Mugman sat calmly within the bushes. He spent his time star gazing, counting so many before he wondered if he had already counted the one he was looking at. They were out past curfew for sure now. Would Elder Kettle come looking for them? Certainly, he would. But would he know where to go? It seemed so far from his home island that the chances of their guardian finding them seemed slim. It would be up to the boys to help Chalice and get home. The Devil should have been on his way soon as well. Perhaps they weren't totally alone. A spark of hope grew in Mugman's chest.
Tsundere stared up at the sky too. He wondered what could possibly be out there. How far did it go? Perhaps he would have a chance to see the world past Inkwell yet. The stars reminded him of a resident of Inkwell that had helped them in the past and seemed to care for them. Hilda Berg had always been fascinated with the stars. She had traveled out there one time, he had sensed. Out past where one could see from earth, that is. What was she doing now? His thoughts started to form into real words in the young mug's mind.
Do you think that female – Hilda – can sense when we're staring up at the night sky?
Why do you ask that? You starting to be a softie for her? Mug teased him.
No! The parasite snapped. I just wonder if she could ever send us a sign through the stars. Like to tell us that help was coming.
So out of all the people we know, you would want Hilda to help us first?
M-maybe....I just... He stuttered, not sure why he felt that he wanted her help.
You would want her over the Devil?
W-well...
Or even Cuphead?
Okay, okay, let's not get too technical! It just depends on the situation, all right?
Okay, tough guy. Mug still teased him.
And don't you forget it. The blue mug's arm twitched as Tsundere weakly nudged it.
Just as they were having a moment together, the ground began to rumble. It was as if something heavy was knocking on the other side of the ground. Mug's body jolted like somebody had jump-scared him.
"What was that?" He quietly asked and poked his head over the bush. The circular portal near the gravestones was beginning to open. Its blue rim pulsed with each rumble, growing wider. Eventually, the red demon's arm punched out and fell loudly to the earth. Its sound made the creature seem much larger than he actually was....at least at the moment. Tanuki dragged his skinny body out of the portal and stood up tall. Mugman retreated halfway back into the bushes to make sure he was not seen. But the demon was too busy taking in the fresh air to notice the child spying on him. It took in a deep breath through the nose.
"Finally! I'm free! Time to go find my slave..." The hairy demon bellowed in utter joy. Tanuki began to elongate his body even more, transforming himself into a furry, multi-legged dragon and took to the sky. He was gone within a couple seconds of the transformation.
"Please hurry, Cuphead. He's coming..." Mugman quietly said to the empty grave site. Poor Mug felt bad about just sitting there and letting the demon escape into the world. But they needed to rest for now if they hoped to be of help later on.
A few minutes passed by as the duo sat in silence. Instead of peaceful thoughts, their minds were now flooded with awful ideas of what Tanuki would do to Chalice and the rest of the island. No doubt he would move along to the other Inkwell isles if he was not stopped.
The sound of the wildlife seemed to quiet down after Tanuki had made his presence known. Even those small little animals – such as crickets and birds – could tell when there was a threat around. Their chirps told one another to be quiet and lay low until the predator had left the area.
A rustle came from a nearby bush. One would have thought another demon was knocking on a portal door the way Mug almost jumped out of his porcelain skin. And it very well could have been Tanuki coming back to finish the job while they were weak. Instead something small jumped out of the brush and landed close to his feet. It made a small trilling sound as big emerald green eyes stared at him. There stood his golden cat friend, Kiki. Her tail slowly teetered to the side. What was she doing here? How did she get here? And then came along another familiar face.
"Mugman, there you are! We've been looking all over for you." Spoonfred beamed as he revealed himself.
"Kiki? Spoonfred? What are you two doing here?" Mug immediately asked.
"Oh, you know: I followed a cat onto a boat that seemed to be following you, found my father along the way, and saw your demon trapped by an insane chef. Looks like you got him out safe based on the trail." The young spoon explained in a casual manner. As if his big adventure had been no big deal.
"Yeah, he's back inside me and – wait, did you say trail?" Mugman's heart sank. They had not covered their tracks. Tsundere had been melting that sludge all the while they were running away.
"Yeah. Kiki and I found some of that black goop that was coming off him and followed it here." Spoonfred explained.
"But if you found and followed it, then that means.... Chef Saltbaker won't be far behind." Both the young mug and the demon said that last part together.
"Then we've got to move you to a new hiding place – and fast!" The utensil announced.
"I'm afraid you're too late for that, children." Came Saltbaker's voice as he made his presence known. He emerged from the same direction that Spoonfred did. For the salt shaker was still holding that glittering butcher's knife. The young spoon jumped back in alarm and the cat began to raise the fur on her back.
"I will be putting both you and demon in the jar this time." He advanced forward with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Run away, Mugman! We'll hold him off." Spoonfred stepped between the mug child and the chef. Mug took a few seconds to stand up. His movements were shaky and slow. The blue mug made his best attempt to run away, but his legs collapsed under him, sending the child back to the ground.
