Alicia in the Cuphead Show Chapter 53: A Hellish Dance Competition, a cuphead show! fanfic

Oh boy we made it.

The final Countdown, er chapter...

...

Nah! just kiddin' there's one more to go before we are done with this story.

I hardly can believe it's finished in just one chapter. Man I really loved to watch the episodes while writing the story along with it.

but ever Story needs to end.

With that sentence I will see you in the next and final chapter guys.

Until then

After the day of fun, which went by very quickly as the three cups had wished. The group went into town one last time to a small arcade to spend some time together with the others. The day was not only there to change the mood as Lucifer, Cuppy and Alicia will soon return to their world. A reality that neither Cuphead, nor his brother Mugsy, nor Cuppy wanted. The latter didn't really want to leave because he had grown really fond of them. Yes, even when Cuphead had nothing but nonsense on his mind, Cuppy saw him as his brother. Or twin? Well, they were one and the same person but there were small differences between the two. Both externally and in personality.

From the outside, the arcade looked like an ordinary building except for the lettering above the entrance and the huge cent coin. The inside of the building, however, looked more like a carnival than an arcade from the 80s. Instead of video game machines, there were various carnival games such as ring toss, horseshoes, darts, whack-a-mole and lots of throwing games. One of these throwing games was currently being used by Alicia. She held the baseball firmly in her hand and stared intently at the moving targets she had to hit to score points. The targets were not targets but rabbits with targets where her heart is. She hit all the bunnies and won several tickets while Cuphead tried his hand at a similar game, throwing at eagles instead of bunnies. His ball not only hit the bird of prey but also a cowboy whose hands were already reaching for his guns as if he was ready to start a duel with his challenger. Only to spin in circles several times thanks to the hit.

Cuppy stood at another game and stared closely at his target before throwing the ball. This time the target wasn't rabbits or any criminals but simply a hole in the middle of a bull's head with a sign saying "BULLSEYE" above it. The baseball hit the black and both the eyes and the lettering lit up red while steam came out of the bull's nostrils. "Bull's-eye!" announced the machine before red tickets were printed out of a small slot at the edge of the machine. Cuppy grinned when he saw the number of tickets he had won. He had never been so lucky in arcade games before. His brother Mugman was much better at it. Nevertheless, Cuppy took the tickets and went to join the others. Almost everyone except Blood, Mugsy and Eira had won tickets. Blood wasn't that interested in playing any game based on luck and chance, Eira on the other hand enjoyed watching others while drinking from a glass of soda. Mugsy, on the other hand, was calmly eating his chocolate.

"Still got it!" Alicia said, beaming with joy as she threw the baseball into the air several times and caught it again with one hand. "I'll never understand how you do it." said Mugsy with a mouth full of chocolate. "The secret is not to overthink it." Cuphead spoke in, although Alicia wanted to say that she had caught all the bunnies by accident. Cuppy wanted to say the same but they couldn't change it. Cuphead was too fast for the two of them to say anything else. "Well, you've certainly got that part down." Lucifer nudged his lover Alicia lightly.

Her cheeks flushed. Not because she is ashamed and humiliated, but because she feels flattered. Her husband knew which words made her cheeks glow. One of the many things Alicia loved about him. Lucifer may be the devil and may have done bad things before he fell in love with her, but one thing said a lot about him. He would do anything to make his wife and queen happy. "Cash us out, garçon." Cuphead said to the vendor and handed his tickets to him and Cuppy and Alicia did the same. They had collected enough to choose some prizes.

But that was the agony of choice. There were lots of prizes to choose from, several boxes, a toy accordion, a plush dinosaur and much more. Cuphead pondered what he should choose. After all, the present wasn't for him or his brother, but for Alicia. "I'll take those." His eyes kept searching until he spotted a small bag tied with a string among the other prizes. "This bag of marbles will be the perfect goodbye gift for Al." Oh man... Alicia didn't think this for nothing. The looks on both brothers' faces said it all. Their eyes, bigger than ever before, filled with tears that spilled from both brothers. Both were sad that Alicia would soon be leaving.

It wasn't easy for her to say goodbye either. Both were like two brothers to her. Two younger brothers, to be precise. She had quickly won them both into her heart and didn't want to leave them behind, but Alicia knew after the incident with Grimm that she wouldn't be safe here forever. She also had to continue her studies. All the more reason to return to her boring but normal world. The same applied to Lucifer and Cuppy. Cuppy missed his brother Mugman and his Elder Kettle very much and wanted nothing more than to be reunited with both of them. Lucifer also missed his own kingdom and entourage.

Varian and Eira also wanted to return to their world. They had ended up here more by chance than anything else and still made lots of new friends. But just because it's goodbye doesn't mean they'll never see each other again. Blood, for example, would like to stay here for a while longer. So the two brothers wouldn't be completely alone. "I really appreciate the gesture guys, but I think Chalice likes the marble better than me." Alicia mentioned. "Chalice?" Mugsy asked with a rather annoyed tone and rolled eyes "We haven't seen her in days. Who even knows where she is right now." The question was justified. Chalice hadn't appeared since the group had been standing at the three fortune-telling machines.

Another thing that made Alicia's stomach ache. The card she drew worried her. The shape of the devil printed on the card hinted at something bad. But what was it? Alicia had been asking herself that over and over again since that day. She couldn't help but stare at the card for several seconds or even minutes as if she were hypnotized. Right now she did it again as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the card. "Is everything alright Alicia?" a small voice could be heard from the hoodie pocket, interrupting Alicia's stare at the map as she turned her attention to the being to whom the voice belonged.

"I..." she hesitated before putting the card in her pocket and continuing, 'I'm fine Nyx.' Alicia said, but the look on her face said something else. Worry was one of the few words that could be assigned to her facial expressions. No one knew why Alicia was so worried or why she was worried at all if nothing had happened yet? The devil had not yet appeared to kidnap her or flirt with her. So why was Alicia so worried?

Now the question you should rather ask yourself is where or what the devil is doing. Did he know that his beloved Alicia would soon no longer be here? Had he chosen one of the five rivals? Had he destroyed the sweater and Stickler with it? Or was he lying in bed sulking because he knew Alicia would never be his wife?

