Only one more chapter and we will have completed the second season arc.
As announced, I will then watch the third season again to decide which episodes I will take and which will be omitted.
Unfortunately not all fan episodes will be included in this story but maybe in a sequel.
Until then
The days flew by and autumn was finally here. The gold orange leaves lay on the ground. It was one of Alicia's favorite seasons. The temperature was very pleasant in the fall. It was neither too hot nor too cold. It was comfortable and that is why she wore only a wool sweater that Elder Kettle had knitted for her. Once because of autumn and once because of something else. It was not difficult to figure out that Alicia was confused when she woke up and thought that Lucifer was lying next to her. But the others denied it and told her that she had only imagined it. Yes, of course I'm imagining things. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and wanted nothing to do with the others. Of course the others felt guilty.
So they asked Elder Kettle for advice who suggested that something homemade might cheer Alicia up. It was obvious that the three cups understood the term "homemade" to mean something completely different. Cuphead wanted to bake another cake that didn't look like a cake but rather like a shoebox that had been covered with cream and icing so that it looked like a cake. Mugman wanted to make her own book, but he couldn't think of a good story. No matter how many times he read his books, he couldn't come up with a story. Unfortunately, Cuppy was not spared what concerns the self-made. But he decided to ask Elder Kettle for advice who was in the kitchen and Cuphead helped to present the cake neatly so that it at least looked like a cake.
"Well I think a wool sweater will definitely make her happy" he said which delighted the three mugs. Well, too happy because Cuphead was about to scissor the goat that he had dragged into the house and that was trying to free itself. "Hold still goat!" he said as the goat tried to free itself from his arms while Cuphead came closer with the scissors. But before he could get a hair from the goat, Elder Kettle took the scissors out of his hand and let the goat back outside. "I already shaved the goat!" he said, slightly angry, as he pointed the scissors at the three cups with the end of the handle. All three nodded in understanding. "And besides, we have more than enough wool here to knit several sweaters," Elder Kettle said as he walked out of the kitchen and opened the door to the supply room where he retrieved a box of colored wool with knitting needles peeking out.
They already had the wool so there was only one thing missing and that was that they needed the exact size so that the sweater would fit Alicia. "I can do that!" said Cuppy who went into the guest room and got Alicia's hoodie. Elder Kettle measured the size he needed for the sweater. Of course, the gift was to be kept secret so that Alicia would be happy about it. So the three cups decided to send Alicia and Blood to the city. Why didn't either of them want to question since Alicia was going to visit Sally anyway. So she took the opportunity while Blood protected her on the way there. He didn't want to risk that the devil kidnapped her on the way to the city. On the way back, Alicia was surprised by the others in the house with cake, a poem from Mugman, and the very wool sweater she was now wearing as she went outside with Elder Kettle, Mugman, Cuppy, and Blood to chop wood for the winter.
"Whew! Chopping firewood sure is hard work" Mugman said when he was finished with his pile of firewood. He wiped the sweat from his brow and was proud of his work. "Well, it would be boring if it wasn't" said Alicia who had a slightly bigger pile than Mugman. But that did not bother him. The work was done for them for the time being, which pleased Elder Kettle who went to them. "True, true, Alicia and Mugman," he said, giving them both a pat on the back. "But if you four work hard today...", "You can rest easy tomorrow" Mugman interrupted him with a raised forefinger. "Being prepared is my middle name" he said proudly while Alicia and Blood just shook their heads and couldn't help giggling.
But this did not bother Mugman. "Don't forget, I was the most decorated Cub Scout in my troop" From his trouser pocket he took out a cape apron on which various badges he had collected were attached. Alicia, of course, did not have so many because she was not long in the scouts thanks to her parents who could almost never pick her up because work was more important. Or rather, the leader was always worried because Alicia always had to take the bus that always left every two hours and was sometimes late, which was not too often. "And don't forget, winter is a merciless killer!" Alicia flinched when he suddenly said that. Yes, the winter was very cold, but it wasn't that bad. You could build snowmen, go sledding, slaughter snowballs and there were Christ... Alicia didn't want to think about it anymore. There was a reason why she didn't like Christmas. And she didn't want to explain it anymore. "But with you two and the others hard work, I'm sure we'll have more than enough to survive the winter" said Elder Kettle as he turned from Alicia and Mugman to the others. "Isn't that right?" he asked the others. Blood and Cuppy nodded and agreed, but he got no answer from Cuphead, which confused him until he saw why.
