Happy New Year to you all. The break did me a lot of good and we are starting the new year with a new chapter. It took a little longer, but I hope you were able to endure the long time.

Until then


Whistling and cheerful, Cuppy walked through the forest like a happy little boy or cup who had just had the best day of his life. Well, you could say that if you didn't know him. But Cuppy was in such a good mood because of something else. He could be alone without being disturbed by anyone.

There was no arguing from Cuphead and his brother Mugman, Alicia didn't have to listen to the devil babble at her again and Elder Kettle didn't shout so loudly through the whole house that you could hear him even in the cellar. The last few days were very exhausting and loud. No matter what, Cuppy couldn't relax much.

That's why he decided to go for a "long" walk to escape the stress he is not facing. However quiet it was at the moment, he quickly remembered one thing that really worried him.

"Damn it!" He had forgotten that without his invisible impenetrable sweater he could no longer protect his soul, which the devil craved. Without it, he was practically a target for the devil and could pop up at any moment to grab his soul.

But while he was thinking about how the devil would appear behind him to grab his soul with one hand. Nothing happened. It was quiet in the forest except for the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. There was no sign of the devil. "Phew! Thank God. I was beginning to think..." the young cup fell silent when he suddenly heard something loud. Confused, Cuppy slowly turned around but saw nothing. He only saw the forest and nothing else. However, the sound he had just heard did not stop. No, it could be heard again.

It was louder this time and seemed to be getting closer. The noise sounded like something big and round rolling towards him. This worried and confused him a lot - what was it? A tractor tire that came to life? A water wheel?

No, it was a huge peppermint candy that just rolled past him. Cuppy saw it and stared at it as if it was the most normal thing he had ever seen. Wait a giant peppermint candy?! He rubbed his eyes and watched it roll through the forest, indicating that he should follow it.

He hesitated at first and didn't want to follow the giant Bon Bon, but his gut feeling told him otherwise and so he followed it through the forest. Knowing that it could be a trap from the devil himself. But otherwise it could also show him a way to sugar land. A place Alicia had been searching in vain for since her arrival on these Inkwell Isles. Not because she wanted to eat sweets, but because of a certain person who lived in this part of the Inkwell Isles.

Baroness Von Bon Bon.

She was the serious ruler of Sugar Land and didn't let herself get down as easily as you might think. She was strong and knew how to defend herself and her people. Her candy cane was always equipped with a shot gun that could fire cotton candy that was harder than any metal. She also had several loyal subjects who always stood by her side and a living candy castle that flattened anyone who dared to attack its owner.

Cuppy knew exactly what to expect when he had to fight the Baroness together with Alicia and his brother Mugman. Well, actually only he and his brother had to fight as Alicia only had to write down the fight in her notepad.

However, Bon Bon has changed a lot since then. On the one hand because she was free and her soul no longer belonged to anyone, and on the other because she was Alicia's godmother. She changed enormously and was more friendly since Alicia came into her life. Not only because she liked to hug her like a little child, but also because she had someone to protect. Each of her subjects had their own way of defending themselves. Except Alicia. She was what most people on the Inkwell Isle's called a rose. Alicia looked beautiful and had to be treated with care. Just like a rose.

That's why Bon Bon always protected her from any danger. Just like Lucifer did. Everyone knew that Alicia could easily break a bone if she wasn't treated gently. Everyone in the book world knew it. Just not everyone from this one. The devil had given her a scar around her waist a few months ago, which fortunately healed thanks to a magical Bracelet.

However, this did not appear to be the first incident. Many of the inhabitants of these Inkwell Isle's don't know that real people can get hurt very quickly. The injury Alicia had clearly showed that. But Cuppy was less worried about the injury. He was more worried about whether it was really wise to follow the huge bon bon that rolled straight through a hollow tree trunk.

He looked through it and no longer saw the bon bon. It had disappeared. But that couldn't be right. It must still be in the forest. He couldn't imagine it any other way. So he looked behind the tree to make sure it had rolled on and not through the hollow tree where he saw nothing but black. But there was no bon bon. There was nothing of the sort to be seen anywhere. Nothing but trees, bushes and the like. No huge bon bon. "Hmm," he said, shrugging and about to turn his back on the tree when his nose suddenly smelled something. Something that smelled sweet and delicious. His nose turned in the direction from which the smell came from the hollow tree.

