Alicia slowly regained consciousness and felt that she was no longer being squeezed. Or how else you could describe it when you were in a giant hand. Well, sort of. Alicia thought to herself as she slowly and carefully opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a bright glow followed by a darkening. She held her hands in front of her eyes to adjust to the bright light that was slowly fading. Slowly, she could make out where she was. Some kind of cave? Alicia was confused. However, she quickly realized that the "cave" she was in was not a normal cave.
"Oh no, tell me that..." she slowly realized where she was as flames rose in the distance, the cave walls turned reddish and cries of pain could be heard.
She wasn't in some cave. She was in the underworld. More precisely, in the devil's throne room. At least that's what the pillars, the carpet and the throne that stood directly behind her said. But there was no sign of the devil anywhere, which relieved Alicia for the time being. Thank goodness. However, as she tried to lift her right foot, she felt something pulling at her. Before she could see what it was, she fled down the few steps and lay on her stomach on the floor.
Confused as to why she had flown there, she quickly found out. "Damn it, why the hell am I wearing a wedding-" she fell silent as she said this.
"Oh no, don't tell me this is real. Please tell me this is a freaking nightmare and not reality," she kept repeating in a shaky voice as she tried to somehow wake up. What she didn't realize was that a large circle of a shadow appeared on the floor behind her. The devil emerged from it, wearing a black tailcoat with black spats and a red bow-tie.
However, Alicia didn't realize this in time. It was only when she saw the shadow with the two horns she knew who was behind her. "Ah, so my bride has woken up." Alicia said nothing. She remained silent and paid no attention to him while she tried to grab the bottom of her dress so she could walk. Alicia only had one thing on her mind at the moment. To get out of here as quickly as possible before the devil dared to force her to marry him.
But as stubborn as the devil was, he didn't let her go so easily. No, he wanted his future wife to stay here with him. After all, she was his. "Ah, ah, ah, my love, where are you going?" His right hand grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards him. She stood with her back against his stomach and felt his heart pounding with joy.
It felt wrong. Alicia didn't want this and tried to free herself from the devil's grip. However, like all the other cartoon characters in the show, he was stronger than her and had to endure him slowly running his fingers through her jet-black hair and then through her onyx fur. He rubbed his nose gently against her head while his other hand went down to her belly.
"Hmm, it feels so wonderful to finally have you near me," the devil mentioned several times as he slowly stroked her cheek and was about to scratch behind her ear. But that was the end for Alicia. She had had enough and struggled to free herself from his embrace.
She kept her distance while the devil was a little perplexed as to why she was no longer with him. He missed it very much. You could see that in his face. However, you could also see that Alicia was not very happy about it and was slightly on fire with anger. "You disgusting over-sized cat with horns. Calling me your sweetheart is so disgusting!" She was close to vomiting but managed to calm down. "I will never, ever become your bride, your wife or your queen!".
The devil remained silent and said nothing. Alicia realized this and slowly calmed down again while her flames went out, rising from her fur. She thought she had won the argument but unfortunately this was not the case. The devil smirked, chuckled and finally laughed diabolically.
"Do you really think I would let you walk away so easily?" Alicia tilted her head and was about to say something until her eyes slowly opened and her pupils shrank in fear.
In his right hand, the devil held a document that gleamed golden. This document was a marriage proposal with two signatures. One belonged to the devil which was curlicue while the other belonged to none other than Alicia. Please, don't tell me that... It... it... It was her handwriting. There was no doubt about it.
"Oh yes my love you are mine now!" the proposal went up in flames and two wedding rings appeared in the devil's hands. Both looked similar to Lucifer's and Alicia's. Only the gold had a pattern and the ruby from her wedding ring was replaced by a sapphire.
He approached her with both wedding rings to put hers on. But Alicia wouldn't let him. Regardless of whether she was "supposedly" married to him, she didn't want him to take the wedding ring she had received from Lucifer. It meant a lot to her as it was the only memory she had of him at the moment.
"Stay away from me!" she said as she moved further and further away from him until she bumped into a pillar. She couldn't get out of his way in time. He stood right in front of her and grabbed her chin with his right claw. He examined her face with it and grinned even more than before.
"Why should I? You're my wife and queen now," Alicia swallowed when she heard that. You? His queen? Well, unfortunately that was true. She had somehow signed the marriage proposal. But how? She couldn't remember ever signing the marriage proposal. She had tried again and again to stop him. So it must be a dream. It could only be a dream. Or perhaps a vision?
Anyway, she didn't want to think about it and decided to wake up from this nightmare. She closed her eyes and tried to wake up. Slowly, everything around Alicia dissolved. The underworld disappeared, as did the devil, his imps and finally Alicia herself.
She woke up with her eyes wide open and breathed in and out frantically. Her heart was beating very strongly. As if she had been frightened by something. But it was only the nightmare. "Thank God it was only a dream," she said with relief until Alicia looked around. She was locked in a kind of cell in a large room made of dilapidated wood. At first she thought she was in some kind of building. But that was not the case.
