Hello my lovely readers! We are back with another chapter!
I appreciate all the kind feedback from you guys! It really means a lot!
So this next bit is inspired by the Super Mario Adventures comic!
So without further delay, let's continue our story...
Chapter Nine: In Berry Big Trouble!
(AUDREY'S POV)
I giggled as I swayed side to side. I couldn't help it, and honestly, I didn't care if people took notice. I was too excited and I had every right to be. It was my wedding day and I had just put on the finishing touches of my hair and makeup before putting on my beautiful wedding dress.
As I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help but look at the details of the dress.
It was fitted white ballgown with cuffed short sleeves, a flower at waist which belonged to my grandmother, and a sweetheart neckline but was an appropriate height. I wore a silver bracelet on my left wrist, white heels, and a tear drop gem around my neck that was connected to a golden chain. My hair was in elegant curls while a braid was on both sides, my lacy veil secured in my hair, and a silver leaf clip was on the right side of my head.
I ran over everything in my head; we're here, on time, got ready, pictures taken, guests are coming in, food's ready and it's a clear day in the sky.
Everything was perfect.
Now I needed to get through the ceremony without passing out.
Just then I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." I called. The door opened and it was Sasha who stepped in wearing a V-neck floor length dusty rose colored dress with spaghetti straps and dusty rose heels, came in.
"Hey girl you ready?" She asked, beaming.
"Oh gosh I have butterflies in my stomach." I commented, pacing a bit. Pacing usually helps me calm down, but this was a huge deal for me. It's my wedding for pete's sake! It's not one to take lightly.
"You'll do fine. Plus when he sees you in that dress, he'll be over the moon for ya!" Sasha reminded me, coming in and grasping my hands.
"I know, I, I'm just nervous but really excited." I admitted.
"Like I said, you'll be fine. Come on everyone's waiting!" She giggled as she handed me my rose bouquet.
We both walked out of the bridal chamber and make our way to the doors to the chapel. I had to wait a bit since the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to go first but once they were down the aisle, I waited, my heart racing but my parents locked arms with mine.
"You're gonna do just fine, honey." Mom informed me.
"And know that we're both very very proud of you, scribbler." Dad added.
I felt hot tears sting my eyes. They have been so supportive of me and Josh ever since we got engaged. It was a long road but I was glad that they helped up along the way. I hope they know that I appreciate everything they have done for us.
Then, I heard the music play and my heart pounds harder. With both nerves but excitement.
The doors opened and everyone was standing at attention. I took a deep breath and walked with them. As I walked down, the music that was playing was the acoustic song of "A thousand Years" by Christina Perri. I played that song so many times when I was in high school and dreamed of having this in my wedding.
As I walked down, the eyes of friends and family were locked on to me, but I kept looking ahead at Josh, who was wearing a black dress suit with matching pants and shoes, a white undershirt, and a red bow tie. There was also a red rose in his front pocket. He was practically beaming as I made my way to the altar. I saw that Lexie was also attending and standing next to Sash. As I got closer, I noticed that Sash began to tear up.
"She looks so beautiful in that dress…" Lex whispered to Sash.
"I know. She looks stunning." Sash added, blinking to try and avoid tears slipping.
When the music ended, I finally arrived to the altar, gave my parents a kiss, handed my bouquet to Sash, and took Josh's arm after he shook my dad's hand. I couldn't stop smiling and I know my face will hurt after today, but I didn't care.
I was going to enjoy every last second of this.
The wedding went very smoothly, after a few readings and reciting our vows. After we exchanged our rings, it was time for the I do's.
"Joshua, do you take Audrey Susan Keller to be your wedded wife, through richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked.
"Yes I do." Josh replied confidently.
"Audrey, do you take Joshua Roger Anderson to be your wedded husband? Through richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" The priest then asked me.
"Yes, I do." I replied
"I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride!" the priest declared. The place went in an uproar of cheers as I placed my hands on Josh's face and he wrapped his arms around my waist, leaned in and kissed him!
…Or so I thought.
