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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 5 years

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Aviary Action! With Wally Warbles!

Before you read: This is a rewriting of the main game Cuphead. Characters, certain dialogue, music, and locations obviously do not belong to me. This is best read with the OST playing over it.

Before you start reading, I now have a Patreon you can donate to as well if you should want to support where I wish to take this project! Patrons have unique opportunities to help bring this story to life, so please check it out or become a patron if you feel so inclined! Too young or unable to give financial support? That’s perfectly fine! You can also support this project, and my future ones by reblogging these episodes for free! Oh, and here’s a link to all published episodes. Enjoy!

The brothers flew around, over the mountain and trees in their Aeroplanes, looking for the next debtor. “You sure he's gonna be up here?” Cuphead asked, looking over to his older brother. “That's what Floyd said.” Mugman quickly glanced down at his watch, then back at the skyline. “Just keep your eyes peeled.” “What are we even looking for?!” “Floyd didn't say.” “Swell,” Cuphead grumbled sarcastically.

Suddenly, a loud cuckoo clock chime echoed across the park, causing both the boys to jump and the milk in their heads to spill just a bit. Cuphead and Mugman looked around to find the source, before Cuphead finally pointed to the center of the second isle. A large, red birdhouse with blue wings circled about, above the balloon tree to gather the patrons' attention as it rang. Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! “Think that's the guy?” Cuphead asked.

“Well, they're the only other one up here.” Once the clock was finished announcing the time, it started to fly back towards the side of the mountain, where a few bird nests and a large wooden perch were. “Got the scroll, Mug?” Mugman dug into his pocket and pulled out the list of debtors. The sooner the birdhouse saw it and realized they weren't messing around, the sooner they could get this over with.

As the birdhouse flew back to its perch, it quickly caught sight of our heroes before it could land on it. The door of the clock flew open, and a wooden bird on its own, smaller perch was pushed out. The bird then flew out and landed on the blue Aeroplane, right between the pilot and the propeller. “This here's a restricted area. You two lookin' fer trouble?” “Not...intentionally.” “Hey, I will have you know that we are like a magnet for trouble!” “Cuphead, that's not something to be proud of!” “Keep it down!” The wooden bird snapped before flying atop Mugman's nose in order to look down and read the paper he had. “Statechure business!” “We're here with the Devil's office.” Mugman started, a guilty look plastered to his face. “We've, uh, come for Wally Warbles' Soul Contract.” The wooden bird's eyes suddenly widened, and it flew back into the door of the cuckoo clock, pulling the perch back in and shutting the door behind it.

Not long after that, the door sprang back open. “Cuckoo! No!” The door shut once more, only to spring back open moments later. “Cuckoo! No!” Once again the door shut, only to reopen. “Cuckoo! I don't want to!” The door closed, then opened once more. “Cuckoo! No!!” As the door slammed shut one last time, the orange pendulum stopped swinging, and something stretched out from the face of the clock. The pendulum separated into two legs of a bird, and an orange beak tore out from the clock, freeing the head of a red and blue feathered bird. “Bacaaaaaaaawwww!!” He screeched, glaring at the two, young pilots. “If yer thinkin' I'm goin' down quietly, y'got another thing comin'!!” “Open fire, Mugs!” The brothers promptly began shooting at Wally, although their bullets didn't seem to be doing much.

Something seemed to travel up Wally's throat and after a short while, he closed his eyes and spat out a white egg with blue, green, and red spots. “Hueaeaeahhh!” “Ahh!” The brothers both screamed and scrambled to dodge. “What's th'matter? Don't like my scrambled shots? Hueaeaeahhh!” Wally spat out another egg, “hueaeaeahhh!” Then another. “Cuphead, break!!” Mugman cautioned, maneuvering his Aeroplane out of harm's way. “Why is it every time we get in these planes you want me to break?! I said I was sorry!” The three eggs smashed against the edge of the screen behind the brothers, breaking off into three shells each. “Cuphead, six-o-clock!!” “Ya can't fool me, Mugs! He just chimed for three-ow!!” One of the eggshells hit Cuphead's undercarriage as he spoke, leaving a white cross-shaped mark on the aircraft. “Well, ya can certainly tell which one a ya's th'smart one.” Wally taunted. The cuckoo figured that if the red bogey didn't know aviation terminology, that'd certainly make this easier for him. “Hey!!” Before Cuphead could say anything else, Wally's head morphed to form a giant, white-gloved hand with the thumb pressed over the pinky finger, and the other three fingers pointed at Cuphead and Mugman. “What?” “Get ready to br- dodge!” With the flick of the neck-wrist, the hand fired out three large bullets, one from each finger, and the brothers just barely managed to squeeze through the space between the shots. “Gosh, talk about trigger fingers.” “Nail Birds! Engage blue and red bogeys! Send 'em back to th'taxpayers!”

Four small birds with nails taped to their backs flew onto the scene and headed straight for Cuphead. “Ack! Incoming birdies!” “Focus on Wally! I'll cover you!” Mugman flew in front of Cuphead and began firing at the yellow and pink birds. Upon being hit, each little bird made a squeaky cheep and exploded in a puff of smoke and feathers. “Aauugh, why'd they have to make such a cute noise?! Now I feel bad!” “Ya didn't feel bad before?” Asked Cuphead. “Well, I feel even worse now!!” “Hueaeaeahhh!” Wally spat up another egg towards Cuphead, forcing the child to fly downwards to avoid getting hit. “Engage padlocked bogeys!” Wally commanded once more, four more birds flying towards Mugman. “Mugs, our fire ain't doin' anything!” “Get up close, use your new weapon!” Mug strategized, “I'll give you cover fire, you just watch out for his breakfast!” “Get close, don't get puked on. Got it.” Cuphead gave Mugman a thumbs up, then flew in closer to the feathered debtor. Mugman shifted his focus back onto the incoming birds. “Alright, time to hit the nail on the head!”

With Mugman's cover fire, Cuphead was able to inch in closer to Wally's head, soaring over and under any eggs the cuckoo clock spat out, up until the boy managed to hide right over the top of Wally's head, just outside his field of view. “No joy! I've lost visual, Red Casablanca!” Cuphead switched his weapon, and dropped a mini-bomb right over Wally's noggin. “Yeowch!!”

Inside the birdhouse, a small figure stirred. “Shh, go back to sleep, little one.” The voice of the wooden bird tried. “There's nothing to--” A muffled explosion from outside caused the whole house to tilt and shift, startling the small figure.

Cuphead dropped yet another mini-bomb, hitting Wally right on the beak with it, which caused a few of his teeth to fly out. Then Cuphead dropped another mini-bomb right onto his neck, earning a loud yelp of pain from Wally. “Son of a-” Wally's head morphed into a red factory steam whistle as he cursed. “Twooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!” Out of frustration, Wally began to gobble and flail his wings about, launching out the blue feathers from his body. “Wuh-oh!!” Cuphead saw the incoming feathery bullets and pulled back, trying to fly through the small openings he could find, all while keeping his fire locked onto Wally. However, it didn't take long for Cuphead to become overwhelmed, and a feather scraped against his left wing, causing the Aeroplane to tilt down further than he intended, which resulted in another feather scraping his undercarriage. That was what pushed him up in such a way that allowed for two more feathers to hit his wings, which ultimately pushed him back to the edge of the screen, smashing the young cup between the aircraft and the bordering. “Yeesh. Guess we really ruffled his feathers, huh?” Mugman commented. “Oww!” Cuphead whined as his blue spirit began to drift up towards the clouds. “Hey! Don't you dare leave me here to fight this guy on my own!!” Mugman cried, pulling his straw out from his head. A hand formed at the end of the blue straw to grab Cuphead's pink heart, and Mugman yanked his brother's ghost back down into his body. “'M okay...” The child mumbled woozily. “Shake it off, bro. Just keep a consistent fire, but focus on dodging, don't worry about landing your shots. Okay?” “Yeah?” Cuphead answered after he shook his head rapidly to regain his focus.

It wasn't easy, but the brothers managed to dodge Wally's feathers up until he suddenly stopped to breathe. The bird panted as he caught his breath, and Mugman saw an opening. He released the built-up magical energy from his body, and morphed into a smiling Super Bomb that sailed right for Wally. “Oh nooo!” Wally took in one last deep breath and began flailing about again, launching feathers everywhere. Without so much as an animation for it, the Super Bomb's smile turned into a panicked, anxious frown, Mugman did his best to navigate through the barrage of feather bullets, but he was hit just inches away from Wally, detonating before he intended to. “Son of a gu-- ow!!” A feather grazed Mugman's right shoulder, cuing the preteen to pull back towards his brother. “Well, that didn't go as planned.” “Ya probably....still...” Cuphead trailed off, focusing on dodging whatever was coming his way. Although, Mugman still got the message his brother was trying to get across and started firing again. Cuphead was right. With an explosion that large, Wally still probably got hurt from that.

Once again, Wally found himself needing to stop to take a breather. “Dad? What's goin' on?” A young, sleepy voice asked. Before Wally could answer, Mugman managed to fill enough of his Super Meter to attack with an Ex Move. “Now, Cuphead!” Both the brothers pulled themselves into an aileron roll and fired off one Chomper Missile each, right at Wally. Both the Chomper Missiles smacked Wally square in the chest, causing an explosion of blue and red feathers. The now bald bird gasped in pain before falling out of the birdhouse limply. “Dad, no!!” “Wait, did you hear that?” Mugman asked.

After a few moments, the house fell apart, and a small chick in a nest with four, flapping, wing-like leaves attached to the bottom flew out. “He has a son?!” Mugman shouted. The chick glared at the older cups. “You came fer my dad, huh?! Well, you can't take 'im! He's mine!!” “Calm down, kid! We ain't here ta fightchya!” “R-right! We don't want to hurt you, alright? We just need Wally Warbles.” “Well guess what? My name's Wally Warbles Jr.! So if ya wanna take Dad away, ya gotta go trew me!!” “More like Weirdo Warbles,” Cuphead mumbled to his brother. Junior tried to whistle, but he couldn't do it, so he just shrieked instead. “Ommulon Orbiters! Activate!” Suddenly, five spiked eggs circled out from behind his back, surrounding the chick defensively. “Do yer worst!!” “Look, kid, we don't wanna hurt ya! Now scram before-” “Ya misunderstand. My dad's the brawn and I'm all brains! Together, we bring the pain. Hee hee hee hee!” Junior cackled. “Are you serious?! We have to fight a little kid?!” “He ain't givin' us much of a choice, Mugsy.”

Junior flew towards Mugman and watched in amusement as his invention expanded in a perfect, circular formation, which would surely corner those ugly mugs! “Cuphead, watch out!!” Cuphead flew over one of the eggs, finding himself between it and Wally Jr. Although it might have been a perfect opportunity to strike Cuphead, Junior had already cornered Mugman between the bottom left corner of the screen, and one of the spiked eggs. The young chick grinned maniacally and watched as his attack continued to expand outwards towards the blue Aeroplane. “Oh no!!” Mugman had literally backed himself into a corner, with little to no room to escape. “Mugman!!” The mug tensed up, bracing for impact when he suddenly felt himself shrink down. Suddenly, there was a small opening for Mugs to fly through, and the teeny pilot was quick to squeeze through the gap between an egg and the bottom of the screen. “Curses!!” Junior scowled. However, now that Mugman's form was smaller, he happened to be more aerodynamic and moved much faster than he expected, so he crashed into a second egg before him. Mugman gasped in pain from the force of the impact and in a puff of smoke, the child grew back to normal size, just as the eggs started contracting towards the ceramic duo. “Ahh! Not good!” “I'll show ya fer hurtin' my brother like that!!” As Mugman scrambled to dodge, Cuphead began firing, not realizing the spiked eggs were drawing ever-closer to his plane. “Ouch! Stop dat! Meanies!!” Junior whined. “Cuphead, get outta there!!” “Huh?!” The cup looked back towards Mugman and finally noticed the eggs slowly surrounding him. “How do ya shrink?!” “I-I dunno, just move!!” Cuphead pulled his Aeroplane into a nose-dive as he spun into a sort of corkscrew, just narrowly avoiding a crushing disaster. “Whew!” Cuphead pulled up beside his brother, and firmly pressed the button down on the plane's stick, firing at the fledgling. “Mug, just shoot!!” “R-right!” Mugman followed suit, trying to quickly come up with some sort of plan to take this little fella down without actually hurting him.

“I betchyoo two think yer so smart, eh? Well, guess what? I'm smartah!” Junior pulled out some sort of raygun from inside his small nest and wasted no time in taking his aim and firing with a small giggle. Cuphead was quick to react and flew up and over Junior's shield of spiky eggs, finding himself past the chick. “Ah!!” Mugman did his best to dodge as Cuphead had, but when pulling up, he'd accidentally tilted his right wing up first, rather than pulling the whole plane up at once, and a pink electrical bullet severely damaged the lower wing, bending and tearing the metal in the sky. “No no no no!!” “Gotchya right where I wantchya!” Junior drew closer to Mugman, expanding the eggs out to try and hit him while he was weak. “Mugman, no!!” Cuphead quickly sped around and angled himself between Junior and his older brother, shooting the chick relentlessly to try and protect Mugman. “Ow! Stop it! Ouch!!” Junior whined, the bullets pushing him back just a little with each hit. Mugman grabbed some tape and stood up in his cockpit, after straightening out his aircraft. “Keep him busy! I'll make some repairs!” “Got it!!” Cuphead nodded. “Hey, bird brain!! Where'djya get that toy?! The dump?!” “Yes! And I'll have you know that I made it from broken radio parts and a toaster!! And a buncha other smart thingies an imbecile like you would never understand!!” “Hah! Joke's on you! I don't even know what that means!” “My point exactly!!”

Mugman tied some rope around his waist for safety and then wrapped some tape around his straw and the control stick, leaving quite a bit of room for leeway. He slowly and carefully inched out across the wing of his Aeroplane, until he was close enough to the damaged area. Mugman got on his knees and pushed the bent metal down back to its original place. He taped the two pieces together and pressed the line of tape across the damaged crack before letting go of the roll, watching it fly across the rest of the wing. The tape swung down across the underside of the wing, until Mugman caught it in his left hand, then raveled several more layers of tape across his wing by repeating this process. “Mugman, incoming!!” Cuphead's voice warned, just as Mug tore off the tape from the roll, Mugman looked up to see yet another pink bullet soaring right towards him. Mugman quickly dropped the tape roll and held on to the wing as tight as he possibly could as he pulled his straw out from his head, and yanked. The tension he created in the line was enough to pull his plane to the right, and just out of harm's way.

As his Aeroplane stabilized, Mugman heaved a sigh of relief before quickly crawling back to the cockpit, and removing the tape from his straw and steering. “Thanks, Cup!” “No, no, no!! This isn't fair!!” The child threw a temper-tantrum and pulled out his raygun once again, but before he could fire it, Mugman skillfully shot the pistol right out of the chick's hand, causing him to drop it out of the sky, and breaking the invention upon impact to the ground. “My invention!!” Cuphead began to relentlessly shoot at Junior once more, until the youngster threw down his arms and began wailing, creating raindrops of tears. “Waaaaaaaaaaaaahh!! Waaaaaaaahh! Daaaddyyy, these kids are meeeaaaann!!”

The boys looked at each other. “What good's zat gonna do 'im?” Cuphead asked. “We already knocked Wally out.” Mugman glanced at the ground below. “Now we just gotta find him and get his contract.” Cuphead then noticed something, and his eyes widened in surprise as three drops of milk splashed from his head. “Uh, Mug?!” Mugman looked back in front of them, only to catch sight of Wally on a stretcher being carried up by two, blue, medic birds. Wally was bald, his wounds had been wrapped up in white gauze, he had two black eyes, one of which was swollen shut completely, and he was noticeably missing a tooth. “Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwhaaat?!” Mugman yelped in surprise. “Mister, stop! Yer gonna hurt yerself even more!!” “After ya made m'son cry?! No way!!” Wally growled. “I've worked hard t'keep m'family in tact after th'mistakes I've made! I won't let ya dirty dishes take it all away from me! I won't letchya take it all away from Junior!” “L-look, Mr. Warbles! W-we're sorry, b-but we have no choice!” “Please, just give us yer contract! It ain't like ya got any feathers left ta lose!” The brothers pleaded. “Even without my feathers, you're in for stormy weather!” The feather father, or rather the featherless father, growled, then looked to the only medic he could. “Lefty! Righty! Engage!” Wally hissed out a groan of pain under his breath, and the medic bird at Wally's feet regurgitated a blue and yellow pill capsule into the air. “Does the fighting ever end?!” Mugman brought his plane up to get a better angle to hit Wally with, but just before he could start firing again, the capsule broke apart, and the yellow cap suddenly shot right towards Mug. “Woah!!” Mugman barely managed to pull his Aeroplane down just a tad to gain enough speed in time to dodge the pill. Before the older mug could get the chance to heave a sigh of relief however, Wally suddenly kicked his legs into his own chest. “Pihoo!!” Wally's beak forced itself open as his pupils turned into black X-es and something traveled from his chest, and up his throat. A large red heart pushed its way past Wally's tongue, and out his beak, grinning slyly at the dish pilots as it rose to the air. Cuphead didn't at all hesitate to take his aim at the heart, and start firing. “Mugman, snap outta it!!” Mug shook his head at that. “Right!” Mugman started to fire at Wally, but it didn't seem to be doing anything at all! The red heart suddenly spat out three black bullets at Cuphead and Mugman, then slowly floated back down into Wally's mouth, where Wally immediately swallowed his organ. Mugman was forced to pull his plane back to avoid one of the bullets, as he watched Cuphead steer his red Aeroplane between two of the shots. “Righty! I said engage! Now!!” The blue bird by Wally's head spat out a pill, just as his partner had, and once again, the capsule broke apart and soared towards Cuphead, who pulled into a large barrel roll to dodge. Mugman suddenly got an idea. If one of those medics go down, they'd drop Wally too! Mugman sped his aircraft above Wally's head and switched his weapon. “Here! Have a taste of your own medicine!” Mugman tried to drop a mini-bomb onto Righty, but he had just barely missed, and the bomb dropped to the left of him. Mugman found himself flooded with relief, as he had realized a fall from this height would potentially kill Wally. “Ya think you little cheap chinaware children can just come inta my sky and beat up my boy?! You two got another thin' comin', you puny, tiny, pale little--” Wally's head suddenly morphed into a trashcan as he spoke, sending a pink boot flying towards Mugman. “Ah!!” Mug quickly pulled back, just as the boot soared high in the sky, and Wally spat out rotting fish-bones that rocketed just as high. As gravity pulled the boot down, it just so happened to land onto Mugman's propeller, spinning around and around until it launched into the air for a second time, right as Wally spat out a black boot, and an apple core. Mugman was forced to pull back into a Split S maneuver, twisting and looping his aircraft behind Cuphead to avoid getting hit. As high as the garbage was launched, it seemed to fall just short of hitting the brothers. “You stink!!” Cuphead taunted. “That's the garbage, Cuphead.” Mugman informed, pinching his nose at the smell. “Move closer!!” Wally commanded, and the medics flew his stretcher closer to Cuphead and Mugman. Cuphead switched over to the mini-bombs and began dropping as many as he could onto Wally. The father began to spit out more trash again as he edged closer to the two. Mugman soon realized that he'd collide into Lefty if he didn't move, so he let his plane drop down, only to realize what a mistake that was.

As Mugman tried to move his Aeroplane back to get above Wally, he tapped the edge of the screen, leaving him trapped in the bottom corner. “Huh?! What?! Wait! Th-this isn't fair, I can't move! There's nowhere to go, the projector screen ends!!” The trash quickly began its descent, right towards Mugman. “Just keep shooting at him!” “I literally can't! There's nowhere for me to shoot!” “Shoot his butt!” Mugman sighed but switched his weapon. “Classy. Ah!!” Mugman moved his plane horizontally, one way, then the other, trying to dodge the rainfall of boots, apple cores, and fish-bones, but once there was a break in the garbage, he began firing once again. “Back away from my brother!” Cuphead threatened, dropping more and more bombs onto Wally. “I'd rather have a heart attack and die!!” Cuphead noticed how Wally shifted his legs and zoomed over to his beak just as he kicked his chest once more. Just as his heart was about to ascend from his mouth, Cuphead dropped one last mini-bomb that conked the heart right on the top, stretching the two curves apart and causing it to fall back down into Wally's mouth, just as the bomb detonated.

Wally's head fell limply to the side as his eyes rolled around and around dizzily, moaning just a bit as his whole world rotated ceaselessly. Lefty and Righty grinned and licked their beaks as they ripped off their medic hats, revealing chef hats underneath. They each grabbed the stretcher with their feet and pulled out a salt and pepper shaker, seasoning Wally. “Finally, we got him!” Lefty smirked, licking his beak again. “Huh?!” “We've been after this juicy slice of poultry for years! He'll sell for a fortune once we prepare him!” Righty explained. “Couldn't have done it without ya kiddos!” “Here!” Righty reached into Wally's beak and pulled out his Soul Contract, before wadding it up into a paper ball, and throwing it at Cuphead, hitting him right in the face. “Ack!” “That's what you were after, right?” Cuphead unraveled the wad and checked over the contract to see if it had been forged or not. “Mm-hmm?” He nodded upon confirming the legitimacy. “Take it. Consider it as thanks fer helpin' us find the dinner of the century!” Lefty thanked. “Let's go, we should prepare the oven!” The two birds quickly flew away, landing near the rainbow bridge, freeing Mugman. “They're gonna cook him?!” Mugman gasped in fear. “I think?!” “Wait, stop!!” Mugman rushed to the ground below and frantically landed his Aeroplane, Cuphead following suit.