He was not at his tree trunk where he was supposed to be chopping wood. "Cuphead?" asked Elder Kettle, confused. "Uh, where is that boy?" he asked as he walked over to the pile of wood he was supposed to be chopping, but was still intact, which did not please Elder Kettle. "And why hasn't he chopped a single piece of firewood?" the question was quickly answered when he heard a fizzle and turned around. Alicia and the others heard it too and looked behind the house. "Seriously?" asked Alicia as she gave herself a face palm. The fizzle came from a firework rocket Cuphead had just lit. He covered his ears which made Alicia shake her head even more. Cartoon logic Alicia, cartoon logic she said to herself mentally. The rocket shot up and exploded which made Cuphead laugh but Elder Kettle angry "Oh! Consarn it, Cuphead! Don't you realize the winter's coming?" he asked the young cup who looked at him confused.
"Elder Kettle is right we should work hard so that we are prepared for the winter and don't freeze to death" Alicia explained to Cuphead who was now looking at her. The latter nodded in agreement before continuing to speak "This is the time to work hard so we can enjoy..." but Cuphead ignored them again and lit another firework rocket and laughed about it again. But Elder Kettle had enough and grabbed his arm "That does it! You think this is funny?" Elder Kettle asked him and dragged him over to the pile of firewood he was supposed to be chopping. "Well, now you are gonna take this pile of firewood and stack it neatly..." but no sooner had he finished his sentence than the others heard the fizzle again and looked over at Cuphead who had tied all the wood he was supposed to chop to the fireworks rocket. Alicia gave herself a face palm just like the others while Cuphead continued to laugh at the explosion.
He realized that he had pushed a line too far when Elder Kettle stared angrily at him from behind. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?" he asked him. "Yeah, I got rid of all that stinkin' hard work" Cuphead replied casually, as if he didn't care that winter was just around the corner. "And now we don't have any firewood for the winter" Elder Kettle said in shock as his face fell on the lumberyard that was next to the shed where there was no more wood. "Eh, I ain't too worried about it" Cuphead replied while Alicia just rolled her eyes. Yes, that was his catchphrase you could say. "Oh, is that so?" Elder Kettle asked him, to which Cuphead nodded. "Well, now you get to gather the entire season's woth of firewood by yourself" explained Elder Kettle who hoped that Cuphead at least was not very happy about the statement but that was not the case. "Oh, I'm sure the others can help me with that..." "NO HELP FROM THE OTHERS!" roared Elder Kettle as he ordered him to go into the forest.
So Cuphead went into the forest but without an axe, which Alicia noticed. "You do realize he didn't even take an axe?" Elder Kettle looked at her confused and was about to say something when Cuppy and Mugman walked past him and the others. "We'll go with him," Cuppy said with a sigh. Yes no one was happy about it but at least Cuphead was not alone in the forest. That calmed Alicia down, who continued to work on the pile she still had to finish. "I'll go prepare some hot cocoa," Elder Kettle said as he went into the house, leaving Blood and Alicia alone. Both continued to work undisturbed, not even noticing that it suddenly got dark and there was no sign of the three cups. Alicia's concern was evident as she kept looking in the direction the three cups had gone.
Yes she wanted to know if the three were doing well but the work was not yet finished so she continued to work diligently until the last firewood was chopped and brought into the house. Unfortunately, there was still no trace of the three which now also worried Blood who decided to look for the three with Alicia. "I hope nothing has happened to them," Alicia said as she changed into her demon form. "I'm not worried about Cuppy and Mugman, I'm worried about Cuphead," Blood said as he held the fence gate open for Alicia. "Yeah he could have gone I don't know where" she said looking around. Yes, all the trees were bare of leaves except for one. This one also fell off. The last autumn leaf. "I think I picked up their scent" Blood said as he ran in the direction where the three cups had gone. Alicia followed him wherever he went, calling out the names of the three cups over and over, hoping they would answer. But she got no answer. Oh man, where are you three?
