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elm-writes-stories · 6 months

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Cuphead: Isle of Memories (Rewrite)

*Hey, everybody, I know that it's been a month since I published this. I'm so sorry about that. These updates will be at a slower pace since I have a job and I will be going back to school in a couple of months. Anyway, this is published on November 12, 2023. If you guys like this episode, don't be afraid to heart, reblog, and comment! This will be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!*

Episode Nine: The Growing Problems

Today started out like any normal day.

Elder Kettle was making breakfast for Cuphead and Mugman as if they were back in their old house except they were in the Howling Aces’ base. Elder Kettle flipped the pancakes over in an upbeat rhythm from the music in the morning. He flipped the pancakes over his shoulder, letting the boys catch the pancakes.

Cuphead, as always, caught the pancakes flawlessly with his plate. However, his brother didn’t catch all of the pancakes. Mugman appeared dejected until he noticed a pancake stuck on the wall. He peeled it off and…there was nothing on the wall. His brother shrugged and placed the one pancake he peeled off the wall on the plate.

Elder Kettle noticed the skies getting red from the kitchen window. “Say, the skies are getting red. What’s up with that—?”

It was sudden that everything shook as if something exploded. Cuphead gasped while the fire consumed the Howling Aces’ base.

“Elder Kettle—!” Cuphead screamed for his caretaker, but Elder Kettle was soon burned up in flames.

“Cuphead! What did you do?!” Elder Kettle cried before melting in front of him.

“NOOOO!!!” Cuphead cried while breathing heavily.

He looked to see Mugman being held hostage by a figure of Hunter and The Devil combined.

Cuphead growled and his fists lit up. “You better let go of him!”

“Or what?” Hunter’s and The Devil’s voice mixed in together. “You’re going to shoot me with your magic bullets? Your poor brother has suffered enough from you as it is. Why does he need to stay with you any longer? You’ve already put him through enough.”

“No! Get your hands off of my brudda—!”

“Stop, please,” Mugman whimpered.

“Mugsy—”

“Stop, you’re going to hurt me—”

Cuphead frowned at the sight of his brother being in pain in front of him. “Mugman…?”

Mugman’s veins started to glow blue in front of Cuphead, causing him to breathe heavily in fear. Mugman’s veins went from blue to orange. The mug screamed in pain with tears at the corners of his eyes.

“No, leave him alone—�� Cuphead ran towards Mugman and reached his hand out to him. However, Cuphead felt like Mugman was further than he was.

Mugman screamed in pain until he couldn’t scream anymore. The mug collapsed forward on the ground, milk spilled out of his head before Cuphead could reach him.

“NOOO!!!” Cuphead cried, his tears streaming from his face. He approached his brother’s body and collapsed on his knees. “MUGMAN!!”

“Now look what you did,” the figure with Hunter’s body and Devil’s body combined. “Your brother has done so much for you. What have you done for him in return?”

Cuphead drew his brows together, his body lit up in flames. “You’ll pay for that!” Before Cuphead could attack the figure, he realized that his flames were consuming the house around him.

“Cuphead! Cuphead! Wake up, you’re setting the place on fire—”

~.~

Cuphead gasped and the flames around him died as soon as soon as he opened his eyes. It turned out to be Natalie waking him up from his nightmare with a concerned look.

Cuphead looked around to find that there were burn marks on the wall and on the bed. He sweated nervously. “Uh, hehe, sorry.”

“You okay? You look like you are having some sort of nightmare,” Natalie uttered.

“Eh, it’s nothin’,” Cuphead responded. “Just a stupid dream.”

Natalie frowned and sat next Cuphead. “You know, you don’t have to toughen up around me, right?”

Cuphead blushed and shook his head. “No, I ain’t…”

She smirked a bit.

He sighed. “Fine, maybe a little. But I really mean it when I said it’s nothin’.”

“You were screaming your brother’s name in your sleep.”

He paused and looked away.

“That is why I woke up…and then I noticed the flames rising in your sleep. Luckily, it didn’t burn the entire place down,” Natalie added.

Cuphead looked around to not find Mugman anywhere. “Did…Mugman hear me?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure. I know he’s awake…but he must be helping your dad with somethin’…along with Cassi. He probably didn’t hear it.”

“Good—”

On cue, Mugman zoomed into the room. “I heard someone screaming for me. What happened? What’s going on?”

“Nevermind, he heard you,” Natalie responded.

Cuphead straightened up. “Oh, it’s, uh, nothin’.”

Mugman squinted at his brother for a brief moment. “You sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure. Everything is fine, buddy,” Cuphead reassured.

Mugman arched a brow while Werner suddenly popped out from his ceramic head.

“He’s lying,” Werner whispered to Mugman.

Werner was picked off of Mugman’s head by Mugman and was set down on his shoulder. He patted Werner on the head with a small smile and looked at his brother.

“W-Well, if you need me, I’ll be over by the gates with Cassi,” Mugman informed his brother and Natalie.

“Okay,” Cuphead replied while Mugman walked away. The cup sighed sadly. “I oughta stop worrying Mugsy.”

Natalie turned her gaze to him. “What do you mean? He’s your brother. He wants to look after you.”

“Yeah, but…I feel like him being worried about me is going to get him killed if we ain’t too careful,” Cuphead confessed his fear.

She softened her gaze. “I-Is that what your nightmare is about?”

He hugged himself and gazed at his shoes. “Yeah…”

She frowned. “Do you think that it’s still your fault?”

“For what?”

She shrugged. “For everything that might have to do with Mugman, I guess.”