The brothers chased after the two birds as they attempted to drag the large bird away somewhere. “Stop, don't! What are you doing?!” Mugman cried. “He has a son he's gotta look after!” “What's any of that matter to you?” Lefty asked, tilting his head. “Yeah, ya got his Soul Contract already. What difference does it make if he lives or dies now?” “Yeah!” “And just what do you mean by that?!” Mugman inquired, equal parts worried and insulted. “Yer workin' with the Devil's Office, right?” Righty asked. “Well once you give the Devil his contract, he's as good as dead. His soul will be dragged down to Hell regardless. What difference does it make if he's already dead when that happens?” “Yeah! He's already as good as dead! What's it matter if he dies now or later? At least this way someone will get some sort of benefit from 'im!” “That doesn't matter!!” Mugman shook his head. “All life is precious! It should be protected!” “He's already lived a good life kid.” “So?! All life is precious nonetheless! Age and race doesn't matter!!” “Look, fink!” Righty snapped, “the guy sold his soul to the Devil himself! And that's just what we know about! Who knows what other crimes were committed before any of that! He may be a good father, but that don't mean he was a good person! He sealed his fate ages ago!” “That! Doesn't! Matter!!” Mugman spat back. “All life is precious!” “Just because he made some bad decisions, or maybe did some bad things, doesn't mean he deserves to die for them!!” “Yeah!” “How do ya figure?” Righty asked. “Because! How could he ever change for the better if you end his life?! How could he ever become a good person if you never give him that chance?!” “Well, it doesn't matter now, brats!” Lefty yelled. “He's going to die anyway! What's it matter if it's by your hand, or by ours?!” That seemed to make Mugs lose his nerve. “W-we're not...” “Yes, you are! You're the ones giving his Soul Contract to the Devil himself! You are the ones responsible for that much!” “He...He at least deserves to say goodbye to his loved ones!” Cuphead tried. “Too bad for him! We've been after his hide for years, and we ain't going ta let this golden opportunity slip by!” Righty grinned. “Now then, let's go, partner!” Just as the birds began crossing the bridge, a pink boot whistled as it fell from the sky. Mugman was about to chase after the birds, but Cuphead quickly noticed the whistling, and grabbed his brother's right shoulder to stop him. The boot suddenly clocked Righty right in the head, causing the bird to lose balance and stumble off the rainbow bridge, and right into the shallow waters of Sweetheart's Stream with a shocked yelp. “Woah, woah, hold up, don't panic, I'll getchya out!!” Lefty quickly flew off the bridge and above the stream to help his partner.

The brothers didn't hesitate to rush to both sides of the stretcher, and pull Wally back to the tree by the wooden perch, only to be met with a crying Junior. “D-Dad?!” As soon as the chick caught sight of his father, he pushed his tiny legs through the bottom of his nest and ran over. “Y-yer alive, I-I thought they took you!!” “They tried to.” Mugman informed setting the bird down by the tree trunk. “We just got lucky.” “Y-you saved him!” “He looks bad, Mug.” “I know.” Mugman bit his lip, then turned to Junior. “Do you have a telephone?” Junior stared Mugman right in the eyes and pulled a telephone out from his nest. “Tell the operator you need to take him to the hospital, and give them your address. Okay?” Mugman instructed. Junior nodded and picked up the phone. The mug turned to face Cuphead. “We need to go.” “What? Mugs, shouldn't we stay with--” “Under normal circumstances, we would, but right now, we can't afford to.” Cuphead nodded somberly and joined his brother as the two began walking away. “W-wait, where are you going now?!” Mugman turned his head slightly to look back at the fledgling. “We're going to collect the Soul Contract of Grim Matchstick.” Junior's eyes widened at that. “Grim's a debtor?” His attention was suddenly taken by the phone against his ear. “Ah, y-yes, operator?!” Mugman sighed as Junior talked on the phone. He truly felt bad about leaving this kid all by himself when those two were still so close by. The most they could do is provide a distraction of some sort for Junior, to lead them away, but that was about it. As the brothers started to walk away once again, Junior stopped them. “Hey, w-wait.” Cuphead and Mugman turned around. “U-um, I-I know I p-probably shouldn't do this, b-but you saved Dad, s-so...” Junior felt bad for doing this, but he had to do something for them in return, right? “G-Grim is the security dragon.” “D-dragon?!” Mugman jumped at that. “Yeah. You'll find him in the security castle. Butchya gotta cross both the rainbow bridges to get to it, and the sprinklers fer the second one tend to not work right.” “Okay.” Cuphead nodded. “Thanks, pal.” “You stay with your dad until help arrives. Okay?” “Right.” Junior nodded, hugging his dad's neck as the cup kids ran off.

As the brothers ran past the two birds again, it was evident that Lefty had fished Righty out of the stream, and would probably start searching for Wally soon. Mugman continued to run across the rainbow as he suddenly fired at Righty, causing Lefty to drop the soaked bird back into the water with a splash. “Mug, what are ya doin'?” Cuphead whispered, stopping. “Sh. Just follow my lead,” Mugman whispered back. “Hey! Over here, you two twitty birds!” He taunted. “Catch us if ya can, bird brains!” “Pbthphfhpfhphbphfbpbpt!” With that, the boys ran off once again. “Why you little--!!” Lefty quickly fished Righty back out again, set him on the bridge, then began his pursuit of the brothers.

As the two birds flew past the Mausoleum, our heroes hid inside, knowing that they had successfully tricked the two. “Whew.” Mugman breathed. “Think the coast is clear?” Asked Cuphead. “Not sure.” Mugman shook. “Let's wait a few--” Something behind them suddenly collapsed forward, causing Mugman to jump and nearly run out of the building in fear, but Cuphead outstretched his arm to stop him. “Mugman, relax! Somethin' just got knocked over! Besides, if you go out there, they might spot you!” “R-r-right.” Mugman nodded, horribly shaking as he glanced behind himself to try and find out what fell, but since he hadn't known what the area behind them looked like, that wasn't quite possible. “Relax, we're not goin' in any farther than this.” Cuphead tried, holding his brother's arms to try and comfort him. Cuphead looked his brother right in the eyes until something behind Mugman caught his attention. Something that Cuphead really hoped that his brother wouldn't notice. “R-r-right. Y-you're right.” Mugman nodded, oblivious to the large spider behind him. “W-we'll just w-wait a few minutes, th-then we'll be on our way.” Cuphead wasn't at all listening to what his brother was saying, he was too busy watching the spider slowly creep down towards Mugman. He knew he had to calmly lead Mugs away before he noticed since Mugman had always been terrified of spiders. Cuphead gently pulled Mugman closer to him, and away from the wall, hoping his brother wouldn't notice, but unfortunately, Cup's facial expression alone was enough to tip his brother off. “C-Cups? What's wrong?” Mugman started to turn his head. “D-don't look!” Cuphead stopped. “U-uhh, there's nothing there, I swear! Uh, uhhh, I-I'm just messin' with ya! Hah hah hah hah hah!” He laughed nervously. “You're actin' strange. C-cut that out, it's already creepy enough in here!” Cuphead suddenly noticed that the large spider wasn't alone. Another spider, about the size of a small coin, descended from its web above, hovering all too close to Mugman's left shoulder. There was nothing Cuphead could have said to try and hide it without risking Mugman taking a glance, and he knew it. “Okay, fine...Just whatever you do, don't look to yer left.” Cuphead warned, still trying to pull Mugman away as he crept closer to try and knock the spider away. Of course, Mugman began to sweat at his brother's words. “W-w-w-w-why?” His body began to clink as he shook, slowly turning his head to see what his brother was talking about. Cuphead immediately realized it would have been better to keep his mouth shut.

The second Mug saw the arachnid, the child screeched, and scrambled to get away, but as he turned to make his escape, he caught sight of the larger one that had been less than inches away from his head. Mugman let out a shrill shriek in fear and tried to flee out the Mausoleum's entrance, but three more spiders suddenly dropped down to block him in. Mugman skidded to a stop, falling back on his rear end before frantically climbing to his feet and running deeper into the tomb. “Mugs! Mugman, wait!” Cuphead called, but it was no use. Mugman was in a blind panic now.

After fleeing for what felt like hours to Mugman, he eventually stopped to catch his breath, resting a hand on the wall. The boy looked back behind him, only now realizing he'd left Cuphead behind. “C-C-Cuphead?” He called, one of his fingers finding something to move. He looked back only to find he'd accidentally pushed a skull and reeled back in fear. “C-C-C-Cuphead, w-w-w-where are you?!” He really messed up this time. “Help!” A voice called. It wasn't Cuphead's, but the voice sure sounded familiar. It was a woman's voice, and it sounded like the cries had been coming from below the staircase around the corner. Against his better judgment, Mugman cautiously took a step closer towards the sound of the voice, until he suddenly found himself at the bottom of the steps. Light from the stain-glassed windows filtered in over a stone urn set on an altar. “S-someone please, save me!” “M-Ms. Chalice?!” Mugman recognized. “Oh! Goodness, me, Mugman, is that you?! Oh, please help! I've been trapped again, open the urn, quickly!” Mugman nodded, and rushed over, jumping atop the altar to try and pry the urn open before the ghosts came out, but it was too late.

Organs filled the air, and ghosts began to moan and groan. “Ladies and gentlemugs! Get yourselves ready for yet another spooktacular performance from the Specter Syndicate! Boo ha ha ha ha!” Mugman tried to yank the lid off, but it seemed it hadn't planned on budging. Mugman knew there was no way to pull it off before another specter would reach Ms. Chalice. Despite his fear, Mugman lunged forward at a pink ghost with a blue hat, the end of his straw closed up to form a white-gloved hand, and he parried the spook away. Mugman turned around to try and take another crack at opening the urn, but he spotted another spirit from above, going 'woooo' as he glided towards the altar. The mug rushed over and quickly parried that ghost as well, catching sight of yet another hat-wearing specter just below him, and just barely managed to parry-slap him. Mugman soon caught sight of yet another spirit that looked certainly disgruntled and attempted to block his path by spreading out his arms. “N-now just wait a minute! What exactly are you trying to do? W-what will this accomplish?!” The ghost grunted in annoyance, and passed right through Mugman's body. “Ah!” The preteen gasped, turning around and jumping up to parry the spook once again. If this kept up, there was no way Mugman would ever get an opportunity to free Ms. Chalice! “C-Cuphead! W-where are you?! Ah!!” The mug quickly ran up, jumped on top of the altar once more, then jumped across the room as he tried to parry two more spooks, only to miss one. “No, no, no!!” Mugman quickly stood and rushed over to parry the grumpy ghost he missed, heaving a sigh of relief as it disappeared. That was far too close. “Cuphead, i-if you can hear me, p-please hurry!” Mugman quickly tried to parry-slap another specter, but once again, he missed the first time. “I-I need help! I-I need your backup r-right now!” Mugman gasped, rushing to the other end of the room in order to parry another hat-wearing ghost. The boy knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer, but as long as he kept calling for help, Cuphead would eventually find him. “Cuphead! I-if you can hear me, f-follow my voice!!” Mugman heard something behind him, and quickly turned around to find yet another specter reaching out for the stone urn. “No! Stay away from that!!” Mugman lunged at the other, just barely managing to parry the spook away. “Wheeeeee!! Wheeeeeeeeee!! Hee hee hee hee!” The voice of a little girl giggled. Mugman's head followed the spiral patterns the ghost with a bow was making as she danced and twirled about. Mugman jumped at her, but missed the slap, so he waited for his second chance only to miss that as well. As the spook spiraled around and around, and ever-closer to the urn, Mugman grew more and more panicked, especially upon noticing another spirit trying to sneak past him. If he missed her again, she'd reach Ms. Chalice. “Cuphead, please hurry!!” Mugman rushed over to the dancing spook, and successfully managed to parry-slap her, then jumped over to the other ghost and slapped him.

The mug tried to take a moment to catch his breath, but it would seem the Specter Syndicate wouldn't let him have that. Another hat-wearing ghost shimmied down from the top left corner of the room and edged closer to the altar. “Cuphead, please hurry. I can't take much more of this.” Mugs tried to shout, running up to the spirit and slapping him with his straw. Mugman fell to his knees, still somewhat tired from running earlier. Mugman absolutely needed to catch his breath, but he could still hear two other ghosts moving behind him. The child forced himself to get up, and jump over to slap the first one, only to miss the second, and fall to the ground. “No!” Mugman got back to his feet again, but he knew he couldn't make it to the altar in time. Ms. Chalice was a goner! “Hyiat!” From seemingly nowhere, Cuphead parry-slapped the grumpy ghost, just inches away from the stone vase. “Cuphead!” “I'll get this thing open, you keep 'em off me!!” “Got it!” Mugman nodded, feeling more than ready now that his brother was here.

Two more female specters danced and twirled around the room, and while Mugman got the first one, Cuphead was able to parry the other that he missed. Mugman saw another disgruntled-looking spook above him, and jumped up to successfully parry-slap him as well. Meanwhile, Cuphead tugged, yanked, and pulled on the lid, but with very little progress to show for it. Mugman quickly ran across the room to parry another ghost wearing a hat, only to catch two more female specters on opposite sides of the room. “Cuphead, get that one!!” Cuphead looked up to see the two spooks circling around the altar, and just as Mugman slapped one, he parried the other. “Mugs, I've almost got it, just a little more!!” Mugman nodded, then rushed over to the other end of the room to take out another spirit. Cuphead yanked until his grip slipped. Two more ghosts appeared and Mugman jumped, consecutively parrying them both. “Woah, I-I did it!” “Don't celebrate too soon!” Cuphead gave several more harsh tugs on the lid, just as another female spook twirled around the room, and the second she was close enough to Mugman, he parry-slapped her, just as the lid finally came flying off.

“Victory!!” Ms. Chalice cried, floating out from her stone prison as a twinkling spectral orb, before taking her normal form as a ghostly grail. “Not to mention I managed to find it!” “Ms. Chalice, what are you doing in another mausoleum again?” Mugman asked. “Oh, well, ehehehe.” The benevolent soul scratched the back of her metal head nervously, rather embarrassed by her mistake. “I knew if I rooted around here I could find something special for you! But I didn't know I'd get trapped again!” “Ah, we all make mistakes.” Cuphead waved. “Thanks for saving me a second time. Here!” Ms. Chalice flicked two coins at the brothers, both of which appeared to be exactly the same as the first two coins the Legendary Chalice gave them, only slightly more or less eroded than the other, and with an 'II,' which Mugman realized must have been the Roman Numeral two. “Take this magical Super Art and I'll see if I can find you another!” “Golly! Another? What does this one do?” Cuphead asked eagerly. “This one enhances the connection between the body and soul, allowing you to cross the astral plane to become invulnerable for a short time.” “Good golly gosh!!” The brothers breathed. “Invincibility! That's so incredibly useful! It's sure to come in handy!” Mugman beamed. “Thank you, Ms. Chalice!!” “Consider this a token of appreciation for saving me again! And may we meet again.” Ms. Chalice bowed, before fading away.

“Golly, that worked out better than we thought!” Cuphead smiled. “Speaking of, we should probably shake a leg, those birds are probably gone now.” “Oh, right!” Suddenly, a mischievous spook poked his head out from the wall, and pushed three skulls onto the ground, the sound alone enough to force another shriek out from Mugman. “Eek!! L-let's get outta here!!” Mugman cried, latching onto his brother's wrist as he fled out from the door on the right.

Missed the past episodes? Want to check for the next one? Here’s a link to the list of episodes currently published!

#Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Aviary Action #Cuphead #Mugman #Wally Warbles #Wally Warbles Junior #Ms. Chalice #The Legendary Chalice #Legendary Chalice #Mausoleum II #Word on the Wind {Rebloggable Content}#Drabble #Rewriting #Queue the Credits!

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 5 years

Text

Attire Acquired

The brothers had created quite the mess in trying to find clothes fancy enough to be worn to a black-tie event, and while Cuphead managed to find his red bow-tie, he ultimately snatched the black one for himself, convinced that he could only wear a black colored tie. Mugman, on the other hand, couldn’t find a tie to wear, since his blue bow-tie had been nabbed by a ragman, so he no longer had one.

Clad in his black dress pants and vest over his dark blue button-down, Mugman came down the stairs, hoping his grandpa would help him find something. “Well, don’t we look dapper today?” Elder Kettle commented. “Thanks. Um, Elder Kettle? Is there some kind of tie I could wear with this?” Elder Kettle rubbed his mustache as he thought. “Oh, I’m sure we can find something. What’s the occasion?” He asked as he got up from his chair. There was a small pause as Elder Kettle started making his way up the stairs. In the midst of all their preparations, it’s slipped Mugman’s mind to tell her dear old man. “Cuphead didn’t tell you?” The older brother asked, timidly following his grandpa up the stairs. “Tell me what?” Mugman sighed at that.

“Cuphead and I are going to the Devil’s Ball.” Elder Kettle froze at the sentence. The two of them stood in the middle of the upstairs hallway as Mugman fidgeted anxiously. Finally, Elder Kettle slowly turned his head to look at Mugman. “The Devil’s Ball?” Mugman looked away. “We...we’re not going to have fun. Th-there’s a lot of people going to get involved in this, a-and we’re able a-and know what to expect from the Devil s-so--” Elder Kettle sighed. “So you and your brother are going in case the Devil tries something in order to protect the innocent.” The ex-knight exhaled. “Oh, Mugman.” “I-I’m sorry, I-I- w-we just--!” “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You see a threat, and you’re defending those who can’t fight back. I’m proud of you.” “Y-you are? You’re not mad?” Cuphead heard the conversation from his and Mugman’s room and stuck his head out the door to listen. “No, my boy. But I am rather...concerned. I understand completely how you feel, both of you, but you two are ceramic beings. You may not be able to afford to take the same risks I had as a child.” “But Elder Kettle, we’re heroes,” Cuphead mentioned. “Ain’t it our job to fight for those who can’t?” “That is but a small part of it. One must always remember to pick his battles wisely. You may find yourselves having to fight The Devil, King Dice, and his lackeys all at once.” “Good gosh! That’s something I never even thought about!!” “Don’t worry, grampa! We ain’t alone fer this.” “I trust that you know what you are dealing with. Both of you.

Elder Kettle turned to Mugman once again. “Now then, let’s find you a nice tie and blazer to go with that. You’ll both also need a mask.” “We were planning on having Sally get us masks.” “Yes, but you need something more to protect you this time. You must expect the Devil to have new tricks up his sleeve.”

With that, Elder Kettle and Mugman dug around in the ex-knight’s room and found not only a tie, but two ceramic masks for them to wear.

Mugman wore a black blazer with a black vest, suspenders, and dress pants over his dark blue dress shirt, complete with a light blue necktie. His porcelain mask was black, eloquently decorated with swords and angelic wings colored with deep blues and silvers, aside from the small, white chip on the left edge between his eye and his nose. The mask stretched out past his eyes and face, as well as conveniently covered the top of Mugman’s nose and blue feathers extended out from the mask and arched back out over Mugman’s rim, effectively covering half his head.

Cuphead, on the other hand, was wearing a white dress shirt with black buttons and black suspenders with his maroon blazer and dress pants with a black bowtie. His mask, however, was white with black and red rose accents, which really served as a reminder that his skin was gray, rather than white. The frame of Cuphead’s mask stretched out past his face, curling up and down on both sides, and instead of feathers that covered his head halfway, Cuphead’s mask was topped with red and black jester hat-like accents than stretched over his head completely, parting ways to make room for his handle.

Despite being the only two cups on Inkwell, Cuphead and Mugman were fairly well disguised from the front, if the brothers could find something to hide their handles, no one could tell it was them. Surely Sally wouldn’t mind giving them a hand with that. “Why does mine hafta be decorated with girly flowers?!” Cuphead whined. “I think I’d rather use somethin’ Sally finds. “Oh, Cuphead.” Mugman pouted. “Unlike whatever mask your friend may find, these masks are made for ceramic beings, such as yourself. Not only that, they are enchanted objects as well. These will protect you from satanic influences and certain magics so long as you wear them.” Elder Kettle explained with a point. “However, they aren’t invincible, so don’t get reckless. These also tap into your soul magic as well, so should you get to fighting, you may drain your power quicker than usual.” Back in the day, these were enough to conceal your identity, but now there’s too few porcelain people. “Mugman, you must especially be careful,” Elder Kettle pointed to the chip on Mugman’s mask. “Too much stress on the mask may break it, and the enchantment is useless after that.” Mugman nodded in response. “Got it. Thank you so much, Elder Kettle, I’ll be careful with this, I promise.” He said as he untied and removed the mask.

#Attire Acquired #Cuphead #Mugman #Elder Kettle #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Drabble #The Devil's Ball (2019)#((This is a week late but hey at least I got it ;w;))

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 5 years

Text

Fiery Frolic! With Grim Matchstick!

Before you read: This is a rewriting of the main game Cuphead. Characters, certain dialogue, music, and locations obviously do not belong to me. This is best read with the OST playing over it.

As the brothers crossed the second rainbow bridge in Isle Two, Mugman couldn't help but stare up at the tall spire with nervousness. Even from here, they could see a large, green tail that wrapped up and around the castle tower. Cuphead continued to drag Mugman across the bridge, even after the older brother's feet stopped moving. “Mugs, we at least have to cross the bridge before the sprinklers stop working.” “I-I-I know, I just...” Mugman gazed fearfully at the broken castle ahead of them. He suddenly pulled out the list of debtors and began reading it. “M-maybe there's someone else we should fight first!” Cuphead placed a hand over Mugman's and gently pushed his hand down so he could see his face. “Mug, we're here now. It'd waste more time ta run around and find any a the other debtors in the isle.” Mugman whined at that. “I know, but...” He let out a huff in frustration. “I-it's a dragon, Cups! A real-life dragon! You know how many times Elder Kettle's said he lost fellow knights to dragons!! A-and they're trained for combat! How can we possibly stand a chance to a fire-breathing dragon?!” Mugman began biting his nails through his gloves, clippings flying off his fingertips with each chatter he made.

Mugman imagined a dark scene, where the dragon angrily roared at them with burning, glowing yellow eyes as he flew around his castle with razor-sharp teeth bared out at them. The dragon breathed fire that burned so brightly, it made the sun seem dim in comparison, making the entire landscape darker as his eyes could only seem to focus on the yellow and orange flames.

Cuphead quickly waved the thought cloud away with his hand, only to notice Mugman had began to chew on his straw now. “Mug, yer such a worry-wart! Stop chewin' up yer straw, and quit bein' a sippy cup.” Cuphead tried as he grabbed Mugman by his right wrist to pull him across the bridge. “Everythin's gonna be fine!” “H-how can you be so confident about this?!” Mugs asked, his straw flying out from his teeth once he opened his mouth. “Because. When the two of us stand together, there's nothin' that can take us down.” Mugman lowered his head anxiously. That was a little comforting, but could the two of them truly take down a dragon? Cuphead noticed, and gave his brother a reassuring pat on his right shoulder. “Everything's gonna be fine. Swear on my straw.” “You swear on your straw?” “Uh-huh!” Cuphead nodded with a wide smile. “Cross my heart, hope to crack, stick a sword in yer back! Besides,” Cuphead took off the glove on his left hand, revealing the lavender ring on his finger. “We got this new weapon, and you've got invincibility on yer side thanks to that swell, new, magical Super Art.” Mugman pulled out the Super Coin labeled with II from his pocket and looked at it. “You're not going to try it?” “Nah.” Cup shook his head, “I'd rather be able to do massive damage and end things quicker.” “Can't end it if we don't survive it.” Mugman argued, but sighed and placed the coin back in his pocket. “But you're right. It'd make no difference if we put off this fight and run out of time, or if we fight him now and lose.” “That's...not what I was goin' for, but we'll roll with it!”

