A/N: This took a little longer than I wanted...I was actually going to post this chapter last night, but it was getting late and I was busy with a lot of other things, so yeah. Also, this last week in general has been pretty busy for me-been to a LOT of job interviews, along with other stuff. One of them was as a dog handler which I was HOPING would work out, but in the end they decided not to select me. So yeah, pretty disappointing...but thanks to some advice from my old counselor, I've been looking for some other job opportunities in other fields. Also, I finally finished a (semi) big art project I've been working on for a while, so that makes me happy. And I'd say I did a pretty good job for someone who doesn't usually draw animals (if anyone is curious, check my Tumblr, rhys-ravenfeather, under the tag 'rhys-art').

As for the story itself, there are only a few chapters left in it, plus an epilogue, and as of the last chapter, this story is FINALLY reaching the points I've been dying to write for a while...things are wrapping up! So I think I'll be alright. Also, I was considering writing a DP version of Mystery Skulls Animated's 'Hellbent' video, as a continuation of the DP/MSA series, but I don't know if I'll actually go through with it/continue the series. Anyway, enough of that, on to the reviewers:

ivy pearl: Yeah...Bendy needs a hug (and a better father) in the worst way. Glad you like the story! And the last comment makes a lot more sense now...it's okay! After all, your sister's just a kid.

Valeriyah: Yeah...truthfully, one of the most interesting parts of this story for me was rewriting King Dice's character-one of my favorite type of stories, whether it's fanfiction or other things (like Wicked) is reimaginings of villain characters so they're more heroic, or at least more sympathetic, but I didn't want him to seem too OOC or different from how he was in the canon game. Not sure how well I did with that, but I'm glad that you like it! And don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of myself!

AlchemyWriter: Ha ha nope...things are gonna get worse for poor little Bendy before they get better. I DO plan for him to have a happy ending though, so yeah. It's all gonna be worth in in the end.

Well, that's all for now, on to the story!

Disclaimer: If I owned Cuphead or Bendy, some things would have been different (i.e. my ships would've been canon).

Cuphead and Mugman barely spoke to each other as they went around Inkwell Isle 3. Part of it was their determination—they were so close now! They only had the debtors on this island left, then they could finally face the Devil. They could save themselves, save King Dice…save everyone. They had to hurry though; night was fast approaching.

The other reason was that the Bendy thing still had them pretty shaken up. Cuphead tried not to think about it too much. There were a TON of emotions washing over him at once every time he did…it almost made his head spin.

It wasn't long after fighting Captain Brineybeard that the silence between them was finally broken.

Cuphead looked up as he realized that his brother had spoken.

"Huh? You say something, Mugs?"

"Yeah." Mugman nodded. "What do you think Mom and Dad were like?"

Cuphead actually froze in his tracks.

"What brought this up?" He asked, frowning a little, to which Mugman shrugged.

"Just…thinking."

"Well, how the heck am I supposed to know what they were like?!" Cuphead asked grumpily. "I was a baby the last time I saw them!"

"Alright, alright!" Mugman held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Jeez, no need to get so twisted off about it!"

"Sorry…" Cuphead mumbled, looking off to the side as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Mugman sighed and shook his head as he started to walk off again.

"…King Dice did tell me about them once, though."

Mugman froze in his tracks. He didn't say a word, however, and Cuphead took that as his cue to continue.

"He said that Mom and Dad were some of the best people he'd ever met. Mom was really brave and strong, and Dad was kind and encouraging—he'd always listen to any problem anyone had, even if he couldn't help solve it." Cuphead let out a shaky sigh. "Said that they were two of the best people he'd ever met."

Mugman felt like a rock had been dropped into his stomach. He hadn't even realized how much he missed his parents.

No, missed wasn't the right word. He'd have to have remembered them, had to have known them, for him to be able to miss them. But of course, like Cuphead, he'd just been a baby too…now he was sorry he asked. Just as he was chastising himself for asking such a stupid question in the first place, Cuphead spoke up again.

"King Dice told me that we remind him of them, you know." Mugman's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?"

Cuphead half-nodded, half-shrugged.

"Like I said, I have no idea what they were like…lot of the time, I wish I did." He frowned a little. "But from what I heard, they were great people. And I guess we're not that different from them." He almost smiled. He didn't say it out loud, but part of Cuphead couldn't help but wonder if that was at least part of the reason King Dice had kept them as long as he had.

Mugman took that moment to bring up the question he'd been meaning to ask for a while.

"You think Bendy's okay?" This time, Cuphead was the one who didn't answer, and Mugman decided to continue. "Cup, I know how you feel…I'm still pretty shocked about all this. But Bendy can't help who his dad is—heck, that kind of makes him like us, if you really think about it. After all…"

"Excuse me?" A voice suddenly interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear." The Cup Brothers turned around, starting in surprise at the figure behind them. It was a robot, a little over seven feet tall, absolutely towering over them. They knew who he was right away; the boys had seen him on the list of debtors.

