And on it goes. Sorry that I was not so very active I hope you forgive me for that. I will continue working on the other story next week before I concentrate on the rewrite of the Cuphead Show adaptation.
The question of how the devil will marry Alicia is explained in the next chapter.
Until then
Dolly and her husband James were both in their bed when they just woke up. Both were still tired but at the same time neither wanted to get up. Both had time off, that was true, but one thing was still unclear. Well, not really unclear since both of them never got up that late. Normally John, Alicia or both would have woken them up long ago and asked when breakfast would be. But both adults felt nothing of this. Normally, Dolly would not care. But still, the sudden silence worried her a little, which is why she finally got up and woke up her husband. "James" he didn't react "James!" said Dolly a little louder but this time he didn't do anything either. Only when she shook him did he wake up. "What's the matter darling?" judging by his tired look he was still half asleep.
"I'm worried about the kids. It's too quiet" she said with a worried look. James was a little confused. "Why? They're still asleep, aren't they?" he said, showing her back until he realized what he had just said. He stood up bolt upright, got out of bed and walked with Dolly out of her bedroom. They both went down the stairs and looked around. They were neither in the kitchen, nor in the bathroom, basement, pantry, living room and guest room. But Dolly's worries did not get any better. Therefore, they both went back upstairs and looked around. Please tell me they are both in their bedrooms. But unfortunately these were also empty. "They're not in the bathroom either" James said when he came out of the bathroom and saw how worried Dolly looked when she came out of John's room.
"James I..." she didn't know what to say. Both children were gone and yet Dolly sensed that they were near. "Did you look in Alicia's room again?" he asked her. Dolly nodded and went with him into Alicia's room. There she looked around but found no trace of her daughter and son until she saw the Cuphead book lying on the bed folded shut while next to it lay a note that Dolly took in her hand.
The note said the following
Hello mom and dad,
by the time you read this we will be in the book and looking for a Mother's Day gift. Please don't worry so much about us we will be back before breakfast I promise.
All love Alicia and John
P.S. love you mom
Dolly and James were very relieved when they read that. Now they knew where their two children were and what dangers they were in. Dolly actually wanted to prevent the two and especially Alicia from entering the book since the devil had it in for Alicia. "I have to get in there and get them out before he can grab her!" said Dolly as she walked out of Alicia's room to change. She didn't want to travel in her pajamas. So she put on her navy blue t-shirt with a crocodile on it, blue jeans, red socks and black loafers. She was ready and was about to go into the book when James looked at her worriedly. His brown eyes radiated concern.
"Do you want me to come with you honey?" he asked her, slightly concerned. After all, he knew that the devil had it in for his daughter. He had just as many worries as Dolly right now. But she didn't want to put him in danger. Because the devil also had it in for him after Dolly had rejected him again. She would love to have him with her as a companion, but she refused with a slight shake of her head. He already suspected that she would not say yes. After all, he himself knew that he is just as unsafe on the islands as Alicia. "I would love to take you with me, darling, but you know he wouldn't hesitate to take you, well, you know," she didn't have to finish the sentence. James knew what she meant.
He approached her and gave her a kiss before she slowly disappeared into the book with one leg "You get our kids back while I prepare breakfast" both lips parted as Dolly sank more and more into the book until she disappeared completely leaving James alone.
Dolly was now on her own again and had to quickly find her two children before the devil did. But she was too late, because the devil was already near Alicia and was watching from behind a tree not far away from her as she slowly put on the bracelet. If this is around her arm he can bring her into his realm without any problems. Soon you will be mine, my little princess, his claw slowly descended on the bark as he continued to watch her. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Mugman standing next to Alicia and taking the bracelet from her.
"Hey!" she said slightly annoyed as she glared at Mugman. The devil shook his head and looked at her in confusion. The Mug had taken the bracelet and was holding it away so Alicia couldn't reach it. "Oh that mug!" he said annoyed. Yes, he was angry that he had taken the bracelet away from her. He had blown his chance to catch Alicia and bring her into his kingdom. "Alicia No! the bracelet is enchanted with dark magic and was created by the devil" he said when Alicia suddenly stopped reaching for the bracelet and got scared when she heard that name.
