I forgot to mention that in the last chapter, so I'll do it here.

In the story there will be light violence, alcohol consumption (Little) and light strong language.

What surprises me is that the story is rated very positively. I hope that you read this and wonder when it will continue with the other story or if I will finish this one at all? Here is my answer.

No. I will not continue writing the story but will continue this one. But the old story stays alive. It will not be deleted but remains.

Feel free to compare the changes between the two stories.

If you have any further questions you are welcome to ask me, I will answer them in the next chapter.

Until then

A few days passed after Alicia and Cuppy landed in the world of The Cuphead Show and now live with Cuphead, Mugman and Elder Kettle until they find a way to get back home. After all, Alicia cared a lot about Mugman who was still alone in her apartment. But not only that. She suspected that her husband had probably already realized that she was trapped here in this world. He was actually always with her. No matter if she was in her world or in the world of the Cuphead book. He was always near her or stayed with her. She also knew that he was very affectionate when she stayed with him for a short time because she had to study again for university or something else.

She had to admit that she missed the way he hugged her and begged her not to go but to stay here with him. Not infrequently he let a tear fall. Of course she felt bad then but she always promised him that she would come back as soon as she had time. This pleased him very much. So much so that he could not stop wagging his tail like a dog. But how should she explain it to him now? She didn't even know how she and Cuppy could return to their world. The Cuphead book had used the writing pad that Alicia had used to continue writing the story as a portal. Here they didn't know if there was a portal that could bring them back. If that would be possible at all.

If so could they just return like that or not? And could the inhabitants from this world also travel in her world like those in the book? All questions Alicia asked herself while sitting on the sofa in the living room of the cottage and staring at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, the three boys were playing with marbles while Elder Kettle, who had not put on his lid, came from the kitchen.

"Well, it's that time again, boys and Alicia" he reached for his lid hanging from a rake attached to the wall between the door arch and a shelf with china dishes and vases, put it on his head and fed the goldfish that was in the goldfish bowl standing on the piano. Alicia stopped staring at the ceiling and looked at him while the boys were busy playing and didn't hear him. Only when he ran into the marbles and pushed them away with his feet did they hear him and stare at him in confusion. "I'm off to my weekly mustache wax".

Okay strange but no matter Alicia thought to herself as she stared bored at the ceiling again. "That means Alicia will take care of both of you" said Elder Kettle, pointing his walking stick at Cuphead and Mugman. He did not point at Cuppy. "What?!" said the two brothers, confused. Alicia heard what Elder Kettle said a little too late, but as her brain processed it, she also realized, "Uh, I'm sorry, what?" yes, she was just as excited about babysitting the two as the two brothers were excited that only they had to be supervised and not Cuppy.

"You heard me right boys, you will be supervised by Alicia while I am away" he said again so that everyone understood. Loud and clear. "But we're not toddlers anymore Elder Kettle!" "Yes we are almost teenagers!" both brothers explained to Kettle. "I know and that's exactly why I can't leave you unsupervised!" Can I say something about that too? He was about to walk out the open front door when something occurred to him and he looked to Alicia who was still staring at him questioningly.

She was reluctant to babysit, but apparently Elder Kettle had more than enough reasons to do so. After all, she was an adult and both brothers respected her very much. Well, most of the time anyway. With Cuppy, he didn't have to worry about him getting into mischief. He was the most mature of the three. "Now, remember. Two rules while I'm gone" he showed two fingers with his hand as he said this and the others listened to him. "Number one, don't touch my radio" All of them looked from him to the radio that was placed on a small table next to the armchair where Elder Kettle used to sit. It was a gray radio Model Atmater-Kent Model 84 with a yellow horn from which the music came. Alicia recognized this model immediately because her grandfather still had this model at home. It didn't work anymore but she knew what he meant by not touching it.

"It is my most prized object after all" yes such items should always be treated with respect. "And of course, rule number two, no fighting!" he poked Cuphead and Mugman lightly in the stomach with his walking stick before turning to Alicia who was now walking over to the others "And Alicia please make sure that the two of them behave well and that the house doesn't end up in chaos while I'm gone" she just nodded and Elder Kettle walked out of the house but looked in briefly to give both brothers a closer look as if to say "I've got my eye on you" before he really disappeared.