Our heroes stood outside the castle and looked up at the stone spire from the grass below. Cuphead let out a whistle at how tall the tower stood. They could hear a ferocious roar from outside, one that shook the ground from where they stood, followed by an exhale of air. Mugman quivered in his boots, clinking in fear as the dragon roared again and exhaled. It was starting to form a pattern. “J-j-just why is he r-roaring like that?! D-does he know we're here?!” “Maybe we should find the window his tail is coming out from, and sneak in from behind.” Cuphead thought. “Y...yeah, that's actually not a bad idea.” The brothers walked around the left side of the tower, and found the dragon tail that stuck out the window and wrapped around the tower. “Do you think he's looking this way?” “I dunno, I can't see from here. Uh, hang on, lemme try somethin'.” Cuphead removed his straw from his head, and angled one end to form a perfect 'L' shape. He then bent the bottom of his straw towards him just a tad and looked through the end of his straw to try and see inside, but he couldn't quite see through the window, and ended up staring right at the stone wall. “Ugh, I still can't see!” “Here.” Mugman grabbed his little brother's handle and lifted his head off his shoulders, just enough to see past the wall. “Ack!” The child squeaked, not quite expecting that, but it was just the extra height he needed. “Perfect, thanks!” Cuphead moved the straw back up to his eyes, looked inside the security castle, and saw the tail leave the room and trail around the corner. “Mug, he ain't even in the room!” Cuphead announced as he removed the kink he made in his straw before putting it back in his head. Mugman put his brother's head back on his shoulders, then Cuphead turned around. “Gimme a boost, we can sneak right in!” Mugman nodded. “O-okay...”

Mugman put his hands together to give his brother some footing, and Cuphead placed his right foot in the mug's hands, holding onto the older's shoulders for balance. “Ready?” Cuphead asked. Mugman nodded. “Just climb in though. If you jump in, you'll make too much noise when you land. Now's not a good time to be a showoff. And do not touch his tail!” Mugman whispered. “Well duh!” Cuphead hoisted himself up in Mugman's hands, grabbed onto the inside of the stone window sill and pulled himself up. “Watch the tail, watch the tail!!” Mugman warned cautiously. Cuphead pulled himself as close to his right-hand side as he could, placed his left foot on the window and pushed himself forwards, quietly landing inside the castle. He stuck his straw out the window from the other side. “Take my straw!” Cuphead whispered. Mugman grabbed onto the red straw and gave a small tug. The straw was suddenly yanked back into the castle, taking Mugman along with it. “Eep!” The screen shook with the sound of a crash!

Cuphead looked down at Mugman as he laid on the ground, holding his head as stars and birds circled around it. After a few moments though, Mugman shook them off and stood up. “Well, we're in.” Mugman said as he looked around at the ancient castle. “Let's follow the tail to find Grim.” “Mm-hmm.” Cuphead agreed.

The boys silently followed the large green tail around the corner, only to find it trailing up a spiral staircase. “Wha- how long is his tail?!” Mugman whispered. “We have to climb all the way up?!” “We have to climb all the way up, without stepping on his tail, and without falling off the other side!!” “But his tail is basically the same size as the stairs! How we supposed to do that?!” “Uh...just watch your step?” “Great. If we don't accidentally touch him, we'll fall off the side and shatter.” “Well that's optimism.” Mugman sighed.

The brothers began to climb the stairs, they were careful not to brush the dragon's tail or step off the ledge. After what seemed like an hour for the kids, they finally reached the top of the stairwell, both practically crawling their way up those final few steps, heaving and wheezing as they tried to catch their breath. How could anyone ever have climbed all the way up while wearing such heavy armor?! “Why...couldn't...have...the princess...built this place...with an...elevator?!” Cuphead panted. “Elevators...weren't...invented...until...1853...guh!” Mugman wheezed.

After a few moments of catching their breath, the brothers finally stood, ready to continue their search for the roaring dragon at the end of the tail. They walked forward and entered one last room before they finally spotted this mighty, ferocious dragon.

Grim Matchstick laid in the middle of the room on his back, his short arms and legs sticking lazily up in the air, almost like a dog or a cat. His long, lizard-like tongue hung out from his wide-open mouth limply, even lying on the stone floor some as his chubby tummy gently moved up and down with each breath. Grim roared loudly, then exhaled. Then, he roared again, but this time, there was a definitive snorting sound to it, followed by a slight sigh. “He's snoring?!” Cuphead whispered, causing one of Grim's ears to twitch. “This is...definitely not what I was expecting.” Mugman admitted, but he still didn't want to be the one who woke up a sleeping giant. “How exactly are we going to do this?” Grim's ears twitched again, and he suddenly stirred, causing Mugman to jump right into Cuphead's arms with a hushed gasp.

Grim closed his mouth and rolled over on his stomach, curling his long neck against his legs as he sleepily mumbled something. “That was close.” Mugman breathed. “Well, we still gotta get his contract!” Cuphead argued, dropping his older brother from his arms. “Ack!” Mugman squeaked as he landed on the stone. “Shh!” “Yer the one screaming.” “Just wait.” Mugman stood and brushed himself off, small gray dust clouds forming as he did. “If he's sleeping, we can snoop around and try and find it without waking him!” Grim's ears twitched again as Mugman explained. “We don't have to fight him!” Was someone trying to steal one of his scales again? “For once, we don't have to resort to violence!” They seemed like good-natured folks, but they also sounded like kids. Why would two kids need a dragon scale? “Mug, we might not have time for that.” Time? Oh no...

Grim finally opened one of his eyes to see what was going on, which Cuphead noticed immediately and looked on in fear. “Look, I think it'd be easier to make up for lost time than it would be to try and fight a dragon,” Mugman explained, oblivious to the shadow that loomed over him and his brother. “Uh, M-Mugs?” Grim looked down at the kids, unintentionally towering over the boys. As Mugman looked back and he squealed in fear as he saw the large dragon glaring down at them. No doubt Grim heard what Mugman said. They were ceramic toast. The dragon huffed out a bit of smoke as he stretched his wings.

Grim let out as quiet of a yawn as he could to avoid frightening the children, small sleepy tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “H-h-h-holy smokes! I d-d-d-didn't even hear you two come in! S-s-s-sorry about that, I had a rough n-n-n-night's sleep last night, so I didn't r-r-r-really clean as much as I sh-sh-sh-should have.” Grim stuttered, genuinely feeling sorry about his messy castle. The brothers looked at each other, unsure of how to react. Grim noticed his tail ended up wrapped around the castle again, so he unraveled himself from both the inside and the outside of the tower. “So, wh-wh-wh-what brings you two to the security castle? Is there s-s-s-something you n-n-n-needed?” Mugman opened his mouth to speak, but only various noises managed to come out. Grim lowered his head a bit, just to try and make himself look less intimidating. “Aw, I'm sorry, I-I-I-I didn't mean to scare you! You two can ask me a-a-a-anything! Honest!” “Anything?” Cuphead checked. “Anything. I promise I won't g-g-g-get mad.” “Promise?” Repeated Cuphead. “P-p-p-promise.” Grim nodded, his ears perking up cheerfully with a smile as his tail wagged behind him. “T-t-t-trust me. I'm known for m-m-m-my patience.” “Well...Okay.” Cuphead toyed, acting like the innocent little kid he wasn't. “We need your Soul Contract.”

Grim's warm smile dropped at that, his ears drooped lowly. He never told anyone about his deal with the Devil. Grim's wings twitched instinctively as he straightened his neck up once more. “H-h-h-how d-did...?” Cuphead was growing nervous himself now, as he saw the dragon make himself taller again. “Uhh, n-now remember, y-you promised not ta get mad!” He tried, slowly losing his nerve as every bit as much as Mugman had. “D-d-d-did the Devil himself send you?!” Cuphead flinched at that. “Uhhh...” The brothers both nodded, more out of fear than anything else. Grim sighed and looked away to try and hide his quivering lip. “Y-y-y-you two don't seem like th-th-th-the type for the D-D-D-Devil's l-l-l-lackeys.” Grim took another deep breath, gaining control of his emotions for the time being. He turned his head back at our heroes and looked down at them with slight guilt. They were just kids. Children. And from the conversation they had earlier, they seemed like good kids, too. “Ah, w-w-well, y-you see,” Mugman started, “w-w-we basically, uh, went somewhere w-we weren't supposed ta, a-and things k-kinda got outta hand!!” The poor boy was terribly frightened and unable to quite read the dragon's body language well. “W-w-we really don't wanna, b-but--” Mugman's mouth suddenly felt dry, too dry to speak. “But you were t-t-t-tricked?” Grim concluded, looking down at Mugman. Mug slowly nodded, afraid to break eye contact with Grim. Grim sighed again. He truly felt bad. “I....I'd l-l-l-love to h-h-h-help you out. I t-t-t-truly would.” Cuphead and Mugman looked hopeful at that. “B-b-b-but I c-c-c-can't just...leave.” In an instant, their hopes fell. “I-I-I-I can't j-j-j-just give over m-m-m-my Soul Contract t-t-t-to you.” Grim looked away. “If I do, I-I-I-I'll have to l-l-l-leave. I'll h-h-h-have to leave my f-f-f-friends, a-a-a-and th-th-th-they'll be s-s-s-so w-w-w-worried a-a-a-about me. I-I-I-I don't want them t-t-t-to worry about li'l ole me.” “Little?” Cuphead whispered. “So...I g-g-g-guess this puts us a-a-a-at a bit of a s-s-s-standstill. A c-c-c-case of 'your soul or mine.' R-r-r-right?” Neither one of the brothers liked where this was going. Grim spread out his wings and gave them a gentle flap. “M-m-m-my soul and my Soul Contract belongs to me. A-a-a-and no one else! I-I-I-I'm sorry. T-t-t-truly, I am. B-b-b-but if you w-w-w-want to get it from m-m-m-me, th-th-th-then I must challenge you.” Grim reached into a drawer with his tail, pulled out the contract, then shut the drawer again. He showed the boys his contract, then put the scroll behind his back. He began to flap his wings and lifted his body off the ground. “Take it f-f-f-from me, if you dare!!” Grim suddenly took off out the window and into the sky with a large gust of wind that knocked Mug over and sent him rolling into the wall, just beside the window. “Oww!!” “C'mon Mugs, we gotta get moving!” Cup said as he pulled his older brother up by the hand and tried to lead him outside. “I ain't fightin' this lizard withoutchya!”

The brothers hopped onto a cloud passing by the window and saw Grim just a little farther out. Our heroes began to skip across the sky, jumping from cloud to cloud to catch up with the dragon. Grim suddenly burst into view from the right, his wings morphed into thin, large hands with wriggling fingers and kept his real arms around his chest as he stretched his lips out with a, “Booooo!” Although it wasn't exactly scary, Mugman was so frightened by having to fight a dragon that it got the preteen to jump and squeal. Grim couldn't help but snicker just a tad. Yes, it was mean, but he always got a kick out of startling people. Mugman pulled his straw down to his mouth and took a large gulp of milk from his head to rid himself of his dry mouth. Meanwhile, Cuphead took a deep breath and pulled up his shorts as he braced himself for the battle ahead.

Grim's eyes suddenly swirled and went zany as he charged up his dragon magic. Cuphead hopped onto a cloud ahead of him, not too far above, pointed behind his own head and snapped. The green Roundabout bullets swirled behind him, just above his brother, then swung forward to hit Grim in the base of his neck. Then, green magic rings fired out from Grim's eyes and straight for Cuphead, then for Mugman, each with a third pink one that followed behind the first two. “Ah!” Mugman threw himself towards the next cloud, jumping down on the surface directly below Cuphead and avoiding the attack. Mugman saw another cloud that was higher up, where he could get a better view and made two hops up to it. Meanwhile, Cuphead ran forward to beat the train of magic rings to the next nearest cloud, then, he let himself roll forward and off the cloud. The end of Cuphead's straw closed up to form a white-gloved hand as he continued to flip forward, the hand slapped against the pink magic, giving the child a slight boost. This, unfortunately, wasn't enough, however, and as soon as Cuphead landed on the edge of the cloud, he began to wobble and quickly fell with a shriek. “Mugman!!” Mugman quickly looked back and saw his brother dangling from the cloud with his right hand. “Cuphead!!” Mugman rushed over to the other side of the fluffy platform, got on his hands and knees and grabbed his little brother's wrist to pull him up. However, as Mugman began to pull his brother up, Cuphead noticed how Grim's eyes went zany again, just like before. “Mugman, hurry, he's gonna attack again!!” Mugman groaned as he yanked the other up, and once Cuphead was close enough, Cuphead grabbed onto the ledge with his free hand and helped pull himself up. “There you go! Whew!” Cuphead stood, spun his head around backwards and started firing, ready to dodge. Mugman tried to get up but felt a tug on his left arm that told him he couldn't. “Wha-?!” Mugman tried to pull himself up again but got the same result. He looked down to see what the problem was and saw two little cloud puffs had embodied themselves to grab onto Mugman's glove and pull his hand down into the cloud completely. “Oh no!! C-Cuphead, help me up, I'm stuck in the cloud!!” Cuphead gasped at that and spun his head forwards again to try and pull Mugman out. Grim fired out three more eye ripples at the brothers, and Cuphead tried to pull his brother out even harder. “Cuphead, watch out! Move!!” Cuphead suddenly threw himself over Mugman and let all three attacks slam against his back. The boy hissed in pain and wiped his eyes before looking back at Grim. He seemed to be getting farther and farther away. “Mug, you gotta start shootin' at him. I'll try and getchya out!” Mugman gulped but nodded with a serious expression. If they didn't do anything but dodge, they'd never be able to end the match. Cuphead wrapped his arms around Mugman's chest and pulled, as Mugman began to snap at Grim with his free hand.

The sound of a tinkling piano was heard as the green tip of a tail wiggled through the cloud-cover below, almost as if waving to the audience on the other side of the screen. Suddenly, the tail jut upwards towards the brothers which caused Cuphead to let go of the mug and launched Mugman into the air and onto another cloud above. “Oof!!” Mugman hissed in pain, feeling the bruise already forming on his belly as he slowly got up. “Well, at least I'm out...” He looked down at Cuphead, “hey! You can reach that cloud down there!” Mugman pointed. “Either he's flying backwards, or he's pushing the clouds back by making wind! Aim behind your head instead of turning it, it's too dangerous at this height!” “Gotchya!” Cuphead winked as he gave his brother the a-okay sign with his hand. Cuphead dashed off the cloud, then threw a Smoke Bomb to give him the extra boost he needed to reach the lower cloud Mugman pointed to.

Mugman pointed straight at Grim, and began to fire again, jumping onto another cloud close by in order to keep the dragon in sight. Mugman winced in pain as he landed, but he tried his best to push it aside like he'd always seen his little brother do. Cuphead bent his arm back behind his head, and began to shoot his Roundabouts again, watching his green bullets circle around and hit Grim. Thankfully, the dragon was big enough that aiming wasn't majorly important.

Grim watched as the children moved closer and began to suck in air. He pushed his tummy upwards, seemingly puffing out his chest as the brothers continued to hop from cloud to cloud, Mugman always trying to stay higher up, and just a tad further back. Grim suddenly released his attack, coughing out a large meteor at the boys as he threw his short arms down and to the sides, then he wasted no time in preparing another. The meteor snaked down, then back up before it would start to curve and fall back down again. Mugman stood his ground, not moving from the cloud he was on. He estimated that the dip and the rise of the meteor's path should have been equal to each other in height and that he should have been safe from where he was. Unfortunately for Cuphead, he'd already hopped in the air once the attack was launched and found himself in the path of the meteor! The child rolled his body forwards as he flipped, letting his legs stick out at an angle to try and make himself flatter to avoid crashing into the fiery rock. While Cuphead had successfully avoided slamming his whole body against the attack, the boy in red reached his left palm out towards the cloud to be able to land on his feet and scraped his elbow. “Ow!” Cuphead hissed, patting out the fire on his elbow as he stood. Something about that felt funny. It didn't feel like just a normal scrape, it felt different. Almost warm, but not at all in a pleasant way. Too warm. So warm, that it actually hurt. “What was...?” “Cuphead, incoming!” Mugman warned.

When Cuphead looked back at the dragon, he'd coughed out yet another meteor that sailed upwards first, unlike the one before. Cuphead got a running start, then jumped up onto another cloud above him, and Mugman didn't take long to join him. Cuphead held his left arm in pain. If Mugman wasn't standing right behind him, he'd be able to fire at him, but before Cuphead could tell Mugman to move, his older brother seemed to notice him holding his elbow. “You alright?” He asked, glancing down at Cuphead's elbow briefly, as he continued his fire. “'M fine, my elbow just...” Cuphead trailed off, not knowing the proper word to describe the way this felt. “Stings?” This caught Mugman's attention, but so did the next meteor Grim coughed out. “Hang on!” Mugman wrapped his left arm around Cuphead's waist and started running. “Move with me!” The brothers stepped off the cloud and let themselves drop onto another one close by. Mugman paused for a moment, waiting for the attack to move a little closer, then jumped directly into the trail of dark smoke the meteor left behind, and onto another puffy, white platform. “What'd you do?” Mugman asked as he kept an eye on Grim. “I scraped my elbow against one of the meteors, and now it kinda stings? But not really?” Mugman grabbed his little brother's injured elbow and brought it closer to his face as he continued firing. “Lemme see!” He looked down at Cuphead's elbow an immediately saw what Cuphead was talking about, thanks to the hole left by the fire on his shirt.

Cuphead's elbow was black and slightly charred. The cup burned himself. Dishware didn't get burned by the same things most people would, such as hot water, or hot food. Even brief contact with an open flame wouldn't feel as hot for them as it would for someone else. It took far more heat for a ceramic or metal being to feel pain than the average Joe, so neither of our heroes had experienced the burning sensation of touching a hot pan, or drinking hot cocoa before it's cooled. That was why Cuphead didn't know how to describe the pain he felt. “You just got a little burnt, it's nothing major.” Mugman informed, looking back at Grim now. “Burnt?” “When someth- shoot!!” Mugman grabbed his brother's right wrist and pulled him along as he jumped down onto a lower cloud. Cuphead hadn't even noticed Grim cough out another meteor. “When something's too hot for our bodies to withstand, it leaves a burn, which causes pain. But because we're made of ceramic designed for holding hot coffee or tea, most things won't burn us.” Mugman explained, moving in front of Cuphead as he continued his fire towards Grim. Neither one of them noticed the sound of the piano as the tail wriggled behind Cuphead. Mugman turned his head to finish his explanation as Cuphead finally began firing behind himself again. “Luckily for you, it's a minor burn, we can just wash off the soot with some dish soap and elbow grease late- Cuphead, hightail it outta there!!” Cuphead glanced behind him and rushed out of the way onto a lower cloud as Mugman jumped up to a higher one, just before the tail jut upwards.

Seeing that his meteors didn't seem to work, Grim switched tactics again and let his eyes go zany as he shot out four magic eye ripples, the fourth one being pink, just as before. Mugman saw the incoming attack, and squat down low to duck out of the way, but as the pink ring soared above him, he jumped back up to try and parry the magic, only to miss, and get hit in the face. “Ouch!!” Mugman tried to stay standing and stumbled back as a result. “Mugs, watch yer--” Cuphead knew it was too late. One wrong misstep and Mugman plunged off the cloud with a loud shriek, and with nothing but the carnival below to break his fall. Cuphead lunged forwards, as far as he could manage, and pushed Mugman and himself onto another fluffy cloud. “Mug!! You okay?!” Mugman sat up and held his right cheek as he hissed in pain. “Yeah. Ugh, I sh-shouldn't have tried to parry.” He let go of his face to see the crack that formed from the attack. “Ow! Thanks for the save.” The brothers quickly got up and moved closer to the dragon, both trying their hardest to build up their Super Meter and both so close to a full meter.

Once the brothers got close enough, Grim noticed the charred ceramic on Cuphead's elbow, and a pang of guilt shot through him. “D-d-d-did I burn you?” He asked meekly, trying not to sound half as guilty as he felt. “Wh- of course ya burnt me!! You shot giant fireballs of death at us!!” “Oh, I-I-I-I'm sorry!” “Wh- I- sorry?!” Cuphead seemingly spat back, but he spoke more out of disbelief rather than anger. “Don't m-m-m-misunderstand my flames – I just meant fun and games.” Grim admitted, although it was a bit of a lie to himself. It was the only way he could trick himself into attacking these kids. He wasn't actually fighting them, he'd tell himself, he was merely play-fighting. Grim pushed his thoughts to the side, and began to suck in air as he prepared another attack. “What flames?!” Cuphead asked. Grim paused, completely still for a few moments as he pretended to think.

After about one second, Grim answered. “Th-th-th-these flames!” He joked and coughed out two flaming meteors that weaved up and down in a crisscross pattern. “Ack!!” Cuphead jumped over the higher fireball and managed to roll onto another cloud safely, then looked back to watch Mugman. Mug looked around the sky to find a safe cloud between the two meteors, but the only cloud that was safe was the one directly across from him, which he would have to cross the path of the intertwining fireballs to reach. Mugman had no choice, however. He took a deep breath, got a running start, and lunged across the gap between him just as the meteors flew towards him. It was evident Mugman wouldn't make the jump before the attacks crossed. “Mugman!!” Cuphead cried. He couldn't see his brother anymore thanks to all the smoke from the meteors. However, it almost seemed like there was more smoke than usual.

Not seeing his brother made Cuphead's heart sink. He balled up his fists in anger and wiped away the dots of milk that tried to form in his eyes. “I ain't letting you get away with hurting Mugman!!” The child roared, not looking back at the dragon as he snapped faster, and more vigorously than he ever had in his life. He could hear the green bullets swivel around and hit Grim, and he could feel his Super Meter building now more than ever.

