"It's not in here," Cuphead and Mugman looked through the empty cupboard and closed it.
"He moved it again."
"Nope. Not here."
"Not under here either."
Whenever the boys craved a sweet treat, they would always go for one of Elder Kettle's freshly baked cookies. But, since they are not healthy for growing boys, the old man would often hide away his jar in random parts of the house. There was even a point where he buried the jar in the yard!
"Bingo!"
This time, the jar was placed on a high shelf above Elder Kettle who was sleeping in his bed.
Cuphead managed to climb up and snatch the cookie jar with ease. It wasn't until he heard a small crack and revealed that beneath his feet were Elder Kettle's smashed glasses.
Mugman groaned, "Aw, jeez."
Cuphead panicked, "We gotta get these fixed before Elder Kettle wakes up."
A yawn and groan was heard from the other room, which made the boys scramble in different directions before heading out of the house. "Boys, have you seen my glasses? Oof!" Kettle's eyes squinted as he kept hitting into the wall and different objects. "No, no, Kettle. You lost 'em somewhere. Just like you... Oof! ...always do," he told himself.
Despite his bad eyesight, he was able to see Cuphead and Mugman sitting on the couch, "Oh! There you are. Okay, boys. Listen. Stay put. I'll find 'em. Last thing I need is you two stepping on 'em. Got it?"
All he got was a silent response, which made him tear up, "Wow. You're actually listening for once. Thank you, boys. Ow!"
The boys ran into town to the local optometrist office and sent the broken specs to an orangatan-like bald man with a white coat.
"Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me you two couldn't get a cookie jar from a sleeping old man?"
Cuphead argued, already embarrassed, "Look, pal , can you fix 'em or not?"
"Of course we can. But I don't like your tone and it's gonna cost ya. Barley, Edgar! Fix up these glasses STAT!"
A bearded man with an eye patch and white messy beard and a spider went up to the table to examine the glasses.
"Hmm…these specs look cracked, boss," the spider stated accordingly.
Barley bonked Edgar's head, "Cause they are, ya bloke!"
Charley assured the brothers, "Now, about the services...Let's calculate the numbers."
As he brought up his clipboard to add up the expenses, he then heard muffled jazz music, "HEY! Turn that music down. I hate music!"
The boys looked each other, "We're not playing music."
The double doors open to reveal a golden chalice girl wearing a black shirt, turquoise skirt and yellow heals. She seemed to be jiving around the room as the music grew louder; she then made her way toward the front desk by the ladder while she sang:
When you're blue and feeling down,
You gotta spread that sunshine all around,
She got Barley to twirl around and got Edgar's frown is turned into a smile as he got into the music.
You gotta turn that frown, upside down,
And sail across a rainbow!
She then tapped her heals to the beat while hitting the cup and mug's heads in rhythm. As for Charley, he was about to order her to stop before she twirled him and got a pair of sunglasses on.
When the world is saying "no",
Don't waste your time, feelin' low.
Click your heels, go, go, go, and dance across a rain-bow!
She then span outside and sped off, leaving a trail of confetti.
Cuphead broke the silence, "What the heck was that?!"
The two brother headed out the door to find this chalice.
After, that Charley sighed with relief, taking off his white coat and turned to the register to snatch all the money. "Phew! That was close. We got the loot, boys. Now let's—" his eyes widened see the old man and the spider dancing and humming to the tune. "Hey! Snap out of it!" he bonked them both on the head.
"Sorry, boss! That girl's song was catchy."
"Aye! It was! Where's your sense of music? You used to be a piper."
"It died, that's what happened to it. We need to know more about that chalice!"
The three were interrupted by a muffled shouting from the floor. She was a slim screwdriver woman with spectacles; her body was roped in a sticky substance that looked like spider webbing and her mouth taped shut.
"Hey shut up or else," Charley pulled out his trusty revolver.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!" she shouted through the web.
"What?" Charley asked. "Edgar, slice her mouth open."
Edgar tore open the web chamber for the optometrist to talk. "I said I know the girl."
"You do?" the trio asked. Charley smiled grimly.
"Alright, here's the deal. Tell us more about that kid and we MIGHT let you off, as long as keep your mouth shut about us to the coppers."