Immediately she began to tremble and searched for a suitable hiding place. But she found none, which made her even more afraid than before. Mugman realized that he had said the wrong thing and tried to calm her down. Meanwhile, John rejoiced in his victory as he reached Hughes first while Cuphead was still out of breath and panting. "You...have become much...faster than me" said Cuphead with pauses in between to get some air to breathe. "Sure I trained when I lost to you last time!" said John proud of himself. He had defeated Cuphead but unfortunately he didn't hear any clapping from Alicia or Mugman. That confused him a bit. So he looked around and realized that they weren't with them, but were lagging behind.
John already suspected why when he saw how much his sister was trembling with fear. "Oh no!" he said and ran to her and Mugman while Cuphead, still panting, ran after him. Mugman saw John and Cuphead approaching them while trying to reassure Alicia. "Alicia are you okay?" asked John as he looked at her with a concerned expression on his face. She shook her head and clawed at him while Mugman dropped the bracelet and stepped on it. Dark smoke came from it as it rose. You could see it from far away.
But John wanted to know why she was so suddenly afraid. She was happy just a moment ago. So what was the reason? Was it the bracelet Mugman stepped on or something else? Mugman noticed that John was staring at him, waiting for an answer. "I took away the bracelet that was made of dark magic and created by the devil," Mugman explained as Alicia trembled even more at the word devil. John's eyes widened when he saw his little sister shaking with fear. He ignored everything around him and gently pushed Mugman aside so he could come to his little sister and calm her down.
However, she continued to tremble and was about to cry when she felt her brother calm her down by hugging her. The trembling stopped and Alicia quickly calmed down again. She stopped shaking and let only one tear fall. "Thank you John" Alicia said as she wiped away her tear and was back to her old self. Both brothers were very pleased that Alicia was doing well again. Mugman was still sitting on the grassy ground where John had pushed him to go to his sister. Alicia saw him and was about to help him up.
"Let me help you Mugman" she said and helped him up. "Thanks Alice" the smile on his face was hard to miss. Also hard to miss was the angry face of the devil who was still standing behind the tree watching all this. He didn't believe it. From one second to the next he almost had her. She almost had the bracelet around her arm if that mug hadn't ripped it out of her hand and destroyed it. He knew that it would not be easy, but he did not want to give up so easily. No, he was obsessed with having Alicia with him. She belonged to him. To him all alone. So he decided to follow the four of them. Without them noticing anything. "Don't worry my little princess, you'll be mine soon enough" he disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the four approached the observatory.
This looked small from a distance but as the four approached it they saw how big it really was. It was gigantic in size. Or at least that's how it looked to the four of them. "And you really think Aunt Hilda can help us find a suitable gift for our mom?" asked John as he looked at the two brothers while Alicia was still looking at the building. Well, not quite at the building. Rather at a strange cloud formation that was above it. Alicia knew that this cloud formation was no ordinary one. It was the cloud garden of Hilda Berg. In it she planted her airigolds. Charming little puffballs made of the lost heavenly cloud material. Each flower rests on a slender cloud stem with wispy white leaves that flutter gently in the wind.
Hilda took great care of them and did not like it when her flowers were destroyed. Alicia remembered when Elder Kettle told her how Cuphead had destroyed some airigolds with his baseball and Hilda was not very happy about it. This is exactly why Alicia was very careful when she was near this very garden. She did not want to upset her godmother. No, she didn't. Suddenly, however, she heard a knock that brought her back to reality. Alicia looked at the door her brother had knocked on while Mugman tried to open it. But it did not work. It was locked and the only key has... "Aunt Hilda!" they both turned and saw Alicia running towards a cloud that was slowly descending.
On this one sat none other than Hilda Berg. "Well, who do I see standing in front of my observatory?" she landed with her cloud on the ground and was embraced by Alicia who jumped into her arms. Hilda held her in her arms and cuddled with her while the others ran up to the two. "How is my little cloud?" Hilda asked Alicia who was still in her arms. The others went over to her and Alicia. "What are you doing here?" she asked, staring at the two cups and John. The four of them knew that Hilda was waiting for an answer, so they decided not to keep her waiting any longer and explained that both siblings were looking for a gift for their mother.