Suddenly, tiny blue bullets joined the barrage of attacks that hit the dragon from the cloud of smoke left behind. Cuphead instantly felt hope well up inside his very soul and he could just barely make out the sound of his brother's voice coughing.

As the smoke cleared, Mugman was waving the gray clouds away with his right hand as he shot at the dragon with his left. “Good gosh!” The mug hacked, “That literally blew up in my face.” “Mugman!!” “For future reference, the Smoke Bomb works better when you don't throw it at a flaming object that's two feet away from your face!” Cuphead sighed in relief, then turned back to look at Grim.

“Also, as an addition to what we were saying before, those don't count as flames! They're just rocks on fire!!” Cuphead shrieked back, the anger from before having completely dissipated. “Wait, th-th-th-they don't?” Grim asked. “Nuh-uh!” The cup huffed sternly. “Oh...Well...uhh...” Grim stammered, not changing his facial expression as he slowly slid backwards and off the screen.

Mugman quickly hopped from cloud to cloud, passing Cuphead as he tried to chase the seemingly fleeing dragon. “Where'd he go?!” “Cuphead, after him!” Mugman suddenly heard a whooshing sound from behind him, but he only managed to catch a glimpse of a scaly green tail. “Wait a minute!” As a large gust of wind continued to push the clouds forward, Mugman suddenly heard a fiery fwoosh from behind, and saw that something pink had rolled out below the clouds under them. The boy turned around and saw that Grim had lowered his head down behind Cuphead and him, and that he'd not only rolled out his tongue below, but he was also blowing out fire from his nostrils as he slowly flew closer to an oblivious Cuphead. “Cuphead, move!!” Mugman called, but it seemed his brother couldn't hear him. “Mugman, do you see where he went?!”

Eventually, Grim ran out of breath and had to stop breathing fire. He quickly took in a sharp breath to refresh the attack, but noticed the inattentive red child that stood on a cloud just above him. Regardless of what Grim was trying to do, the dragon didn't see it as very fair if he unexpectedly snorted fire at the boy with absolutely no warning.

Grim puffed out smoke from his nostrils with a deep whistling sound into the air above, and unfortunately right into Cuphead's face. “Ack!” Cuphead was blinded, and began to cough and hack aggressively as he tried to wave away the smoke. “M-Mugma--” The boy was cut off by his own choking. “I-I can't see!!” It was clear to Mugman that his brother didn't notice the approaching dragon behind him. Mugman swallowed the lump of anxiety in his metaphorical throat and dashed back from cloud to cloud to reach his little brother, only to freeze up when he got too close to the dragon for his liking. Mugs looked back to see if there was another cloud he could use as a safety net and looked back to Cuphead, holding out both his arms. “C-C-Cuphead!! J-jump forward!! Quickly!!” Cuphead still couldn't see anything, but his brother sounded close, so he jumped towards the sound of Mugman's voice, eyes still glued shut as he sailed into the air blindly.

Once he could finally breathe fresh air again, Cuphead managed to open his eyes as he started to fall. Mugman caught Cuphead in his arms, but at the price of stumbling and falling off the white puff. Luckily for the ceramic duo, Mugman managed to grab onto the edge of a cloud below, and swiftly swung his little brother up and over onto the cloud with impressive speed and agility. “Pull me up!!” Mugman called, firing back at Grim with his free hand. Mugman's feet dangled only mere inches above the dragon's tongue and he didn't like it one bit. Cuphead ran over to the other side of the cloud and bent over to help his brother up, having learned from Mug's mistake earlier. However, an orange fireball holding a large, burning matchstick in his left hand and wearing a blue shako on his head marched out from Grim's mouth with grit teeth, followed by another, grinning orange flame, then another, then another. Both the brothers realized that if Mug wasn't pulled up soon, he'd be burned by the Fireball Marchers. “Wuh-oh!!” “Hurry!!” Cuphead yanked his older up by his arm, then grabbed his shoulder to pull him up the rest of the way, just before the leader with the shako reached the cloud. “Let's get to higher ground!!” Mugman advised, able to feel the heat from the marching fire below. “We're in the air right now?!” Cuphead reminded. “Whatever! Higher clouds! You know what I mean!!”

The boys moved away from Grim, both doing their best to keep a constant fire upon the mighty dragon. “Cuphead, do you have enough for a Super?” Mugman asked. The younger cup looked over to his brother and nodded. “Should I use it now?” “No! Not yet!” Mugman glanced down at the clouds below them, then back at the clouds behind them. “The strong wind's pushing the clouds towards Grim, if you try to use it now, you're bound to wind up with nothing under you to land on!” Mugman looked back at the dragon, keeping his line of fire on him as he thought. “The first Super lasts about three seconds before you drop back down.” Cuphead did his best to stay close to his brother, so that he could be ready whenever he gave him the signal, all while keeping his aim ahead to hit Grim. “But it'll be hard to judge the distance a cloud will be in that time while fighting like this...” This put the mug in a tough spot, using the Super in this type of field was risky, but they wouldn't last long simply chipping away at the dragon with their weaker attacks. If Mugman made a mistake, his brother would fall onto the Fireball Marchers below and get hurt. “Mugs...” Cuphead grumbled, growing impatient. “Alright. I'll keep an eye on the incoming cloud formations and try to time it so you have something to land on without getting burned again. In case I botch it up, I'll try and stay as close as I can so you don't fall.” “Wah? Mug, what if I accidentally hit you?” Cuphead voiced. “You won't, I promise. I'm only staying close by as a safety precaution! There's no harm in playing it safe.” “Right.” Cuphead nodded. “Once you finish the attack, switch to your new short ranged weapon, and try and stay within range, but not too close!” “Golly! Great thinkin' Mug!!” Cuphead agreed, and just like that, the plan was underway.

However, that was just when one of the Fireball Marchers suddenly made a noise, and broke the formation on the tongue. Mugman noticed the new sound and looked back to see the rouge fireball suddenly leap towards the two of them! “Woah!” Mugman suddenly pulled his brother back by his shirt, “jump, Cup,” and hopped up to another, higher cloud. “Wait!” Cuphead saw that the fireball could still reach them from their new height, and pushed his brother forward, forcing the mug to stumble two steps forward out of harm's way. As the younger cup jumped up, he let the marcher sail under him and into the cloud-cover below. “Good catch,” Mugman said, looking back with a thumbs up. “Ah! Wait!” Mugman rushed behind Cuphead then began to fire at Grim again. “Use it now!!”

Cuphead quickly pulled out the Super Coin from the depths of his pocket and flicked it into his head with his thumb in one, swift motion. He could feel the built-up magical energy grow stronger inside his body before the child let instinct take over. Cuphead jumped up in the air, lifted one leg up, and cracked a wide, confident grin as he aimed his head right at the dragon. “Take a sip a this, lizard-breath!!” He cried, then launched out the milk in his head with a mighty blast! Grim visibly tensed up at the attack upon impact and he let a loud yelp of pain escape his throat by mistake.

True to his word, Mugman moved along the traveling clouds and stayed close to his brother. As Cuphead began to fall back down, he just barely managed to land on the edge of a cloud below, with the help of Mugman, who grabbed his shoulder when he started to wobble forwards. Just as planned, Cuphead switched his weapon when he landed, and the next time he snapped, a small, lavender ball catapulted from his fingertip and crashed onto Grim's snout with a plop! “Auh!” Grim choked out as he flinched again. “This is working...” Mugman gasped softly, “keep on 'im, Cup!”

Suddenly, the brothers heard the strange, whiney sort of groan again and looked down to see another Fireball Marcher crouched down and facing the left, towards Grim. “Cuphe-!” “Already on it!” As the fireball lunged towards the ceramic duo, Cuphead took a short hop forwards and onto a lower cloud, closer to the dragon, before quickly jumping back onto the previous cloud once the flame had begun to sail towards him for a second time. At the same time, Mugman leaped and flipped backwards onto a lower cloud that was closer to the tongue than he'd like. “Ah!” He hissed, feeling the heat from the fire below. Mugman loved warm drinks and blankets next to a toasty, cozy fire, but this was too hot, even for him. It wasn't painful, but the fact that he could easily be burned scared him. The boy glanced back to find another fluffy platform, hopped onto the higher one behind him, and started firing again. “Cuphead, keep a safe distance!! I'll hang back!” Cuphead mentally acknowledged his brother's plan, but was too absorbed in the battle to physically show him, other than by getting some distance from the approaching dragon by hopping onto another cloud. “Try to stay higher up!” Mugman warned before he suddenly felt a drop land right on his nose. “Hnn?”

Cuphead had heard Mugman's strategy and glanced behind to try and find a higher platform, when he heard another matchstick marcher ready up for another attack. Cups glimpsed down below and saw this one facing the right, away from Grim, and towards Mugs! “Mug, watch out!!” “Ha?” Mugman saw the Fireball Marcher jump up and gasped as he quickly pulled out the new Super Coin. As Mug flicked the coin with his thumb, he jumped back and caught the enchanted charm in his head.

All at once, the boy could feel the magical energy from his Super Meter and the magic he dropped in his soul combine and increase dramatically. As if instinct took control, Mugman jumped up and crossed his arms below him in a circular motion as he tucked his knees into his chest. His soul, fueled by the magic, projected the illusion of his head, grinning despite appearing to be on the brink of death as indicated by the hollowed-out, black eyes. His head suddenly laughed in a deep voice, one that clearly wasn't Mugman's. “Ha ha ha!” The mug suddenly leaped out from the mouth of the illusion before it shrunk away with a few, large drops of milk, but rather than the typical blue appearance, Mugman was gold, and he glimmered and glowed so brightly, he almost looked transparent. Or perhaps he was transparent. “Woah! This is...I feel great! Fantastic! Ha ha!” He laughed confidently, oblivious to the other marcher that suddenly lunged at him. “Eek!” Mugman expected to get rammed and burned by the flame, but the fireball merely passed right through his body. “Good gosh! This sure is swell!!” Now Mugman was brimming with confidence, knowing that nothing could touch him. The child fought without fear.

Mugman dropped to a lower cloud, still keeping his distance from Grim, but not worried about the fire below. Mugman quickly began to fight recklessly, oblivious to the fading shimmer and how his body flashed between his normal and golden state. He heard another Fireball Marcher prepare for another leap, but when Mugman saw that he was facing him rather than Cuphead, he only scoffed. “Take your best shot at me, sucker!!” He taunted with confidence, just as his body ceased its flashing form and reverted back to its normal state.

The fiery marcher launched at Mugman and not only violently crashed into him, which caused the screen to shake, but also left a large, painful burn on his chest. “Ow! Ouch! Ow! Get it off, put it out! Ow!!” He shrieked, prompting Cuphead to look back. Mugman was laying flat with his stomach on the cloud, shirt and gloves still steaming and sizzling from when he presumably pushed the Fireball Marcher off and put out the fire it started on his shirt. “Mugman!” Cuphead rushed over to his brother and helped him back up to his feet again. “Are you alright?! What happened to your invincibility?!” “Owww.” Mug whimpered. “Y-you tell me.” He hissed as he held the burns on his chest. “I-I didn't realize that had such a short time-limit!” “Mugs...” “D-don't worry about me! Ow. We need to knock this guy out! Pronto! Focus on attacking him!” Mugman tried as he leaned onto Cuphead for support. It hurt so much just for him to stand, but they had to press forward. “Mug, yer hurt!” “I know, but we can't back down now! We'll worry about me later, but for now, we need to take this guy down! The longer we're fighting, the worse off we are!” Mugs groaned. Cuphead begrudgingly nodded. “Right.” He made sure his older brother was able to stand and got closer to the dragon again.

Mugman hopped up, wincing in pain as he moved, and focused his shots on Grim as he watched his little brother. Despite being hurt himself, Cuphead didn't let it bother him in the slightest. Meanwhile, Mugman was severely slowing down due to the pain, and would always take a precautious jump back whenever he saw the Fireball Marchers get ready to pounce. The burns to his chest certainly did no favors to the bruise that he got earlier, and all this moving around was making the crack on his cheek throb in pain. Mugman felt another drop on the right side of his rim, this time it rolled down and traced along the crack in his face, which earned another pained hiss from the boy. Elder Kettle didn't say anything about rain before they left, did he? Or maybe it was just dragon slobber?

“Kablooey!” Cuphead called as he expelled the built-up magical energy from his body out both his fists. As he fired the new Ex Move, a larger, lavender ball launched out and onto Grim's lower jaw, splashing all over his face.“ Owie!!” Grim yelped. “Why ca't you hoo husth g-g-g-githe uh ahleahy?!” The dragon questioned, wishing the children would just admit defeat and go home! “Over my empty head!!” Cuphead retaliated, just as the wind drastically picked up. The boy snapped his fingers once again and the lavender bullet catapulted forwards and smacked Grim right between the wings, then bounced off and hit the back of his neck, just behind the head.

The dragon shrieked in pain. The attack was just enough to trigger a reflex in his wings that caused them to freeze up and stop moving. Grim's eyes bulged out of his head as his body involuntarily shuddered. The dragon rolled his tongue back into his mouth as he glided across the sky, motionless for a few moments. The sky suddenly grew very dark as black clouds rolled in from seemingly nowhere. Rain quickly began to pour down over the three debtors, soaking them all within seconds.

Grim suddenly reared his neck upwards as the clouds darkened his form into nothing more but a large silhouette. There were three voices, each making a different sound. One laughed, another made a silly, warbly, babbling sound, and the last timidly wooed as if mimicking a ghost. “What was...?” Mugman asked, looking up at the silhouette in fear. A head rose up to look Cuphead right in the eyes. “One...” It said before another head on the left side rose up next to the other. “Two...” It taunted, before a third head arose on the far right, grinning maniacally at the cup with an insane look in his eyes. “Three!” Suddenly, the three heads closed in on the boy, forcing Cuphead to take a step back. “You'd b-b-b-etter flee! Brawrahahahah!” The hydra taunted, just as a loud crack of thunder crashed throughout the sky. “Cuphead, back away!!” Mugman warned, and Cuphead didn't at all hesitate.

However, Cuphead surprised Mugman with how far back he retreated. Cup pulled out a Smoke Bomb and dashed as far back as he could, then turned on his heel and lunged across at least four more clouds before he stopped behind his brother. Although Mugman didn't think much of this, he glanced behind at his brother for a moment as he observed Grim in his new form. “Good thinking, Cups. We don't know what this fella's capable of now. We should hang back and watch how he fights!” Mugman informed as he kept a line of fire.

The trio of hydra heads juggled themselves up and down in a way that seemed complex but was a fairly simple pattern. The outer two heads quickly spat out a goopy-looking fire cluster into the air, followed by another and another. At first, Mugman thought these would be easy to dodge if they only kept a safe distance, but one stray bullet from the Peashooter, and a cluster exploded in four different directions, one of course, that headed straight for our heroes.

Mugman flipped forward to dodge, then looked back to make sure Cuphead was safe. “Cuphead!” He called over the thunder and lightning. “Switch your weapon and focus on dodging if you accidentally hit one of those attacks!” Cuphead looked up at Mugman stiffly. “Focus on building up a Super, and end it quickly!!” A soft groan escaped from the older brother. “Hurry!” Mugman turned back to focus on their new strategy.

However, Cuphead couldn't hear what his brother had said at all over the rain, wind, and thunder. The child wasn't focused on the battle at hand at all anymore. Rather, Cuphead looked all around at their surroundings. A large, three-headed, fire-breathing dragon in front of them, gray and black clouds as far as the eye could see, trapped Heaven knows how high up from the world below. Another strike of lightning caused the child to tremble as the rainwater collected in his and his brother's head and overflowed, spilling down the sides. As high up and as soaked as they were, they were bound to be struck by nature's cruel electricity. Cuphead hardly moved aside from his own shaking, not that he could hear himself clinking over the sudden and violent storm. The boy watched his brother as he fought the dragon, unable to move from the one spot on the cloud as tears began to well up in his eyes. A soft hiccup escaped the child as his heart pounded against his chest. A sudden bolt of lightning lunged dangerously close to his brother's head, and the child nearly screamed, but his voice seemed to catch in his throat and turn into a mix between a sob and a cough. “M-Mugs!” Cuphead whimpered softly, sniffling as he shook violently, paralyzed with fear.

Mugman continued to shoot at the hydra as he made sure to watch out for the fire clusters to avoid hitting them. After a short while, however, Mugman noticed that Grim's center head took a deep breath, and knew he was preparing something. He turned back to warn Cuphead, only to hear his little brother suddenly start wailing loudly as soon as another, deafening clap of thunder echoed throughout Inkwell. “Cuphead?!” It had become too much for the child to bare all at once. Cuphead had his face raised to the sky as he wailed and sobbed in fear, terrified. Terrified that he was going to be electrocuted by the lightning. Terrified that his brother was going to be electrocuted by the lightning.

Mugman quickly looked back at Grim, then rushed over to his baby brother as fast as he could. The second he wrapped an arm around Cuphead, his little brother suddenly clung to him for dear life, sobbing and screaming into his chest. Before Mugman would even attempt to try and calm his beloved little Sippy Cup down however, he rushed up and lunged them both onto a higher cloud, and not a moment too soon.

Grim's center head morphed into a large, red flamethrower, and unleashed a massive beam of fire onto where the brothers once stood. He breathed in again and attempted to burn the brothers once more, but he hadn't seemed to notice they had moved. “Hey, g-g-g-genius! They moved up th-th-th-there! The angry-looking head on the right bickered. “W-w-w-well I didn't n-n-n-notice that!!” The center head defended. “And n-n-n-now's not the time t-t-t-to be arguing!” “Right! W-w-w-we need to defend our s-s-s-soul!!” The one on the far left agreed gleefully with a nod. “L-l-l-let's go!” They all cheered.

“Cuphead, what's wrong?” Mugman asked, keeping his little brother close as he pushed him against his aching chest. Cuphead managed to blubber something out, but it was far too distressed for Mugman to be able to make anything out. Another crashing boom of lightning and Cuphead whimpered as he hugged his brother tighter. “A-ah! N-not so tight!!” Mug hissed in pain, but now he understood.

Cuphead had been absolutely terrified of lightening ever since he was six. The three of them had gone to see a movie for Cuphead's birthday, and in the grand finale, the antagonist had been violently and graphically struck by lightning. The child had been terrified of getting electrocuted ever since. When they were kids, Mugman would always have to hold Cuphead close and stay with him until the storm either passed, or Cuphead fell asleep. However, Cuphead stopped waking him up in recent years, Mugman thought he'd been sleeping right through the storms and just assumed he'd gotten over his fear. He must have thought wrong.

Mugman looked back at their foe, grit teeth and a grave expression lining his face. This was a fine time for him to find this out. He knew he wasn't going to get Cuphead to do much more fighting, but if he'd tried to tell him to sit it out anywhere, his brother would not only still be terrified, but at risk of getting hit. No matter where Cuphead moved to, he'd always be in the way. He had to think of something, and quick. “I-it's okay, Sippy Cup, don't panic, alright?” Mugman hoped that the nickname would at least soothe him in some way. “Y-yer gonna be alright, alright? Just...” Mugs began to fire at Grim once more with his free hand and held on tighter to his brother with the arm he had wrapped around him as he continued to move towards him. “Hang on tight!” Mugman braced himself for the remaining battle ahead and for his brother to increase his grip over his injuries.

Mugman rushed just a little closer to Grim and attempted to build up enough of his Super Meter to at least use some Ex Moves, all while carrying his caterwauling mess of a baby brother. The crying child wasn't about to go unnoticed by Grim, however. “Wh-wh-wh-what's wrong with him?! I-i-i-is he hurt?!” The center head asked, quite clearly very concerned. “Wh-wh-wh-what's it matter to you?!” The right head barked. “H-h-h-he's not important, we are!!” The left head tried to remind. “He is a m-m-m-mere child!!” The center head argued as he glared at his other two heads. “He is trying to t-t-t-take our soul!!” The left head scolded. “We have every r-r-r-right to kill them both!!” The right head growled before he suddenly nipped at the mugs. “S-s-s-stop that! C-c-c-can't you see there's something wrong?!” Their arguing suddenly gave Mugman an idea, but he'd have to get dangerously close.

Mugman briefly stopped his firing to yank a cloud out of the sky and throw it closer to the hydra on the left side. Mugs continued his fire once more and jumped over onto the cloud he just smacked back into place and shot at the farthest head from beside the outer right head. “Hey ugly!! Fix yer aim, I-I'm right here!!” He taunted, which prompted a snarl from the angry head. “D-d-d-don't make him even madder, k-k-k-kid!!” The center head warned, but it was too late. The right head suddenly spat out multiple fire clusters at the boys, which Mugman promptly shot before he jumped off to another cloud.

The clusters split apart and hit the two other heads, who both yelped in pain before glaring daggers at the offending head. “Smooth m-m-m-move!!” The left one growled. “E-e-e-even I w-w-w-wouldn't have fallen for that!” “Sh-sh-sh-shut up! Y-y-y-you don't even want to defend the fate of y-y-y-your very soul, a-a-a-and you're upset at me?!” Suddenly, the left head spat out two other fire clusters at the right head, which Mugman quickly shot so that they'd hit all three heads again. “Oh, now look who's the g-g-g-genius!” “G-g-g-guys, we need to stop arguing!” “L-l-l-look, wise guy! If you think f-f-f-fer a second that I'm going to l-l-l-let you get away with a-a-a-attacking myself like that--” “Well at least I d-d-d-didn't do it on purpose!!” Suddenly, the right head lunged forward and bit the left most neck beside it, resulting in the left head to retaliate by chomping down on the right one's cranium. “Ouch!! Stop f-f-f-fighting with yourselves!!” The center head begged, but it was too late.