The answer to all the questions was:

He was tap dancing with Chalice surrounded by purgatory as if they were on the dance floor instead of the underworld. Hand in hand and in sync, the two danced like a one-man duo. They didn't need any movement patterns or dance steps. No, they both danced the way they wanted to. Whether spinning in circles or walking down a flight of stairs. The main thing was that they danced. But like every song, every dance had to come to an end.

The dance between the Lord of the Underworld and the chalice ended abruptly when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, boy!" clapped Henchman and Amnon. Both demons sat on two rocks and watched the show several times. Amnon whistled and demanded a repeat, "What a show!" which delighted Chalice and the devil. Both were keen to comply with this request had it not been for the devil to realize why she was here in the first place.

More precisely, Chalice knew that the devil wanted something from her. His senses returned to his old ego "Now, what was it we were talking about?" he mused as his left hand stroked his chin. His other hand supported his left arm holding said left hand. "Oh, yes. That favor you owe me." In a flash, he not only remembered why Chalice was down here. She wasn't here to dance with him, but he could go to the surface if he wanted to. His desire was to hold the two souls of the cups in his hands and become Alicia's one and only true husband king. "I need you to betray your four best friends.".

"Oh yeah, Sure thing." Chalice was sweating anyway. The devil was known to be terrifying and threatening. That was part of his nature, which Chalice could clearly see and feel. Many claim that the devil can sense fear, if not smell it "Right after this next song.". So Chalice tried to exploit the devil's weakness as best she could by grabbing a record, placing it on the nearby record player and dropping the needle. Soft music played, changing not only the environment but also the devil's behavior "Oh! Okay. Maybe just one more." There was no trace of the most feared creature left in him. He behaved like a small child who was happy to go to the amusement park.

Of course, neither he nor Chalice could say no to that. "A one, two, three four.", "A five, six, seven, eight." nor the devil. Both were ready to dance to the beat of the melody if it weren't for a certain buzzkill who was scratching the needle over the record to stop them from dancing any further. The devil's fur bristled up like mountains, his tail not straight but zigzagged like Chalice's pupils. The turquoise hand still holding the needle and the nasal, annoying tone indicated that it was just a person who was about to interrupt the dance. "Ehm... Excuse me." It was the accountant of the underworld and the most annoying demon imp of all: Stickler.

He had more or less broken off the dance before he could even start. Much to the delight of Chalice and the devil. The latter seemed much more annoyed than usual. "Productivity has plummeted for weeks." was the only response to his actions. "Too much singing. Too much dancing." The devil was aware that Stickler was exaggerating again. His rolling eyes were hard to miss. "What do you know, Stickler? We're having fun." the devil replied annoyed, hoping Stickler wouldn't overdo it like he usually does when the devil doesn't behave as he should. Nobody would take him seriously if it came out that the devil was a talented dancer.

"Can't you see she's intentionally distracting you from your responsibilities?" However, Stickler's statement was more than accurate. The devil actually had something big planned. Both for Chalice and for his beloved Alicia. They both drew his card from the fortune-telling machines a few days ago. "What?! No!" He had Chalice with him, but Alicia... She wasn't here, or rather Chalice hadn't lured her here as agreed. "Well then, since my dear Alicia isn't here with me I guess playtime is over." Chalice swallowed nervously. She remembered the deal she had made with the devil some time ago. "Remind me. What happened to you just before our deal?" She didn't have to think much about that. The day was burned into her memory "I, uh, got hit by a streetcar?".

"And if we hadn't made a deal, what kind of condition do you think you'd be in right now?" the devil asked, knowing that Chalice was reluctant to answer this question. "Wha... What do you mean?" she tried to dodge his question 'Well, let's just see what that might look like.' but the devil ignored it and pointed the tip of his trident at her. Dramatic music played in the background as dark smoke rose from the tip. Slowly, it wrapped itself around the individual points of the trident until a skeletal face could be seen that clearly resembled that of Death. The skeletal smoke face approached Chalice with its mouth wide open and slowly enveloped her before disappearing.

She opened her eyes and felt a crack open over her head between her eyes. Like fragile porcelain, parts of her head broke one after the other. Her right handle fell off and her body faded and shriveled like a corpse. The eyes shrank in size, you could see more of the empty eye shell rather than the eyes itself. "Uh, jeez." Amnon whimpered as he covered his eyes in fear. "This seems unnecessarily graphic." added Henchman, who showed less enthusiasm than the husky demon. Both demons were less than impressed by the sight and Chalice's condition as her fleshly shell disintegrated, leaving only the bones visible.

The only one of the three who showed little or no reaction was the accountant. His neutral, disinterested face more or less showed his character. He cared little that Chalice was falling to her death until there was nothing left of her but dust and bones that landed on the ground in front of the devil. The devil stared at the bones on the ground, picked up the skull that belonged to Chalice and quoted Hamlet "Alas, poor Chalice! I knew her well.". But she was of little use to him dead, so he snapped his fingers and thanks to the powers of Alicia's blood, the devil was able to revive her without using his trident.

"I'll betray anybody you want!" Chalice gasped as she felt lifeblood in her veins again. She may have escaped the cold hands of death for the moment, but who knows for how long. "Even if you have to break the trust of a certain young adult lady you've just won?" the devil asked curiously. He wanted to make sure Chalice wasn't lying to him. As Lord of the Underworld, he was quick to sense such things. "I'll betray her too!" Chalice nodded her head furtively. Sweat poured down her forehead. "That's more like it." the devil grinned. "Now, let's discuss the plan." The devil didn't hesitate for a second to enter the elevator together with Chalice to finally get what he had been waiting for months.

To claim Alicia for himself and crown her as his queen.

While the elevator went up in flames and disappeared along with the devil, his two assistants and Chalice, Cuphead, Mugsy, Cuppy and the rest of the group decided to watch a movie in a coin-operated Mutoscope. "Would you look at that?" laughed Mugsy as he peered through the binocular Nice piece that showed the movie only he was seeing at the moment. The others didn't see any of it and therefore didn't know what was so funny. "Ooh, I wanna see. Let me see! Let me see!" but Cuphead didn't care, he really wanted to see the movie and know what was funny. That's why he shook his brother's shoulders impatiently.

He didn't want to wait any longer but wanted to know immediately what the movie was about or, even better, see it for himself with his own eyes. "Hey! It's still my turn." grumbled Mugsy, annoyed that his brother was getting on his nerves instead of letting him continue watching the cartoon he had paid for. "But you said, "Would you look at that?" Mugsy just rolled his eyes, as did Alicia, "It's a figure of speech." she answered his question as Mugsy continued to watch the cartoon. They both hoped that Cuphead wouldn't take it too far as usual, but from the look on Cuppy's face, that wasn't the case.

