Starting the week with the next chapter. I did a lot of rewrites on this one since it wasn't perfect for me.
But maybe you can correct me with that.
Anyways I hope you like it
Until then
"You are very relaxed my love" Alicia heard as she lay on Lucifer's stomach, very relaxed and smiling. Yes, Alicia was happy and content. Why shouldn't she be? She was with Lucifer, her husband, enjoying the peace and quiet. It couldn't be better for the two of them. They were reunited and together and... Do I hear someone whistling? Alicia and Lucifer opened their eyes in confusion and looked around. Where did the sudden whistling come from? No windows were open and the rest of the doors were closed. So the whistling couldn't have come from that. But where else could it have come from?
Well, the question answered itself when Cuphead walked in front of them with a broom in his hand and swept the floor. Well, if you could call it that. Alicia usually swept her apartment differently. In any case, she would never let her broom spin in her hand, toss it in the air and catch it like a circus acrobat. After all, she didn't want to spread all the dust around. Especially in places where it was difficult to reach, like the top of her closet.
She envied her husband for that. He was much taller than her and could reach places that Alicia only dreamed of being able to reach without the help of a chair or the like. Cuphead, however, realized that he had apparently disturbed them both with his chores and smiled nervously. "Sorry Al and Luci I didn't mean to disturb you two" Lucifer tilted his head as he heard his apparently new nickname the cup had given him. Normally he didn't think much of being called Old Scratch or Mr. S as he couldn't stand either. Only a few people were allowed to use his real name, like Alicia, for example. Otherwise, "The Devil" was his real name that almost everyone used in the book world.
But this nickname was more than strange for him. Not only because it sounded rather feminine, but also because Lucifer wanted to retain his dignity even though he was married to Alicia. Alicia, on the other hand, didn't seem to think Al was so bad as her nickname. After all, Genie from Aladdin called him Al too.
However, while Alicia leaned back and tried to bury her head in Lucifer's fur, she heard a door open and looked curiously and confusedly at the source. It was the door under the stairs that slowly opened. Or at least it was open a crack and not completely closed like before. The creaking of the wooden planks on the floor signaled not only Alicia and Lucifer that someone was coming towards them from the closet under the stairs, but also Cuphead. He stopped whistling, stopped swinging his broom and looked behind him with an anxious expression on his face.
"Huh?" however, his anxious face quickly changed to a confused one. Alicia and Lucifer were also confused, with the former giggling. For good reason, because out of the cupboard came Mugman, wearing a homemade horse mask as he's trying to scare his brother. Mugsy Halloween is only two weeks away.
But, this didn't seem to bother Mugman who continued to try and scare Cuphead. "Uh..." but as Alicia already throught this didn't seem to work out the way Mugman had imagined. But giving up wasn't an option for him. He neighed like a horse while Cuphead was more confused than before. "What... What are you wearing?" he asked while Mugman walked to him, Alicia and Lucifer before he took the mask off his head to explain what this was all about. "I made it. It's just like that horse head that scared you when we were little".
Oh, Cuphead is afraid of something? That would be a new one for me, Alicia thought sarcastically. The cup always says he isn't afraid of anything. Not even the Devil himself. Yet he got scared when he met Lucifer for the first time "What horse head?" Cuphead couldn't remember being afraid of a horse's head. "The one from the hay maze, remember?" Mugman tried to make him remember the day both brothers went to the hay maze for the first time. But Cuphead only looked more confused then before "You froze in terror?" The horse mask was unintentionally shoved in his face while Mugman hoped that it would somehow scare Cuphead. But to no luck. Cuphead showed the horse mask out of his face "I have never frozen in terror!".
But Mugman denied it "Sure you did" and to prove him he was wrong, Mugman reached into his pocket and pulled out a flyer"I remembered when I saw this flyer" The flyer showed a picture of a small hay maze with poles around it with fairy lights attached. On the flyer were various symbols such as a pumpkin with a face looking slightly seductive, an apple also with a face, remaining neutral, a corncob without a face next to the text saying 'Haymaze with Surprises, Apple Cider and 5'centยด.
Alicia looked closer to the flyer while Cuphead tried to remember the day they had visited the hay maze.
Flashback
Both brothers were probably four or five years old at the time when they visited the maze. "This place is a widdle spooky!" a young Mugman said as he followed his brother Cuphead. Both were not only smaller back then. But they also missed some baby teeth. A bit scared Mugman looked around several times while he follows Cuphead. He didn't wanted to be frightened by anything in the maze and be a laughingstock for his brother again just because he get scared of something that isn't scary at all.
"Ah, I ain't too worried about it" Cuphead said with confident as he walked through the maze. Mugman is still looking around and didn't notice that a stick with self-made horse head suddenly appeared behind a bale of hay. It neighed, staring deep into the eyes of the young cup.
His eyes turn blue while his pupils shrink in fear. He startled, tried to breath and slowly turned into stone, like a statue. Or like someone would if they saw Medusa. "Cuphead? Cuphead!" Mugman, didn't noticed the horse head. Confused he walked over to his brother and tried to de-stone him by tapping on his head with his fist before he's waving his hand in front of Cuphead's eyes. But Cuphead remained petrified.
End of Flashback
"Never happened" Cuphead claimed while Mugman grinned mischievously and stared at him with a 'yeah sure bro' look. Alicia, however, took the flyer from Mugman's hand and took a closer look at it while Lucifer rests his head on her shoulder to look into the flyer aswell. They could both could use some time together, away from the others. But Alicia really didn't want to go into a hay maze she didn't like mazes in general.
Thanks to the light however, she saw something printed on the back of the flyer. Curious, she turned the flyer around and read "Inkwell Isle's 13th Autumn Festival" in capital letters in the middle of the flyer. On the top half were piles of pumpkins and apples, while on the bottom were baskets full of fruits. Cakes were also on display as well as a large bucket with several apples floating in it, one of which was bitten on the side and had a face that strongly resembled Mac the Apple from the book.
Alicia, Cuppy and his Mugman met the apple as they crossed the bridge to get not only to the first two debtors but also to get to Porkrind's Emporium. Back then he gave both cups each a bag full of coins and wished them good luck with their journey.
