And welcome back everyone with a new Chapter starting a new year!
I'm sorry that you guys have to wait that long but believe me the break was worth it!
I had plenty ideas for more stories I could write in the future so wait for one of those to happen this year ;)
Meanwhile we will finish this one here this year
What comes after that depens on you guys.
Do you want the sequel first or the prequel with Dolly? But before I will write it I will focus on the Lion King story so yeah that's it so far
I hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review and see you in the next chapter ^^
Six Months before Christmas
The wedding decorations that were hanging around the pillars a few seconds ago, shining like uncut diamonds, swayed, sank or were on fire. Just like the rest of the wedding equipment. The seats where only a few guests were still sitting (with the exception of Silk and the other rivals) to watch the chaos. The chaos that was about to reach its climax.
The devil stood surrounded by burning decorations, flowers, paper and other things that were hard to see in the confusion that surrounded him. You could make out parts of the wedding altar, which consisted only of scrap metal. It was a real shame to see all that. At least all the imps and demons had made an effort to make the wedding look beautiful. But none of it was left. Everything was destroyed thanks to the copy that the devil had despised since his arrival.
If the copy hadn't burst in here, the devil would have Alicia in his arms and would take her to the ritual site to crown her as his queen and break his curse for good. For years, if not decades, he had wished for his old powers back, which were now locked up in his trident. No wonder the devil here was only half as strong and only half as dangerous as Lucifer.
Nevertheless, the devil should not be taken lightly here. He could be dangerous if he wanted to be, of course.
But what if his staff consisted only of idiots, cowards, slackers and good-for-nothings? His Imps stopped obeying him some time ago and did what they wanted to do most, his finest Demons no longer saw him as their master, Silk and the others were only busy confessing their love to him several times and Dice...
His eyes traveled to the man with the Dice for a head though the devil showed his back to him and the others as he controlled his anger. Dice was the good-for-nothing in the devil's eyes. He was always in the way or not where he was needed most. The self-proclaimed number one was nothing more than a zero in the devil's eyes. If not less than zero. If there was such a thing.
King Dice was like a thorn in the devil's side. He did not do what the devil asked of him, nor did he fulfill his duties. Other demons tried their best to fulfill the devil (or they did). But Dice, on the other hand, only seemed to count on his image and let others do the dirty work. Why dig up chunks of lava with a shovel when you can hire others to do it? It's far too bad for the suit. Without it, King Dice is not who he used to be. Like the Dice that was his head, the suit was his trademark.
Just like the devil's trident, the straws of the three (or four if we count Chalice) cups, Alicia's hoodie and yes, even Stickler's nasal voice, these were trademarks that made each character unique.
But trademark or not, the devil didn't want to hear anything about it, let alone hear any excuses from his "number one". Generally speaking, he didn't want to be disturbed by anyone when he wasn't about to burst into flames and wipe out half his army, as he had done several times before. However, Dice didn't seem to notice while he was beating the dust off his suit to talk to his boss.
Determined with a self-absorbed smile, Dice walked towards the devil, whistling and tap dancing. You'd think Dice wouldn't know how to walk normally but that wasn't the case because before the man with the Dice for a head could spread his lips to say anything he was interrupted by the snarling, slightly flaming devil who still had his back to him.
His eyes withdrew. The flames were reflected in them as well as the fear and what was about to happen when the devil opened his mouth and said, "You screwed up!" the devil growled in a diabolical voice. Dice nervously swallowed the words he wanted to say. It wasn't particularly advisable to upset the boss in his current mood. Instead, he remained silent. But that didn't help either. The devil was furious and nothing and nobody could stop his rage. All the imps, demons and even the rivals moved away or fled from the throne room to avoid being caught by the flames of wrath. Only Henchman and Amnon remained and retreated behind a nearby wall. The former snuck up on Dice while the latter was talking to the devil about what he had messed up.
"What exactly am I supposed to have messed up boss?" asked Dice. Tears of sweat streamed down his forehead as the devil growled with every word. "You were supposed to stop my wife Alicia from being kidnapped!" was the devil's blunt reply. But Dice was confused, "That the young lady would be kidnapped? But boss, I was only hired as a singer." Dice tried to talk his way out of it. He hadn't been hired as a babysitter. Or was he?
Well, according to the devil's angry expression, apparently it is. Dice just didn't know about it because he was far too busy being upset about his role in the wedding. He really hoped that he would be the best man and not Henchman. But his wishes were not fulfilled. "Aren't the best men supposed to take care of this?" Before Dice could speak any further, Henchman grabbed his collar and pulled him behind him.
Why? Well, the devil was about to roar with rage and burst into flames. Flames that were about to burn everything that wasn't standing protectively behind the pillar. Chairs, decorations and other things were on fire or melting away like the wedding cake, of which only the upper part was still intact while the lower part melted off the table like wax from a candle. The two figures that should normally be on top of the cake, representing the devil and Alicia, were now lying on the floor. The devil's lay right next to his foot while Alicia's rolled down the small staircase.
Once again symbolically showing that both were separated from each other. Although Alicia had already hinted several times that she didn't want to marry him, let alone be his wife and queen if she was already married to Lucifer.