"Oh how sweet that you want to give your mother a gift" she said, patting Alicia on the head. She giggled and made Hilda smile. John and the others had to smile, too. "I'm afraid I can't help you there," said Hilda, who put Alicia back on the floor, looking confused. "Why?" Alicia asked, curious and confused. "Because unfortunately I already have something to do my dearest" she stroked Alicia over the head and slowly went down her cheek with her hand. The news did not please either sibling. They had hoped that Hilda would at least tell them which gift was perfect for their mother. Both looked sadly to the ground while both brothers felt with them. "But I know someone who could certainly help you," both siblings looked up at her with a curious but confused expression that quickly disappeared as they guessed who she meant.
The devil appeared behind the observatory and secretly listened to the others and learned where Hilda was taking the four next.
"Dorothy it seems I will soon have your beloved daughter with me" he clenched his hand into a fist as he said this. "And she will be mine!" he disappeared as well as the others. But none of them knew that at that moment Dolly entered the world. She was inside the cottage and immediately looked around for her two children. But they were no longer in the house. No matter where she looked they were not here and that worried Dolly very much. She wanted to find them quickly before he found them. Dolly knew that the devil had it in for Alicia after he heard her beautiful singing voice. The devil liked her very much as well as Dolly's singing voice.
"You're right Dolly. I'll find the right one," he said as Dolly explained that she would never betray her husband after he tried to seduce her again. She was glad he left her alone but then she heard her daughter singing. She was in Inkwell City with her family. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, but when she heard her daughter singing, Dolly knew something was wrong. "If I can't make you my queen and wife I guess I'll have to take your daughter" Dolly's eyes widened when she heard this and slowly turned to him. "What?" she was now suddenly trembling. Normally she had never done this before. Not even when she was facing him with the two cup brothers. But now she felt fear for the first time. Fear for her daughter, who was the target of the devil. "She is only six! Why do you want to make her your queen?" she asked him in a panicked voice while the devil just grinned at her.
She knew that she could talk him out of it. "Because she's perfect" Her daughter... no, her whole family was in danger. Dolly knew this and since then decided not to send her two children to the book or allow them to be in the book in the first place. "She will become my queen and wife and you cannot and will not be able to change that Dorothy" his laughter Dolly still heard when she thought about it. Even now she must think about it and felt more uncomfortable with every second. I have to find those two. That was her goal. But before she could take a step, she realized that someone was standing in front of her. It was Elder Kettle.
"Ah Dolly long time no see" he said with a happy expression on his face. His metallic beard bent into a smile. Normally, Dolly would be pleased. But now she was neither happy nor pleased. She was worried about her two children. "Is something wrong?" his eyes stared into hers, showing worry as well.
She nodded. "Does it have something to do with your children?" a nod from her answered his question. He knew that the devil was after her daughter. Her singing voice resembled that of an angel. No wonder he wanted to make her his wife and queen. But she was only six years old. Too young to be a queen at all. But both knew that he was persistent and would not leave her alone until he had her with him. "I need to find them both before he can grab Alicia" she said and walked past him outside to scan the islands for the two. "Wait you don't know where they even are?" Dolly turned and saw Elder Kettle running after her. She stopped so he could rest. After all, he wasn't the youngest of the two. "Maybe, but I have a hunch where they might be," Dolly said as she continued walking after Elder Kettle calmed down.
Yes Dolly knew where her two children are looking for a gift for her for Mother's Day. That's why she kept walking while Elder Kettle followed her. He wanted to help her and that pleased her very much because at least she didn't have to face the devil alone if he really managed to grab her daughter and bring her to his kingdom.
Arriving on the second island, the four jumped down from Hilda's cloud that had brought them across. They were now standing in the entrance area of the fair that made up most of the island. Besides roller coasters, Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and several stalls offering either games or food, two buildings stood out the most. One was a pyramid and the other a house that resembled a cupcake. Both siblings knew which former debtors lived in these two buildings. They were Djimmi the Genie and Baroness Von Bon Bon. Both liked the siblings very much. The latter, of course, Alicia more. But she also liked John and allowed both to stay in Sugar Land. Normally, she did not allow anyone to enter her kingdom without asking her first. But since she was more than good friends with Dolly and she was the godmother for her two children, she made an exception and allowed them to enter her kingdom.