The more she looked around, the more she realized that she was in a ship. More precisely, in the lower deck where, next to the cells, there were hammocks that had seen better days, crates of provisions or gunpowder and cannons. Most of them were broken or could hardly be used anymore. But Alicia didn't mind because she only wanted one thing. To get out of the cell and find out exactly where she was. It couldn't be Brineybeard's ship. The lower deck was far too big and looked far too battered.
So she thought about what had happened before she ended up here. "Well, me, Blood, Varian and the three cups were out in the harbor looking for the person who found the treasure map, went out to sea and then met Cala Maria and..." now she remembered. She now knew why she was here. And also that she should flee from here as quickly as possible. So Alicia tried to escape from the cell. But the door didn't open an inch. Damn it! She thought about what she could do until she thought of a trick.
"With a leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free" Alicia looked around and saw a sturdy metal rod that she placed in one of the gaps in the bars. The bar was suspended in the air, allowing Alicia to stand on it and use her entire body weight to release the grating from its mount. The rusty screws broke in two and the grille door fell out of the bracket.
Alicia was now free and could escape from her cell unharmed and explore the ship. She wanted to know where her friends were and whether they were all right.
She didn't know whether they were well or not. Were they even still around? Were they still alive or were they already swimming with the fish? Alicia didn't know. That's why she didn't want to stay here any longer and looked for a way to escape from the lower deck. A wooden staircase covered in barnacles and seaweed caught the corner of her eye. This was probably the exit. This was how she could escape from the lower deck. Hesitating no longer, she walked towards the stairs and stepped gently onto a step to see if the weight could support her.
The wood cracked a little, but it seemed to be able to bear her weight. Pleased with this, Alicia walked gently up the next flight of stairs until she reached the top and realized that the exit was blocked by a barred door. "Really now?" said Alicia, annoyed, and lifted the barred door. But it wasn't easy to lift, so Alicia had to switch to her demon form to build up enough strength to lift the heavy piece of metal.
The lattice door slowly lifted and slid sideways onto the upper deck. Alicia was relieved that this was now out of the way. This meant she could walk onto the upper deck without any problems and could now find out where she actually was.
She was on an old big pirate ship that had probably been here for a few years. The term "here" referred to the cave Alicia was in, which was mostly filled with water. She could see a few places where you could go ashore that led deeper into the cave. However, Alicia seemed to feel like she was in a labyrinth. She didn't know where to go or where she would even end up.
She didn't know what to do. On the one hand, she wanted to find a way out of here to look for her friends, but on the other hand, she didn't know which way to go. Alicia felt like Balto when he arrived with Steele's sled team at a crossroads where every tree trunk had been scratched by Steele to mark the way home. Like him, she didn't know which way to go.
She couldn't use her wolf nose because it was covered in the smell of sea salt. Alicia's nose was free but she only smelled what frustrated her. She turned around hoping that maybe there was an exit behind the ship that was placed in the wall. However, her eyes fell on the captain's cabin.
Through the half-open door, Alicia caught sight of something on the captain's desk. It was a shimmering gold parchment wrapped in a red ribbon with a stamp on it. Or so it looked, but it was more like a buckle that prevented the parchment from opening on its own.
There was a symbol on the buckle that Alicia recognized immediately. It was a mermaid with her face split in half. One half was smiling while the other showed a roaring monstrous figure. Similar to how Princess Fiona was portrayed in the storybook from Shrek 2. Only this monstrous figure was not an ogre but, as Alicia had already guessed, a Gorgoness.
Alicia went into the cabin and looked around while she took the roll of parchment and hid it in her hoodie pocket. She knew it could be important. The cabin itself was just like the rest of the ship. Broken and had seen better days. Everything was full of seaweed, barnacles and shells. There were several holes in the floor and the wood here seemed to be even worse affected than that on the lower deck. Shards of glass were scattered all over the floor and the windows were cracked.
You could almost say the ship had been through a lot before it landed here in the cave. Although Alicia rather suspected that it had been brought here and hadn't arrived naturally. The paths were big enough for even a five-meter tall man to walk through. But not for a ship. Especially not one this big. The only way it could have gotten here was through the hole in the water. This led through an underwater tunnel that led outside.
"So if that were true, it could mean that..." suddenly the cave began to shake. The ship shook too, creaking and cracking even more than before. The stalactites that were on the ceiling of the cave slowly detached and either fell into the water or crashed onto one of the falling paths and became rocks while the rest fell into the water. Confused as to where the shaking was coming from, Alicia suddenly heard a bubbling sound, runs out of the cabin and looked down at the water.
The bubbles became more and more until they disappeared and a shadowy figure appeared out of the water. Alicia immediately recognized who the figure was and hid inside a crate next to the cabin that was open and had a hole on the side and on the ceiling from which she could see the figure. "Yep Cala Maria," Alicia whispered as she watched the giant mermaid/gorgon free her octopus hair from the water. She paid no attention to Alicia which was partly because Alicia said nothing and was well hidden and partly because Cala Maria was grooming her hair by taking a dead I hope it's dead fish and using it as a comb.
She looked in the completely opposite direction from the ship, which gave Alicia the opportunity to find a way to escape from here. Her eyes wandered everywhere until Alicia found a path that led directly outside. Or at least so said the light she saw through the hole that was big enough for Alicia to crawl through.