As stubborn as the devil was, he didn't give up until Alicia confessed that she only belonged to him. But to tame his anger, the devil decided to do something he should have done a long time ago. King Dice, Henchman and Amnon slowly looked behind the pillar they had hidden behind with some Imps with nervous and shaky looks. Dice looked particularly nervous. For good reason, as he was reflected in the amber-colored, lava-red eyes of the devil. "Oh boy the boss looks angry." "Angry? He's furious." an Imp corrected the now whimpering husky demon. Anger and rage were more than clearly reflected in the devil. Anger and rage that he wanted to take out on a certain person.
"DICE! COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"
The self-proclaimed number one refused to come out from behind the pillar. A mistake he would soon regret. You should never keep the devil waiting. Especially not when he was angry. So the Imps, Henchman and Amnon didn't hesitate for long and pushed Dice out from behind the pillar. He was now in the spotlight. Whether he wanted it or not.
He could forget about hiding. The devil's feet were right in front of him. Slowly, his eyes wandered upwards from the clawed feet to the black, fur-covered legs until his gaze fell on the devil's face. Growling, he lifted the man with the Dice for a head off the ground so that they could both look at each other at eye level. His claws dug into the suit. It was more than clear that the devil didn't want to let go of Dice so quickly.
The devil's fur slowly ignited. It was now clear. Dice was going to be punished. Not only the Imps knew this, but also Dice, who closed his eyes nervously and in fear. Henchman and the others looked out from behind the pillar, as did the rest of the Imps and demons hidden behind the other pillars. Silk and the others were the only group hiding behind the throne. Once because they wanted to take the chance to flirt with the devils to possibly gain the title of queen themselves.
But also to see Dice get his ass kicked. If they'd already messed up kicking Alicia's ass, they could at least enjoy seeing how far Dice could fall. The devil took a deep breath before announcing "You're fired!" in a diabolical voice. Dice, Henchman, Amnon, the Imps and their rivals looked dumbfounded. Well, all except the former. The latter seemed less than pleased by the news. On the contrary, he widened his eyes and could barely get a word out when the devil dropped him. "Grab your things and get out of here before I reduce you to ashes!".
The devil commanded him and made his way to his throne. Silk and the others didn't hesitate for long, grabbed a bouquet of flowers and stood in line in front of the throne. Of course, they wore matching wedding dresses. But the devil couldn't pay any attention to the five of them because Dice wasn't ready yet. "B-B-Boss please I know I messed up but please give me another chance! A chance for your number one!" Dice begged, hoping the devil would give him the chance.
"The only chance you will get is if you bring me back the souls of the two cups or my bride on the run!" were the devil's conditions. Dice knew this would not be an easy task. Both cups were smart, or at least one of them was, and Alicia was hard to grab. She was never alone. Dice knew it would take a long time to see her alone. But Dice wouldn't be Dice if he came up with a plan at the very moment he was kicked out. "I have a plan boss how to bring back not only the souls of the two cups but also your bride." the devil stopped and stared at Dice with an 'Oh really?" ' look on his face. As if he didn't want to take him seriously.
"That's right! If you turn me to ashes now, you'd have to do it. But I can get you both souls and your bride. All of it!" the devil thought. "Both souls?", "Both even the soul of the Mug!" added Dice with a nervous voice. "And I want my Bride Alicia. I love her." the devil roared, lowering the hopes of Silk and the other rivals to become queens themselves. The flower bouquets fell to the ground. Caterina stomped on hers in anger. "Cause with a queen by my side I feel more powerful than ever.", "So true Boss. Painfully true. And I'll make sure that the other you will be far away."
The devil liked that. Lucifer the copy of himself was like a thorn in his eye. Whenever Alicia was in his clutches, he grabbed her and the devil only got away with bruises.
His plans had never helped before. So why not let someone else do it? While the devil imagined Alicia standing next to him, Dice was already planning how to carry out his plan. He needed to know what the daily routine of the two cups and the young adult was like. He had to be near them to do this. But Dice was known far and wide on the Inkwell Isles. After all his Show was famous and so was he. He had to think of a way to make his notoriety disappear. But how?
Well the Devil had an idea for his troubles.
The antenna on the radio building in the city shone with a red glow. It signaled that the radio broadcast was about to start. The Inkwell Isle's most popular radio show. "This is my story, as told by me, a guy with a song in his heart..." King Dice was sitting in the dressing room behind the stage curtain. His assistants, three playing cards, one of them an ace of hearts, took care of the make-up and the suit. After all, the host of the most popular radio show should look and act the part. After all, Dice also worked for the devil. "and a dice for a head.".
"I used to have it all. Money, influence and fame." Dice was known for all of this. There was never a shortage of money, his fame never waned and even the mayor presented him with the key to the city, or rather the Inkwell Isle. "I was in my prime. "King" they called me.", "King Dice! King Dice! King Dice!" could be heard shouting from the auditorium. The crowd that Dice attracted each time pleased not only him but also the devil. After all, he also received his daily amount of souls from Dice. And as much as this pleased the devil, it pleased King Dice to hear the cheers when he sang one of his signature songs as he slowly appeared from behind the curtain.
Heedle heedle heedle heedle
Zee-do dee-do deedle
Skee-doo-loo-bop doo dee-doo-zee-zaym
Of course, Dice sometimes overdid it and showed off his dancing skills before the show even started. Well, really started to be precise.
Scoo-doo-loo bah-di-lee doo doo day
Way-oh!