Mugman seized the opportunity and began firing once again while they were distracted. Thankfully, Mugman's plan had worked, and they were distracted enough by themselves that they hadn't noticed him shooting. Right now, it wasn't about beating the hydra, or doing massive amounts of damage to him. This was about building up his Super Meter, ending this, and calming his brother down. This was about survival. “G-g-g-guys, p-p-p-please! Stop f-f-f-fighting!!” The center continued. Mugman got up closer to the center and hoped that he could do this with just one hand. He had just over enough for one attack, and Mug knew the heads couldn't stay distracted for long! Upon seeing the boy, the center head glanced between the two, still arguing, heads and Mugman, practically cradling his shaking brother with one arm. The same boy who'd been shaking in his presence just moments earlier. Grim had to commend the boy for his bravery, but knew he still had to stand his ground. He puffed out a sigh, then took a deep breath, preparing his flames. “Please work...” Mugman begged to himself. He glanced over at Cuphead and, in an attempt to try and calm him down, he decided to use the whole 'signature move' baloney that Cuphead had been begging him to do. Mugman took a deep breath and concentrated the magical energy built up in his body out his right fist. “Mega Blast!” He jut his hand out forward, but the magic gave a blue spark in both hands for a brief moment, then fizzled out. Mugman internally panicked and promptly tried again, knowing this was his only chance. “Mega Blast!!” Once again, the magic sparked, but fizzled out. If he let go of Cuphead, he could fall. If he didn't try something, they'd be burnt to a porcelain crisp. Mugman took one last deep breath and focused entirely on his magic and the target. He balled up his fists as he unintentionally shot a glare at the dragon, then threw out his fist one last time.“Mega Blast!!”

Finally, the magic shot out one fist and collided into the hydra with a great force. The two outer heads drooped down with 'X's in their eyes, the one on the left side's cheeks puffed up as his tongue hung out haphazardly from his mouth. The center head snapped back, 'X's also in his eyes, before his head tilted down slightly. “Yes!! Oh! Oh! Oh dear mercy yes!!” Mugman shouted in utter relief, but it wasn't over yet.

Mugman held onto his brother as he leaped onto the hydra's back and scoured under his wings. Before long, Mugman found the contract and checked it, but before he could get off Grim's back, he suddenly felt overwhelmingly dizzy and unbalanced. Mugman's world suddenly began to spin and he clung onto the reptile's back for dear life just before the dragon lurched forward without warning and back into the tower, away from the storm.

Grim lowered a wing down for the brothers to climb off once they were inside. “H-h-h-here.” He murmured softly. Mugman was a little confused, but he took the offer and gently climbed down onto the stone, both he and his little brother dripping wet. “I-I-I-I'd offer you a-” Grim cut himself off with a slight hiss of pain. “A towel, b-b-b-but you'll just get soaked as soon as you s-s-s-step outside again.” Grim had changed back to normal now, with only one head visible, but the dragon was still covered in wounds and bandages from their battle. “Y-you're...? Not mad?” The dragon shook his head. “No.” He looked down at the pair with a somber expression and a sigh. “What's done i-i-i-is done. A-a-a-and you earned that f-f-f-fair and square.” Grim fell down onto the stone floor with a huff, just to rest his injured body. “Holy s-s-s-smokes...you two certainly didn't hold anything b-b-b-back...” A pang of guilt shot through Mugman. “W-we're sorry.” “D-d-d-don't be...I just hope...th-th-th-that whatever happens...It h-h-h-happens for the best.” Grim looked up at our heroes. “You two should g-g-g-get going.” “Right.” Mugman nodded, his dizzy spell having passed, “come on, Cups...” Cuphead whined and sniveled quietly into his brother's chest, still terribly frightened from the violent storm just outside.

As Mugman carried his little brother back down the stone stairway, he rubbed the child's back soothingly. “I didn't realize you were still so scared of lightning...” Cuphead only whined in response. “I'm sorry. If I'd known, I would have tried to do something sooner.” Cuphead sniffled a few times, and Mugman sighed, rubbing the base of Cuphead's handle with his thumb a bit. “I...” Mugman looked over at Cup as he spoke, giving his baby brother his full attention. “I w-was tryin' ta be b-brave a-and...” The boy was cut off by another hiccup before he dove back into his brother's chest. “Aww, Sippy Cup...” Mugman hushed. “You don't have to worry about being brave around me when something scares you that bad.” Cuphead mumbled something into Mugman's shoulder that sounded just a bit like 'I don't?' “Of course not. You're already one tough cup. The toughest cup I know, alright? But you can't always be tough like that. And that's okay...Because you have a big brother like me to help you out when things get too scary and tough.” Mugman continued to rub circles into Cuphead's back as the two descended down the stairs. “After all, you're always here for me when I'm scared. So it's only fair that I'll be there for you when you're scared. Okay?” Cuphead turned his head to breathe a little better, still leaning his head against Mugman's chest. He sniffled a few times, wiped his eyes and nose, then pulled his brother into a hug. “...mokay...” The child mumbled.

Missed the past episodes? Want to check for the next one? Here’s a link to the list of episodes currently published!

#Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Cuphead: Don't Deal with the Devil #Cuphead #Mugman #Grim Matchstick #Rewriting #Drabble #Fanfiction #Fanfic

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 5 years

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Invited to The Devil’s Ball.

The brothers were understandably confused when they received an invitation to The Devil’s Ball. They would have just brushed it off, except everyone at school was talking about it as well. It seemed like everyone in Mugman’s class got invited, and only a select few in Cuphead’s class. Even most of the teachers were talking about going. The fact that it was being held at the Devil’s Casino wasn’t...a coincidence. The host had to be none other than The Devil himself. This couldn’t have just been some big advertisement to entice people to start a gambling addiction. Especially if the two of them were invited.

“Mugs, it’s probably a trap.” “Of course it is! But who’s it for? Us? Innocent people? What’re they playing?” There was a pause as our heroes looked at their invitation. “What are we gonna do?” “...Maybe we should go.” He really didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help but think of innocent people getting wrapped up in something as bad as they had been two years ago. “Right. We’ve gotta be ready to step in and stop whatever tricks the Devil’s up to!” “Exactly, but we still have to consider that, as elaborate as this trap may be, it’s probably for us.” “Huh? What are you saying?” “I mean, it’d be foolish to go all on our own, we’d be playing right into his hands. We need to make sure we’re not alone.” “Oh, I get it!! Who should we ask first?! Cagney?” “Yeah, he’d be great to have! Hilda as well.” “Let’s ask around to see who all has invitations!”

#Invited to The Devil's Ball #The Devil's Ball (2019)#Cuphead #Mugman #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 6 years

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Santa Cup, That’s Me!

Happy Holidays! This wasn’t supposed to be half as long as it turned out to be, and I got the idea literally Christmas Eve and have been working on it since. Sorry it’s late, but way better late than never!!

When I originally started writing this, it was going to take place in the current year this blog is in, 1935, but since it’s so long and elaborate, we’ll consider this the Christmas special of my rewriting, placing it in 1934.

I also hid a few Easter Eggs here and there. See how many you can find! On that note, always keep in mind that none of the characters (except for Sue, Logan, and Tick and Tock,) belong to me, and that Reblogs > Likes!

Cuphead and Mugman were nestled quietly in their beds, eagerly awaiting the dawn of Christmas Morning. Cuphead always had trouble sleeping Christmas Eve, and this time was no different. He’d begged both Mugman and Santa for an electric train set, and he was almost certain he was getting one!! The boy tossed and turned in his bed, trying to sleep,but not being able to.

Suddenly, Cuphead heard something clop clop clopping on the roof. The child shot straight up out of his head as he listened closely to the sounds. Clop clop clop. Jingle jingle jingle. There was only one way these sounds could be coming from the roof above his head. Santa. “Mugs!!” Cuphead whispered, jumping out of bed and over to shake his brother awake. “Mugs, Mugs, wake up! Santa’s here! Wake up wake up!” “Cuphead?” Mugman mumbled with a sleepy sort of snort. “Mugman wake up, wake up!! Santa’s here! Santa’s here!! We should catch him and say thanks!!”

Cuphead dragged his brother out of bed, and pulled him downstairs and down to the Christmas Tree, hoping to catch Santa before he climbed back up the Chimney.

But alas, it seemed the brothers just barely missed him. Cuphead couldn’t help but peak under the Christmas tree and...no train. Talk about disappointing, but Cuphead was still going to thank Santa if he could! “Maybe we can catch him outside!”

The brothers rushed outside, just to see--

There he was. Santa Claus. In the flesh and fur coat. Cuphead never thought he’d see the real Santa! Usually it was just Brineybeard or some other old geezer posing as Santa. The boys could hardly contain themselves. “SANTA!!” Cuphead shouted. “Ho ho?!” As Santa turned around, his foot slipped on the snowy roof, and he quickly fell off and onto the ground with a loud thud before Cuphead could say ‘thank you!’ The brothers gasped, terribly frightened at what had just happened. “SANTA!!” They both cried, rushing over to his body. “Cuphead, he’s not moving!!” “Golly, Mugs!! What are we gonna do?!” “We just killed Santa!! No, worse!! We just ruined Christmas for every other kid!!” Cuphead was on the verge tears.”

Cuphead grabbed his brother’s cheeks and looked him right in the eyes. “There’s only one thing we can do. Hide the body and take his place.” “I-- Cuphead we can’t just--” “Do ya really wanna go ta prison fer th’rest of yer life because we literally killed the Santa Claus?” “No, not really...” Mugman mumbled as he began to consider it. He didn’t particularly want to think about how to hide the body of St. Nick, but what choice did he have?

Mugman eventually sighed. “Fine! But we need to deliver these presents first!!” “Gimme a boost, let’s get up to the sleigh and we’ll look at the list!” “Right!” Mugman nodded, lifting his little brother onto his shoulders, so that the younger could reach the roof with his hand and climb up. “Cup, help me up!” Without another word, Cuphead planted his straw in the snow, to have something to keep him from slipping himself, and grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled him up. “Let’s get to th’sleigh!” The brothers quickly and carefully crawled up the snowy roof and climbed into Santa’s red sleigh. “How does this work?” Asked Cuphead. Mugman looked around in the sleigh and unrolled a long list of names and addresses of citizens on Inkwell. “It looks like this is his nice list.” Cuphead opened up the large red sack of gifts behind the seat, only to reveal more sacks of gifts, each in a different colored bag. “All these bags are different!” “Looks like it’s color coated. How did he do that?” Mugman pondered quietly.

“Alright, here’s the plan! If we split up and cover more ground, we can get all of Isle One done in no time!” Mugman decided. “How?! We can’t carry all these to the houses outside of the village on foot! They’re too far away!” “I didn’t say we’d be walking.” “Mug! Are you nuts?! We don’t know how to drive this thing!!” “I mean we’ll use our Aeroplanes!” Mugman reasoned. “You start off at the main village and get the residents in town, Like Clara Candlewick and Billy Baker! I’ll take care of the spread-out houses, like Mac and Honey Crisp, and Carrie Blossom!” “Gotchya! I’ll take the big sack in my plane! You just take what you need inta yours!” “Perfect! Let’s save Christmas for Inkwell!”

So the brothers made quick work and took over for St. Nick. Clad in their scarves, earmuffs, and goggles, they flew around above Isle one, landing on the rooftops of each house, and delivering the presents to the folks inside as quietly as they could. Cuphead would often find a bunch of houses close together, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop to deliver each set of gifts. Meanwhile Mugman would have to be careful and quick, since each house was so isolated from the next, if they even had a house at all. He was rather surprised Cagney celebrated Christmas, much less wrote a letter to Santa at all.

“Isle Two next?” Cuphead asked. “Yeah. Thankfully very few people actually live there outside of who we already know, so this should be quick and easy.” Mugman informed, reading over the list as he sat in his grounded plane. “Heck, Wally and Djimmi’s names are under the same address for some reason, so that’s one less stop than we’d already have to make!” “Swell! We should do Wally’s house last, our planes would prolly wake him up.” “Good thinking, Cup! Let’s make tracks!” With that, the ceramic duo were off again, quietly creeping about the isle and delivering all the gifts to good girls and boys within the closed carnival.

That was until the boys hit a roadblock at the Warbles’ house. As the two somehow managed to sneak past a sleeping Wally and climb down the chimney, the brothers fell right into a net, and tumbled out with a loud clink and a poof of soot and ash. “Cuphead, what did you do?!” Mugman coughed, trying to maintain a whisper. “I didn’ do nothin’!” Cuphead hacked. “Somethin’ grabbed me!” The two struggled to break free of the fishnet they were entangled in, pushing and kicking against the ropes in attempts to break free. Mugman hadn’t thought to grab his Charge Shot, so he couldn’t use that to break the ropes, all he had was the Peashooter, which were too small to rely on now. “Cups, did you bring the Lobbers?” “I-I think I left it in my bag at home! But I have the Roundabouts!” “You’ll hit me with that before you break the nets!”

With all the ruckus and coughing from nearby, a little chick began to stir and open his eyes. Santa came. And he fell right into his trap. “Puphead! Wake up!” The chick whispered, shaking the wooden boy next to him awake. Puphead slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a sleepy yawn.

As the smoke cleared, and the porcelain brothers were revealed to be the ones caught in Junior’s trap, Puphead and Junior were shocked to see that it hadn’t been Santa after all, yet they did have a blue-green bag of gifts with them. “What’re you two twit’s doin’ here?! You tryin’ ta steal our Christmas presents?! Is dat it?!” Junior accused, marching over to the brothers. “Wuh-oh.” “Busted!” Mugman turned his head to look at Junior. “N-no! You’ve got it all wrong, we--” “Ooh, my dad was right about yous two!! Just wait until I tell him! Then you’ll really be sorry!!” The chick took a deep breath as Puphead covered his ears, knowing that he would scream for Wally. “No, no, Junior wait!!” “Junior! Stop! We’re tryin’ ta help Santa!!” Junior paused at that. “Wuffor?” He toyed. “He, erm, hurt himself! He twisted his ankle on a piece of firewood sticking out by our chimney, and he can’t climb down chimneys no more! So we’re helping him in our Aeroplanes until he can climb again!” Cuphead lied. “Just let us out, we still got Isle Three ta do!!” “Uh huh...And why should I believe you?” Puphead tugged on Junior’s arm at his suspicion, fully believing the story. “What is it? You believe dis crap?” Puphead nodded, and pointed to the sack in the net that the brothers had. “What the toys dey stole?!” Puphead shook his head and pointed to the fireplace. Junior’s eyes widened. “I...Gosh Puphead, yer right! Dere’s no way they could have taken the gifts before setting off the trap!” “Junior, untie us, please! We need to hurry up and get started on Isle Three before morning comes!!” Mugman pleaded, looking at his watch. “It’s already almost 11:30! We only have 30 minutes to get the whole entire city!!” “What?” Junior questioned, already starting to open the net. “Ya think dat da whole city’s gonna just get up at midnight ta open presents?” “No...” Mugman answered, “but someone might!” "Man, you two really are dumb! Ain’ no one gonna get up at midnight ta open gifts, most people’ll be asleep still! I’d say dat the earliest kids are gon’ wake up is at least tree AM. Ya twits still gots time!” “Yeah, but not much! Do ya even know how many people live in th’big city?!” Cuphead pointed out.

Puphead grabbed both of Junior’s shoulders as the brothers were released, and looked at his friend with pleading eyes. Junior turned his head at the touch, and looked the puppet in the eyes for a few moments before he sighed. “Yer right. Tree ‘n a half hours ain’t enough time fer just th’ two ah yas ta cover the entire city.” Junior placed his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest. “But maybe da four of us can make it!” He proclaimed valiantly. “Hot dawg, you’ll really help, Junior?!” Mugman cried. “On one condition! Ya leave dat sack ‘ere fer me ta examine!” “Deal!” The brothers said. “I’ll get my nest! Puphead, yer with me!” Puphead jumped up and down excitedly.

With the presents unbagged and two new recruits by their side, the four Christmas heroes quickly flew into the city and began their work once again. Apartments, homes, and more, the children were quick to break in and leave their gifts and fill their stockings. Forkington Silverson, Tick and Tock Clocke, Sue Zanshwane, Toby J. Sodor, no house was missed, and no child was forgotten. Every name on the list was crossed out with each house, one by one, and little by little, each house was visited and gifted.

After what felt like hours of work, the four went back to the carnival and landed. “Junior, you guys got Nancy Nightingale?” “Yup!” “Cup, you went through every apartment in Sally Stageplay’s apartment complex!” “It wasn’t as complicated as the name made it sound!” Mugman snorted at that. “Anybody happen to get Logan Rhythm or Debbie Doll?” “I got Logan!” Cuphead exclaimed, raising his hand, “Puphead n’ I got Debbie!” Mugman crossed off two more names. “Guys! We did it! That’s everyone on Inkwell before two AM!” “Yahoo!!” Cuphead cheered as Puphead jumped in excitement. “Great. Merry Christmas.” Junior grumbled, trying not to appear as happy as he was feeling. “Puphead, ‘m tired, let’s go home!” Puphead nodded, and walked walked back to Wally’s house with Junior as he waved the brothers good night. “Merry Christmas Junior!” Mugman called. “Merry Christmas Puphead!”

Cuphead sighed, with a visible breath and turned to his brother. “Mugsy, ‘m tired too. We should go home and sleep before we wake Elder Kettle.” Mugman was surprised that his little brother was choosing to go to sleep over opening presents on Christmas Morning. Cuphead had to have been really tired to make a decision like that! “Yeah, we will. I’m freezing anyway. I feel like there’s frozen milk in my straw at this point. Just let me double check to make sure we didn’t miss anyone. “What? Why?” Cuphead asked, already crawling back into his Aeroplane. “You just said we got everyone!” “Santa always checks his list twice! The song Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town says so!” “Wasn’t that written last year?” Cuphead grumbled, before something in Mugman’s plane caught his attention. The giant red sack of toys didn’t look so empty...

As if on cue, Mugman’s straw popped out of his head to form a shivering exclamation point. “Cuphead, we missed someone! A little girl named Evelyn Etting in the village!” “There’s another bag in there! It’s gotta be fer her family!” “Let’s shake a leg!” The brothers cried, hopping into their Aeroplanes and flying as close to the village as possible.

Unfortunately for them, it began to snow, so they’d have to go into the town and get on the roof by foot due to dangerous weather conditions. The brothers ran as they rushed to her house, Mugman worried about not being able to find a way up to the roof or inside the house. “Look Mug! A ladder!” Cuphead motioned with his whole hand. “It leads up to th’roof!” “That’s swell!” The brothers quickly climbed the ladder of the green house, carefully crossed the roof, and dropped down the chimney with the purple bag of gifts. There was quite a lot to unload, but one the ceramic duo was finished, they each had one cookie and a shared glass of milk, then crawled back out the red bricked chimney.

“Oh Golly! That was a lot.” Cuphead sighed, stretching his back as he stood on the chimney. “Cuphead, get off the chimney before you fall and shatter yourself.” Mugman scolded. “Golly Mugs! Look at the town from up here! The snow makes it look so nifty!” “Cup. We need to get home before Elder Kettle realizes we’re gone.” “Wait a minute, Mug! We took Santa’s place, right? There’s somethin’ we still gotta say before we go home!” “What? ‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night?’ Cuphead, there’s at least five Jewish kids in our school that don’t celebrate Christmas, you’ll just be annoying them if you wake them up for that.” “Maybe, but we can say somethin’ else so that the Jewish don’ feel left out!” “Cuphead, let’s just get off the--” Mugman’s left foot suddenly sank into the snow, causing him to wobble and lift his right foot in the air as he lost his balance. Cuphead, however, didn’t notice, but instead put his left hand up to his mouth as he took a deep breath and cried,

The clock tower chimed with two loud BONGs, and the screen soon faded to the Kettle’s front lawn.

Aeroplanes abandoned for the time being, the two brothers returned home, having forgotten what started this mess in the first place, until Cuphead suddenly remembered. “Mugs! Santa!! Whadda we do about him?!” “Oh no, you’re right!” The brothers began sprinting to where the body once was, but instead of Santa’s motionless carcass, they only found an imprint in the snow of what once was there. “What the-- where’d he go?!” “Cuphead, look!” Mugman jabbed his little brother with his elbow and pointed to the roof with two fingers.

Just as Cuphead looked up, Santa was there, alive and well as if nothing ever happened. He flicked the reigns, and his reindeer galloped off and away, flying overhead as he left Inkwell Isle.

“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, and Vixen! On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!” “Woah!” The brothers both gasped. “Oh ho ho ho! Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!”

The brothers stood for a moment, before Cuphead suddenly sneezed, not a single drop of milk leaving his head, despite the sudden motion. “Bless you.” “Mugs, did we just get used by Santa?” “I don’t think so. I think he was just knocked out and we took it upon ourselves to help.” “Hitchiew!” “Bless you. We’d better get inside before we catch a cold.” “Fine.” Cuphead sniffled.

The brothers stepped inside, and were welcomed with a completely different scene than what they had left with. There had been twice as many gifts than before, and their Christmas tree was bigger, brighter, and prettier than ever. “Wowza...” The brothers both gasped. “Mugman, look!” Cuphead motioned to a letter in the middle of the tree. Mugman grabbed it and opened it, holding it low enough for Cuphead to read as well. “What’s it say?!”

“Dear Cuphead and Mugman,

You two gave me quite the scare when you suddenly showed up outside. I certainly didn’t expect you to leave the house when you saw the presents.” As Mugman read the note, the voice of Santa himself could be heard, as if he was speaking directly to the brothers.

“I thoroughly appreciate you wanting to thank me for what I do every year, Cuphead, but as always, your actions do not match well with your good intentions. Oh, but don’t worry. It’ll take a little more than just a silly old fall to make jolly old Saint Nick take the big sleep. Thank you so much for putting the rest of Inkwell’s needs before trying to get yourselves out of trouble, boys. Santa’s little helpers not only put Junior Warbles higher up on the nice list, but also made him begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

As thanks, I left you boys extra gifts this year, some perhaps against your grandfather’s wishes. Cuphead, the large red box under this note is for you. After tonight, you’ve certainly been a good enough boy to have earned this: be careful not to spill! Mugman, the round one in blue is yours. I hope you think back to this night whenever you listen to it.

Never stop striving to do the right thing, regardless of what you fear. Always remember to learn from your mistakes, and do what you believe in.

Merry Christmas to you both.

Signed,” “Mr. C.”

The brothers looked at each other for a few moments as the heard the floorboards above them creak. Somehow, they must have woken Elder Kettle up. Panicked, the brothers scrambled to kick the snow off their boots, and hide their scarves and earmuffs under the couches. Just as they could hear the stairs creak with their grandfather’s presence, the boys looked at each other and flipped the other’s straw upside down to hide the frozen milk on the other end. “Boys?” “Elder Kettle, Santa came!” “Have you any idea what the time is?!” “We’re sorry, Elder Kettle, we didn’t wanna wake you.” “Yeah! Mug an’ I were just curious ta see if he came! We were gonna letchya sleep in a little longer!” Cuphead added before he paused, and grabbed his left wrist. “...But since yer up, can we open presents now?!” “Good gosh, Cuphead.” Mugman sighed, putting a hand on his face.