"Yes! Yes! I promise! She goes by Chalice. Miss Chalice; she is the most infamous city swindler of Inkwell whose been charming her way into stores and shops like mine and worst of all: without payment!"
"Really?" Charley asked. "You know? We could use another member for our group."
Edgar raised his arm up, "I thought you said we were better off as a trio. Especially after the last time—"
"He was dead weight for us, but this kid is a gold mine! Now, let's go!"
The three burglars headed out towards the door, leaving the screwdriver woman still tied up.
"Hello? Hello! I'm still tied!" she attempted to stand up only for her to fall on her face and have her own specs fall and shatter. "My glasses!"
They looked around to spot a golden chalice anywhere. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"
The trio hid into the dark alleyway beside the optometrist building to avoid being seen.
The cop was a chief bee officer passing by a coated figure and asked, "Have you seen a chalice run pass here?" His demeanor changed as the person was revealed to be a frail, blind woman with sunglasses, holding a tin cup. "Oops. Uh, sorry."
As a way to not offend the old lady, he took out a nickel and placed into the cup before tipping his hat off and continuing his search for the chalice. Speaking of the chalice, it turned out the blind old lady was her dressed in a scarf off a figure from a pawn sale and her pair of sunglasses she swiped earlier.
Charley saw the whole ordeal as he peaked out from his hiding spot.
The chalice girl took out her well-earned nickel, placed into the gumball machine and chewed on a piece. She looked around slyly and tickled the machine into laughing so hard that gumballs spilled out of his mouth, attracting a herd of kids while saving a few for herself.
The gang followed her from the shadows and little did they know, two cups were also following her and stared in awe and confusion.
By the corner stood a hot dog stand served by an unimpressed pig. He spotted the girl performing a dance with her heals and toes rhythmically tapping on the concrete and gave out a cute wink. As if he were in a trance the clerk was amused by her act as she reached to pinch his blushing dimples.
The chalice's eyes turned glassy as she rubbed her stomach, whimpering to the clerk. Feeling sympathy, he opened up his stash without asking for money; she accepted his offer by snatching the whole stash of hot dogs, smiling and dancing off, leaving the clerk empty!
Cuphead and Mugman continued to follow her to the movie theater across the street; she managed to skip the line by offering the patrons a hot dog while dancing which brought a smile to all of them…except for the attendant.
"Tickets," the hippo requested but was given a hot dog in response. "That's not a ticket."
It looked like she was stumped…but not for long; she retrieved a mustard bottle to draw a face on the weenie. "How about now?" she asked in a high pitched voice while pushing the weenie upwards to the attendant.
That was enough for the hippo to eat the hot dog and happily offering her a free entrance once more.
Meanwhile, the brothers eventually made into the theater and sat in the back row to find the chalice in the front row, munching on a huge bucket of popcorn while enjoying the flick.
"How does she get people to just give her stuff?" Mugman whispered.
Cuphead replied, "She could definitely help us get Elder Kettle's cookies." He was followed by the viewers angrily shushing them.
Cuphead shrunk down, "Sorry."
The boys then heard the bottom emergency exit door open; they must've scared her off. They went outside to find themselves in an alley.
"Hey, where'd she go?"
Mugman looked around, "I don't know."
"It's like she just disappeared."
Suddenly, they were pushed toward the brick wall and grabbed by their shirts. It turned out to be the chalice!
"All right, who are you two working for?" she asked aggressively; she looked like she was ready to beat them up.
"Working? We don't have jobs," Cuphead insisted.
Mugman continued his sentence, "Yeah. We're just a couple of uh…dum-dums."
Cuphead glared and whispered, "Zip it, ding-dong. She don't gotta know we're dum-dums."
The chalice threatened, "Why are you following me? Spill the beans or you'll be spilling milk!"
Cuphead explained, "We just wanna learn how you get so much free stuff!"
Mugman added, "And maybe hang out? That's all, Ms..."
They were then let go by the girl who still sneered at them, "The name's Chalice. Miss Chalice. But listen you don't wanna get mixed up with a gal like me. This chalice is nothing but trouble."
Cuphead smile, "We love trouble!"
Mugman asked, "We do?"
"Yeah. Why, just this morning, we decided to steal cookies from our elderly caretaker."