"Try your luck!" said the apple winking with his left eye. Alicia and Lucifer looked at each other before the latter asked if she wanted to go to the festival. "Oh, I don't really know, Lucifer," Lucifer realized that his wife was having second thoughts. Curious he asked her why she didn't want to go "I'm not a big fan of mazes" that didn't come from nowhere. It came from a traumatic memory. Alicia remembers the day it happens. She was four years old when she and her mother went to a fair in her town.
On the fair was a maze too. It was a large hay maze too just without the jump scares.
She went in the maze with her mother and was very excited. So excited that she let go of her mother's hand and ran ahead not noticing that her mother was no longer by her side. "Alicia wait!" she heard her mother calling after her before she ran further and further into the labyrinth like Alice went down the rabbit hole. Only Alicia soon realized that she didn't end up in a tunnel filled with all sorts of things. No, she came to a dead end.
"Mom?" Alicia noticed her mother wasn't by her side anymore. She was gone and Alicia was on her own. "Mom?" she called again as she slowly walked back to look for her mother but again there was no reply. Alicia now realized herself that she had made a big mistake when she ran into the maze alone. The walls were far too high for her and she could climb them if she wanted too. However, Alicia was too shy to do so for fear of breaking the rules. After all, you shouldn't go through a maze like that. But her mother was nowhere to be seen and the only people she met were other children walking through the maze with their parents by their sides.
Nervously, Alicia went up to a child and her parent and asked if they had seen her mother. But no one helped her. They all ignored her or paid no attention to her. Alicia knew she was alone. Alone and helpless. Tears slowly filled her eyes as she knelt down and sobbed quietly. She felt alone and abandoned. No one spoke to her or tried to help her.
Mom I'm sorry
"Oh dear" nobody except for an elderly lady standing in front of Alicia. "Are you lost little girl?" Alicia lifted her head and wiped her tears away as she looked at the elderly lady standing in front of her. In Alicia's eyes, the older lady was like a guardian angel. Slowly Alicia nodded to answer the older lady's question as she offered to lead Alicia out of the maze and reunite her with her mother. "Come on, I'll bring you back to your mother," Alicia accepted the older lady's outstretched hand and let her lead her out of the labyrinth. At the entrance stood her mother with the owner of the maze who tried to calm her down before her eyes fell on the elderly lady and Alicia.
Dolly ran to Alicia with tears in her eyes and hugged her tightly. "Oh my little Alicia I was so worried about you when I couldn't find you" Dolly said as she kissed her daughter and thanked the older lady for bringing her daughter back. She smiled and explained to Dolly that she was happy to do so. Alicia was happy to be reunited with her mother, but that day burned in her memory and led to a new fear she had developed of mazes. Of course she went into a maze as a teenager. But she didn't want to be alone and helpless again.
Lucifer knew about this and didn't want to force her. Mugman also noticed that Alicia had concerns and explained to her that the Autumn Festival had more to offer than just the labyrinth. Yes, he was right, Alicia thought, and decided to go to the festival with Lucifer. They both wanted to spend time together anyway, so why not? Wagging his tail and purring, Lucifer teleport himself and Alicia away, leaving the two brothers behind.
"I ain't afraid of no hay maze horse head!" Cuphead repeated while Mugman now ignored him with rolled eyes while Cuppy went downstairs and heard the last sentence and decided to prove Cuphead wrong. "Oh really Cuphead?" Cuphead looked at Cuppy and already knew what he was going to say next. That's why he stared at him with a "don't you dare" look. "Isn't that what you said when you went down to the basement, that you weren't afraid?" Yes, Cuppy remembered it clearly.
Cuphead should get some empty glasses from the basement. The basement was dark and the only light switch was at the bottom of the stairs. Of course, Cuphead didn't scream in terror when he came out of the basement, but in courage as he explained. After all, warriors scream too. But only when they were in battle. Just the thought of it made Cuppy and Mugman laugh.
"Ha ha very funny guys" Cuphead stared annoyed at Cuppy and Mugman who were lying on the floor and couldn't stop laughing. "Come on. I'll prove it to ya!" Cuphead wanted to make it clear to the other two once and for all that he wasn't afraid of a horse's head. "I'll get my coat" But Mugman and Cuppy followed him outside.
Meanwhile in the underworld, the devil was sitting in a red armchair in his personal library, reading a book that Henchman had recommended to him. "Controlling your RAGE" was the name of the book the devil held in his hands. In the fireplace next to him, the fire burned brightly and was a source of light for the devil. Even if there was a lamp on the table next to him. The spine of the book was greenish blue and had a golden stripe at the top of the headband.
His left eyebrow rose slightly as he took a closer look at the title of the book before opening it. He knew he had anger issues and needed to control them if he wanted to win Alicia over. Well, he had already read a bit in the book, as you could see from the bookmark sticking out of the book. So he slowly opened the book and continued reading from where he had left off. "Hmm" He licked his index finger with his tongue and reached for the page with "Chapter 3: Turn That Frown Upside Down" to turn it over so he could continue reading. However, he was suddenly seized by anger and without hesitating, he grabbed the page with his hand and slowly tore the page out of the book with a tearing sound.
The reason for his sudden outburst of anger was that he had just remembered how Alicia was not with him but with the copy of himself. He didn't want it to be true and tore out one page after the other to vent his anger. But it got worse rather than better. The door opened and a squeaking noise could be heard coming from a serving trolley that Henchman pushed into the room while Amnon ran after him with feather duster in hand to dust the bookshelves.
"Hi! Looking great, boss," Henchman ignored the devil's anger and greeted him kindly, hoping it would make him feel better. Amnon, meanwhile, was concentrating on the bookshelf he was dusting and unintentionally knocked over a vase, which he caught at the last second before it hit the floor. The husky demon breathed a sigh of relief and carefully put the vase back where it had been and made sure it didn't fall again. He stared intently at the vase and made an 'I'm watching you' gesture with his right hand before he continue to dust off the rest on the bookshelf.
"Your fur's almost all grown back" Henchman mentioned while the devil growled loudly and made Amnon's fur twitch. Yes, there had been a little accident in the bathroom yesterday after the devil had failed again to win Alicia over. He only wanted to make his fur smoother and softer, but lost control of the razor and lost much more fur than he actually wanted. The fact that Henchman had now mentioned this only made the devil angrier. He grunted and tore more pages out of the book while Henchman looked nervously at the serving trolley, where there was a teacup with a saucer and a teapot.
