One afternoon, the cups were trying to get to the movies while trying to get Elder Kettle off their back since he has become a little too clingy lately. Meanwhile, Gwen was helping her mother prepare the baby shower for her Rose's baby at her house. There were games set up, a gift table, chairs, a table of food. After putting up the finishing touches, Gwen said,
"Well, I think that's everything."
"Thanks again sis." Said Rose as she held Gwen.
"I think the guests are arriving girls." Margarine said as she noticed people arriving.
The female guests enter Rose's house including Aunt Mildred and her daughters Hailey and Kailey. They begin eating food, play games until it was time for the gifts. Gwen got a clipboard to write down what gift Rose got and who it was from. Rose received gifts from baby bottles, diapers, baby clothes, blankets, toys and a baby bath.
After gifts, some of the guests started leaving the house. Edgar, Uncle George and William arrive home after having lunch together. Uncle George picks up Mildred and his daughters and leave. Edgar approaches Gwen and asked.
"So dear, how's the job hunt going?"
"Well, I applied for the editorial cartoonist job at this place called the Honeycomb Herald. The queen bee boss who runs the company said if I come up with a cartoon that'll impress her tomorrow, I'll be hired. My personal trainers Ribby and Croaks also approached me offering me a job at the Fly Trap since I was able to help them impress their customers and have their business invested." Gwen explained.
"Well, remember what I said. I'm glad to see you're happy and having fun in the Inkwell Isles, but you need to have some money coming in. Because wherever your future takes you, you need to be providing for yourself. You may not be living in that cottage forever." Edgar explained.
"I know papa, I just need to draw a cartoon to impress the queen bee. I can't decide which one though." Gwen said as she looked through some of her sketches in her sketchbook she bought from Porkrind.
"Well, you'll think of something dear." Margarine said as she was helping clean up.
"I hope you're right mama." Gwen said as she was clearing the dishes.
"Alright, I'm gonna head on home, Elder Kettle has been getting somewhat lonely lately he's been driving the guys away to the movies."
Gwen said as she grabbed her satchel. Gwen goes through the door portal and she enters the cottage. But to her shock, Elder Kettle was napping on his recliner with the Devil licking his hand like a cat and is wearing a pink bow on his head.
It was that moment her best friends enter the cottage and both noticed the Devil too. They all look at each other and they the trio all burst out laughing at the Devil. He gets furious at the cups and charges at them like a cat. The Devil chases the cups around the cottage on all fours, causing him to knock over and break a lamp and scratches the curtains in the process. Elder Kettle whacks the Devil with his broom and yelled,
"Bad! Bad kitty!"
The Devil hissed and leapt toward the cups. With quick thinking, Gwen uses the inkwell to make a squirt bottle appear and squirts the Devil.
"No! Bad kitty! Bad!"
Gwen yelled and punched him in the nose. The Devil tried to charge at the cups again until Mugman held out a blue ball of yarn, thus getting the Devil's attention. Cuphead hangs the ball of yarn and lets the Devil play with it. Gwen snickered and suddenly got an idea. She gets out her sketchbook and drew the Devil playing with the ball of yarn. Gwen tries to keep her laughter in as Cuphead asked,
"Aw, ain't he cute?"
Just then, their friend Ms. Chalice pokes her head through the front door and said,
"Heya, fellas! There's a double double feature playing at Inkwell Theater! You ding-dongs wanna go? You too girlfriend?"
"Hey, what do you know about that? Our lie came true!" Cuphead said excitedly.
"Cuphead!" Gwen scolded.
"Last one there buys the popcorn!" Ms. Chalice called.
Both boys cheered, grabbed Gwen's hands and were about to head out the door until Mugman said,
"Wait. We can't leave Elder Kettle with the Devil."
Gwen huddled with the cups and whispered,
"I would've thought Elder Kettle realized it was the Devil he brought home. Has he forgotten that he crashed Rose and William's wedding and tried to kidnap Hailey and Kailey until Elder Kettle saved them from falling? Then again, he is an old man."
The trio turned their attention back to Elder Kettle.
"Hey Kettle, how about you come with us to the picture show?" Cuphead asked.
Elder Kettle looked up as he was sweeping up the broken lamp.
"No, no. You three run along. I've gotta stay here and deal with this naughty thing." Elder Kettle said as he glared at the Devil playing with the ball of yarn.