Instead of letting his brother finish watching the cartoon peacefully, Cuphead grabbed him and they fought over the right to continue watching the cartoon. "Really now guys?" Alicia didn't want to spend the day dragging the two brawlers apart. Especially as there was more than one Mutoscope. But the two ignored this and continued to fight until she and the others heard a familiar voice: "Heya, ding-dongs!". Both brothers stopped fighting and the others didn't even try to stop them. On the contrary, they all focused their eyes on a single person.

"Chalice!" shouted the group with a variety of expressions. Cuphead and Mugsy were happy to see Chalice again, Cuppy remained rather neutral while the others kept their joy to themselves. Not because they weren't happy to see her again, but because of something else. Chalice's smiling face seemed to be hiding something. Something from the others that neither Cuphead nor his brother and Cuppy knew. But Lucifer knew something was wrong. "Hey, where ya been?" asked Cuphead, 'Yeah, where have you been?' asked Alicia.

Her question was less cheerful than Cuphead's. "We were worried sick. You just disappeared." Judging by Chalice's nervous look, Alicia had hit a spot with both questions that was hard for the chalice to talk her way out of "Yeah. Um, I had some stuff to take care of." she replied.

So, something important to do huh? Alicia didn't believe a word she said. Neither did Nyx, Lucifer, the two foxes and the wolf. Cuppy still seemed unsure. On the one hand, he suspected there was something fishy about it, otherwise Chalice might be right. "Oh, hey! We got something for ya." but for the two brothers the statement seemed to be enough. After all, they had won a present for Chalice. A bag filled with marbles. A strange gift for a lady like Chalice. "Oh, how sweet. A gift." But it would be rude to refuse the gift. After all, Cuphead has worked very hard to win the tickets to win this prize.

"Now you can join in anytime we play.", "Yeah, that's great." Something is wrong here. Alicia's gut feeling told her that something was wrong with Chalice's character. Instead of smiling happily, she seemed nervous, as if she were on the run or had seen or witnessed something terrible. She wasn't positively charged like she usually was. "Say, uh, fellas, I..." moreover, she never seemed nervous or had the urge to demand something from the others "I need a favor." Cuphead and Mugsy may not have noticed, but the others realized something was amiss when Chalice handed all three cups as well as Lucifer a random contract to sign without reading it first.

That set Alicia's alarm bells ringing. She knew the contract wasn't good. "Lucifer, Cups, Mugs don't do this!" she pleaded in an anxious voice. She could feel the fear slowly creeping up her spine from the back of her neck. The contracts themselves were not the problem, but rather the three figures watching everything from behind a mutoscope. "Normally we'd inquire about such a thing, but we won't even question it.", 'You always have our best interests at heart.' but Alicia's request was ignored by the cups. Only Lucifer realized that something was not quite right with the contract that was addressed to him.

Chalice sweated more and more with every second that passed as the pen tips approached the parchment. "It's working!" grinned the devil "They're going to sign it." His eyes wandered to the three cups to his counterpart and copy. Unlike the three cups, one of whom was still hesitating, Lucifer seemed to be reading through the contract. He himself followed the request of his wife and queen to look at the contract before adding his signature. The devil did not like this at all. He knew what the contract would do if his copy signed it. His right to be Alicia's husband would pass to the devil. Only he would have the right to call Alicia his.

But what made him grin like a toddler were the three cups. All three pens were just a few millimeters away from the line where her signature was missing. His joy, Chalice's nervous sweating, Alicia's apprehension plus the absent reaction of the others who couldn't agree whether they should rejoice like the three cups or be cautious because something was wrong was quickly disrupted by Chalice's sudden behavior.

"Don't do it!" she screamed and tore the contract away from the three cups as if it were poison. The sudden reaction confused and shocked not only the three cups but also the others as Chalice added something that changed the mood considerably "I made a deal with the Devil." The alarm bells rang in the heads of the three cups when Chalice not only came out with the truth but also shredded the contract into several pieces like a shredder. It was not for nothing that they kept their distance from the cup. Who knows what else could happen "He's making me lead you into a trap!" I knew it! Alicia knew that something wasn't right. First the contract and then Chalice's strange behavior. All things that could only be attributed to one person.

Lucifer, still holding the contract Chalice had given him, read it through to the end. His joy was limited when he learned what would happen if he signed the contract. "As if I'm going to do that!" he growled, angry at the same time as the contract burst into flames in his hands and burned to ashes. He would never, ever go that far to jeopardize his marriage. Alicia meant everything to him. Just as Alicia meant a lot to the three cups. Cuphead, Cuppy and Mugsy were like three little brothers or cousins to her. It would break her heart if anything happened to the three of them. That's why it hurt her all the more what Chalice had done or almost done if she hadn't come to her senses.

"The Devil?", "What are you talkin' about?" The group quickly realized that Chalice would go so far as to break their trust just to save her own butt. A trust that Alicia had counted on. Ms. Chalice from the book world didn't seem to get along well with Alicia at first because of her demon powers and being married to Lucifer. But during their adventure on DLC Island, their friendship blossomed. Especially after Saltbaker captured both ladies to use their souls as an ingredient for the Wondertart.

But Chalice here was different. She wasn't in cahoots with Saltbaker, but had been working with the devil from the very beginning, only to betray her friends when things got dicey. Alicia was not a little pleased about this "You betrayed our trust?" Cuppy and the two brothers looked at her. Chalice hesitated a little but looked into Alicia's disappointed but sad eyes. "I...can explain..." stuttered Chalice "Explain what? That you almost gave away your friends to the devil? That you almost broke my marriage with Lucifer? That you betrayed us?" Anger took control of Alicia.

"It's a long story. I was an orphan. I loved dancing. I got hit by a streetcar. I was dead." Chalice tried to explain with her actions. She never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone betray someone she cared about. Just like Alicia, the three cups also meant a lot to her. After all, they were her friends. Her only friends so far. She didn't want to lose that, which is why she came out with the bitter truth instead of lying or using her charm like she usually did when things got dicey. "Enough!" only this time it didn't seem to work.