Unintentionally, he walked through the tree and trudged through the darkness until a bright light caught his eye at the end of the darkness. It came closer and closer to him and became brighter and brighter. So bright that he had to close his eyes to avoid going blind. His feet kept going until he stepped in something soft. Something soft that was sticky as he lifted his foot and felt it still sticking to his foot. Confused as to what it could be, he opened his eyes.

The ground he was standing on was no longer the forest floor but a pink sticky ground that looked like chewy sweets or cream. He bent down and took some of the cream on his finger to taste it. "Hmm strawberry cream" said Cuppy, who still had some on his finger and wanted to taste more of the cream until something fell into his eye.

It was the place he and Alicia had been looking for for a long time.

Sugerland.


The mountains of cakes with whipped cream topped with cherries, the trees of candy canes and lollypops and the fountains of cake and sweet soda were everywhere. But that wasn't all. The path Cuppy was standing on and everything around him was made of sweets. It looked just like the sugar land from his world.

"Wow!" was the only thing that came out of his mouth before he continued to look around. Everywhere he looked he saw sweets. This delighted him greatly until his gaze fell on a more than familiar candy castle. He swallowed his joy with a gulp and turned into pure fear when he saw it. He knew what this meant. If the castle was nearby, the owner shouldn't be far away. And Cuppy didn't want to know what her character was like because he knew how the baroness from his world reacted if you entered her realm without her permission.

She would be furious and chase away anyone who dared to steal her sweets. That's why Cuppy didn't want to stay too long and turned away from the castle to walk towards the exit. This was very similar to the entrance as it was a hollow candy cane tree. His feet wandered in that direction. But before he could even set foot, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Where are you going?" giggled a female voice that made Cuppy stop. He looked around to see where the voice he had just heard was coming from and saw a cotton candy bush moving. He went to it and hesitated at first whether he should search through it. But he didn't because suddenly a person came out of it and startled him so much that he landed on his butt and almost lost his head.

His head literally fell into his hands before he placed it back on his body. He didn't want to drop his head and wanted to know who or what came out of the bush. So he looked forward and saw the person standing in front of him.

It was the Baroness.

She stood right in front of him and grinned cheerfully at him while she held out her hand and waited for Cuppy to grab it. But he was too busy taking a closer look at the baroness.

Surprisingly, she looked very much like the Baroness from the book. She has a very feminine appearance, was tall and skinny and her color palette is mainly composed of pinks. However instead of yellow eyes she has mint-blue eyes, her gloves are white and not pink, and the flounces on her dress are lighter with a shine while the skirt is darker.

She also has light pink and white tights that resemble candy canes and dark purplish-pink Mary Jane flats. In general, she seemed to have lighter colors than the Baroness from the world Cuppy came from. Her personality also seemed to be different. She seemed more cheerful and not annoyed as she usually was when she had unwanted visitors. Cuppy didn't hold it against her. After all, the baroness wanted her peace and quiet too. That two cups could annoy her could not be ruled out.

"Oh, did I scare you so much that you went into shock or why are you looking at me like that?" the Baroness asked him as Cuppy regained consciousness, shook his head and grinned nervously at her before reaching for her hand.

"Sorry it's just that you look very familiar" the Baroness pulled him towards her so that Cuppy stood on his feet again. "Oh really?" she asked curiously, staring at him intently. Or rather, her face was right in front of his so that both eyes were staring at each other. Of course, this made Cuppy even more nervous than before, so he just nodded and swallowed nervously. "That's strange because normally I can't leave my realm," she moved away from him while she thought for herself. Cuppy, on the other hand, was only confused by the statement. Why shouldn't she be able to leave her realm?

He really wanted to know and didn't hesitate for long to ask her why she couldn't leave her kingdom. But he didn't get an exact answer from her. She seemed to keep ignoring the subject and asking him if he wanted something to eat. But Cuppy wanted to know and kept turning down her offer. The Baroness realized that she couldn't wrap him around so easily and gave in. She told him why she couldn't leave her kingdom and was practically alone in Sugar Land. "I've been cursed" Cuppy's eyes widened when he heard this and saw how sad the Baroness looked.

