A/N: I am so sorry to everyone. I could have sworn I had posted chapter 9 last week on here, but it looks like I forgot to and only posted it on Deviantart. Again, I'm so sorry.

Chapter 10: A Big Family

Two days had passed since the boys had tricked the monster and Elder Kettle had been resting while King Dice, T-Bone, and Specter watched over him to make sure the healing potions were working and that the kettle's vital signs stayed steady.

Cagney and Psych looked after the boys, who had been mentally exhausted by the whole ordeal, which had made them physically tired and they had stayed in bed a whole day to recover, though they were still a bit tired, as was evident by the way Cuphead rested his head on Psych's shoulder and Mugman rested his head on Cagney's shoulder.

"You boys okay?" Cagney asked gently.

Mugman nodded, but looked tired still. Psych rubbed Cuphead's back. "Maybe you boys should take a nap," he suggested gently.

"But...what about Elder Kettle?" Cuphead asked.

"He'll be alright," Cagney said gently. "Dice, T-Bone, and Specter are taking care of him."

Mugman yawned, covering his mouth to hide it, but the flower smiled gently. "Come on, Psych. Let's get these two angels to bed."

"Right behind you, Cagney," the carrot said.

Going to the boys' room, they set the young ones down gently on the beds in there and tucked blankets around them as the boys looked even sleepier. Mugman caught Cagney's hand in his own. "Promise you'll wake us up when Elder wakes up?" He asked.

"I promise, little one," the flower said, rubbing the small mug's head gently.

"Sweet dreams," Psych said gently as he rubbed Cuphead's back again, watching as the kid fell fast asleep. Mugman had also fallen back asleep, making the carrot and flower smile as they quietly left. "Poor kids. They're exhausted."

"The ordeal they went through was exhausting," Cagney said gently. "And it has only been two days."

"I think they're going to need at least one more day to rest and recuperate," the carrot said with a nod. He sighed. "We never should have gotten mixed up with that monster."

"No," the flower said. "And he knew that we wouldn't fight two children."

"One of the reasons he went after Elder Kettle and forced the boys to collect the contracts," said King Dice as he came out of the master bedroom.

"How's Elder doing?" Psych asked.

"Doing better. One more day of rest should do it. Where are the boys?"

"Sleeping," Cagney said. "They're still exhausted from the ordeal."

King Dice shook his head sadly. "Dice, you said one of the reasons the monster sent Cuphead and Mugman after us because he knew we wouldn't fight two kids," the carrot asked. "What was the other reason?"

"Two other reasons," the man corrected gently. "One was because Elder was the only one that wasn't in debt to the monster and the other was because he knew he could control the kids easily and they would do anything to keep their guardian safe."

"Well, at least he's gone now and we're free," Cagney said. "Let's hope he doesn't return."

"He can't," King Dice said. "That was the thing about his contracts. If he signed it, then there was no going back. That's why I gave the boys an official contract paper when they told me their idea."

"Which was why you were eager to sign it and have the mini-bosses sign it too," Psych said.

"You knew the monster wouldn't suspect anything," the flower said.

"Right," the man said. "And thankfully, he didn't."

The rest of the day was quiet as the boys rested, eating a light supper that Chalice made for them before falling back asleep, waking up the next morning and feeling much better.

Cuphead was first to get up and saw his brother get up too. "I wonder how Elder's doing?" The small mug said.

"Let's go see," said his brother.

The two went to their guardian's room, finding Specter on watch and the ghost smiled at they came in. "How is he doing?" Cuphead asked.

"He's doing much better," the ghost said. "He might be able to get out of bed today."

Elder Kettle woke up then, yawning and sitting up. "Elder," Mugman said, tears running down his face as he ran up to the bed and climbed up, hugging the kettle, who hugged him back. Cuphead climbed up moments later and hugged his guardian too.

"Are you okay?" The small red cup asked.

"Yes," Elder Kettle said, his voice sounding stronger as he hugged the boys reassuringly.

"We're sorry, Elder," Mugman said. "We're sorry we took so long."

The kettle looked at the boys, gently wiping away their tears. "No," he said gently. "You boys did what you had to do." He then looked down. "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you two. I sheltered you so much in hopes of protecting you and keeping you safe, but I should have told you about that monster so you would have known to be wary of him."

It was quiet for a bit. "But if you hadn't sheltered us, then we wouldn't have gained more family," Cuphead said. "Sure we were a bit scared of the people we met when we realized their names were on the paper the monster gave us, but when those people saw were were just kids, they offered to help us."

"Though you two were quite scared of us on the Phantom Express," Specter teased lightly, gently tickling Cuphead's neck and making him giggle.

"But that was before we knew you wouldn't hurt us," Mugman said.

"Never," the ghost said, gently patting the small mug's head. "I for one have a huge soft spot for little ones like you two."

"We all do," said King Dice as he came in, Pirouletta beside him. She smiled at the boys.

"So you two are the precious angels I've heard so much about," she said with a smile. "They're adorable, Elder."

"Thank you," the kettle said with a smile.

"Are you okay, Miss Pirouletta?" Cuphead asked.

"Yes, little one," she said with a smile.

King Dice smiled. "If you and the boys are up to it, Elder, the others are in the living room waiting to see you three," he said.

Nodding, Elder Kettle got out of bed, gratefully accepting his cane from Specter while the boys climbed down off the bed, all of them going into the living room to see the other inhabitants in there and all were smiling. "How are you feeling, Elder?" Beppi asked.

"Much better," he replied. "I can't thank you all enough for keeping my grandsons safe."

"It was our pleasure, Elder," Hilda said with a smile.

"We did promise you we'd watch over the boys if anything happened to you," Djimmi said.

Cuphead blinked. "Wait. You guys already knew us?" He asked.

"We knew of you, but hadn't met you yet," Baroness said gently.

"Elder made us promise that we would make sure you two never got mixed up with that monster," Cala Maria said.

"But we had no idea he'd go after Elder to make us pay our debts," said Brineybeard.

"But even if we hadn't known about you, we wouldn't have fought you," said Croaks.

"And now, thanks to your cleverness, we're all free," said Ribby.

Wally and Willy both nodded with a smile. Even Werner smiled. "Just proves kids can do anything if they put their minds to it," he said.

Mugman smiled. "You know, my brother and I weren't kidding about the family coming together," he said before taking a deep breath. "Would you guys be okay with us calling you our aunts and uncles? And Willy our cousin?"

Everyone smiled at that. "To be honest, we saw you boys as our nephews the day we met you," said Sally as she spun around, T-Bone catching her when she tripped.

"Who wouldn't have?" Grim asked with a smile.

"They're just the sweetest boys ever," said Rumor.

"And now a big part of our family," said Moe as the others nodded. Weepy had tears in his eyes, but they were happy tears this time.

Elder Kettle smiled. "Thank you all," he said.

King Dice smiled. "The casino will open again, but I'll be running it this time," he said. "That monster will never come back."

"Good," said Legendary Chalice.

Cagney grinned. "Right now, I think our nephews could use a few tickles," he said.

Chuckles and laughter filled the room as the boys tried to get away, but were caught by their family and tickled, to which they laughed happily while Elder Kettle breathed in a happy sigh, relieved that not only was all well, but they were now a big family. And a happy one at that.

And that concludes "Family Is The Key". Thank you so much to all who read, faved, reviewed, and followed this story. You guys rock! :) Also, if you guys could, would you please vote on the poll on my page? Don't worry, it stays anonymous and your vote would greatly help me for the story I am looking to do. :)

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