Motivated, Alicia went out of her hiding place. But as soon as she took a step, the wooden board under her feet began to creak like her grandmother's wooden rocking chair. Damn! Alicia stopped and didn't move when she saw the huge shadow that completely engulfed her.
Slowly, she turned around and there she was. Cala Maria. She was huge, if not gigantic. Her eyes shimmered blue that slowly changed to yellow. The tentacles of the octopus turned into snake heads whose eyes were also yellow and hissed menacingly at Alicia while one or two of them just looked at her menacingly and showed their tongues. Just like snakes do.
Alicia couldn't really recognize an exact difference to her book counterpart. However, Alicia knew that Cala Maria from the book would never do anything to her. Cala Maria here, however, seemed to have a different opinion and would not hesitate to eat Alicia alive. Alicia suspected this too, but this was not the case when the snake heads turned back into tentacles and Cala Maria was back in her mermaid form. Neither of them said anything until Cala Maria spoke up.
"You're probably wondering why I brought you here, aren't you?" Alicia nodded. "Yes an explanation would be nice" You couldn't miss the annoyed and frightening look on her face. Cala Maria liked this very much. She saw both fear and courage in Alicia's yellow eyes. In general, she liked the way Alicia looked. The fur, the horns, the tail and especially the claws.
She was perfect. Cala Maria grinned mischievously before turning her attention to Alicia's question. You could see the young lady's impatience and slight anxiety. "Well, I hate to brag, but my title is known far and wide throughout the Inkwell Isles." Alicia looked at her in confusion. Since when did she have a title? In the book, Cala Maria was rather shy and apologized to anyone she accidentally startled.
"What kind of title?" she asked the giant mermaid, who slowly lowered her head to be at the same eye level as Alicia. However, this frightened Alicia even more, who voluntarily kept her distance. "As Number One Sea-beast, of course!" answered Cala Maria before getting up and transforming into her Gorgon form.
The snake-heads hissed even more menacingly than before while some tried to bite Alicia. But the "body" of the snake was not long enough, which leads to the fact that the heads flung back like a boomerang and thundered against the other heads. Stars circled over their heads while their eyes rotate.
Alicia had to smile when she saw this and couldn't help but giggle. Cala Maria heard this and was less than thrilled. She didn't want to be laughed at, she wanted to be feared. Just like a sea beast does. So Cala Maria didn't hesitate for long and grabbed Alicia in her hand, pinned her arms and lifted her up to her face.
"Hey! Let go of me!" yelled Alicia, but Cala Maria ignored her and walked with her over to a rocky slope. There were several partially rusted metal chains belonging to a rusty anchor covered in barnacles and algae. It had been slammed into the rock. If you could describe it like that.
Alicia already suspected what Cala Maria had planned for her. She wanted to attach her to the anchor with the chains so that she couldn't escape. As Alicia already suspected, Cala Maria was very interested in her. Not because she looked particularly tasty, but probably because of something else. "I'll tell you why I brought you here." Cala Maria tied the chain around Alicia's body so that only her head and legs were visible. The rest was wrapped in the chains. It was impossible for Alicia to free herself from the chains. They were too heavy and the rust didn't make it any easier. So she listened to Cala Maria.
Meanwhile on the beach, the sea washed up shells and other crustaceans as well as a red ship that was undamaged. The crabs crawling behind the rocks walked towards the ship and knocked against the wood with their crab claws until suddenly two pairs of shoes appeared behind one of the crabs. Startled, the crabs jumped up and ran towards the rock behind which they had been hiding and saw with their eyes who or what was standing behind them. It was a statue of a pirate grinning and carrying a large box of chocolates in both his hands. Confused as to what the statue was doing here, other figures soon appeared and jumped off the ship.
"Land at last!" said one of the people who jumped off the ship and lay face first on the ground, kissing it. "Eww! Cuphead stop kissing the ground!" said the person next to him but Cuphead didn't stop and was grateful to be out of the water. He wasn't the only one, and Varian was glad to be back on solid ground. The joy was short-lived, however, for there were still two things unresolved. First, where were they? And second, where is Alicia? The group knew that she had been kidnapped, but they didn't know exactly where she is right now.
They were stranded on an island with a cave entrance not far from the group. That was all they knew for now. There was no sign of Alicia or any indication that she had been here. That, and the fact that Brineybeard was petrified, worried Cuphead and Mugman greatly. They both felt that it was their fault. Although neither of them was to blame.
"Okay, high seas adventure over, let's get outta here!", "Agreed!" Cuphead and Mugman said as they ran away. Both ran past Cuppy and Varian and tried to climb onto the ship. But Blood and Hali were one step ahead. "Where are we going, if I may ask?" The Timberwolf and the Rabbit each grabbed one of the brothers by the handle and lifted them up to eye level. An answer to Blood's question was due. "Um, we..." "We're scared, we're way too young for this, and we just want to go home!" Mugman shouted into Hali's ear as he cried and sobbed.
Cuphead agrees, but says nothing as Blood puts him down. "I know you're scared and don't know what to do, but do you know how Alicia is right now?" both Cups shook their heads while Mugman wiped away the last of his tears. "She's much worse off than we are, and she's alone, unlike us," the wolf lowered his head as his ears slowly went back.
