At the base of the mountain, Chef Saltbaker, Forkington, and Spoonfred worked to open the salt shaker's secret stash. The utensils expected to see lots of illegal items hiding in this cave based on what the chef had said back in the archives. They removed the last of the rocks that covered the clandestine hole. There sat a bunch of jars and bottles of various liquids and other substances. A waft of dirt and dust came out as the earth shifted when they opened it. They all coughed and waved their hands around. When the dust cleared, the young spoon took in the rows upon rows of illegal items.
"Gee, there sure is a lot of….what are they exactly?" Spoonfred inquired.
"Oh, a mix of spells, liquids, and pieces of different creatures." Saltbaker explained as he started to gather some of the containers that held the most potent substances.
"But why do you have all this? It seems a bit excessive." The young utensil probed.
"Well, I had many experiments in mind to conduct. I had to find what worked and what didn't." The chef said as he studied a bottle that he held at eye level. He then sighed and lowered the item. "But none of that matters now that she's gone…for good."
Spoonfred lightly touched the man's glass arm.
"Don't worry, Mr. Saltbaker. We're about to go get rid of a bad demon….and you'll finally be able to get revenge for Sue….in a sense." The young spoon tried to make it seem like the situation wasn't all bad.
"Thanks, Spoonfred." The salt shaker said and kneeled down next to the boy. "It's because of you that I'm here right now. You made me believe that I deserved a second chance. And for that I will be eternally grateful to you." He gave the utensil a pat on the shoulder. "Now, how about we get the goods over to the ambush spot?" Saltbaker asked as he stood up.
"I'm right with ya." Spoonfred said enthusiastically. He watched as the salt shaker gathered the last contents and placed them into what seemed like a basket. But then the chef tinkered with it and it transformed into a wagon that could be pulled along. "Wow, you've thought of everything, Mr. Saltbaker!" The young spoon was clearly very impressed. "Now let's get going to meet up with Mugman and Cuphead."
Just as they were about to walk off, Forkington called to his boy.
"Spoonfred, could I talk to you for a moment?" The fork hesitantly called out.
"What is it, father?" His son approached.
"I was thinking….maybe we should leave this demon-fighting thing to the experienced people." Forkington nervously fingered at the collar of his shirt.
"What are you saying? You're not coming with us? I thought you wanted to help us!" Spoonfred started backing away. He couldn't believe what his dad was saying.
"I do want to help, but it's dangerous out there for me and you. We don't have any special powers to protect us. Please come with me, Spoonfred, where you'll be safe." The utensil's gloved hands caught his boy's. Saltbaker watched as the spoon pulled away from his dad.
"No! You think you know what's best for me, but you never have! You've always thought about yourself first!"
"Perhaps I did in the past, but right here and now, I'm worried for your safety." He started to reach out for Spoonfred again, who slapped his hands away.
"No, you're just scared for your own life!" The spoon's voice wavered, as if he were finding it hard to keep his composure as he argued with his father.
"Spoonfred, please. More than anything I want custody of you back, so we can have the life we should've had this whole time. But I can't do that if you get killed by a demon or if I happen to get caught handling this illegal stuff. They'll lock me away for years and I'll never get to see you." Poor Forkington was almost on the verge of tears. He was practically down on his knees begging for his boy to understand.
"Is that what this is about?" Spoonfred snapped. "If we let this demon go, he'll kill hundreds if not thousands of people…and you're scared because there's some illegal stuff involved? You're pathetic!"
The fork gasped as tears escaped his eyes. He could only watch as his son turned away from him and went back to the salt shaker.
"Let's go, Mr. Saltbaker." The spoon said as he gently grabbed the chef's arm. Saltbaker took a hesitant look back to Forkington. He wasn't sure what to do. The situation seemed fragile. But was it really the right thing to meddle in this argument between the two utensils? "Come on, Cuphead and Mugman are waiting for us." The young spoon wiped a couple tears away and proceeded to lead the salt shaker away from the fork that still sat on his knees. The utensil stayed absolutely still as his boy disappeared into the distance with the formerly unhinged chef. His pronged head drooped as he wallowed in his sorrow.