You could tell that she found it very difficult to talk about it. Especially about what the curse was doing to her. Cuppy knew that this would not mean anything good and therefore felt bad when he asked her about it. He didn't want her to feel bad.

So he decided to lighten the mood himself by telling her more about himself, his home, the other baroness and, of course, his friends. The smile quickly returned to the baroness's face. The sadness was gone as quickly as it had reappeared. Not because he was cheering her up, but because of Alicia. When he mentioned her, the Baroness had to grin a lot more than before. Cuppy could tell, but he thought nothing of it. He didn't think much about the baroness hurting Alicia. Unlike the devil and her rivals.

"Oh, your friend sounds so interesting. I would love to get to know her" Cuppy gladly fulfilled her wish with a nod. "She's still in the cottage but I could bring her here if that's all right?" delighted, he ran towards the exit and was about to go through when the Baroness suddenly appeared from the ground in front of him. He braked and stopped in front of her. For good reason, because she held two fingers up in her left hand. One of these fingers still had some of the cream on it.

"Before you go, you should know the two most important rules," the Baroness mentioned while Cuppy nodded and listened to her. "Rule number one!" she said in a loud voice to get his attention, which she now had. Cuppy listened to her and ignored the fact that she had just licked her finger. "Tell no one about Sugarland. With the exception of your friend Alicia" Cuppy nodded and listened to her again.

This time she stared at him more intensely than before before explaining the last rule. "And rule number two!" She put her hand on his shoulder and, holding out her candy cane, showed him everything in Sugar Land "Eat all the candy you two desire, just not my candy castle" This in turn confused Cuppy. Why would he and Alicia want to eat something from the castle? "Not even a teensy-weensy bite" the Baroness added so that Cuppy would understand that she was serious. In reply, Cuppy just swallowed and assured her that he had no intention of biting off anything from the castle.

Not even a teensy-weensy bit like the Baroness had said. After all, Cuppy was reluctant to know what would happen if he did. Probably nothing worse but still the young cup didn't want to know and so decided to leave. She let him through and waved after him before Cuppy disappeared into the darkness of the hollow tree and she was alone again. Saddened by this, she sighed and walked away from the tree, saying to herself "I really hope he comes back with her" the Baroness hoped so.

After all, she had heard a lot about Alicia. The Inkwell Isles aren't exactly big. Word gets around quickly. So it wasn't long before she knew about it too. How, she didn't know herself. But she knew who Alicia was and what she was capable of.

"Toodle-oo"

Cuppy ran out of the hollow tree and didn't turn around. Not even when he heard this sentence. His focus was on what lay ahead and where he wanted to go. Back to the cottage and to give Alicia the good news. The little house did not appear before his eyes for too long. Cuppy was relieved and went in and opened the door to the guest room to deliver the news just as he realized that no one was in the room.

Confused, he looked around the other rooms but the others were nowhere to be seen. Only when he looked in Cuphead and Mugman's bedroom did he realize that the group was in there. "Hey, Alicia I got some..." He suddenly stopped talking when he saw the bad-tempered face of Mugman, who was holding his pumpkin bucket in which he had saved his Halloween sweets from last year. Unlike Cuphead who had eaten his the very next day.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked nervously while Alicia, who was sitting next to Mugman and comforting him, looked to him and nodded. Blood and Varian seemed less than thrilled with the answer Cuppy got. Basically, Cuphead had put a firecracker in Mugman's trouser pocket, which not only destroyed Mugman's pants but also slightly injured him. That's why he had bandages wrapped around this area. From Alicia, of course. As a reward for letting him be treated, she allowed him to eat something sweet. So he wanted to go upstairs and get something from his stash. Unfortunately, there was nothing left because Cuphead had found it and eaten it all.

You could tell that Mugman was angry about it. Alicia didn't seem too happy about it either and wanted to confront Cuphead, but just then Cuppy came running into the room. "Oooh! I get it now," he said, glaring angrily at Cuphead, who still had chocolate stuck around his mouth. "What do you have to say for yourself?" asked Cuppy who was about to approach him but Blood stopped him.