Suddenly, I stepped back and started to feel weird. The place was spinning a bit, the voices of the cheers became softer to the point of silence and the room began to shift somehow.
Something was wrong.
I began to feel dizzy, and rubbed the side of my head, trying to make sense of what's happening when I heard
"AUDREY! HELP!"
I snapped my attention back and looked, gasping in horror. Several Imps were holding back Josh, Sasha and Steve, while they squirmed trying to free themselves.
"Oh no!" I gasped.
"Audrey! Run!" Josh shouted, trying to break free. Then, three trap doors opened and all three of them fall through, screaming.
"NO! GUYS!" I cried.
Suddenly the scene began to shift, from the altar to, something else, I couldn't quite make what it was but everything was going so fast. I was frantically looking around trying to figure out what was going on when I heard Lexie scream.
"LET GO OF ME! AUDIE, HELP-!"
I looked and saw King Dice holding her hostage. His arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand clamped over her mouth, as she struggled to break free from his grip.
"Sorry, dollface! She's all mine now!" He taunted and laughed.
"No! LET HER GO, YOU BLOCKHEAD!" I screamed.
Flirting with me was one thing, but hitting on Lexie was going TOO FAR!
I attempted to run to help Lex and suckerpunch him like I did before, but someone grabbed my right wrist and pulled me back. I turned to see who grabbed me...when my face grew completely pale.
It was the Devil who had grabbed me. He had a terrible wicked grin on his face, very visible like the crack on his horn serving as reminder of his defeat after the battle between the Cup boys.
My heart was pounding so hard I couldn't breathe and my entire body shook with fear.
"Well well, I'm glad to see you again, my lovely Audrey." He sneered at me, pulling me a bit closer to him. "I've missed my queen so much."
"No! No! I'll never marry you! I-I'm marrying Josh!" I shouted, trying to yank myself from his grip. But he didn't let go. He was very stubborn as I recalled the last time I was in Inkwell, not letting me slip by so easily, and this was no different.
"Did you, now?" The Devil asked, chuckling. It was so evil I nearly jumped out of my skin. What was so funny about that?
"You didn't marry him, but me." He replied, his grin getting wider and wider like the Cheshire Cat. I hated that grin so much. Made my stomach turn.
"WHAT!? No, no no no! It's not true! Y-you're lying!" I screamed.
"Am I?" He asked, gesturing to my hand.
I looked down at my wedding ring and I gasped. It wasn't the ring Josh placed on my finger. In its place was a gold ring that had a dark red and black diamond in the middle
"Oh no. No no no this can't be happening!" I panicked, my heart beating faster and faster.
"Oh but it is! I think it's time to change the scenery, don't you?" The Devil crooned at me.
Suddenly, as if by magic, the scene changed to his throne room, looking brand new; glistening pillars, fresh drapes, polished floors, and a clean carpet. I looked over and saw that the throne was cleaned and was practically sparking.
Or should I say, thrones?
Next to his, there was a white throne with a gold outline, and a small footrest of the same color and design. It wasn't as big as his, but almost a good size for…me.
Oh no.
And to add to that, my outfit changed too.
I was no longer wearing my wedding dress, but wore a dark red fitted sleeveless ball gown with a sweetheart neckline, and black lace roses were stitched at the bottom. I also red heels (that were quite comfy), an oval shaped red pendant that had a golden frame, connected to a black chain around my neck, and a gold cuff on my wrist. My hair was in an elegant bun with strands on both sides framing my face and had a golden diadem crown on my head, and a black lacy veil.
I was on the verge of having a panic attack. This was the exact same dress from a nightmare I had when I first traveled to Inkwell.
I also notice the Devil was wearing a purple robe and a gold crown on his head. He was more than pleased to see me like this, grinning evilly from ear to ear, pulled me close to him and cooed
"There, much better. Now, why don't you pucker up and give your new husband and king a good kiss?"
He began to cackle, which got louder and louder until I couldn't take it anymore and just screamed
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Ahh! Not the Devil!" I screamed as I sat up quickly. My heart was racing and I frantically looked around trying to figure out where I was.
When I realized I was in the hotel room.