"Blood is right. We can't just leave, Cuphead" Cuppy nodded as did Hali and Varian. "We promised Briney we'd help him" Mugman walked over to the petrified pirate and picked him up with all his physical strength. Varian saw that it was difficult for him. That's why he helped him to stand the pirate upright. Meanwhile, Hali took the parrot and put it in her pocket so that it wouldn't fall out. After all, not only the captain but also the parrot meant a lot to her.
"Besides, Alicia needs our help. She's helped us so many times, we owe her something" Mugman added while poking his brother in the stomach, who just looked confused. "Oh yeah? With what?" Cuphead asked curiously, apparently not knowing how many times Alicia had helped him. "She protected us from the devil, got us out of trouble several times..." Mugman enumerated while thinking about what else she had done for the three cups. "And she always backed us up when we got into mischief, or rather when you got into mischief." "Oh yes, that's exactly what I was going to add," Mugman agreed with Cuppy.
Cuphead wanted to say something to conter their list but knew that he couldn't prove anything.
In the end, Cuphead gave in and agreed with them. However, he knew what it meant if they went into the cave. They would encounter Cala Maria. "So what's your plan?" Cuphead asked his brother and Cuppy. Neither of them had thought about how to free Alicia and how to convince Cala Maria that Brineybeard loved her. "And how are we supposed to free Alicia if we don't know if she's already ended up as dessert?", Both questions were a bit of a concern for Mugman because he hadn't really given them much thought. "She's strong Cuphead you know that!" awnsered Cuppy encouraged.
"And if I'm not mistaken, we've been ordered to deliver these sweets," Mugman added as he and the others considered how best to proceed. Blood drew a map in the sand that almost resembled the island they were on, with several cave systems connected to it. "Well, I guess she'll come to the island through a water tunnel," Blood guessed, while Cuppy, Varian and Hali nodded in agreement.
They now knew how Cala Maria reached the interior of the island. The only question now was how to get to her. After all, they still had to take along the petrified captain, who wasn't exactly easy to carry for one cup. Anyway, Mugman seemed to have problems carrying him alone, so Cuphead was forced to help him pick the captain up. "Okay! You get the head, and I'll get the legs," said the younger cup.
Satisfied that the two were no longer arguing, Blood and the others followed the two brothers into the cave, hoping to get to Alicia unseen and without trouble. The crabs that had been hiding from them looked at the group before looking at each other and rattling their crab claws. "Don't you think we should have warned them about the monster?" the left crab rattled his claws. "No, I think they should know for themselves the danger they're in," the right crab replied, while the left crab just rolled his eyes.
Inside the cave, the group noticed what was washed up here. In addition to parts of ships, there was also furniture and skeletons of former pirates in the cave. Cuppy swallowed nervously as his right foot thundered against a skeleton that had lost its head. Mugman, however, was not very interested in the skeletons. His attention was more focused on something else.
"Ooh, look, a starfish" he said with eyes beaming with joy as his eyes fell only on the starfish. However, he didn't notice the pirate's skull and tripped over it. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" neither he, his brother nor the others could react quickly as Brineybeard's legs fell out of his hands. Like an expensive vase, Brineybeard's feet broke in two and were cut off from the rest of his body. They lay directly in front of Mugman.
It was quiet before Cuphead spoke up "You broke his legs," These words didn't make the situation any better. "Uh..." Mugman spoke nervously while looking for a good excuse to talk his way out of the situation he had just caused. "There's always glue" but the waves took the legs with them, which did not please Mugman. His face showed this as the young mug felt very much taken for a ride by the universe. Now he could no longer attach the captain's legs to his body and had to replace them in another way.
He looked around for a replacement for Brineybeard's legs until he saw a table that still looked good and whose table legs were perfect for wooden legs. On it was a treasure chest with heaps of gold coins and a crown. Hali couldn't help herself, of course, and decided to pocket some gold.
Mugman took the two table-legs and placed it on the severed spot where Brineybeard's legs used to be. Varian used a special adhesive that worked immediately so that they would hold and not fall off straight away. "Then let's see if the glue works," Varian said as he twisted the lid on the glue before placing it in his tool belt.
To see if they would hold, Mugman and Blood leaned Brineybeard against the wall. "Good as new" said the former. Blood and the others, however, looked rather skeptical about the whole thing. Not because it was unnatural for a pirate to have a wooden leg, but because it was rather strange that two wooden legs should carry this massive body.
"Well, I don't know, I've met pirates with one peg leg, but none with two," Hali said. Cuppy didn't know why, but he now looked a lot like Brineybeard from his world. But Mugman could no longer his smile but began to cry. "Well, he's solid stone now. It's not like he was using 'em" Cuphead calmed him down patting Mugman on the back.
"And besides, he's always wanted a peg leg" said Hali which calmed Mugman down a bit. "Thanks guys" he said and hugged them both. Blood and Varian smiled and stroked Mugman gently on the head. It was quiet and peaceful for the moment until suddenly the group were enveloped by a big shadow. "Is it...her?" asked Cuppy as Hali and Mugman turned around. It was not Cala Maria but a large crab monster.