Directly between Chalice and the others, the devil appeared from a dark, black cloud of smoke and stared venomously not only at Chalice but also at the others (with the exception of Alicia). "Run! Get out of here!" Chalice begged the others to get to safety before it was too late. But the devil ignored this statement. "They're not the ones who should be running." he mentioned 'You broke our agreement.' Instead of throwing a tantrum as usual, the devil pointed his trident at Chalice as if he was ready to wipe her out at any moment as he had done once before. "And you know what that means.".

His trident was once again shrouded in dark clouds. Thunderclaps could be heard. Chalice knew there was nothing more she could do. Neither pleading nor fleeing was an option. She gave up and faced death "Well, I guess that's it for me." They took one last look at the group before it was time for them to go into the void. "Chalice!" the cups gasped. Eira couldn't believe what was about to happen. She didn't want to witness it and hid her face in Varian's chest while clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Alicia's angry face quickly changed to one of horror. Sure, she was angry and felt betrayed, but that didn't mean she wanted Chalice dead.

Her anger did not go so far as to want to see another person dead before her eyes. Even Lucifer had his limits and didn't threaten anyone with death unless the person deserved it, of course. Chalice was not a person who deserved to die. She might use her charm to get things for free or to manipulate people by invading their bodies. But she would never be as bad as the devil himself. "At least I'll die knowing that I'm the greatest dancer of all time." So it didn't surprise anyone that the devil quickly changed his mind with this statement.

"What?" the devil gasped "I'm the greatest dancer of all time." Instead of turning the chalice into bones and dust, the two fought over which of them was the best dancer. "I guess we'll never really know." She rubbed her foot on the ground worriedly and clasped her hands behind her back as she stared at the devil with googly eyes. He paused briefly but hesitated, aiming his trident at her as if ready to fire at any second. "Ugh!" he growled in frustration. His fangs as sharp as ever showed before he agreed and announced "We're going to settle this once and for all.". "oh yeah? And how?" Varian asked curiously until he regretted his question.

The devil's yellow eyes wandered from Chalice over to Alicia who was rather unintentionally drawn into something the devil had planned. He answered the fox's question as follows with a counter question "A contest to determine which of us is the greatest dancer of all time and of course which Devil deserves to claim Alicia as their wife and queen.". Varian swallowed nervously. For better or worse, he had conjured up a situation that would not end well for Alicia, especially since Chalice had added salt to the wound with her statement that if the devil won, he would not only turn Chalice to dust, but would also crown Alicia as his wife and queen.

Yes, of course, and I can't say anything about it? Alicia asked herself inwardly while the deal was taking place before her eyes and she couldn't say a word about it, let alone blurt out anything at all. Her lips were sealed. Whether intentionally or not. Alicia was now a stake in this competition. "Fine. It's a deal." the devil growled, accepting the offer if he lost, Chalice would owe him nothing. They both held out their hands and shook them. Nothing more could be done about it. Neither Cuphead nor anyone else in the group could do anything. "In case you haven't been payin' attention, I got nothin' else to lose." Chalice said casually, as if she hadn't just put her own and Alicia's life on the line. The relationship with her and Lucifer threatened to fall apart if Chalice lost. Alicia would be trapped here in the underworld for all eternity with the devil as her new husband.

Freedom could wave her goodbye as the devil would not let her go as quickly or even give Alicia space as Lucifer did. She would be bound like a dog on a short leash. She would not want to live this life. Especially because the devil was much more interested in harming people here. It was not for nothing that he collected souls as if they were Pokemon or the like.

But nothing has happened yet - where exactly is the competition to take place? The arcade is not exactly a large area suitable for a dance competition. "Leave that to me." the devil chuckled darkly, lifted his trident and twirled it several times before he pounded it into the ground with a fierce blow, point first. The earth shook, cracks build from the spot where the trident was stuck. The ground cracked further and moved out of the arcade and onto the streets. Some passers-by who were walking along the footpath noticed the tremor and the crack that quickly spread along the way. The sky, once clear and sunny, was shrouded in dark storm clouds.

All the townspeople looked up into the sky as they stood still. Almost everyone except the phone, which was just about to hop across the street when a crack opened up under its feet and it fell into it. Its screams were loud and clear as a sharp rock rose from the crack and the phone clung to the top of it, continuing to scream for its life. More and more spikes rose from the depths of the cracks, pushing nearby skyscrapers aside until they formed a perfect circle within the city center from which flames rose.

The flames formed a tornado of fire which grew bigger by the second and was just as big as the hole from which it came. It wasn't long before the flames died out and an amphitheater build from hellstone remained. Lava spread out in the groove between the stage and the audience seats. Like waves, the lava crashed against the walls and filled everything in its path. Steam rose from a small volcano next to the stage. The stage itself was made of infernal rock and crumbled away in some places, creating small islands in the lava flow.

A flame emerged from the stage to make the situation look even worse than it actually was. After all, it was a competition. A dance competition needed a stage, but it also needed spectators to witness the whole event live. Nobody wanted empty spectator seats. Not even the devil. But how would he get the residents to watch the show without them running away screaming?

Now simply by teleporting them to the seats without them being able to do anything about it, let alone say anything. In addition to the normal, rather unknown inhabitants of Inkwell City, a few familiar faces also appeared between the individual seats. The Root Pack, Ribby and Croaks, Porkrind, Baroness Von Bon Bon, Sally, Djimmi, Jerry, Dr. Kahl and many more. "Huh? What...?" was not only the reaction of the individual spectators to be sitting on hellstone and be a part of this unwanted competition but also to another surprise that nobody had expected. Not even Cuppy or Alicia."What the... That guy looks like me!" Sal, completely startled, pointed to a person or several people who looked suspiciously like him and his two buddies Ollie and Chauncey. Not just suspicious because they were their counterparts from the Cuphead book that Cuppy and Lucifer came from.

More and more doppelgangers appeared with him in the audience seats. The Baroness gasped when she saw her counterpart and how different she was from herself. The yellow eyes stood out the most. Sally was amazed at her counterpart's dress. She liked the turquoise colors. "Hmm, maybe I should try that out for my next play," she whispered. The counterparts from the other Inkwell Isle's quickly noticed that they were being watched by their counterparts from this version of the Inkwell Isle's. Dr. Kahl nodded to his counterpart from the show as if the two got along like best friends.

