Hello! It's me again! This time I'm doing something a little different- a Cuphead FanFiction! (Don't ask why. I just think this game is really cool. I really enjoy the art style and the variety in the characters!) Anyway, I've added an OC, China, and I may be posting my concept art of her at some point during this story. Happy reading!
Cuphead and Mugman in "Porcelain Pandemonium!"
Chapter One: Chipped China
All her life, China had been told to stay far away from the woods at the very edge of Inkwell Isle. She never dared to go exploring, due to her parents' fanciful stories about what lay beyond them. When she was little, they told her tales of imaginary monsters and creatures that would catch her and eat her for dinner if she thought it was wise to go wandering through the forest. As she got older, however, they began to reveal snippets of the truth: a person who lived there and was to be avoided at all costs, a building where people would try to make her do bad things, and plenty of other traps and deceptions that would harm her. She grew up puzzled about these vaguely explained dangers, always curious for answers and yet too scared to venture out and find them herself. She stayed in the area she knew best- the city. It was on one fluke of a day that she made an exception.
She was sitting on a bridge near her house, tossing a small rubber ball from hand to hand. It was rare that the young cup had a moment to herself, what with the demanding life that lay before her. The rhythm of the ball as she threw it from one hand to the other soothed her. She had a history of restlessness and anxiety problems, but simple moments like this one did wonders in calming her agitated mind.
She soon fell deep into thought. The gripping curiosity plagued her again. She had to know what was in the woods this time. There was no questioning that. The only undetermined fact was how to do this. She would have to override every sense of reluctance and let the impulse take over completely. She would feel guilty if she disobeyed her parents and ventured into the woods, but the aching curiosity would only continue to grow if she tried to ignore it. The urge was too strong.
She never expected to miss the ball. Life seemed to slow as it fell out of her hand and into the cold water of the rushing stream below. She knew where the water led, even though she had never been there herself- straight to the heart of the forest.
'Well, I guess that's my answer,' she thought. 'Fate wants me to go to the woods.'
She hopped down onto the bridge from the railing and began to chase after the fallen ball. She could barely see the little red object bobbing in the stream. The buildings grew more and more sparse around her, until they had mostly been replaced by trees. China ran to keep up with the ball.
Suddenly, it was submerged under the water. She kept running, trying to find it again, but her hopes were futile. The flow of the stream continued, and the little red ball was nowhere in sight. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. When she glanced around, she was in unfamiliar territory. She was tempted to follow the stream and go back home, but she figured that she might as well explore before turning back.
China walked deeper into the woods, staying near the small river so as not to get lost. The trees thickened around her. The sunlight slowly but surely became more scarce, only filtering in through the tiny gaps between leaves. Every little sound began to spook China, and there were several times when she seriously considered turning back. The ball was still nowhere to be seen. She had abandoned almost all hope of finding it.
"Is this yours?"
China screamed and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping on a large rock behind her. She got a glimpse of someone standing in front of her before she keeled over onto the ground, having tripped on her own feet.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." The voice sounded remorseful. China looked up to see a person with a cup for a head, just like her. They had a large blue nose, and a blue and white striped straw was visible from the top of their head. They were holding her red rubber ball, looking worried.
"Ah... It's fine. You just startled me." China picked herself up and dusted the dirt off of her clothing. "That is my ball, by the way. Thanks for returning it."
"Way to go, Mugs, you nearly killed her," said another voice from a patch of trees. China glanced over and saw a figure emerging from the plants. He looked similar to the first person, but his nose was smaller and red, and the red and white straw poking out of his head was bent instead of straight.
"I didn't mean to!" said the blue-nosed person. "I was just giving her ball back!"
"Who are you?" asked China, rather bewildered.
"I'm Cuphead," replied the red-nosed person. "And the guy who just scared the jeepers out of you is my brother, Mugman."
"He didn't scare the jeepers out of me. He startled me, that's all. I think it was very nice that he brought my ball back to me," said China, smiling in Mugman's direction. Cuphead rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. We should keep going if we're gonna collect all these sou-" He cut himself off, which China found rather strange. "These things. Let's go." Cuphead tugged on his brother's arm.
"Wait! She never even told me her name!" cried Mugman.
"It's China," she answered, waving at the two brothers as they walked in the opposite direction. She looked at the red ball in her hand. The gears in her brain were spinning faster.