"It's just a giant crab monster" Mugman replied casually as he turned to Cuppy and Cuphead. Both cups were still looking worried. "Oh, is that all?" Cuphead asked him until they realized what they just said and panicked. "Giant crab monster!" the three cups yelled as they hide behind Blood and Varian.
The wolf, fox and hare, however, showed no fear of the giant crab and were ready to fight it. The crab, however, seemed to skillfully ignore the three of them and turned its attention to something else.
It was the box of chocolates that Brineybeard was holding in his hands. It grabbed the giant crab and was ready to crawl into the cave it had come from. However, this was prevented by a blue flash that flew past the crab's head.
"Come back here you over sized crustacean!" heard the crab, which slowly turned around and paid attention to the three challengers. The crab put the box down next to the cave entrance and tried to catch Blood, Varian and Hali with its huge claws, but the three were too quick for the crab.
"You'll have to be faster to get me!" said Varian with tongue outstretched encouraging the crab to fight him. However, the crab didn't want to fight any longer and decided to go back to its cave with the box full of praline. Mugman saw this and was not very pleased, so he decided to fight the crab with a sword he took from the carcass of a skeleton. "Hey! Those aren't for you!". But the crab monster just roared at him and starts to open the gift box. "Give me back those sweets!" said Mugman as he faced the beast. With blade drawn, he shouted "En garde!".
The monster didn't put up with that and drew a sword as well. Mugman, Blood, Varian and Hali charged towards the crab monster and fought it. Blood used his magic to freeze the crab monster's feet, while Varian enlarged his omni-wrench and hammered on the crab monster's head. Hali took advantage of Blood's magic and severed a crab from the rest of its body.
The crab monster screamed in pain and looked at Mugman with furious eyes before dueling with the crab. The sword flew out of the crab's claw and landed in the water. With its claws raised, it brought the box back and placed it in Brineybeard's hands. Cuphead and Cuppy hid behind the petrified Brineybeard so as not to end up as a replacement meal. But the crab ignored them and went back into its cave. "Good job Mugman!" said Blood as he places his wand on his back.
Varian shrunk his Omni-wrench and Hali put her sword in her sword sheath. Mugman did likewise while Cuppy appeared behind him, proud of him. He patted him on the back "Well done Mugsy!" said Cuppy. He grinned with joy, which only lasted for a short time as his sword, which was stuck in his pants, slipped down, revealing his underpants. His cheeks flushed when he noticed this and he quickly put his pants back on. "Nice underwear" said Hali as she smiled.
Suddenly Blood's ears twitched. He heard something and looked in the direction of a tunnel from which several lights were shining. No one said anything but remained silent. Without hesitation, Cuphead and Mugman took the petrified pirate with them and followed Blood while the others went behind the cups to avoid being attacked by another monster.
The closer they got to the tunnel, the louder the music became. It was classical music that could be heard. However, Blood and the others were not very excited but rather frightened when they saw what was in front of them. Not far away from them was Alicia, who was tied to an anchor. She tried to free both her arms, but it didn't work the way she wanted. The group felt for her and decided to lean the captain against a rock next to them before trying to approach Alicia and free her.
My father was a sailor My mother was a fish
The group and Alicia listened to Cala Maria sing. It was rather forced with Alicia as she couldn't move away, let alone keep her ears closed. The mermaid combed her hair with the dead fish before dropping it into the water and walking away from Alicia.
Since I was little girl. I've only had one wish
Alicia suddenly heard something behind her and slowly turned around. At first she thought it was some kind of monster that wanted to eat her. But that wasn't the case when she saw Blood and the others walking slowly towards her.
A tiny dream belonged to me. To be known across the seven seas
Alicia was glad to see the group. "Oh, you guys don't know how much I've missed you," she said quietly so that Cala Maria wouldn't hear Blood and the others or notice them. How could she when she was standing in front of a mirror? Or several small ones that were connected to each other so that Cala Maria could see her entire face, just divided into several small mirrors.
I started small but my ambition grew. And now I'm known Across the ocean blue.
Alicia and the others noticed this. "Don't worry, we'll free you," Blood explained as he and Varian left their hiding place while the rest remained hidden behind the rock. The wolf and fox tried to remove the chains while Hali made sure that Cala Maria didn't notice them.
All my life what I wanted to be. The fiercest monster in the deep blue sea
She was too busy singing that she didn't even realize what was going on. The same went for the others, who didn't notice that Mugman was slowly coming out of hiding. Cuphead and Cuppy tried to stop him, but the shadow of Cala Maria frightened them both so much that they hid behind the rock again. Blood and the others ignored it.
It's a lonely life But the only life
Cala Maria was dedicated to a small lake that was elevated and separated from the water and was much clearer. This allowed her to see herself in the water. Mugman took advantage of this and now stood at the top, waiting for the right opportunity.
I would ever wanted for me
Alicia and the others saw him now and were about to say something, but Mugman turned to them and whispered quietly. "I'll try to distract them while you disappear," Alicia disagreed and was reluctant to leave him behind.
But I've come so far and now I'm a star!
However, when Alicia, Blood and the rest saw Cala Maria slapped away a stacked pile of bones and skulls with her hand, Alicia thought twice about saying anything. She knew what would happen if Cala Maria caught them trying to escape.