Still a bit frantic, I felt around my neck to see if the pendant was there, but thankfully it wasn't. I then looked at the table and saw my engagement ring there. I picked it up and placed it on my finger. I finally checked my feet and thankfully, they were clean, no dirt on them.
I finally took a sigh of relief.
"Ok, it was just a nightmare, nothing more." I looked over to the second bed and I saw that Chalice was gone. I figured she might have woken up earlier and went out or something. I walked over to the windows and pulled back the curtains, nearly blinding myself with sunlight. I looked out in the town and it was a beautiful morning. The sky was clear, and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day.
"Wow. Sure is nice out."I smiled. "Maybe once we get the wonder tart made, maybe we can go on a picnic. Hmmm, better have it when we have my friends found."
Just then, I heard a knock at the door.
"Just a second." I called, rushing to the door and unlocking it. I opened it up and I saw the three cups there.
"Morning, Audrey!" they stated in unison. Ok, that was pretty cute, I'll give you that.
"Morning, guys. Sleep well?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. I slept like a log." Cuphead replied, doing a quick stretch.
"Well, I needed to get comfy, but I eventually feel asleep." Mugman mentioned.
"I couldn't really snooze." Chalice shrugged. "I mean sure I got some sleep but it was kinda hard. The bed wasn't super soft."
"Yeah, that's kinda the thing with hotels. The beds are not super soft." I mentioned. "I honestly prefer my bed, but sometimes you have to live with it."
"Makes sense. Anyway, after breakfast we should head on over to the next ingredient for the wonder tart." Mugman suggested.
We nodded and headed down to the dining area. After eating a good breakfast, we headed off to find the next ingredient. As we were walking out of town, I still wrestled with my thoughts, regarding the nightmare I had.
"Man, that was one of the scariest nightmares I've had, and that pretty much topped the other nightmares." I thought. "Still, like the other dreams, they felt so real; the voices, the people, everything. They must mean something, but what could that mean? Those nightmares didn't just come randomly. They have to connect somehow."
I shook that feeling off and decided to focus on the next food item. We were looking for Gnome Berries and apparently they are very juicy and full of flavor.
They were located in the high mountains, next to the ice arena. The odd thing was some of the mountains looked kinda like stoned legs and feet. Maybe it was just the way they were structured, so I didn't think much about.
As we hiked through the mountains, I looked over at the other hills and noticed that some of them had odd faces to them. They looked like snoozing giants or something. The rest seems to take notice.
"Sheesh, some of the mountains have odd faces on them." Mugman stated.
"I agree, but what's up with that?" Cuphead asked. "Never seen mountains like those before. Closes we got was where Grim stayed."
"Those are some strange faces alright." Chalice added. "I mean, who got the idea to make those faces on them mountains?"
"Not sure. Hey, by the way, how's Grim doing?" I asked. "I know I only saw him during the fight, but never really got to know him."
"Oh he's good. Nothing too big going on with him." Mugman replied. "He and Djimmi the Great have been meeting with one another traveling and teaching eachother their abilities."
"That's cool to hear." I smiled.
As we continued to chat, we followed a narrow path and came upon a large field over looking the mountains and upon that, we saw a field of berries, lined up perfectly in long neat rows, and we saw a few baskets near one of the hedges.
There even was a sign that read;
Gnome Berry Fields
"Wow! Check it out! A whole field of Genome berries!" Cuphead exclaimed.
"And there's plenty to collect!" Mugman added. "How many do we need?"
"According the the recipe we need two basket fulls of them." I read over the sheet. "So, I can take one basket and you guys can take another and we'll fill them up!"
"Sounds good. Let's go!" Chalice exclaimed.
She flew off with the boys to one end of the field and I took a spot for myself. I remembered a while back Josh, Steve, Sasha and I went on a double date and went strawberry picking at a local strawberry field. We collected a lot of them and made different foods with them; a fruit salad, ice cream, a strawberry pie, cake and even jam. Ooh I love strawberry jam, especially when it's made fresh with real strawberries. I had to stop myself from taking spoonfuls of jam, otherwise I would one get sick and two, run out.