Elder Kettle sighed. “I suppose. Since we’re all already up!” He smiled as he continued climbing down the stairs. “Yaay!!” The brothers immediately grabbed the gifts that Santa mentioned in his note, and quickly tore off the paper. Since Mugman’s was so much smaller, it hadn’t taken him long at all to open the record. “What’d ya get, Mugsy?!” Mugman turned the vinyl over in his hand, and read the title out loud. “Santa Claus, That’s Me!...” “Well then, shall we listen to it?” Elder Kettle offered, holding his hand out for the record. Mugman gave his grandpa a smile and nodded as he handed the song to him. Elder Kettle quickly shuffled over to the record player, and put on the song.

A string followed by jingling bells filled the room, accompanied by Cuphead tearing open the large gift. “Way up above me is The ice and snow where the eyes of no one may see With my dear little men And my wonderful shop Little ole Santa Claus, that’s me!

I’m building my toys For girls and boys A labor of love is mine. And I’m more than repaid For visits I’ve made When children’s eyes dance and shine! As time rolls along With a very old song At work I am always found. For I’m busy each day But in a wonderful way But when Christmas time comes round,

Then away I go Over the ice and snow To finish my trip before the day is dawning. I’ll carry my pretty toys For all the girls and boys To make them gay and happy Christmas morning!”

Mugman smiled at the song, just as Cuphead had finally unwrapped his present. “An electric train set!!” Cuphead squealed with joy. The child was so thrilled that he hugged the package with small milky tears in his eyes. He’s wanted one of these for years, but Elder Kettle always thought they were dangerous. Elder Kettle was about to scold the boy, and tell him that they’ll have to return it, but seeing his grandson with tears of joy made him choose otherwise. He didn’t have the heart to tell Cuphead he couldn’t have something that made him so happy on Christmas. “I’d better not find that thing left on, young man!” “Yes! Of course, Elder Kettle!!” Cuphead beamed as he giggled with pure joy.

The brothers continued opening their gifts, as the snow jingled as it fell down outside. As the picture was zooming away from the Kettle’s house, it soon circled to black, as the cursive words ‘Happy Holidays’ wrote themselves in gold on the screen, before finally fading to black.

#Santa Cup That's Me!#Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Cuphead #Mugman #Puphead #Wally Warbles Junior #Santa Claus #Elder Kettle #Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Christmas Special #Merry Christmas!

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 6 years

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Pyramid Peril! With Djimmi the Great!

Before you read: This is a rewriting of the main game Cuphead. Characters, certain dialogue, music, and locations obviously do not belong to me. This is best read with the OST playing over it. And before you start reading, remember that reblogs > likes! That being said, enjoy!

Blogs with Djimmi as a muse: @djimmi-the-great-and-powerful @karnivalkrew (that’s me!)

The brothers spread out all eight of the Soul Contracts they've collected so far onto the forest floor. “Moe Tato, Weepy, Psycarrot, Goopy le Grande, Cagney Carnation, Ribby, Croaks, Hilda Berg...That's it! That's all the contracts we need in Isle One!” Mugman cheered, crossing off Hilda's name. “Onto Isle Two then?” “Yup!” The older mug checked his watch. “And it's only 1:45! We're making great time!" “Fantastic! Let's go!” “Right.” Mug nodded. The boys gathered up the contracts and put them back into their pockets, making their way to the Die House of Isle Two.

As our heroes entered the square, orange building, they immediately spotted King Dice on the other side, blocking the way to the next isle. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. For your sake, I hope ya got all 'em contracts, Cupface.” The manager taunted, earning a scoff from the younger child. “As a matter of fact, we do! See fer yerself!” Cuphead pulled out the Soul Contracts again, showing them all to King Dice as Mugman pulled out the list with the names they crossed off. “Well. Ain't that a pip! Looks like you really put the kibosh on them debtors. You can head on over to the next isle.” King Dice smirked, adjusting his blazer. “Plenty more marks for you to lean on there!” “Let's hurry up and make tracks, Cuphead.” Mugman urged, putting emphasis on the later half of his brother's name. “We've got about 33 hours until the deadline.” “Uh, 33? Try again, genius.” “What?!” The brothers asked in unison.

“The Devil said we had until midnight tomorrow!” Mugman reminded. “Exactly. You have until twelve-o-clock, AM...September 30th.” “What?!” “But that's only...!!” Cuphead began to count on his fingers before Mugman finished for him. “That's only ten hours!! We're just two kids, we can't possibly travel all of Inkwell Isle in less than a day! Let alone doing so while having to get all these contracts!!” “You had no problems traveling all the way to Hell and back.” “He....he's gotchya there...” Cuphead had to admit. “Oh come on!!” “This isn't fair!” “Life ain't fair, wheats.” “You can't do this!!” “Oh can't I? That's where you're wrong, half portions! I think you both fail to realize just who I am.” The manager smirked, going silent as he let the bass play for a short while. The furniture around them began to bounce and sway to the music, dancing along to the rhythm.

“I'm Mr. King Dice! I'm the gamest in the land. I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right-hand man!

I can't let you pass, Cuz you ain't done everything! Bring me those contracts, come on, Bring them to the King!” He sang.

“If you haven't finished your task! Haven't worked assiduously... No I cannot let you pass! Don't you mess with me!

Don't mess with King Dice...” Suddenly all the furniture around them grew mouths and teeth, singing to King Dice's song. “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me...” “Don't mess with him!” “Don't mess with King Dice...” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me!!” The brothers subconsciously took a step back, towards each other. Neither one of them liked the situation they were in, and the singing furniture surely didn't help.

“I'm Mr. King Dice! Heed just what I say... The Devil has his price. And I'll make sure you pay...

I don't have time to mess 'round, And I hope you will agree! Bring me those contracts, Pronto! Don't you mess with me.” The dice practically growled, yet he was still singing.

“Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me!” “Don't mess with him!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with King Dice!” “Don't mess with me! Ah...” King Dice glanced down at the boys, with a sinister smirk as all the furniture stopped its movement. “Any how, I guess I should take a powder already. Enough bumpin' gums, ya dig?” With that, the die hopped up with a dramatic twist, and spiraled down into a hole that suddenly disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

The brothers just stood, clueless as to how to respond. “Well that just wasted like two minutes.” Cuphead cracked. “Ten hours?! Th-this is impossible!! There's no way we can convince everyone to give us their contracts in only ten hours!!” “Mugman, calm down! We ain't gettin' anywhere with you panickin' like this!” “Cuphead, what're we gonna do?! There's no time ta-” “Mug! Calm down!” Cuphead grabbed his older brother by the shoulders and gave him a harsh shake. “Look....I know you ain't gonna like this, but we've gotta stop reasoning with 'em!” Mugman paused. “W-w-what?” “If we waste time trying to convince people to hand over their souls to us, we'll run out of time for sure! We can't try to reason with 'em like that!” “B-but-” “No! It's not gonna work!!” “I...” Mugman sighed. “You're right...” “Course I am. Have I ever steered you wrong?” Cuphead tried to joke, but it only earned a soft glare from his older brother. “Don't even start.” “Oh right...Yeah, that was probably the worst time to say that.” The brothers exited the Die House and entered Isle Two.

As the boys took their first few steps out of the house, they had to stop to take in the land before them. Inkwell Isle's carnival. As run down as most of the rides were, the amusement park had been going on strong for the past 80 years or so. It was always fun to look around, but they hadn't been able to come as patrons in years. They only were able to pass through.

Since it was relatively late in the day, the line to get in was particularly short, so the brothers stepped forward to get in the line, before they suddenly heard an elderly, familiar voice. “Guys, hang on!” The cup kids turned around to see their grandfather, Elder Kettle, just outside the Die House. Cuphead gave a big smile. “Thank the stars I caught up with you. I believe I've found a way out of this mess you're in!” Elder Kettle beamed as he walked closer to his grandsons. “Hawt dog! You have?!” Mugman cheered with a wide, excited smile. Elder Kettle nodded. “Your strength is growing! You'll soon be a match for that no-good King Dice...” The brothers looked at each other. “And maybe even the Devil himself!” Mugman gasped at the thought. “Golly, do you really think?” Cuphead asked. “I do! But you'll never get close to the Devil unless you already have those Soul Contracts in hand!” Elder Kettle shifted his weight onto his cane, extending his pointer finger and his right hand. “Only then will you get a chance to turn the tables on that fiend! So, when that time comes, do the right thing!” “Golly...Turnin' the tables on the Devil himself?” Cuphead wasn't so sure...He was confident in his abilities, but what would happen if they failed? Mugman pondered a similar train of thought. Wouldn't it be better to play it safe and do what was asked? If they won, they'd give everyone their contracts back and life would return to normal. If they lost, the Devil would take their souls forever! But if they do what the Devil told them to, they'd be spared, yet they'd still be condemning so many people to an eternal life of Hell! “Well, I'd best leave you two to it.” “Yeah, yer right, Elder Kettle. We don't got much time, so we'd better shake a leg.” Elder Kettle started to walk away, but Mugs took a step closer to stop him. “Uh, wait!” “Hm? Yes, Mugman?” Elder Kettle hummed, turning around. “Well, I have a question. What would happen if I were to try to use an Ex Move without any magic built up in my Super Meter?” Elder Kettle's eyes widened at that, his mustache frowning into a grim expression. “Hmm...Well, it wouldn't be good, that's for certain.” Elder Kettle pointed to Mugman's torso with his cane. “Your Super Meter is a combined buildup of your natural magic and the weaponized magic I gave you from that potion. Trying to use an Ex Move without the proper magic will simply drain it from the magic in your soul. That would completely drain your energy. If you did that, it would take you weeks, or maybe even months to recover.” “Oh good golly! Ya couldn't have just left it at 'don't do it'?” “If I had there would be two certain young boys who would have tried it out anyway.” The Elder glared, prompting the cup to whistle innocently. “You two are indeed growing stronger. But you must remember your limits. You may have to push them, but please...be careful to not push them over the edge. Watch each other. Take care of each other.” “Of course. Will do, Elder Kettle...and thanks for telling me.” “Anytime, Mugman.” “Next!” “Wuh-oh! That's us! C'mon Mugs, let's get going.” Cuphead reminded, pulling his older brother along by his wrist.”

“Traveling or riding today, boys?” “Ri-” “Just passing through again.” Mugman answered. “Aw man...” “That's all you two do isn't it? Well I suppose you two aren't old enough to putz about unsupervised.” The ticket cashier joked, handing each of the brothers a red rope bracelet. “Remember to give these back to Cathy on the other side of Isle Two, you guys! Have a swell day!” “Thanks, Joe!” Mugman waved, walking past the gate of the carnival. “Is that guy's name really Joe?” Cuphead asked. Mugman simply shrugged, making an 'I dunno' sound. “Everyone's name is Joe these days.” “Hm. True I guess.” Cuphead agreed with a shrug. “Anyway, where do we start?” “I'm. Reading.” Mugman huffed, unraveling the list of debtors. “Let's see...We got...Baroness Von Bon Bon...that...was kind of fun to say...Uh, Baroness Von Bon Bon, Djimmi the Great...Actually...Djimmi...doesn't he run the Pyramid Peril maze?” “I dunno.” Cuphead mimicked with a shrug, “Ask Dih-Jimmi.” Mugman looked over at his brother. “Djimmi. It's pronounced Djimmi.” “There's a 'D' there, not an 'S-H'! 'Duh-Jimmi'.” Mugman sighed rolling his eyes and looking back down at the names. Cuphead then happened to notice an all too familiar pilot standing by a long, orange tent. “Is that Floyd?” Mugman looked up from the list again. “He's standing next to our planes.” “What's he doin' here?” “Let's go ask him.” Mugman rolled the list back up, then put it in his back pocket.

The brothers walked over to the canteen, Mugman giving Floyd a cheerful wave as he got closer. “Floyd, what are you doing out here?” “'N with our planes no less.” “Good timing fellas! I just added an upgrade on your Aeroplanes! On top of your repairs as well, of course. “Wow, really?” Cuphead beamed. “Uh-huh. Now you can wallop your foes with bombs!” “Couldn't we do that with our Ex Move and Super already?” Mugman asked. “That's different, kiddo! That was more like a special attack! But now this is just a different weapon altogether!” “Oh, like the Roundabouts?” Mugman compared. “The what now?” “Never mind, I think we get it.” Cup said. “So, it's like a weapon we can just change?” “Yup! Just switch your weapon whenever it strikes your fancy! Try it out!!” “Wow! So nifty!! I can't wait to try it!” “Oh....I probably should have started off with this, Red Casablanca...Your plane was too badly damaged, and I only had time to upgrade your brother's.” “What?!” “I'll upgrade it as soon as I can, but if you need your Aeroplanes now, you just won't have the mini-bombs quite yet.” “Aww man!” Cuphead huffed with a pout. “Well...I don't know if we need them...Uh, Floyd, do you know anything about Djimmi? Djimmi the Great?” “Hoo boy. Djimmi is a genie. Big guy. I wouldn't doubt it one bit if your normal bullets do nothing but tickle him.” “So...we need our Aeroplanes.” Cuphead grumbled. “Alright! Let's get ta work then. No one else is gonna take down Shimmy the Great.” “You didn't even try there.”

The screen faded to the next scene, the boys flying around in what seemed to be a vast desert with a complex maze down below. In the center of the maze, were three pyramids with the largest one having a giant Sphinx head as the entrance. The brothers could see some of the patrons of the carnival down in the maze below, working their way towards the center. “Golly! I don't ever remember going through the maze before.” Cuphead thought. “You always said it was stupid. I've always wondered what the ride in the center was though.” “Wait, there's a ride down there?!” “Yeah? See that big pyramid in the middle there? There's supposed to be a ride in there.” “Golly!! That's so nifty!! We shoul-” “Halt! Who goes there?!” A voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. The brothers looked all around before a large, muscular, red genie wearing a light blue-green vest, pants, and a turban with a beige feather attached to a red gem, also wearing a beige belt and black and beige, short arm gauntlets, appeared before them, on a flying carpet, in a puff of blue-green tinted smoke. “Hah hah hah hah hah! I've always wanted to say that!” The genie chuckled, puffing out some smoke from a wooden cobpipe. “Anyhow, I'd ask you two what's up, but I guess the answer would be us, huh?” “Are you Djimmi?” “That's right, ding ding ding, you are correct!! Djimmi the Great at your carnival guiding service! Which reminds me! I'm actually supposed to tell you that this is a no-fly zone, so I'm gonna have to ask you two to land your planes...” Djimmi hissed dramatically. “So sorry about that.” “But...wait, aren't you flying too?” Mugman asked. Djimmi's jaw suddenly dropped, stopping only when it slammed against the blue-green carpet with a loud clang! “By golly! He's right! I've been caught red-handed! Well, my hands are always red I guess. But still! Don't tell my mother, she'll be so disappointed in me! Oh no!! How could I be so easily defeated?!” Cuphead couldn't help but snicker just a bit at that. “Okay, but all joking aside, we're here on business, Dshjimmi.” “That was not even close, Cuphead.” “Uh oh. Not business! Anything but business! Noooo!!” “What's so bad about business?” Mugman asked, raising a brow. “Yeah, what's so bad about it, Shihdimmi?” “You can't spell it without 'sin'! Well, you could try, but it'd probably look really weird. Like...bisnuss.” Djimmi pointed as he spoke, the same blue-green smoke shot out from his finger as the letters B-I-S-N-U-S-S appeared in red neon lights in the sky. “Huh? Why not B-U-S-Y-N-E-S-S?” Cuphead asked. “That spells 'busyness'.” “Well, you're the smart one, aren't ya?” “Heh. I'd like to think so.” Mugman admitted. “But we're on a time-limit, uh, so...we're only gonna ask once?” “Yeah, we have a question fer ya!” “Well, I have an answer for ya!” “Look Dihgemie, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Yer choice. Give us yer Soul Contract.”

Djimmi's eyes widened at the mention of a Soul Contract, his playful grin fell into a shocked frown. Low, ominous bass tones began to play as Mugman caught Djimmi's expression, allowing his stomach to drop. “Why do I get a bad feeling about this?” “Oh, probably because I'm doing this.” Djimmi's body was revealed to have changed to form a string-bass, and that he was the one strumming the ominous music. “But in all seriousness,” Djimmi twirled around, returning to normal, “No.” “You don't understand, Mr. The Great!! We need it!!” “I can't just give you my Soul Contract!!” “Look, Dshjushujshjudgejimmi! If ya won't give it to us, then we'll just hafta take it by force!!” “If that is what you wish!! You will feel the wrath! Of Djimmi! The Great and Pow-OOF!” Cuphead suddenly opened his fire at Djimmi, cutting the genie off from his sentence. Djimmi dramatically keeled over, and fell off his carpet, which swooped down after him and vanished from the screen completely. “Cuphead!! At least let him finish!!” Several versions of Djimmi suddenly began playing 'Amazing Grace' on bagpipes from down below, all wearing traditional Scottish kilts. “Somehow, I think he's just fine.” “Ugh, I hate bagpipes!!” Mugman complained. “Yer the one with the bombs! You can shut them up y'know.” Mugman pressed a new button inside the cockpit of his plane, then pressed his thumb down on the stick, dropping a mini-bomb onto the Djimmis below. As the bomb exploded, all the genies turned charred, black, and wide-eyed before crumbling into ash. A drum and a trumpet began to play as the boys noticed the cob-pipe Djimmi had in his mouth floating in the middle of the air. Djimmi's voice audibly took a deep breath, a light gray smoke puffed up from the mouthpiece to form his figure. Djimmi removed his cob-pipe with his right hand, then let out a large puff of smoke that formed Cup's head with X-es for eyes. “Ah!” “Oh!” The brothers coughed at the tobacco smoke in their faces, attempting to wave it away so they could breathe and see. “Behold!! The Chest of Challenges!” Djimmi pulled his carpet out from underneath himself and a large golden chest flipped out from the rug. The genie crossed his arms with a wide, forced grin as the golden chest's lid flapped open. “Really, I think you boys would love it! It's really the cat's meow!!” Suddenly a golden cat sarcophagus flew out from within the chest, soaring towards Cuphead and Mugman.

The brothers split apart, Mugman opting to get up higher, whereas Cuphead sank lower to avoid the attack. The sarcophagus suddenly split open with a meow and a metallic bink, launching kitty-like scarab-beetles that followed the boys' Aeroplanes. “Skull Shot!” Djimmi's head suddenly grew very large and stretched out when his skull launched from his mouth, as if being pulled out by the teeth. As Mugman moved to dodge the golden scatrab-beetles, he found himself cornered and with no time to react. Djimmi's skeleton-jaw opened wide, and clamped down on Mugman's plane as he flew into the mouth before going off-screen. “You look the fool, falling for the first trick I learnt at genie school.” “Mugman!!” Cuphead growled and began firing at Djimmi once again. “What's the matter? Not a cat person? Aw, now that's just clawful, who doesn't like cats? Unless you're allergic. Or maybe cat's just got your tongue.” Djimmi joked, sticking out his tongue to reveal a white and black cat clinging onto his tongue for dear life. “Mrowr?” “I'm back!!” Mugman suddenly flew back into view, just above his brother. “Oh thank golly.” Cuphead breathed. “Shoot him!!” “On it!” Mugman began firing bullets at the genie, all while the cups tried to avoid the scatrabs chasing after them. “Take this, Dahsjshuzjh-” “Just stop trying.”

Djimmi could see that the boys weren't having as much trouble as he'd hoped, so he put up his hands in the shape of a 'T' as if to call for a time-out. “Wait! Hang on. This isn't working. We need something else. Hmmm...” Djimmi lifted up his arms half-way, as if he were meditating while he thought. “Hmmmm! Hmmmm....” Two stone bars appeared above and below Cuphead and Mugman, as if there was suddenly a floor and ceiling while Djimmi himself slowly vanished. “Wha...Where'd he go?! Did he run away?!” Mugman began to panic. “He can't get away that easy!!” The brothers flew faster, only to find themselves in front of a pillar comprised of Djimmi's various body-parts painted on stone. “Wuh-oh!!” “Guess the odds are really stacked against you now, huh?! Wuhahahaha!!” His laugh seemed to echo throughout the desert, and unable to stop their planes, the brothers found themselves slowing their Aeroplanes down as much as they could so as to not crash, but if nothing was done, it would be inevitable. “Mug!! Whadda we do?!” “Uh, keep firing!!” The boys did just that, however it seemed as if nothing was working, up until a stray bullet hit Djimmi's laughing face, causing him to flinch with a loud, “Yeowch!!” “His face!!” Mugman called out. “Wuh-oh!” “Hey, that's my thing!!” Cuphead whined as both the brothers aimed right at the new-found weak spot. “Wait, really? Whoops, my bad. Aagh!!” Djimmi's face suddenly exploded into crumbles with a puff of white smoke, only for the brothers to be met with a saw-blade in between them and the next pillar. “I kinda saw that coming, honestly.” Djimmi grumbled over the saw.

The brothers were quick to locate the next face, but just as quick to find themselves trapped by the blade. “Hang on, follow me!!” Mugman swiftly glided up and over the saw and quickly switched his weapon over, bombing Djimmi's face, which crumbled instantly. “Ow!” “Let's try to hang back here and wait for an opening!” “There's his face! In the center!!” “But I don't wanna be the center of attention! Or maybe I do? Actually, I do!” Mugman got up close and dropped another bomb on the stone face. “On second thought I don't.” Djimmi's face said as it crumbled to pieces. Once again, the brothers hung back and waited to spot the weak point before trying to break it while dodging the saw. Only this time, there were two faces. “One on top!” “And one below!” “Now there's two ways to go!!” They both chimed. “Wait, isn't that a bad thing?” “Oof!” Mugman bombed the upper one that happened to just a bit closer to them. Once again, the brothers quickly located the weak spot in the center of the next pillar, but this time Djimmi had a bored expression, as if he knew what to expect, and once again, his face was bombed. Finally, only one last pillar stood in their way, Djimmi's face was right at the very top. This time, Mugman had to wait for an opening, but once it was there, he wasted no time in flying up and dropping another bomb. The whole pillar disappeared in a puff of smoke, Djimmi transformed back into his normal self, and waved the stone floor and ceiling away with his left hand. “Yeesh, what are ya, the Blue Bomber?” A hand trailed up to loosen up a necktie that hadn't previously been there moments ago. “I can't believe it, I'm losing to a mug!” “Blue Bomber?! How'd you know my code name?!” “Huh? That's your code name? Who knew? I didn't. I was just referencing a game!” “What kinda game uses 'Blue Bomber' at all?!” “One for the NES.” “The N-E...What?” “This is a cartoon from 1934, what are you talking about?!” Cuphead questioned. “Cartoon? I thought this was a video game!” Djimmi snapped his fingers and a large book appeared in his hands, along with some eyeglasses on his face. “Maybe I should have actually read the script I guess.” After glancing over the script for a few moments, Djimmi then snapped his fingers again, disappearing into yet another puff of smoke.