Blood kept smelling until he had a lead and started running. Alicia followed him and realized that winter had come. It started to snow and very hard. But both adults did not want to give up, so they continued to search the forest in the hope of finding the three cups. But the further they went into the forest, the harder it was for Blood to find the scent of the three cups. But the two did not give up hope when they saw from afar a wooden hut from which light shone. "Maybe someone who lives in this wooden hut can help us," Alicia said as she walked ahead. Blood followed her and felt the smell becoming familiar. Alicia knocked on the door with her human hand as the two heard a familiar voice. The door opened and Mugman peered out. "Yes, may I help..." he looked up where he saw Alicia and Blood and was more than pleased to see them again.
"Alicia!, Blood!" he said as he hugged them both and was glad to see them both again. Also pleased was Cuppy who came out of the house and jumped into Alicia's arms. She almost fell down when he jumped into her arms. "I missed you so much," he said, which confused Alicia. "But we weren't gone that long Cuppy?" or were we? Alicia hoped not, but she noticed something else. When she and Blood went into the wooden hut, they didn't see Cuphead anywhere. "Where's Cuphead?" she asked, but Mugman only reacted angrily when she asked. Alicia was confused but Cuppy explained why he wasn't here and why Mugman was angry. Shortly after they went into the forest to collect firewood, Cuphead did nothing but nonsense and lit one rocket after another while the other two took over his work. But this became heavier and heavier because Cuphead tied each newly chopped wood to the rocket and launch it into the air where it exploded. That it Cuppy and Mugman got on the nerves Cuphead did not notice. Only when he wanted to tie the next pair of wood in the rocket that was not available.
"Will you cut that out?" Mugman asked him annoyed as he stood on the tree stump looking at his brother annoyed. "Yeah Cuphead this is getting annoying!" added Cuppy crossing his arms. "Ah, come on, Mugsy and Cuppy don't be sore. I'm just having a little fun" Cuppy didn't know whether to take the statement seriously or not. "We're not here to have fun, we're here to chop firewood. Huh!" Annoyed and on the verge of giving up, Mugman thrust his axe into his hand as he walked over to the woodpile to place it on the stump. Well, he wanted to, but when he turned around he saw how Cuphead had tied Mugman's axe to the firework rocket, which he let fly in front of their eyes. "Did you just launch my axe?!" Mugman asked Cuphead angrily while Cuppy boiled with rage and dropped his stack of wood. "You're lucky we still have yours" Mugman said with relief as he looked to Cuppy. He leaned it over his shoulder but suddenly didn't feel it anymore, which confused him, so he looked to his shoulder where his axe was no longer there, but was once again tied to a rocket that had just been launched into the air and exploded.
Yes the measure was finally full for Mugman and Cuppy who were more than angry at Cuphead. "Unbelievable!" said the former "Now we'll have to go home and get another axe" Mugman told him. "Okay, fine. Let's go" Cuphead said casually until he remembered one thing "Uh, which way was home again?" he asked the two. "It's obviously..." said Mugman as he thought for himself. Cuppy was also thinking but he didn't know where to go either. "I'm not sure. Hand me the compass" Cuppy asked Cuphead who gave him the compass but it was tied to another rocket which didn't really help them to get back home. "Why would you launch our only compass?" Cuppy asked him angrily as he drove into his face so that his nose almost poked Cuphead in the eye. The latter pushed him away annoyed "I guess I didn't think that one through" he explained while Cuppy gave himself a face palm and said quietly "That can't be true or and he is supposed to be like me?".
"Without that compass, we really are..." Mugman held his breath before continuing to speak "...lost in the woods!" he yelled in panic. The last word resounded through the forest, startling Cuppy a bit. "Eh, I ain't too worried about it" Cuphead said loosely which didn't really please the others. "Oh, you're not, huh?" Cuppy asked him slightly annoyed with an eye roll. "Well, it must be nice. The only reason you're not worried about anything is because Elder Kettle, Alicia, Cuppy, Blood and I worry about everything for you" Cuphead was not really excited about the statements but it was true what Mugman told him. "In fact, we do everything for you!", "Oh, relax, would ya?" Cuphead asked the two, which did not improve the mood, but even worsened it. "You wouldn't make it one day without me or the others!" Mugman told him angrily, but his brother disagreed.
"Ah, banana oil! I've had it with you and your worrying!" Cuphead said annoyed, which surprised the other two. "Oh, really?" Cuppy asked him. Cuphead just nodded "Well, I'll tell ya what. I'll keep worrying about stuff, and keep not worrying about stuff, and see where that gets you!" said Cuppy angrily while Mugman agreed with him. Both had had enough of the way Cuphead saw things. So much so that they both decided to leave him alone so that the oh so carefree Cuphead could find his way home alone while Mugman and Cuppy found their way back home together.
