Exception of the mysterious person (whose name will be revealed in later chapters, every character belongs to the cuphead franchise, which belongs to Studio MDHR.

Other things to note:

The series is taken place in the modern day era, meaning there's modern tech like smart phones, but past tech is still used, just more updated to a degree. Also the islanders aren't tech addicts like how most people are ^_^; lol.

Ms. Chalice is not only going to be called Miss Chalice, but she's also going to be Cuphead's younger sister, and Mugman's big sister (Middle child and triplet ya'll.)

The Devil isn't really the devil, but rather a monsterous looking wizard who uses dark magic, and is called Mr. Scratch (Though because of his supernatural powers and etc. one of his nicknames is the Devil/Casino devil)

Also try and find a few references in this ;)

Big Shout out to Inkwell-Intrigues for the advice given to me for this chapter. You rock!


A warm breeze drifted through the lush green trees within the woods. The crickets chirped as fireflies danced alongside their melody under the starry sky. For the adults on the Inkwell Isles, a typical summer night, but for the children, quite the opposite. Today was the first day of summer vacation, and none more excited than the Cup siblings – Cuphead, Miss Chalice, and Mugman.

For all their hard work at school, the triplets wanted their first day to start with a bang! The cups spent their first day hanging out with friends, wandering the woods, catching insects, playing board games with Elder Kettle, and ending it by binge-watching a point where they would stay up late. Since it was summer vacation, Elder Kettle allowed it. He knew they'd eventually fall asleep during another movie or get tired and go to bed, as long as they cleaned up after themselves.

Within the middle of the third or fourth movie, the triplets begin the nod off one by one. During the first 15 - 20 minutes, Mugman fell asleep first, then halfway through the film, Miss Chalice dozed off, and at the end of the credits, Cuphead started to feel exhausted. The boy glanced at his little brother resting peacefully on his lap while his little sister's head lay on his shoulder. Too tired and too lazy to move his siblings, Cuphead turned off the tv and closed his eyes. He wasn't too worried about the drink cups, popcorn bowls, plates with pizza crust, or the box on the ground. As long as the three had it cleaned up, they wouldn't be in too much trouble for not picking it up the night before.

Unknown to the trio, a threat lurked around the corner of their home. The person had been observing the family for some time now, wanting to get as much intel they could to find the perfect moment to strike, and their patience paid off. The Kettle, once a daring soldier, now retired, would retire to bed at a specific time each night and a heavy sleeper at that. Not much could wake him, not even three rowdy children, who currently slept in the living room from watching movies on the tele. This gave the fellow the perfect opportunity to strike.

Picking the backdoor, they snuck in through the kitchen, quietly to not awaken the occupants as they reached the living room. The figure crept slowly towards the sleeping children, doing their best not to wake them up, not that they were worried anyway. They slightly smirked at the picture-perfect image of peace as the kids slept – oblivious to the danger they were in. Cuphead shifted slightly in his sleep. It wasn't uncommon for him to occasionally wake up in the middle of the night for a moment and then go back to sleep, but something in the back of his head told him something was wrong. The young cup tiredly lifted his heavy eyes as a shadow blanketed him and his sleeping siblings. The cup barely had any time to react as his vision once again had been clouded by darkness.


He rushed down the corridor at lightning speed, fearing the worse would happen. The soldier breathed as he kept an ear out for footsteps. He lost radio contact with seven members of his platoon. Against orders, Kettle decided to head towards their location, hoping to save them.

It was a risk, and his commander was far from pleased by the disobedience, but the soldier didn't care. He wanted to save his friends. His comrades. His siblings at arms. Nothing was going to get in the way. That is until he heard gunshots firing his way; the young man drew his sword, ready to block and defend if necessary. However, nothing prepared him for the sight he would behold upon entering the final chamber.

Right in front of him, a sight nobody should ever see. The room was in disarray; tables, shelves, and anything else heavy was either broken or flipped over. Fragile items like vases and tapestries were torn, broken, and scattered all over the ground. However, the true horror was splattered all over the walls and seeping on the floor – blood. The source nearly made the young man's heart burst from his chest – six of his comrades all battered, stabbed, shot, and slain without mercy.

