According to demonic traditions, when a demon child turns 16 they come of age, and their powers grow stronger than before, although it was exciting to know it was my birthday, it was overwhelming to know that the weight of the crown, will be heavy as they say. Thankfully, my friends knew just how to make me comfortable... The boys made me pancakes and sang happy birthday to me, and showered me with compliments all day. Out of nowhere, Cuphead takes out a box wrapped in ribbons and hands it over to me.
"What's in it?" I asked.
"Open it, and see!" The bros. exclaimed, in unison.
I unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box. I thought this box would contain all the malices the world could name, like what happened to that one girl. What was her name, again? I think it was Pandora. Going back to Cuphead's gift, thankfully it didn't contain anything of what I mentioned; instead, it contained three tickets for a movie called: "Dirk Dangerous, and the Curse of the Necromancer's Ring". Close beside it, there was a note written in red and blue.
Will you go on a date with us, tonight?
(Please?)
Love, Cuphead and Mugsy
Ps: Happy Birthday, Cocoa!
I lifted up my head, only to see them both in begging positions, and smiling with puppy dog eyes. I chuckled.
"How can I say no to this...?" I thought, before nodding, accepting the twin brother's romantic requests, much to their victorious satisfaction. Elder Kettle also joined in the fun.
"I'm so happy! My little boys are becoming two, fine men!"
Suddenly, an imp was on a doorstep with a box in hand.
"Augh a bat with horns!" Shouted Elder Kettle being spooked.
"Easy, Elder Kettle, he's a friend," I responded, defensively.
The imp was touched that I called him a friend, that his eyes nearly welled up with tears. But he regained his composure and bowed low to me.
"Thank you, milady. I brought you this gift made by the tailors, back home."
One lifting of the lid was all it took for the attire to magically place itself on my body.
"My apologies if the dress is white," the imp explained. "Apparently we ran out of red fabrics so..."
"Are you kidding? I love this, so much!" I exclaimed while looking at myself in the mirror I just summoned, "When I'm gonna wear it?"
The imp explained that I'll be wearing that dress for my birthday ceremony in the woods tonight, for I need to be dressed in this eloquent attire for my signing of my father's book.
"Well, at least I got plenty of time to have a movie date with my partners."
The imp's eyes sparkled upon hearing and seeing that I had found love amongst the world of the mortals.
"Oh, um, congrats, milady!" The imp, replied, "Well I'll leave you three to it!" He said, as he got out of the house, and flew away. After a sigh of relief came out of my mouth, Cuphead eyes aimed worryingly at me.
"You forgot to tell the guy, that I still owe my very soul, to your dad right?" He whispered, behind his hands.
I chuckled.
"Look who's finally taking responsibility for his actions, I'm prouda you Cuppy," I replied, teasingly, before kissing him on the cheek, standing on one foot. "Alright then, boys..."
Slamming the door of the house open with a crash, we raised our clasped hands up to the sky.
"LET'S PAINT THE TOWN RED!!!" Said, the three of us, as we went on our way to the movies, without knowing we were being watched...
Meanwhile, all of the casino's staff (and imps) were bustling and decorating the casino for the party for after I signed my father's book. King Dice was making sure that everything was under control
"Make sure everything's perfect, for my daughter's big day, " my dad commanded, "we don't want to make her feel underappreciated, now do we?"
The imps nodded, and so did the staff of the casino.
"On it, boss!"
When they left, King Dice sighed, exhausted before pulling a picture of his partner out of his pocket.
"Our daughter is going to sign the book tonight, Devi, " He said, "We all wish you were here."
Suddenly, King Dice felt a delicate touch and a soft.
"Did you really think, I'd miss this, Kingsley?"
King Dice went red when he turned around to see who it was. The Morningstar himself
"My King!" He exclaimed, "But how?"
"Let's say I kinda snuck out," He whispered, "Besides, it won't hurt anyone..."
King Dice suddenly sighed, and looked down, Lucifer pets him on the shoulder seeking to comfort his other half.
"What's wrong, Dice love?"
"It's like... you came back from the dead," Dice said, as his voice started to break, " I try to raise Cocoa and be a casino manager at the same time, it's so hard."
"Shh, you're doing the best you can, number 1."
Without warning, King Dice wrapped his arms around Lucifer and hugged him tightly.
" I really miss you, Lucifluff."
The Devil was still hesitant, but it didn't last long. He cradled King Dice in his arms and closed his eyes to take in the moment.