"Yeah, it was fun while it lasted." but over time his fame faded, as did the building in which his show was staged. Wooden boards were nailed to the windows and the main door, the upper windows were smashed, the garbage cans in front of the building were full to the brim and the letters hanging above the entrance no longer looked so beautiful. Some were hanging down and threatening to fall off at any moment while some letters were missing. "And then...I lost everything.". Or not?"
Next to the closed and abandoned building, Dice lay on an old, slightly charred mattress covered only with a newspaper. Food scraps, cans and other things were scattered all around him. Almost as if Dice had just eaten it. But he hadn't. Quite the opposite. He'd only been lying in the alley for just under an hour, playing the homeless man for one thing only: to catch Alicia and the cups at the right moment.
But that moment had not yet arrived. Three if not more months passed away in which he constantly tried to track down the three. But each time he returned to the underworld empty-handed he had to listen to the devil telling him that he was slowly losing his patience. The devil wasn't the only one, Dice was also losing his patience to ever finding the three he was looking for again. Sighing and groaning, Dice got up from the mattress, stretched and yawned before his nose sniffed his "breakfast". "Breakfast is ready." The breakfast in question was in a nearby garbage can. Depressed and defeated, Dice walked over to the garbage can and took out his own shoe, which he had fried in that very garbage can. He was not to be blamed for forgetting that this was all part of his plan and that King Dice was really just acting. Did you really think Dice would fall so low? You thought wrong.
Nevertheless, he bit into his shoe and was about to swallow it when his ears heard a familiar voice. "Step right up! Step right up!", 'Huh?' this voice sounded more than familiar to Dice. He knew it and seemed to feel both anger and joy. Why? Well, the voice belonged to none other than Cuphead. "Come one, come all!" the voice rang out again to reassure Dice that he hadn't misheard. The depressed smile on his face turned into a diabolical grin.
His eyes turned a shimmering green, almost jade-like color as he dropped his shoe and looked around the corner to see where the voice was coming from. "Ladies and gentlemen step right up and see the amazing ventriloquist Mugman and his friend the dummy!" Dice hadn't misheard and his eyes didn't play tricks on him as Cuphead stood on an old cardboard box, walking stick in hand, and introduced his brother to the rather small crowd. In one hand, the younger brother held a small ventriloquist's dummy that looked very much like him. With him in the audience were Blood, Lucifer, Cuppy, Varian, Eira, Nyx and Alicia. The Sprigon was sitting on Alicia's shoulder, enjoying a strawberry croissant.
"Hey, Dummy, what do you get when you cross an elephant with a fish?" Despite his stage fright or performing in front of large crowds in general, Mugman performed his show and waited for his ventriloquist's dummy to respond. "I don't know. I give up." replied the ventriloquist's dummy. "Swim trunks!" Mugman countered, hoping the crowds would be on the floor laughing. "Wow, that joke's a stinker." the only laughter heard came from the ventriloquist dummy itself. The audience were less enthusiastic and went on their way. "Oh, that's terrible." one even commented to add salt to the wound.
You could see that it didn't work out the way Cuphead had imagined. "The better jokes come at the end, folks." he tried to add with nervous laughter, hoping the audience would come back, but they didn't. This was the opportunity for Dice to put his plan into action. He went back into the alley and searched through a pile of broken boxes, garbage cans and other things for a large, partly crumpled sack with potatoes written on it in capital letters. Grinning mischievously, he approached the group again and waited for the right moment. After all, he wanted to kill three birds with one stone.
"Let's get one thing straight," Alicia said while both brothers looked at her. Dummy stared at Alicia as well and left his mouth wide open as if he were blinded by her beauty. But Mugman helped him close his mouth. More or less. "You both have potential, but I really don't know if ventriloquism is such a good way to become famous." not to mention that Cuphead was a good manager, as he announced. After all, this job was no walk in the park either. Lucifer could tell a thing or two about what his King Dice had to do in the casino.
Besides writing soul contracts, Dice also had the task of taking care of customers, his own employees and, well, keeping Lucifer informed. If that was necessary. In addition, Dice was responsible for every delivery, as well as events and the like.
It was hard for the group to imagine seeing him in this position. After all, he couldn't even take care of a flower. If it hadn't been for Cagney, the flower would have dried up long ago. "Perhaps it would be best if we left it for today and came back tomorrow." Alicia suggested before she walked on without hesitation, not noticing how both brothers gasped when a shadow fell on Alicia that not even she had noticed. Cuppy looked confused and turned in the direction in which the two were staring and gasped as well. "Alicia..." he stuttered while Alicia stared at him and the two others in confusion. She didn't know that Dice was standing right behind her with the open bag directly above her head. "What is it?" she asked, but she didn't get an answer. Lucifer and Blood realized that something was wrong and began to growl like two guard dogs. Eira and Varian tried to get Alicia to turn around, but the young adult now noticed the shadow and to whom it belonged.
It was King Dice. His sack was ready to grab Alicia at any second. After all, the sack was big enough to fit more than one young adult. Alicia's eyes widened as the mouths of the two brothers screamed and gasped in fear. "King Dice" but that quickly changed to a cry of joy. "The biggest star in showbiz?!", "It's been a long time since someone's called me that." Dice quickly lowered the bag with which he had intended to catch both brothers and Alicia. The emphasis was on actually. Dice had completely forgotten that there were others besides the three of them. Lucifer the copy of his boss, the mage wolf, the two foxes and whatever that thing was that was sitting on the young adult's shoulder and staring at him menacingly.
