Mugman woke up about an hour after his family left on their excursion. He sleepily turned over his head to see the vile of Miracle Heal and the note under it. Mug went to sit up when he felt a twinge of pain around the underside of his cup. He winced and placed a hand on one of the bruising spots. Without another thought, he picked up the bottle of Miracle Heal and took a big swig of it. Mugman then took the piece of paper in his hand.

"Went out to talk to Forkington. Hope to be back soon." Cuphead had written. "P.S. Elder Kettle is supposed to give us answers tonight… It's about damn time!"

Yeah. I hear that. Mug thought as he rubbed along his black and blue cup. His glass body stretched before getting out of bed. He slowly got dressed as he struggled to decide what he was going to do while his family was gone.

Maybe I'll make myself useful and do some cleaning. He thought.

So Mugman proceeded to grab a feather duster and a wet rag. After wiping down the bathrooms with the wet rag, he proceeded to dust all the rooms starting with his and traveling across the house. Eventually he ended up in Elder Kettle's bedroom.

That sure must be a kick in the teeth to be left behind. The demon commented while the child began to dust the final room. We should teach that kettle a lesson!

"There's nothing we can do if he's scared of me. 'Teaching him a lesson' would only make him even more distant from us." Mug explained.

Fine by me. It scoffed. You should be mad, too. If he was as loyal as you say he used to be, his change should have affected you greatly. Especially when he gives Cuphead such attention.

"Don't remind me!" The mug child snapped. "The last thing I need is to be jealous of Cuphead and end up getting mad at him too." He then moved over to his guardian's closet. Opening the door caused a wave of dust to waft in Mugman's face. He desperately waved his hands and duster around to get it away while he coughed.

"When was the last time he came in here? It's like this place hasn't been touched in months…"

Mug proceeded to lean against the wall and reach up as high as he could to reach his grandpa's coat hangers. With one hand on the dusty wall, he hoisted himself onto his toes. He began to dust off the aged metal when he heard the wall creak. The demon felt more than just the creak and realized that the wall had started to move against the child's weight.

Mugman, get back! He hollered and pulled his host's body away from the wooden wall. The parasitic creature pulled the mug back just in time to witness a door-shaped piece of wood fall forward and crash down loudly as it made multiple noises. It sounded as if it were falling down a flight of stairs. The clattering stopped as the square piece reached the bottom. Mugman stared wide-eyed at the black hole that appeared before him. His jaw dropped open in utter shock at the thought that he could have painfully gone down with it. But then he wondered what on earth could be down there.

"What in the world?" Mug gasped. "Do we have a basement? I didn't know that…."

A secret passageway in the kettle's closet? We should investigate!

"Yeah. Who knows what Elder Kettle has down there?"

Perhaps it could shed some light on what is going on with all these assassination attempts. Even the demon sounded excited to stumble upon something that had been kept secret for at least twelve years. Mugman had never known about this basement for as long as he lived. And Cuphead most likely didn't know either.

Mug gazed down the dark passageway. It was so black that he could not tell how far down it went. He streaked back to his room to grab a flashlight and raced across the house in anticipation for what he would find down there. Mugman wondered if he should tell Elder Kettle about finding his secret basement. But he decided that would ultimately have to depend on what he found down there. The mug clicked on the flashlight and inspected the old stairs before attempting to step on them. They were old and dusty just like the closet. Mug gently put one foot down on the first step. He tried putting more weight on it before trusting it completely. It creaked loudly but did not seem to budge.

It's okay. The demon assured him. They look scary but are still firmly nailed in place.

"Thanks." Mugman sighed in relief. His glass body still warily checked each step before proceeding further into the dark hallway. Each step creaked just as loudly as the last. It was slow going down the single flight of stairs that the demon started to get a bit annoyed at his overly cautious nature. But perhaps that was just curiosity getting the best of him. Both mug and demon were bursting at the seams for potential answers to their many questions.

At the bottom, the wooden staircase opened up into a room that was made from concrete. An old-fashioned light switch sat on the wall next to the stairs. It was so big that it looked like a lever from a mad scientist's lab. Mug put down the flashlight and used both of his small hands to heave the thing upward. The lever made a big click that was followed by a whirring sound of electricity being generated. Mugman watched as a multitude of lights illuminated the room. Large wires had been attached to the walls that led to each and every one of the lightbulbs that hung down from the ceiling on strings.