Both brothers stared at each other and wanted to fight each other. But Alicia beat them to it and held them both by the sweater and kept them both in the air. "You heard him no fighting!" she walked them both over to the sofa and set them down there. Well, first Mugman because he was the calmer of the two and then Cuphead who stuck his tongue out at Alicia. But she just had to smile. "Very funny Cuphead" she stroked him over the head as she said this which didn't please him very much. "Come on Ali, let's have some fun" he begged her. "Yeah we won't cause any trouble either I promise" but Alicia was against it.

She stared at the two of them annoyed because she was also not very enthusiastic about the fact that Elder Kettle had given her the task of babysitting. Alicia had always hated that. Back when she was 12 years old she had to take care of the two neighbor kids who were completely out of control and destroyed the entire kitchen just because Alicia didn't give them ice cream because they were both lactose intolerant. Since then, she never wanted to babysit again. That she was not very happy about the fact that Elder Kettle had said over his head that she should babysit his two boys was obvious.

"Why do you want to fight anyway?" she asked the two brothers who hadn't really thought about why. "Uh, 'cause we're not supposed to?" replied Cuphead with a shrug. "Right!" nodded Mugman who was grinning nervously at Alicia. She was not very enthusiastic about it "That's no reason to fight with each other but-" suddenly there was a knock at the front door to which the four looked. The three cups went first towards the door and opened it while halos appeared over the heads of Cuphead and Mugman. Cuppy and Alicia just shook their heads. "Back so soon, dearest Kettle?" the two said like two innocent angels until they realized Elder Kettle wasn't standing at the front door. Cuppy squeezed between the two brothers while Alicia stood behind them looking at what was outside the front door.

A basket was lying in front of the front door. Wait a minute why does the basket look like a... Before Alicia could think further, she saw the three cups lift the note that was on the basket and read it out loud. "Please take care of baby" was written on the note. Oh no please don't tell me that... but to Alicia's dismay there was a baby in the basket. A Baby in the shape of a literal baby bottle, with an off-white body land red top. Like Cuphead and Cuppy he has a red button-nose and has one tooth sticking out of his mouth. He wears a light blue smock, similar to old-fashioned baby clothing and white gloves.

The baby cooed when she saw the four of them and looked from the three cups to Alicia. When the baby saw her, it gave a typical baby laugh and said happily, "Mama!" Great! Alicia had enough and went inside the house while the baby kept calling "Mama" after her and crawled out of the basket to follow her. The three cups watched it and thought it was kind of cute "Aw!" they said while Alicia felt the baby holding onto her leg. "Someone seems to love you" said Cuphead as he and the others saw how attached the baby was to Alicia. "Maybe, but I don't like babies" she said slightly annoyed as she tried to get the baby off her leg.

All three cups were very shocked. Well, Cuppy not really, because he already suspected that she was not a friend of toddlers and babies. But for Mugman and Cuphead it was a bit shocking. "Besides, why should we take care of the baby? I mean shouldn't we rather find out who the baby belongs to or at least send it to an orphanage?" she didn't know much about it. In any case, Elder Kettle would be less than enthusiastic about feeding one more mouth. Mugman gasped when he heard that, "Alicia, if you please, the baby is staying here and not going to the orphanage," he said, lifting the baby that was still clinging to Alicia's leg. Yes, he was not very enthusiastic about Alicia's decision to send the baby away, even though the note had told them to take care of the baby. "Uh, Mugman?" "I think Alicia's right and we'd better send the baby to the orphanage," both Cupheads agreed with Alicia.

But Mugman was persistent and did not want to send the baby away but to keep it here and take care of it. This did not please Alicia much, because the baby kept trying to crawl away from Mugman. Yes, it literally had an eye on Alicia and saw her as its mother. "We are not sending the baby to the orphanage, we are taking care of it. Show it love" both Cupheads looked at him confused "Just watch and learn" he set the baby back down on the floor and sat down next to it while Alicia was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen watching the whole thing from a distance.

"Hello, baby. My name is Mugman" "Can you say Mu-" "Mama" the baby interrupted him which confused Mugman at first but then made him squeal when he heard it and looked at the two Cupheads. Both didn't know what to say because when Mugman turned around the baby wasn't standing in front of him anymore but crawling towards Alicia. He didn't notice because he covered his eyes and wiped away his tears of joy. "That's right, baby! That's..." "Seriously?" Mugman was confused and opened his eyes. The baby was not in front of him but nuzzling Alicia's right leg while Alicia tried to get it off somehow. But that was harder said than done. Luckily the two Cupheads helped her out of the dilemma since Mugman was pouting.

