We'll Do It Together. (Snake Eyes)

To Save The Day?

     "So what now?" Mugman asked his brother, the two cups walking home after their adventure. "Whatddya mean 'what now'? We're heroes Mugs! What more could you want from today?" Cuphead said, waving his arms in excitement. "Well, I mean, we defeated the Devil himself and even Mr. King Dice, what left is there to do? We fought everyone and saved them, but what do we do now? Do we go back to just playing in the forest under the watchful eye of Elder Kettle?" Cuphead stopped in his tracks at the question of his brother, now deeper in thought than before. "Guess so." He finally said, shrugging his shoulders. "We could still try and find out more about the Legendary Chalice, and I bet my soul on it that King Dice and the Devil will open that Casino right back up," "How about we don't bet our souls on anything again for a long time." Mugman said, interrupting his brother. Cuphead gave a nervous chuckle and they walked across the small bridge where the apple man had given them three coins just hours before. They came up to a small house where they had had so many memories in. As soon as they opened the door they were hit with a surprise party put together by all of their friends on Inkwell Isle 1. "SURPRISE!!!" They all yelled, startling both of them. Cagney, Hilda, Goopy, Ribby and Croaks and even the Root Pack were there in front of them. They even had a cake that they all and together that said in bold letters, "Thank you!!!" "Wowie guys! I didn't know all of this was in store for us! Did you know bout' this Mugs?" Cuphead said looking at Mugman. "We wanted to surprise you! We know we fought before, but you saved us when you burned the contracts and despite the party earlier we wanted to thank you both personally." Hilda said, smiling at the heroes. Mugman, still a little shocked said, "W-well you definitely surprised us!" "Good thing we did, Goopy over here almost spilled bout' it earlier!" Cagney fussed, looking down at the blue blob. The two argued for a small bit and then they started to cut the cake. Even though he was there with his family and friends, Mugman kept having this bad feeling in his gut that something bad was coming. The feeling lasted the whole night and went on until dawn. "I need to check on the Casino. Or Chalice maybe? Whatever it is, something's wrong and I need to figure out what."
     That night was not as peaceful or happy as it was for the two heroes Cuphead and Mugman for the Legendary Chalice. She was in another temple, maps and charts out on a table, work scattered around like Dr. Khal had been there. Scrolls of magic and prophecies littered the papers and Chalice was looking for an answer. "I've been to every mausoleum in this world and none of them have what I need! The only place that I haven't looked is the Devil's Casino, and it's probably now in ruins just like those temples after those two kids! There's so much more to fight, those poor boys don't know the half of it." Searching and scanning, the Golden Chalice had to come to a conclusion. "I have to check the Casino. It's the only place it could be. The magic I need wasn't in the temples with those Parry Ghosts, and I can see the Devil taking that heavenly power in hiding." The magic she needed was to have a complete physical body. She needed it to fight the dangers that were coming. She had looked all over the Isle but had gotten trapped every time, and if there were any magic, it would be stuck in the rubble. Determined to find it, she decided she would have to go to the Casino, even if it was coming mpletely destroyed, and fight for the body she needed. It would be a battle of Heaven against Hell.
     It was now barely dawn when Mugman's eyes were slightly blinded by the light coming out of his window. It was already 6 and if he wanted to figure out what was going on he'd have to make a long journey back to the Casino. He didn't know where to find Chalice, so his best bet at the moment was to go where he felt like the cause of the problem was going to be. He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes to let them adjust. He looked over to the bed beside him and in it laid his sleepy brother Cuphead, snoring ever so lightly. Mugman smiled, slowly getting out of his covers and jumping off the bed. He got the small bag he had packed in preparation last night in secret and carefully opened the door. Holding his breath he looked back once more at Cuphead, debating whether or not he should take him. "Sorry Cuppy, I think you've had enough trouble for the week." He thought, exiting and closing the door to their room. He slowly crept through the house to make sure he didn't leave anything he might need. Confirming that he was ready, he took the spare keys that were in a flower pot beside the door and left the cozy house. He already knew Elder Kettle wouldn't be up for another few hours, both himself and Cuphead would often wake up early in the morning, just as the sun came up to go to the river where they could catch the most butterflies, not having to worry about anything in the world. They had always competed to see who would catch the most and no matter how hard he tried, Cuphead always seemed to win. Maybe it was because he was two years older, Cuphead being 10 and Mugman being 7, almost 8. Or maybe it was because the Butterflies would always flutter over to Mugman, making him feel too bad to try and catch it, only for Cuphead to swing his net and capture