The young mug took in the sight of the many artifacts that littered the room. There were items of every shape and color you could think of.

"Whoa!" He gasped. Weapons and relics from around the world were neatly displayed in cases or hanging from the walls. Forgetting about the flashlight that was still turned on near his feet, the mug child dashed forward to inspect each and every one of the artifacts.

"Wow! The belt of Master Zin!" Mug stopped in front of a case that held a bronze belt that had a multitude of pockets and holsters all around it. His gloved hands and nose pressed against the glass.

Who? The demon wondered.

"Master Zin! In school we learned that he single handedly defeated a whole army of cat ninjas with only his wits and the one remaining item in his belt, which was a pocket knife!" Mugman beamed, completely in awe of Elder Kettle's collection.

But why would the kettle-?

"No way!" Mug interrupted him and raced to a different glass case. "The jewel of the alpines!" Before the little mug was a large and icy blue diamond-like jewel. Small clouds of cold mist still fluttered around its edges and to its pedestal where there was a layer of ice.

And why is this one so special? The parasitic creature questioned, knowing that the child would give an explanation.

"It supposedly belonged to the king of the yetis and would freeze anything it came in contact with unless it sensed someone worthy of wielding its power." Mug saw the thick layer of ice around the jewel as he explained this. How on earth would the elderly kettle have gotten it into there without it freezing everything?

"Wait a minute…. Does that mean Elder Kettle was worthy of touching it?"

The demon just gave a silent shrug.

"How else would he have gotten it into there?"

My question is, how did he come across any of this? It's not like one could find these things just lying around…

Mugman was about to admire even more of the relics when he saw the largest glass case in the room. Inside it was a suit of armor in the shape of a kettle. It was even melded so that his spout and handle were protected. The child stood in awe for a moment before asking himself yet another question.

"Was Elder Kettle a warrior?"

Mug's demon caught a glimpse of something in the container next to it, which was almost just as big.

If that one's your kettle, then who's the other one? It turned the little mug's body to face yet another suit of armor that was human-like in stature.

Looks about the kettle's height but much skinnier. The parasitic creature noted. Mugman and his guest studied the second suit that seemed to have even more rust on it than the kettle-shaped one. It also had many dents and bangs, making it almost look like it had been crumpled even worse and someone tried to buff it out again. Behind the two glass cases rested a large gleaming sword on two black hooks jutting from the wall.

"This must have been his sword." Mug said as his curious hands grasped the bronze hilt that looked like it had been meticulously carved by hand. The sharp and pointed end dropped to the ground like a rock when it had been released from its perch. Mugman gasped as he lost control of it and could only watch as it clanged to the concrete floor, creating vibrations that shook his whole body.

"Boy, it sure is heavy…." He commented as his glass body stopped jittering. Mug looked between the heavy weapon and its post that was designed to hold it up. The child wondered how on earth he was going to get it back up if he couldn't even lift the thing.

Let a professional handle this! The demon boasted and sent extra strength to the mug's arms. With the help of the dark creature, they were able to lift the sword back to its post. Mug turned around and began to take another walk through the mini museum of treasures. He looked back and forth, still not believing his eyes.

"All this awesome stuff has been down here all this time and Elder Kettle never mentioned any of it…. But why?" Being a warrior and having a bunch of trophies seemed like something a person would want to share, not keep secret for the rest of his life. Mugman just couldn't understand why he would want to keep all of this hidden from his own family.

I'm no expert on the mental reasoning of mortals, but based on the little I've seen, it seems that they neglect to mention things they are ashamed of or have caused them grief. However, I see no evidence supporting either of these theories. What do you make of it, Mugman?

The mug child had stopped in front of a shelf with a golden dusty rim. Among all of the antiques littering its surface was a picture frame with wooden edges. The photo itself was densely covered in dust that made it look completely white. Something about it drew Mugman closer. He held his breath in anticipation of what he would find in this forbidden photograph. Picking it up with his gloved hands, he let go with one and smudged a fist across the glass to clean it off. What he saw made his heart lurch. A wave of grief washed over the young mug. In the photograph stood his entire family: he and Cuphead, Elder Kettle, and their parents. Cup and Mug's father was a cup like them and their mother was a teapot with a floral pattern on her glass skin. Both he and Cuphead were so young in that black and white photo.