He nodded his head. “Yeah. I mean…I know that Mugman is okay now and he got Cassi back. And I’m happy for him that he was getting better. But I can’t help, but think that something might happened that will hurt him. It’s been a couple of days since Cassidy is back and he’s been actin’ somewhat normal again. Everything was somewhat normal…it’s only the matter of time before the shoe drops.”

Natalie placed her hand on top of his. “Well, we have some normalcy now except for the infectees…we might as well make the most out of it before something happens.”

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Nat.”

She grinned at the new nickname. “No problem, Cups.”

They blushed at the use of nicknames. She scooted closer to him and leaned against him, which shocked him a bit.

“It’s gettin’ chilly,” Natalie explained.

He giggled. “Heh, don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.”

Unbeknownst to them, Mugman was standing by the doorway, listening to the conversation with Werner on his shoulder. He frowned and walked away from the bedroom.

Once they’re out of ear-shot from them, Werner glanced at Mugman and sat on his shoulder. “Zo, do vu zink he’s vorrying too much?”

Mugman shook his head. “I don’t think so. Geez, I didn’t think Cuphead feels bad about me worrying about him. I wonder if I’ve ever made him feel that way.”

Werner shrugged his shoulders. “I’m nein exbert on Cup bzychology or vat’s koing on in zat liquid prain of your prozer’s, put it zeems to me zat vu poth haffe peen through ein lot from zee Night Sdalkers to now. “

“Yeah, I guess. I feel going back and telling Cuphead that he doesn’t need to worry about me worrying about him…”

“Vat’s sdobing vu?”

“I-I don’t know…Guilt? I’m not sure.”

Werner frowned. “Vell, if vu poth truly loffe und vant to brodect each ozer, zen vu poth need to sdop vorrying apout purtening one Hanozer.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You never have a brother,” Mugman said with a frown.

Werner appeared to be taken aback, which the mug noticed.

“Do you have a brother?” Mugman asked.

“Once.”

Mugman frowned and walked further down the hallway. “I’m sorry.”

Werner waved it off. “It doesn’t matder.”

“Look, there has to be another way to get the cure!” they heard Chef Saltbaker’s voice from the kitchen.

Mugman and Werner exchanged looks of confusion and entered the kitchen to see Saltbaker arguing with Charlie, Esther, and O’Fera.

“We can’t keep using Chalice’s blood to make the cure for the infectees outside,” O’Fera replied, siding with Saltbaker.

“Look, she might be the only answer we have left!” Esther responded.

“Yeah, besides, she’s half-ghost. I’m sure it won’t bother her,” Charlie argued.

“Look here, eight legs!” Saltbaker barked at Charlie, his eyes turning yellow. “She may be half-ghost, but she’s also half-mortal! Meaning that she could die if we drain all of her blood—”

“Which can turn her into a full ghost,” Charlie responded. “But hey, it counts as her making a sacrifice for the greater good.”

Saltbaker drew his brows and took out his knife. “You wanna say that again?!”

O’Fera and Esther stopped Saltbaker from charging towards Charlie with the knife. Charlie stumbled back against the wall, pulling out his fists.

“Whoa, whoa, chef, take deep breaths!” O’Fera replied.

“Wanna say that again?! I’d be happy to feed you to the infectees!” Saltbaker barked at Charlie.

“Calm down, psycho!” Charlie shouted at the chef.

“Who are you callin’ psycho?! You’re the one who wants the draw all of the child’s blood out!” Saltbaker argued.

“Chef, c’mon, calm down. Charlie didn’t mean it like that, right?” Esther questioned while trying to hold Saltbaker back.

“Well, if you put it like that, I guess I did mean it like that—”

“You son of a—!” Saltbaker broke free from O’Fera’s and Esther’s grasps, tackling Charlie to the ground.

“Are ya kiddin’ me?!” Esther yelled.

O’Fera groaned and pulled Saltbaker away from Charlie.

“Let me at him! Let me at him!” Saltbaker shouted while slashing his knife through the air.

“Put the knife away!” Esther barked while forcing Saltbaker to drop the knife.

Mugman and Werner watched it all unfold.

“Do vu know if zere’s ein cure for Tremaine ozer zan uzing your friend’s plood?” Werner questioned the mug.

Mugman frowned and shrugged. “I-I don’t know.”

Saltbaker noticed Mugman with his yellow eyes faded and his plastered grin widened. “Ah, Mugman, you totally didn’t see me waving a knife around.”

O’Fera groaned in discouragement. “Look, we need to find an alternative for the cure. Just because Chalice somehow has the blood of the Calix Animi, it doesn’t mean we can draw all of her blood out. There has to be another way.”

“Well, at least someone is on my side,” Saltbaker responded.

“Why not speak with Quadratus?” Mugman suggested shyly.

Everyone turned to the mug.

“Who’s Quadratus?” O’Fera inquired.

“Ah, the all-knowing pool of wonders,” Saltbaker said with a sigh. “He knows anything and everything next to the Most High. Well, I don’t think he knows as much as the Most High. Great idea, Mugman! Let’s go find this Quadratus fellow!”

“Uh, chef—”

Saltbaker rushed out of the base before O’Fera could say anything.

Mugman shrugged to the group and hurried after the chef with Werner perched on his shoulder.

O’Fera arched a brow. “Now I’m curious.”

~.~

Mugman led Saltbaker, O’Fera, Esther, and Charlie through the forest as soon as they passed through the infectees with Werner peering over his porcelain head.

“He should be around here somewhere,” Mugman said mostly to himself.

“Be careful, we don’t know if there are any demons nearby,” O’Fera cautioned.