Of course, Alicia and Blood were not very pleased when they heard this. Well, pleased was the wrong word in Alicia's eyes because she actually hoped that at least Cuppy, who was the older of the three cups, would at least help Cuphead. "And you didn't come to check on him or anything?" Alicia asked the two. Yes, the depressed expressions on their faces told her that they both felt guilty. It didn't stop snowing outside and it was freezing cold outside. That something might have happened to him worried Alicia very much, but she couldn't possibly search the whole forest alone. "Yes, you're right, Alicia, we shouldn't have left him alone," Mugman said sadly. She was about to say something when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Mugman went to the door and opened it and looked neutrally while saying "Yes, may I help you?" To his delight but also not delight Cuphead stood right in front of the door and wore a beard which confused Alicia.
"Mugsy, what are you doing out here with the others?" asked the latter, but Mugman gave him no answer to his question and just stared at him emotionlessly. "Well, someone I once knew lost our only compass," he explained with an emotionless expression. "Then the harsh winter set in, and I and Cuppy were forced to build this cabon and lodge here until spring" he explained. "Now if you'll excuse us, it's quite cold and I'm baking a pie" Mugman was about to close the door when he felt that it would not close. Confused, he looked down and saw Alicia's shoe stuck between the door, preventing him from closing it. "Wait, Mugsy!" she said as he and Cuppy looked up at her. "I know Cuphead can be a pain sometimes, but leaving him out there isn't going to help us, so let him in so he doesn't freeze to death" Blood agreed with her statement "And I think he's learned something from this too" his eyes fell on Cuphead "Isn't that right Cupbeard?".
The latter nodded and Mugman reluctantly let him in. But the annoyed looks from Alicia and Blood changed his mind a lot, so he opened the door wide and let his brother in, who immediately went to the fireplace to warm up. Meanwhile, Cuppy took the cake out of the oven and placed it on the table before cutting it into five pieces and giving each of them a piece. Yes, the pie was very tasty and strengthened Cuphead who was no longer shivering and hungry. The group decided to stay here for now before the weather improved. For extra warmth, Alicia changed into her wolf form and let the three cups sleep with her while Blood made himself comfortable on the armchair and slowly fell asleep.
The next day the weather improved and most of the snow had melted away, allowing the others to get back home without problems, but before that Mugman wanted one more thing cleared up before they left. "Well, Cuphead, I hope you learned something" he said as Cuphead looked to him. Alicia and the others grabbed their stuff and were ready to go, only Cuphead wasn't yet. "I'm not one to rub it in, but as you can now clearly see, worrying wins the day". He said nothing more but let his brother finish while they were slowly on their way home. Yes, the snow did not stay long which pleased Alicia very much because her hoodie alone was not enough to keep her warm. But her demon form was. She walked around in her demon form and followed Blood who, thanks to his nose, sensed where Elder Kettle was. He was worried when he didn't hear from the others and hoped that they were okay. Yes, the cocoa he had made was still warm and waiting to be drunk. The marshmallows were floating on the surface of the mugs.
Nervously, he looked out the window but saw no one. "Where are they?" he asked himself as he looked through the window again until he saw Blood with the others behind him, relieved to be back home. Of course he was happy to see the others again and saw that Cuphead had a beard, which confused him. "Cuphead, shave that beard. I'm not raising a bum" With the serving tray on which the five cups stood, he went back inside. Everyone looked at Cuphead who just looked nervous and chuckled while scratching his beard before removing it just like that. You're not serious, are you? Alicia hoped so and went into the house with Blood in front, or wanted to, but Mugman said something to his brother. She turned around and saw Mugman holding Cuphead's shoulder before he said anything. The others except Blood and Elder Kettle listened to him. Well, Alicia wanted to know what was happening.
"Hey, uh, I guess we both didn't handle things too well back there. I just wanna say I'm sorry. I didn't have any…" but Cuphead's index finger interrupted him, which confused Alicia. Does he want to agree to something or does Cuphead have something else in mind? She hoped very much for the former, because he should learn something from his action yesterday. "Actually, Mugsy… I think I should be the one who should be sorry. You, Ali, and Cuppy were right. The whole time." Wait, Cuphead's actually taking responsibility of his poor actions? She was surprised at his statement. That's surprisingly an improvement. "I shoulda known I was a real jerk back there, and I after you had helped me when I was freezing my butt off out in the cold, I was completely ungratefull and I really pushed it too far with the firework".