Two gloved fingers slid across the figure of his mom and dad. How he longed to have them back. To feel they're loving embrace if only one more time. Tears started to stream down the little mug's face. If he thought about it hard enough, he could just remember how it felt to be surrounded by love and cherished for who he was without even having to try. Mug craved to have that unconditional love. The child realized that he and Cuphead had missed out on so much by not being raised by their parents.

This photo also made Mugman remember the day that his mom and dad were taken away from him. And how he had been too young to understand that the furry black creature meant danger. Mug knew if he had just stayed home like they said and not wandered away, it was likely that they could be alive and well to this very day. He remembered how he could only watch helplessly as the Devil had made the cliff crumble beneath his parents' feet. Mug would never forget that deafening shatter noise as his mom and dad hit the bottom and ultimately shattered into hundreds of pieces. That fateful event played over in his head as he stared at the aged photo. When he heard the shattering noise within his mind again, his heart nearly stopped. And then Mugman began to sob even louder. The little mug tenderly hugged the photograph to his chest. His eyes squeezed closed as he let himself slip into a well of sadness.

The demon had been taking in the child's emotions and thoughts as it attempted to understand why the mug reacted the way it did to this item.

So these are your….parents? It quietly asked.

Mug just nodded as the rivers still fell from his eyes.

And you are sad because they are gone? That they were maliciously killed by the Devil? And now you… miss them? The parasitic creature started to piece together Mugman's thought process. Mug just nodded again. He was at a loss for words at the moment.

I… think I am starting to understand.

"It's not fair…. " The young mug sobbed. "I'll never see them again. If only I hadn't-!"

Don't you start that again! That's what caused you to lose control in the first place! It snapped at him. But then the creature softened its tone. The first thing you need to do is stop blaming yourself. Only then will you find peace with what has happened.

The demon was being very wise and respective considering what its species was born to do. It knew it was breaking the demon code, but that didn't matter to him anymore. What he was learning in the real world meant more to him than all of his time spent in the depths of Hell.

"There is no peace in knowing that they're gone!" Mugman pouted back. The dark creature was a bit taken aback by the little mug's reaction.

….Not the reaction I expected from you. However, if you refuse to find peace, you can always seek revenge on who did it. It suggested.

"We already did that…. and it accomplished nothing. That's why it's so hard to cope with it." Mug explained as he finally started to end his sobbing.

Don't forget that we still need to figure out why he kept all this secret. The demon said, trying to change the subject. It then turned his body around to look for clues. Through the mug's watery eyes, he made out that there was a shelf crammed full of scrolls on the far-left wall.

Look over there! The kettle has a bunch of scrolls! I bet they can tell us something… It tried to sound enthusiastic for its host. Even more so besides the fact that it found looking at all this secret stuff fascinating himself.

With one final sniff and rub of his nose, Mugman slowly and reluctantly put the framed photo back on the shelf. He then shuffled his way over to the library of scrolls. A bit of writing was visible on each of the parchments. Mug realized that some of these were the very legends and myths that he had learned about in school. But then he saw a certain scribble that looked familiar.

"This one looks like Elder Kettle's writing!" He noted as his curious fingers plucked the scroll out of its sorted position. Mug started to unroll the secret parchment. What would this scroll say? Would it be like Kettle's diary? Expose the information they were looking for? Mug and the demon could only hope it would shed some light onto their current situation. The mug child began to read the text, starting with its title: "My Great Adventures".

Dreams are something that every person young and old need to hold onto in their life. A dream was how it all started for us. I had always done well in school but felt that I had a higher calling in life than just going through my normal daily grind. I had never expressed this to my classmates. For I feared they would not understand. But then I met David. He was a young faun that always expressed his feelings. On his first day in class, I rescued him from a group of bullies. Everyone else looked at him differently because he was the only orphan in the class. I thought that was only a mere part of what made him special. Almost at once we had a connection. David and I did everything together.