“Ha! I dare zem to come out und blay!” Werner replied with a laugh.

“The German rat will get us killed if he doesn’t lower his tone,” Charlie grumbled.

“What are you afraid of, Charles? Are you afraid that demons will just appear out of nowhere and bite your neck like rabid zombies?” Saltbaker teased the spider. “Man, even being the head of a gang doesn’t make you less afraid.”

“Listen here, salt shaker,” Charlie growled with his finger pointed at the chef. “You gotta a lot of nerve to talk to me that way.”

“And you got a lot of nerve to tell me that Chalice will make a sacrifice for the ‘greater good’,” Saltbaker responded.

“Hey, I’m just making a point!” Charlie snarled.

“Are we seriously still fightin’ about this?” Esther groaned. “Look, if we get the answer from this Quadratus guy, we should be set. Hopefully, Chalice ain’t the only way to get the cure.”

“Here we are,” Mugman informed the group once he spotted the pool. He hurried to the pool and took out a jawbreaker from his pocket and dropped it into the pool. The pool bubbled and the ground shook. The blue light shined, blinding nearby group.

“Come one! Come all! Seek my wisdom and heed my words! The broken pieces will soon mend and the cries of the suffering will fade!” The pool announced.

Werner turned to the rest of the group. “Und vu all kot onto me for peing too loud.”

Saltbaker rolled his eyes and focused his attention. “Ah, Quadratus, the all-knowing pool. The legends say that you know everything.”

“Yes, the legends were true,” Quadratus said with his face appeared. “And you’ve come to seek my knowledge.”

“Yes,” O’Fera answered. “Do you know if there’s another cure for Tremaine other than using Chalice’s blood?”

“Chalice has the blood of the Calix Animi warrior. I’m afraid that’s the only way to cure someone of Tremaine,” Quadratus stated.

“Now, hang on just a minute. Chalice is just a child,” Saltbaker argued. “You expect all of us to drain her blood?”

Quadratus sighed sadly. “I’m afraid that is the only way unless you can reach Heaven to gather gold, holy fire, and the feathers from an angel’s wings. But Heaven is unreachable.”

“Not unless I cook up the Wondertart,” Saltbaker determined with a growl.

“Are you serious?!” O’Fera shouted at him. “You were just in jail for it!”

“Hey, at least I got a different motive this time,” Saltbaker responded. “If I cook up the Wondertart, I can get to the Astral Plane and reach up to Heaven to gather the ingredients to cure everyone infected with Tremaine.”

“But doesn’t cooking up the Wondertart require a soul?” Esther questioned.

“Oh, I’m not going to get anyone’s souls. Why, I know someone from prison I can use to make the Wondertart,” Saltbaker said with a mischievous grin.

“You can’t really reach up to Heaven, even if you have any control of the Astral Plane,” Quadratus said.

“Oh, come on!” Saltbaker scowled.

“How will we get to Heaven?” O’Fera questioned.

“By following Most High’s son since He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Quadratus answered.

“How do we physically get there?” O’Fera clarified.

“No mortal can ‘physically’ get to Heaven. Spiritually, sure. But not physically. You can only enter the Heavenly Realms once you die,” Quadratus responded.

“Wait, how come we can get into Hell so easily, but it’s harder to get to Heaven?” Charlie questioned.

“The pathway to Heaven is a narrow path while Hell has a wider path. Take that for what you will,” Quadratus answered. “However, I have just received knowledge that based on the recent findings that there is more out there than the Eternal’s Orb and the boys’ powers are adapting to the new changes.”

“Adapt to change? Does it mean that there’s another way to cure the infectees?” O’Fera responded with a bright smile.

“Well…sort of. We’ll have to see,” Quadratus responded. “Speaking of Eternal’s Orb, it’s mixed with two gifts such as the gift of bravery and the gift of visions. There are other gifts from the Calix Animi, such as the gift of nature, the gift of love, and the gift of knowledge out there in the mausoleum in this island. The gift of memories and the gift of light were already inside two of your friends. Maybe that can be the answer you’re looking for.”

“Uh…”

“Search for the rest of the gifts and let the powers adapt to the new surroundings! You’ll find the permanent cure for the curse of Tremaine!” Quadratus’ voice boomed until his face disappeared from the pool.

“Well,” Saltbaker responded. “He didn’t give us an exact answer we’re looking for.”

“Soo…maybe using Chalice is the only solution,” Charlie replied.

“No!” Saltbaker denied. “He said that the boys’ powers are adapting, right? Maybe there’s a way that one of them could get Tremaine out of the infectees in Chalice’s place.”

Esther crossed her arm. “Maybe it doesn’t require blood of the Calix Animi warrior anymore.”

The group turned to the cowgirl with their brows arched.

“What do you mean?” O’Fera asked.

Mugman watched the conversation along with Werner.

“Like…maybe blood is out of the question,” Esther responded. “Maybe it’s something else that doesn’t drain someone’s body.”

“You make a good point,” Saltbaker replied.

They heard a loud boom in the distant, causing them all to perk their ears up.

“Uh…vhat vas zat?” Werner questioned.

O’Fera bolted through the forest. Mugman dashed after her with Werner hanging onto his head.

Saltbaker, Charlie, and Esther didn’t hesitate to follow after them.

~.~

O’Fera sprinted through the forest and realized that the base for the Howling Aces was caught on fire as the infectees started to pour in like zombies.

Mugman, Werner, Saltbaker, Esther, and Charlie approached O’Fera and saw the base burning up.

“Holy cow,” Charlie uttered.