He knew as well as Blood that it wouldn't help him to blame Cuphead any more. He was already ashamed himself and didn't know how to pay for the damage. But then Cuppy thought of something. He could take the group to the...

"Rule number one! Tell no one about Sugarland. With the exception of your friend Alicia!"

But then he heard the first rule the Baroness gave him before he left Sugar Land. Knowing that he couldn't just saying this in front of the whole group, he covered his mouth with both hands. However, Alicia and Mugman were confused and wanted to know what he had to say. But how could Cuppy tell them? "What?" "Is something wrong Cuppy?" the two asked him while Blood, Varian and Cuphead. The later had wiped away the chocolate, stared at him in confusion.

The group didn't get an exact answer though as Cuppy pulled both Alicia and Mugman out of the room and slammed the door in front of Blood, Varian and Cuphead. The wolf and the fox twitched their ears and growled slightly. "Cuppy, what's wrong with you?" Alicia asked curiously while Cuppy looked around to make sure no one was listening in. He didn't want the others to know what he wanted to tell Alicia and Mugman.

"Yes, why are you behaving so strangely? That's very unlike you" Mugman stared at him questioningly while scratching his fingers on his chin. Cuppy knew he had to let the cat out of the bag and break one of the two rules the Baroness had told him. He took a deep breath and spoke what was bothering him. Or that's how it looked to Alicia and Mugman. "I don't know exactly what happened to Mugman but..." Alicia and Mugman looked at each other in confusion before paying attention to him again.

"But what If I told you there is a place where everything's made of candy, would you wanna go there?" Judging by the look on Mugman's face, he didn't seem very pleased about this statement. He looked even more skeptical than before and now felt that Cuppy was making fun of him. Sure, they were sweets. Something you could buy in the store and easily replace. But that wasn't the point of Mugman's anger. It was because he had lost the trust of his brother, who had simply devoured his sweets without asking him first or controlling himself.

That's why he was so angry and wanted his brother not only to replace them but also to learn something from them. Even though he and the others knew that Cuphead wouldn't do it. Alicia, however, knew which place Cuppy was describing to her and Mugman. It was Sugar Land. A small but large land that consisted only of sweets wherever the eye looked. You could almost say it was a mixture of Wonderland and the chocolate land of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

She and Cuppy had searched in vain for this place since they had landed here. But since there was no real amusement park on these Inkwell Isle's and they hadn't seen anything of Beppi, Djimmi, Grim, Wally and the Baroness, Alicia was of the opinion that this place didn't exist and therefore the Baroness didn't exist here either.

"Are you really sure about that?" she asked him, while Mugman was even more confused than before. Cuppy just nodded and confirmed her question while Mugman couldn't take it anymore. "Of course I'd want to." But then he remembered what Alicia meant when she quietly mentioned the name of the ruler who lived in Sugar Land. She didn't notice and just wanted to hope that they were lucky this time. "Wait, who's the Baroness?".

Alicia heard his question and tried to explain to him who she was and why she meant so much to her. "Well, in the world Cuppy comes from, she's one of my godmothers and she always treats me with care, even if she likes to exaggerate sometimes." The two cups realized that she was embarrassed to admit this and said nothing more.

On the contrary, they were both happy for her and wanted to accompany her there. However, Alicia had the uneasy feeling that it could be a trap. The devil hadn't appeared for weeks and left the group alone as much as possible. He wasn't after the souls of Cuphead and Cuppy, nor was he flirting with Alicia or trying to kidnap her.

This was the perfect opportunity to grab the three of them. After all, he could grab what he wanted undisturbed. It was too risky. Alicia didn't want Cuppy or Mugman to bump into her. That's why she decided to come along only if the others did.

"I kind of suspected you would say that, Alicia," mentioned Cuppy, who finally gave in and told the others about the place too. Of course Cuphead was very happy and wanted to run downstairs but Blood held him tightly by the handle so he didn't get far. Both Blood and Varian were skeptical about the place. Especially when it came to the description of the entrance. A house that looks like a cupcake was plausible and logical, but a hollow tree raised concerns.