Although the two had only known each other for a few minutes and were sitting far away from each other in the auditorium. The two genies had an easier time of it. Not only were they sitting right at the top, but also next to each other. "Nice to meet you," Djimmi shook the hand of his counterpart from the book. 'Likewise, comrade!' the other genie replied with a pat on the back. The seats continued to fill up until they were all taken.

All except for the front row at the very bottom of the auditorium. The seats were still free and occupied for a very specific group. A cloud of smoke appeared from which Cuphead, Cuppy, Mugsy, Varian, Eira, Blood and Lucifer emerged. The group was less than pleased to be sitting here. Cuphead and Mugsy blinked their eyes several times as they looked from the stage to the rest of the audience. The two cups quickly noticed Doppelganger. "Wow!" Cuphead was amazed 'They must be from the world Cuppy and Lucifer come from.' Mugman mentioned. That was true, but one question still remained in their cup-like heads.

"How exactly did they end up here?" Alicia and Cuppy got here through the TV in Alicia's apartment. That was their statement after they returned from Carnevil. How Lucifer got here was still a mystery that needed to be solved. "They got here through a portal." The answer came as a surprise. The group stared at Mugsy. Blinking his eyes, the young mug didn't know why everyone was staring at him as if he had just blurted out the answer. He just shook his head. His shrug of the shoulders only said more that he hadn't said it. But if it wasn't him, then who was?

"If that wasn't there Mugsy who was it..." Cuppy gasped. As his eyes wandered from Mugsy to the voice, he caught sight of a person he hadn't seen for what felt like an eternity. Next to him, a few seats away, sat his own brother. His Mugman with whom he was traveling to collect the soul contracts they once owed Lucifer to save their own souls. The same brother he enjoyed adventuring with, even if it got them into trouble. The brother he and Alicia rather unintentionally left behind when their best friend was pulled into the TV.

He was sitting just a few seats away from the group. "Brother is it you?" Cuppy asked with a trembling voice and hand. His joy was palpable. "Yes, it's me," Mugman confirmed, spreading his arms slightly only to be surprised by a rather unexpected hug his brother gave him. "I've missed you so much!" chortled Cuppy. His brother did the same. "I've missed you and Alicia too." Both cups hugged each other deeply and tightly.

Both were happy to be together again after such a long time apart. It felt like weeks, although in reality it was only hours. Cartoon logic, a certain young lady would say. Varian's Bracelet suddenly flashed in a bright blue light. His face briefly lit up blue. His paw touched the monitor. The flashing stopped. His face stopped glowing blue and was now replaced by a warm neutral glow. His smile brought joyful news. "I received the code for the portal." The code he had been searching for days that would bring Cuppy, Lucifer and Alicia back to their dimension appeared on his bracelet monitor.

To a normal person, it just looked like a code consisting of different numbers and letters. For an intellectual like Varian and Dr. Kahl, it was a location. A location where the portal led out at the end. After all, that's how portals usually work. You go in from one place and come out at another. It's easy to understand, like fishing. "Hey Ali I-" but what wasn't easy to understand was the disappearance of Alicia. Varian looked in the direction where Lucifer was standing. He was the only one sitting at the edge of the first row of seats. Not together with his beloved wife, but alone. His eyes were looking all over the auditorium for her. But nowhere did he see a young, black-haired adult.

"Where is Alicia?" the question set off a frantic and panicked search. The spectators sensed that something was wrong. Especially both Sallys and Bon Bons. Be it the maternal instinct or the fact that they see Alicia as their own flesh and blood. Whatever it was, they were just as concerned about Alicia's disappearance as their friends were. "She's not in the auditorium." assured Cuphead 'She's not on stage either.' replied Mugman. A cloud of smoke could be seen from which the devil and Chalice emerged, but there was no sign of Alicia.

Even without spotlights, you could only see the two of them standing on stage. Chalice felt the pressure on her shoulders. Her usually positive face now showed fear rather than joy. "The Devil!" but at the sight of the devil, most of the audience gasped while a brave elephant pointed his index finger at him. Mass panic ensued not long after. The devil liked this. His lips curled into a smile. Lucifer's, on the other hand, grinned angrily. "Where is my wife!" he demanded to know. His hands clenched into a fist. He was ready to jump on his counterpart with every second that passed and stop him.

Heedle heedle heedle heedle

But before Lucifer could even move a muscle, a voice familiar to him and the rest of the audience (not counting Mugman) rang out. The panic between the individual spectators faded like leaves in the wind. The voice, which was more like a chant, calmed them down a little. Not completely, but so much that they stopped screaming.

Scoo-ba-doo doo-bi-doo day

Instead, they gasped. Not because they were afraid, but because they saw a more than familiar figure rising out of a burning hole.

Whoa, whoa

"Ooh! King Dice!" the audience clapped. Everyone here knew and admired the man with the Dice for a head and an orchestra consisting of poker cards. "Al!" but not everyone clapped or rejoiced at the sight of King Dice. The four cups and the rest of their group had little good to say about Dice. Not only did he work with the devil and had tried to deliver Cuphead and Cuppy's soul to the devil on several occasions. He also went so far as to harm others. "Let me out!", 'Yeah, we're not animals!' so it was surprising for many to see that right next to King Dice was a cage whose outer shape resembled a treasure chest containing Alicia and Nyx.

Both prisoners shook the cage bars as if this would set them free. But the bars didn't budge. "Forget it doll..." Doll? Oh, you're so done for when I get out of here! "You're not getting out of here until the chalice or the boss has won." Mischievous as ever, Dice waved the key in front of Alicia and Nyx's noses. They both knew they were in here because the devil had placed them as a wager. They would only come out when the competition was over. Neither Alicia nor her friends liked that. Lucifer was boiling with rage. His face swelled red, his horns glowing yellow with orange grooves. Cuppy and Mugman knew that this was Lucifer's rage form that he used against them in the fight.

"Release her now!" he growled in a demonic voice that intimidated everyone. The spectators trembled in their bodies, some hugged each other or the person next to them, while only a few fell unconscious from sheer fear. Dice, however, was not affected. He had been living in the underworld for so long that nothing shocked or frightened him anymore. "Your little doll will stay in the cage for as long as the dance competition lasts." Dice smirked in victory. He cleared his throat, grabbed the microphone and turned to the audience as if he were back in his radio show. "Folks, prepare yourselves." he announced, smirking mischievously.