Cuphead managed to get the baby off her leg "Well, then, I guess that makes me and Cuppy Dada, doesn't it?" he lifted the baby into the air and looked at it with a slightly nervous smile. "Right? Dada?" but as Alicia could already tell from the twitching lips it didn't take long for the baby to start crying and calling for mommy which in this case was Alicia. She jumped onto the sofa in fright while Cuphead ran in circles with the baby in his hands in sheer panic. "Alicia, Cuppy, Mugman, why's it crying?" he asked in a panic.

Alicia was no expert in baby matters but she already had a guess or two as to what the reason was that the baby was crying. "You need to burp him, Cuphead!" shouted Mugman as he stopped and tried it. But it didn't work. "I don't think it's working" he said in panic "Maybe he needs his diaper changed?" suggested Alicia as everyone looked from her to the baby. Cuphead was about to hand her the crying baby when she took him in her arms, put him over her shoulder and patted him on the back.

The baby burped and stopped crying which calmed the three cups who exhaled in relief. "Yeah. That's better," said Alicia, who handed the baby back to Mugman. "Hey, it worked!" said Cuppy who poked the baby on the nose and said "Boop!". But the baby didn't really like it, so he bit his finger. He felt the pain, screams and stared angrily at the baby. "Ouch why did you bite me?!" yes he was very annoyed about it. "Did you see that?! That thing bit him!" Cuphead agreed with him, voluntarily taking a distance from the baby, who showed both Cups his tongue before looking at Alicia. Mugman, of course, was the only one who was most shocked. Not because the baby bit Cuppy's finger but because both Cupheads called the baby a "thing". "Cuphead! Cuppy! Baby is not a thing. Baby is a baby" he set it down on the sofa while both Cupheads kept their distance.

"I think you three need to learn to get along while I and Alicia prepare some baby food" Alicia's pupils shrank when she heard that. "Wait what?" she looked after Mugman who was already in the kitchen while both Cupheads sat on the sofa with the baby. "Mugman, since when do you decide what we should do over my head?" she was a bit annoyed that he was slowly ignoring her instructions. "It's nice that you care about the baby, but in my world babies aren't left on other people's doorsteps, they're taken to the orphanage where they get their new parents".

But he ignored Alicia again, wore an apron and opened the refrigerator. He was about to say something when he heard a giggle from the living room while he took the butter out of the fridge. Alicia heard it too. "I just knew they'd get along" she rolled her eyes in annoyance, not knowing if she was in the wrong movie or not because Mugman was seriously asking her if she could help him with the baby food. "Okay, I'll help you with the baby food when we take the baby to the orphanage afterwards, understand?" she suggested to him. Mugman was still unsure because he really wanted to keep the baby here. But again he had asked her if she could help him so he shook her hand and sighed sadly.

She saw the sad face he showed her. But she knew that it was the right thing to do. "Hey don't be sad Mugman, you won't have seen the baby for the last time" the Inkwell Isle's were big but also quite small. Everyone knew everyone. So it wouldn't be strange if he ran into the baby again sometime. Well, it will probably be a little older by then. "Hey, how about we make an old family recipe that my mother used to make for me and my brother when we were little?" she said, nodding his head.

Cheered up, the younger brother helped her cook while there was a lot going on in the living room. After both Cupheads had tried to get along with the baby there was pure chaos in the living room. Things were lying around everywhere, books were opened and had ripped out pages and the radio was not spared. Wait, the radio? Oh, that's right, the three of them weren't supposed to touch the radio. So that now the baby played with the table pleased both Cupheads little

Both ran toward the wobbling table. Cuppy held the table while Cuphead caught the radio that was about to fall down. He placed the radio on the table and they both exhaled in relief. "Phew!" yes the radio was still in one piece and had not a scratch on it. But the baby was not going to get away without an excuse. Therefore both Cupeads looked down towards it "Bad baby! Bad-" but there was no one under the table. Both looked both in front of and behind the table. But the baby was nowhere to be seen. "Baby?" "Mama?" both cupheads were confused. Where did the voice suddenly come from? Cuppy looked all around while Cuphead froze in fear and turned Cuppy's head in the direction he was looking. He also froze in fear because they both knew where the baby was.