One of the infectees turned her head and roared at them, catching half of the infectees’ attention towards the group.

O’Fera snarled, her fists clenched.

Mugman glanced up at Werner. “Uh, Werner, you might want to get out of my head.”

When Werner noticed the sparks coming from the mug’s body, he nodded his head. “Roger zat.” The rat hopped out of Mugman’s ceramic head and crawled up onto Saltbaker’s arm. Werner took out his mini-gun and aimed it at the infectees.

Saltbaker took out his knife and his eyes turned yellow.

Mugman’s eyes glowed blue along with his veins, his blue glowing wings spread out. The electricity were under his control this time, glaring at the infectees invading the Howling Aces’ base.

Charlie Left-Legs pulled out the bombs wrapped in his webs from his teal suit jacket.

Esther Winchester took out her shotgun with a daring smile at the infectees.

Half of the infectees turned and charged towards the group.

O’Fera swung her fists at the incoming infectees while Mugman used his electricity to electrocute them.

Werner fired his small mini-gun with a maniacal laugh, and Saltbaker slashed through his enemies with his knife. Charlie threw bombs at them to blow them up. Esther started to shoot from her shotgun with a smirk. More infectees turned to see them and were about to attempt to charge at them until a bomb was dropped and electrocuted the infectees. The electricity had a shape of the familiar mad scientist as O’Fera looked up to see Dr. Kahl and his robot flying up in the sky and firing the bombs at the infectees.

Inside of the Howling Aces’ base, Bulldog took out his larger mini-gun and fired at the infectees charging at him and the Yankee Yippers.

The fire lit up inside of Cuphead’s ceramic head. His fists were covered by fire and his orange wings spread out. He zoomed through the base, taking out every single infectee he encountered.

Brineybeard picked Aurora up and placed her on his shoulder, taking out his blades to protect her from the incoming infectees.

Ribby and Croaks teamed up with Sally and Philip to take out the infectees. Chips Bettigan, Mr. Wheezy, and Phear Lap joined them with their guns drawn out.

Djimmi used solar balls to throw at the infectees, protecting Bowlboy. Bowlboy was holding the lamp close to his chest while watching the red genie fight the infectees.

Cagney’s face contorted into a machine gun with a crank at the bottom of his chin. He grabbed the crank and spun it around to shoot seeds at the infectees, letting the seeds grow into plants within the infectees.

Hilda flew up into the sky and came back down, shape-shifted as a cloudy bull. She started to run over the infectees with her horns, pushing them out of the building.

Rumor Honeybottoms joined to help Cagney and Hilda along with Pirouleta, Ginette, Rumulus, and Ol’ Ethan. Rumor used her wand to cast purple balls at the infectees while Rumulus and Ol’ Ethan worked together to spill whiskey at the infectees, burning their eyes.

Ginette took out her shotgun and started to shoot at the infectees with her teeth gritted together.

Elder Kettle took out his sword with a battle-cry, slashing through the infectees in the kitchen. The Root Pack hopped into battle with Elder Kettle with Sal spitting out a brown potato and thrusted it at the infectees while Chauncy used telepathic powers to fire at the zombies. Ollie was the only one who was frozen in fear as he was ready to cry.

“Ollie, no! You’re gonna make us cry if you cry!” Sal shouted at Ollie.

“I-I can’t help it,” Ollie muttered.

Dice noticed the situation and ran towards the onion. “Hey, uh…”

“O-Ollie,” Ollie sniffled.

“Ollie, it’s okay to cry,” Dice replied while taking out his cards.

Ollie whimpered and began to sob loudly.

“Hey, what are—?!” Sal shouted at the die until he realized that Dice was blowing Ollie’s stench away from the others with his cards and aiming it at the infectees attacking them. The infectees started to break down in tears once Ollie’s stench hit them.

Elder Kettle slashed through the infectees with his sword until one of the infectees jumped behind him. Before the infectee could get to Elder Kettle, Murray touched the infectee’s head to get into his memories and trapped the infectee into one of his most loving memory he had.

Elder Kettle whirled around to find Murray behind him, his eye glowing purple. The old tea kettle soon let Murray joined him in the fight with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Light Bug used her radio outside of the gates and managed to make the infectees dance around her while Lenny and Announcer Snail were on top of Anteater’s shoulders.

Porkrind, Jerry, and Cassidy fought the infectees together while Natalie, Canteen, and Chalice slashed their weapons at their enemies.

Cassidy found herself cornered by the infectees at one point and Porkrind managed to hit the two other infectees with his hammer. Natalie saw this and charged at the remaining infectee from behind with a battle-cry. She jumped on the infectee’s back and stabbed him with her steak knife.

Cassidy watched Natalie take out the infectee and smiled brightly. However, Cassidy noticed an infectee charging towards her best friend.

“Natalie, look out!” Cassidy cried out. When she was about to leap to protect Natalie, a sword stabbed through the infectee. Natalie whirled around and found Brineybeard being the one to stab the infectee with his sword.

“Are ye alright, Natalie?” Brineybeard asked.

Natalie nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Brineybeard nodded his head and set Aurora down next to Natalie. He stepped in front of the two sisters to protect them from the incoming infectees.

Cuphead flew by Natalie and gave her a small smile while standing by her to protect her from the infectees.

Cassidy growled at the infectee coming towards her. The infectee in question was a cactus girl ready to attack the red feline until Mugman crashed through the roof and shot electricity at the cactus girl.

The electricity went through her veins until she threw up Tremaine and collapsed on the floor.