We have to run and get away from him! Mug urged Tsundere.
I don't have the strength to run right now, Mugman. The parasite told him.
So what, you're just going to let him catch us now? He spat back, getting scared and frantic. Mugman was more scared for his demon than he was for himself. For he knew the chef wanted the demon for his attempts to understand the astral plane. And he wouldn't care if he killed the parasite in the process. Tsundere would definitely not survive another separation if that happened.
It's not like I want him to catch us! The demon argued.
Spoonfred attempted to confront the salt shaker. His sterling silver body shivered in fear as he realized what he had just volunteered for.
"Y-you'll have to go through me first! P-put 'em up!" The utensil stuttered as his little fists came up. Spoonfred was expecting to block than to throw a punch at this moment. Saltbaker, on the other hand, laughed as if he were amused by the young spoon.
"Sorry about this kid. It's nothing personal." The adult said and proceeded to push the boy out of the way. Not in a hurting way though. Just enough to knock the child to the ground. Mugman felt the chef grab his leg and started to drag him back. The young mug did his best to lash out at his attacker. He was able to land a kick to the salt shaker's face. Even though it was weak, it still managed to make a crack on Saltbaker's nose. The chef removed his hand from the mug child's leg and rubbed his glass nose for a second.
"Mugman!" Spoonfred cried and rushed to his side. It was just in time for the chef to raise his blade high above his head. The boys cringed as it started to come down. They closed their eyes and braced for the worst. Kiki jumped between the boys and their attacker. She planted her paws firmly on the ground and opened her eyes wide. Saltbaker saw a flash in her eyes. Mugman and Spoonfred realized the sharp pain of the knife never came. The duo opened their eyes to find that the chef was frozen in place.
"He's....frozen?" Mug said in complete bewilderment. The feline chirped and flicked her tail in satisfaction. Saltbaker's eyes opened and his fingers began to wiggle a bit.
"Ahh, not for long!" Spoonfred shrieked and helped Mugman up. "Let's get out of here!" The young mug's arm draped over the utensil's shoulders as he supported Mug's weight. They attempted to flee the scene as fast as they could in this restricted movement pattern. The young spoon headed for the dock, hoping to get Mugman off the island and away from the chef that wanted to do bad things to him.
The spoon and the mug approached the man they knew had a boat. Kiki trailed behind them, seeming a bit distracted. Her gaze whipped around, being alert to every little sound in the area. They were out in the open as they traversed the town square. It was the only way to reach the docks. None of them liked the atmosphere. It was as if something bad could happen at any moment. The seaman watched as the children approached. He did not have the usual bored or sleepy look on his face right now.
"Hold up there." He said and put up a hand. "I can't let the mug kid leave." The boys stopped on the spot upon the ferry man's bluntness.
"What? Why?" The spoon spat back.
"Chef Saltbaker said that he wouldn't make me my favorite lemon cookies anymore if I did." The directional needle on his face seemed to droop a little in disappointment.
"Forget about the damn cookies! Mugman's life is on the line!" Spoonfred yelled at him.
"Please let me through....or your next cookies will be served in a sliver mug." Mug told him. The utensil was about to ignore the seaman and get his friend on the boat. They began to shuffle forward to see if the ferry man would actually do anything about it. The wooden oar extended in front of them, blocking their path.
"The spoon boy is allowed to leave, but not you." He addressed the mug child. So Mug turned toward the spoon and told him to leave.
"I'll stay here and find another hiding place while you go get help." The blue mug urged him.
"What? No! I'm not leaving you here with that maniac on the loose!" Spoonfred argued back.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He tried to assure the utensil. His mug then turned to address the seaman. "You'll take him to the main Inkwell Isle, right?"
"I swear on my oar that the spoon will get home safely." The adult nodded. He kept a wary eye on Mugman as the two boys separated. Spoonfred still did not want to leave. For he worried greatly for Mug being on his own. The young mug wobbled a bit but stayed standing as his support left him. Mugman watched as the compass man backed away toward his boat, still not taking his eyes off the child. For he wanted to be sure that the mug would not try to make a break for it once he turned his back. Little did he know that Mugman couldn't do that even if he wanted. When he was certain that the mug child would not make a dash, he turned to get into the boat. His body seemed to bounce off of something invisible that kept him from stepping foot off the dock. The cloaked body fell back onto its rump.
"What in the world? Did he just walk into some sort of barrier?" Spoonfred wondered. The utensil wandered to the other side of the dock and slowly reached out his hand. Sure enough, he felt a wall. It seemed to pulse a little under his touch, like someone had just disturbed a patch of water. The ripples where the compass man had walked into barely became visible to the naked eye. It took a few seconds for the barrier to calm down. "There's some sort of magic creating an invisible wall..." The young spoon concluded.
"It's a curse..." Mugman realized, averting his gaze.
"A curse?" Spoonfred inquired, quickly pulling his hand away from it. He dusted his hand off on his clothes as if it were contagious.
"There was a demon on this island. My friend – Ms. Chalice – she made a deal with him to get Tsundere back inside me. This must be his doing – to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the island until he finds her."
