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Cuphead follows his routine everyday
He wakes up at 5 am to train until someone go get him to eat breakfast with the crew
After breakfast, he go back to his training until lunch and go back to his training after that
Around 2 pm, Hanchman will come around to tell him that it was enought training for today and Cuphead should rest
Boss orders
Then Cuphead will go to his room and read or watch TV until the casino opening hours, then he sneaks into the casino and makes his way to the area where the patrons are
Now, this is his little secret
He moves behind the columns until he stops at a specific one; A column just like all the others, except this one has a small brown stain at the base that Cuphead is almost certain is blood that won't wash off
Cuphead will then climb the column until he reachs the top; When he gets there, he will grab a wooden beam with both hands, pulls himself up, and sits on it. He soon stands up, balancing carefully, and begins to walk along the beams until he gets to a small, flat platform of dark wood, its edges partially hidden by a curtain
The "balcony" offered a panoramic view of the entire casino and was close to the stage, so he liked to hang out there to pass the time and watch everything until closing hours were he goes to sleep and repeat the routine the next day
It's not like he can do something else besides that; Afterall, he can't leave the casino
He watches the staff and the Imps finish the final preparations and open the doors, observing as the casino comes to life
Demons and mortals stream in and begin their games; Some choose to start with a drink, ordering cocktails and snacks. The band gathers and strikes up a jazz tune, that Cuphead doesn't know the name, but the crowd seems to like it, judging by the few who even get up to dance
Hours pass, and he watches the casino in all its glory: Desperate people losing everything, others laughing loudly at trivial conversations soon to be forgotten thanks to the alcohol. It’s the usual scene, yet Cuphead enjoys observing
The doors open again, and he turns to look at the newcomer, seeing
.
.
.
Cuphead blinks in astonishment and leans forward
Hmm... Now that is new
A boy, apparently around his age, walks through the doors. The boy has a mug for a head, complete with a straw and a blue-tinted nose. He looks incredibly out of place and nervous, glancing around in every direction
Cuphead has never seen anyone like him before so his attention is instantly hooked by the "mug guy"
Cuphead watches the boy, after a moment of hesitation, start to play and sees him win
And sees him win again,
And again
And again
With every win, more people crowded around the table to watch him play, and with every win, Cuphead became more fascinated
This guy is good
But the lucky ones are not rewarded in the Devil's casino, the flame circle was a proof of that
From the flames, the Devil raised with a grim that make the boy flinch
Cuphead rests his face in his arms and watches the interaction unfold; It seems the boss offered the boy a game, and after thinking it over for a moment, he accepted. King Dice then sets up a new game, this time, the boy against the Devil
The boy rolls the dice, and the four of them watch as the dice tumbles to a stop
The boy lost
The boy's eyes widen in horror as he pleads for mercy while Dice and Devil laugh at his misery. Cuphead saw this situation over and over, but this time it seems like Boss is actually considering it
Boss then gets an parchment, Cuphead tried to read it but quickly gave up, he said something to the mug boy as he gave him the parchman, after that, boss kicks him out the door
Boss leaves in a tornado of flames as the music start again and people go back to dancing and drinking, playing the games as they just not witness their possible future and the casino goes back to his prior state
But Cuphead was still looking at the door
Interesting
~
"King Dice" Cuphead calls out with his arms behind his back, barely catching the slight hop in Dice's step
Cuphead meets King Dice after the casino has closed for the day; The man was tidying up the gaming tables, and Cuphead waited until he was alone to question him
"Ah, Cuphead!" King Dice says, smiling with a tone of surprise in his voice "How can I help you?"
"Who was that mug-kid who left here?" King Dice frowns and crosses his arms over his chest
"How do you know about him?" King Dice raises an eyebrow, his green eyes staring into Cuphead's soul, and Cuphead hopes his expression doesn't betray him now.
"I was walking around the casino and saw him running out of here" Cuphead tells a half-truth, leaning back to glance at the door. "He was holding one of our contract papers, is he a runaway?"
Cuphead knows it wasn't a soul contract, since the Devil himself had handed the paper to the boy and kicked him out, he just needs to play dumb to get the full picture of the situation
Dice sighs, seemingly deciding the story was convincing enough
"The kid lost his soul in a game against the Boss" Cuphead expected that
"He begged for mercy, so the Boss made a deal with him" King Dice wears an amused smile as he recalls it "The Boss said the kid has one week to collect the debtors contracts across the islands"
"If he doesn't bring the contracts back by noon on the last day, the Boss takes his soul. If he succeeds, he's free"
Cuphead blinks, staring at King Dice; He wasn't expecting that
So the Boss made the kid work? He’d never done anything like that before, though it wasn't strange for the Boss to want to toy with a mortal
Collecting, who knows how many, contracts in a single week? The poor guy is going to have to run across... all the islands...
"So... the kid is going to collect contracts from all three islands?"
"That's right, though I doubt he'll pull it off." King Dice picks up some cards and shuffles them "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing" Cuphead looked across the room, staring at the door "Just curious"
Cuphead bids farewell to Dice, who goes back to work. On his way out, he thinks about the kid who had walked into the casino on a winning streak only to end up owing his soul
And who now has to travel across all three islands in search of those contracts
Cuphead smiled, that's out of the routine
How exciting!