Cassidy gasped in shock to find Tremaine being extracted out of someone without using Chalice’s blood. Before she could say anything to her boyfriend, Mugman shot another electricity at the black cat coming towards them, causing him to throw up the Tremaine in his systems. Mugman gasped in shock when he noticed that the electricity from his body was getting Tremaine out of people.

Mugman didn’t hesitate to use his electricity on the apple, the orange fish, the coin with a bag of coins, and a metal axe that had a chip on his blade.

Jerry and Porkrind witnessed it with gasps in shock.

Dice started to see demons pouring in along with the infectees. “Uh…guys…I’m not sure if we can stay and keep fighting.”

“We gotta get out of here! Now!” Charlie shouted to the group.

Anteater gathered the Moonshine mob and placed them on his back while the Casino Gang hopped into Esther’s wagon. Esther joined them while Phear Lap took the reigns to move the wagon. The people Mugman managed to get Tremaine out of it seemed to be disoriented about what was going on.

Cassidy and Mugman exchanged gazes at each other and then jumped in to help the disoriented individuals.

“Come on, we got to get out of here,” Cassidy urged the others.

Cuphead, Natalie, Canteen, and Chalice noticed this while joining them to help the disoriented people.

Elder Kettle and Murray hurried to the kids, protecting them from the incoming infectees.

Porkrind and Jerry noticed O’Fera and her crew pulling up in the truck.

“Hop on!” O’Fera shouted to the others.

Porkrind grabbed Jerry by one of his arms and pulled him out of the building with Dice following them to the car. Elder Kettle and Murray urged the kids and the individuals no longer affected by Tremaine to follow them to the car. Once everyone was in the car, O’Fera drove away from the base.

~.~

They ran through the forest as fast as they could.

Phear Lap pulled Esther’s wagon that had the Casino Gang inside of it with all of his might.

Anteater managed to carry the Moonshine Mob along with the rest of the fugitives on his back.

O’Fera was driving Bulldog, Yankee Yippers, Elder Kettle, Murray, Porkrind, Jerry, Dice, the kids, and the ex-infectees through the forest. O’Fera had her driver window down so that she could listen to the others while driving.

“Where are we even going?!” Charlie shouted to anyone who could hear him.

“A safe place!” Sally answered.

“That’s not specific enough!” Charlie barked.

“Where can we go where the infectees and the demons won’t find us?!” Saltbaker yelled.

Cassidy looked up to find they were going towards the mountain and gasped happily. “Guys, go up the mountain!”

“Are you sure that’s safe?” O’Fera questioned.

“Yeah, I know someone up there who could help hide us,” Cassidy replied.

“How many people do you know that can help us?” Natalie questioned.

Cassidy blushed in embarrassment. “Um…well…many I think…I can’t keep track of the number.”

“Well, we’ll take whatever can keep us safe!” Chalice determined. She turned into a ghost and phased out of the car to go ahead and tell the others.

“Do you know the path to get up to the mountain?” O’Fera asked Cassidy.

“Yeah…”

O’Fera gestured Cassidy to come up by the driver’s seat. “Then take the wheel.”

“What?! Are you insane?!” Porkrind gasped. “She’s just a kid!”

“I did have her drive while we’re on delivery runs,” Jerry replied.

Porkrind looked at the bug with a withering glare. “First, you pulled her into your secret operation and then you made her drive!”

“Hey, she was actually pretty good,” Jerry replied.

“Great!” O’Fera responded while taking her hands off the wheel. “Take the wheel and lead the way!”

Cassidy yelped and jumped onto O’Fera’s lap to grab the steering wheel. O’Fera pressed her foot on the gas pedal as Cassidy steered the wheel onto the pathway to the mountain. Anteater and Phear Lap followed with their haul of their friends and family.

Mugman gasped in shock while hanging onto Cuphead. Natalie was holding onto Cuphead, clinging on his shirt.

Chalice came back and sat next to Canteen, holding on his arm. “I got the others to follow us!”

Dice glanced back from the back window to find the infectees and the demons catching up. “Oh no, they’re going to catch up!”

It was sudden that a missile bomb landed on the ground, electrocuting the infectees and the demons. Dice arched a brow and looked up to find Dr. Kahl and his robot landing on the ground.

“Get ‘em, sonny!” Dr. Kahl encouraged from within the cockpit of the robot’s head. He cackled like a mad scientist.

Dr. Kahl’s robot took out his guns on his shoulders and replaced his hands with bigger guns. With a glare, he blew his last bubblegum with a smirk. He fired lasers from his antenna and his bullets from his guns, pushing every demon and infectee away from the group.

Dice noticed with a shock gaze. “Okay, the robot’s got it. Cool.”

Cassidy steered the car up the hill with Anteater and Phear Lap following the car. O’Fera pressed on the brakes for every time Cassidy was about to make a turn.

“Are we almost there?” O’Fera asked.

“I think so!” Cassidy answered.

It was sudden that the resistance group noticed boulders coming down on them. Cassidy swerved to dodge them while the others were screaming in the car.

“O’Fera, this is a perfect time for you to take the wheel!” Murray shouted.

“I’m sorry!” Cassidy panicked.

“Don’t apologize—!”

“WATCH OUT!!!” Porkrind screamed while O’Fera slammed her foot on the brake. The car screeched to a stop to find a silhouette of a giant staring down at them.

“Who dares come into my mountain?!” the silhouette giant shouted, causing everybody to fear him except for the red feline.

Cassidy brightly smiled. “Glumstone!” She climbed out of the driver’s side window and onto the car rooftop. “Hey! It’s me, Cassidy!”

