Taking place after my other story, "A Choice Between Two Worlds", it follows Cuphead and Mugman as the Devil swears revenge on them for previously beating him to a pulp. He plans to get rid of someone close to their hearts and mentally torture them...
Time passed over Inkwell quickly that day. So fast, in fact, that Cuphead had lost but all sense of time with his prankster pals. Unlike Mugman, who paid careful attention to how long he stayed out, the young cup would have fooled around all day long. Without his guardian around to keep him out of trouble, no rules governed the child's cup. For it was just him and his friends off to pull any and all pranks their little hearts desired. Cuphead was completely oblivious to the fact that Elder Kettle was nearing the island just then.
On the back of the mighty dragon, Grim Matchstick, the elderly kettle could see all around him. That is, if he hadn't been busy counting his gold coins he received from his daily sales. Traveling to the mainland often brought the kettle successful business days. Much more gold could be earned from there rather than the usual customers on Inkwell. New merchants meant new opportunities. And that was always a good thing, especially if Kettle was starting to get low on his funds. That didn't happen very often. Mainly just if the boys went too far on a prank and accidentally broke something of value. Like a genie's prized vase, or a clown's set of props.
Grim propelled himself like a speeding bullet across the sea. His mighty wings easily carried his passenger at great speeds. The dragon's lime-green scales reflected the sunlight almost like a mirror. Two ears flattened against his head as he and his passenger traveled in a straight line. Grim's underside was a light brown as well as his long, slender muzzle. White spikes lined the dragon's neck, back, and tail. The reptile also had a bit of a round belly. He often told people it was because he eats too many pies. But some, like Mugman, didn't quite believe that explanation. They thought maybe it had something to do with the reason he had made a deal with the Devil. Elder Kettle sat in between two of the spikes, grabbing around the base of the pointed object to avoid pricking himself with it. The kettle had flown with the dragon so often that he had become comfortable with the flying lizard's speed. Doing small tasks, such as counting money, was able to be done during flight.
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Grim slowed as the neared the island. His rate of speed had become a mere hover so as to avoid blowing residents about Inkwell. The dragon was one of the largest species living on Inkwell, only rivaled by one of his neighbors, Wally Warbles, who was a large bird that lived inside an equally large cuckoo clock.
His ears perked up as he took in the sounds and smells of his homeland. After taking a couple whiffs at what the residents were cooking up, he turned his attention to his passenger. The long neck curled back around to watch the elderly glassware finish up his counting.
"Good sale day, huh, Kettle?" The green dragon boomed. His bouncing and bubbly personality poured out to the kettle. Kids often remarked that his hearty laugh sounded like Santa Claus. Not just in sound, but personality, too. For the dragon was very giving and friendly to anyone that said hi to him. It was almost as if there was some sort of quality that made him likeable to everyone.
"Yes, indeed!" Elder Kettle replied. He had just finished putting his coins back into one of his many small sacks. A gloved hand lifted it up and shook it back and forth a little. "Hmm. Perhaps I can buy the boys a new toy with the extra..." The kettle pondered. Grim turned his attention back around. For he could not divert his focus from the sky for too long. Grim was not the most coordinated resident that soared in the skies above Inkwell. His large frame tended to bump into things if he wasn't paying attention.