His brother then smiled smugly in response, hoping to win Miss Chalice's good graces, "When you put it like that, I suppose we do love trouble."
Chalice couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh, brother. Looks like I got a couple of real degenerates on my hands."
Cuphead smiled proudly, "Yup. Degenerates."
Mugman sadly remarked looking down at his fingers sheepishly, "We didn't actually get the cookies though."
"Hey!"
"What? We need her help. We might as well be honest."
Chalice's demeanor changed again and turned her back away from the boys. "One thing you gotta know about me, I get by without partners, friends, anyone or anything. This is a solo act. A one-person show."
The boys groaned, "Aw!"
"But your pathetic story charms me. Wanna know how I do what I do?" Chalice raised an eyebrow and smiled back deviously.
"Yeah!"
"You really wanna know?"
Both of them nodded , "Uh-huh! Uh-huh!"
"Okay, then. Pay attention."
She then started to sing,
You gotta slap on a smile,
Throw in some pep!
And be sure to put a spring in your step,
'Cause you can get anything by turning up the charm.
You gotta kick up your heels,
Hands in the sky,
And don't forget the little glint in your eye,
'Cause you can get what you want if you follow this simple rule!
As that was happening, Edgar pointed at the girl who was leading the two boys in the taxi, "There she is!"
Another car stopped which gave Charley the chance to open the door, shove the victim out the car and signal the sailor and spider in. Charley then sped off to follow the kids; Chalice was actually driving the smiling taxi, passing by an elephant and his grandmother, snatching their ice creams to share with Cuphead and Mugman as she continued to demonstrate her method.
And if you're charming enough, they'll give you free stuff,
And they'll all do what you say.
And since no one's the wiser,
You can have it your way.
With the wink of an eye,
And the flick of a wrist,
Hey, I think you're really gettin' the gist!
'Bout how I charm the pants of this here town!
Chalice stopped in the middle of traffic.
Cuphead tried to repeat, "With the flick of an eye?"
Mugman followed, "And the wink of a wrist?"
Chalice rolled her eyes, Hey I think you're getting the gist!
The three sang in unison, 'Bout how we charm the pants of this here town!
Chalice led the boys up on the top of the taxi and had them follow along with her fancy footwork.
Charley looked out the window to see the three kids dancing; the gang got out of the car, run through the rush hour traffic. They even resorted to climbing up on the top of other cars, which frustrated the drivers. Edgar tried to shoot out his webbing to catch them but kept missing the kids as they were hopping from car to car; the webs ended up blinding a few drivers.
I think you're getting the hang of this,
But here's one final tip:
Before they can get wise to you,
Give them the slip!
As they were getting closer, the kids resorted to hopping onto the car hoods, having them fly in the air blissfully as Charley and Barley got hit by the open hoods.
Chalice spotted a parade which was the source of the traffic and managed to lead the boys onto the float while she lit up the fireworks for flare. She was the highlight of the parade as well as the boys!
Gotta slap on a smile,
Throw in some pep,
So please remember to never forget,
You can get anything by turning up the charm!
The trio sang once more, you can get anything by turning up the charm!
It seemed like the day ended quickly than normal as the stared into the starry sky in the woods, where they got a good view of the town that somehow became a playground to them. Hours ago, Cuphead and Mugman were pursuing this girl to help them sneak cookies from Elder Kettle, but they found themselves getting more than they could ever imagine: Ice cream, toys, money! All thanks to their new friend, Chalice.
Mugman sighed, "What a day."
"You said it," Cuphead agreed.
Chalice spoke up, "I gotta admit, I don't usually stick around in one place this long. But you two are kinda fun." She then sat up, "You guys, ready for your test?"
"Test?" the boys questioned as Chalice led them down a hill, to rise up a tree branch.
"Come on. You two are naturals! It's gonna be a breeze. All you gotta do is charm your way past that guy." It looked like just a normal building with a gruff security guard bear by the door. He seemed to be no-nonsense; there was no way they could charm him. "Get inside and there's a surprise."
"Surprise? We love surprises!" The boys ran down towards the location as they couldn't resist surprises.
They whistled from behind which made the bear glare at them.