"Where have you been? We haven't heard your radio show in months." wondered not only Mugman but also the others. Well, not really. Alicia didn't want to know what happened to his show. But judging by his appearance, Dice seemed to be not only unemployed but also homeless. His suit was torn in several places, his beard looked disheveled, his cube head showed several fractures, he was missing a shoe, his gloves were open at the tips so you could get a good look at his fingers and he looked dirty on the outside.
"Uh, well, I don't have my show anymore." Not anymore? Alicia asked herself perplexed as Dice disappeared into the side alley while dragging the bag behind him. The group looked at each other in confusion. Was this a joke, a trap? Or was it the truth after all? All questions they would only get answered if they asked Dice himself. "What do you mean you don't have your show anymore?" asked, surprisingly, not one of the three mugs but Alicia herself, who couldn't understand how such a popular radio show could be canceled.
Not that she was necessarily a fan of the show itself. But from the anticipation in the eyes of both brothers and Elder Kettle when the show was about to go on, she knew that despite the host, the show was popular. So Alicia leaned against the opposite wall and waited patiently like the others for an answer. "It's not just the show." Dice sighed before continuing, "I've lost everything." Oh wow really now Drama-queen? "My money, my glitz my glamour." Without further ado, Dice walked over to his 'bed' and lay down in defeat as he listed everything he had lost. "I'm all washed up." With a plop he lay down and showed the group his back.
It was hard to see his idol like that. Cuphead and Mugman loved King Dice and his show. After all, Dice was known for his looks and his dancing. But now he was a shadow of his former self. A failure. A nobody. "You could sure use a washing up." said the ventriloquist's dummy, making Alicia, Varian, Nyx and Blood giggle. Lucifer and Eira were silent. They didn't like the man with the Dice for a head, but you shouldn't make jokes about people lying on the ground or when they at their lowest. "Are you kiddin'?" asked Alicia while Cuphead kept Dice company. Even if the latter didn't want to. His pouting was hard to miss "You're one of the greats! You can easily make a comeback." Oh please don't.
Alicia didn't like Dice because he doesn't really change from the book King Dice. Both were sneaky and Alicia didn't like that at all. She didn't call them both Psycho Dice for nothing. They weren't quite right in the head, or the Dice to be more precise. Of course she didn't want to help him, but it seemed that the majority were against her. "I had a falling-out with the boss." Dice only mentioned as he sat down on the mattress, hoping Cuphead understood that it was useless to help him regain the fame he once had.
"Well, I don't know who your boss is, but that guy sounds like a real jerk." "Cuphead I don't think you want to know who your idol works for." said Varian 'Yes, he's not who you think he is!' added Eira, who knew what she was talking about. Back when she was still trapped in the underworld, she came across Dice often and saw with her own eyes that he was nothing more than a lousy con artist. But Cuphead ignored both of the foxes' statements and offered Dice his help. I should have known. Alicia rolled her eyes until they glanced at the window directly above Dice.
"What do you know about show business?" Dice asked. He was reluctant to put all his eggs in one basket only to fall even further down. "What do I know about show business? Only everything there is to know. I'll give you first-class representation." Dice wasn't sure if he could trust him. "Besides, what have you got to lose?" Here it comes! Just as Cuphead finished his sentence, a load of garbage fell out of the window and landed directly on Dice. "Whoops. Sorry." replied a black cat who knocked the rest of the garbage out of the bucket and didn't notice that someone was lying in the side alley. "Okay, kid. You've got yourself a deal.".
Cuphead smiled with satisfaction. His idol accepted his help and followed him and the others back to the cottage. As it went on according to the plan Dice had devised. All three cups and the young adult were in the devil's clutches in no time at all. Dice hoped so, after all, his life was hanging by a thread. But in order to fulfill his task, Dice had to keep Alicia and the three cups to himself. The wolf, both foxes and the copy of his boss would only prevent the man with the head of a Dice from bagging them.
But this was difficult as Dice was standing in the middle of the living room and was being watched by everyone.
Not because he was famous or because some of the group didn't trust him, but because Elder Kettle stared at him closely before using his tape measure to measure the length, width and height of his suit. Why? Well, let's be honest. The suit was ready for the dustbin. So Elder Kettle had to get a new one while Cuphead, with the help of Varian, went to work on Dice's head. By dedicate they both meant that they took the polishing machine from Dr. Kahl that Varian had brought with him.
All sides of his cube head (except the face and the side that was connected to his body) smoothed out again. The dirt was gone and you could see yourself reflected in them. At least that's what Cuphead, Varian and Alicia saw. The latter was leaning against the wall next to the door leading to the guest room. She was one of the few in the group who didn't want King Dice to come into the cottage. They didn't trust him because, after all, Dice worked for the devil. But Cuphead's stubbornness got the upper hand. So there were no more ifs and buts. Dice was here now and knew where they were staying. No one knew whether he would tell the devil.
But he didn't need to do that because the devil knew where the cottage was anyway.
In the kitchen, Elder Kettle put down a purple cloth and asked Eira, who rather unintentionally helped out, if she would cut the cloth for him. Of course she didn't say no, but inside she wanted to do it more than anything. Meanwhile, Blood and Varian and Lucifer helped Mugman shave in the living room. Of course, it wasn't Mugman who was being shaved but King Dice, who was sitting on the armchair where Elder Kettle normally sat, like in a barbershop. He was wrapped up to his head in a white blanket while Mugman stirred the shaving cream in a bowl and Varian rubbed the blade with a cloth.