As I picked the berries, I couldn't help but notice that they kinda did look like real life strawberries back home. Now the question is why call them Gnome berries? They didn't look anything like a genome as I looked at them closely, but maybe it was just the name? I dunno.
I shrugged the feeling off and continued to pick some berries. Man, the more I put in the basket, the more heavier it got. I just hoped the boys didn't waste time eating them and arguing about that.
"Cuphead! Save some for the tart!" I heard Mugman shout.
"But they're so tasty and there's plenty left over!" Cuphead argued.
"If you keep scarfing them down, there won't be any left!" Chalice mentioned.
Never mind.
I smiled and rolled my eyes. They always find a way to argue about something like that.
I was finishing up, when I felt the ground shake for a brief moment and then stopped.
Then it happened again this time a bit closer.
The shakes got harder and harder and harder, I was on the verge of loosing balance.
"Whoa, what's going on?" I asked, panicking a bit.
I then saw the boys and Chalice rush towards me, basket in hand, and shouted
"Audrey! Audrey! The ground's shaking!"
"I know! What's causing it!?" I asked. The weird thing was, it wasn't like an earthquake. They would go on for a while before stopping completely. This was like, someone stepping one foot down in front of the other.
Oh no.
Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over us and I became scared.
"Please don't tell me who I think it is…" I prayed, hoping it was something else and not someone I want to avoid.
We all turned around and looked up. Well, good news was it wasn't that demonic freak. I have heard rumors that he can make himself huge like a giant. Speaking of which, that is exactly what we encountered. I mean, still granted I was scared but at least it wasn't the Devil.
The giant wore roughly-tailored tunic, carried a mountain on his back that tapers into rocky protrusions on his skull. He had a big red nose and a few missing teeth, with pink puffy cheeks; although his beard and hair are white, his eyebrows and body hair are dark brown, additionally wearing open-toe sandals and a blue belt.
Huh, guess Julie Andrews was right; the hills are alive, but with the sound of murder, not music.
"WHO DARES DISTURB MY BERRY FIELD!?" He boomed out, causing us to loose balance and hit the ground, causing some of our berries to spill out.
Ok, this was pretty bad. I know they said we would have to deal with baddies who weren't gonna go down without a fight, but they could've mentioned that one of them was a freaking giant!
"Who-who are you!?" Chalice called out, her voice shaking.
"I am Glumstone the Giant and you are trespassing on my Gnome berry fields!" He replied.
"How were we supposed to know you owned those fields!?" Cuphead shouted. "There was no sign or anything!"
"You're trespassing on my grounds!" He argued. "Now you're gonna pay for your thievering!"
We had little time to react as he grabbed us in his massive hand and began to take us somewhere. Great, now I know how Mickey felt when he had to face the terrible giant from The Brave Little Tailor. I wasn't sure what was happening, but we were in berry big trouble!
See what I did there? It's 'very big trouble' but I put in berry instead?
I know, bad joke.
Anyway, we then saw that he was opening his hand and we slipped out, landing hard on a long brown stone cliff, thankfully having enough room to move but not a lot to go. The odd thing was his long white beard covered that section which felt really scruffy and really weird.
"Oh we are so dead." Mugman whimpered.
"Ok, calm down. We've faced guys six times bigger than he is." Cuphead reminded him. "We can handle this guy."
"You two wanna battle this giant?" Chalice asked.
"Sure. Mugsy and I can handle him." Cuphead smiled.
"Ok, but y'all be careful." Chalice warned them. "Come on, Audie. Let's take cover."
We rushed off the platform and hid behind some large rocks. I peeked out, getting my book and pen ready, and sure enough the book began to glow again.
The battle was a bit complicated but it wasn't as bad as many we've encountered.
The boys were standing on five rock pillars that constantly moved up and down a random times, so coordinating and timing was gonna be necessary. Two pillars will fully retract into the ground during this phase.
Periodically, Glumstone did one of three attacks. First, He transformed his nose to a curly red whistle and blows it, while holding up a sign of "GEESE XING" and holding the other hand up like he was stopping traffic. The top half of the battlefield will be filled with geese crossing, some wearing a bow, some having blue or cyan gnomes riding them on a saddle. He looks proud of himself during this attack and some of his hair and beard are blown forward by all the geese.