The devil must have been thirsty and could do with a drink. After all, it was very exhausting to be as angry as he was at the moment. "Oh! Looks like someone needs his calming tea poured in his favorite Cup" The devil stopped tearing more pages out of the book and opened his eyes. "Cup?" His eyes wandered from the book with the torn-out pages to the cup Henchman had just poured tea into. This very cup turned into Cuphead in the eyes of the devil and mocked him.
"Hey dummy I and Cuppy still have our Soul!" the devil growled even more and tried to calm down. He didn't want to be irritated so easily. However... "Oh man, cleaning this statue is torture enough!" the devil looked at the shelf next to his armchair. Amnon was cleaning a statue of a goat's head that was standing on two books. The devil was staring at it and, as with the cup, his eyes were playing tricks on him. The goat's head changed to Lucifer who stared angrily and mischievously at the devil "Alicia is mine and that will never change you excuse of a devil!".
The devil gasped, screamed, grabbed his trident and fired it not only at the cup, which was still laughing at him mentally, but also at the goat's head statue in frustration. The bang was clearly audible and the shocked faces of Henchman, who was now holding an almost completely destroyed teapot, and Amnon, whose face was covered in soot while the feather duster was now destroyed just like the serving trolley and the goat head statue. Amnon coughed up another cloud of soot while the devil slowly calmed down and realized what he had just done.
His eyes widened while his pupils retract until his eyes closed and the devil, annoyed, thundered his trident onto the ground where it got stuck. "That's it!" he decided once and for all to bring Alicia to him. But the copy was in his way. Seething with rage, the devil walked away from his armchair and thought about how he could best get rid of the copy in order to snatch Alicia and crown her his wife and queen.
"I'm throwing everything I've got at this copy of mine" Henchman and Amnon knew that this would not bode well. The devil was probably at the end of his tether and wanted to have Alicia with him at all costs so that he could marry her, crown her and, most importantly, perform the ritual with her. "Lucifer" added Henchman, who couldn't resist correcting his boss on the name of his copy. "Thank you, Henchman" the devil thanked him in a deep voice while his eyes were closed. He knew that Alicia was not so easy to get as she was never alone but either with the group or now with her "husband". She was hard to get when she was alone and even when she was, she was still much stronger than he was. Not physically, of course.
So the devil had to find a way to separate Alicia from the copy and bring her to him. It was difficult but the devil grinned as he thought of a solution. Why didn't I think of this before? the devil thought to himself as he started to giggle and slowly began to sing.
In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning
Henchman and Amnon were more than confused by the devil's sudden vocal interlude. It was not uncommon for the devil to start singing. Still, both demons were confused and didn't know what to do or even what to say. The devil was in his element and Henchman himself knew that the devil didn't like being interrupted while he was singing.
And the dream I had was as good as can be. It pleased me out of my wits. A corpse falling to bits! Then I opened my eyes. And the dream was, Alicia
Both also knew that the devil liked to remove his head and Shakespeare in canted with it. But the fact that the devil was now removing his arms, legs, head and tail from his body was very frightening for both of them. Amnon howled with fright as he jumped in Henchman's arms and trembled.
I was once the most powerful and feared being in all the Inkwell Isle's. When the Cups mocked me they mad a mistake.
The pieces jumped to the mirror hanging on the wall before they reassembled and the devil was back to normal. His hand touched it and showed the devil being laughed at by Cuphead, his brother and Cuppy as he received another electric shock from the invisible, impenetrable sweater.
My curse will made each of them pay! But one little Human girl will be spared!
However, the three cups stopped laughing when the devil aimed his trident at them and fired. Nothing remained of the three cups except three piles of ash with their straws sticking out of the piles. The devil laughed diabolically in the mirror and looked behind him where a frightened Alicia stood on the verge of tears until the devil's shadow engulfed her and he stroked her gently.
Little Alicia, beware. The Devil's awake!
Alicia let a tear fall from her eye while the devil held her head with both hands and whispered these words to her.
In the dark of the night We will find her. In the dark of the night just before dawn!
The devil looked away from the mirror and picked up his trident, which was still stuck in the ground, and walked past Henchman and Amnon, who followed him even though they didn't know why.
The Wedding will be sweet. When the ritual is complete! In the dark of the night
Yes, the devil was very much looking forward to regaining his old power and spreading fear and terror on the Inkwell Isle's as he had once done.
She'll be mine!
Together with Alicia, he would be unstoppable and could steal every resident's soul without even having to get up. A snap of the fingers would be enough.
I can feel that my power are slowly returning. Tie my sash and a dash of cologne for that smell
However, she resisted and tried to turn away from him. But the devil was clever and used his powers to make Alicia obey him or rather just be faithful to him. She stopped and her eyes lit up yellow as she stopped and the devil appeared here to caress her. She did nothing against it because she was under his control.
As the Copy fall into pieces. I'll see her crawl into my place! Privetiki, Alicia, My Queen. Farewell, Cuphead, Cuppy and Lucifer
But where would be the fun in that if he didn't see the faces of the residents as he ripped out their souls. He liked this and got a tingling sensation that went through his whole body.
In the dark of the night terror will strike them! Terror's the least I can do! In the dark of the night evil will brew.
Yes, he was ready to be his old self again. The one that could be seen in the tapestries in the throne room. Not as he was now.
Soon she will feel that her love for me is real. In the dark of the night. She'll be mine!
And to get it back, he has to have Alicia with him. However, she was not traveling alone. That's why the devil had to deploy greater protection. He needed help. Help in the form of his finest demons.
In the dark of the night. I will find her! Ooh! In the dark of the night terror comes true.
Henchman and Amnon already suspected what the devil wanted, or rather demanded, of them.
My dear, here's a sign. It's the end of the line!
The devil's hand clenched into a fist which he slammed against the wall. A crack was clearly visible from the impact, indicating that the devil meant business. He wanted Alicia with him. Just for him and no one else. She belonged to him and should stay with him and nowhere else.
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
With every word, his voice became more threatening and his body caught fire. Henchman and Amnon took the precaution of hiding behind the devil's armchair to escape the oncoming explosion of flames.
Come my demons! Rise for your master. Let your evil shine. Find her now! Yes, fly ever faster!
