Cuphead and Mugman in "Fate Will Find You"

A Mutated Mishap

Cup, Mug, and Elder Kettle made their way back to the training grounds for round two of Mugman's sessions. The young mug could only hope that it would go better than the previous evening. That he could prevent himself from turning into his alter ego. Elder Kettle told Cuphead to stay well out of the way of his brother. To not interfere with the events that occurred within the cavern.

Mugman positioned himself in the middle of the rocky oval shaped field. The young mug took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It was his way of making himself calm. Well, as calm as he could be when about to fight creatures that he feared. The silent cave would no longer remain so in a moment. He watched as the lid was taken off the bottle. The blue liquid oozed out and formed the three mini devils. Each and every one of the purple creatures snarled at him with their fangs bared. They inched toward the mug, trying to get a reaction out of him. Fear is what they hoped for. It was what fueled them after all. To their surprise, Mugman stood confident.

An index finger pointed in their direction. Circular bluish-green rings spiraled toward the purple creatures. Mug watched as they predictably ducked the attack. Three sets of eyes shuffled closer to their prey. The child, however, stood comfortably, crossing his arms in front of his chest. A smirk of intelligence formed on his face. He watched as the rings circled back like boomerangs and crashed into the devils' furry hides. One of the creatures happened to evade the rain of roundabout shots. It lunged forward. Mugman saw this and acted accordingly. Five streams of red arrows emitted from a pointed index finger. The attack exploded on the remaining devil. It came crashing down face first to the floor, sliding right past the cup child.

Mugman knew they all would be back up for round two in a matter of seconds. The purple creature that had just lunged at him dragged itself back up. It charged with a purpose, having teeth and claws bared. Mug saw this and simply stepped out of the way. A single brown boot lifted up. The creature's eyes bulged out when it tripped over the child's foot. Its body tumbled forward and barreled into the other two devils that were attempting to get up. Mugman smiled in confidence at their defeat.

"Perhaps this is a bit too easy for you, Mugman." Elder Kettle noted. "How about we enhance the features that you fear the most about them?" There were so many features of the real Devil that chilled Mugman to the bone. Which ones to pick? Mug knew his tail always proved to be a problem. The teeth were like sharp knives that cut deep into its prey's skin. Mugman then realized what he truly feared the most though. Memories of the moment he was being crushed in the satanic creature's paw came back to him. The pain he had felt from its squeeze was unbearable. Mug had no doubt that the Devil would have put an end to him in two seconds flat if his brother had not interjected with a different idea.

"The things I fear most about them?" The young mug repeated. "That's easy: teeth, hands, and tails." Upon the child's words, these features were emphasized. One of the devils' teeth grew even larger. The second's tail grew much longer and thicker. It was so big that the creature had to get down on all four limbs to steady itself. The last one's hands grew into massive boxing glove weapons. They all chuckled in delight at their new weapons.

Oh boy...

Just stay calm, Mugman. He thought as he took a couple steps backward.

The cup child had to tell himself to stay calm as the purple creatures all stared down at him with his newfound fear, fueling them to their full potential. Mug watched as the devil with enlarged hands leapt forward. The large mitts came crashing downward. Mugman quickly jumped out of the way. Dust clouds danced into the air from the sheer force of the blow. A second creature emerged from the clouds with its new pair of chompers. The fangs clanged loudly as they attempted to crunch down on the child. Mugman gave a quick scream of panic as he backed away from the dangerous figment. Instinctively, he shot at the close-range enemy with his red spread shot. It hissed in pain and attempted to block the attack with its arms.