Using what they have learned from Chalice, the boys began dancing in unison but they weren't charming enough. The bear was ready to beat them up with his club before he spotted the chalice girl, who was dancing from behind to protect the boys from harm.
The bear started dancing along with her and opened the door for her and the two boys. She thanked him with a wink as he closed the door. These boys are nice but they still need a bit of fine tuning, she thought to herself as they entered the dark building. She found a flight of stairs to look down at the boys.
Cuphead cheered, "Hey, it worked!"
Mugman followed, "We are charming."
"Great job, boys. Now here's your surprise!"
Chalice pulled the lever which had the lights turn on to reveal several machines running, alongside bags of flour. The two whiffed the smell of chocolate chips.
"Is this a..."
"Cookie factory!" the boys cheered.
"That's right. And it's all-you-can-eat!"
Chalice flicked on the all the small switched, pushed several buttons and unknowingly flicked the 'Silent Alarm' switch!
Cuphead and Mugman began scarfing armfuls of cookies as the machine keep making more and more cookies. This was riot for Chalice as she bit into one of the cookies.
"Gee, what a couple of ding-dongs," she chuckled. They ain't that smart, but they sure are fun.
She then heard sirens and looked out the window to see flashing lights. That was their signal to get out! "Cheese it, boys! The cops!"
"Cops?!"
"This is the police! We have you surrounded!" a booming voice was heard from outside.
The now stuffed boys panicked and ran into each other, knocking each other out. Chalice grabbed them by the arm to get them on their feet. "Come on! Get up! We gotta scram!"
The police were pounding at the doors; it was a matter of time before they were caught. Or SHE was caught! Chalice felt a pain in her heart as she scoured towards the back of the wall, "Sorry, boys. I like ya, but not enough to tangle with the cops. So long, fellas."
Her body color transformed into a ghoulish transparent blue and her feet vanished from the floor to reveal a tail end. Yep! Chalice turned herself into a ghost and literally ghosted her friends as she flew through the walls.
Mugman rubbed his head, "My mug."
Cuphead groaned while looking around, "Oh, what happened? Where's Chalice?"
The boys were greeted by the double doors bursting to reveal the police bee cops.
"You're under arrest!"
The boys screamed, got up and tried to dance to impress the cops until they were too tired. They were then grabbed by the cops and forced into the wagon.
"Under arrest?! For what?"
"For breaking and entering into public facility, overconsumption of factory-made goods and underwhelming dancing!"
Meanwhile, shortly after Chalice flew through the walls of the factory, she transformed back to her living form. Suddenly, a shot of webbing hit her which wrapped her whole body from top to bottom and had her stuck on the wall.
"Got her!" a voice rang out victoriously.
Out of the bushes came she couldn't get a good look, but it looked like a spider climbing up towards her and two men who looked like they were bruised and bandaged up.
"We finally caught up with you, Miss Chalice. We'd like to offer you a spot in our gang. You're gonna be coming with us…or else!" the tall man went up to her and held up a revolver to her head. This made Chalice's eyes widened and had no choice but to do the unthinkable.
"HEEEEEEEEEEELP!"
That scream managed to catch the attention of the cops, who were just about to leave as well as Cuphead and Mugman who recognized it. The two of them feared the worst had happen to her.
A couple of cops made it to the side of the building to find the Butcher Gang with Charley holding a revolver in his hand with a "BANG" flag hanging out. "Butcher Gang! You're under arrest for kidnapping and using unconventional threats of violence!"
The three men were cuffed and stuffed into another wagon as they were pleaded and insisting they were innocent.
One cop tried to unveil the victim in the web, "You're safe now, ma'am. Are you…" he was stumped to find that there was no one in the webbing. "There's no one there!"
Another cop went up to him and led him back into the passenger seat of the wagon, "Forget it! Let's just these guys in the cells! We've been after this gang for months."
Back in the first wagon, the former cops went to the back to find the cookie thieves in the back. "Hey, fellas! Watch this!" Cuphead answered and then whispered to his brother. "Just like we practiced."
They attempted to dance once more, but the lack of room in the back of the van made them bump into each other, failing to amuse the cops and being grabbed by force.
Cuphead and Mugman were then thrown into a cell with striped uniforms and placed behind bars.