Glumstone leaned down to get a closer look at Cassidy and brightly smiled. The small gnomes peeked around the bumps of his head.

“Cassi!” the gnomes rejoiced.

“Gee, sorry about hurling boulders at ya. I thought you was one of the demons and the infectees comin’ to get us,” Glumstone explained.

“Well, they are chasing behind us. We need a safe place to hide,” Cassidy replied to Glumstone.

“Oh, are these people all of your friends?” Glumstone asked.

“Yeah.”

Glumstone nodded his head. “Any friend of Cassidy is a friend of mine—wait, what are you doing here, Saltbaker?! You should be in jail!”

Saltbaker, who was on Anteater’s back, grinned nervously. “Well—”

“We need him,” Cassidy replied. “He was able to make a cure to save me and my boyfriend from Tremaine.”

“Boyfriend?” the gnomes started to whisper around each other.

“It’s a long story,” Cassidy responded.

Glumstone hummed. “Hmm, alright. I’ll take you all to the safe place where there’s plenty of food, water, and shelter. No demon or infectee will ever come to this place.”

“That sounds too good to be true,” Djimmi whispered to the others.

“How does that sound?” Glumstone asked Cassidy.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Cassidy answered.

With that said, Glumstone picked up the car Cassidy was standing on. He also picked up the wagon Phear Lap had been pulling and put the wagon on the same arm that was holding the car. He then picked up Anteater while the people on his back like Cagney, Hilda, Djimmi, Bowlboy, Rumor, The Moonshine Mob, Sally, Philip, Ribby, Croaks, Brineybeard, Saltbaker, and Werner screamed and held onto Anteater’s fur.

Glumstone began to carry the others over the mountains while being approached by Dr. Kahl’s robot, guns raised up to aim at the giant.

The top of the robotic helmet opened and Dr. Kahl popped out.

“And where do you think you’re going to take our friends?!” Dr. Kahl growled.

“Wait, don’t shoot!” Djimmi shouted. “He’s going to take us someplace safe!”

Dr. Kahl blinked in shock. “Oh…nevermind! Lower the guns, sonny!”

Dr. Kahl’s robot lowered his guns.

“Let’s go then!” Dr. Kahl encouraged the other. “Sonny managed to hold them back long enough.”

Glumstone nodded his head and hurried through the mountains with Dr. Kahl’s robot flying behind him.

~.~

It felt like hours and Glumstone was still taking them to the safe place. He stepped over every mountain he came across.

“We’re almost there,” Glumstone reassured everyone in his arms.

Dr. Kahl’s robot caught up beside the giant.

“We better be almost there. Sonny here is running low on battery,” Dr. Kahl replied, patting on his robot’s head.

“Vu keep calling your ropot ‘zonny’. It’s getding Hannoying,” Werner commented.

Dr. Kahl glared at the rat on Saltbaker’s shoulder.

“Is that the name of your robot? Sonny?” Saltbaker asked in curiosity.

“Nah, it’s a nickname I give him,” Dr. Kahl replied. “His real name is Automation. But, uh, I am considering changing his name to either Junior or something.”

“Let me guess, it’s because he’s like zee zon zat vu’fe neffer had,” Werner said in a mocking tone.

Dr. Kahl softened his gaze while patting on the metal head. “I lost my son during the war. What do you mean he’s like a son I never have?”

Werner immediately dropped his mocking tone and blinked in shock. “Oh, um, I’m sorry—”

“I don’t need your pity,” Dr. Kahl responded with simple waves of his hands. “Or your sympathy. Let’s just get to the safe place and not talk about it anymore.”

Dr. Kahl’s robot, Automation, flew forward to avoid talking about it.

Glumstone soon approached the safe place. “We’re here.”

Everyone looked to find a lake surrounded by the mountains with luscious grass and trees all around the lake. The light reflects on the water, glimmering as the sun sets down on crests of the mountains to the west.

The giant set the group down and let them explored the safe place.

Cuphead, Mugman, Natalie, Aurora, Chalice, and Canteen got out of the car with the ex-infectees to look around. Cassidy jumped down to join her boyfriend and her friends.

“Wow,” the apple uttered in shock.

“Are we really safe?” Natalie asked the others.

“Aye, we are!” Brineybeard shouted in joy.

“This is amazing,” Sally replied.

As the others were looking around the new area they were in, Djimmi glanced over at Bowlboy, who was still holding the lamp. “Do you still want to make a wish?”

“Hm?” Bowlboy uttered in shock.

“You haven’t been making wishes in a while. Usually, my masters would wish things in one day.”

“But…I’ve already made my wishes though—”

“Including your father’s wish?” Djimmi said.

Bowlboy nodded his head sadly.

Djimmi placed a hand on the bowl’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t let that wish get you down. Besides, you’re here and you are taking your father’s place as the wish-holder. Although, this is your last wish. I’m excluding the one where we teleport to the Howling Aces because you were forced to make that wish. So, what do you wish for?”

Bowlboy blinked. “Um…um…uh…wait! What about you? What do you wish for?”

“Me?” the genie questioned.

“Yeah,” Bowlboy chirped. “If you can grant yourself three wishes, what would they be?”

“Hm…well, I don’t normally have masters ask me what I wish for. Let’s see…well, the first wish is definitely to be free from the lamp. The second wish would be…hm, well, being able to help people without having someone make a wish to help someone. The last wish would be…well, I guess to have limitless powers to help people. Hey, if someone has a tumor, I can take it out less than a second. You know what I mean? But, those are just dreams at this point.”