"King, you do realize, we have a party to plan, hmm?" He asked.
"Just 5 more minutes, please love."
After that five-minute hug, they even shared a kiss. I gotta hand it to them, they haven't seen each other for a long so they have to enjoy every minute, second, and hour, they have together.
"By the way, how's Cocoa Cup?" Mr. Morningstar asked
"She's fine, actually; she is out of the hospital." The Dice King declared
Suddenly, one of the Imps barged in.
"She revealed that she even found love, sir." He stated. "To a certain Cup-" The poor imp tried to speak but no words could survive the choke of the Big D's tightening grasp.
"WHAT?! How could this happen out of all of the people who my daughter could've fallen for, she falls for the very person who-"
King Dice classily slides to Lucifer's side, and intentionally interrupts him.
"Says the same person who took me in as a kid, and got attached to me."
Suddenly, a wave of memories came sweeping in, as he thought of the day he and Dice first met when his hand nearly got cut off because he tried to pickpocket the Devil. Who would've thought the young troublemaker that had the habit of stealing riches from customers in bars; became the only mortal that stole a place in the Morningstar's ice-cold heart? It was impossible to some, but Daddy Dice did it...
...With that, Old Scratch's ire abated, once again.
"You saw a younger version of yourself before I took you in, didn't ya Dice?" He asked.
His eyes flashed lime green before he grinned.
"Let's just say that the eyes are windows to the soul," Dice said, mysteriously, "Plus, I've read our daughter's letters, and it looks like these little china mugs, and the rest of Inkwell is, for now, treating her like what she is destined to one day become: a queen."
Lucifer turned red, with mild anger.
"This is why I can't live without you Dice." He sighed.
Suddenly, the door of the casino opened, only to reveal myself with all that Hellish splendor of that white dress made from demonic silk and fabric. I could hear the staff prattle about my presence on that fine night.
"Here she is!"
"Is that Cocoa's new dress?"
"Oh my, she's so pretty!"
" I know right? Fit for a queen!"
Having finally approached my two dads, I greeted them with a curtsy, to which they bowed back in mutual respect. It has been clear to both of them that I had a good time with both of my partners. I sensed that the Prince of Darkness, had a lot of questions about my relationship with the two brothers, but that could wait because it was time for my signing of my dad's book.
" It's time, daughter," Lucifer said, before tapping the trident, and we soon found ourselves outside in the creepy old cemetery, where all my relatives from all the 9 circles of Hell were waiting, as all their eyes were on me.
Honestly, I was still a half-demon, at heart, so I had no idea how that works, so I was pretty scared, to say the least. I nearly went pale when I realized I have to draw my own blood for the signing but I had to get myself baptized, in the dark.
"If you want, we can do it for you." Dice offered.
I smiled an "I'm gonna be fine" smile, before I cut myself with the blade, and provided my own blood for the book. The Devil himself felt bad. Normally, he took pride in hurting and harming mortals, but just the fact that he looked away, meant a lot. He even dried my tears (which wasn't part of the ceremony's protocol)
"Don't worry, dear, Henchman will heal you later."
I nodded, as took the pen, and felt demonic energy building up, as I signed the first three letters of my name, when suddenly out of the darkness, somebody screamed... It was him, God's right-hand archangel, Micheal, and his angelic army.
"Oh Heaven, not tonight!" King Dice exclaimed.
It was then, that the Devil ordered, an attack, on my birthday no less. I saw the two sides beating each other up, and while they were at it, Big D, looked at me, with a scared and pleading look.
"Cocoa, get somewhere safe." He pleaded.
"Dad, what about the book?" I said, as my father's blood spattered on the virgin white of my gown." I'm not leaving until my name is signed!"
I turned to my demon uncles who were watching with disbelief.
"Don't just stand there!" I shouted before they obliged and fought the archangel army to distract them from reaching me. With the last letters of my name signed successfully in the book, I felt my demonic powers surge in completion sending some of Micheal's army back from whence they came.
" It is done," Lucifer panted, as an exhausted smile drew across his face, "She signed my book!"
I still had the pen in hand, so I decided to use it in my favor. I turned to Henchman, who was understandably worried for my life.
"Henchman, get them to safety!" I commanded.
He nodded, as he and many imps, brought my family and people to the casino for safety. The remaining archangels opened a path so Micheal could pass.