It was on top of the piano, slowly pushing the goldfish bowl toward the ground while staring at them. The baby behaved like a cat that was about to push down a glass of water while both Cupheads tried to prevent it from doing so with words. "Don't do it" "Easy..." but the baby didn't listen to them and pushed the goldfish bowl down. In the kitchen Alicia and Mugman heard the glass Shatter and were more than confused. "What's that noise in the living room?" he wondered. Alicia, meanwhile, was tending to the food cooking in the cookingpot.

She stirred the wooden spoon and turned down the temperature so that the pot would not boil so much and she could take it down. The food was ready and could be served. "Guys the food for the baby is-" but suddenly she heard the front door slam shut. "Guys?" she looked out of the kitchen and saw what the living room looked like. It was a mess. "So really it can't be that hard to take care of a baby" said baby was already clinging around her leg again. Alicia felt it and looked down because of it. "Mama!" it said again with a grin on its face.

Alicia was a little confused. Why was the baby alone in the living room that looked like a battlefield and where were the three cups? "Tell me, why are you here alone?" she took the baby in her arms who was giggling. That didn't really answer Alicia's question. But the frantic knocking on the front door did. "Open up, Baby!" "Open the door!" she heard and went to the front door with the baby in her arms and opened it.

All three cups fell head first into the house and thanked Alicia for opening the door for them. "Why did you lock yourselves out? Don't tell me you had a fight?" she hoped so, because she already believed that Mugman and Cuphead locked themselves out because of a fight. It couldn't have been the baby, who was too small to even reach the door lock. "Alicia. You gotta listen to us" she looked at Cuppy while the others were getting up. "Something's wrong with that baby" "We gotta get rid of it" both Cupheads said, which confused Alicia and Mugman, who still thought they should keep the baby.

"Not a chance. Baby needs our love!" Alicia had had enough. She actually wanted to enjoy the day relaxing but no now she had to babysit. On top of that, Mugman didn't seem to stick to the agreement he had made with her: "Okay then, you take care of the baby from now on!" Alicia dropped the baby so that it landed in the arms of Mugman who looked after Alicia shocked and angry at the same time. "Alicia! The way you're talking, it's like you never even wanted a baby!" "I didn't!".

Annoyed, she dropped onto the sofa and stared at the three cups, especially at Mugman, who was the most shocked of all three by her statement. "Oh, well, then..." he thought about what to say next, not wanting to add more salt to the wound. "I guess I'll do all the parenting myself" yes he pouted and gave Alicia the cold shoulder which didn't really bother her as she was already more than annoyed enough and therefore decided to go to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Oh well, Mugman can do that because he wanted to take care of the baby anyway. "Be my guest!" replied Alicia who now went into the guest room and closed the door behind her while both Cupheads just shrugged and didn't know what to do now.

The only thing they could do was to talk to both of them and make them apologize quickly before Elder Kettle returned. Therefore, Cuppy went to the guest room while Cuphead went to the kitchen. But what neither Cuphead nor Alicia nor Mugman suspected was that the baby was gone. She heard the knock on the door "What is it?" she asked in an annoyed angry voice "It's Cuppy can I come in Alicia?" yes it was Cuppy. The voice recognized her immediately "Come in Cuppy" the door opened and the cup entered the room and saw Alicia lying on her stomach on her bed which was diagonally opposite his. Hers was closer to the door than his. The three beds were all the same size and had almost the same comforter cover. Well, Alicia's pillow and comforter were striped gray while Cuppy's comforter and pillow were red. Matching his nose, shorts and straw.

He sat down next to her and exhaled before saying anything. After all, she was still in a bad mood because of the thing with Mugman and the baby. "I know you're not in the mood, but can we still talk about the thing with Mugman and the baby?" Alicia didn't answer him, she didn't even stare at him, but stared at the wall the whole time. He realized that he wasn't getting anywhere with her as he had hoped.

