Cuphead and Mugman in "Fate Will Find You"

Expelling the Demon

Reality came back to them all at once. The first thing they noticed was the searing pain that engulfed the glass body. Next was the hard, boiling hot ground. The air was just as hot, if not hotter than the uncomfortable floor. It was humid as hell, hugging its inhabitants in an everlasting bear hug. Despite it being so hot, there was that sticky white liquid that clung to Mug's body. It was a wonder that the heat had not evaporated it already.

Everyone around the mutated mug flinched when a small gag sound came from his throat. Mugman coughed and twitched as his life essence seemed to pool at the back of his throat. An aching jaw finally snapped closed and dry eyes blinked rapidly. The young mug was waking up with a start compared to his brother.

"Mugman!" He heard his guardian cry out. All the child could see was dark and blurry shapes, just like when he woken up from his other near-death experience. Three were quite close to him. A slender and long-bodied shadow stood a bit away from him, keeping its distance. His mind started to wrap around whose shapes belonged to who. On the far right of his was Cuphead, the middle was Kettle, and the left was.... King Dice?

What's King Dice doing here? He wondered.

"I came to help." Replied the die man's voice. "Take it nice and slow. We'll help you up when you're ready." But the mutated mug immediately tried to put his gloved hands down and get up. "Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy!" The casino manager's voice rang through his head. Mugman fell back down and did not move for the next few seconds. He merely panted and closed his eyes. Every part of his body roared with pain. Glass arms and legs felt so stiff that he could barely bend them. Like his skin might shatter at the joints if he tried too hard. But Mug knew he had to try again. So he did.

With teeth tightly gritted together, he pressed his gloves down onto the rocks that were nearly steaming. Dice was ready to catch the boy if he seemed like he was going to fall again. The glass body shook horribly as the white liquid dripped off him. His straw incessantly rattled against his brim all the while. A shockwave of pain rippled throughout his body as the first boot found its way underneath him. He made a small moan of pain that was repeated when his other foot went to the floor. The mug child pushed his upper body away from the ground. It still drooped, clearly having trouble standing up straight. His demon tried its best to "pull the strings" to get the boy standing upright. Mugman tried to work with the pull that had situated itself right below his shoulder blades.

As soon as the two were able to get Mug's upper body in the correct posture, his brown boots clumsily shuffled forward. The mug's balance was very much off at this point. It felt like his body was going to pitch back down. He stumbled, hoping that would help him stay up. And then a big hug caught him. Yellow eyes finally opened back up to see a mutated Cuphead holding him close.

"It's good to have you back, little bro." Cup's gargled voice cooed into his sibling's mug. The boy panted a bit but ultimately let himself get lost in the cup's embrace and even hugged back. However, their moment of relief was short-lived.

David's imp ears twitched as he detected a muscular tentacle coming right for the group. It aimed for the cup brothers in particular. For the parasitic creature could tell that they had escaped from their imprisonment. The Devil acted quick and lashed his black trident at the incoming purple appendage. Its owner screeched in pain as the prongs drew blood and mucus from it. The demon retracted his tentacle and re-thought his approach for ending the cup brothers' lives. Soon enough, more tentacles were coming at them. King Dice whipped around, making his hand glow purple. Using his own mental magic, he shoved the playing card even farther into the creature's center. This only caused the demon's screeching to go even louder.