" Well, well, if it isn't my niece," He said, in a prissy tone, " It's still a shame you wasted your life running with demons when you could fly with eagles and join our ranks." He said as he reached out his hand, as an offering. I began to boil up, in my head.
"And forsake my family and my people, just like my grandfather did to my dad?!" I exclaimed, " Not even in your dreams! I shouted.
Micheal sighed.
" You can stop this now, Cocoa Cup, your powers increased, I see it in you," He said, " But you haven't paid the price."
I scoffed.
"Yeah, whatever halo head!"
Micheal's eyes turned deadly.
"So be it then..."
At once the archangels came charging at me, but with the help of my new powers, I was able to beat them, to the bone. Of course, I kept dodging their attacks and managed to get the upper hand on some of them, I even pinned one archangel to the ground and sliced the angel's wing off, as blue liquid spurted out of it, as he cried in pain.
"MY WINGS!" He screamed, " I CAN'T FEEL MY WINGS!"
"Well," I laughed, "This is what he felt like!"
I started injuring more and more of the angelic army, and a lot of them even started to retreat. But just as I thought victory finally came, I was grabbed and lifted from where I stood.
"PUT ME DOWN YOU DISH!!!" I exclaimed. That was when I teleported, and got on top of Micheal, looking to finish him off, but instead, I was the one who got pinned down by him on the roof of the casino, with a thud, everyone inside, gasped in horror, an Imp rushed with terrible news.
"B-BOSS, BOSS!" he exclaimed, "COCOA'S FIGHTING MICHEAL ON THE CASINO'S ROOF!"
Meanwhile, I was struggling with Micheal on top of me. I don't know what Micheal and his army used to eat from where they come from, but that doesn't matter, because I was helpless, beneath his stinky feet.
" You should've taken our offer, Cocoa Cup," Micheal said, as he drew out his sword which was more like an ax with a flaming blade. " Don't make this harder than it has to-UNGH!"
I realized that Micheal had suffered, a direct hit on the back of his curly head. Crawling backward from underneath his foot, I couldn't believe who it was...
"CUPHEAD, AND MUGMAN?!" I shouted.
They stood proudly in front of me, proudly. They weren't in their usual red and blue pants, and black shirts, instead they looked totally different, Even though they maintained the red, blue, and black aesthetics they wore jeans and leggings as well, and Cuphead wore a red bandanna on his neck, whereas Mugs wore brown shoes.
"This is something you don't see every day," Cuphead said as he twirled a diamond card between his fingers, as his eyes glowed red for a while.
"These cards you gave us work like a charm, don't they?" Mugman asked, as his eyes shone a blueish color.
Suddenly Micheal got up, with a growl.
"You will come with us, Cocoa, one way; or ANOTHER!!!" He said as he raised his flaming sword/ax, ready to stab me.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!" Cuphead bellowed as he and his brother both conjured a giant king of diamonds, and king of spades cards to use as a shield.
"Cocoa, NOW!" Mugman shouted, signaling my turn.
I nodded before my eyes turned lime green. The pen that was in my left hand turned into a dagger, which I used to slice Micheal's wings, while he was still in the air. Let's just say, he got a taste of his own medicine when he fell in front of the doors of the casino.
We finally landed on the ground, with a floating chip disk where the Devil was waiting for us.
"Father," I excused, "I can explain!"
" I don't need explaining, because I'm..."
Me and two boys were expecting the worst, but all he did was hug me instead.
"... I'm so proud of you," He exclaimed, "You fought for what is rightfully yours, and what you believed in!"
"Yeah," I smiled, " but I couldn't've done it without these guys."
They smiled awkwardly, as they waved at him. I really thought I was going to have it rough, but if it wasn't for Dice working his magic on the Devil, the three of us would've been screwed for life. Later on, we celebrated my birthday in peace, without any hassle. I even got a little surprised when Dice and Devil allowed our relationship to continue.
" I still can't believe you guys helped me beat an actual angel."
The brothers laughed.
"Believe me, princess, you've saved our butts many times, so we thought we'd return you the favor." Cuphead, stated before he took a bite of the cake.
" That's very sweet, but where did you get those sweet outfits?" I asked, "You look amazing in them."
They looked at each other, then their eyes aimed at me.
"Magic." They replied as we cracked up.
Suddenly the Devil and King Dice called me and the boys over.
"Alright boys, let's raise a toast to our Cocoa's sweet 16!"
We all clinked our glasses together.
"CHEERS!"