But he did not give up and tried again. "I'm not very happy that Mugman wants to keep the baby, but giving him the cold shoulder won't help. I mean, what are we going to tell Elder Kettle?" Yes, the matter was still open. Elder Kettle will certainly not be pleased that they now have a baby in the house. "Okay Cuppy you talked me into it" he was very pleased that Alicia agreed with him and was doing well again. She also got up from the bed and looked at him with a smile as she turned around. "I shouldn't have been too hard on him, after all, he's still young and inexperienced" yes, probably Mugman doesn't even know how to take care of a baby. A baby needs more than just love, unfortunately.

Therefore, both went out of the guest room and saw how the baby was playing with the radio while both brothers stood there shocked and watched this with wide open mouths. "What the!" said Alicia who couldn't believe what she was seeing. They both just stood there and did nothing. Alicia, of course, was not very happy about having to hold the baby again and admonish him "No! Bad baby!" she said and looked at the baby angrily. Of course, this was little pleased about it and looked very grim. But Alicia ignored it and handed it to Mugman who went with the baby to the two Cupheads who saw the face and were slightly worried. "Uh, I don't like that crazy glint in his eye" "Yeah me too" they both kept some distance from the baby. Cuppy especially kept a lot of distance because he didn't want to be bitten again.

"Oh, nonsense, Cuphead and Cuppy" Mugman said as he sat the baby down on the floor while Alicia went to the kitchen to get food for the baby. "But-" "Calm down" he interrupted both of them who gave him an annoyed expression after he patted their heads. Both cupheads felt like two dogs. "Wait right there" slowly he walked backwards towards the cupboard next to the kitchen. Alicia heard it and looked out of it. She saw that both Cupheads were looking at the baby. "And no nonsense understood?" both nodded while the baby said nothing and only looked from Alicia to the two Cupheads who looked from her to the baby.

Finally, Alicia could enjoy the peace and quiet a bit. Yes, she wanted to send the baby to a Orphanage, but before she could do that, it had to eat, sleep, then the living room had to be cleaned up and Elder Kettle had to know about it. She stirred the porridge in the pot before adding some cinnamon and taking out a small bowl from the kitchen cupboard in which she filled the food. But before she could do that at all, she suddenly heard something from the living room which startled her a bit.

"I'm gonna kill that thing!" Mugman yelled from the living room, which is very unnatural for him. In any case, Mugman was never so angry in the book. He was always very calm and quiet. But yes, he could get angry too. But why did he want to kill the baby now? Did it do anything bad? Well Alicia wanted to find out but she still had to turn off the stove. When she did that, however, it was suddenly gloomy in the house. That confused her a bit. Just like the sudden strumming of the piano and the baby noises. It felt as if she had landed in a horror movie.

But what confused her even more was suddenly the noise coming from the living room. It was not a normal noise. No, it sounded almost as if someone was throwing the furniture. "Guys, what's going on in the living room?" she went to the dining table with the bowl that still had the hot porridge in it before walking with slow steps towards the living room. She looked around and saw Cuphead and Cuppy lying on the armchair while Mugman lay on the sofa. She couldn't miss the overturned closet. But the question was where is the baby? "That's it I'm calling for help" said Cuphead who came to and reached for the phone hanging in the wall next to the chair. "Hello, operator? Get me the police!" Why the police? Alicia was confused and went to the kitchen shaking her head.

She did not notice that all three cups knew where the baby was. It was back at the radio and was now holding it above its head. It threw it away to the shock of the three cups who tried to catch it before it touched the ground. They slid on the floor and managed to catch the radio with their hands. It was whole again. This pleased the three of them, which is why they exhaled with relief.

The radio was safe. But not safe from the sledgehammer that suddenly appeared behind it. Alicia only heard the sound and looked confused into the living room. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw the destroyed radio lying between the three cups. "What have you done?!" she said in shock and walked towards the radio while the three cups said nothing in shock. They didn't know what to say themselves. "It wasn't us, it was the baby!" said Cuppy who quickly regained consciousness as the other two. All three cups hoped that the statement was enough. But Alicia just looked at the three annoyed.

She felt screwed by the three of them. "How could a baby lift a sledgehammer?" She could barely lift it herself. Only with effort. "So if you're going to keep messing with me like this, you're welcome to explain to Elder Kettle who's responsible for all the chaos around here." pouting, she went into the kitchen. "Alicia wait we are not messing with you" "Yes we are telling the truth" but Alicia ignored the three. This didn't really please anyone "Now what do we do?! Alicia is mad at us and Elder Kettle's radio is destroyed!" asked Mugman in frustration. Cuphead, however, paid him no attention as something else caught his eye. "Dresser," he said. Cuppy was confused and looked in the same direction as Cuphead while Mugman was still confused.