Out in the forest path where Spoonfred and Saltbaker continued to walk, they were both quiet. That was until the salt shaker noticed that the boy was having trouble keeping his tears at bay.
"Are you okay, Spoonfred?" The chef asked.
"I'm fine." The spoon said tersely, not making eye contact.
"Are you sure about that? I think your father really was just trying to protect you."
"No, he's not! He only cares about himself. That's all he's ever cared about." Spoonfred now argued with the salt shaker.
"I have a feeling that's not the only thing he cares about anymore." Saltbaker told the boy. "Everything I've seen him do today has had your best interest in mind. It was in everything he said and everything he did."
"Maybe." The young utensil sniffed. "But you don't understand our history. It's hard for me to just forgive him after years of strict rules… and bad treatment."
Saltbaker remembered his conversation with Forkington. About how strict and mean the fork had once been. What the spoon was saying now only confirmed that the bad things Forkington had confessed to were true.
"Well, I may not be an expert at parenting, but I think with a little time you'll see his true self shine through."
"Thanks, Mr. Saltbaker. I hope you're right." Spoonfred wiped away the last of his tears. Just then, the chef jerked to a stop. "Hey, what gives?"
"Sh! Someone's coming."
They both watched as a bush rustled about 20 feet from them. The spoon huddled close as they both tensed and held their breaths. For all they knew, it could have been the demon diverting from the other group. Saltbaker and Spoonfred breathed a sigh of relief as the golden chalice made herself known.
"Ms. Chalice? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with the cup brothers?" The chef asked as she slowly approached.
"I was." She said. "But…. there's something I need to give you." Her gloved hand dug down into her shirt and pulled out the necklace. The girl looked away as she held out the diamond necklace in her palm. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Wha? Where did you get this?" Saltbaker was almost at a loss for words. His eyes went wide as he took it from her. "I thought you said you never saw anybody in the astral plane?"
"Well, I mean I didn't really." Chalice said as her arms crossed behind her back. One of her golden slippers traced a circle on the ground. "I found that necklace in a pile of….shattered glass. It was hardly reminiscent of a person. And I certainly didn't know who it was at the time. I only realized it just today. I'm sorry for any hard feelings this might cause."
The chef's yellow eyes seemed to water. His lip quivered as he studied his wife's necklace. He then closed his eyes and curled his glass fingers around his possession.
"Hard feelings?" The salt shaker started to boil. "You steal from my dead wife and you think there's merely going to be hard feelings?"
"I'm sorry, okay? It's not like I can go back in time and undo my actions. But I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you."
"Make it up to me? How? You just can't keep your grubby little hands away from anything shiny, can you?" Chalice merely closed her eyes and hung her head at this statement. For she knew that she definitely had a thing for shiny objects. "That Wondertart I mentioned was never for you, either. You were just going to be a test subject while I had the real thing." Saltbaker then sighed. "But neither of us can have it now. It's just too risky. I want nothing to do with the astral plane or demons anymore. My dream is gone now that she is." He looked back to the necklace in his hand. "I just need some time alone right now."
Spoonfred flinched as he dropped the wagon's handle. It landed on the grass with a thud.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Saltbaker." The utensil jumped in front of him. "We still need your help to defeat the demon."
"No, you don't need me." His glass head slowly shook back and forth. "You just need my supplies. They're all yours now." The salt shaker walked around the boy and started off. Saltbaker stopped and looked over his shoulder to say a few parting words to the spoon.
"Goodbye, Spoonfred. I hope everything works out for you and your dad."
The two children could only watch as the chef left their party. Ms. Chalice sighed and hung her head again.
"Great, now he's not going to help us. You happy now, Mr. Librarian?" She said into the empty space, knowing very well that her words would be captured into her life book.
"Both of the adults are gone. So I guess it's up to us now." Spoonfred told her as he went to grab onto the wagon's handle.
"What happened to your dad?" The chalice probed.