The devil saw the figures and Henchman and Amnon coming out from behind them. Both knew that the devil used these demons only for certain things. But that he wants to use them for Alicia and the two cups was a bit exaggerated.
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
But the devil calmed down and looked at Henchman and Amnon, who were slowly peering out from behind the armchair.
She'll be mine!
Both were still scared and didn't want to say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing and making the devil even angrier than he already was. However, there was nothing to worry about. The devil only wanted one thing from the two demons.
"Now bring me my finest demons!"
Somewhere on the Inkwell Isle's
The fall festival took place on a large open meadow not far from Inkwell City. Autumn had arrived on the Inkwell Isle's even though it was spring in Alicia's world. But apparently the seasons in the Cuphead Show world seemed to move faster or slower than in the real world. In the Cuphead book, the seasons were just as long as in the real world. Nevertheless, the inhabitants were delighted and enjoyed the fall and the festival in full swing.
The festival itself was large and, in addition to the hay maze, there were several stalls selling food, drinks and small items such as pumpkin-themed sweaters that the vendor had knitted themselves. Other stalls offered games such as guessing the weight of a pumpkin. Another game was to catch apples in a barrel full of water with your mouth instead of your hands.
There were tables with parasols in the middle, in front or behind some of the stalls. Some of the residents who visited the festival looked at the stalls, ate pumpkin or apple pie or even a caramelized apple or went into the labyrinth. To enter the maze, however, you needed tickets which were sold at the entrance to the festival.
And right there, out of a cloud of smoke, Alicia and Lucifer appeared. Both were more than excited and could hardly wait not only to make the most of the festival but also to spend time together without being disturbed by the three cups, Blood, Varian or the devil himself.
"Wow!" said Alicia when she saw the festival and the clothes she was wearing. Alicia was no longer wearing her hoodie but a dark blue jacket with pockets and a print on the back showing a black wolf's head with yellow eyes and a crown on its head. Below and above the head was a lettering with the words "Wolf Queen" on it. Alicia wore a black scarf around her neck. At either end of the scarf was a wolf's head with small paws, yellow eyes without pupils and a devil's tail.
Her pants were gray cargo pants with a sprinting wolf on the right side of her pants and a walking wolf on the left side. Instead of her sneakers, Alicia now wore black boots with white fur. Her hands had finger-less black gloves with trident motifs on the back of her hand. To complete her new look, Alicia carried a dark gray shoulder bag that was fastened with a silver button while a zipper was visible with a pendant showing a devil's tail.
Yes, Alicia was more than surprised to see her new look. However, she wasn't the only one wearing new clothes. Lucifer had also changed his clothes. In keeping with autumn, he was also wearing a scarf in the same color as Alicia, only instead of a wolf's head with small paws, it was his dragon form with small claws and an outstretched tongue. Or rather tongues as he had two. In addition to the scarf, he also wore a silver coat with pockets. Otherwise he wore nothing else and was not in his human form but was in his normal form.
His fur was warm enough and besides, the coat was for something else. For something Lucifer had planned to brighten up the end of the day.
"I see you like your new clothes" Yes, Alicia really liked them. She liked the pants, the jacket, the boots and especially the scarf. Not only because it was extremely soft and cozy, but also because the wolf looked so cute. "Do I like them? I love them!" Alicia replied as she rejoiced like a child at Christmas who had just unwrapped a present they were happy about.
Lucifer grinned "I'm glad you love it" he straightened his scarf before reaching for Alicia's hand and clasping it. After all, Alicia's hand was considerably smaller than Lucifer's. Her hand could fit in his three times and it would still be too small. Alicia didn't mind, though. She knew that Lucifer was bigger and therefore had bigger hands than her.
He was gentle with Alicia and didn't squeeze his hand too tightly. In return, Alicia held his hand tightly while the two of them looked around the festival. The stalls in the entrance area were colorfully decorated like the rest of the entrance area. Garlands of red, yellow and gray flags hung from the individual red striped poles and were either behind the stalls or next to various attractions such as the hay maze. Between two posts was a large sign showing the residents the entrance or exit. Depending on where they entered the festival.
The hay maze also had an entrance and exit sign. But in front of the labyrinth stood an employee who demanded tickets from the visitors to be able to enter the maze in the first place.
Alicia looked at the maze skeptically. The memory of the day when she was little slowly returned. Alicia's heart was pounding and her hands were getting sweaty. Lucifer noticed that Alicia wasn't feeling well and asked her if everything was alright. "I..." she didn't know what to say. Lucifer knew about her childhood fears because he had been in her dream world so many times and had witnessed them. So he would certainly already know about the accident in the maze.
"We don't have to go into the maze if you don't want to, my love," that answered her question. Alicia breathed a sigh of relief and was glad that Lucifer saw her understanding. She smiled at him and made him happy. "Thank you honey pie," Alicia thanked him while Lucifer stroked her cheek with his free hand. "You're welcome," they both walked through the front gate and looked around.
Children ran past the two with balloons and caramelized apples in their hands while a frog toon stood in front of a stall and bought a home-knitted sweater with leaf motifs on it. A dog toon jumped for joy when he correctly guessed the weight of a medium-sized pumpkin and won a medal. Alicia smiled with joy and didn't even notice that someone tapped her on the shoulder. Huh? Curious, she turned around and was delighted to see none other than Baroness Von Bon Bon. "Hey if it isn't my little cupcake Alicia" The Baroness hugged Alicia tightly but not too tightly. "Hey" Alicia replied as she looked up to the Baroness with a smile on her face.
"What are you doing here?" Alicia asked with curiosity. She knew that the Baroness could leave Sugar Land because the curse had been broken. But why would she be here at the festival? Halloween was still a while away and there was no other candy stand here. At least Alicia didn't see one in the entrance area.
"Oh I'm here as an employee selling homemade pumpkin pie" as if on cue or rather unintentionally Alicia's stomach growled when the Baroness mentioned the word pumpkin pie. Lucifer and the Baroness looked at Alicia with smiles on their faces as Alicia's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sounds like someone's really hungry" giggled the Baroness while Lucifer agreed with her "Well, you don't get full from a slice of toast either".