"Dresser!" Cuppy now shouted. Mugman turned in the same direction as the two Cupheads and saw a Dresser flying towards them. Alicia went to the dining table and felt that the porridge was no longer warm. She went to the stove and tried to reheat the porridge. She wanted to, but then she heard something being thrown against the wall. Not just one thing, but several at the same time. "What's going on now?" even more annoyed she went into the living room and couldn't believe what she saw there.

The same was true for Elder Kettle who returned at the same moment and also saw the whole mess. "Door ripped off its hinges? Piano on fire? Fishbowl shattered? Fish missing? Antique china in pieces? Dresser smashed into wall? More fire?" he enumerated as his gaze went all over the living room and fell on the three cups that were more than nervous. They already suspected that they would be scolded by him. "Eh. Boys will be boys" What? Alicia didn't know what to say to that. But Elder Kettle knew what to say to his destroyed radio that he saw in ruins on the floor. "My radio! My most prized object!" yes the four were in trouble. Especially Alicia who was supposed to prevent the radio from being destroyed.

That's why he stared at her angrily and walked towards her stomping. Alicia swallowed nervously and knew what was going to happen to her. She would be punished. But it didn't come to that, because the three cups stood in front of her and all pointed their fingers in the same direction and said together "Baby did it" to which he looked and couldn't believe it himself. How could a baby make such a mess like this? Alicia asked herself until she was interrupted by a painful cry. All four of them looked at Elder Kettle and the baby who had just torn off his mustache.

Yes you could see the demolition at the place where the mustache once was exactly. Of course, Elder Kettle was not very enthusiastic about the fact that his mustache was now off and also scolded the baby. This looked of course again grimly. Alicia saw that now and guessed what would come next if she had not taken the baby from his arms and started to sing.

Baby mine, don't you cry

Baby mine, dry your eyes

Rest your head close to my heart

Never to part, baby of mine

She rocked her arms back and forth while holding the baby in her arms. His expression changed from grim to happy as he continued to listen to the song.

Little one when you play

Don't you mind what they say

Let those eyes sparkle and shine

Never a tear, baby of mine

The baby's eyelids grew heavier and heavier as he listened to Alicia sing. He was about to fall asleep.

If they knew sweet little you

They'd end up loving you too

All those same people who scold you

What they'd give just for

The right to hold you

She slowly ran her free hand over the baby's cheek. It smiled and its eyes fell closed while it cooed softly and nestled in Alicia's arms.

From your head to your toes

You're so sweet, goodness knows

You are so precious to me

Sweet as can be, baby of mine

With the end of the song, the baby fell fast asleep in her arms. Alicia was reassured. Very reassured, in fact, because when she looked away from the baby, she realized that she had accidentally put the others to sleep as well. The three cups lay on the lap of Elder Kettle who was lying in his armchair. Everyone was fast asleep from the song that Alicia had sung. That didn't really surprise her, to be exact. After all, the song was perfect for putting others to sleep.

Since everyone was now asleep, Alicia took advantage of the opportunity and decided to go to the orphanage with the baby. It was a risk though because the devil showed interest in her and probably won't leave her alone until she will be his wife. She swallowed nervously when she thought about it, because she was already married and she didn't want to betray Lucifer. She was very faithful to him. But she was able to defend herself thanks to her demon powers. So she breathed in and out quietly and went into the City with the basket that was still outside the frontdoor to send the baby to the orphanage.

Arrived there without any problems she was greeted by the director of the children's home. An anthropomorphic penguin lady. Alicia sensed that she didn't look very friendly because she looked at Alicia with a suspicious expression when she arrived at the orphanage with the baby and told her the story of how Alicia met the baby. "So let me get this straight" Alicia swallowed nervously. She didn't know why but somehow she couldn't help thinking of Pristine Figg. Both were physically the same and seemed to have the one and the same character. "You found the baby in this very basket here on your doorstep with a note on it saying you had to take care of the baby?" Alicia just nodded and said nothing else as the penguin lady held up the basket and the note.