Bowlboy blinked in shock to hear the genie’s wishes. He looked at the lamp he was holding and then smiled softly. “Okay, I know my next wish.”

“Really?” Djimmi asked.

“Yeah! I wish for you to be free!” Bowlboy replied.

“Alright, let’s make the magic happen and—wait, what?”

“I wish for you to be free, so that you can help people with your limitless power,” Bowlboy repeated.

With that said, Djimmi could see the lamp glowing dim and falling on the ground as he was able to gain legs. He blinked in shock at this gesture.

Bowlboy grinned happily. “Now you get to help the people you want without someone making a wish for you.”

Djimmi stuttered. “I-I don’t know what to say—”

“You’re welcome,” Bowlboy responded.

Djimmi cracked his knuckles and let sparks fly from his fingertips. Tents and houses appeared, housing each resistance member.

The Howling Aces were able to have their base, and the Moonshine Mob were able to have their own casino.

Saltbaker had his own bakery to shelter him and Chalice, and Elder Kettle had his own house that would house Cuphead, Mugman, and Murray with him.

Dr. Kahl had his own lab in the tent, and Werner had his own workshop to build all of his machines.

Sally and Philip got to live in their theater that appeared out of nowhere, and Rumor Honeybottoms had her own honey company to make honeys.

Brineybeard, Ribby, and Croaks had their own ships with Ribby and Croaks owning a ferry with their own restaurant and Brineybeard having his own ship that would house both Natalie and Aurora.

Porkrind had his own shop to shelter him, Jerry, Dice, and Cassidy.

The Root Pack had their own garden and soil to eat. Cagney was given a space for his flowers while Hilda was given a house to live in.

The apple, the fish, the coin, the cactus girl, the black cat, and the metal axe a house to recover from Tremaine.

Then, Djimmi got his own tent with all of his wooden puppets, adding a room for Bowlboy to sleep in.

Everyone looked around at all of the houses that were given to them.

“Holy cow!” the cactus girl gasped in shock.

“This is amazing!” the black cat replied with joy.

Glumstone smiled brightly to see everyone settling in on their new home without the infectees and the demons lurking around. Then, the giant had a bright idea.

“Say, I got a swell idea to celebrate this new place. How I put on a puppet show? My gnomes love the puppet shows. However, I only got two sock puppets, um—”

“Oh! We can add some elements from the theater!” Sally said excitedly. “Ooh! I wonder if Djimmi added some costumes into our theater.”

“I got my own puppets if you need more than one,” Djimmi interjected.

“Ooh! We can pull off our own entertainment!” Ribby replied while nudging Croak’s chest from hearing an excited opportunity.

“And I got the singing voice,” Dice replied with a smirk.

“Same and the dance moves,” Light Bug added.

“Ooh, we’re going to have to compete,” Dice teased Light Bug.

“Make that three!” Chalice joined in Dice’s joke.

Cassidy smiled brightly. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Glumstone nodded his head with a smile. He took out his hand puppets, one that looked eerily similar to King Dice only except in a jester outfit and the Devil only except in a royal robe and crown.

“Let’s do this!” Glumstone told his puppets with a grin.

~.~

The night was young.

Djimmi was able to snap the stage into existence in front of everyone.

Glumstone had his hand puppets prepared while the gnomes were watching as the audience.

Cassidy and Mugman were seated in the middle of gnomes with Porkrind and Jerry sat behind them to keep an eye on them. Elder Kettle sat a few inches away with Murray sitting close to O’Fera and her crew.

Esther had the whole Casino gang with her on the back row.

The Root Pack sat in the middle row behind Rumor Honeybottoms.

Aurora sat on Natalie’s lap while Cuphead was sitting next to her. Brineybeard sat behind the cup kids with a bright smile in excitement.

Canteen watched on by himself, seeing Chalice in the backstage with Dice, Sally, Djimmi, and Light Bug.

Charlie sat on the front row in support of his wife along with his gang.

Anteater sat at the back with Dr. Kahl’s robot with Dr. Kahl resting on the robot’s shoulder along with Werner.

The apple, the black cat, the orange fish, the coin, the axe, and the cactus girl sat in different spots, surrounded by the gnomes.

Hilda and Cagney sat next each other in the second row, a few inches away from The Howling Aces.

Philip sat at the very front row to watch his wife in the shadows of backstage.

The show was about to begin. The cards were holding instruments to play the music when given the cue. Ribby and Croaks were the first to appear in the spotlight.

“Ladies and Gents and Gnomes,” Ribby announced. “We proudly present to you the performance of a lifetime!”

With that said, Ribby and Croaks stepped out of the spotlight. Under Ribby’s cue, the band started to play an upbeat jazzy beat as the spotlight moved towards Dice onto the stage, dancing towards the center while scatting.

“Heedle-Heedle-Heedle

Skideedle-be-diddly-doo

Zoobediddleday!

Dee-Diddily-Doo.”

Dice soon approached the mic with a swift confidence he once had. He sang with swag in his steps, a grin placed on his face.

“Now, I have been chained—I have been enslaved too.

I’ve rolled the dice and collected the souls.

I have risen an empire of fame,

Only for it to crumble under my feet.”

Dice smiled and danced on stage while holding the mic to sing more verses, the music building up unexpectedly. As Dice was dancing on stage, he gave a wink to both Jerry and Porkrind. They both blushed a bit while listening to him sing beautifully.

“Oh, but I’ve never felt this feeling, this feeling.

Oh, but I feel alive, alive.

And I don’t think I want this feeling to end.”

Chalice started to tap dance while sliding next to Dice, who welcomed it with a bright smile. They both sang together in a beautiful unison as the jazzy music build up more.