Yes, Alicia hadn't eaten much for breakfast as she wasn't that hungry and lunch was already over so it was no wonder that her stomach was growling. But luckily the Baroness knew how to solve the problem and asked both to follow her. She led them to a stall with a red and white striped roof with a pumpkin pie on it. A part of the pie had been cut off and was lying on a pie scoop while clouds of steam came out of the sliced pie next to the whole pie.
The Baroness stood behind the sales counter and picked up a pumpkin pie which she placed on the counter. Alicia smelled it and knew immediately that it must be a butternut pumpkin pie. "Oh that smells delicious" the Baroness smiled as she cut two pieces of the pie and placed them on two paper plates before drizzling whipped cream on top. She placed both plates in front of Alicia and Lucifer and handed them both a plastic fork.
Alicia and Lucifer smelled the cake and were about to eat when they saw the sign with the prices. They still had to pay "Damn I don't know if we have any money with us" Alicia put her plate on the counter and searched in her shoulder bag for money. "Oh dear Alicia you don't have to pay me anything" Alicia and Lucifer were very surprised. Neither of them knew if she was serious. But the baroness assured them that they didn't have to pay anything. After all she owed that to Alicia for helping her cure her curse.
"However, I would like to know who is accompanying you," the baroness did not know Lucifer and stared at him with a skeptical look. Lucifer, on the other hand, looked at her in confusion. Not because she had asked him that, but because she looked different from the baroness he knew. She looked very much like the Baroness from the book only her eyes are mint-blue instead of yellow, her gloves are white and not deep pink. Her flounces on her dress are lighter with a shine while the skirt is darker.
However, she seemed to have almost the same look when she looked skeptical. Yes, he felt the same way when she stared at him for the first time. It was when Alicia was the second time in Inkwell Hell and turned into a demon. The former debtors appeared in Inkwell Hell to save her. When the Baroness, Sally, Hilda and Cala Maria first saw Alicia in her demon form they were furious with him. Lucifer remembered the faces the four ladies. They weren't amused and wanted to hurt him for doing that to their precious Goddaughter.
"Oh this is Lucifer my husband" Alicia mentioned with a smile as she began to ate a piece of her slice of pie. Lucifer nodded and ate his piece of pie as well. "Oh then is this the wonderful man you've missed so much?" the Baroness asked Alicia as she smiled more than before. She was glad that her goddaughter was reunited with him and smiling more than before. Yes, Alicia smiled. She didn't realize it herself, but Lucifer and the Baroness did.
However, Alicia suddenly got a bad feeling. It was as if something big and dangerous was coming for her and Lucifer. Unintentionally, Alicia stared in the direction of the entrance and shivers ran down her spine.
For good reason, because while she was having fun with Lucifer, she had no idea what the devil had planned. Yes, Alicia wasn't wrong because something really big was coming for her and Lucifer that was standing in front of the devil in the underworld at that very moment.
He had ordered Henchman and Amnon to summon his finest demons. They stood in front of him and the two smaller demons, who were terrified and hardly said a word, but didn't know where to look next. The demons were much bigger than them and the devil himself. But that didn't bother him at all. He was as happy as a little child when he saw the muscular and fearsome demons standing in front of him.
All demons had red fur, skin, scales or anything else that could be described as such. A panther demon was muscular and wore shoulder and elbow protection as well as a helmet on its head that fitted it like a glove. Its mouth was wide open so that its pointed teeth could be seen sticking out of it. Another demon looked like a slimy mass that resembled the shape and size of the other demons. Or at least tried to, as the face itself was blurred and looked like it had melted like wax. Its eyes shone like candle-lights.
Another demon was hard to describe but looked very much like a deep-sea fish with its head and mouth with four large, sharp teeth sticking out of it. Its arms were not as muscular as those of the panther demon. But its shoulders, chest and back were. The demon right next to him looked a lot like Henchman with his wings, as both were quite small compared to their physique. Unlike Henchman, however, the demon itself stood on all fours and resembled a gargoyle with its head shape and horn instead of a nose. Its teeth were also pointed and its horns were shortened like Henchman's.
A hiss was heard loud and clear and came from a snake demon that looked very much like a real cobra and was just as dangerous. The hissing disappeared and the demon opened its mouth to show its sharp poisonous fangs that could be seen at the edge of its mouth. Amnon cried out in shock and hid behind Henchman, who only swallowed nervously. For good reason, because the demons frightened them.
"Ooh!" but not to the devil, who looked at all his demons standing in front of him and couldn't contain himself for sheer joy. "Now these are some world-class demons!" He didn't know who to look at first as they all looked equally good to him. He was very happy and looked at three demons. "Ooh! This one has razor-sharp talons. Oh, and this one has three heads!" he mentioned until his gaze fell on the third one, the panther demon whose muscles the devil had taken a liking to.
"Ah! And oh, hey, hey. Look at the muscles on this guy" He couldn't help himself and touched the demon's muscles, pinching them lightly with his fingers as he chuckled and stood in front of the demons, who followed him with their eyes and remained silent while the devil began to speak. "So I assume you're all wondering why I summoned you here today!" The demons listened to him as the devil walked past them "As I'm sure you know, I have decided to make a woman my wife and queen" the demons nodded sincerely as the devil continued to speak. "Now this woman's name is Alicia Powell and she is half human half demon. A hybrid you could say, unique, one of a kind and strong!" he mentioned, emphasizing the word strong so that the demons understood it clearly.
When the devil reached the end of the row of demons, he turned around and continued while pointing a poster with Alicia's face on it in the direction of the demons "She has the same powers as me and seems to be much stronger than me but not physically of course" he cleared his throat before continuing "Well unfortunately she is never alone but always accompanied by a group consisting of three cups, a wolf, a fox and most recently a copy of me!".
He cleared his throat again and swallowed his anger "Your task is to bring my beloved Alicia here and eliminate the group and especially this copy so that they no longer stand in my way to marry Alicia and to regain my old powers back." Everything around him went dark as he said the last sentences in a menacing demonic voice.
"However, I don't want a hair on Alicia's head to be harmed to make this clear!" the demons nodded while the panther demon got the poster from Henchman that the devil had shown the demons. A blob consisting of eyes and the snake demon looked over his shoulder at the poster, which was just the size of a handkerchief for them.
"Don't worry boss we will bring the woman to you and crush the impostor!" said the panther demon in a very deep menacing voice. "I hope so!" the devil hoped that his demons would bring him Alicia and show the copy who was in charge and, above all, who owned Alicia. "Release the demons!" the devil roared as the demons left one by one, running, slithering or crawling towards a large gate that opened and led the way to the surface.