"Today, history gets made before your very eyes." Every glance of the audience landed on the two opponents who were presented on stage in the spotlight. "There can be only one greatest dancer in the universe and only one devil who could get this beautiful woman for herself." a second spotlight deliberately shone on Alicia and Nyx. Both were now rather unintentionally the center of attention. "And you're about to decide who it is!" Bon Bon huffed in anger. Her yellow eyes gleamed menacingly. Sally followed suit. Her nostrils flared with rage just like her dress. Seeing her goddaughter in a cage made her just as angry as Lucifer did. "Whoever gets the most applause on the Applause-o-Meter..." Seriously? Alicia didn't want it to be true, but Dice pointed to a machine not far from him that looked more like a hazard slider rather than a Machine-o-Meter or whatever you want to call it.

"...wins!"

While the audience cheered, Alicia and Nyx heard a soft chime coming from the machine. They both stared at it and saw the red arrow that had just been missing in the bottom left-hand corner. A light bulb lit up. It was used to show how far the arrow had traveled. "She' probably stolen your wallets, but now, she's here to steal your hearts." Explaining the rules was as much a part of every competition as naming the participants. "Give it up for Ms. Chalice!" The spotlight shone on the stage again, shining a bright light on Chalice. She closed her eyes briefly to protect herself from the bright light.

But only a few seconds later, her eyes adjusted to the light. She smiled nervously at the cheering audience and curtsied politely with her skirt like a princess would. You could tell she was nervous. The smile said more than clearly that Chalice didn't want to be on stage here. She almost regretted saying that she was the best dancer in the world. Whether it was her instinct or her sense of charm. Chalice was here whether she wanted to be or not.

"And now, you know him as the Lord of Darkness," Rather as a horned nuisance "but prepare for him as the Lord of Dance,..." Dice's eyes wandered from the nervously smiling Chalice to his boss, the devil himself. "The Devil!" The spotlight now shone on him, as it did on Chalice. His arms were outstretched and suddenly engulfed in flames, along with the rest of his body and trident. The fire engulfed him and changed his appearance in seconds.

Instead of gray-black fur, he now wore a white tailcoat that looked a bit like King Dice's. Around his neck... Is it even possible to say that he has a neck? ...was a red bow tie. His horns stuck out of a white cylinder, while white gaiters hung from his feet. Both these and his tails and the ends of his arms had golden buttons that matched the colors of his horns. His trident was transformed into a dance stick. To best describe his outfit, extravagant seems appropriate. That's how he looked and danced. I'm surprised that he imitates Michael Jackson.

Alicia thought to herself while she and Nyx were forced to watch the dance contest. "Oh!" and "Ah!" could be heard from the auditorium when the devil started to dance. His moves thrilled the crowd. They almost forgot that he was the devil. "Of course he has to overdo it!" Nyx rolled her eyes in annoyance as she watched the tricks the devil was doing with his top hat to get even more applause. Chalice just smiled and rolled her eyes if necessary, while the display on the Applause-o-meter slowly rose. Instead of one light bulb, three now lit up.

Almost defiantly Chalice entered the stage and took over the spotlight that was now directed at her and not at the devil. She also gained more attention from the audience. However, the enjoyment of the cheering and clapping was a little too much for her, as she had forgotten the river of lava into which she had almost fallen backwards. The devil was about to smile mischievously, wishing for victory, he could finally get what he had longed for, only to fall in as a result of a trick performed by Chalice. She winked at the group, snapped her fingers and kept her balance as she danced away from the edge of the stage.

Judging by the growling and grunting, the devil didn't like being tricked at all. Especially not by a fraud like Chalice. Lucifer was not in a very happy mood either. On the one hand, he didn't like to see his dearest Alicia locked up in a cage, but on the other hand, he had the Flesh and Thick here sitting around doing nothing to free her. Of course, he could go to Dice, take the keys from him or even open the cage with his bare claws to wish Alicia and her Sprigon freedom. "It seems the queen is in a bad situation, boss." However, the king of Inkwell Hell and owner of the casino seemed to have a good fate.

He would recognize that voice anywhere. His eyes were not playing tricks on him either when he looked to his left and saw his own King Dice. The jade-green eyes stood out the most, like the shoes the casino manager was wearing. They looked plain and less designer than those of the other King Dice, who was busy directing his orchestra would wear. Without music, it's hard to dance.

Lucifer wanted to ask how he got here first, until he remembered what Cuppy's brother had said, which answered his question. "This cage, isn't it a bit barbaric to keep your beloved queen imprisoned here when she deserves her place beside you?" Whether that was meant ironically or not, Lucifer didn't care. He was already seething with rage. "What are you trying to say, Dice?" he snarled.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm willing to free your dear Alicia." No matter how astounding it may sound, Lucifer seemed to have doubts. Doubts that Dice isn't telling the whole truth and is hiding something. Lucifer didn't forbid him contact with Alicia when she came to visit for nothing. The King of Inkwell Hell didn't forget the accident with the love potion. That Dice tried to win Alicia for himself although she was already married to Lucifer. But he didn't have a choice. Sitting here and waiting for one of the two participants to win was not an option. "Okay, you have my permission." With a sigh, Lucifer gave in to the request. Dice smiled victoriously, straightened his tails before bowing to thank him for accepting the task. "Just don't even think about flirting with her..." Before the manager could set foot, he just swallowed. His smug smile disappeared and was replaced by a frightening one. 'You know what will happen if I find out...' Dice just nodded, snapped his fingers to create a hole under him, and disappeared.

Nobody noticed his disappearance. Not even the devil and Chalice, who were fighting over the spotlight. The former growled theatrically while the Applause-o-Meter continued to rise. Half of the bulbs were lit. It was neck and neck as to who would win. Chalice or the devil. While the self-proclaimed number one of the devil kept the music playing and occasionally looked at the stage or at Alicia and her fellow prisoners, none of them suspected that a small black hole had appeared next to the cage. "Hmm?" Nyx noticed it and gasped as it grew larger and larger.

A dice-like head rose out of the hole that Alicia knew only too well. "Oh great, not him again," she muttered. "Psychodice is back." A nickname Alicia gave him after he had more or less tried to undress her when Alicia had shrunk for a short time when they had arrived on the last island of Inkwell Isle's. "Did you miss me?" he asked seductively. His grin radiated love instead of gloating when someone had lost at the casino.

