Cuphead - The Call of Retribution

I'm Gonna Find You

The plump demon mumbles over the words that his pupils are scanning through the sheet of paper. His friend, perching on the top of his head, following along the lines of the tiny print. But the final part leaves them with widen eyes and a tight lip.

"...Oh." The thick creature said. "Oh no."

"That's not good." The smaller imp added.

Their master paces back and forth with his tail between his legs. So many thoughts are racing in his head to the point where he could not stop biting the sharp edges of his fingernails. He was even more anxious about King Dice than the time he lost his pitchfork, having more emotional attachment to him than his signature weapon.

With Minion's wings, flapping in the air to carry himself off of the purple imp, Henchman, on the other hand, has his eyes glued to the letter, stuck on the name that ends the note: "Liam Jones."

"Did you know Paulina had any siblings?" He asked the blue imp.

"No, I don't think so." Minion said, shaking his head. "Did you?"

"No? ...Maybe?"

The Devil pauses his movements, taking a sharp turn towards his creations. Teeth jarred in frustration and red pupils, glaring down at them. The eyes of Satan himself renders them immobile, forcing them to whimper like puppies who knew they did something bad, like ripping the couch or create a mess that was beyond anything a human can comprehend. A mess so huge that you would hire a cleaning lady to take care of it for you instead of doing it yourself.

"YOU TWO DIDN'T LOOK INTO IT?!" He boomed. "After all this time, after I worked you boys to the freaking bone to find anything related to Paulina Jones, and I mean anything, how the bloody hell did you mess this up?!"

Everything was going so well. All so well. His wish finally came true, only for it to be snatched away from him like a thief in the night. To make it all worst, Paulina had a brother, and now he's the one who took Dice away.

That horrible, grotesque feeling reignites inside his very core. His hatred burns his entire body into a crimson furnace, matted with fur and coated in a glaze of ember.

The Devil snatches the paper from Henchman, then proceeds to stuff it into a crinkled ball, chuck it into the air as if he were playing badminton, and without hesitation, he shoots a blast of fire at the sheet, molding it into nothing but ash and brimstone. But it couldn't satisfy him.

"I'M GONNA KILL THAT BASTAAAAARD! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

His screams ring resonate the tremors of his rage, shaking the entire cavern that sprinkles crumbs of the craggy walls from the ceiling. This roar of fury tightens the ear muscles of the impish duo, trying to block out the wrath in their boss' vocal cords.

It only lasts for more than five seconds as the demon's exterior changes colors, back to its original dull hue, and the flames that covered his slender body disappear into thin air. The compression between his creations' head releases its grip, honing back to the sounds of deafening silence.

The Devil is calming down. That's a relief. In spite of that, though, Henchman and Minion can still detect a shimmer of his anger, still dormant within him, and their intuition, tugging at their heads with certitude, raises concern.

"What am I doing?" Their boss growled.

Destroying a stupid note isn't going to bring Dice back, he knew that much. But, his mind is clouded with judgement, and his rage is uncontrollable. Just the thought of anything bad happening to his righthand man would send him on edge.

"Are you sure we can't help you, boss?" The plump demon asked.

"Yeah!" The blue imp agreed. "I mean, you did teach us a lot of stuff in Killing 101."