Gwen stifled her laughter, got out her sketchbook and put the finishing touches on her sketch and put it back in her satchel. The cups looked at each other and both muttered,
"I dunno."
Afterwards, the cups grab Gwen's hands and ran off to the movies. Gwen looked at the sad goat. Gwen stopped for a moment and said,
"One sec guys."
Gwen walked up to the goat and asked,
"Aw buddy, why so blue?"
The goat bleated and looked at the window. Gwen realized he feels rejected by Elder Kettle. Gwen pets him and said,
"Aw, buddy. He's not really a cat, he's my worst enemy trying to marry me. Listen, when he's gone, you keep Elder Kettle company, okay?"
The goat's eyes popped and bleated happily and licked Gwen's face.
"Okay, okay buddy. I love you too." Gwen said as she wiped her face.
Gwen leaves with the cups and just passes Telephone selling brushes door-to-door and arrived at the movie theaters.
After the movies that night, Gwen and the cups return home and notice the Devil was gone and Elder Kettle was sleeping with the goat in his lap.
"Aww!" The trio said quietly.
They quietly go upstairs and straight to bed.
The next day, Gwen gets ready for the job interview and heads to downtown Inkwell City and to a company called Honeycomb Herald. Gwen is escorted to the boss's office by bee security guards. The inside of the building was a combination of a beehive and a workplace. They arrive outside the boss's office which spelled the name 'Rumor Honeybottoms'.
The guards open the door and lead Gwen inside the office.
"Excuse me boss? The human is here for the interview." One of the guards announced.
"Excellent! Send her in!" A female voice called.
Gwen sits down in front of the desk and a large queen bee turns around and looks down at Gwen.
"Good morning Mrs. Honeybottoms." Gwen nervously said with a smile.
"Good morning Miss Emmons. Welcome back for part two of your interview. Do you have your sketch ready?" Rumor asked her.
"Yes ma'am." Gwen said as she reached for her sketchbook and presented Rumor with the Devil-cat sketch. Rumor took one look at it and laughed hysterically. Gwen wasn't sure if she liked it or not and said,
"If you don't like it ma'am, I have other sketches I could show you."
Rumor catches her breath and said,
"Honey, I don't like it… I love it!"
Gwen's eyes popped and asked,
"Really ma'am? You mean it?"
"Of course sugar! That no-good Devil deserves to be a laughingstock for all the terrible things he's done to our beloved town! He even set my beloved hive on fire one day! It took us forever to rebuild! Can you believe that jerk?" Rumor explained frustratingly.
"Oh my! I'm sorry he did that to you ma'am." Gwen showed sympathy.
"Thanks sugar. Anyway, I look forward to having more humiliating cartoons of the Devil published and other brilliant ones you whip up. You're hired!" Rumor announced.
Gwen smiled and shook hands with Rumor Honeybottoms.
"Oh, thank you ma'am! You won't be disappointed! When do I start?"
"Orientation is Monday and then you'll begin work at your own desk first thing Tuesday morning." Rumor explained.
Later, Gwen returned home and announced to her two families that she got the job at the Honeycomb Herald with both families congratulating her.
Gwen worked at the Honeycomb Herald publishing cartoons for the newspaper. Gwen still balanced her time with her job and having adventures with her best friends while still being on her guard for the Devil.
After some time had passed, it was December and Gwen was taking some time off of work to spend Christmas with her two families. One morning, Gwen was helping Elder Kettle and the cups decorate the cottage while singing a song about a Christmas tree tradition they love doing together. Elder Kettle was about to send the boys and Gwen to Porkrind's to pick up a Christmas tree until Gwen remembered something.
"Elder Kettle? Did I tell you I talked to mama and papa earlier today?" Gwen asked.
"And?" Elder Kettle asked.
"They've decided they're coming here for Christmas this year." Gwen answered.
"Uh, you know dear, the cottage ain't big enough to house everyone, right?" Elder Kettle asked, expressing his concern.
"I know Elder Kettle, that's why I've decided to create a cabin for them to stay in close by in the woods. I can bring anything to life with my imagination, remember?" Gwen answered back.
"Oh yeah! That'll be fine dear, just help the boys pick a Christmas tree after you get your cozy cabin ready. It'll be our first Christmas with you since you became part of our family." Elder Kettle said with a smile.