"Not really," Alicia replied curtly. 'What are you doing here anyway?' she wondered. Psycho Dice would never work for the devil. He remained loyal to Lucifer. Even though he liked toying with Alicia. After all, he still had a crush on her and wanted to call her his. "I came here to deliver a message from the boss, who misses you dearly." Alicia missed Lucifer too, very much so. She wanted to be reunited with him. But how, when she was stuck in a cage? "And because I was tasked with freeing you from your predicament." Alicia didn't have to like him. Psycho Dice was special, you could say. More than Dice would ever be.

When he opened his hand, he revealed an ace of clubs poker card. In her "arms" was the key that had been in Dice's pocket just a few seconds ago. Alicia opened her mouth but no word came out. She wanted to ask how he had managed to get the key, but then she remembered that it was Psycho Dice. He had a knack for stealing things from people's pockets without being noticed. How many times had she had to walk to his office to get her smartphone back, only to almost be kissed by him. "No finder's reward?" he would ask her.

His lips were already spread for a kiss that he never got. Instead, he usually only heard his office door close. As well as the key turning in the lock. A click indicated that the cage was open. "Madam?" the cage door opened and Psycho Dice offered Alicia his hand. Nyx climbed onto her shoulder. Her fur stood on end. She trusted him no more than she did the other Dice. But they had no other choice. Either stay in here or escape to freedom. The choice fell on the latter. Alicia's hand reached for the manager's glove before she disappeared with him into the black hole from which he once came.

The dance contest was in full swing. Both participants used every obstacle to show off their dance moves. Chalice beamed while the devil slowly lost attention. He looked nervous and scared. As if he sensed he was going to lose. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" However, no one noticed the bag of spilled marbles scattered across the stage. Chalice lost her balance when her shoes touched the small balls, causing her to fall painfully on the ground.

The audience gasped, the cups gasped and the applause-o-meter dropped lower than Chalice would have liked. "Wha..?" she came to her senses and looked at the floor in front of her. "Marbles?" the marbles were rolling around her. A sign of defeat. "It looks like we have a clear winner, folks." To rub salt into the wound, Dice announced the winner of the dance contest: 'Give it up for the Devil!' In the spotlight, the devil didn't grasp his victory right away, but hesitated. He wasn't sure if his ears were playing tricks on him, but when the applause started, he knew victory was his.

He crackled, hardly believing that he had won against Chalice. She accused him of injustice, but the devil was not blamed, but Cuphead. "Chalice, I'm sorry!", "It's our fault! You would've won if we hadn't given you those marbles." For the cups, victory was near, but now it seemed far away and out of reach. "What? You lost because of him?" the devil chuckled. 'Ah, delicious!' He liked the fact that Chalice had lost because of the cups, who they considered their friends. 'But, alas, for every winner, there must be...' He wiped away a tear of joy before pointing his dancing stick at Chalice.

"A loser." Flames engulfed his body once more. The tailcoat, top hat, gaiters and baton were swallowed up by the fire, and out came the devil with his trident. Dark clouds circled around the spikes, forming the face of Death that had already enveloped Chalice once. She was ready to surrender to Death until...

"WHAT?!" The cloud of death only just cleared a few millimeters in front of Chalice. She blinked several times, looked confused from the devil whose body was already on fire to a more than nervous King Dice, who was trying to open the cage in which Alicia and her companion Nyx should actually be. However, it was surprisingly empty. There was no one sitting in the cage. No one except for a few cobwebs. Dice tried as best he could to explain with his gestures what was going on, but the devil had had enough.

He wanted his prize. Both the death of Chalice and Alicia as his wife. It was bad enough to see her sitting next to his copy in the auditorium again. So he aimed at Chalice again, the cloud of death spread out again and was about to engulf Chalice when Cuphead intervened. "Wait, wait, wait!" He fanned the cloud away and faced the devil boldly and confidently. "I got a proposition for ya." It was time to settle once and for all who could keep Alicia for themselves and who would end up alone.

Perplexed, almost uninterested, the devil stared at the cup as if its words meant nothing to him. But otherwise he remembered how much the cup had caused him nothing but trouble since the incident on the Carn-Evil. The soul that was still open was not yet in the devil's possession. "Play me in a game, and if I win, her debt is cleared and Alicia belongs to Lucifer." declared Cuphead "But if I lose, you can turn her to dust and claim Alicia as your wife." Thank you Cuphead. Alicia rolled her eyes, annoyed, almost angry. Her freedom was not even granted for ten minutes before she was once again considered a wager.

"And you can have my soul." the silence afterwards felt endless "And Cuppy's and Mugsy's." Mugsy and Cuppy may not be too happy about losing their souls. The latter already had enough problems keeping his soul. "Wait. What?" The former, on the other hand, was surprised to hear that. Not in a friendly way, of course. "Hmm. Turn Chalice to dust, capture all of the cups' souls and have Alicia all to myself?" the offer sounded tempting. Very tempting. The devil liked it "You have a deal." and stretched out his claw. Cuphead didn't hesitate long to stretch out his hand to seal the deal with the devil. "Cuphead!" shouted Chalice and Alicia in unison, but it was too late. Cuphead shook the devil's hand.

With the deal sealed, the devil asked curiously, "All right. What's your game?" After all, it's supposed to be a competition "A duel? Sword fighting? Knife throwing? Fiddle playing?" suggested the devil, but Cuphead rejected his suggestions. Not because he would be able to swing a sword or even hold one with his noodle arms. "Rock paper scissors." nope, his choice fell on a simple game. A game that required neither skill nor experience. It was simply child's play.

"Hey, folks. Did you hear that? He's chicken." Cluckling like a chicken, Cuphead mocked the devil on stage. Everyone laughed at the statement. Even Alicia, who otherwise rarely laughed, couldn't contain herself and almost fell backwards if Lucifer hadn't caught her in time with his arm. "I am not chicken!" the devil shouted at the audience before turning to the cup to which he owed this humiliation "Fine. Rock paper scissors it is." Satisfied with himself, Cuphead smiled triumphantly at the devil with his arms crossed. "Cuphead, are you sure you know what you're doin?" Mugsy, however, had no doubts. He was downright afraid that it wouldn't end well.

