ArtistTale: Ink and Adeleine

Act II: Chapter 11

(Perspective: Adeleine)

Ink and the others followed me out of the hotel and outside into the city. Rhythm Route was known for it's blue and purple hues shining on the buildings. Some people called it the city that never sleeps. I turned to Ink, whose head was up in the clouds somewhere, probably blinded by how colorful the city was. Another thing about this city was that it was the only place on Popstar where other humans lived.

"So, do you like what you see?" I asked Ink. Ink payed no attention to me and just stared off into space. I waved my hand in front of his face. No reaction.

"Ink?" I said. He blinked and turned his head to me.

"Sorry," he said, "My head was somewhere else."

"Couldn't tell," Ribbon said, "Anyway, where do we find this Magolor guy?" I placed my hand on my chin.

"Hmm, perhaps he's gambling or something," I suggested, "He seems like the kind of person to do that."

"Maybe, but he could also be selling things at a booth," Daroach added, "You know how he likes to sell."

"We might as well start looking now," Meta Knight informed, "I'm also thinking he's at the casino. Let's check there first."

"Good idea," I said, "But let's not get distracted by all the shiny trinkets, okay? I'm looking at you, Ribbon." Ribbon crossed her arms.

"What?" I said, "I'm joking. Come on." We proceeded to walk down the streets. I saw all of the typical things you'd find in a big city, such as drug dealers, hobos, gum on the streets, and the smell of cigarettes. As we were walking, my eyes easily spotted the casino, easily identified by the giant cards and dice sticking out of the roof.

"I think this is the place," I said, "Let's go in, but keep a low profile." As I opened the door, funky music blasted into my ear. The place reeked of sweat, smoke, and sin. Each step I took inside felt like agony. Humans, cappys, and other monsters were all sitting at tables, wasting their time trying to see if they could go big or go home. While I was distracted by all the commotion going on, Ink tapped me on the shoulder. I quickly turned my head to him.

"Hey, do you know what this Magolor guy looks like?" he asked me.

"Well, it's hard to describe," I answered, "He's blue with yellow eyes, short in height, and has these things on his head that I think are ears. I'm not sure about that last one. He's never told me what they were."

"You mean like that little blue guy over there?" Ink said, pointing to a poker table. Sure enough Magolor was there, playing Poker with a bunch of humans.

"All in," Magolor said as he pushed all of his poker chips into the center of the table. He seemed pretty confident with his cards.

"All in," the human next to him said. He was sweating, and I could read it on his face that his cards were terrible. After that, they all revealed their hands.

"Ha!" Magolor shouted, "I've got a Royal Flush! In your face! Losers!" One of the guys at the table threw his cards down on the table, causing them to scatter across the table.

"You cheated!" he shouted, "There's no way you can get a royal flush that easily!" This looked bad. Magolor shrugged his detached hands.

"It's just luck," he said, "Are you really going to throw a tantrum like a baby?"

"Hey!" I shouted at the man, "Leave him alone!" The man turned to me.

"Why should I?" he said, "What are you gonna do about it?" Then, without thinking, I punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"I'm gonna do that," I said.

"Thanks," Magolor said, "What are you doing here, by the way?" He looked at Daroach and squinted his eyes. Daroach nervously waved.

"Actually nevermind," Magolor dismissed, "Whatever it is you need, I can't help you."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Please," Ink said, "We need your help. Or just your Gem Apples at least."

"No," Magolor refused, "And who are you anyway? I don't recall seeing a skeleton on Popstar."

"Listen," Daroach said, "I'm sorry that I so happened to win that Poker game. But according to Ink and Adeleine, our world might be destroyed soon. So quit being a baby and help us out."

"You two have a history?" Ribbon asked, "I should've guessed."

"Shut up," Daroach said.

"Whatever happened to you must've been pretty serious?" Ink said.

"Are you kidding?!" Magolor said, "I went broke because of him! We've had bad blood ever since. I guess I'll help you for now, but then I'm going to end this fight once and for all. Follow me"

"Great," I said. We followed Magolor to the back of the casino, back to where the Employees only door was.

"Wait, do you work here?" I asked, "Because if you go back there, you know what will happen, right?"

"Who says we're going back there?" Magolor chuckled. He pushed open a wall, which was actually a hidden door.

"This leads to my house," he explained. We proceeded to follow him down the dusty hidden hallway. Despite the dusty hallway, the house itself was rather clean. Everything was polished and colorful.

"So," Magolor said, "You said you needed Gem Apples? What for?"

"Susie needs them for her rewinding machine," I explained, "We're trying to bring back Galactic Nova to wish us the power we need to stop Error."

"Is he really that strong?" Magolor asked. Ink turned his head down.

"He's corrupted most of the AUs in my world," he explained, "Because of me, I had to escape somewhere outside my multiverse."

"That's unfortunate," Magolor said, "I think I have some Gem Apples. How many do you need?"

"Maybe one or two," I answered, "How about two, just to be safe."

"Sure," Magolor said. He floated over to a chest and opened it. Inside was the shiny red Gem Apples we needed. He tossed one to me and Ink.

"Thanks," I said, "Now that we got what we've came for, I suppose we should get going."

"Wait," Ink said, "Do we have to go just yet? I've never been here before. Maybe there's some places we can visit, like a dance hall?"

"Ink's got a good point," Meta Knight added, "There is a lot he hasn't seen yet. I agree that we should stay a little longer."

"Oh yeah," Magolor said, "I just remembered there is a big dance tonight. Most of the city is invited. You guys should totally go." He winked at us.

"Perfect!" Ink said, jumping up and down, "When does it start?"

"8-10," Magolor answered, "You want to get there early so that they can let you in sooner."

"I guess it would be nice to take a break and go to a dance," Francisca said, "It might help some of us cool off."

"Well then," I said, "I guess we'll head there in about one hour from now." Personally, I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but I guess we can't always get our way. Besides, I'd rather flatter Ink than disappoint him. So after about an hour, we headed over to the dance hall.