"Man, geese are so annoying!" Cuphead grunted, as he blew off a few feathers from his shoulder
"You're telling me. I just like to watch them near the pond, not zooming over our heads." Mugman added.
Next, after pulling both his hands out and closing one eye to focus on the boys, he stretched open his mouth to reveal two gnomes brewing purple potion in a witch cauldron. The blue one poured potion from a round-bottom flask and the cyan one climbs on a stair and stirs the content. Purple gas clouds came out of the cauldron and flew towards them. Knowing the fact that purple potion often kills people, they avoided them and continued to fire at the giant.
Finally He picked up a huge bear from below the mountain and slowly pulled it from the left side until it reached the third pillar. At that point, he got bored and threw it off the cliff and down to the town below.
"Sheesh, what that bear ever do to him?" I asked Chalice, who shrugged at me.
During the battle, Blue gnomes are hidden in his beard along the floor. When walking on them, their hats will be squished for while before poking through and stayed there for a while before lowering back down. Some that were right in the middle of each pillar struggled to poke through the beard for a while. They danced in places, but were easily defeated. They often shot a puff of yellow cloud by pulling on their beard, cycling between straight above, diagonal, above, and the other diagonals.
After a while, he started pulling on his beard out of anger, as his face turned red and his irises radiated. He held onto the platform and pushed it away, ripping his beard off in the process while writhing in pain, as his eyes revolved around each other. After he realized his painful mistake, he screams and falls down below.
"Oooh that's gotta smart." Cuphead winced.
"Yeah, and to think, Elder Kettle has bad days with his mustache." Mugman added.
Just then the giant appeared again, only this time, he brought toys. He was ridden of his beard and left with stubble, had a bandage on his cheek and chin and a black eye. He held up two puppets, both with buttoned eyes which reminded me too much of the movie Coraline, and resembled King Dice as a jester with a red and purple color scheme, and small bells on the end of his tassels, while the Devil is dressed as a king with a purple robe, a crown, and is coated with red fur instead of black.
There were two groups of gnome that were lifted up in the foreground on the bottom corners to King Dice puppet is holding a bag of coins that acted a like big rubber ball. The bag had to be avoided at all costs as the two puppets threw it at each other as if they were playing ball while attempting to crush the boys. The puppets were often raised or lowered and it changed where the ball gnomes on the ground sometimes popped out and jump around, but were easily defeated.
As they fought off the giant, I kept looking at the puppets. While I thought the one of Dice was pretty funny, and true since he is a joke and a fool for that matter, I was terrified of the Devil puppet. No, I am a huge fa of puppets, I've taken my cousin to see them in the city. It was about his clothing; a purple robe and a golden crown.
Very similar to the one from my dream.
I began having flashbacks to the dream I had; he grabbing my wrist, his wicked smile and his robe and crown that he wore, not to mention hearing that cackling laugh.
I shuddered and Chalice took notice.
"Hey, you ok? I know it can be a bit chilly up here, but it's not that cold."
"It's not that. It's the puppet of the devil." I mentioned as she looked at the dummy version of the demonic king.
"What about it?" she asked.
"Well, I had dream last night that I was marrying Josh and then it began a horrible nightmare." I explained. "Josh and the others fell through trap doors, my new friend Lexie was taken away by King Dice and the Devil grabbed me and said I married him instead. Then we were in his throne room and he was wearing that, I screamed and woke up."
'"My goodness, sounds like you had a crazy dream." She gasped.
"I know, and I used to have nightmares like that before but I haven't had them in a while. Until now that is." I mentioned. "What could that mean?"
"Well, I ain't one to know much about dreamin' but it could just be old nerves and stress about the wedding." She thought. "Look, he ain't knows you're here so maybe it's best to leave it be."
I nodded, calming down a bit. As long as I wasn't caught or anything, I think I'll be ok.