"Thank you for bringing us over Aunt Hilda" John thanked her. Alicia and the others nodded and thanked her as well. "Yes, thank you Aunt Hilda" Hilda's face blushed when she heard the thank you's "Oh, you two don't have to thank me" she stroked both of their heads and made them both giggle. "You go ahead and say hello to Bon Bon for me" she jumped back on her cloud and flew back to the first island. "Okay then do we want to go to the Baroness?" asked Cuphead as the others stopped waving and nodded in agreement. Everyone walked towards the cupcake house. Cuphead held the door open so the others could go inside. They were in a small sales room. Next to the sales counter behind which was a shelf with various recipe books, jars filled with candy and wrappers, there were a few tables with chairs in the room. Otherwise, there were two doors in the room next to the entrance and exit. One led to the storage room and the other to Sugarland. This was distinguished by a sign on it said that only employees may enter this.
Cuphead went to the door and the four of them were alone in the sales room. No one was here. Neither the Baroness nor any of her subjects. "Where can they be?" Alicia asked herself, feeling a little uncomfortable while the others were already walking to the door and about to open it to go into Sugar Land when they realized that Alicia was not behind them but still looking around, frightened. "Alicia are you coming or not?" John asked her slightly annoyed as Alicia shook her head and he groaned.
Both brothers heard it and looked to the two siblings. "Hey, don't fight, you two!" said Cuphead, who was trying to break the two up, even though they weren't even close to fighting. Alicia only felt that she was not safe because she heard someone calling her. Only she couldn't pinpoint who it was calling out to her. It could not be her mother. Nor could it be her godparents or her father. So who or what was calling for her and telling her to go outside? "Alicia...Alicia...Alicia come to me" the voice said over and over again in her head. The voice was getting louder and louder with each passing second. She covered her ears because of it and didn't even notice that someone was standing behind her.
Only when she felt a hand on her shoulder she looked up and was greeted by the Baroness who smiled at her and took her hands from her ears. "Hey Alicia how is my little cream pie? Why are you shaking so much?" Bon Bon asked her while Alicia hugged her tightly and was about to cry if the Baroness hadn't calmed her down. "Aunt Bon Bon I..." she didn't know if she should say it but otherwise her godmother couldn't help her if she didn't say anything that was bothering her. "I hear a voice in my head and it scares me" she clung to the Baroness who gently stroked her back.
The others were more than confused. But Alicia quickly calmed down and was back to her old self. This reassured not only Bon Bon but also the others, but the former still wondered why they were here. She was always very pleased when the two siblings and the two brothers visited her but why were they here now? Well John explained to the Baroness why the four were here. "Hmm, a suitable gift for your mother" she thought and went behind the counter and pulled out one of the recipe books.
The others followed her and looked into the book with her. Well, all except Alicia could just look into the book. Unfortunately, Alicia was the smallest of the group. This bothered her but Bon Bon helped her and sat her down on the chair so that she could see something while the Baroness continued to browse and stopped on a page where a heart-shaped cake was to be seen with pink icing, sprinkles in a heart shape in the middle of the cake while raspberries were distributed at the edge. The cake was perfect as a gift for her mother. But unfortunately Bon Bon did not have enough ingredients to bake the cake. That's why she decided to go to town with the four of them to get the rest of the ingredients for the cake.
So all five of them went out of the house and made their way into town while Dolly was crossing the bridge with Elder Kettle. Neither of them saw the five disappear behind the many tents. "Where could they be?" Elder Kettle asked Dolly, who looked around. "They're either at Bon Bon's or-" "They're already in the City" they both flinched when they heard the voice and looked around. But neither saw anyone anywhere who had spoken to them until someone appeared in front of them out of a puff of smoke. It was Djimmi who was glad that Dolly was back in the book. Yes, he had missed her brown hair and her eyes. Both had different colors. One was green and the other blue. They were just like Alicia's eyes, only switched. Dolly was also glad to see him again, but then she heard what he had said. Her two children were in town and closer to Inkwell Hell and the devil.
Her frightened face was hard to miss. Djimmi also knew why she was frightened. Therefore, it was not difficult to guess that she ran in the direction of Inkwell City without even thinking about it. There the others were in the marketplace.
The marketplace was huge and had everything from food to clothes and more. But the five were here to look for the missing ingredients. Only the marketplace was much too big. Therefore, the others decided to split up. Cuphead and Mugman were in one group while Bon Bon was with both siblings looking for eggs and flour. Not far from them appeared a market stall that happened to sell the ingredients the three needed. "Ah Miss Bon Bon nice to see you again" said the vendor an anthropomorphic German Shepherd who greeted the Baroness and shook her hand while talking to her. Both siblings listened to the conversation, unaware that something was about to happen. Something worse. Something that Dolly wanted to prevent at all costs.