That's why the six of them, rather than the three of them, went into the forest to the very place Cuppy had found that would lead them to Sugar Land. However, the group seemed to have lost their way and every hollow tree Cuppy tried only led to a dead end. "Damn I thought it was the right one this time" frustrated Cuppy walked out of the hollow tree and took his frustration out on the tree trunk by kicking it with his foot causing a few hazelnuts and a squirrel to land in his head and take a quick bath in it.

With a shake of his head, however, the squirrel disappeared again and climbed up the tree with his hazelnuts. "Are you really sure about that? I mean, this is the sixth hollow tree we've stopped at without even being in this so-called land of sweets," Cuppy confirmed Varian's statement with a nod and tried to think clearly when the group suddenly heard something approaching them. Confused as to what it could be, the group turned around and were surprised not by a giant devil as Alicia had suspected but by a giant peppermint bon bon. Wait, what? It rolled past the group like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Naturally, the three cups were delighted and followed him while Cuppy shouted "Come on, it'll take us to Sugar Land" several times. Alicia was skeptical, as was Blood. Leaving the three cups alone now was not a good idea. Varian, on the other hand, couldn't believe that such a thing was possible. So the three followed the cups and saw how the giant bon bon rolled into a hollow tree into which the three cups also ran. Only Alicia, Blood and Varian stopped and looked into the hollow tree, where they saw nothing but darkness. "Cuppy! Cuphead! Mugman!" Alicia shouted into the tree, which echoed like a cave, which was unnatural.

At first the three heard nothing and were worried that it really was a trap set by the devil and that the three cups were in his captivity. But then... "Ali! Come here, you have to see this!" The three heard Cuphead's voice clearly and didn't hesitate for long and ran into the hollow tree The three adults ran deeper and deeper into the darkness, not knowing where they were. It was far too dark to see exactly where they were, let alone where they were going. Even Blood's crystal couldn't dispel the darkness.

However, a bright light appeared at the end of the tunnel and briefly blinded the three of them. But they quickly got used to it and headed in its direction. The light grew brighter with every step, so that the three of them closed their eyes for a moment as they walked on. "Ali, open your eyes!" said Cuphead as Alicia slowly opened her eyes. To her amazement, they were not in the underworld but really in Sugar Land.

"Wow!" Alicia could no longer close her mouth and looked around carefully while music could be heard in the background.


What if there was a place with all the zip of sweets?
Wouldn't that be the cheer-cheer-cheeriest place in all the world?
Where the rivers' made of soda and the mountaintops are fizz
With fun and snacks for all the kids

Eyes wide open, Cuphead and his brother Mugman looked around and couldn't believe that such a place existed here. Cuphead was downright jealous that Cuppy had found this place before him.

Well it turns out there's a place with all the zip of Sweets
Come on down to Sugar Land and see it for yourself

The group didn't stop for long to look at the place from afar, but to experience it up close. After all, Varian was very interested in whether the huge cake next to the entrance really tasted of chocolate.

Candy Cane Forrest lots of fun for tots like you and me
And Dough Adventure's full of animal crackers to see
Blast off to Gummies Zone for otherworldly thrills
Down in Dry Rock Candy Gulch there's Cola up in them thar hills

As the group walked down the hill, they saw a signpost that had a candy cane with signs made of cookie and labeled with frosting. The signs read "Candy Cane Forrest", "Dough Zoo", "Gummy Zone", "Dry Rock Candy Gulch" and finally "Candy Castle".

The World of Refreshments the most wonderful place
The friendly streets of Sugar Land put a smile on your face

You could see the joy on the faces of the three cups, who could hardly wait to run off and eat everything that fell into their eyes. However, Alicia seemed to be keeping the three of them in check. She was very careful and wanted to make sure that it really wasn't a trap set by the devil.

Now you know there's a place that's just as great as sweets
Come on down to Sugar Land and see it for yourself
A vacation that refreshes; a trip you won't forget
A place with every minimum acceptable safety standard met

Alicia felt comfortable but somehow the song scared her. She knew that Zuckerland didn't have any music in the book. Sure, the subjects liked to sing when they had nothing to do, but they would never sing so creepily. At least not that Alicia knew of.