I then went back to writing and saw that they defeated the puppets. The coin bag exploded, the puppets shook around, slightly teared up and lowered away as well as the spectators platform. Shaking in anger, he grabbed the platform and crushes it, eating the rocks and the boys! With a look of satisfaction on his face, he burped.
"NOOOO!" I screamed.
"Gadzooks! He ate them in one gulp!" Chalice cried.
I ran to the giant and shouted
"Hey! Get them out!"
He then laughed.
"Sorry, missy, but they're gone now! Both in my tummy!"
He cackled and I was freaking out! I needed to find something to get them out! Sheesh, how did Mario and Luigi get out of Bowser's body in Bowser's Inside Story, or when they were in Yoob's body in Partners In Time?!
Just then, he stopped laughing and groaned, holding his stomach. I arched an eyebrow. What was wrong? Then, he began yelping in pain, groaning and rubbed his stomach like he was trying to soothe a stomach ache.
I wasn't sure what was going on inside the belly of the beast, but if I know the boys, they were up to something.
After a whole of moaning, groaning, and pain, suddenly, he began to hiccup a bit, to the point of looking like he was gonna burp.
"Oh jeez! Chalice! TAKE COVER!" I shouted, running back to the rock. Just as we hid behind it the giant gave out a loud
BUUUUUURP!
He belted out, causing the boys to be flung out from his mouth and launched high in the sky.
Thinking fast, I drew a large soft bed cushion for them to land on, just seconds before hitting the ground. They bounced a bit before stopping, looked at each other and laughed.
"Ha ha! Oh man, that was crazy!" Cuphead giggled.
"I know, and we've survived worse!" Mugman added.
Coming from behind the rock, Chalice and I rushed to them.
"You ok guys?" I asked.
"Yeah, we're good." Cuphead smiled as he and Mugs slipped off the cushion. "It was a really weird and kinda gross battle."
"Yeah, don't ever wanna do that again." Mugman shuddered. We then heard the giant groan, and stand up, rubbing his stomach.
"Oh man, argh, that smarted." He moaned.
I pondered over something. He wasn't a bad guy, per se. He was more, misguided, and just wanted to protect his berry field. But he did look like he was in a lot of pain so I stepped forward and called
"You know, I would recommend hot tea for that stomach ache. It's helped me the last few times."
"Really? You think so?" Glumstone asked arching an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah. Some nice hot tea with lemon and honey. Works every time." I assured him.
"Oh thanks." He smiled. There was a pause before he added "Look, I'm sorry I attacked you guys. I shouldn't be so selfish about keeping the berries to myself. If you want, you can go back down and get as many as you like."
"Really? You're ok with that?" I asked.
"Since you were nice enough to help me with my stomach pains, it's the least I can do." He smiled.
I smiled back. "Well, we appreciate that, Mr. Glumstone. But don't worry we'll leave plenty for you to munch on."
He smiled and then strode off, disappearing in the mountains.
"Well, guess that takes care of that." Chalice sighed. "So, let's go get those berries!"
We nodded, made our way down the patches and recollected the berries. Alright, we just need one more and we can finally start making the wonder tart! I just hopped that the final ingredient won't be so hard to collect.
(JOSH'S POV)
After feeling my feet hurt for about an hour or so of walking, I decided to take a stop and take a rest. I was still groggy this morning considering I slept in the woods all night and feeling sore, but I didn't want to go back to the cottage and ask. It'd be pretty rude of me to invite myself.
I was traveling for a while, back to the large observatory to ask to help find Audie, but it got dark, so I had to stop for the night and get some sleep. I know I have been camping before, but with no tent and sleeping bag, it wasn't as comfy as I hoped it was.
Oh well. I lived.
"Ok, rested enough." I stated standing up. "Now I just need to get to that observatory." I continued to walk down the grassy path, taking in the sights and to enjoy the peace and quiet. I love New York, I really do, but it gets to be kinda hard when all you hear is the honking, people shouting, and construction. Every. Single. Day. Even at nighttime.
"Guess that's why they call it "The City that never sleeps.'" I chuckled to myself.