But anyone who knew Cuphead knew that his answer was not only stupid but also risk-free. "Relax. It's rock paper scissors, which means I have at least an 85% chance of winning." That it sounded idiotic was obvious. "No. You both have an equal shot at winning." Apparently Cuphead hadn't considered that. "What do you mean?" 'The odds are 50/50, you ding-dong.' Cuppy replied before slapping his counterpart in the face. "Well, that's information I could've used yesterday!" Alicia just rolled her eyes. It seems I'll spend all of eternity in the underworld. Alicia held on to Lucifer. She trembled despite the sarcastic thought.

"Okay, okay. Enough with the sentimental hogwash." With a snap of his fingers, the devil ended the emotional scene between the three cups. Not only Alicia felt the fear. Cuphead was also afraid of losing. "Let's go." He didn't want to wait any longer. His patience was a thin thread that threatened to snap at any moment. Nodding, Cuphead hugged the others. "Well, wish me luck.", "Henchman! Amnon!" the devil roared. His henchmen ran, panting, onto the stage. Amnon didn't mind running, but Henchman, on the other hand, was panting and puffing. His body wasn't built for it.

"Yeah, boss?" Both demons saluted as they waited for the next task. Not for nothing would the devil ask them to get on stage. "Hold this." Amnon held the trident in his boss's hand, or rather paw. "Uh...okay." he stuttered. The Ultimate Showdown has begun. The devil didn't need his trident to beat the cup in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Soon he would hold in his hands the three souls he had been promised. And as the whipped cream on top of his victory cake, Alicia belonged to him alone. Neither the copy nor anyone in the audience could say anything about it.

The air crackled, each of the devil's fingers cracked, Mugsy, Cuppy and Chalice held each other's hands while Henchman and Amnon ate slowly and carefully from a popcorn cup. The music played deeper and more intense to match the situation. Dice stared at the stage while his arms continued to conduct. He may be one of the bad guys but you had to hand it to him. He can conduct quite well. Both challengers faced each other with a stare. The devil intensified his stare while Cuphead regretted more than just his words with every passing second. He began to sweat like a waterfall.

But giving up was not an option. It would only be cowardly towards Alicia and the others. And Cuphead didn't want to go down in history as a coward. He was ready to take on the devil and, like him, clenched his hand into a fist "One, two, three!" in Union they swung their fists up and down before showing their choice. "Ha!" gasped the devil triumphantly until "Rock beats scissors." Cuphead had beaten him. Rock beats scissors that was the rule. Cuphead was the winner, this pleased not only his brother, counterpart and Chalice. All three hugged each other in joy while Alicia and Lucifer exhaled in relief before heading to the stage via teleportation.

"Wow. Looks like I win." The devil has lost his tongue. He couldn't believe that he had lost in a children's game. "Best two out of three!", "Okay." Alicia already suspected that the devil would not be so easily defeated. She should have known. He was just as stubborn as Lucifer. One of the few things the two devils had in common. "paper covers rock. I win!" declared Cuphead and won the next round. "Shut up! Best three out of five." demanded the devil and lost again. Did he really think paper is stronger than scissors? Alicia asked herself, rolling her eyes as the devil demanded more rounds and lost each one.

The audience quickly became bored of watching the devil lose every single round. You'd think he was doing it on purpose to kill time but in reality he wasn't the brightest bulb. "How do you keep winning?" he asked desperately. You could see the panic on his face "I don't know. I guess I don't overthink it." replied Cuphead. Frustrated and humiliated, the devil groaned. He had lost house high and would never, ever claim the souls of the cups for himself and Alicia would never be his. Or would she?

The devil still had an ace up his sleeve, or rather a contract. A marriage contract. Djimmi coughed when he saw it. The genie remembered this contract. The devil had asked him for it. A marriage contract that was indestructible and eternal. "Oh, Alicia my love!" sang the devil as he waved the contract back and forth in front of his nose. She froze in fear, "Oh no." Alicia had completely forgotten that the devil still had the marriage contract with him. The marriage contract with her signature on it.

Trembling, she hid behind her husband as the devil approached her. "Oh yes, you know what that means, my love." Yes, she knew what that meant. She still belonged to him. "That you're an idiot?" Lucifer countered, standing opposite the devil, arms crossed as his tail wrapped around Alicia's waist. Stunned, the devil growled and demanded in a snarling voice, "Release her this instead she's mine according to this marriage contract and you can't do anything about it you miserable copy of myself!" Normally Lucifer would growl and stand up to him in a fight. "I think you should read this line here." Instead, Lucifer held his own prenup in front of the devil's nose.

Curious, the devil read through the contract until he came across a line that piqued his interest. "Any marriage contract made or created with the person named Alicia Powell will be permanently destroyed at the end of this paragraph, whether magical or normal!" Before the devil knew it, his marriage contract burst into flames. "No, no, no!" he screamed bitterly and panicked while his hands tried to save the contract. But neither squeezing nor blowing helped to keep the contract alive. The last shred turned into a spark that slowly landed on the devil's palm before it too went out.

"Oh, come on!", "Boss." Defeated, the devil looked down at his hand that Henchman was holding on to. "We should go." Amnon added while holding the trident in both hands and nervously asking his boss "Wanna hold your trident? That always cheers you up.", 'Thank you, Henchman, Amnon.' sulking, his claw wrapped around the trident. It was time for the three demons to leave. The victory dance performed by Chalice, the applause of the spectators who now entered the stage in streams to cheer the winners and the stone that fell from Alicia's heart were ignored by the devil with all his might. "Come one, boss. I'll draw you a bath.".

"With bubbles?" No matter how tempting it was, the devil wanted nothing more than to take a bath. "S-Sure." Amnon stuttered as he flipped the switch in the elevator after he, Henchman and his boss entered. "Thank you, Henchman and Amnon." the devil thanked him again. With the elevator door closed, he disappeared, leaving the cups, Alicia and everyone else behind. Cuphead, Cuppy and Alicia were finally free from the devil's spell. Never again would he annoy them or get in their way. Alicia belonged to only one person and that was Lucifer.

It was Lucifer who not only won their hearts but also those of the residents. "Let's clean up here then!" With a simple snap of the fingers, not only did all the people disappear, but also the amphitheater, the cracks and the lava. All the damage the devil had caused had been repaired. The inhabitants thanked him. They were happy that they could go back to their normal lives without having to worry about falling into a hole.

However, a difficult time now came for the group. A very difficult one.

The farewell...