The demons entered the surface and rushed into the nearby forest. They didn't have to search the whole Inkwell Isle's to know where Alicia was. The trees snapped as the demons walked past them or were burned by the slime demon.
The devil grinned contentedly and mischievously. He was delighted that Alicia would soon be with him and that there would be nothing left of the copy but dust. However, his joy was short-lived. "But boss, what about the two cups that still owe you their souls?" Yes, the devil had forgotten that there were two cups that still owed him their souls. Just the thought of it made him angry again.
But instead of the outburst of rage that Henchman and Amnon had feared, something completely different happened.
"Bring me my second-finest demon!"
The devil roared while Henchman and Amnon disappeared and fetched the demons.
Meanwhile on the surface, the three cups also appeared at the festival and, like Alicia and Lucifer, wore different clothes to suit the weather. All three wore coats over their sweaters and pants. A piece of the pants can still be seen while the three were walking. However, the color of the coats was not the same as that of their pants and straws. Cuphead's coat was gray with dark gray buttons, Mugman's was gray-brown. Cuppy's coat, on the other hand, was plain brown with black buttons.
"This is gonna be good" Mugman took a sip of the apple cider he'd bought while Cuppy ate the caramelized apple he'd already taken a bite of. Cuphead, on the other hand, seemed less than pleased and just rolled his eyes at his brother's statement, hoping that something in the hay maze would scare him and make him freeze in terror. He flaps his lips "Uh-huh" and took three red tickets out of his coat pocket as they walked to the entrance of the hay maze. But before they could go in, they had to pay the entrance fee with the tickets.
"Tickets, please" asked the salesman, who also looked as bored as Cuphead while the three cups entered the hay maze. Mugman sipped his cider while Cuppy chewed the piece of apple and swallowed before biting into the apple again. As they went deeper into the maze, the three heard something squeak and looked ahead. A white sweater appeared on a clothesline with a face painted in black ink to represent a ghost.
Cuphead rolled his eyes and looked at his brother and Cuppy "Ooh, real scary" he said with a sarcastic expression before he started laughing himself and walked on. "That horse mask is gonna make you freeze in terror", "Then you'll have to admit you were afraid" but Cuppy and Mugman didn't want to give up so easily and continued to follow Cuphead through the labyrinth, not knowing that they wouldn't be spared by the devil today either.
While the three cups went deeper into the hay maze, Alicia and Lucifer ate their slice of pumpkin pie in peace at one of the many tables with a parasol in the center, not far from the entrance area. There were several tables with different colored umbrellas spread around the area. Both of them were sitting under a blue and red striped umbrella. The tables themselves were not really 'tables' but barrels that were wide enough to be used as a table for a maximum of four people. However, only a maximum of one or two people used the tables. These included two cat toons, an anthropomorphic screwdriver, two elephants and of course Alicia and Lucifer.
They both enjoyed their time together as much as they could. Alicia wanted to, but as soon as she took a bite of her cake, she felt that feeling again that she had earlier. Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a shudder. Lucifer noticed "Is something wrong Alicia?" he asked curiously and worriedly at the same time while Alicia looked behind her several times before she realized that Lucifer had asked her a question.
"I have the feeling that something is coming towards us" she didn't know how best to describe it as she didn't even know what exactly it was that was worrying her. Lucifer also looked around to make sure that no one was there who seemed strange to Alicia or was causing her problems. "Don't worry, I'm here to make sure this day isn't ruined by anyone," he gently stroked her cheek and reassured Alicia. She breathed out a sigh of relief and continued eating her pie.
However, neither of them suspected that something was really coming for them. In the entrance area of the party, a few guests were drinking their apple cider when they noticed the water in their glasses shaking. Confused, they looked around and, like the other visitors, felt a slight but strong earthquake that was getting stronger by the second. Some visitors did not know where the sudden earthquake came from as it was quite rare for there to be any earthquakes at all on the Inkwell Isles. Some toons ignored it while others wondered what was going on. However, the visitors saw that something was coming from the forest near the festival. The glowing yellow eyes were hard to miss. Many visitors stopped in fear while some trembled like aspen leaves.
The eyes came closer and closer until they disappeared from the shadows of the forest and showed who they really were. The visitors and some of the staff, including the one standing in front of the hay maze, screamed in fear and hid or ran away when they saw the devil's demons coming out of the forest and entering the festival. A few visitors ran away in a zigg zagg pattern while some visitors tried to hide behind or even in the stalls. Others jumped into the barrels in which apples were floating, while others disappeared behind hay bales or the like.
The demons, however, were hardly bothered by the screaming of the visitors. After all, they were here to look for someone and not to spread fear and terror. Which they did just as the panther demon lifted a stall under which an elephant, a cat, a trumpet and a sandwich child were hiding as they hugged themselves and shiver. No one said anything as the panther demon stared at the group before putting the stall back on the ground and continuing its search.
Lucifer's ears twitched a little as he heard the screams of the visitors and looked curiously but also annoyed at the source of this. He was not very pleased about it. The demons didn't belong to him, he knew that. But he knew and suspected what they were looking for as they tore half the festival apart. His eyes wandered from the demons to Alicia, who was sitting with her back to them and had almost finished her pumpkin pie.
She was about to bite into the last piece when Alicia felt Lucifer's hand on her back as he walked away from the table with her. "Uh, Lucifer, what are you doing?" Alicia asked curiously, confused by the sudden silence. "Why is it so quiet?" she was about to look behind her when Lucifer turned her head slightly in the other direction, confusing her even more than before.
But Lucifer did this for a good reason. Today was supposed to be a leisurely and relaxed day without Alicia having to worry. She should relax and unwind. She needed that after all the stress at university. But apparently that was too much to ask for. Lucifer knew he had to tell Alicia about it. Even if he didn't want to. She had to know. But for now, he wanted to keep her safe. Safe from the unwanted visitors who were making a racket at the festival.
So he decided to walk away with her from the entrance area and decided to take her to see the rest of the festival where there were still visitors who didn't know about the demons who were now at the place where Alicia and Lucifer were eating their pumpkin pie.
Meanwhile in the underworld.