"We should get out of this town and travel the world together!" He said to me. And I couldn't have agreed with him more. One of the teachers at the school heard us talking about traveling and doing epic things. Little did we know that he was also a master of many self-defense techniques such as karate and fencing. He knew there was plenty of dangerous people and challenges out in the vast world and agreed to teach us all that he knew. We even had a private training hollow near the top of Mt. Inkwell that overlooked the ocean.

"So that's how Elder Kettle knew about that spot in the mountains!" Mug commented. "That was his training ground when he was young!"

Upon completion of our training, David and I set out across the world. We met so many people along the way. Some nice, and some not so much. But our goal was to help those in need. Throughout our travels, we picked up many a treasure. We even got ourselves suits of armor and customized weapons in a kingdom within the middle east.

Mugman glanced back at the warrior suits before continuing on.

One of my personal favorite souvenirs was the belt of Master Zin. He granted us that belt after saving him from the last remaining cat ninja that waited to strike when he was retired and unable to fight like he used to. David, on the other hand, fancied that jewel we got from the yetis. The yeti king said that David supposedly held the jewel for a few seconds when protecting it from the dreaded lava worm and did not freeze. I didn't see this myself, but he claims it is the truth.

Look, as much as this is interesting and all, perhaps we should skip ahead and attempt to find what we're looking for. The demon commented, getting a bit impatient with the scroll that just seemed to keep unraveling.

"It seems we're close to the end now." Mugman said as he started to scan the text.

Our last adventure took us to a town on the opposite end of the earth where we found….

The young mug did a double take. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The scroll had been ripped and the ending gone. There was even a clear tear in the last sentence that was still there. It looked like Elder Kettle had torn that last bit out and did something with it.

"No! No!" He cried as he was robbed of his answers once more. Mug was unsure if his guardian would've thrown it away or hid it elsewhere. Looking around for it would certainly take too long and even run them into a dead end since they had no leads on where the missing piece could possibly be.

Again? The parasitic creature growled. He's going to have to give us answers now!

"I think I know what to do!" Mugman said as he rolled up the scroll and stuck it back in the shelf, not paying attention to where he actually put it. Most likely not in the same place in which he got it. "We'll take something to him so he knows-!" Mug cut off as he nearly passed by the shelf with the family photo. He stared at it again, forgetting what he was doing. The demon realized this and got his attention.

Ahem! You were saying?

"Oh! Sorry. I was saying we should take something so he knows that we've been down here." He then started to move toward the photo. The little mug carefully took the fragile and aged picture out of its frame. Mugman fingered it and ultimately turned it around to find someone's writing on it.

To my wonderful father and loving husband that have made my life such a joy and who've been there for me every step of the way. And to my little boys Cuphead and Mugman. I only wish you both the very best, to be happy wherever life takes you and always remember that I love you very much.

Mug teared up a bit when he read this. He wiped away a couple of tears before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing with the photo. Mugman shook his head in an attempt to focus himself. He then took off at a sprint and made his way back up the flight of stairs, not nearly being as careful as he was coming down. The young mug pushed the thought of the photo out of mind for the time being. Instead, he tried to imagine how Elder Kettle would react to the picture and when he found out that his secret basement wasn't so secret anymore. Closing the front door behind him, Mug made a bee-line for the opposite side of the island. He stopped to catch his breath when he hit the edge of the forest that separated the middle section from the west end of the island. As luck would have it, Mugman noticed his guardian in the center of town following Cuphead and Spoonfred around. The mug child poked his head out from behind a tree and called out to his grandpa in a hushed voice.

"Psst! Elder Kettle!" Kettle turned and saw his other boy waving at him. "Over here!" The kettle looked a little hesitant to go to him. But then he looked back to the other cup and the young spoon. Mugman deserved to know the good news about Spoonfred, he realized. So he put a smile on his face and went over to the little mug.

"Good news, Mugman!" He beamed. "Spoonfred has been freed from his father's influence!" Mug was bursting with excitement by now to finally have answers within his grasp. The news about his spoon friend only added to his high hopes for information.

"That's great!" He heartily replied. Kettle noticed the piece of paper in his grandson's hand.

"What have you got there, lad?" The elderly person inquired.