One Hell Of A Family

II - Dust

"Bring him to me." The Devil's furry disappeared at the sight of a skeleton looking at their hands, their eye sockets wide in horror at the power that they apparently didn't know how to control. The skeleton child had dozens of glowing web-like strings holding over half of the casino's patrons and employees in mid-air with them. Dozens of papers were held in front of them. It was only when the Devil glanced at the closest one did he notice that it was, in fact, a Soul Contract. Did this upset the Devil? No, it gave him time to reread their contracts and see which ones had already signed away their soul. However, what did make him mad was how the shaking skeleton next to him just stood there. They had a panicked look on their skull as they glance around the room. No one had this power, skeletons don't have magic, and that terrified them. Even when the Devil glared down at the smaller creature, they didn't move. This confused the Devil. Very rarely did someone does not do as he asked. King Dice was the only one that he ever let get away with it.

Grumbling to himself, the Devil shot a hateful glance at the much smaller skeleton before starting his way to the one with black bones. Only to stop about three-fourths of the way across the room when a loud snap sounded through the room, making everyone freeze. Slowly a look of confused horror crossed the Devil's face as their gaze turned to his cloven feet. Or, more specifically, the red shards of the now broken bone that he had stepped on.

"The Hell?" The Devil glanced from one skeleton to the other. If it were even possible, the skeletal servent looked like they were about to throw up as the Devil slowly moved his foot. Little slivers of red fell from his hooves; the red slivers turned to ash before they even hit the ground. They looked like they were ready to puke, and the other- as far as he could tell- on the verge of a panic attack. More so now that they were the center of attention. Yet, when the child's eyes landed on the Devil, they seemed to calm down almost instantly. It was as if they knew his or somehow sensed something familiar about the demon.

Within seconds the Devil had a skeletal child wrapped around his waist, crying into his fur. The child shuddered as his whispered apologies and begged for forgiveness. The Devil stood there speechless as the strings wrapped around the Soul Contract started to loosen, and the victims drop to the ground. The child whimpered as some of the Item people that had been strung up, let out pained yelps. The Devil glanced down at the skeleton with a confused look before turning and telling the other to go fetch his King Dice with a deep sigh. If he was going to deal with this, he needed his right-hand man- his husband- for support.

"Daddy?" The Devil's eyes widened as his son just ran into the room and right up to him and the injured skeleton. It was only then that he noticed that both the floor and his fur were covered in a lair of grey dust. Cuphead just stared at the skeleton hanging on his father. His head cocked to one side as the skeleton watched his every move in fear. Almost as if he was going to be attacked by the five-year-old at any moment. "... Who are you?"

"1'm... My nam3 1s... 1 d0n't- 1 can't r3m3mb3r!" The child's multi-colored hands released their hold on the Devil's fur as King Dice scrambled into the room. Watching in horror as the skeletal child started scratching at what looked to be the oldest and deepest crack in the black bone of their skull. A confused look spread over everyone's face. Fear had seemed to consume the skeleton. They pulled chips off their skull, the small pieces of bone turning to dust before they hit the ground. King Dice stopped in his tracks at the sight of a child skeleton harming themself as his own husband tried to comfort them. Dice glanced at Cups to see an equally confused look on his son's face. Someone had done something to this child and had taken it too far. Their broken, chipped bones told the unspoken story that the child's memory couldn't or wouldn't remember. Dice couldn't stand there just staring at his lover and the child any longer. His paternal instincts told him to take the child and hold them as long as he could. And he did; King Dice pulled the child into his arms, holding them to his chest as he glanced up at the Devil with pleading eyes. Dice didn't even need to ask, and the Devil knew that they had just acquired a new child. The Devil let out a breath as he held out his arm for Cups, who ran right to him.

"Shhh, it's alright. We've got you now. No one's going to hurt you anymore." The skeleton looked up at the dice-headed man with a scared look on their skull. There were small voices in his head telling him that something was wrong. Where the voices came from eluded him, but they helped voice what he wouldn't dare to on his own.

'I'm scared.'

'Should we trust him?'

'You mean them?'

'Yes? To trust, them I mean.'

"1..." The skeleton thought for a moment. Was he a single person? Some voices seemed to have personalities of their own. Was that even normal? Neither he nor the voices had an answer for that. More tears fell from the child's eye sockets, and he held the dice-headed man tighter. "Thank y0u, m1st3r."

"Call me Dice, the furry man behind you is the Devil," Dice pointed to his husband, and the child's eyes stopped watering as the Devil put a clawed hand on his skull in a familiar manner. It made him flinch, but it was comforting just as much as it scared him. When the paw pulled away, the skeleton followed Dice's hand as it gestured for the other child to come over to them. "and this is our oldest son Cuphead. Our youngest is named Mugman, but he's still sleeping."

"Sl33p1ng?"