The devil had already sent his first-finest demons to get Alicia. However, it has slipped his mind that Cuphead and Cuppy still owe him their souls. So he asked Henchman and Amnon to fetch the second-finest demons who were now standing right in front of him. These were also bigger than the devil but didn't seem to be as world class as the first demons. Sure, some of them were scary.
But they would be enough to bring him both cups for now. But before he does so, he tells his demons the reason why he asked them to grab these two cups "Let me tell you about these two cups-". His hand clenched into a fist as he tried to control his anger. "Head and Cuppy" especially when Henchman and Amnon corrected him with the names of the two cups "Thank you, Henchman and Amnon" he exhaled and continued. "Never before have I been subjected to such criminal disrespect by a mortal" Yes, the devil was not at all happy that both cups thought he was a joke. After all, he was the devil. He should be feared and not laughed at like a clown.
"One, has lost at Soul Ball, but his dumb brother grabbed his soul and stuffed it back in, which is completely unethical after I stole it fair and square" His voice deepened with each passing second as the devil continued to speak "And then they destroyed the whole carnival!" Slowly, the devil breathed in and out to control his rage, which was growing stronger by the second. "Then he and the other cup goes on Roll the Dice, which is impossible to lose".
Yes, it was more than obvious that the devil was not only desperate because it was King Dice's fault that he didn't let both cups win. "Well one won but the other..." he took another big pull. "He couldn't name Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I mean, who can't name Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?". The demons looked at each other as if they were saying to themselves "How stupid that one cup is" while the devil continued to speak.
"And then the two had these...these...these sweaters" Oh yes, the devil was far from finished with his rant and told the demons how stupid and dumb this sweater was. "It was invisible and impenetrable and dumb, and I couldn't just take the souls out of their bodies and eat them before their very eyes!" Henchman and Amnon realized that the devil was literally on fire and about to explode with rage. They both looked around to avoid being caught in the flaming fury that was coming their way.
Neither of them hesitated for long and hid behind the rock next to them before the devil went completely berserk and a wall of flames appeared next to him, destroying all the demons that were standing in front of him and consisting only of piles of ash from which black smoke billowed up, slowly subsiding with each passing second.
The flames reached as far as the rock behind which Henchman and Amnon were hiding. A scorch mark could be seen that was also still smoking before both demons slowly peered out with their heads, shaking with fear. At least Amnon did, chattering his teeth and whimpering like a frightened dog would. However, not all of the second-finest demons were gone. Behind the piles of ash appeared Silk, Vespae, Caterina, Daiyu and Scorpina who had escaped the devil's wrath flames and were now the only second-finest demons as the others had literally crumbled to dust, or rather ash.
The devil rolled his eyes when he saw the five demonesses standing in front of him, ready to do the job for him. Well, almost all of them except Vespae. She looked in her dark green pocket mirror as she realized with horror that her dress, antennae and face were ruined by the ash. These were her words before she removed the ashes with a dark green make-up brush. Silk also rolled her eyes and smirked a little until she winked seductively at the devil. Meanwhile, Caterina took care of her armor and her wrist bow by stringing a new arrow into it. Daiyu looked at her jade brooch and opened it while saying something in Japanese that nobody understood.
Scorpina, on the other hand, inserted her poison spike into an opening in her axe, which then began to glow purple. "Oh, look who it is" Silk growled annoyed when she heard a man scatting to an upbeat tune. She and the others knew who it was that had just come out of the corridor "Number one here. Fashionably late and fashionably fashionable, as per usu-" Dice walked on unnoticed until he opened his eyes and saw not only Silk looking down at him with an annoyed expression like the others who were looking right and left behind Silk to stare the oh so great number one in the face. No, his gaze wandered to the huge piles of ash that were once the demons the devil wanted to send away.
"What did you do?" he gasped as a growl could be heard next to him, coming from none other than Silk, who was less than pleased to be shouted in her ears. The devil, who wanted an explanation from Henchman and Amnon as to why Silk, Vespae, Catrina, Daiyu and Scorpina were here, was also less than pleased. "Well, those five were on the list you gave me, boss," Henchman explained as he held the said list in his hands and handed it to the devil, who snatched it from his hand.
He looked through the list, from which most of the names had now been crossed out, as these demons had just been eliminated by the devil. To the devil's shock, Silk and the others were at the bottom of the list. The devil didn't want to believe it, but it was true. Silk and the others were now the only demons who were considered his second finest. Whether the devil liked it or not. If I send them off now, they certainly won't get the two cups, but will go after my dearest Alicia. The devil didn't want to risk it, so he decided to bring in the third-finest demons.
"Third-finest!" he ordered and Silk and the others rolled their eyes in horror. Not because they were afraid of them, but rather the other way around. "Hoo boy!" Catrina said in an exasperated tone.
Yes, the joy disappeared not only from the faces of the demonesses but also from the devil's, who was more than disappointed as he stands in front of his third- finest demons. "These are my finest demons?" he asked, hoping that Henchman and Amnon were pulling his leg. "Uh, well, now, yeah" However, they did not tease him and confirmed his statement with a nod, while the devil only looked even more disappointed.
The demons who now stood before the devil were anything but enthusiastic. Some of them didn't really seem to want to be here, which for better or worse was because Silk and the others weren't making it any easier for these demons. One of the two scorpion demons looked to his right and sensed Silk's anger. Next to the scorpions stood a vulture-like demon with a devil's tail instead of tail feathers. On the far right was a spider-like demon with several eyes, the only demon with black fur instead of red. A turtle-like demon stood next to it with its mouth wide open and only a few sharp teeth visible.
The devil, however, seemed to be interested in the cyclops demon standing between the vulture demon and a very small demon "A cyclops with an eye patch. And how does that work exactly?" The devil got an answer pronto as the Cyclops grumbled to himself, lifted his leg and ran straight into a stalactite, which squashed his eye patch into his face and made him look even more stupid than before. "Ah. It doesn't.".
Scorpina saw a small round bird-like demon standing next to the biggest one a shark-like demon who was quite fat and had difficulty breathing properly without sounding like he was having an asthma attack, looking stupidly around.