"Yeah that's right I mean we don't even look alike or do you think I made that up?" Alicia asked the penguin lady annoyed who continued to stare at her suspiciously and actually wanted to say that she didn't believe this "story" Alicia had told her. But judging from the expression on her face, she was wrong. The penguin lady smirked and took the baby out of Alicia's arms. "Okay you convinced me" Alicia was a little confused by the statement. You could tell by the look on her face. "Uh what?" asked Alicia confused as she looked after the penguin lady who was giving the baby to another penguin lady before turning to her. "You heard me right. We're happy to take the baby into our orphanage" the smile on Alicia's face was hard to ignore followed by the relieved exhale. The baby was in safe hands which reassured her.

So much so that she went back to the cottage without any problems. Of course, the others will certainly wonder where the baby is. Especially Mugman who was very attached to the baby. He wouldn't be very happy about it if he told her. So how should she explain it to him without him hating her? Oh boy this is going to be fun. Alicia thought sarcastically when she opened the front door and saw the four of them still asleep on the armchair. Again, I could tell him later or tomorrow. Yes, she didn't want to wake the four of them up now. All four were sleeping peacefully on the armchair. Even though it looked strange to see Elder Kettle without a mustache.

Alicia, however, noticed herself that she was getting tired. That's why she decided to go to sleep herself and went to the guest room, quietly closed the door behind her so that the others wouldn't wake up and lay down on her bed. She did not cover herself. No, she fell asleep immediately.

The environment around Alicia changed. The room disappeared just like the bed she was lying on. She was now lying on something soft and gray. What it was exactly she did not know. She didn't care because it was warm. Warm and cozy. Almost as if she was sleeping on someone's giant hand. But that couldn't be it. Or could it? Alicia opened her eyes curiously and slightly afraid and was very frightened. She had been right about the thing that it felt like she was sleeping on a hand. She also realized that it was the devil's hand. Only it was not the hand of her devil but that of the other devil.

Oh no! oh no! oh no! She did not want this to be true. "No this is not real Alicia this is just a dream nothing more" she said softly to herself to calm down again. But that was easier said than done because the hand she was lying on suddenly moved. She held on tightly so as not to topple over and didn't notice that she was suddenly being stared at by two glowing yellow eyes.

"Really? Do you believe that, my darling?" said the voice behind her. Alicia flinched when she heard it. Her wolf ears drooped while her pupils shrank as she slowly turned in the direction from where the voice she had just heard came. Her pupils, which were already small, became even smaller as she began to tremble. The voice she heard, which had a slight English accent, belonged to no one other than the devil, who stared at her seductively with his big yellow eyes. Why is he looking at me like that? Yes, Alicia felt uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her. Not only that. She also felt uncomfortable because she was extremely short and he was extremely tall. If not gigantically tall.

She hated being shrunk. Not only because her name sounds almost as similar as Alice. No, but also because it makes her feel even more uncomfortable. Like right now. She wanted to get away from him. But where should she go? Apart from him, she saw no possibility of escape. She was really in a jam. And she didn't like that at all. Therefore, she tried to keep her distance from him by slowly standing up and taking a few steps back. The devil, however, noticed this and stopped her by holding her with his other hand so that she could not free herself and was his prisoner. "You won't escape me my love" he said and ran his other hand over her hair, down to her cheek to her chin which he lifted. She swallowed nervously as she looked back into his yellow eyes.

She was now forced to stare into them which she didn't exactly like. She hated it. Very much, in fact, because his grip was too tight for her to break free. What's more, he seemed to like it. His grin was hard to miss. Oh no don't tell me that he... She guessed from the way he played with her hair that he not only intended to make her his but also to make her his queen. At least that's what the crown that appeared on her head said.

"Don't worry my love Alicia you will be fine with me" she didn't really know what to say to that and tried to ignore him. But he lifted her chin with his claw "I promise you" his lips became a kissing mouth and he kissed her. She felt very disgusted and wet because he had kissed her whole face instead of her lip. "You will like it with me I promise you" she heard whispering next to her. She...she...she didn't know what to say to that. Was it all real or just a dream? More likely a nightmare. That's why she couldn't help screaming in fear while the devil just laughed mischievously.

Song: Baby Mine by Bette Midler from Dumbo (1941)