Quench your thirst for adventure at Sugar Land


"Adventure?" Oh boy "I'd love to" Alicia gave herself a face palm as Cuphead looked up where there were adventures. Mugman, however, was more than confused about this place and whispered to Cuppy "Is this really..." Suddenly the group heard a giggle and stopped immediately. "Didn't you hear the song?" Where does that voice come from and why does it sound so familiar? "It's Sugarland" Alicia looked around and saw the castle in the distance. She and the others were staring at it when suddenly someone jumped out of it and flew towards the group.

Or that's what it looked like. In reality, she floated towards the group. Everyone was puzzled as to who this person was. Only Alicia and Cuppy were not. Both knew who this person was. "My name is Baroness Von Bon Bon and today is your lucky day" her eyes fell on Alicia, although she meant the whole group. However, Alicia felt strange.

"You get to eat all the sweet treats you desire" Uh what? The group was extremely confused about this. Especially Alicia, who didn't know what to say. The three cups were determined to start running. Especially Mugman, who was so excited he wanted to eat everything. However, "Um, no thanks", they all looked confused at Alicia. Why was she reacting like that? Alicia herself didn't know what to say or whether she should say anything at all as her cheeks were slowly blushing. You could tell she was nervous.

Alicia didn't want to say why she reacted like that. She didn't know if it was a trap or not. Whether they were in danger or not. She looked around frantically to see if the devil was nearby or not, but she saw nothing and calmed down again when someone stroked her head. She closed her eyes calmly and breathed normally while her heartbeat returned to normal. "Thank you," she said with relief and looked over at Blood, who stared at her in surprise. Hadn't he reassured her? Was it perhaps Varian? No, he also shook his head. It couldn't have been the cups because they were too small to stroke Alicia's head. Let alone reach it. So there was only one person left.

"You're welcome, my dearest," Alicia followed the voice that stood directly in front of her and knew that it was the Baroness who had reassured her. This confused Alicia a little because she didn't know the Baroness from this world. She didn't know who she was and she didn't know that Alicia was a real person. That's why she didn't look drawn or anything like that.

Alicia always stood out from the group and was therefore usually recognized immediately by the residents of Inkwell Isle. Come what may. That's why many male toons seemed to fall in love with her. The devil was just one of many and unfortunately one of the few who didn't give in when she rejected him.

"You don't need to worry my dearest you are safe here as long as you stick to the rules which I hope you all remember" the baroness's gaze fell on Cuppy who nodded swallowing nervously while tears of sweat slowly ran down his face. The others already suspected that he had broken a rule and wanted to hope that no one would break any more rules. "So you can look around and eat everything you want," she bent down again and gave the three cups the sign with a wink that they could run off and have fun.

Oh man, somehow I just have to think of Augustus Gloop. You couldn't blame her when she saw Cuphead and Mugman sliding down the hill with their mouths wide open while Cuppy stopped for a moment and wondered whether he should slide down himself or not. He decided against it and slid down normally while licking a small lollipop he brought out from behind his back. "Varian could you..." the fox looked at Alicia who was staring at him worriedly. He knew what she meant. She was worried about the three cups and didn't want to run after them as she was currently being ensnared by the baroness.

He nodded and ran after the three cups that were on their way to some candy cane trees. Meanwhile, Blood stayed with Alicia and the Baroness. He wanted to make sure that Alicia was all right. "So my dearest, what do you say we go for a little hike?" suggested the Baroness. Or rather, she went ahead with Alicia without her being able to say anything while the wolf followed them both.


Hours passed while Alicia, the Baroness and Blood wandered around Sugar Land. Well, it wasn't really a hike in the sense that the Baroness asked Alicia lots of questions and showed her around Sugar Land. Blood always kept his distance to make sure that neither the Baroness nor the devil he had not yet seen, heard or smelled did anything to harm Alicia.

"Why do you want to know so much about me?" Alicia asked herself when the Baroness asked her what she liked. It was almost as if she was trying to be like Bon Bon from the book. She was gentle with her, stroked Alicia when she was worried and liked to offer her a cupcake to calm her down. Alicia accepted, but she wasn't sure whether she should eat it or not. "Well, your friend Cuppy told me a lot about you and about the world he came from..." she was silent for a moment, sighed and continued, "and I would like to be your godmother. Alicia's eyes widened when she heard that. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She hardly knew the baroness and yet she wanted to be her godmother. And all because she had heard about Bon Bon in the book.

