Cuphead and Mugman in "Fate Will Find You"

Possessed Brawlers

Mugman and his group of followers neared the city of Inkwell. They all marched in anticipation of the look on Forkington's face when he saw the alliance that had formed. All except for Spoonfred, that is. The young utensil just grew evermore anxious. He started to form nervous habits by the minute. His gloved fingers continually twirled around his red and white tie and accidentally made it tighter. The spoon gagged a little before he actually realized what his busy fingers had done. He quickly loosened it up, hoping that no one had noticed his frightened body language. Mug had seen this and was about to say something when his demon pulled him to a stop.

What's wrong? He inquired.

Something's moving. It said quickly.

We're all moving. Mugman replied, seeming a bit annoyed that it was picking this moment to listen to something.

No. There's something going towards your family. The demon explained. Mug immediately became interested in what it was saying.

What do you mean?

Spoonfred noticed that his friend had stopped and was more than happy to backtrack a bit and stall the inevitable meeting with his father.

"What's wrong, Mugman?"

The young mug did not reply. He stayed still, listening through the ground as well. The mug child struggled to understand what all the movement meant. It seemed to zig and zag around with no apparent goal or direction. Then it became much more calm and concentrated. Thankfully, the parasitic creature understood what it all meant.

I think it's going to attack! The dark voice said in alarm. This also put Mugman on high alert.

"They're in trouble!" Mug blurted out and took off running in the direction he had felt the unnatural movement. He instantly forgot about his friends, leaving them in the dust. Rumor and Djimmi didn't have a moment to react as they saw a blur blow past them. Spoonfred tried his best to keep up with the speedy mug child.

"We're coming too, Mugman!" He barely heard the utensil call out as he continued as fast as he could. Mug started to change himself into his alter ego as he ran. If something was going to attack his family, then he needed to be ready to fight. He arrived at the scene just in time to see Werner stalking his family and lashing his tail menacingly. The demon pushed him even faster when it saw the muscles in the rat's legs tense and ready to pounce. Mugman took a leap just as the rodent did. He caught it mid-air and tackled it away from his family. They began to lash their claws at one another as they tumbled across the pavement in a heap of fur and glass.

The chief's backup arrived at that moment too. Six officers made a loose circle around the brawling creatures.

"Don't shoot!" Cuphead cried out. "Mugman's in there!"

"Hold your fire!" Mr. Honeybottoms reacted accordingly to the child's plea. They all obeyed him and lowered their weapons. The rest of Mugman's group caught up as well and came to a halt with a gasp from each of them. Kettle stared in horror as he watched his boy begin to fight like a wild animal like he had done with the demon bat.

Mug and Werner fought to pin one another. The young mug was able to toss his opponent to the ground and hold him there by his shoulders. But the possessed rat wasn't about to give up that easily. Black claws popped through his shoes and took a swipe at the child's torso. Mugman felt the sharp weapons tear through his shirt and dig into his glass skin. A painful stinging seized his stomach as the wound started to bleed his white essence. He hissed in pain as the rodent kicked him off to the side. Werner got up and advanced forward. The mug started to pick himself up when a tail lashed across his face. It groped and rubbed its face with its hands, just like the bee had done. Mug's jaws opened in a silent scream. This gave the rodent another chance to get in an attack. The furry body pushed down the glass one face first so that it could not lash back. Both Mugman and the demon panicked at the realization that they were completely vulnerable. Arms shot out and tried to grab something to help the child up. His claws only made a horrible scraping sound on the pavement below him. The rat stood on his back, making sure that he couldn't jump back up. Black eyes homed in on the mug's fragile head. It opened its jaws and prepared to bite down on the boy's mug.