The shaving foam was smeared over his mouth area. With the now sharp razor blade in his hand, Varian gently removed the first part of the foam. "Looks good." the fox emphasized. "Really?" mumbled King Dice with the open side of his mouth not covered in shaving cream. "Yes, and now shut up unless you want to lose it as much as your beard," growled Blood, annoyed, while Varian continued.
Work on the new suit continued in the kitchen. Lucifer stood in a T-pose and wore the new suit for King Dice, which wasn't quite finished yet. Elder Kettle was embroidering the right arm of the suit with a needle and although he was careful, Lucifer felt the needle a few times. His eyes twitched several times and he bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain.
Meanwhile, Cuphead opened a shoe box with "ACME SHOES" written on it. The shoes were not normal shoes but the same designer shoes that Dice usually wore, although it was only one shoe that they needed. The suit was also ready. Lucifer was glad because the stitches were more than unpleasant for him while he was serving as a mannequin. Alicia rubbed his shoulder and gave him a kiss. Dice saw this and took the opportunity to have the young adult for himself. At least for a few minutes to claw her and deliver her to the boss before he turned his attention to the two cups.
"Maybe that young beauty over there should help me put on my suit and fix my bow tie." his finger pointed at Alicia and a snarling Lucifer. Both knew as well as Cuppy, Blood and both foxes that Dice was up to no good. "Out of the question!" Alicia refused, while the others who were of the same opinion as her silently agreed. That's why Elder Kettle Dice put on the new suit and tucked in his bow tie so that it looked the same again.
But Dice wasn't quite finished yet. He looked nice on the outside, except for his beard, but you could still feel the smell. Which is why Mugman didn't hesitate for long and grabbed a perfume bottle from the drawer of Elder Kettle's bedside table to spray Dice with it while Mugman covered his nose to stop smelling the stench.
With the stench removed, Dice took care of his moustache himself and fixed it up the way it looked before. He didn't need a comb or anything like that, just his two fingers. That was enough to straighten the disheveled moustache and put a smile back on the face of the famous, or rather famous again, King Dice who looked at himself contentedly in an upright mirror and couldn't believe what two small cups and a kettle could do.
It looked like new, worthy of a comeback you could say. Leaning against the wall next to the door to the guest room, Alicia smirked a little while Nyx rested her eyes on her shoulder, not knowing what to say. "Does he always have to butter you up?" the Sprigon asked, clearly disinterested in the man with a Dice as. The others, with the exception of Cuphead, Mugman and Elder Kettle, quietly agreed with Nyx's statement. Dice could look elegant and charming, but unfortunately his core was as corrupt as the devil's.
Dice, on the other hand, ignored the quiet comments of the others and focused only on himself and his target, which so far was still the two cups Cuphead and Cuppy and the young adult Alicia. His eyes wandered from his reflection to the others. Almost all but a few gave him a silent "ok sign" in the form of a hand gesture before Dice turned his attention back to the mirror and his plan that had just started rolling. "Hey, handsome." his reflection replied before reminding him how the plan went on. In whispers, of course, because no one was supposed to find out. But Alicia was the only one to notice that something wasn't quite right. "Looks like you're ready for the stage and the plan." The mirror image mentioned the last sentence in a low voice, because not a second later Cuphead appeared next to King Dice and not only agreed with his mirror image but was already planning a comeback. From wherever. Not only Alicia but also Dice and the rest of the group wondered.
Now wherever Dice was supposed to appear was a mystery now. Both for him and for the others. Had Cuphead really rented a club? Or a stage? Or something else like that? Nope! It was something completely different to what the group had expected. "Wait till ya see this.", 'You're gonna love it!' confirmed the two brothers as they led the unsuspecting former show-master into the aforementioned barn while his eyes were blindfolded.
"Okay, you can look now." Dice slowly took off the blindfold and saw the "club" where he was to perform to celebrate his comeback. Oh young joy looks different. Alicia grinned and stifled a giggle. "Uh..." just as Alicia refrained from giggling, Dice refrained from showing his dislike. "It's a club for your big comeback!" Cuphead emphasized. "Kind of a dump." mentioned the book speaker doll that Mugman carries with him all the time. "Quit you!" croaked Mugman but Dice agreed with the ventriloquist dummy's statement this time 'But I guess it is better than nothing.' Shrugging his shoulders, he and the others entered the club 'That's the spirit.', "Maybe but one person alone can't keep the club alive." Alicia remarked, not without reason. "We need a band that's for sure.".
But where would they find a band so quickly?
"Leave that part to me." Everyone in the group stopped thinking and stared at Dice in confusion. Well, everyone except Alicia, Cuppy and Lucifer. The three of them knew what Dice meant when he reached into his jacket pocket and held a deck of cards in his hands with which he performed a few card tricks before flicking each card onto the stage in turn.
As soon as a card reached the ground, it transformed into a member of his orchestra. Both brothers couldn't believe their eyes. At first, their hopes and dreams of Dice making it big again were dashed. However, the "card trick" was more than just a show, it also solved their problems. "That takes care of that. But I'm a littly rusty." Don't tell me you suddenly have stage fright. Thought Alicia with annoyed rolling eyes. "Maybe we should do a rehearsal." Or maybe not. Apparently Alicia was wrong about the supposed stage fright.