“Let's split up for a little bit! Just until we know what he's doing!” Mugman suggested. “Right!” Cuphead nodded. Suddenly, a gold and blue sarcophagus of the genie descended from above, stopping just short of the edge of the screen. His right hand reached over and opened the coffin, and from the cosmic nebula within, Djimmi, a slug of his former self stretched out with an oddly high-pitched, “Yaaaaaaaah!” “Ew, what the heck?!” “Must be feelin' sluggish.” Cuphead thought. Mugman figured the mini-bombs would make quick work of the slug genie, so he got in close and continued to drop bombs onto Djimmi. Cuphead on the other hand, was forced to stay low, and shoot at the sarcophagus normally. “Go, my Dummy Mummies!!” Suddenly, mummies with a striking resemblance to Djimmi flew out at the boys, groaning out, “Raaaahhh.” “Ah!! A mummy!!” No sooner than Mug had said that, the next mummy that flew out wore an apron and a beehive wig over the wrapped up turban. “Raaaahhh.” This time, the groan sounded as if Djimmi himself were making a rather poor attempt to sound like a mother. “Leave the nice genie man alone! Or else you'll be grounded for the next two months!!” “Oh no, so scary.” Cuphead deadpanned with a sarcastic tone, before shooting at the mummy, making it fade away. “So, ya want scary eh? Put up ya dukes, fellas! Hiya!” Djimmi's eye sockets extended out, launching out his eyeballs that formed planet rings around themselves, at the brothers. “Woah!!” Cuphead scrambled to dodge, turning his plane harshly as he accidentally pulled into a roll to avoid the projectiles. “Oopsie. Talk about an Eyeball Mishap. How'd that even happen?” Another mummy flew out, and headed straight towards Mugman. “Huuuuuur-” The Dummy Mummy was cut off as it just so happened to cross the path of the mug's next incoming mini-bomb before he could process the incoming attack. “Y'know on second thought, maybe that Eyeball Mishap worked out better for me. Hiya!” Djimmi launched out his eyeballs yet again, but this time, Cuphead wasn't able to dodge, and as one eye pushed his left wing down, the other pulled right wing up, forcing the red plane into another roll that caused the young pilot to lose control. “Ahh!! No, no, no, no!!” “Cuphead! Don't over-correct, and pull up!!” With that bit of advice, Cuphead managed to level out his plane again, and pulled up. “Whew..” “Aw man, you were really on a roll, kid!” The boys both focused their efforts, and as Cuphead's bullets hit Djimmi the slug right in the neck, one of Mugman's bombs conked him right on the head, forcing his teeth to protrude outwards from his mouth. “Ouch! I mean-! Is that the best you got?!” Mugman got some distance , then lowered himself to meet Djimmi's sluggish form. He then pulled himself into an aileron roll, and forced the magical energy from his body out, launching a blue Chomper Missile. However, the missile would never hit the slug genie, as the second he saw it incoming, he shivered in fear, and quickly closed the sarcophagus, who's once serious face now shed a single tear before it hopped away. Boink, boink, boink, boink, boink, CRASH! The screen shook as the sound of breaking glass was heard off-screen.“Owie, I got glass in my eye! Aahh!!” The brothers gave each other a shared look of unamusement.

As they looked forward once more, they saw Djimmi before them again, meditating just as he had been earlier. A thin, clear swirl surrounded his head and face as he rolled his head in a clockwise motion. “Huh? What's he doing? Wo-woah...” Mugman mumbled, suddenly feeling completely out of it, as if someone was peering through his memories. The same clear spirals slowly materialized over the boys, but only for a few moments before Djimmi's turban suddenly transformed into a massive light-bulb. “That's it! Hah hah hah hah!” The brothers finally managed to snap out of the strange trance once the spirals went away, just in time to spot a smaller version of Djimmi's turban slowly floating and spiraling down towards them. “Since you two are so fond of playing the roll of the Devil's little puppets...!” Djimmi suddenly changed into a large, disembodied hand that quite clearly belonged to him, he then grabbed a wooden control bar that appeared from seemingly nowhere, and flew up off the screen. “Introducing, for the first time ever, Puphead!!” A wooden marionette flew up, bouncing once the strings suddenly stopped moving. However, this hadn't been just any simple marionette, as his head took the shape of a wooden mug, with a small red nose, and a straight, blue-green straw sticking out, from the head. Puphead also wore a light red t-shirt with matching red shoes and shorts that matched his straw. Mugman shuddered at the sight of the wooden doll, he'd never liked marionettes, they creeped the heck out of the poor preteen, and the similarity to his little brother and himself didn't at all help.

Puphead skipped along through the air, inching closer to the brothers before his legs suddenly stopped moving. He stuck his right arm out and pointed, a small hole opening up at the tip of his finger as his head fell over to the right, limply.

“Wuh-oh.” Puphead's whole arm began to vibrate as he began shooting at the brothers. Three large, round blue bullets flew out at the boys, and one last pink bullet sailed straight for Mugman! The end of his blue straw closed up as a gloved hand formed. Mugman rolled forward, and parried the round bullet successfully. “I did it!!” “Mugs! Keep firing!!” Mugman tried to use his mini-bombs, but with the shells flying out the way they were, Mugman couldn't get close enough to reach the puppet. He switched his weapon back, keeping a constant line of fire as Puphead shot four more round bullets at them.

Suddenly, Djimmi's mouth appeared from the bottom of his turban, and small black bullets shot out in a circular shape from the red gem. “Woah!!” Cuphead panicked, attempting to dodge the smaller bullets, only to run into the large pink one, leaving the nose of his Aeroplane with a white X-shaped bandage. “Cuphead!” “Don't worry kids! This beating's for free – no strings attached!” Djimmi taunted, firing out more bullets in sync with his little puppet. Djimmi knew just how to defeat these kids. Overwhelm the red one, and frighten the blue one. Unfortunately for our heroes, Djimmi's little scheme was working. Cuphead's Aeroplane couldn't stand much more, but there was no way Mugman would be able to fight on his own! “Cuphead!” “I-I'm fine! Let's just end this quickly!!” Cuphead scowled. He knew they could do this, but he also knew he couldn't last much longer. Mugman looked over at Puphead, assessing the situation. It would seem Puphead was created from their own memories. So if this were Cuphead before him, or even himself, where would he need shoot? Mugman knew he wouldn't want anyone hitting his handle, but there was no way to reach it on the puppet from where they were. What about the belly? Cuphead's tummy was always ticklish, but it also seemed to bruise easily. Wait, that was it! “Aim for his belly!!” Cuphead flew lower, keeping his fire constant as he focused more on dodging the bullets from Djimmi and Puphead, as Mugman flew up to be at straw-level on the marionette. Once there was a break from Djimmi's bullets, Cuphead was able to focus his aim properly, and fired right where he expected Puphead's belly button to be. It was evident that the puppet tried to move his hands to cover his stomach, but the tension in the strings wouldn't allow for it. Cuphead kept up his fire, trying his best to keep an eye on the turban behind him. Puphead evidently didn't like that one bit, his legs curled up to block the fire and he straightened up his head, only to lower it to try and protect his tummy. Mugman seized the opportunity and opened fire the second he saw the handle on the back of his head come into view. With a puff of smoke, Puphead's face changed to have X-es for eyes and a frown, as his hands folded up, and his straw formed a halo. “Knockout!!” “Huh?” “Wait that's it? Whew! Thank golly that's over with.” Cuphead sighed.

“Sike!” Djimmi appeared before them with a puff of smoke, he whistled, signaling for his turban to float back onto his head. “Betchya didn't know I could throw my voice like that, did ya?” Djimmi yanked the corner of his mouth off his face and chucked it at the brothers, and much like a boomerang, his grinning mouth came back to him, Djimmi catching it in his hand. He placed his mouth back on, but rather than the usual grin he'd been giving the brothers from the beginning, it almost seemed like he was gritting his teeth at them. “.gnorw no siht tup syawla I !spoohW” Using his two index fingers, Djimmi pushed the two corners of his mouth, twisting it until his grin was right-side up again. “But in all seriousness...Now I'm really mad!! You may be able to shoot magic finger guns and launch little bombs and drink outta your own heads, but can you do this?!” Djimmi twirled around as he descended downwards and out of view. “Um...probably?” Mugman shrugged. Suddenly, Djimmi spiraled back into view, four times larger than he had been just moments ago. His eyes glowed yellow, and he circled his gigantic hands in a confusing-looking motion. Three magical pyramids faded into view, each with a closed, light blue-green eye on all four sides. “Um, never mind!!” “W-woah!” Cuphead bit his lip nervously, looking at everything around him as he kept his thumb firmly pressed over the shooting button. The three pyramids circled the brothers, Djimmi shot them a glare and four clear rings shot out from the gem on his turban. “Cuphead, move!!” Cuphead pulled into a nose-dive, but almost crashed right into a pyramid in the process. “Ah!” Suddenly the pyramid's eyes opened, and Cuphead flew away, feeling that he should flee. After five seconds, four purple cosmic beams fired out from the pyramid, pointing up, down, left, and right, cornering Cuphead as he tried to avoid the beams. “M-Mug...” The child was close to trembling, this was far too much for him, and what's worse was that Mugman didn't seem to hear him. Djimmi smirked, then fired another set of mental rings at Cuphead. The boy saw them coming, and tried to steer out of the way, but doing so caused him to fly into one of the cosmic beams, just before its fire stopped. “Aaaahh!!” Cuphead shrieked, the cosmic blast hitting his body hard. “Cuphead!!” Mugman flew over to his baby brother. “Cuphead, are you alright?!” “Mugman, I-I can't d-do this!! Th-there's too much going on, I-I can't--” Cup shook his head, tears starting to build up in his goggles. “Cuphead, yes you can, I know you can! Alright?!” “B-but Mugman!!” “Shh! Don't worry about that, alright?!” “One more hit, and my plane's going down! I-I can't!” “Just hang on, alright! I won't let you go down!! Just stay calm, take deep breaths, and keep firing! Don't worry about whether or not you're hitting him, just keep shooting and dodging!” “That's what I've been doing!! And it's not working!!” “Just a little bit longer! Okay?!” Mugman expelled the magic of his full Super Meter from his body, melding and morphing with his Aeroplane as he formed a Super Bomb. He flew close to Djimmi, only to be hit by a sudden cosmic beam, causing him to detonate early. “Mugs!!” Mugman backed up from the explosion, flying right next to Cuphead. “I'm not hurt...Shaken, but not hurt.” Mugman bit his lip, having just lost his plan. “I wasted my Super.” There was a pause as the brothers stared down the large genie. “I have one.” “What?” “My Super Meter's full! But there's no way I could make it to him if you couldn't!!” “I know you can do it, Cuphead! Just wait for my cue, alright?” Cuphead looked ahead, worried. It took him a moment, to decide before he glanced at his brother with a soft nod. “Alright...” So the brothers waited, never ceasing their fire on Djimmi.

Soon the pyramid's cosmic rays vanished, and Mugman saw Cuphead's opening. “Now!!” Cuphead unleashed his Super, melding with his Aeroplane as he sailed towards Djimmi. Mugman then noticed another Pyramid open its eyes, and feared Cuphead wouldn't be able to move over it in time. “Cuphead!!” The cosmic beam shot out, just barely missing Cuphead and allowing him to get even closer. “What?! No!!” Djimmi fired another set of rings at the Super Bomb, but Cuphead managed to swivel under them. Djimmi gasped after he saw it, just as Cuphead crashed right into his cob-pipe, causing him to inhale and choke on the tobacco inside. Djimmi began sputtering and coughing, puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth as he did. “You did it!!”

As the final few notes rang out, Djimmi shrank back down to his normal size, his magic carpet allowing him to stay within the boy's view as his massive coughing fit knocked him to his arms and legs. “Ha! Take that, Djimmi!!” “Hey, you finally got his name right!” Cuphead paused. “I did!” He beamed. “But, Djimmi...We need your Soul Contract.” Djimmi was too busy coughing and gasping still, but with the snap of his fingers, the contract appeared before Mugman. Mugman looked it over before plucking it from the air, and shoving it into his cockpit for the time being. “Thank you...Come on Cuphead, let's go. Floyd's not gonna be too happy when he sees your plane.” “I...Yeah, let's go.”

#Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Pyramid Peril #Cuphead #Mugman #King Dice #Djimmi the Great #Puphead #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Drabble #Rewriting #You're Supposed to Hit the Queue Ball!#((Fun fact: The day I finished this was the same day the DLC was announced.))#((There was also a bit of cut content that I just couldn't fit in here but this was super fun to write))#((I was going to include a Popeye reference and have him sing a parody of Popeye's little I'm Popeye the Sailor Man))#((Then the little *toot toot* Popeye does with his cobpipe XD))

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thebrotherscupheadandmugman · 6 years

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Threatenin’ Zeppelin! With Hilda Berg!

Blogs with Hilda Berg as a Muse: @a-threatenin-zeppelin @fatalefrenzy @starry-eyed-blimp (that’s me!)

Cuphead and Mugman felt bad about going back to see Cagney so soon after they walloped the poor carnation, but with no other leads to the last debtor of Isle One, what choice did they have? The cups slowly approached the other from behind, his stem still as thorny as it had been after he transformed for the first time. It would seem as if he went right back to taking care of the flowers in the meadow, almost like nothing ever happened. “Hey, uh, Cagney?” Cuphead asked. Cagney turned around, looking down on them with a somber and slightly bitter expression. “What are you two doing back here?” “I- first of all, s-sorry, Cagney.” Mugman started, “s-second, um, we're looking for someone named Hilda Berg, and we thought maybe you would know?” Cagney's eyes widened at the name as he glanced up towards the sky for a second, before looking back into Mug's eyes. “I...” Cagney broke eye contact with Mugman once again, his head turned to the right to look up at the sky towards the observatory. “N-no! I-it's one thing to take my contract! I made my own flowerbed, and now I have to lay in it. But I will not betray her like that!!” Cagney growled, looking back towards the brothers, almost as if he were suddenly ready for a round two.

“Woah, woah! Cagney, calm down!” Cuphead pleaded, putting up both his hands up defensively as Cagney loomed over him. “Y-yeah, w-we'll leave, okay?! We're going!” Mugman satisfied, giving the aggressive flower a nervous smile as he took his younger brother by the shoulders and ushered him away.

“Well that didn't go as planned.” Cuphead huffed once they were a safe distance away from Cagney. Mugman however, caught Cagney's gaze just before they left, and was deep in thought. “Hm?” Cups turned his head at the silence. “Mug?” “He was looking up at the sky...” “Hey! Mugman!” “Let me think! He looked over to the right...Isn't that where the observatory is?” “What's an observatory?” Mugman face-palmed. “What?” “An observatory is a place where scientists study stars.” “Ew, a science lab?! Whadda they doin' out here?! Shouldn't they be in th'big city?” “They need a secluded area to be able to see the stars properly. Too much light blocks out the light of the stars.” Mugman looked towards the direction of the observatory, but he could just barely see the top of it from below the forest's trees. “Hang on, let me try something.” Mugman removed his straw from his head and put it up to his right eye, closing the left one. He twisted his straw, as if he were adjusting a telescope, trying to get a closer look at the observatory. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see anything useful from the ground. “Ugh. Too many trees in the way.” He groaned, placing his straw back into his head. “Maybe if we go to the treetops, we'll have better luck.” Cuphead gave a nervous smile at that, one that only a trouble maker would give. “Cuphead, you didn't do anything to provoke the woodpeckers again, did you?” Mug asked sternly. “Define 'provoke'.” Mugman groaned. “Cuphead, we can't waste time, remember?” “Look, don't worry about it Mug. I didn't do nothin' to tick 'em off.” Cuphead didn't think it was really lying. It was a fun, harmless little prank about four weeks ago, so he was positive the whole thing would have blown over, and wouldn't cause problems. “You didn't do 'anything'.” Mugman corrected. “And, good. We don't have time to mess around with some over-sized birds.” The older took the younger by the hand, “let's get going.”

The brothers quickly moved past the swamp and made their way into a large, hollowed-out oak tree. “Let's make our way to the top to see if anyone's by the observatory.” Mug planned, before Cuphead suddenly pointed ahead at two orange ladybugs bouncing and rolling their way towards them! “Duck! I mean, jump!!” As the first bouncing beetle sailed over them, the other merely rolled their way. The brothers jumped over him to avoid any sort of collision, before turning back to face the other. “Sorry!” “Mug, another!” Mugman turned around to find a pink one bouncing towards them now! “Ah!” The two ducked, avoiding her once again. “What's with all these bouncin' beetles?” “Cuphead!!” A deep, yet shrill voice spat out. “Wuh-oh.” A large woodpecker with a yellow beak, red feathers on his head, and green feathers along the neck and body peaked down from a hole above their heads. “Long time, no see, eh pally?! Don't think we haven't forgotten what you did!!” “Heheheh...Heeeeyyy.” “Do you honestly think you can just come back here after that?! Think again!! Further more, who invited you into our tree? Only members welcome, ya see?” “Huh? But I thought the treetops were open to all!” Mugman reminded. “Not anymore!! Take this, pills!!” The woodpecker suddenly slammed his beak into the wood below in an attempt to hit the duo. “Woah!” “Ah!” Cuphead and Mugman both fell back as the beak drilled between the two of them, separating them as they sat on the floor of the tree. “Cuphead, what did you do?!” “Nothing!! Not recently!!” When the other finally stopped his drilling, the brothers both stood, and began running further into the tree. “Well don't think recently! What. Did. You. Do?!” “Just a harmless little prank!!” The boys continued to argue as they ran past more rolling ladybugs. “What was it?!” “I just set off a few firecrackers nearby! No harm done!” “Firecrackers?! In a tree?! Cuphead, that could have started a forest fire, what were you thinking?!” Mugman glanced ahead as he scolded his little brother, before finding a hole in their path. “Jump!” The brothers jumped over the hole, only to be met with another beak. “Ah!” Mugman was unable to stop himself, and slammed right into the obstacle. “Owww.” Satisfied, the woodpecker retreated back outside of the tree. “C'mon!” Cuphead knew better than to stay in one place for too long, and grabbed Mugman's wrist as he pulled him forwards, until he caught sight of a shiny coin. “Mugs, gimme a boost!” “What?” The coin caught Mugman's attention now as well, but he merely groaned in annoyance and proceeded to pull Cuphead away. “No, we don't have time to go out of our way! We're already wasting time just fighting our way through here!” “But-” “No! And don't make me have to throw you across this hole!” Cuphead turned to look ahead, only to see another hole they'd have to jump over. Upon crossing over, another woodpecker stuck his head inside to glare down at the mugs with icy-blue eyes. “Ahh!” The brothers rushed past him, just barely getting past the attack.

The boys continued to run forward, quickly approaching the end of the horizontal tunnel. “Get ready to climb!” Mugs called, before a loud buzzing filled his metaphorical ears. “Wasp!” Cried Cup, before he pointed his finger and snapped, shooting the large, incoming bug. “That's a beetle!” Said Mug as he began jumping and climbing up the wooden ledges inside the tree. He saw a coin hidden in the corner, so he decided to snag it and give it to Cuphead later. “And I don't think they're going to-” Suddenly, another beetle propelled forward and slammed into Mugman from behind, pushing him onto the ground. “So, ya think it's funny t'play with fire, eh? This'll learn ya!” The beetle began punching the poor boy in the back without mercy. “Ow! Ow! Stop it! Get off! Ouch!!” Before Cuphead could react, Mugman snapped his fingers, and fired a Roundabout shot, letting it circle forwards, then over him, hitting his attacker. The beetle disappeared with a puff of smoke and stars, allowing for Mugman to get back up. “Ouch, that really hurt.” He whined. “Can you climb?” “I mean, we can't go back now, the woodpeckers will catch us. Let's just keep going.” “Right.” Cuphead nodded. The boys kept jumping up and making their way to the top, up until a pile of stumps blocked their path. “This is as far as you two go!” “You little brats will climb back down if ya know what's good fer ya!” “What's yer problem?!” “Please let us through, we just need to get a bird's eye view!” “You set off a bomb in our house, and ask us what our problem is?!” The stump on the bottom said nothing, and spat out a pink spiky ball. “Ah!!” Mugman squeaked, but Cuphead was quick to react, he jumped up and parried the spiky ball, saving his brother from another hit. “Whew.” “You stacks o' wood ain't gonna stop us!! Megablast!!” Cuphead fired an Ex Move out both his fists, blasting the stumps into mere splinters. However, the force of the blast pushed him back, and had Mugman not been there to wrap an arm around him, he would have fallen down. “Thanks, pal!” “We'll call it even. But do you really ha-” “Yes! Speaking of signature moves,” Cuphead started, already jumping to the next ledge, “you should really call that green one fer th'Roundabouts the 'Jumbo Rebound'!” Mugman hopped up next to him. “'Jumbo Rebound'?” “Doesn't that sound nifty?!” “It sounds like a load of hooey.” “Yer just jealous you didn't think of it first.” Cuphead looked up to the next platform, and frowned. “Aw come on!” “Where we going?” “Mugs!!” Mugman snorted, then catching sight of the next ledge. “I can't jump that high.” “I think I might be able to.” Mugman bent down, then quickly jumped up, landing perfectly on the higher ledge. “Well look at that. Hahahah! Here,” Mugman knelt down and extended his hand for his little brother. “Grab my hand.” Cuphead jumped up and latched onto his brother's hand so that Mugman could quickly pulled him up. However, Cuphead nearly slipped out from Mugman's grip, and grabbed onto some red curtains with his free hand for support, before Mugman was able to pull him up. It was only then, staring down at his brother did he realize just how high up they were. “Oh gosh. We'd better be careful.” “We're at the top now.”“ Right, let's head out.”