"Aww, the little guy's so cute. He can't be that bad" Vespae had not noticed the demons standing next to them as she had just finished cleaning herself of the ashes and was staring at the very demon Scorpina had mentioned. Annoyed she smacked her from the back of her head "Zip it, Scorpina!" Scorpina rubbed the place where Vespae had hit her and a small bump came out of it. The devil also noticed the little critter and was outraged at how stupid it looked and why it was one of his finest demons. "Ew! And what's this thing?" he asked, disgusted.
"Boopadaboopadaboo!" the demon replied to the devil's question. "Is that all you do?" The devil hoped that this was a joke by Henchman and Amnon that this demon was one of the third-finest. However, the demon could do more than the devil suspected. His cheeks were swelling as if he was about to puke. His eyes wandered to the shark demon as it opened its mouth and a huge load of green flames was fired at it. The shark demon said nothing as it disintegrated into ash.
The turtle demon, Silk and Vespae couldn't believe what had just happened. The former put some distance between himself and the little demon, who smiled contentedly and thought nothing of the fact that he had just wiped out a demon. Silk, on the other hand, had a devilish idea. The little demon may look useless to the devil, but it could be useful to her. "Wow. You blew up the biggest one. Great job".
"I am so angry right now. I want to obliterate all of you," the devil growled with rage as he tried to pull himself together so as not to lose it again. "But I cannot even begin to imagine the fourth-finest demons" but Henchman corrected him with his statement "Uh, or as they're now known, the third-finest", "Thank you Henchman!" Yes, the devil was not very happy about the fact that they had now risen one rank higher rather unintentionally just because the devil had wiped out the original second-best in anger.
In his hand, the devil held two wanted posters showing Cuphead and Cuppy. "Look. Both Cups are no longer wearing the protective sweater. So-", "Which is in an undisclosed location" Amnon interrupted the devil in the middle of his speech, which did not please him much. The husky demon noticed this and grinned nervously at the devil. "Just bring them to me and I'll rip out the cups' soulsand if you should happen to come across a young lady with black hair and one green and one blue eye, I would like you to bring her to me unharmed".
None of the demons gave him an answer except Silk, whose cheeks were flushed with rage. Of all the demons, however, the Cyclops was the only one to show his back to the devil. "Bring them back, you live" but again there was no answer from the demons. This did not please the devil at all, who decided to take drastic measures to encourage the demons to do their work.
"Fail and Alicia is harmed in anyway, I destroy you!" the demons jumped in fear when the devil mentioned these words. Without hesitation, they ran back and forth and into each other before they all ran in the same direction. "Release the demons!" the devil roared again and the same gate opened from which the best demons had already stepped through. The Rivals ran ahead while the rest of the demons followed them. With the exception of the cyclops demon who ran straight into the nearby forest and startled several birds.
Partly satisfied, the devil calmed down a little and wanted to fall into thoughts in which he held Alicia in his arms while he walked down the aisle with her to marry her. She wore a beautiful red dress that faded into a deep black at the bottom of her arms and legs. Golden patterns could be seen around her chest and arms while a golden horn peeked out on each shoulder, not too long but not too short to bother Alicia.
These spikes were also around her waist. A gold and silver tiara with devil horns was placed on her head and fitted perfectly between her horns while Alicia held a bouquet of black roses in her hands. The devil himself wore a white wedding suit with a black rose peeking out of his pocket. Instead of shoes, the devil wore white spats. He himself also wore a crown made of pure gold and set with red gemstones.
Yes, the devil could already imagine what his perfect wedding would look like with Alicia as his bride.
"Big D, Big D. It is a pleasure to watch you in action" However, his dream bubble burst when none other than King Dice appeared, standing right next to him and leaning against a rock with his elbows while he was talking positively to the devil for his work. "Nobody works a room like you" Yes, the devil knew that he could talk anyone round when it came to brute force. However, he didn't want Dice here because he was bothering him. No, he also wanted to send him out because the devil had a slight fear that Silk was planning to put Alicia in danger.
"Dice, I have a special job for you" the previously cheerful King Dice suddenly looked stupid when he heard this "You mean number one's got to do it too?" Judging by the look on the devil's face, Dice was not spared and also had to go to the surface. Even though he didn't like it, King Dice took a few steps forward until the devil put his hand on Dice's shoulder. Confused, he looked at the devil and listed to him "I suspect that Silk and the others won't stick to the deal and will probably concentrate on my dearest Alicia instead of the cups".
His fears were not without reason. The look Silk kept getting when the devil mentioned Alicia told him she was up to something. "That's why I want you to watch Silk and the others and make sure none of them do anything to my dearest Alicia" Dice swallowed before continuing "And I'm supposed to stop Silk and the others if they attack Alicia?" he asked.
He knew that the five demonesses were not too easy to defeat. Each of the five was differently strong and, with the exception of Silk, had different abilities. "Of course you should stop them, Dice!" growled the devil in response to the question Dice had asked him. Without hesitation, King Dice also ran out of the gate and followed the rest of the demons he could see from afar.
Satisfied with himself, the devil grinned until he smelled a strange odor. Confused, he looked around and smelled it several times until he realized that it was his fur that was giving off this strange smell. "Ugh, I really need to take a bath before I can take Alicia in my arms and snuggle with her" he said and was about to go to the bathroom.
But then he remembered something. He still had to watch the demons and make sure they were doing their job. He thought nervously until his eyes fell on Henchman and Amnon, who were playing cards until the devil's shadow fell on them and they both stopped playing abruptly. "Uh, is everything all right boss or why are you smiling at us?" Henchman asked with a tilt of his head while Amnon, who was standing with his back to the devil, looked behind him and placed his five cards, each of which was a king of hearts, a queen of diamonds, a jack of clubs, an ace of spades and an eight of hearts, on the floor in front of him.
"Yes, since you two have nothing better to do at the moment, could you keep an eye out for my demons and make sure they do their job and nothing else?" his tone sounded more or less friendly. However, that was enough for the two demons, who naturally accepted the task and stopped playing cards.
They both went to the mirror and watched the demons at work while the devil contentedly went into the bathroom to get rid of the stench from his fur. After all, he wanted to smell really good for Alicia. "Oh my dearest Alicia, I am very happy to have you with me soon" he chuckled and began to laugh diabolically "Once this copy is out of the way, you will be here with me forever." he began to laugh even more diabolically and devilishly than before.
It wouldn't be long before his demons returned with his bride Alicia and he could finally marry her.