But just the thought of seeing Dice sweating nervously on stage and barely getting a word out brought back memories from her earliest school days that she had long repressed. A very long time to be precise.
"And now, back from a long tour of the gutter, it's King Dice!" Cuphead announced over the microphone before throwing it in the direction of King Dice, who caught it easily and without any problems. His whole body was tingling with excitement, anticipation of being on stage again but also with fear. "All right. Nothing goes here." He nervously swallowed his last negative thought and sang as if he had nothing to lose. Literally, you could say.
Now, I've seen good times
I've had hard ones too
I've seen the highest highs
And the bluest of blues
Despite a long, very long break, his voice still sounded like the old one, if not better than before, some would say. While Cuphead and Mugman stood right in front of the stage and listened to their idol singing live, the rest of the group moved to the far corners and remained neutral about the whole thing. It wasn't written yet that Dice would make it big again. The cube man had to prove himself like any other big celebrity.
Now times can be real hard
Yeah, there are no guarantees
Oh, they can knock you down.
And leave you livin' on your knees
However, King Dice's singing voice seemed to be slowly traveling through the walls of the barn. A group of children playing together quickly heard the song in their ears and stopped playing at once. They listened to the song and dropped everything as they followed it like the smell of a freshly baked cake cooling on the windowsill.
When you've nothing left to lose
You place your money down
Near where the children had just been playing, Sally and her husband were having a picnic. The latter was not only making eyes at his lady of the heart and wife but was ready to give her a kiss until Sally heard King Dice singing in her ears and followed her instincts to see who this wonderful voice belonged to while she saw her husband lying on the ground with his lips now touching her hand in surprise.
When you've nothing left to lose
You place your money down
Gotta try and turn your life around
Two elephants were fishing on a nearby lake. An older female elephant and a slightly younger one. Both were so surprised by the song that they dropped everything. And by leave everything, I mean that they threw their fishing rods into the water and started the engine in the direction of the barn. Even though the boat had long since stopped touching the water, the older of the two elephants did not stop the boat.
If you need a second chance
Take heed of my advice
Brother, you gotta roll the dice
More and more people who were near the barn at the time rushed over to hear more of the song Dice was performing while he himself was just getting into full swing and serenading alongside the song.
Brother, you gotta roll the dice
Yeah
Dice chuckled, satisfied with the song he thought he could finish without an audience until he quickly realized that the barn hall was filling up fast. His eyes twitched, both brothers turned around in surprise and the others who had been sitting alone in the corner couldn't believe their eyes when every seat in the barn was filled with cheering and applauding spectators. None of them believed that Dice would become famous so quickly. Even King Dice himself thought nobody would miss his singing. But they were all wrong. "Oh! It's great to be back in the spotlight." casually and without any "ulterior motives", Dice grabbed the microphone to express his thanks "But I could never have done this without you," here it comes, "the little people." Surprised that Dice didn't mention the group itself but everyone in the audience, the group seemed to cheer up slightly.
"Give yourselves a big round of applause." The audience didn't hesitate for long and clapped their hands. Even Varian and Eira clapped, although they were initially against the man with the Dice for a head. The rest of the group remained neutral and disinterested. Watching Nyx chew strawberries seemed much more interesting. "Everything falling into place." Dice thought to himself as his eyes wandered from the audience to Alicia. His plan was going so well so far. "There was only one last missing piece." Only his boss needed to know about it.
Hidden behind his back from the eyes of the audience, King Dice pulled out an Ace of Hearts card that immediately went up in smoke and disappeared before Dice made his debut.
Meanwhile in the underworld
In one of the many conference rooms in the underworld, Stickler the accountant was giving a presentation. "And furthermore, there is the issue of decreasing revenue in the first quarter..." with a retractable stick in his hand, he presented a diagram to his audience of just three participants. These three participants were the devil, whose eyes were about to fall shut from boredom, and his two assistants, Henchman and Amnon, who were sitting to his right and left, sleeping from boredom instead of continuing to pay attention to the presentation. The devil would like to imitate them, but unfortunately he was forced to listen to this presentation whether he wanted to or not.
"Summoning the first finest demons…" The devil couldn't even hear his words thanks to the loud snoring of his two assistants. Amnon lay on the table with his mouth open, leaving a small puddle of drool while Henchman tried to lean his head on his right arm. However, it slipped easily, causing the purple fat imp to wake up quickly before falling into another deep sleep. "...irresponsibly incinerating the former second finest demons, the death of the third and not to mention forgetting to crown our queen-" These statements by Stickler were enough for the devil. Yes, he had failed several times, messed up and destroyed many things. But the last statement was the last straw. Of course, the devil had not forgotten to crown his beloved Alicia. No, he couldn't because she was constantly being snatched from under his nose. Be it because of the three cups, the wolf, both foxes, the little whatever it should be that has recently been accompanying Alicia and the copy called Lucifer who claims to be Alicia's rightful husband and king.
Of course, the devil didn't put up with what the accountant had to say. After all, he was the boss here. He had the say over the underworld and not a bespectacled man who constantly carries a thick book under his arm. "I mean, sure I forgot to crown my beloved Alicia and yes I wiped out an important part of my army but..." as the devil continued to vent his frustration, not too far from the table, the Ace of Hearts card that Dice had sent out to inform the boss of the next phase of his plan appeared.