the poor creature. These thoughts drifted around Mugmans head making him smile at happy memories of a not-so-distant past. He walked back over the bridge over to Porkrind's Emporium. The shop wasn't opened yet, but the door was unlocked and he could hear rustling so he opened the door. Inside he saw potions and items on the shelves, some that he had never even seen before. Behind the counter was the pig himself, stacking things on the shelf behind him for display and buying needs. Evidently hearing someone come in, his voice slightly boomed, "Oy, come back later ya' bum', we ain't open yet." He turned around to see the customer and saw that it was Mugman. "Oh- it's you. Sorry bout' that, whatcha need Mugsy?" Porkrind's rude expression turned into a smile as he saw the sweet boy approach his counter, still too short to see once he got close enough. Pulling out the stool made just for him and Cuphead, he stood on it, grasping to see what was for sale today. Porkrind's gave out a hardy laugh of the display of the small child working so hard just to see. It made Mugman blush, turning his porcelain skin blue across his face. Then he finally could ask, "What do ya' have that could defeat a demon?" Porkrind's face turned into a surprised look saying, "Well, didncha already do that? Whatcha need somethin' like that for?" "Just trust me. I need a shooter that could at least hurt the Devil. The pig decided not to question it and felt around the inside of his counter. Once feeling the right potion, he grabbed it and placed it in view of Mugman. "This here is a lot like the charge shot, cept' it does a lot more damage. Aim ain't as much as a problem either, it covers large areas." "What's it called?" Mugman asked, reaching for the potion, Porkrind in turn quickly swatting the boy's small gloved hand away. "Now listen here ya' bum, this potion ain't like the ones yer' used to. It's called "The Demons Flame" and every time ya' use it, it taints more and more of yer' soul." "What do you mean?" Mugman said, fiddling with the leftover gold coins in his pocket. 'Means if ya' use it nough' times, ya' might as well be considered ah demon. Why I didn't show it to you boy's the first time ya'll came around here." Mugman nodded, starting to pull out the coins. "Now I'm not sure why you'd need this, but you look mighty determined, and I know you'd only ask for somethin' like this if you really needed it. But ya' have to promise me to be careful with this. Nor Cuphead or myself would ever live it down if this got ya' hurt." Mugman nodded again, promising he'd be careful. He was going alone this time and he knew if it came down to it, he'd need that sort of power. He looked at the price and took out 6 golden coins. It was far more expensive than the rest of the items in his shop, but this was powerful. They traded the things in their hands and Mugman thanked his friend. "I promise to be careful." He said one more time. He started to walk back to the door and Porkrind said, "Imma' hold ya' to that... Ya' Bum..." Chuckling as Mugman walked through the door. Once out of the shop, he put the potion in his bag, saving it for whenever he might need it. He looked up to see the sun poking out over the horizon, peeking little rays of sweet yellow light through the green trees. Sunlight causing a shadow, Mugman knew it was already past seven. "Did I take that long?" He thought, once again beginning his journey back to the Casino, or what he assumed was left of it. He pushed away the thought thinking, "Nevermind, there's no time to worry about it. I'll just make the rest of my journey a little bit quicker!" He skipped a little, making his way down the dirt covered roads, into Inkwell Isle 2.
    It was now around nine or ten in the morning, when Mugman carefully walked over the train tracks where the haunted train slept, careful not to wake him or the others since they usually slept the whole day, only to terrorize those who needed it in the night. He looked up to see the Casino. It looked just like before, with only a few cracks in the walls. Despite being confused of how fast it was rebuilt he then did realized it was owned by the Devil so he pondered no longer about it. Debating how he should get in, he realized there was no Golden lock on the entrance to where they fought the Devil. "Maybe he's in there." The mug thought, making his way down to the gates. He walked right through, ready to open the door to the building. He slowly opened the door to see fire and rocks everywhere. He knew it wasn't the true hell, but it still made him shiver to walk in. He walked down the stone path to see walls and a door, almost an exit. He had never noticed the walls before, but the only other time they had been there was to fight the Devil, so he didn't really question why he hadn't seen them. Opening the door, he saw rooms and offices. There was a long hallway that he could only assume was the way to the floor of the Casino, when he heard a deep voice grumbling about something. He looked over at the room that the sound was coming from and saw the Devil. Covering his mouth so he didn't gasp, he saw that the damage Cuphead did to his horn still remained, yet the damage he himself had done to the Devil's eye had now been turned into just a small scar that was mostly covered by fur. He was pacing around the room that was obviously his office, Mugman only managing to make out the word "Dice" every now and then. He was looking down at his feet as he paced, shaking