And everyone knows me
The rusty chain slowly loosened and Alicia no longer felt the pressure against her body. She could breathe normally again without any problems and move her arms and legs.
Yes, I am number one sea beast!
"We have to get out of here now!" declared Alicia as she tried to get out of Blood's way. But the wolf refused to let her through. He knew that she wanted to go to Mugman, but she knew that this would not end well.
I am the Cala Maria!
However, Alicia was quick and was able to squeeze through a gap that was wide enough and between Blood and Varian. With enough of a running start, she ran towards Mugman, who clapped. "Wow, you have a beautiful voice" said Mugman, before he was grabbed in the arms by Alicia. He was about to say something but Alicia was on her way to the others when suddenly "Where are you going, if you don't mind me asking?" Damn! Cala Maria stood behind her and stared at Alicia and Mugman with an questionable but annoyed look. Mugman was sweating nervously while Alicia was trembling with fear.
"Hi, Miss Cala Maria, ma'am. Nice to meet you. This is Alicia she is my friend and my name is- ", "Dinner. Your name is dinner" She interrupted him before turning her attention to Alicia and continuing. The young adult trembled even more and walked slowly backwards towards the others, hoping that Cala Maria would not notice. "And you're supposed to be trapped and get my Gorgon powers" this again confused the others a little.
"Actually, my name is..." Mugman realized what the giant mermaid meant when she interrupted him. To her, he and the others were nothing more than food. Alicia, however, was not included. Cala Maria wanted to take advantage of her and transfer her Gorgon powers to her like some kind of infection or, in this case, a curse. Just like vampires and werewolves, gorgons also have a curse that constantly affects their lives.
With vampires it's the constant thirst for blood and the fact that they can't come into contact with the sun without burning up. Werewolves turn at full moon and attack everyone. Whether friends, family members or normal people. And gorgons have the power to seduce people only to turn them to stone or eat them alive.
"Oh. You're going to eat us and want to turn Alicia into a Gorgon" The silence was the only thing you could hear. Alicia, however, ignored it and went with Mugman to the others. She kept constant eye contact with Cala Maria. "Well, if you're gonna eat us, then I'm gonna tell you why we came here" sMugman freed himself from Alicia's arms and went back to Cala Maria, who raised her left eyebrow and waited to see what he was going to do next. "This stone loves you" He walked over to the petrified Brineybeard while Blood and the others stood next to him, not knowing what to say themselves.
"Yeah. It's love on the rocks" Varian mentioned and laughed at his own joke. However, it wasn't as good as he hoped because the others weren't really laughing. The joke was just a shallow joke. And a bad one at that, it had to be said. "Not helping" Blood replied with a roll of his eyes while Hali just shook her head. Cuppy, on the other hand, didn't get the joke.
"Kid, I don't have the slightest Idea what you are talking about" said Cala Maria with a shrug. But Mugman refused to give up. Not that easy. Because he still had an ace up his sleeve, or should we say a box of chocolates? "Look, he even brought this for you" He took the box that Brineybeard was still holding in his hands and presented it to Cala Maria. Her annoyed look quickly changed to one of surprise. "A gift?" she asked, confused. "Wow. No one has ever given me a gift before".
Alicia didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. "What is it?", Mugman granted Cala Maria's wish and opened the box "See for yourself!". It wasn't candy. At least it didn't smell like it. No, it were fish heads, severed tentacles, hearts, livers and eggs. Well yummy I can smell it all the way here! Alicia held her nose and was about to throw up. Mugman smelled it too and was confused.
The others weren't too happy about the smell either and held their noses while Blood threw up behind the rock Brineybeard was leaning against. "I'm so sorry" he held his nose before continuing. "I thought they were sweets" Blood looked out from behind the rock and wasn't feeling very well, as you could see from his face.
"They are!" Cala Maria replied. Her eyes widened when she saw something that caught her attention. "Oh! He even brought my favorite" she took a liver from the box "Squid livers". Cala Maria ate it with relish, which disgusted the others even more. Varian was now close to vomiting and ran behind the same rock behind which Blood had vomited. Alicia, on the other hand, swallowed the feeling of having to vomit.
After the mermaid had digested the liver she gave the petrified captain her attention. "Mm, what a sweet gesture" she circled her finger around his head while staring at him. "Too bad I turned him into stone" She kissed him and then turned her attention to Alicia. She shivered again and hid behind Blood while Varian peeked out from behind the rock and wiped some of the vomit from his shirt.
"Now, where were we?" Cala Maria asked herself as she looked at Alicia and thought. Alicia was about to say something, but then Cala Maria remembered. "Ah, yes" closed her eyes and opened them again. They were now yellow, glowing, and her appearance took on her Gorgon form. With this she approached Alicia, she was only more frightened.
Blood growled and tried to protect Alicia, but before Cala Maria could do anything to her, something happened to the statue of Brineybeard. Alicia saw a pink heart on his chest that glowed so brightly He freed himself from his stone prison and struggled to stand on his two new legs. To be more precise, he fell flat on his face.
This surprised not only the group but also Cala Maria, who had not expected him to be able to free himself. "Hey, these ain't me legs!" Brineybeard said in confusion as he turned to his legs and looked at the wooden legs. His parrot, meanwhile, settled on Hali's shoulder and was as happy to be alive as she was.