Of course, the news now seemed extremely good as the devil was sulking anyway because everything had changed in the underworld. No more parties, no more screams from the tortured souls and prisoners, just diagrams and other office stuff. A queen could help out here. After all, what is a king without his queen? "Uh, boss, I've got some good news." Henchman whispered into the devil's ear while Amnon's ears pricked up, just waiting to hear what the two were discussing. After all, this was more interesting than what Stickler was just saying.
Slowly the devil lifted his head, his eyes still showing slight disinterest but also curiosity to hear the news of the plan he had almost forgotten. "He has it and is waiting for the next step." Henchman whispered in the ear of the now beaming devil. He couldn't believe it. Dice had done it. Alicia and the two cups that still owed him their souls were within reach. Of course, he first had to go upstairs to the surface without Stickler finding out. After all, the devil was reluctant to take him with him, so someone had to stay here and listen to the babbling.
"Uhh.. why are y-y-you looking-g-g at m-m-me like that-t-t?" Amnon was the chosen victim who had to stay here while the devil left the conference room accompanied by Henchman. On tiptoe, of course, so as not to make a sound while the husky demon just sighed and lay back in his sleeping position on the table to skillfully ignore Stickler's speech.
There are no guarantees
The barn quickly gained more spectators as the evening wore on. A carpet was rolled out in front of the entrance, garlands and signs were placed everywhere to show the guests where the entrance was and what they could look forward to. Cars were parked next to the barn from which the last guests had come.
Oh, they can knock you down
And leave you livin' on knees…
The gate closed just as the devil and Henchman stood in a cloud of smoke in front of the same closed gate. "This is where we should meet?" Confused about the meeting point that the Ace of Hearts card had whispered into the Devil's ear, the Devil looked disinterested and wondered inwardly if the card was pulling his leg. Well, the card was not standing on his leg but on his shoulder, sweating nervously as it answered his question with a nod. "Well, it doesn't look too bad, boss.", "Doesn't look too bad? It's a barn!" grumbled the devil as Henchman and the Ace of Hearts card twitched.
...of my advice
Brother, you gotta roll the dice
"Wait. Shut up." While his assistant and the poker card continued talking, the devil's ears heard this familiar singing voice. "That music. That voice!".
One more time!
Brother, you gotta…
The devil knew that he was in the right place and that the poker card had not tricked him as he first thought. However, the devil forgot what a singing voice King Dice had. Over the years that Dice had been working for him, the Devil had forgotten what a talent Dice was. Singing, dancing and charisma. All the ingredients to collect souls quickly and efficiently. But at the moment, Dice wasn't collecting souls. Well, not actively, because his eyes had been wandering around the audience for several minutes. He wanted to meet with the boss but had not yet received an answer. Had he not received the poker card? Or had the boss forgotten the plan? All questions that were circling in his head until he saw the devil with Henchman in the slot of the barn door. Their eyes met. They had found each other and now it was time to discuss the next phase of the plan.
"I'm gonna take a short break, but we'll be right back." As in his show, King Dice said goodbye to the audience and disappeared backstage to freshen up and discuss the next phase with the boss, which was already in his jacket pocket. "You, wait here." the devil ordered Henchman as he dissolved in a cloud of smoke.
Alicia, Cuphead and Cuppy had no idea about the meeting, let alone what Dice and the devil were discussing backstage at that very moment. "I knew you would come," Dice smirked as he straightened his tails. "The last time I saw you, I said that if you failed to capture these two cups and my bride, I would destroy you." The grin disappeared as quickly as it had come in the eyes of King Dice as the devil took his trident and pointed it at him while the tips were on fire and just waiting to turn Dice into ashes.
Dice stared at the trident, then to the devil before he and the devil started to burst out in laughter. The fire of the trident went out as both became engrossed in their conversation. "You almost got me with all that 'I'll destroy you' stuff boss." Dice laughed. "And you almost fell for it." the devil commented, wiping away a tear of joy before getting to the real reason he was here.
"So according to your plan, you should come and get me as soon as you have the three targets with you." The devil opened the palm of his hand so that the ace of hearts could gently rise from his shoulder and into the hands of its owner. Who lovingly held the card before answering the question. "Correct, according to the plan, one of the three just has to sign this." Dice pulled a contract out of his jacket pocket. Not an ordinary contract, but an enchanted one. A soul contract that belonged to the devil himself. Of course, there was nothing about it because Dice's contract was edited to look like a normal business contract. "Which will gives you the ownership of the souls of both cups and the marriage of the young lady with the black hair." This pleased the devil. However, he still had a question: "What if the three find out that it is not a real contract?" The devil did not get an answer.
Dice went to the stage, pushed aside the curtain and went down the small steps at the side made of straw bales to look for the two cups and the young lady. Meanwhile, the devil watched the whole thing from a distance in silence.
"Hey, hey! Dicey, baby!" Cuphead shouted while the others, with the exception of Blood and Lucifer, laughed at his joke. Even Alicia had to giggle, although she found Cuphead's jokes more strange than funny. I mean, a joke about a banana is nowhere near as funny as you might think. But as well as Cuphead's jokes, her and the others' attention wandered to King Dice. Oh no, I know that grin. His grin didn't bode well. Not only Alicia suspected this, but also the others. Even Cuppy, who now looked grim instead of pleased.