Gwen smiled, since she figured he considered her a human granddaughter. Gwen and the boys leave into the forest to a clearing Gwen found earlier to set up the cabin.
"Okay guys, ready for a little magic?" Gwen asked holding up the ink pen.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Both boys said excitedly.
"Well, in that case…!" Gwen said as she prepared herself.
She runs to the center of the clearing, raised the ink pen as it glowed along with the magic inkwell. Gwen used it's magic and a beautiful cabin rose up from the snow and Gwen magically creates the interior with a family room, kitchen, five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Then, she added furniture from tables, chairs, counters, beds, couches and a fireplace with a chimney. Gwen looked around and is awe of what she had brought to life. The cups come inside and happily explore the cabin.
"Wow Gwen! This is amazing!" Cuphead said.
"Yeah! You really outdid yourself!" Mugman added.
"Aw, thanks guys. Now that I've got the cabin set up, let's go get that Christmas Tree, shall we?" Gwen asked.
"Yay!" Both cups cheered.
They take Gwen's hands and head on over to Porkrind's shop to pick out a tree. Porkrind is selling his Christmas trees for ten dollars and doesn't care for the holidays. Gwen arrived with the cups with the ten dollars Elder Kettle gave them and were instructed to bring home five dollars in change.
"Ten bucks, folks! All my trees are ten bucks! Tree dies before Christmas? Not my problem! Find a squirrel in it? Not my problem!" Porkrind called out as he collected a ten-dollar bill from an anthropomorphic duck mother and her son.
Gwen clearly saw Porkrind was not in a good mood again and wasn't sure how to approach him this time since she knew he was a penny-pincher and a rude pig.
"You got this Gwen. You can do this. Just be nice."
Gwen said to herself as she used the inkwell to make a five-dollar bill appear in her pocket just in case. Gwen goes up to Porkrind and smiled.
"Hey Porkrind, Merry Christmas!" Gwen said kindly.
"Whatever kid." Porkrind answered rudely as he noticed she arrived with his least favorite customers. Gwen sighed and gave him a disappointed look.
Mugman tries bargaining with Porkrind to give them a tree for five dollars, but to no avail. After several failed attempts, he changed his price to fifteen dollars and sells the last tree to an anthropomorphic lightbulb. Gwen stood there angrily as Porkrind said,
"That was my last tree. Yep, better luck next year!"
Porkrind slams the door to his shop.
Both cups stood there in sadness.
"No tree? But no tree, no presents!" Mugman cried.
"No presents?" Cuphead exclaimed and both cups started crying.
Gwen thinks for a moment. She gets an idea then knelt down, hugs the cups and said,
"Hey, hey guys. Please don't cry. We can just go get a tree in the human world. For a much better and reasonable price." Gwen said out loud, making sure Porkrind overhears her talking.
"Really Gweny?" Cuphead asked.
"Better and reasonable?" Mugman added.
"Oh yeah, very much. Come on, let's leave and head to the human world and pick out the perfect tree." Gwen said as she took the cup's hands and prepared to leave. Just then, Porkrind comes out and says,
"You know, you could cut down your own tree."
"But we don't have an ax." Mugman answered.
"You could have this one…" Porkrind said as he held up an ax.
Both cups gasped and said,
"Really?"
"…For ten bucks." Porkrind finished.
Gwen and the cups give Porkrind an unamused look as she says,
"Give me that ten bucks!"
Gwen takes the money from Mugman, goes up to Porkrind, pays him the ten bucks and he gives her the ax.
"Nice try, kid. Didn't think that through, did you?" Porkrind taunted.
"Just when I thought we were beginning to be friends. Good day." Gwen said sarcastically.
Gwen leaves with the cups and heads into the woods to find the perfect tree. After passing several trees, they find a beautiful tree. The cups fight over the ax to chop it down until Gwen loses patience.
"Boys!" Gwen scolded.
The cups accidentally release the ax and chop down the tree, causing it to fall on the cups while Gwen barely got out of the way.
The cups pop out of the tree unharmed as Gwen sighed of relief.
"Hey, we did it!" Cuphead said.
"Kettle's gonna love it! Oh, it's so beautiful, all bathed in the warm spirit of the holiday season." Mugman said happily.