“Oh, but I’ve never felt this feeling, this feeling.

Oh, I feel alive, feel alive

And I don’t think I want this night to end.”

The beat dropped while King Dice started to sing on his own.

“Oh, don’t bet on what the days will bring.

You can never know until it comes.

Dance the night away, my friends.

For tomorrow’s worries are only a day away.”

During Dice’s chorus, Glumstone pulled out laid behind the stage and pulled out his jester hand puppet that looked like King Dice, bouncing up and down. The gnomes clapped their hands to the beat of the chorus while Cassidy and Mugman danced together in their seats.

Then Chalice had a turn to sing with the most angelic voice Canteen had never heard before.

“I’ve danced my way to the top.

Makin’ trouble and friends along the way.

I’ve turned up my charm,

Always looking out for number one.”

Canteen brightly grinned to see her sing and tap-dance on the stage. Who knew she was a lovely sight when she sang and danced? He got up from his seat in excitement and went up to Djimmi to whisper something to the genie. The genie grinned brightly and snapped his fingers, the violin appearing in Canteen’s grasp.

Before she could continue to sing, she heard a beautiful strings from the violin and looked to see Canteen strumming the violin from the shadows of the stage. She blushed at the sight and smirked at him. She headed towards the shadow and pulled him into the spotlight, skipping towards center stage while he played violin.

She began to sing beautifully.

“Oh, but I’ve never felt this feeling, this feeling.

Oh, I feel alive, alive.

And I don’t want this feeling to end.”

Light Bug joined Dice, Chalice, and Canteen on stage while her and Dice sang with Chalice again.

“Oh, but I’ve never felt this feeling, this feeling.

Oh, I feel alive, alive.

And I don’t want this feeling to end.”

Light Bug sang all by herself while dancing on stage, gaining admiration from her husband, Charlie.

“Oh, don’t bet on what the days will bring.

You can never know until it comes.

Dance the night away, my friends.

For tomorrow’s worries are only a day away.”

Everyone in the audience started to dance to the rhythm of the music.

Brineybeard lifted Natalie and Aurora onto his shoulders to dance with them. Cuphead smiled and danced with Elder Kettle watching him with gleam.

Cassidy got up and pulled Mugman up to his feet, pulling him close to the stage and danced with him. He giggled and spun her around as the gnomes joined and danced with them.

Hilda brightly smiled and pulled Cagney onto the dancefloor, leaving the flower blushing.

O’Fera saw this and decided to pull Murray to the dancefloor as well.

“Dance with me!” O’Fera replied in pure joy.

“Wait, what?” Murray uttered in confusion.

Djimmi summoned his puppets in the shapes of cups and danced with Glumstone’s hand puppets.

Charlie snapped his finger while Saltbaker clapped his hands with a jolly laugh.

Automation moved his shoulders in a rhythmic motion, rocking Dr. Kahl and Werner side to side.

Anteater bounced in his seat with a grin.

Philip danced on the dancefloor, waiting for his wife to come out from the backstage.

Sally came out of the backstage and danced in the spotlight. Djimmi soon joined, dancing along with his puppets with a grin.

Ribby and Croaks soon came to the spotlight once the music was reaching to the bridge with Ribby singing first.

“We was dreaming of makin’ our ma proud.”

Croaks wrapped his arm around his brother to croon.

“Only to keep running into dead-ends.”

Djimmi appeared between the brothers and wrapped his arms around them with a grin and sang in a deep harmonious voice.

“I’ve granted wishes for tyrants and lazy bums.

Never able to make my own wish.”

Sally walked forward to her husband while pulling her husband onto the stage and singing.

“I’ve performed and pursued my dreams,

Now I have the love of my life with me.”

All four of them came together and sang harmoniously together as the jazzy music filled with trumpets and violins started to pick up more.

“Oh, but I’ve never felt this feeling, this feeling.

Oh, I feel alive, alive.

And I don’t want this feeling to end.”

King Dice finally stepped forward, taking the spotlight to sing his final chorus as the music started to soften up.

“Don’t bet on what the days will bring.

It will be a losing battle.

Let the night last long, my friends.

For tomorrow is coming soon.”

The song ended while the gnomes were clapping ecstatically, hollering and whistling.

Everyone laughed from the good time as Chalice and Canteen looked at each other and held hands.

“Now where did you learn to play the violin?” Chalice asked with a blush.

Canteen shrugged. “It’s…a long story.”

“Well, you can tell me another time if ya want.”

“That actually sounds nice.” They tightened their grip of each other’s hands.

Mugman and Cassidy exchanged looks of euphoria and smiles. She cupped his face and gave his big blue nose a few licks.

He giggled. “Hehehe, Cassi. That tickles.”

She purred while rubbing her head against his.

Porkrind softened his gaze at Dice, who was just socializing with the others. The one-eyed pig felt his heart thumping against his chest when Dice looked to notice Porkrind in the crowd and gave a flirty smirk.

The pig grumbled and closed himself off a bit.

Jerry noticed this and chuckled with a blush. “Boy, he can really sing, can he?”

“I’m not even going to look at him. I’m not even going to look at him,” Porkrind grumbled that to himself, earning giggles from Jerry.

Meanwhile, Cuphead watched everyone laughing and talking to each other. He looked up to find Natalie chuckling with Brineybeard and Aurora. His face went red at the sight of her, and his heart turned to mush at the sight of her.

For the rest of the evening, everyone celebrated for the place to live in a wonderful place where they have food, water, and shelter.

To Be Continued...

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