"Excuse me, folks. I need to have a little word with my managers and this lovely lady over here." Does he always have to say that? It was bad enough that King Dice from the book called her that. This version didn't need to add his two cents. Not only Alicia, but also Cuppy, Lucifer and the others who had to leave because of Dice, please. Whichever one that was. Alicia thought to herself as she slid closer and listened boredly to what Dice had to say until her and Cuppy's eyes fell on the contract that Dice pulled out of his jacket pocket. Nyx, meanwhile, was in a bowl filled with strawberries on the table with Sally and her husband, who were enjoying how sweet the sprigon was.
Both knew that this contract did not bode well. Nothing good when it came in the hands of the devil's right hand. "Now, what can I do for ya?" Cuphead asked casually while he was the only one of the three who didn't realize how dangerous this contract was. Alicia was sweating inside and wanted to shake Cuphead and tell him how dangerous it was to work with Dice. But her body was frozen. Cuppy himself just rolled his eyes and gave himself a face palm because he was once again disappointed at how stupid his counterpart was. "Well, you three have done so much for me. I just wanna make sure I do right by you." Of course, Dice didn't hesitate for long and pushed the contract in the direction of the three with a feather on top. "I whipped up this little contract between us. You three are officially my managers when you sign it.".
With the contract in front of his eyes, Cuphead took it in his hands and read through it briefly while his other hand tried to reach for the pen but completely avoided it and held on to the contract. "I'm touched. What a beautiful gesture." Don't do it Cuphead, you'll regret it. Alicia screamed inwardly as she prevented Cuppy from reaching the contract. Both of them could prevent the contract from being signed after all. "But sorry, kid." Instead of signing the contract, Cuphead tore it into several pieces and handed them back to Dice, who looked stunned and shocked. He couldn't even close his mouth properly as Cuphead continued with the sentence and relieved Alicia and Cuppy who already suspected worse as Cuphead really signed the contract.
"Listen, I hate to break it to ya, but music's out. Comedy's in" Alicia very much doubted whether that was true. In the 1930s, people listened to a lot of music and watched or listened to a lot of comedies like cartoons or comedians. One of the most popular was, of course, Charlie Chaplin. "You know, Dummy, sometimes you're a little too smart for your own good.", "Well, that makes one of us." The audience clapped and laughed at the performance of Mugman and his ventriloquist's dummy who had insulted him as usual. "Hey! Are you sayin' I'm dumb?" asked Mugman annoyed 'Why state the obvious?' replied the ventriloquist's dummy and the audience burst into more laughter than before. Mugsy was good at it and surprisingly was able to control his stage fright. But Alicia very much doubted whether he would be the next Charlie Chaplin.
Who didn't understand, however, was Dice, who now walked away from the table with the snippets in his hand while Cuphead called the rest to him again and paid no attention to Dice. Nobody knew what was going on in his head and that was a good thing because it was part of the plan. "Well, this night is not ruined at all." From the barn, the devil and Henchman walked back to the elevator which the devil made appear with the help of his trident while he partly asked with tired eyes what was next. "Uh, well, we still gotta finish that ledger review with Stickler and might need to..." before he could finish his sentence, the Imp caught sight of the cheerfully grinning Dice who was on his way to the Devil and him.
Why was Dice grinning? Well... "I saw that brat of a mug break the contract, why are you grinning like he did the opposite?" the devil asked in a whimsical voice as Dice casually pulled the unbroken contract out of his jacket pocket and pointed his finger at the three lines where it was or should have been signed. "Look closer boss." the devil followed the instruction and his eyes widened. "That can't be true." His eyes didn't believe what he was seeing.
The contract. It had been signed. Signed by Cuphead, Cuppy and Alicia. All three signatures were the exact same ones the three of them always used to sign things. They were definitely not forgeries. The devil knew when he ran his finger over each signature to determine that they were real or fake. The ink did not smudge. They were real. "How did you do that?" the devil demanded, holding his trident at Dice again as he slowly lowered the trident with his right index finger and stepped into the elevator next to Henchman. "It would be best if I explained everything to you when we're down in the underworld," Dice suggested while Henchman looked nervously at him and his boss and shrugged his shoulders slightly. He didn't know what was going on either.
They both got in and pressed a button to go down into the underworld. There Dice would explain everything while Alicia and the two Cupheads had no idea what a bad situation they were in.
"Have you got enough change?", 'Right here!' However, the devil and his entourage were the least important thing Alicia had to worry about. "Boss, we have good news about the girl." Not far from the barn near the outskirts of Inkwell City was a brown, slightly dilapidated phone booth in which two hooded figures were calling their boss on the phone. "Have you got her in sight?" asked a raspy, almost crow-like voice from the receiver 'Had, but don't worry boss she'll be yours soon.' said the taller of the two figures before the shorter reached for the receiver "Yes she's ready to be captured. You can send the griffins!" the taller one grabbed the receiver and growled softly so the voice from the receiver wouldn't hear 'I'll get her ready as soon as she's alone until then, keep an eye on her and call me, is that clear?' the voice croaked.
Both figures nodded and acknowledged the voice before putting the receiver back on the phone and leaving the phone booth into the dark night.
Song: Roll the Dice by Ego Plum