Nausea coursed through stomac as bile to rise in his throat. This couldn't be happening! It couldn't! It got difficult to control his breathing as he looked at the gruesome display. War or not, who could be this cruel!?

His thoughts were interrupted as a sharp pain coursed through him. It started on his back but soon pierced right through him. The man coughed and sputtered blood; he glanced down to see a sharp object sticking out of his chest. His hand wobbled as he reached out at the object, only for it to rip out of his chest, causing him to collapse. The last sound he heard, was a burst of menacing laughter as his world turned black.

...

"NO!"

Elder Kettle shot up out of bed, sweating. Another damn nightmare.

Elder Kettle had always been an early bird – a fact proven by many who knew him. Still, he never expected his nightmare to wake up between 2 - 3 am. He didn't sleep too well from then on. He only lay in bed, letting his thoughts drift to his military days, allowing himself to think a bit of the past. By the time he settled down, it was already 7:15 am – time for his routine.

The old man sighed as he walked down the stairs to the living room. When he arrived, he grumbled when he saw the kids' mess still scattered in the living room. Now, Kettle expected the living room to still be messy, but he had still hoped to see the triplets either still asleep or beginning to clean up.

"Darn kids . . . " He muttered before he Hollared "BOYS! MISS CHALICE! Get down here and clean up your mess!"

No answer.

"KIDS!"

Kettle griped as he walked back up the stairs. He still felt grumpy from the lack of sleep; he was not in the mood for the kids' disobedience. He marched up to Cuphead and Mugman's room to see if the three of them were there. Kettle knocked on the door.

"Boys! Wake up immediately! You have a living room to clean up, and if you're in there, Miss Chalice, you get up too!" Kettle commanded. He was met with silence, "Cuphead! Mugman!"

Frustration took over as he opened the door, only to see the room empty. Kettle scratched his head in confusion. Perhaps they went into Miss Chalice's room; the window in her room always gave the girl the best sight of the sunrise – maybe they went to watch it rise first before cleaning up the mess. That had to be it!

Kettle walked up to the girl's room and knocked on the door, "Lass! Are you kids in there!?" Still no answer, "Miss Chalice!" Kettle took a deep breath – as Miss Chalice is the only female in the house, Kettle greatly respected her privacy and never wanted to invade it. However, with nobody answering him, he decided to assert his authority as the girl's guardian by entering. Kettle opened the door, and to his surprise, the chalice wasn't in her room, and neither were the boys.

Kettle's eyebrows arched in confusion; he knew the kids were prone to sneaking off, but they never left this early.

"Maybe I should see if they left a note in the kitchen," he pondered as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen. When he got there, the retired veteran saw something that only furthered his anger – Not only was there no note, but the back door was wide open and unlocked.

"DANG IT KIDS!" Kettled snapped.

Reaching for the phone on the wall, the livid grandfather dialed his grandkids' cellphone number. He hoped whatever the three of them were doing, they BETTER have a good explanation for why they took off without telling him, didn't shut the door, and didn't clean up their mess from last night.

Ring. Ring – Ring. RIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG!

"Hello?" It was Cuphead's voice.

"Cuphead! Where are you, kids?" Kettle demanded.

"I can't hear you."

"I said, Where are you kids!" Kettle repeated himself feeling frustrated.

"Can you speak up?"

"I said Where-"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Fooled yah! This is a voicemail! Please leave a message and we'll get back to you after the beep . . . ready guys? BEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

"For the love of – " It was a prank voice mail. Kettle took a quick breath to calm himself down. Then sent his message, "It's me kids…REAL CUTE with the little prank voicemail." He said sarcastically, "But in all honesty, answer the phone or come home now!" Kettle hung up the phone in frustration before storming outside, shutting the door in the process.

"What the heck are those kids doing?" the man huffed, "Get it together Thomas," He scolded himself, "Whatever's going on, I'm sure the boys and the lass will tell you once they return. And if they don't wanna get grounded for the rest of the summer, it better be a good one."

Checking his watch, the time read 7:30. He would give them another half hour to an hour for the kids to return home. If not, he would call them again. In the meantime, he would try to relax a little by tending to his garden. Little did the man know a pair of eyes were watching him. Smirking darkly as the old man went to work in the yard. Completely unaware of the dangers that waited for him.


A few of the chapters may be up quicker, but I can't guarantee.