Alicia suddenly felt something bump against her shoe. Confused, she looked down at her feet and saw a silver glittering object next to her shoe. Curious, she bent down to observe the object more closely. It was the same bracelet she found in the forest before they went to Hilda's observatory. She tried to reach for it, but before her fingers could even grab it, the bracelet suddenly rolled away from her.
"Hey wait!" she said, running after the Bracelet that led her away from the Baroness and John. Both of them didn't notice anything because it was getting very loud in the marketplace, which was also getting more and more crowded. But that didn't bother Alicia who was still running after the Bracelet that led her into a dark alley where the bangle stopped and fell to the ground. Alicia saw it and picked up the Bracelet she was putting on around her arm. This time Mugman couldn't take the Bracelet out of her hand which pleased not only Alicia but also the person who now appeared behind Alicia. "Well who do we have here?" Alicia flinched when she heard the voice and slowly turned to see who was behind her.
It wasn't the devil, which calmed her down, but still she wasn't pleased to see that it was none other than the manager of the casino, whom she should also stay away from. At least that's what her mother kept saying. So to see him here with her now worried her very much. "Hi Mister..." Alicia said softly, but the manager heard her anyway. "Why so shy?" he asked her, approaching her as Alicia walked deeper into the alley until she felt someone standing behind her. Someone with a lot of fur.
"Dice we don't want to scare our guest, do we?" Alicia swallowed nervously and her pupils shrank when she heard that voice. Her head moved from slowly upwards and she saw who was standing behind her. The yellow eyes stared into hers. It was the devil. He grinned at her with a seductive smile that more than worried Alicia. She wanted to get away from him, but his tail wrapped around her waist prevented her from doing so. "Ah, ah, ah, my dearest don't you know it's more than rude to run away from someone who just wants to talk to you?" said the devil as he pulled her towards him, holding her tightly in his grip so she couldn't escape. She tried but her arms were too weak to free herself from his grip. "Let me go, I want to go back to my brother and my aunt!" Alicia kept trying to free herself but unfortunately it didn't work. She was too weak and that pleased the devil very much. "Forget about them, my dearest" he lifted her with his tail so that he and she were at the same eye level. Her heart raced with fear as she stared into his eyes in which she was reflected.
You could tell that she was scared and only wanted one thing. Being far away from him he would not exactly hold her in the air. "You are mine now my dearest whether you like it or not but the bracelet you are wearing is actually a wedding ring" Alicia and the devil looked at her hand where the bracelet was which slowly disappeared and appeared on Alicia's left ring finger. She tried to remove it with her other fingers but she could not. No matter how hard she tried it stayed around her ring finger. "Oh what a beautiful wedding ring" said King Dice as he stared at it while Alicia was still processing what she had just seen and heard. No, that was not true. She was not the one married to the devil. No, that was just a dream, nothing more. "Oh it's not a dream my dearest" Alicia looked up at him. How did he know she thought that? "Yes I know what you are thinking" he said while slowly stroking her cheek.
"So I think we'd better return to my kingdom, don't you think, my dearest Alicia?" before she could say anything, the devil disappeared with her and King Dice in a puff of smoke. "Mom help me!" she could still scream before she disappeared completely and the devil laughed mischievously.
Just at that moment, Dolly appeared in the marketplace with Elder Kettle. Both looked around but did not see the others anywhere. This worried Dolly very much. She was worried about her two children. But no matter where she looked she found no trace of them. She became more and more unconcerned with each passing second.
She didn't want to give up looking, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She did not like that at all. "Mom!" they both heard the voice that Dolly recognized immediately. It was John. That calmed her down a lot. But when she looked in the direction where the voice came from, she realized that something was wrong. It was only John and Bon Bon approaching her. There was no sign of Alicia. Even more so, the others looked worried. "John, where is your sister?" she asked him. He was about to say something when Cuphead and Mugman ran up to the group. Both looked as worried as John and Bon Bon. Cuphead was holding a note in his hand, which he handed to Dolly with a trembling hand. "Dolly I know where Alicia is" she took the note and read it.
She...she dropped the note and sinks to the ground while tears slowly came from her eyes. What she had feared the most had now come true. The devil had Alicia and would make her his queen.