"Wait!" She started to run towards the two brothers again. Both of them turned to look at her, surprised. "Wait for me! I want to help you!"
"Help us? You can't," said Cuphead. "This is our thing. We don't need you for this."
China noticed a long piece of paper in his hands. She cranked her neck to try to sneak a glimpse at its contents, but Cuphead snatched it away from her view.
"What's that?" she inquired.
"Nothing," snapped Cuphead with a frown. "Do you ever mind your own business? Just go pick some daisies or something."
"Come on, Cups. She wants to help," Mugman said pleadingly. "We have a lot of work to do. Seeing as you got us into this mess, you could at least let her help get us out."
Cuphead looked from Mugman, to the list, to China.
"She's... we don't even know her. Come on, Mugs."
"But don't you think maybe the potion is for her? Elder Kettle said-"
"Well, maybe it's not her. Let's go."
"I just want to help," interrupted China. "I wanted to repay you for finding my ball. I don't know anything about potions, but I do know that I can help."
Mugman grinned hopefully at his brother, who sighed.
"Fine. But don't judge... me... based on what you see on the list."
Cuphead knelt on the ground and unfurled the long scroll of paper. On it was a huge list of names- some China was familiar with, and others she had never heard before. At the top of the paper was a large title.
'Souls to Collect'
"Souls?" said China. "What is this about? Who are all these people, and why are they on this list?"
"They all made deals with the Devil," Mugman explained. "Just like Cuphead here did."
"Hey!" Cuphead interjected in exasperation.
"A deal with the Devil?" asked China incredulously. "How did that happen?"
"Golly, do you ever stop asking questions?" grumbled Cuphead.
"My dad says I'm naturally curious."
"More like naturally annoying. Anyway, we happened to stumble on the Devil's casino at the edge of the woods, and we were gambling, and we were on a winning streak, so the Devil said that if couldn't win one more, he'd get our souls, but if we won, we'd get everything in the casino! So we said yes-"
"You said yes," Mugman corrected.
"That's what I said. I said yes, but I lost the bet! So now we have to collect all these souls or the Devil will take ours!" finished Cuphead.
"Well, looks like the first people on the list are... ' The Root Pack'," said China. "So, are you just going up and taking their souls, or..."
"Well, hopefully," replied Mugman. "But Elder Kettle said we might have to... fight." His face turned considerably more serious as he said this. China's stomach dropped into her feet.
"Fight? I can't fight."
"Well, there you go. We'll be on our way, then," said Cuphead.
"But we don't fight either!" Mugman exclaimed. "What makes you think we're any better than her?"
"Don't you remember what Elder Kettle said?"
"Yes, but he also said we'd know who to give the extra potion to when the time came. I know it's her, Cuphead. She's the one that's supposed to help us collect all the souls!"
Cuphead looked torn. Both Mugman and China were staring at him expectantly. He scowled.
"Fine. But don't make a big deal out of it."
He tossed China a glass bottle, which she caught in her hands. She examined the bottle. It was made of blue glass, with a cork in the top and no label.
"What is this?"
"It's a magical potion that'll give you the ability to shoot bullets out of your fingers!" Mugman made his hand into the shape of a gun and shot a brilliant blue projectile into the air for demonstration. "See?"
China, raising an eyebrow, pulled the rather loose cork out of the bottle's neck. She sniffed the fluid inside. It was odorless, but it gave off an enchanting radiant blue glow. The light reflected in her eyes.
"Go on, drink it!" Mugman encouraged. China hesitated, lifting the bottle to her mouth carefully. The two brothers stared at her in anticipation.
With a burst of courage, she tipped the bottle and poured all of its contents into her mouth.
She instantly felt like a jolt of electricity had shot through her body. Strange tickling sensations ran up and down her limbs, breaking into millions of separate paths and traveling down everyy nerve and every vein under her skin. She had to suppress an elated giggle as the rushing feeling continued. Both Cuphead and Mugman watched, their eyes wide. A pleasant shiver took hold of China's body, and the sensation began to taper off until it had ended completely. She struggled for breath.
"Woah," she said finally. Mugman looked at China's hand.
"Well, did it work?"
Unsure, China raised one hand in the shape of a gun. She focused hard and-
"Wait! Shoot the other way!" cried Cuphead.
China had no time to react. A luminous blue projectile shot straight for Cuphead, who yelped and hastily ducked.