"Yeah, even as it rockets down that hill." Cuphead said as he noticed the tree sliding down the hill.
"Wait, what?" Mugman asked.
"What?!" Gwen exclaimed as she took notice.
The trio chase after the tree down the hill. The cups keep running into various obstacles as Gwen groaned at their clumsiness. After accidentally bumping into each other, they realize the tree was gone.
"Where's the tree?" Asked Mugman.
"I dunno!" Answered Cuphead.
"Turn around you ding-dongs!" Gwen called out.
The cups turn around both get hit and are knocked in the air and Mugman grabs the tree while Cuphead grabbed Mugman's scarf. Gwen tries to keep up until she slips down a steep hill and follows behind the tree into a bear cave where a group of brown bears were hibernating. But even when the trio remained quiet, the bears wake up and roar furiously. The cups were beaten senseless while Gwen with quick thinking tapped her ink pen and disappeared and reappeared outside the cave.
"What the? What did I just do?" She asked herself shockingly.
Gwen realized as she discovered a new power. The tree slides out and Gwen barely gets out of the way. A brown bear hangs the cups from his paw and kicks them out rudely. The bear prepares to go after Gwen until she gets up and runs away, chasing after her friends yet again. Gwen uses her new power to teleport and appears on the tree where the cups landed.
"Whoa Gwen! Where did you come from?" Asked Mugman.
"From the bear cave! I discovered I can teleport!" Gwen explained.
"Wow, those bears were really mad!" Cuphead said as he chuckled.
"Yeah, they really hate being disturbed during hibernation!" Gwen pointed out.
"Yeah, and we barely escaped with our lives. Get it?" Mugman joked.
Just then, they arrive in a wood building and buzz saws were heard buzzing.
Both cups try to yell at each other until Gwen fearfully grabs the cup's heads and turns them to look at the buzz saws, realizing too late they were in a saw mill. The buzz saws try attacking the duo until they are confronted by the machine. With quick thinking, Gwen tapped her ink pen and disappeared, only to realize she appeared in the sky outside without a clear thought of where to reappear. Gwen fell down as she screamed only to land in the tree with the cups as they were spat out of the saw mill. They land in the snow and continue sliding down, going over snowy hills.
"Our tree! It's all mangled! This can't possibly get any worse!" Mugman cried.
"Uh… wanna bet?" Cuphead asked as he pointed towards a cliff.
They slide over the cliff as Gwen yelled,
"You and your big mouth Mugsy!"
They fall down and the trio screamed and bounced off the snow. Only for the tree pop open like an umbrella as it was never mangled up in the saw mill.
Meanwhile, Elder Kettle opens the door and asked,
"What in Sam Hill is taking those boys and girl so…"
Only to realize too late the trio were approaching with the tree from the sky. Elder Kettle jumps out of the way as the trio crash land into the cottage with the tree. Elder Kettle peaks in and asked,
"Boys? Gwen?"
Mugman is spinning on the piano stool, Cuphead crashed into the piano and Gwen landed on top of the piano, all groaning in pain. Only for the four to realize the tree was already set up perfectly in the living room.
After putting the decorations on the tree, the final thing to do was light up the tree. Elder Kettle lets the cups and Gwen do the honors and plug in the lights, making the tree light up beautifully. They all gasped at the beautiful sight until the cords started frying up and causing the tree to be burnt to a crisp. The four stood there in shock with their mouths hung open. The cups along with Gwen this time cry and hug Elder Kettle, failing their tradition.
"We ruined Christmas!" Cuphead cried.
"We ruined the tradition!" Mugman cried.
"We ruined the tree!" Gwen cried.
"We ruined everything!" The trio said and continued crying.
Elder Kettle comforts the trio and said,
"Now, now. The tradition isn't just about the tree."
Gwen and the cups stop crying.
"It's not?" Mugman asked.
"No, it's about being together, doing things as a family. As long as you boys and girl are here, whatever tree we got is just perfect… even if it is burnt to a crisp." Elder Kettle explained.
Gwen sniffled and said,
"You know what Elder Kettle? You're right. I couldn't have asked for a better second family to be part of with a grandfather and two little brothers."
Elder Kettle and the cups smiled and hug Gwen. Afterwards, the family sing their Christmas tree song, happy with their tree as the snow was falling outside the cottage.