"Don't ask."
Ms. Chalice watched as he attempted to pull the wagon full of supplies. It struggled to roll forward.
"Need some help?" The girl offered as the supplies moved at a snail's pace.
"That would be….appreciated…" Spoonfred replied between pulls. "This is….heavier….than it looks…" The golden chalice grabbed on and tried with all her might to get the cart going. The speed increased a bit to what they might call a turtle's pace.
If we can't get this thing going faster, we'll never make it back in time for the big ambush. Both Spoonfred and Chalice were thinking the same thing. But what were they to do? It was only them now. If only they had another person to help out….
In another part of the forest, Cuphead, Mugman, and Kiki trudged towards the ambush spot. Mug noticed that his brother was acting fidgety. He kept looking around and twiddling his fingers.
"Do you really think she'll be okay?" The red cup asked him.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a tough cookie, that's for sure." Mugman tried to reassure him.
"It's not her I'm worried about. It's Saltbaker possibly snapping again." Cup explained.
"Well, it's not like we haven't convinced him that his wife could possibly still be out there. We've put that myth to rest." The young mug offered. "If anything, I would think he would experience a wave of emotions that might take him a minute to recover from."
"I sure hope you're right about that." Cup sighed and continued to follow his little brother.
Hold up. Tsundere said and pulled his host to a stop. The feline stopped at his heels and listened intently to her surroundings.
"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" Cuphead asked. But Mug could feel vibrations in the ground. It was of something running in their direction.
"Hide! Quick!" Mugman said and pulled his brother into the nearest bush. Kiki didn't hesitate to dive in after them. They all cautiously peered out, having hid just in time to witness Tanuki run past. There was a look of excitement on his face. No doubt the excitement of sensing the Devil's presence and wanting his long-awaited rematch. Once the demon was out of sight, Mugman emerged ever so quietly from his hiding place.
"This isn't good. If Tanuki reaches David well before the acidic supplies do, then poor David will have to fight him off for a while."
"So, what's the issue?" Cup whispered and crawled out of the bush. "David should be able to knock that guy for a loop." The cat crept out, too. Her fur was puffed up along the spine with the dangerous creature nearby.
"The only problem is, if Tanuki was a problem for David years ago, then it will only be harder for him now. The Devil isn't as strong as he used to be. That last battle we fought with him against that other demon really drained him. I don't think he's ever fully recovered from it. His scars are worse than they've ever been." Mugman explained.
"Are you sure about that?" The red cup probed.
"Yes." Mug nodded. "It's something we can sense."
"So what are we going to do?"
"Tsundere and I will keep going forward and help David fend off Tanuki for as long as we can." The mug child turned to his brother. "And you should go find Chalice and the others. Help make sure the supplies gets there as fast as it can."
"Right." Cup nodded and started to run off. He stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder. "And Mugman….good luck and be careful. Both of you."
"We will. Thanks, Cup."
And with that the cup brothers parted ways for the time being. Both hurried to their destination. Mugman ran forward with Kiki following close by.
Cuphead ran back toward the mountain. His frantic footsteps and panting caused Chalice and Spoonfred to stop on the spot when they heard the noise in the once quiet forest. Once he fought his way through the brush, Cuphead gave a sigh of relief when he found his friends.
"Oh, there you are!" The red cup ran over to greet them at the wagon. But where was the other members of their party? "Where are Saltbaker and Forkington?"
"They um…." Chalice stuttered.
"They left." Spoonfred finished for her. Cup considered asking why but that would take time that they didn't have. They were already running late.
"Oh, for the love of-" The young cup stopped himself and immediately ran to the back of the wagon. "Keep pulling, you two! We need to move faster! Tanuki is ahead of schedule!"
"I think it's us that's behind schedule." The young spoon said as he looked to the girl.
"Hey! Less talking and more pulling!" Cuphead asserted. His gloved hands pressed into the wagon and began to push. Now with three children working away at the wagon, it began to move considerably faster. Perhaps they wouldn't be as late as Cuphead feared.