to do the dirty work of the devil so as not to lose their souls. "Well, better than nothing," she said loosely, writing down even more notes. The first page of her writing pad was completely written. She couldn't resist drawing a few scribbles. She was a good artist that could be said to her. Even though drawing Humans weren't Alicia's strengths.

"Now get going!" the Devil roared, kicking the boys out most rudely. "You have 'til midnight tomorrow to collect every one of those souls! Otherwise I'll be the one collecting yours!"

With one kick, both brothers were kicked out of the casino. A bit of liquid splashed from their heads as they both flew out. And on the very next page, both brothers were running along a forest path. Cuphead held the parchment scroll in his hand and ran ahead. Mugman followed him. Both brothers showed fear in their faces.

Cuphead and Mugman were terribly frightened and ran away as fast as they could. "C'mon, Mug!" panted Cuphead. "We have to find the Elder Kettle. He'll know what to do!"

Alicia wanted to know how the story continued, but when she opened the next page, she found only blank pages. She turned the page, but every page was completely white. As if someone had erased everything with an eraser. "Something's wrong" she couldn't quite remember but she knew that after this page Cuphead and Mugman met Elder Kettle and asked him for help. But why were the pages blank? She flipped back to the page where Cuphead was rolling the dice.

She looked at the page more closely and walked over to the first blank page. That could not be right. So many pages were blank. And to top it off, she seemed to see things in the book again. All four were no longer looking at the rolling dice but at Alicia. Okay, that's creepy She wasn't a fan of horror movies or anything related to horror. But this was more than uncomfortable. She closed the Book. A glance at the clock told her that it was close to midnight.

The time had passed by quickly. She had not even noticed that it was already dark outside. Not one word was written on her monitor. She was very concentrated on the book. The creepy book with pages that could move by themselves. "Yes I think I should go to bed" Alicia turned off her laptop, flipped it shut, and walked out of the living room, turning off the lights before heading into the hallway. Her bedroom was next to the living room and only a few steps away. She didn't think about taking off her clothes but immediately lay down on the bed. Her smartphone was next to her. She turned it on and set an alarm for the next day.

Or for the next few hours since it was already Saturday. For Alicia it was quite normal to sleep in bed with her clothes on. Her gray T-shirt with a wolf print on the belly and the back and blue jeans. Her boots were in front of the bed. Her black socks touched the end of the bed. Alicia tried to sleep. But how could she sleep with a book from her childhood with blank pages and moving pictures. She couldn't get the faces out of her head.

The devil grinned mischievously at her, Dice seemed interested in her, or that's what his face said. And the two brothers. Were they both trying to warn her? But from what? She shook her head and buried it in her pillow. It was just an imagination, nothing more, nothing less. Twenty minutes later, Alicia was asleep. Her head was lying to the side.

Everything was quiet in the apartment. Until book opened on its own and flipped to one of the blank pages. At first, nothing seemed to happen until the pages began to glow. The living room lit up. From the house on the other side, someone noticed the glow. But he ignored it and lowered the blinds to avoid being blinded by the light.

The glow disappeared as quickly as it appeared. A hand appeared from the book. It was not a normal hand, if you could put it that way. It was a claw. The same claw that belonged to the devil. The devil slowly climbed out of the book and landed in front of the couch. His appearance was the same as the one in the book. His yellow cat-like eyes examined the environment he was in. "I must say" he walked over to the dresser and took a closer look at the TV. He had never seen anything like that before. In the reflection of the TV he saw someone else coming out of the book. "What took you so long?" the demon asked the person who came out of the book. It was King Dice.

"Sorry boss had to hold the two mugs back" said The Manager as he cleaned his tailcoat. "Those two won't bother us for now" The devil was pleased to hear this. "Then let's start looking for the girl" the devil went ahead through the door of the living room followed by the manager. Both split up and searched for her in each room until King Dice opened the door to the bedroom.

His jade green eyes examined the room until he noticed a movement and looked at the bed. There she lay, as if served on a silver platter, ready to be picked up. "Shh hey boss I found her". The devil appeared behind the manager and looked into the room. Yes, he saw Alicia, opened the door wider and went into the room. King Dice followed him and stood next to him. Both looked at her. The devil couldn't help his grin. Finally he had found her.

He bent and was about to take Alicia in his arms when not a millimeter away from her she turned around. That it would be easy was not said. It was a high risk that she would be woken up while she was in his arms. His claws gave him no advantage, but King Dice could. The manager noticed how the Demon stared at him. "Um boss" whispered the manager to the devil. But the devil just stared at him before saying anything. "You take her" said the devil and walked past the manager. The manager didn't know what to say, "But what if-" he could hardly finish his sentence when the devil handed him a small vial with a transparent liquid.

The manager looked at the vial and then at the devil. That did not answer his question. "Give her this and she shouldn't notice anything" He walked out of the bedroom, leaving the manager alone with the sleeping woman. He looked at her and opened the vial. Fortunately, she was lying on her back and had her mouth slightly open. The contents of the vial fell into her mouth and she passed out. She was still breathing but the manager could now lift her up in his arms without any problems. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes fell on her shoulder bag and smartphone. He didn't want to take it at first, but his conscience said otherwise and he reached for the bag with his right hand and go into the living room.

The book was still open on one of the blank pages and began to glow as the manager approached it. However, there was no trace of the devil. He was now alone with her and walked towards the book. He lifted his left leg and stepped into the book. It sucked him and Alicia in completely until there was nothing left of them. The glow disappeared and something slowly began to form on one of the empty pages.

It was quiet in the apartment now. As if nothing had happened. However, no one knew that Alicia was no longer in her world but in a cartoon world. In a world where the devil had control over everything and everyone.

First chapter is finished and I am glad about it. But I'm not completely satisfied with it yet. This story is a small side project next to my other story.

This does not mean that I will give up both stories but that I will continue to write on both.

But I want to make one thing clear. Both stories are not connected with each other. Also there will be no pairs.

Until then