Cuppy and Mugman were very surprised at his statement. So much so that the two could not close their mouths. "After what I had been put through, I-I guess there are somethings that I should worry about it" Cuphead pulled out a giant firework rocket out of his pocket, much to Alicia's surprise but she quickly concludes its part of cartoon logic. "From now on, you're looking at a new and more maturely responsible Cuphead" Let's see how long the promise lasts. Would not be the first time that he said something like that and immediately broke the rule. "No more blowing stuff up. Guess I won't be needing this no mores" He takes out a matchbox and lights a matchstick. He lights the rocket and rubs his hands in satisfaction, eyes closed with a proud smile. Everything seemed to be fine until Alicia noticed something that worried her very quickly when she looked at the floor.
"Cuphead!" she shouted alarmingly, which confused him."What? I hadn't tied anything to this one" he said with a frown. "Your foot!" Cuppy said as he pointed to Cuphead's foot. He slowly looked down and saw why the others were so panicked. His foot had connected with the rope that was wrapped around the rocket. "Aw, nuts..." he said as the fuse of the rocket slowly reached the end and the rocket launched into the air. "I AIN'T TOO WORRIED ABOUT IT!" Jokingly, he yelled as the rocket pulled him into the air and the group looked after him. Alicia gave herself a face palm while just shaking her head. Cuphead's not a member of Team Rocket, but it looks like he's blasting off anyway…
Cuppy and Mugman, however, thought nothing of it and found it rather reassuring that Cuphead was now feeling for himself what it meant to be blown up. "Looks like karma works in weird ways these days" Cuppy said astonishedly as he continued to watch the fireworks from which several faces could be seen that resembled Cuphead but gave different expressions of pain. "I'll say" said Mugman who was glad not to be tied to the rocket himself. Alicia, however, knew that Cuphead needed help so she went inside the house and said with an annoyed look on her face. "I'll go get Elder Kettle and the first aid kit". Barely a second later Cuphead fell to the ground and was completely incinerated with black powder while coughing up a black cloud. His head had cracks from which the liquid ran, his straw was slightly torn at the tip and fell off and his clothes and gloves were torn.
"Ouch" he said quietly while Cuppy and Mugman helped him up and into the house before it started snowing again. From afar, Elder Kettle could be heard doctoring the injured Cuphead. The latter cried out loudly at every touch. Alicia already suspected why the cracks in the head hurt very much and had to be healed. But luckily Elder Kettle had the right home remedy for that. Glue!
So while he doctored Cuphead with the glue and the others enjoyed their cocoa in the living room, the mood in the Underworld was quite different. The demons and Imps continued to work diligently while new souls flew through the tube on their way to the soul vault where an Imp counted them with a notepad. Yes, the number of souls grew back to the original number. The devil didn't want to lose the souls like last time, that was clear, but where was the devil? Well this one had been locked in his bedchamber for days and wouldn't do anything. Well, who could blame him, he missed his wife and queen Alicia very much, who should be here with him and not with the cups on the surface. Amnon and Henchman were very worried about their boss, so they decided to serve him breakfast as they did almost every day. But one thing was still missing. "Oh, the newspaper was missing!" said Amnon as he ran to the gate that creaked open.
Behind him he saw the newspaper and took it before going back through the gate which closed again with a creak. "Man we really need to oil that gate" Amnon said as he flew to Henchman with his stubby wings to bring him the newspaper which he placed on the serving table before the two of them set off to see the devil who was still under the covers and wouldn't come out. No, he didn't want to have anything to do, but rather fell asleep with the thought of having Alicia lying next to him, who only wanted to be with him and no one else. Oh yes my dearest Alicia stay with me no matter what he kept saying softly to himself but he knew that it was not so easy to get to her. Alicia was persistent and he liked that very much. No, he liked it very much, to be more precise, having a woman who doesn't let him tell her anything suited him very much. Only he would have to make her stay with him. But how?
He wanted to think but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone disturbing his peace. It was not difficult to find out who it was, the devil already knew and rolled his eyes in annoyance while pushing his sleeping glasses over his eyes. No, he didn't want to have any contact with his two assistants who were disturbing his peace and his beautiful dream.