"Dang, he seems pretty serious..." The utensil said in awe. It certainly went through a lot of trouble to ensure the girl did not escape him for too long.
"And dangerous." Mug added.
"Danger!" Spoonfred yelled and pointed behind Mugman. A growl began to grow in Kiki's throat as the chef stumbled his way across the empty town. His movements were still rather stiff and jerky from the paralysis. Mug knew he couldn't run away. In fact, he didn't want to run anymore. It was time to face this man. The young mug put on his brave expression and pointed a finger at him.
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" The mug child threatened him. Saltbaker paused for a moment as if considering this a predicament. The chef's yellow eyes could see that Mugman was still visibly shaking from the lack of energy. This confirmed to him that the boy could not cause any serious damage at the moment. The salt shaker started forward again. Mug began to charge a blue pulse of energy at his fingertip.
Wait, Mugman! Don't – His demon tried to warn him. But it was too late. The partially charged energy exploded in his face, knocking him off his feet.
"Mugman!" Spoonfred cried and picked up the wooden oar that the captain had dropped when bouncing off the barrier.
"Hey, that's mine!" The ferry man said. But the spoon completely ignored him.
"Leave him alone!" The utensil yelled at the chef and brought down the oar on the man's head. A solid clonk sounded as Saltbaker reached up to rub his head. The salt shaker grabbed at the paddle and tried to yank it from the child's grip. Spoonfred wasn't letting go. Saltbaker then pushed it instead of pulling, sending the narrow end of the oar into the utensil's gut.
"Oof!" The young spoon cried as his sterling silver body was forced to the ground. Now having both the paddle and his knife, Saltbaker posed a real threat to everyone around. Kiki rushed forward with a growl in her throat. She went to lunge at the crazed chef with her fangs bared and claws out. The salt shaker's body language told her that he was going to attack with the knife instead of the oar. The feline had to change her angle at the last second as her paws left the ground. Had she kept going on her planned course, her whiskers would have gotten cut off. The weapon careened above her. Saltbaker used the blunt end of his butcher's knife to knock the cat between the shoulder blades. Kiki yowled in pain as her slender figure crashed to the ground, and certainly not on her feet. Spoonfred gasped and ran to her side. He scooped her up in his arms.
Mugman began to stir when the chef advanced on him. The mug child looked up and met his gaze only to be met with the wooden oar to his head. Saltbaker huffed in satisfaction as the young mug fell unconscious. He threw the oar to the ground, landing about halfway back to the ferry man, who scrambled to pick it up. The salt shaker reached down and picked up Mug, slinging the boy over his shoulder. The mug's head angled downward, dripping that white liquid on the ground. Saltbaker turned to head back to his bakery when the spoon rushed over to pester him.
"No! Let him go! Let him go!" Spoonfred bawled as he tugged on the chef's white clothes with one hand. Kiki still hung limp in his other arm.
"This doesn't concern you. You should go back to where you came from, kid – er, Spoonfred, was it?" The salt shaker told the utensil. But his tone did not sound mean. Almost as if he were making an effort to be polite in his words to the young spoon.
"No way! If you're taking him, then you'll have to take us, too!" Spoonfred asserted.
"Ugh, fine." Saltbaker sighed. He slid the butcher knife into a sheath that was tied to a makeshift belt made from a piece of red cloth. "Come on, then." The chef grabbed the child's arm and dragged him along. "Just do as I say and don't run off. Got it?" The spoon nervously nodded. Saltbaker led the friends back to his bakery. The liquid in Mug's head continued to drip out along the way, creating a trail for anyone looking for them.
Spoonfred nervously looked around as he was dragged into the bakery and back down to that dungeon-like level. They entered into the backroom where Saltbaker stored the rest of his stuff in a supermarket style. Dragging them back to the spices aisle, the chef still had some large jars that were big enough to hold a couple children and their cat. The utensil heard a muffled noise and shifted his gaze to the very back of the room. At the back sat his dad who was still tied to the wooden chair and his mouth taped shut. Both utensils saw each other.
"Father!" The young spoon cried and tried to run over to him. Saltbaker quickly caught him by the arm again before he got too far.
"Hey, I thought I said no running off!" The salt shaker snapped at him.
"Why is he tied up like that?" Spoonfred asked, tears welling up in his eyes and threatening a flood.
"Because he helped the mug escape with his demon, that's why!" Saltbaker retorted. "You're going into the jar, too. That way you can't cause any trouble." The little utensil struggled against the adult that pulled him back and went to pick him up. Forkington tried once again to fight the binds at the sight of his son being man handled. But neither utensil had success in their goals; the fork stayed put on the chair and the spoon was plopped into the jar with Mugman. "I suggest you stay quiet to avoid waking the demon." Saltbaker said as he screwed on the holed top of the jar. Spoonfred cradled the feline in his arms as the maniac chef walked away to prepare some sort of horrible procedure to do to his mug friend. Now how would they get out of the jar and away from the chef?