As I turned a corner, suddenly I came to a stop when I heard rustling in the bushes. Thinking it was just the wind blowing by it, I shrugged and moved on. Then it became very restless, shaking violently.
Now, I was a bit concerned.
Carefully making my way towards the bush, I knelt down and grabbed the branches. I knew this was a dumb idea, but I wanted to get the whole jump scare thing outta the way.
Taking a deep breath, I quickly pulled back the branches.
"HA!" I claimed, but stopped.
I turns out it was a few squirrels, who looked up at me with cheeks stuffed with food.
"Ok, I really must be losing it." I muttered, and let go of the branches. I turned around to get myself up when I was face to face with creepy yellow eyes, yelped, stumbling back.
I got a good view of it. It was a purple little monster with small horns, a pointed tail and a small pitchfork in hand. And to make matters worse, he wasn't alone. He had a few other friends along with him.
"There he is. Boss said we need him alive." One creature piped up.
"Agreed. Let's make this quick and make him happy." Another said.
Something told me I didn't want to know who their employer was. Scrambling to my feet, I made a dash in the opposite direction, running as fast as I could. They were stubborn and didn't want to give up without a fight. They ran after me, but since I did a lot of running to train for wrestling, I knew I could outrun them.
I hope.
I headed deep in the forest, pushing back branches, jumping over rocks and small stumps, trying to avoid them at any cost. I looked back to see how far they were, when I realized that was a bad idea, because I tripped over a small log and landed hard on my stomach.
"Yep, that smarted." I grunted, as I pulled myself up. Sadly, they caught up to me and pointed their pitchforks at me.
Terrific. This could not get any worse.
"Well, looks like you failed to out run 'em huh? Sorry that didn't last long." A loud and confident voice replied behind me.
Too late. It got worse.
I turned around to see who it was…and I was super confused.
The person who spoke was a man, who had a dice for a head, and dressed in all purple.
"Ok, I knew this place was funky but I didn't think it'd get this weird." I muttered.
"Glad we finally caught up to ya. The boss has been dying to meet ya." He continued.
"Ok, who the heck are you?" I asked.
"I'm King Dice, manager of my employer's casino." He replied. "And speaking of which, he requests an audience with you. He won't take no for an answer."
"Sorry, cube head, not interested." I protested. "Besides, he should've come and told me himself, not so much sending out his messenger boy."
"He's a bit busy, and I'd hate to keep him waiting." He smirked. Then with a snap of his fingers, the creatures piled on top of me, and prevented me from escaping. As I squirmed and tried my best to get them off, I began having serious flashbacks to Power Ranger episodes when they would get tackled.
Now, I was getting a good idea on what they went through.
Just then, the floor opened up beneath me and gravity pulled me down hard. My felt my stomach flop around so hard I thought I was gonna throw up. I kept falling like there was no end and prayed it would stop.
A heart beat later, I landed on my feet on the hard ground. The area though was a bit dark and dank, with a small light from the torches on the side. The creatures that were holding me seemed to vanish, much to my relief, but Dice was still there.
Grabbing both my wrists behind my back, he dragged me down a stairwell and hallway of the dungeons, before we reached a cell door.
"Hands off! Let go! Stop shoving!" I shouted.
Just then I heard two familiar voices;
"Wait, is that-?"
"Josh!"
The door opened and I was shoved in. I caught myself, dusted my shirt, and glared at Dice.
"Jerk!"
"Hey I could've done something far worse than that." Dice sternly replied. I shot him a look before turning to my friends. Turns out, they too had a wardrobe change. The girls wore new dresses and Steve wore a new sweater vest.
"You alright Josh?" Lexie asked.
"Yeah I'm ok. Glad to see you guys." I replied as hugged each of them. "You guys ok?
"Well, I'm still alive sooo yeah all good." Steve claimed.
"A bit startled, but ok." Sash added.
"Yeah, same here." Lexie added to that.
"Well, since you're all here, I'll go let the boss know of your arrival." Dice informed us. "He's dying to meet ya." With that being said, he slammed the door shut, locked it and left.
"Freak." I growled.
"Ignore him." Steve mentioned.