But the one who was hardly happy, if at all, was Mugman. His eyes slowly filled with tears and he began to cry. His brother wanted to comfort him but Mugman ran to Alicia and let her hug him. She calmed him down by gently stroking his back. "I'm sorry! I dropped you and shattered your legs!" He clawed at Alicia and didn't let go. This didn't bother her either. No, she stroked him and comforted him so that he calmed down. "I'm a terrible person!". "Are ya kidding?" Brineybeard stood up and was excited about his new legs. He could not believe it. "Most pirates have one peg leg, and I gots two!" he said and started dancing.
Mugman wiped away his tears while Alicia gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See, there's no need to feel bad," Mugman smiled again and hugged Alicia once more. This hug lasted longer than the previous one. Alicia didn't mind though as she could still carry Mugman without him slipping down while she stood upright again.
"No one has ever un-stoned themselves before"But when Alicia heard this, she flinched and hid behind Blood again. With or without spider monkeys. She didn't want to be grabbed by Cala Maria. "It's 'cause I love you, baby," Brineybeard replied before he was hit again by an eye laser and petrified again while standing in a motion pose. "Don't call me baby" Cala Maria said annoyed. Oh yes, I hate being called that too. Alicia was at least glad Lucifer didn't call her baby or worse dolly like a certain dice-headed fellow.
The captain, however, freed himself as before, which did not thrill Cala Maria. "Understood,". However, she asked herself one thing, bent down and stared at Brineybeard more closely. Somehow he looked familiar to her. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?" she asked him. "Why, it's me, Brineybeard," he said, hoping that the name would be enough for her to remember him. But that was not the case "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell" she shook her head and shrugged.
"Brineybeard! We went on a date, I took ye to that Italian joint, we had the seafood pasta, and for dessert, we had...", "Tiramisu" Cala Maria remembered the day again. Um what the. Alicia was only more distraught than before. Normally the two were just friends more not in the book. The captain in the book was also more in love with his ship than with a woman. She knew because the Brineybeard from the book had told her and John again and again when they had asked if he wanted to marry him.
However, as a child, Alicia had always wanted Brineybead to get together with Cala Maria. I guess I got my wish."Look, Briney, you're a nice guy" said Cala Maria "But for me, my career comes first" she explained him. The captain, however, didn't understand and just looked at her in confusion. Alicia, however, understood. She was a fucking monster and far too big for him. She could devour him at any moment if he wasn't careful.
"It could never work between us" While she was saying that, a baby octopus hatched from the egg and attacked Cuphead. Cuppy saw it and decided to help it. He pulled on the tentacles and flung the cephalopod away. Cuphead breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Cuppy. "In fact, I planned to eat you on our first date. But I filled up on tiramisu" Cala Maria mentioned while rubbing her belly and looking generally full. "Would ye at least think about being me girlfriend?" Brineybeard asked, while Alicia, Hali, Blood and Varian just shook their heads and rolled their eyes.
Cala Maria, however, bent down and looked him in the eye before answering his question. "Oh, sweet, sweet Briney. You are a charmer" Alicia, however, had a bad feeling about what was about to happen as Cala Maria was now looking at her. "But I'm afraid I must eat you and your crew now and I have to turn this young adult here into a Gorgon." The three cups, Hali, Blood, Varian and the captain now looked shocked. Not because of the fact that they would end up as fish food, but because of what happened to Alicia.
"Ah, how about I give you a ten-second head start before I start transforming this lady?" Alicia trembled even more as she clung to Blood. Mugman still clung to her and looked at Cala Maria angrily but also fearfully. On the one hand because he didn't want Alicia to get hurt and on the other because he suspected what was about to happen.
The group didn't wait long to find out. "Run for your lives! Run for your lives!" the parrot repeated over and over again. "He's right, let's get out of here!" Blood didn't hesitate for long and held Alicia in his arms and ran ahead with her while the others followed him. Cala Maria, however, was less than pleased about one thing. That Alicia had slipped through her fingers before she could turn her into a Gorgon.
Furious, she set off not only to capture the group but also to have Alicia back in her captivity.
"Why does Cala Maria want to turn you into a Gorgon?!" asked Cuppy, who ran alongside Blood and waited for an answer from Alicia. "How should I know?!" Alicia answered him in a panicked voice while trying not to panic any more. "It doesn't matter why she wants to turn Alicia into a Gorgon. The important thing is that we have to get out of here first without being caught by the Gorgon!" Blood shouted at the two of them while the rest of the Group ran on.
The exit was visible from afar, as was the ship. Cuphead, Mugman and the captain breathed a sigh of relief. However, Alicia got a bad feeling so she decided to change into her Rock Drake form, grabbed everyone by the collar and placed them on her back while she and the rest became invisible. All that could be seen was the dust and the footprints that turned from human to lizard-like.
However, they disappeared when they came out of the cave. Nobody knew where the tracks disappeared to. Neither the two crabs nor Cala Maria, who rose out of the water and was next to the ship. Confused, she looked around but saw no sign of the group. They were not on the beach, in the water or on the boat that Cala Maria had lifted and dropped into the water.