Tears flowed uncontrollably from Alicia's eyes as she hugged the baroness tightly and refused to let go. Both the Baroness and Blood were shocked by this reaction and didn't know how to react. Alicia, however, was satisfied. Satisfied that she had someone she felt comfortable with. Since she had been here on the Isle's, Alicia had not really felt comfortable.

Not because this one was different from the other Inkwell Isle's but because almost every character she knew was different. Ribby and Croaks were not the typical boxers but rather businessmen who had a club, the Root Pack were downright creepy and seemed to find it rather unnecessary to party in other people's gardens without asking permission first, Brineybeard was not as cheerful and energetic as his book counterparts and Cala Maria...

Alicia didn't want to think about it. It was bad enough that she wanted to attack her. Alicia was very touched that the Baroness now wanted to be her godmother. So much so that she no longer wanted to leave Sugar Land. She felt safer here than in the cottage. However, she knew that it wouldn't be that easy. The Baroness's sad face told her that something was wrong. "I would love to keep you here my dearest, but unfortunately I can't because of my curse" Alicia's and Blood's eyes widened when they heard this. "What kind of curse?" Alicia asked, confused. You could see it in her eyes that she didn't know about the curse or that Cuppy didn't tell her about it.

Either way, the Baroness knew that she should show her the curse. Sighing, she pulled down her left opera glove, under which a reddish symbol could be seen. Alicia recognized this symbol immediately. It was a devil's mark. The same mark she had on her elbow. Only this mark seemed to be throbbing. What's more, it was constancy red. "Don't tell me you've been cursed by the devil" Alicia really hoped it wasn't so. If it was, she would tell him what she thought. And she didn't mean talking. No, she meant something else.

"I'm afraid I don't remember, my dearest, because my memories from back then were lost in the curse." The Baroness sighed again as she pulled up her opera glove. "But I still remember how alive this place was" a tear ran down her cheek which solidified and turned into jelly which the Baroness ate.

Alicia and Blood didn't know what to say. Sure, it was made of sweets, but that wasn't the reason why Alicia felt that way. She wanted to help the Baroness, so she pulled her arm out of the hoodie to show the Baroness her devil mark, which was black and not active at the moment.

"Have you been cursed too?" asked the baroness. But Alicia shook her head and explained to her what this devil's mark was really for. It was there to protect Alicia from unwanted lovers should she feel annoyed or uncomfortable. Should this be the case, the color changed from black to white, from white to yellow and finally from yellow to red. This coloring was not intended as a deterrent but to give the others a strong electric shock. Alicia has used it to escape many an unwanted lover. Even the devil from this world who often touched her on the spot and received an electric shock.

The Baroness understood that this was not a curse but a kind of protection that Alicia received from her husband Lucifer, the devil from the world Cuppy came from. Knowing that it wasn't a curse, the Baroness breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as my goddaughter is happy, I don't care who she is with." Alicia, however, was not really happy. She wanted to break the curse so that the Baroness could explore the islands and bring the place back to life.

Blood realized it too and decided to use his abilities to break the curse. Fortunately, he still had an empty bottle in his left belt pouch. He opened it and took out the bottle along with a few ingredients he needed to brew a certain potion. However, a few ingredients were still missing, which happened to be right in front of him. Alicia realized that he was staring at her and turned to him with a puzzled look. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked him. The wolf didn't give her an answer, but pulled a small piece of hair from her and took it. "That's all I need." Okay, strange. Alicia thought nothing of it and ignored it.

"I only need this to prepare my potion" when the Baroness heard this her eyes widened "What do you mean?" she asked him as Blood crouched down and began to brew the potion. A pot appeared in front of him on a small campfire, heated by Blood's guardian flame as he conjured up some water to add the ingredients to the pot.

Both women looked into the pot and saw how the color of the pot changed and became grayish. The liquid also became thicker and looked very much like mud. However, it was not mud but the antidote that the baroness was supposed to smear on the spot where the curse was. The muddy and slimy mass was enough to cover the entire devil's mark. Ofcourse, she smeared the mixture on the curse and felt it take effect. Black particles reminiscent of ash slowly detached themselves from her skin while the Baroness remembered her memories that had been lost due to the curse.