his head like he'd said something wrong. He stopped pacing for a moment, sighing and taking in a deep breath. "It's alright Dev, you can win him back in a heartbeat. I just don't know how stubborn he's gonna be." He put his head in his paw and tapped the desk beside him. Mugman inched closer to the door in order to see more clearly. But in doing so, he tripped on the carpet under him, falling on the ground. Scrambling to get up, it was too late. Devil perked his head to the side to see the boy racing to get back to his feet. Within seconds his mood changed completely and he was in full rage. Mugman finally got up, knowing he had been spotted from the growling he heard. He started to run across the hallway, too scared to run the right direction towards the exit. Devil was right behind him, practically roaring at this point. "HEY YOU MUG COME BACK HERE! I SWEAR WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON YOU-" He stopped, realizing how close the small boy was to the floor. Knowing that if people saw him, things would be ruined, so he quickly teleported to stand in front of Mugman, attempting to calm his own rage while doing so. Mugman was surprised when he ran into the Devil at full speed, knocking him onto his back. He looked at the ceiling to see the Devil towering over him, his face red with hidden rage and his pupils thin lines, smoke coming out of his nose as he huffed. "You're coming with ME." He grabbed Mugmans wrist with enough strength to break it and pulled him down back to his office. He rudely threw the Mug into his office, almost making him run into the desk and making him trip and fall. Mugman was rubbing his knees after falling on them, cowering infront of the desk. "So lets get something straight before I kill you Mugface... Why the hell are you here." Mugman's eyes widened and he started to tremble in fear, but he mustered up the courage to respond. "Y-you know exactly w-why I'm here. Wh-What are you and M-Mr. D-Dice planning?" Now filled with courage Mugman's posture straightened. Devil gave him a hard look. "What are you goin' on about, we ain't doin' nothin' Mugface." "Then why do you look like you're plannin' somethin', pacin' around like you're nervous." Mugman gave him a glare back, his back still to the wall, his arms crossed. He was painfully trying to ignore the throbbing pain that stung his knees from falling. Devil started to show his anger more seeing the confident child in front of him. "What I'm doin' is none of yer business. Now what I need to know is why you feel like you have a right to be here after what you and your idiot brother did." "My brothers not an idiot! And we did the right thing, our friends didn't deserve to go to hell, and I'm here to stop whatever bad is going to happen to Inkwell Isle!" Mugman was now almost on the verge of yelling from his anger. "Well you made a mistake. Without your brother, you're useless, and I don't want anyone, especially Dice to see ya' right now. But I'm not lettin' ya go either." Devil Now was smiling, leaning down to where he could look straight into the eyes of the child who beat him. "Plannin' somethin' ey? I'm not sure what he's talkin' about, but this could be fun." He was now on his knees, Mugman's confidence starting to wither away the closer the demon got to him. "Wh-What do you m-mean?" He said, the Devil inches away from his face. " I mean, if you don't want anyone hurt in our plan to take back what's ours, than you better not plan on exitin' this Casino anytime soon." Even though the Devil didn't actually have any plan yet for something revolving around taking over the Isle, it might get Mugman to stay in order to "save" everyone. He hated the child in front of him but he could have a little fun with him. They could use another hand or two around the casino, and once the time was right, maybe he could impress Dice with the fact that he had gotten one of the souls they deserved. "You're gonna d-do what?!" Mugman cried, now almost in a state of panic. "Oops, did I say too much? Oh well, it's not like you'll be leaving to tell anyone. Unless that is that you want your brother dead? All your friends dead... Wow, I can see both me and Dicey stakin' up their bodies now, throwin' em' into hell-" "No! Stop, please! I'll stay, I'll stay! Just don't hurt anyone! Don't take over the Isle, please!!!" Mugman was now on his knees bowing to Devil, begging him to spare everyone. "See, all you needed was a little push. How about we make a deal?" The Devil gave a toothy seductive grin to Mugman, who was now perked up at the sound of a deal to save his friends and brother. "As long as you stay here and become both mine and King Dice's obedient servant, I won't lay a claw on your brother or any of your so called 'friends'". He pulled out a pen and a piece of parchment paper with his signature on it and the deal with a place for Mugman to sign out of thin air. "Inkwell Isle will be free from my reign. But if anyone including your brother comes to save you, or you try and run away, I'll kill them and you." Mugmans eyes started to blur from tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, but seeing as he had no choice he began to sign. "G-Goodbye Cuppy- G-Goodbye Elder K-Kettle..." He said, the contract now signed. He was now a pawn of the Devil.

3073 Worrrrds!!! Okie That's all that I'm publishing for the week, still figuring out bold and italics but whatever. Byeeeee-
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