Our heroes walked outside the tree, only to be met with a culex of mosquitoes. “Cuphead!” They cried. “Hey, Marvin.” Cuphead waved to the one in front. “Whaddya doin' here?! Boss is real mad at ya!” “We can't head back down now!” Mugman confessed. “Here!” The mosquitoes flew down below, and each one returned with a leaf, freshly plucked from the tree. “We'll help you two across! Do whatchya gotta do, before Daniel comes back!!” The brothers jumped across the makeshift bridge formed by the mosquitoes, making their way towards the cliff on the other side, up until a mosquito behind them suddenly let out a brief grunt in pain, then disappeared into a puff of smoke. “Ahh, it's Daniel!” “He knows!” “Run away!” “No don't! We still need to get across!” Cuphead begged, but the remaining mosquitoes had already fled. “Cupheeeaad!!” A loud voice roared. “Ahh!” “Whadda we do, Mugs?!” “Don't worry! We'll stay with you so you have something to stand on!” “Thanks! That means a lot, Micheal!” Mugman said.

A ginormous dragonfly flew in front of the duo, glaring at Cuphead with intense hostility. “Mugs?!” “We're trapped, we have no choice but to fight back!” The pair opened fire, and shot at Daniel before he began preparing some sort of attack. However, Mugman's Roundabouts only circled back and behind him, before they came near their foe. “Mug, you're too far, your shots aren't hitting him!” “I know!! Ugh! Cover me, I'm switching back to the Peashooter!” Mugman took off the glove on his left hand, ready to take off the ring, but before he could, Daniel made a loud roar, his mouth opened wide, and he spat out a yellow fire attack. “Mugs, look out!” Mugman turned around and jumped back, the fireball clipping Micheal's wing, causing the mosquito to plummet. “No!!” Mugman cried as he watched their friend fall. “Mug, he's rearin' up again!!” “Hang on!” Mugman rushed over towards Cuphead, just to get a little extra height before he dug into his pockets and pulled out the Super Coin. “Bwar!!” The giant dragonfly spewed out another fire attack, Cuphead jumped down, getting closer to Daniel as the mosquito he was standing on dropped as it was hit. “Mayday! Mayday! Going down! Going down!!” “Martin!” Cuphead turned to face Daniel. “What's wrong with you?! Don't you realize yer hurting them?!” Daniel just growled, glaring daggers at Cuphead. “I think it's safe to say he's in a blind rage!” Mugman flicked the coin with his thumb, watching it carefully as it flew through the air, just to make sure he was able to catch it in his head. “Woah!” Mugman could feel the magic connecting with his soul and growing stronger. He gathered the magic in his body, and jumped up, cracking a large, confident grin. “Haaaaaah!!” Mugman suddenly blasted Daniel with the milk in his head, the force of the mighty blast being enough to damage the dragonfly's wing. Daniel spun, completely out of control as he too, began to plummet to the earth below. “Aaaand stay down!” “Oh, wooaahh...” Mugman swayed just a little as he landed, spirals replacing the pupils in his eyes. “Pfft!” Cuphead snorted, “Ya alright there, pal?” “I'm...really dizzy now...” Cuphead hopped over to his older brother, steadying him to make sure he wouldn't fall before Mugman shook his head, seemingly curing his dizzy spell. “Anyway, since we're up here, let's do what we came to do, since we don't have to worry about him anymore. Or, at least for now.”

Mugman removed the straw from his head to use it as a telescope, once again. He gazed over to Inkwell's observatory, looking all around the building before he finally spot a pink woman with a red and pink dress who seemed to be repairing the telescope. The woman had short, brown hair fashioned into a curly bob style, a long and pointed nose, and a wind vane for a hair accessory. “See anything?” “There's a woman there for sure...And since Cagney looked this way when we mentioned her name...It's likely to be Hilda.” “Cuphead! Mugman! You did it! You defeated Daniel!” A mosquito popped up, with an obvious white bandage over the injured part of his wing. “Micheal!” The boys chimed. “We're so glad you're okay!” “We thought that jerk killed ya!” “Aw shucks, fellas! Nothin' I couldn't patch up! Anyway, you've brought the treetops back to peace for now, take these for yer troubles!” Micheal handed the brothers one coin each. “Golly!” “Thank you!!” “Don't mention it, boys! Say, if ya two are lookin' to visit that observatory up there, the path over there on that cliff should lead you two right to it!!” “Alright! Thanks!” Mugman nodded. “Cuphead, you go first! You can jump further.” “Got it!” Cuphead lunged and dashed across to the land, then helped Mugman get across himself. “So how's that Roundabout workin' fer ya?” “You want to give it a shot?” Mugman asked, handing his little brother the green ring. “Huh? Really?” “Yeah. I thought it'd be useful for being able to do more damage, and being able to focus on constant firing and dodging. At least some shots would hit the target. But I usually just hang back and give cover fire. And I think at least one of us should use it.” “Yeah, I'll give it a shot.” Cuphead smirked, closing his fist around the ring.

The brothers ran towards the observatory, up until they were stopped by the canteen pilot of Inkwell Isle, otherwise known as Floyd the Fly Boy. “Woah, woah, woah! Cuphead, where you headed off to in such a rush?” Cuphead worked many odd jobs around Isle One, and he'd done more than a handful for Floyd, so the two got to know each other fairly well. “Ah! Floyd! We need to talk to Hilda Berg, and we're kinda in a hurry!” Cuphead explained. “Oh? The woman that works in the observatory? What for?” “Ugh! Long story short, we need to get her Soul Contract!” Mugman said, not wanting to waste any more time than they had already. “Woah! Her what now?! Now I don't know Hilda personally, but I know she'd dogfight with ya before she'd ever give something as important as that to anyone!” “Dogfight?” Cuphead wasn't quite sure what the term meant, but Mugman had done plenty of reading to know, himself. “That's like...plane combat?” “What's so plain about combat?” “Oh Cuphead! Not plain as in simple! Plane as in Aeroplane!” Floyd clarified. “Oh!” “We don't have any way to fight against that! What are we gonna do, Cuphead?!” “What about those two spare planes you've had me clean and polish?” “What?” “Good idea, Cups!! 'Floyd,' was it? May we please borrow your Aeroplanes?” “Yeah! We need to fly like you do!!” “What's that? You two want to fly in a plane like I do?” The brothers nodded with hope. “Ha!!” “Please! We'll be careful! We need them, it's only for two days!” Mugman begged. “Oh no, I never use those two planes. I'd just give them to ya!” “Huh? Then why are you laughing like that?” Cuphead huffed. “You're not sitting in any cockpit 'til you study those blueprints!” Floyd smiled generously as he handed the brothers two sets of blueprints to learn from. “While you're reading those, I'll get your aircrafts ready for launch.” “Oh, thank you, Floyd!!” Mugman beamed.

“Now remember, steering is the opposite of what you think it should be! If you want to move your Aeroplane up, you pull the stick back!” Floyd yelled over the two engines of the red and blue planes. “If you want to pull down, you push the stick forward! It's all inverted!” “Right!” Mugs nodded, “thanks again!” “Use these goggles for safety!” Floyd told them, handing the brothers each a special pair of goggles. “The last thing any pilot needs is to go blind because a bug flew into their eye!” These aren't exactly made for dogfights, but the buttons on the stick should connect with your magic, and allow for gunfire!” “Got it, Floyd!” Cuphead nodded, letting his safety goggles smack over his eyes. The canteen spun the propellers on both of the Aeroplanes, then stood back to make sure the boys were ready for takeoff, looking back to make sure the grassy runway was clear. “Red Casablanca and Blue Bomber, you are clear for takeoff!” The brothers moved their planes forward and after getting up to speed, pulled the aircrafts up and took to the sky.

The brothers flew up to the observatory and found the pink woman from before asleep on a cloud. “Excuse me, miss?” Mugman called, waking the other up as she opened an eye. “Are you Hilda Berg?” “Huh? Why do you ask?” “Well...There's no easy way to say this, but...Hmm...W-what would it take for us to convince you to give us your Soul Contract peacefully?” Hilda's eyes popped open at that. “My what now?!” “Look, lady! We don't wanna fight! But we've got a job to do, whether we like it or not!” “Please, Hilda! We can do this without fighting!” “Tough! I'm not just gonna give you that!! If you want it, you'll have to take it from my cold, deflated body!!”

Hilda took a deep breath, sucking up the cloud she was lying on as her body swelled up to resemble the shape of a zeppelin. The golden bracelets around her gloves jingled as she threw her left hand up, and her right hand out. “Khah!” She exhaled, pedaling the unicycle she was suddenly on. “RT-001, bandits at my twelve!” Cuphead quickly opened fire as a small, purple toy zeppelin flew up next to Hilda and shot a small, black bullet before Cuphead managed to destroy it. “Heheheh!!” Hilda laughed, a 'HA' in black flew out of her mouth and at Mugman. “Ahh!” Mugman just barely managed to bring his Aeroplane into a short nosedive to dodge it. “RS-001, you are clear to engage!” Another purple toy zeppelin came forth, and fired another bullet before turning around and retreating. “Heheheh!!” Once again, a 'HA' left her mouth and soared right to Cuphead. “Wuh-oh!!” Cuphead tried to pull down, but he only pulled his Aeroplane up, which allowed the words to scrape the undercarriage of his plane. Hilda took another deep inhale and her body expanded with the air like a balloon, before she released the pent-up air inside, propelling herself at the boys with a, “Pppthththtphtphthpthtb!!” Hilda left a trail of clouds in her wake, as well as a formation of golden stars. “What was that?!” Cuphead asked. “I don't know. Do you think we should go back for her?” Mugman looked behind, and saw Hilda was slowly flying her way back towards them. “Cuphead, watch your six!!” “Huh?! I thought it was close to one!” “No, not- just pull up!!” Cup was quick to react, and pulled his plane up, just as the blimp moved back into view, chanting, “RT-002, RG-001, RS-001, you are clear to engage!” As she finally reached the spot in the air she was at before, her body became engulfed in a sudden puff of clouds.

When the smoke cleared, Hilda had been replaced with a pink, cloud-like bull with golden glowing horns and yellow, starry eyes. “A bull?!” Mugman questioned, pulling his plane up to aim between the bull's eyes. “Mug, don't worry about resolving this! Just shoot!!” Mugs reluctantly began firing, hitting the cloud bull right between the horns. The bull suddenly bucked at the brothers, and both were just barely able to pull up and avoid the hit. Another purple toy zeppelin flew in, but before it could fire, Mugman shot it down, earning an angry snort from the ox. “Wait, is this bullfighting, or dog fighting?” Mugman wondered. “It's bulldog fighting!” Another purple toy zeppelin appeared. “Cuphead! Twelve-o-clock!” “I thought you said it was six!!” “Right in front of you!!” The zeppelin fired at Cuphead. “Look out!!” Cuphead managed to roll out of the way, but the toy got away as well. “Never mind! You focus on the bull! I'll give you cover fire when I have to!” “Sounds like a plan!” The ox lunged forward at the pilots again with a loud snort, just before one of the purple zeppelins came back. “Oh no you don't!!” Mugman was quick to fire at the toy, destroying it before it could shoot again. “Bullseye!” “Did you really just-” The bull bucked once, and our heroes dodged it, but then it suddenly bucked once again, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. “You twits!! Don't you know that was a flippin' Taurus, not just 'a bull'?!” “What the heck's a Taurus?” “It's a constellation, Cups!” “Raahh!! Time to send you both back to the tax payers!! RT-003, engage red bandit! PG-001, engage blue bandit at vector 2-7-0!” “W-w-wait!! We can still talk this out! W-we don't have to fight!! I, um, I'm really good at baking!” Mugman pleaded, watching as a purple toy zeppelin and a green toy zeppelin flew in, the green one coming in from the west. “I-I can make you brownies if you want!” “I don't want your darn brownies, kid! Open fire!!” The two zeppelins shot at the brothers, the purple one firing out a pink bullet. Cuphead was close enough and did the first thing that came into mind, he let the end of his straw close up as a white glove formed, his Aeroplane looped forward as he parried the bullet successfully.

However, the green toy zeppelin fired four bullets at Mugman, trapping the poor mug. Wishing he could dash, Mugman tensed up, bracing for impact just before he and his plane shrunk down, allowing him to narrowly maneuver his way in between the bullets. Once he was out of danger, he breathed a sigh of relief, growing back to his normal size as he did. “What was that?!” Cuphead asked. “I don't know, but am I glad that it happened!” “Grrr! Take this you little--!” Hilda threw her arms out, then in a sort of spiral motion as a small tornado formed in front of her. “A tornado?!” Mugs gulped. Hilda then threw her hands forward, pushing the whirlwind towards the cups. “Break, break, break!!” Mugman pulled his Aeroplane up, where as Cuphead pushed his nose down, successfully dodging the attack. “Break?! You want me to break?! Some brother you are, ain't that a little extreme?!” “Not what I meant!” “Darn it!! PS-001, engage!” “Mugman! Shoot her!!” “There's no reasoning with her...again!” Mugman continued firing, shooting down the green zeppelin that appeared. “Grr!! PT-001, RG-001 engage! Shoot! Them! Down!!” Once again, a purple and a green toy zeppelin flew in and fired at the brothers. “Ahh!” The two screamed, Mugman's right wing getting clipped. “Hmhmhm. Fitting isn't it? I'm a blimp – you're a wimp!” She cackled, just before the pair shot the zeppelins down. Hilda frowned, glaring at the brothers before taking in another deep breath. “Cuphead, look out!” “Pfftphtphtphtpthtphtphtb!!” Hilda propelled between the ceramic duo once again, leaving a trail of clouds and stars in her wake. Anyone could easily recognize the shape to resemble two stick-figures holding hands. “RT-003, RG-002, RS-002, PT-002, PG-001, PS-002, you are all clear to engage!!”

Once again, Hilda disappeared behind a thick veil of clouds, and transformed into a twin-set of pink women covered only by clouds. The women circled around a glowing gold crystal-like ball, glaring back at the boys as various toy zeppelins flew in, ready for attack. “Uh, Mugs?!” “Just keep firing, and focus on dodging for now!!” The twins suddenly cackled. “You won't get too far...” One spoke in a higher voice, “it has been foretold in the stars.” The other grinned, almost singing in a lower voice. The two suddenly sang a very short song, which summoned a golden fireball-like vortex right in front of the brothers. Mugman had already shot down two of Hilda's toy zeppelins, where as Cuphead ended up destroying one more.

Suddenly, the vortex before them began shooting, going in a counter-clockwise motion. “Wha? Cuphead, pull up now!!” “Aaaahh!!” Cuphead yelped as he did his best to avoid the attack, but for a moment, he stopped moving, thinking he was safe. Cuphead focused some of the magical energy in his body outwards, spinning his Aeroplane into an aileron roll as he released a black rocket with red tail fins and teeth at the pink twins. The rocket slowly began to pick up speed, and the jaw clamped open and closed as it chomped down at anything in its path. “Ouch!!” The women shrieked. Cuphead watched the Chomper Missile curiously until Mugman flew past him. “Keep moving!!” Cuphead didn't hesitate, and followed after his brother as the trail chased after the two, just barely clipping Cuphead's tail. “Woah!!” “You're fine, don't start panicking on me now!” “I- right!” Cuphead was starting to get overwhelmed, but for his brother's sake, he did his best to keep his cool, and shot down two more zeppelins. “How dare you?!” The twins growled. As the fire of the vortex made a complete rotation, it disappeared back into the sky. “Hmm? You survived the Twin's Fire? Well, you've already survived the Bull's Horns and the Laughing Luna-tic...Perhaps it's time we must switch tactics.” The women thought out loud just before Cuphead shot the left one in the right eye. “Augh!!” The women transformed back into Hilda with a puff of smoke, “RT-004, RG-003!” She didn't need to give them orders at this point, only call them. Two purple zeppelins quickly fired at each of the cups before quickly retreating. Our heroes dodged, focusing their efforts on Hilda herself. “Ouch! Ow! Ow!!” Hilda was starting to feel her injuries from the brothers' combined firepower, and began desperately calling her toy zeppelins. “RT-004, engage! RS-002, engage! RG-003, engage!!” Three more purple zeppelins appeared, and opened fire, and one by one, Mugman shot them all down. “No, no, no!!” Hilda suddenly took several bullets to her chest, and started groaning in pain as she grabbed both sides of her head. Her arms and legs began flailing about, as the sunlight suddenly drained from the sky, becoming dark enough for stars to come into view. “The sun's setting?! But it's only 1:30!!” “I thought you said it was twelve!!”

“Raaaaaahhh!!” Hilda raised her arms up, then her whole body curled down as she suddenly changed into a giant pink and red mechanical moon. “Heh heh heh heh...” Mugman was utterly speechless. “M-Mugman!!” “Uhh- keep firing!! Sh-she must be getting desperate!!” The brothers continued their fire, as gold and pink stars flew towards them. Hilda began to laugh psychotically, as her face lunged outwards, releasing several UFO saucers that flew out. A brown and gold UFO suddenly fired a red lazer beam that turned yellow right in front of Cuphead, forcing the child to pull back. “Aaah!” Mugman glanced over at Cuphead for a moment, worried he might have been in serious trouble, but he appeared to be just fine, so he inched his Aeroplane closer to Hilda, watching as another brown UFO fired in front of him, forcing him to dodge as well. Cuphead began to focus completely on Hilda, thinking the UFOs would only fire in front of them, which would give him enough time to dodge. He was unfortunately wrong, and a red and gold saucer that he hadn't noticed suddenly hit him with it's lazer. “Aaaahh!!” Cuphead screeched in pain, tears welling up in his eyes. Without anything covering him above, Cup had felt the full-force of the attack, leaving both him and his plane steaming. Mugman rushed over next to his little brother. “Cuphead!!” “I'm fine!” Cuphead lied, slowly becoming more and more overwhelmed. He pushed it all aside however, and focused on Hilda once again. However, it wouldn't take long for his focus to be broken again, as another lazer hit him from above, severely damaging his left wind and engine. “Augh! Ow stop it!! Aaah!!” “Cup!” “M-Mugs, I-I can't do this! I-it's too much! I-I can't-” “Shh, don't talk like that! You can do this, I know you can! Alright?! Do you have enough for a Super?” “Um...Not a full Super, just a few Ex Moves.” “Alright...” Mugman thought for a moment. “Let's unleash everything we've got and end it quickly!” “B-but what about the UFOs?” “It seems to me that the red ones fire when they're right above you, and the brown ones shoot when they're in front of you. Just keep firing, and focus on drawing out their fire when you need to!” Mugman began to fly closer to Hilda. “What about you?!” “I'm going to hit her with everything I've got!!” Mugman released the magical energy from his full Super Meter, his body melded with his Aeroplane as the two morphed into a Super Bomb. Mugman soared up close and personal to Hilda, smashing right into her forehead. “Yeowch!!” Mugman was suddenly back to normal, plane and all, as he drifted back to Cuphead, smirking from the adrenaline rush using the Super gave him. “Now, Cuphead!!” Hilda's face lunged out again, showcasing the golden gears inside the moon as they turned, and releasing more UFOs out into the sky. Cuphead took a deep breath, and expelled the built-up magical energy from his body. His plane went into an aileron roll as a large Chomper Missile was shot out from the plane, hitting Hilda right in the top crescent of her moon body. “Yah! Raarrgg!!” She growled, glaring up at her now bent-up crescent. Cuphead glanced up, and noticed an incoming red UFO. He inched his plane forward, triggering the red saucer to fire, but quickly pulled back in a Split S maneuver, flipping and moving a half-loop down. The milk inside his head spilled out as he turned upside down, but as he rolled and flipped back to facing right-side-up, he managed to catch the milk he spilled, and his straw, back inside his head. Now on a lower plane, Cuphead fired off another Ex Move, releasing another Chomper Missile that smacked Hilda in the lower crescent, crinkling it up upon impact. “Ouch! Why you little-!” Cuphead looked up again, and caught sight of a brown saucer above. Before the UFO could fire, Cuphead pulled back in a loop, causing it to fire long before the lazer would make contact with his Aeroplane. Cuphead pulled his plane up, staring Hilda right in the eyes just before he released one last Chomper Missile that crashed right into her nose and teeth, breaking her nose in several places as well as some of her teeth. Hilda began making various moaning and groaning noises as her eyes spun around in pain. “You did it!”

Hilda transformed back into her normal form with a puff of smoke, the sun and sky turning back to normal as she did. She had her left arm in a sling, her right forearm wrapped up, a white bandage was on her left cheekbone, and her nose, which was still bent at the tip, was wrapped up in white gauze. “Ugh...I...can't believe this...” Hilda fell back from the sky, landing on a patch of thick, fluffy clouds. “It's over, Hilda!” “Please. Just hand it over to us, Ms. Berg.” Mugman asked sweetly. Hilda sighed, pinching herself between the eyes. “Fine, fine!! Just take it!!” Hilda pulled out a scroll from inside the cloud, and quickly folded it into a paper airplane. She threw it to Cuphead, hitting him right in the chest. Cuphead unfolded the scroll, checking the seal, before shoving it somewhere in the cockpit of his plane. “I just...all I wanted was to do my job...None of this was ever supposed to happen...” The brothers looked over to each other, then back to Hilda, guilt evident only in Mugman's eyes. “Hilda...? Will you be oka-” “Just go!! You got what you came here for! Now leave!!” The brothers looked at each other again before turning around to land their Aeroplanes.

Hilda looked down to the ground, tears in her eyes. Her gaze wandered to a specific meadow, biting her lip as she forced herself to hold back her tears. She was still so close to the observatory, and she refused to cry in sight of her coworkers. Lest she prove those jerks right...not jerks...she loved all the scientists... “This...can't be happening...right?” Hilda tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her chest where she was shot was all the proof she needed. This wasn't a nightmare. This was real. “I've got to record all my findings for them...I've gotta give them the blueprints for the zeppelin drones...” The last thing Hilda was going to so was let all her work and research be for nothing, just because she was dragged down to Hell. Hilda got back up, and called two more zeppelins. “P-PT-003, PG-002...” Two green toy zeppelins appeared. “H-help me back to the lab...There's a lot of work I have to do before I'm taken...” The toy zeppelins both frowned, but adjusted themselves between her arms, then flew her back into the observatory.

#Cuphead and Mugman: Don't Deal with the Devil #Threatenin' Zeppelin #Cuphead #Mugman #Hilda Berg #Cagney Carnation #Treetop Trouble #Word on the Wind! {Rebloggable Content}#Drabbble #Rewriting #You're Supposed to Hit the Queue Ball!

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