"You're…you're Dr. Kahl's robot." Cuphead stated, trying not to look too scared. The robot nodded, and Cuphead and Mugman were surprised to see a melancholy look on his face.

"Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk." The robot's voice, while mechanical and a bit jarring, was soft, almost calming. It didn't seem like he was going to attack any time soon.

"I knew you were going to come looking for me sooner or later, so I thought it would be best to find you first…without my father knowing."

"Your father?" Cuphead blinked stupidly for a second or two before the realization suddenly dawned on him. "Oh…Dr. Kahl, right?" The robot nodded, looking even sadder.

"My father is…a bit strange. Lots of people even think he's a mad scientist. But he cares about me…when he created me, he put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make sure I was perfect. But after my initial activation, I malfunctioned, so the doctor rebuilt me. No matter how much he tried though, new problems kept popping up every time he tried repairing me. I knew he was disappointed, and I couldn't stand seeing my father so upset. So I went to the casino.

"To be honest, I think part of the reason I made the deal was to prove to myself that I had a soul. Pretty stupid way to go about it, I know, but I wanted to make sure. But more than anything, I wanted to make my father happy. I wanted to be perfect for him."

The robot shook his head again, somehow able to sigh despite not having lungs.

"Father has been waiting for you. He told me to fight for my life when I see you, but I don't want that. So here." He handed his soul contract over to the Cup Brothers like Beppi had on Inkwell Isle 2, and Mugman looked at him in surprise.

"Thanks but…why just hand your contract over? Why would you trust us?"

"Because I've met Bendy before." The robot answered, almost smiling. "He's good, nothing like his father. He and I are the same—like you said, neither of us can help who our fathers are."

"No offense, but I think having a mad scientist for a dad is still a lot better than the Devil." Cuphead scoffed.

"Maybe...but Father did talk about wanting to vivisect you after we'd beaten you." Cuphead and Mugman felt simultaneous chills going down their spines as an old man's voice suddenly called out

"Junior? Are you out here?"

"That's Father." The robot said, a nervous look crossing his metallic features. "You should go now, before he gets here." Cuphead nodded, a nervous look crossing his face, as Mugman gave the robot a quick thanks before leaving with his brother.

Once they were a good distance away, Cuphead unrolled the robot's soul contract to really look at it, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

Mugman pursed his lips, humming thoughtfully before spotting one of Porkrind's carts close to them. As he walked off to get them some new potions, Cuphead did some thinking.

He hated to admit it, but, like with the robot, he and Bendy were the same, in a way. Granted, King Dice spent most of his and Mugman's life trying to hide his sinister double life from the boys, but Cuphead had had his suspicions even before then. He could only imagine what it was like having the Devil for a father. Bendy seemed okay…but what if the Devil had been abusing him, to try and make him more evil and demonic?

Or had some other ulterior motives for him…

As Mugman came back with the potions, Cuphead made up his mind, rolling up Dr. Kahl's robot's soul contract and putting it with the others. Mugman gave him a weird look as Cuphead drank his potion.

"Cup? You've got that look on your face again." Cuphead nodded a little, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he finished drinking.

"Mugs…I've got a radical idea."

"Is it about Bendy?" Mugman asked knowingly, to which Cuphead nodded.

"I messed up." He admitted, letting out a sigh. "I had the guy all wrong from the beginning…I mean heck, look at me!" He let out a humorless laugh as he pointed at himself. "I got us into this mess by being greedy and stupid, and gambling at that stupid casino in the first place! And it's not even the first time I got us into trouble either!" Cuphead sighed, shaking his head. "I can't explain it Mugs, but I get the feeling that Bendy is as much a victim here as us, and the debtors." He looked at his brother seriously, and a knowing look crossed Mugman's face, coupled with some underlying happiness and hope.

"Cuphead…are you saying…?"

"I say we change our plans a little." Cuphead confirmed. "Mugs, we're gonna save everyone…including Bendy."

A/N: There we go! Both Cup Brothers are now officially in Bendy's corner! But he MAY not be what they were expecting when they get back to him...

I kind of wanted to do something with Dr. Kahl's robot...some time back I came up with a theory that he made his deal to be perfect for Dr. Kahl, and once Kahl found out what he did, he was determined to help protect his creation/son so he didn't lose him. Also, I think it ties nicely into the theme of the story. And yeah...I might have made the robot a LITTLE smaller; I mean, in the game we have no idea how big he really is, but in the game he seems almost kaiju-sized? Might just have been for effect, but I figured making him a little smaller would make him a little more conspicuous.

Sorry about the lack of action in this chapter, but don't worry, things'll start heating up again soon! Until then though, review please!