"Sorry!" China squealed. She covered her mouth, her eyes wide. Cuphead stood back up. His eyes were twin pools of fire as he glared at her.
"Maybe try not to decapitate me before we even have a single soul contract." His voice was just as harsh as his expression. China looked down in shame.
"I didn't mean-"
Cuphead turned away before China finished her sentence. She quieted herself and folded her hands in front of her.
"I'm sorry."
Cuphead was silent. Mugman looked between the two before awkwardly interjecting.
"Well... we should get going if we're gonna collect all those soul contracts!"
China nodded wordlessly and began to walk forward. The party of three was on its way. China walked behind the other two at a rather slow pace, her head still lowered miserably. Mugman noticed her dejected demeanor and caught up to his brother.
"Hey." Mugman leaned closer to Cuphead and whispered so that China would be unable to hear the conversation. "Cups?"
"What?"
"I just want to know... why are you so mean to that girl? All she wants to do is help."
"Mugman... you don't get it. I don't trust her. Something about her just seems... wrong."
"What do you mean? She's just a girl. She's even the same age as us. How bad could she be?"
"You don't know for sure if she's our age."
"But Elder Kettle said-"
"Will you stop quoting Elder Kettle for one second?" shouted Cuphead, finally raising his voice. China glanced up at him with a strange expression, and he realized his mistake.
"Look," he continued, this time whispering again. "I know what Elder Kettle said. And not everything he said was good. Don't you remember the part about the heritage? Or the visions?"
"Yes, but-" started Mugman.
"No. We have to do this ourselves. I have to do this myself. I'm not going to trust some random teacup to do my dirty work!"
"You sound awful confident for someone who bet our souls to the Devil," said Mugman, rather boldly. This reduced Cuphead to a stunned silence. He stopped walking. His fist tightened around the paper containing the list of souls.
"Leave me alone."
"This time, I don't think I will." Mugman stopped as well. "If there's one fatal flaw that'll be the end of you, Cuphead, it's gonna be your rashness."
The two brothers glared at each other until China caught up with them.
"What's wrong?" she asked in confusion.
"Nothing," replied Mugman, putting on a false smile and a cheery voice. "We're just... talking."
Cuphead threw a burning stare at Mugman, but said nothing as he turned and resumed his stroll. China sniffed and looked back at the ground.
The silence was intensely awkward. Nobody spoke, but all three of them walked quietly through the forest. Every so often, Cuphead glanced at the list in his hand, and China began to distract herself from the tension by bouncing her red ball at her feet and catching it again. The rhythmic sound of the ball soothed her mind again.
"Hey," she said, without realizing it.
"Huh?" Cuphead turned around with a dissatisfied frown.
"Oh... uh, I just wanted to ask who Elder Kettle is."
"Well, I'd like to ask why you never mind your own bus-"
"Guardian!" yelled Mugman suddenly. He looked nervous when the two others turned to peer at him. "Uh... he's our guardian. He takes care of us."
China nodded and stared at her feet once more. Mugman glanced at his brother and saw him rolling his eyes.
"Right," Mugman said, mostly to himself. "That's settled, then."
Aww, poor Mugman! He's always the awkward third wheel in all these fights. I feel a little bad... But I also don't. I'm an author, it's my job to be heartless to the characters I write about! It would be a boring story if it was nothing but Cuphead, Mugman, and China skipping through fields of wildflowers and dancing in sunshine.
Anyway, remember to comment if you enjoyed or if you have any comments to make- constructive criticism is just as valuable as compliments! I will be responding to this chapter's comments in the next chapter. I'll see you later!
Cup Q&A
In addition to answering your comments about the story, I will also be doing a Cup Q&A! Basically, you can ask me or the characters questions about the story and they will be answered here. (You can ask spoiler questions, but there's no guarantees that they will be answered.) You can also ask the characters questions that don't relate to the story. Just be sure to put the phrase "Cup Q&A" before any Cup Q&A comments, so I know to answer them separately from the rest of the comments.
Some Examples:
(Cup Q&A) For the author, what is happening in the next chapter?
(Cup Q&A) Main 3, what are your favorite colors?
(Cup Q&A) Mugman, are you aware that you're always the awkward third wheel when Cuphead and China are fighting?
You can ask unlimited questions, but just don't, you know, spam my comment section with them. Thank you, and I hope there's some great questions for next chapter!