Cuphead and Mugman in "Fate Will Find You"

A Passed Burden

David bounded up the mountains as fast as he could. The wind whipped in every which way, ruffling his fur and tying it into small knots. This invisible force was so powerful that it whistled throughout the rocky slopes. Storm clouds roared above his head. For they threatened to unleash their fury at any moment. Lightning lit up the sky, showing the faun the safest route to take. One of his hooves slipped a bit on a ledge. He gasped and watched as a small bit of debris crumbled down the mountain. A low growl reached his ears. He looked up to see the head of the dragon peak over the side. David expected it to do something that would cause him to fall. Instead, it merely turned away and kept on going about its business.

"Hey! Hey, come back here!" He yelled at the flying lizard as he heaved himself over a large lip on the mountain. "You and I have some unfinished business!" The bipedal dragon stopped in its tracks and looped its neck back around.

"Turn around and go back home, young one. Your time will come another day." Satan rumbled in his deep voice. He then continued on his way, ignoring the small and insignificant creature.

"What's the matter? You scared of me now?" The faun challenged. It snorted and flashed its yellow eyes in David's direction. "You heard me! It's time for you to pay for all you've done to that poor town!" His golden pitchfork pointed towards the towering beast. Satan whipped back around and bellowed a hearty laugh. All the while, David saw that the wound he had inflicted earlier that day was still bleeding. The red liquid seeped between two plates of his silver armor.

"You are challenging me? The Great Satan!" His broad wings flicked upward as he roared his name loudly. "You are a mere boy! You wouldn't last a minute!"

"I'd like to see you try laughing when I shove my trident down your throat!" The faun yelled right back, still hanging strong.

"Well, if that's the case, I may just have to teach you a lesson.... Or two!" Satan hissed as he raised his wings well above his body, making himself look even taller than usual.

The opposing sides took battle stances and stared one another down to see which one would strike first. Satan ultimately threw a punch the faun's way. David quickly ducked out of the way, hearing the deafening crack of the dragon's fist collide with the mountain. He turned to his opponent after running a safe distance away. That same red fist came crashing toward him again. However, he was ready for it this time. David swiped his trident in front of him. Each of the three prongs scraped along the back of the scaly hand. Flecks of blood came off and splattered to the ground. Satan grumbled in pain and stumbled backward, clutching his hand.

The faun took advantage of the reptile being distracted by its own pain and started whacking away at him with the trident. It loudly banged against the armor and found its way between plates every now and then. Satan slowly got the sword out of his sheath without his opponent noticing. Then the two weapons hit one another. The sword, which was nearly as long as David himself, lodged itself between two of the trident's prongs. He fought to get the trident out of its hold. Satan could feel the hybrid struggling hard and merely gave a wicked smile. His long tail snaked out from behind him and whipped the faun. Poor David was tossed to the side with a yelp of pain. He instantly dropped his weapon as his body sprawled on the mountain. The faun began to haul himself up when he noticed his item just before the dragon's feet.

Shit! He thought as his gaze whipped up from the trident to the scaly face that glowered at him. Satan noticed that he eyed the weapon at his feet. No way would he allow the faun to actually get to it! With a deep rumble of the throat, he readied a flamethrower to be unleashed from his mouth. David heard his deep breath and knew that meant danger. He quickly scrambled behind a rock to avoid being incinerated. Orange flames ate at the boulder but did not get to the hybrid. David could feel the temperature heating up and removed his back from the hard surface. His heart pounded fast as he panted, hoping that he would get an opening to get his trident.