"Oh, I remember everything again and..." the Baroness fell silent as her pupils shrank before she began to cry. "Oh my God, what have I done?" she sank to the floor and sobbed. Alicia didn't know what to say. But she had a clue what it might be. However, Alicia did not despise her. Quite the opposite. She hugged her and forgave her. It was the curse's fault and not hers.

Of course, Alicia knew she was innocent and didn't want her as her godmother. "Now that that's settled, we should probably go back slowly," suggested the wolf, who was packing everything back into his bags. "Oh yes, you're right!" The sky over Sugar Land slowly became redder and redder while one part slowly faded into blue. The sun, in the form of a bon bon with a sun on it slowly disappeared into the horizon.

Time had passed so quickly that Alicia and Blood didn't even know that it would soon be dark. They definitely had to go home and they had to go home now! But...


"Cuphead, what happened to your straw?" the three of them heard from a distance. It was the voice of Mugman, who seemed to be worried about something. The Baroness could already guess what exactly it was as her face also showed concern. Alicia suspected that something was wrong and ran ahead while Blood and the Baroness followed her.

"Boys! I..." Alicia stopped and couldn't close her mouth when she saw why Mugman was so worried. Cuphead had turned into some kind of gummy bear while Cuppy had become a animal cracker. Mugman, however, seemed to have been changed as well. He himself had turned into a gingerbread man or rather gingerbread-mug? and didn't seem as pleased about it as the other two.

It was not for nothing that the three of them were shouting at each other and asking how this could have happened. Varian himself had no idea what exactly was going on as he had just come running and was completely out of breath. "Why did you turn into sweets?" asked Alicia, nudging Cuphead, causing his body to shake slightly. Cuppy and Mugman, however, had problems standing up straight and kept falling to the ground. Neither of them could get up at all and needed help. But the question Alicia had asked was not answered by the three mugs, who were still confused. They were too shocked by what had happened to them that they completely ignored Alicia's question.

"I know what happened," the six of them looked at the Baroness who poked all three cups with her candy cane and turned them back into their normal shape. They were very pleased about this and thanked the Baroness very much for changing them back. "What do you mean exactly what happened?" Alicia asked confusedly as she took Cuppy in her arms and stroked him to calm him down. Blood held Mugman in his arms while Cuphead lay in Varian's arms.

"Well, I told him that my second rule was that you shouldn't eat anything from my candy castle," the Baroness pointed her candy cane at Cuppy before moving to the side and showing the castle from which a piece had been bitten. So it was clear that the candy castle was cursed to turn anyone who ate from it into candy.

Well, and the fact that the castle suddenly opened his eyes to look at all three cups in annoyance before he took something from the floor to cover his bitten off spot. Oh man Cups. The Baroness was less than pleased that her rule had been broken but she forgave Cuppy. Without him she would never have met Alicia and would probably still have her curse. So she let the three cups get away again and accompanied them to the exit while the castle slowly fell asleep, yawned and closed its eyes. "I still hope you enjoyed your day here," Alicia couldn't say no to that. She had really enjoyed the day. She smiled. That was a rarity since she had been here and it pleased not only the Baroness but also Cuppy and the others.

"Of course I enjoyed it and I promise to come back soon," Alicia promised as she hugged the Baroness with Cuppy in her arms. Cuppy wasn't doing well, however, as he had gorged himself just like Cuphead and Mugman and only wanted one thing. To sleep. Mugman was already asleep in Blood's arms while Cuphead was on the verge of vomiting. It was hard to miss the greenish tint that was slowly taking over his cheeks. "I think we should go Alicia I don't want my clothes to smell like vomit" Alicia agreed with him and followed the others to leave Sugar Land while waving after the Baroness. Yes, she wanted to do so much with her. But for now they had to go home to put the three cups to bed.

When they came out of Sugar Land it was already evening and there was still a long way to go to the cottage. Or was it? Well, when they turned left behind a tree, they saw the cottage from afar and went there to rest from today's adventure. After all, they hadn't had an encounter with the devil today, but with someone they would have more contact with in the future.


Song: Nuka World Theme Song from Fallout 4