"Hmm..." she didn't hesitate long in her search for where the group might be and jumped back into the water to look in the cave. She hadn't looked there yet. So while Cala Maria disappeared into the water, she didn't realize that there was already someone on the ship. This someone made himself visible. It was of course Alicia who changed back after she had let the others off her back so that they could move the ship to escape.
But before they could escape, Blood realized that there was one thing missing that they had left behind in the cave. Or that was still there that Blood was looking for. "Stop! We still have to go back to get the treasure map!" but it was too late. The sails were unfurled and the wind set them in motion.
The island became smaller and smaller the further they moved away from it. Blood was not very happy about this. Alicia and the others noticed this and tried to cheer him up. But nothing worked. The three cups gave up, as did Varian. Alicia just sighed because she knew she couldn't cheer him up either. She just gave in and put her hands in her hoodie pocket where she could feel something.
What the... Confused, Alicia took out the object and held it in her hands so that everyone could see it. "By the hobgoblin, this is the legendary treasure map of the legendary pirate Scruffy!" Brineybeard mentioned shockingly as he opened his eye patch to look with both eyes at the treasure map Alicia was holding in her hands.
So this was the treasure map Blood had been looking for. The group was ambivalent about it. However, the captain explained to them what was so special about this treasure map. "It's not a normal treasure map that takes you to any treasure, but to what you want most and what you need to get it!" "So not just items?" Alicia asked curiously as she opened the seal and unrolled the treasure map.
Curious, everyone looked over their shoulders only to see that the treasure map was completely black and had no dotted lines like treasure maps in cartoons usually have. However, this changed when several circles, each with the faces of the group, appeared at the bottom of the treasure map. Alicia touched her picture and her eyes lit up gold while her pupils were normal.
The group saw how the treasure map changed and slowly took on the appearance of a treasure map. However, instead of any lines, only the silhouette of the devil appeared. It stood in the middle of the treasure map and only one sentence appeared below it. "To find your other half, you must use ancient magic to be reunited with you". Alicia didn't know what this meant. She wanted to ask Blood first, as he is a wizard, but before she could she looked again at the treasure map where something appeared. It was another picture and to the shock of the others it was Cala Maria.
A large shadow overshadowed the ship. Damn! Alicia and the others turned around slowly as she handed Blood the treasure map. As Alicia suspected, Cala Maria was in her Gorgon form and her eyes began to glow. The cups hugged each other while the others tried not to panic. Alicia, however, panicked. She transformed into her wyvern form and flew behind the ship, flapping her wings vigorously to propel the sails with wind. As Alicia suspected and hoped, the ship moved at double speed, avoiding the eye laser of Cala Maria, who hit a fish instead.
Furious that both her prey and Alicia were gone, Cala Maria swam after the ship. They were still in her territory. And Cala Maria didn't want to let Alicia go. Not so easily. So she didn't hesitate for long, dived into the water and jumped out from under Alicia, grabbed her wyvern tail and pulled her underwater. "Alicia!" screamed the three cups while the others stared in shock at the water from which Cala Maria appeared.
She grinned diabolically at the group of seven before reaching out with her arm and her eyes lit up red again. But before she could do anything, something big suddenly came out of the water that appeared between the ship and Cala Maria. Both groups were startled by the gigantic wave it created, so they looked away. "What the" said Captain Brineybeard as he turned and saw a huge figure. It was a Leviathan with a slender black body with white fur covering the chest, underbelly, legs and tail. The scales are black colored and resemble those of a snake. The head has a long snout and is beautifully adorned by many fin-like appendages. These are dark grey with white markings and they can also be seen on its back and tail. The feet could not be seen, but that did not bother anyone.
"What, you're a Leviathan?!" said Cala Maria, shocked as Alicia turned to her and stared into her yellow eyes that looked menacing. "Wow Alicia is even bigger than Cala Maria" said Cuphead. She turned to the ship, which she coiled around, trying to protect it from Cala Maria. She looked horrified and couldn't believe that such a small human could become such a huge leviathan. But Alicia did not feel comfortable. She still had to explain a few things to Hali and the Captian.
But the rabbit accepted her as a friend and decided to take a picture with her, the three cups, Blood, Varian and the captain as a sign of friendship before they said goodbye. "Hey Mugman!" called the Captain as the younger brother turned around on the dock they were on when they stopped at the dock. "Ye came through on a promise to a pirate" that confused him a bit "Know what that makes ye?" Hali asked him but the younger brother just shrugged his shoulders. "A real pirate!" Brineybeard answered his question.
"Ya hear that, Cuphead?" he shouted to his brother "I'm a real pirate!" Cuphead and Cuppy were happy for him and went back home. On the way home, Blood briefly opened the treasure map to take a closer look. But he let it go as it got darker and darker the closer they got to the cottage. He could also look at the treasure map tomorrow to help him get the magical artifact he was looking for.
At night on the ship Hali opened her golden oval shaped locket with a raindrop shape aquamarine embedded in the front inside her own cabin. Inside is a photograph of herself with her parents. But she added another. It was the group picture they took before they reached the harbor. She was really looking forward to the next adventure with Alicia and the others. But unnoticed by Hali, a creature emerged from the water in the distance and looked at the ship where Hali was before it disappeared into the water.