Lexie, after the door slammed shut, jumped a bit startled.
"Jeez did he have to slam the door? Surprised he didn't tear that thing off its hinges…"
"Surprised he didn't. I replied. I then took a breath. "Ok now that we're all here, I just have one question; WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"
"Uh still putting the pieces together, but we have some idea on what's going on." Sasha meekly replied.
"Sash and I saw demons and that blockhead back there was commanding them." Lex explained. "I think we're messing with some serious demonic forces here. Maybe even...oh dear God."
"And to make things worse, it turns out that blockhead knows Audrey." Steve piped up.
I was shocked. "What? Seriously?"
"Yeah. He refers to her as 'dollface' which is gross, and his employer might know her too." Sash mentioned.
"Oh great that can't be good." I groaned. As if it was bad enough being dragged here by him, he also knows Audrey too. I then noticed that Lex was hugging herself uncomfortably, groaning a bit.
"You ok, Lex?" I asked.
"Well, to make matters worse, Dice...came on to her." Sash answered, rubbing Lexie's back
"WHAT?! That sleaze bag!" I exclaimed. Dice tried to hit on a 19 year old girl!? That's just SO wrong!
"Yeah, he tried to kiss me." Lex shuddered. "I mean, sure I've had people flirt with me, but come onto me? Never in my life."
"I am so sorry he did that. That is SO not cool of him!" I reminded her.
'Yeah, but thankfully, I punched him in the face and helped her.' Sasha beamed.
"Way to go, Sash! though never took you to punch someone." I mentioned.
"It was a one time thing." She shrugged.
"Still appreciate it, Sash." Lexie stated.
"No prob."
"But going to back to Audrey, you think she's been here before?" I asked.
"We think so, and it might have something to do with the drawings Sash showed earlier." Steve mentioned.
"Oh, that's right I totally forgot." I sighed, recalling what Sash told us at the coffee shop regarding the nightmares and drawings Audrey had.
"Yeah I think Dice talked about that." Lexie recalled. "He mentioned her travels here and how he called her "dollface". Ugh gross."
I pondered over for a second before replying "But I think there's more to that."
"What do you mean?" Sasha asked.
"Well, I ran into someone and they actually know Audrey." I answered. "She was here to do this task, oh what was it? Uh…oh! It was to be a scribbler."
Lexie arched an eyebrow. "A Scribbler?"
"Yeah. Basically, she was selected to write the story of these two boys named Cuphead and Mugman and she records the battles they do before coming here." I added.
"So, she's an author?" Sash asked.
"Yeah, she determines how the story will end." I mentioned.
"You think they're looking for her to change it? Steve wondered.
"It's possible." I shrugged.
Lexie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Typical bad guys...always wanting to change the ending to their favor…"
"Sooo all we have to do is make sure she doesn't change the story?" Sasha asked.
"Sounds like it." I replied. I couldn't see any other reason why they would want her. If they wanted her to change the story and make it the way they want it to end, they would go through any means necessary to get her.
"Seems like it." Lex piped. Then took a heavy sigh. "Hate to say it, but we're gonna have to see whoever this "employer" is. Hopefully get some stinkin straight answers…"
"I'm kinda scared to meet him." I muttered.
Before anyone could say anything else, suddenly, we heard the door unlock. At first we thought it was Dice, assuming he got word to his boss and was now tasked to bring us to him, but when it opened, we were shocked and relieved. It wasn't Dice. Rather, it was a short fat demon with yellow eyes and yellow gloves.
"D'uh boss wants to see you guys." He replied opening the door for us. We all felt a huge tension in the air.
Sasha gulped, clinging onto Steve's arm. "Well, it's now or never."
"Agreed." Lex replied, her voice shaking a bit.
We then made our way out of the dungeon and down the long hallway.
This was probably not gonna end well.
And I didn't know the half of it.
Well, the good news is there's only one more ingredient left. Bad news; the group has been captured. Next time, the group meets the Devil himself! Hold onto your hats folks, 'cause it's gonna be crazy! You could say there'll be 'locked horns' involved.
As always, thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to leave a review, but let's avoid the flames please :D