The sky was burning a bright orange when Mugman finally realized how long he had been sitting alone in the training hollow. That orange glow meant that the sun would be setting soon. Mug finally broke the long and awkward silence between him and the demon.
"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I want to tell you I'm sorry." He apologized. "It wasn't right for me to blow up at you. You're not the one to blame. I am. My whole life has been a series of lies. But I don't want that to be the case between me, you, and Cuphead. We… we need to be there for one another. And you're probably going think me crazy for still wanting to protect Elder Kettle even though he's done wrong. It's called forgiveness. That's what I'm asking of you right now. I'm not asking you to be my friend again, I'm just asking you to understand. I just hope you're listening to me."
"Oh, I heard everything." Came a sinister and familiar voice from behind the mug child. With a start, Mugman immediately jumped up and turned around. Before him stood the purple suit wearing die man that he had not seen for months. Its cocky smile stuck on his face, embellished by the green eyes almost seemed to glow.
"K-King Dice?" Mug gasped as his body tensed in fear of this person.
"Long time no see, little mugface." Dice sneered a greeting. "Finding you was much easier than I thought it would be… especially seeing as you were not exactly being quiet." His purple shoes plodded forward and advanced toward the young mug. "After all of the Devil's previous attempts to kill you and your family failed, he thought he would have to get his own claws dirty. But I made a bet with him that I could complete the task in one night." The king tugged at the end of his sleeves, making sure his hands were not obstructed by anything.
Mug was terrified of this man, but he knew that being scared would only cause him to freeze up. This was such a crucial moment that he couldn't afford such things happening.
"Just walk out of here slowly and no one gets hurt!" The little mug bravely shouted, showing confidence in his body language.
"Is that so? You talk so tough, but you are nothing without your brother by your side." King Dice tried to weaken the boy's soul. "You are alone."
Alone. That word echoed throughout Mugman's mind. But he wasn't alone. He had his demon with him. Mug immediately began thumping his chest with his fist.
"Come on! Wake up! I really need you right now!" He whispered to his guest. Meanwhile, the die man picked up the pace and started to make his right hand glow with purple magic. The young mug panicked and only thumped his chest faster as he began to back away. There was still no response from the dark creature. It sure was picking a bad time to take a nap. Or perhaps it was leaving him to his own devices after feeling that he was ungrateful. Mug just hoped it was the former. That the demon wouldn't really leave him stranded like that. No matter what the reason, the child was starting to feel that he was alone. Dice was getting closer, and he was running out of options.
"D-don't come any closer! I'm warning you!" Mugman had to stop beating up his chest and focus on protecting himself. A glowing orange finger pointed in the casino manager's direction.
"You're warning me?" The king chuckled. "That's rich!"
Without another word, Mug loosed his charge shot at Dice. It exploded on the man's suit and threw the cube-faced person into the cave wall. The little mug heard him grunt in pain and boldly leapt forward. It was now or never, he realized. Mug needed to defeat this man and quick. For he knew how dangerous the die man was and that it had inherited some of its master's craving for torturing other beings. Mugman came soaring through the smoke clouds letting out a battle cry. As quick as lightning, a purple sleeved arm shot out and caught the mug child by its throat. It held the young mug aloft as it squeezed tight. A small gloved hand grabbed onto the much larger and meatier hand. Mug's left hand brazenly held out a finger at the living dice's head.
"Put that finger away, boy!" King Dice snarled as he tightened the death grip. The mug child made a small shriek of pain. It was unintentional and only caused his air supply to drop even faster. Mugman's other hand retreated back to the object that tried to crush his windpipe. He tried to let out another scream due to the unbearable pain, but it was choked out. The hold was suffocating. It was so powerful that it brought tears to the little mug's eyes. He tried desperately to slip his hands between the large fingers and push them away.
"Good. Now we have an understanding of each other." Dice put a wicked smile on his face. Mug's feet thrashed back and forth in the air. "Tell me where Cuphead and Elder Kettle are." He interrogated his unwilling victim.
"N…no!" Mugman barely squeaked out with eyes drooping. He tried to cough to get air and hopefully move the hand ever so slightly.
"No? Perhaps I didn't make myself clear…. You don't have a choice, boy!" The king said, clearly enjoying this too much.
"I… I won't! N-never!" The mug child's oxygen supply was dropping by the second. Mug realized that the grip seemed to ease up for a second. It was just long enough for the boy to take a single breath. Mugman realized King Dice was keeping the hold just tight enough so that he could still get information out of him. It meant the die man wasn't going to kill him just yet.
"I don't know whether to call your persistence foolish or brave." Dice admitted.
A surge of fear came over Mugman's heart as he realized the casino manager was going to keep asking for information about Cuphead and Elder Kettle until he finally squeaked. No matter what, he couldn't let that happen. No matter how painful the chokehold or whatever other types of torture he inflicted.
I can't let him find my family….! Mug thought with all the bravery he could. His eyes narrowed in anger before he brazenly swung a foot upward to bump the man's arm. Dice merely glanced at the fearless attempt, not having been injured in the least bit. In fact, the die man just laughed in the child's face.
"Now that's just pathetic…. I might actually feel sorry for you… if I didn't enjoy this so much!" The person dressed in purple roared.
Let me go! Y-you're nothing but a lackey! A pawn! Mugman silently yelled at his adversary. Dice merely laughed again, almost as if he had heard the mug's desperate threats.
I'll die before I tell you where they are!
King Dice almost seemed to take this as a challenge.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" He then walked over to the cliff that overlooked the sea. The die man held out the little mug over the heart-wrenching drop. Mug's eyes nervously shifted to the side to see the waterfall crashing down hundreds of feet to the ocean. The poor young mug wondered if the die man would really release the grip and let him plummet all the way down to a watery death.
"Where is your brother and precious guardian?"
Please Dice! You don't have to do this! You don't have to be like the Devil! Mugman now pleaded inside his head. Any words inside his mind were better than saying anything out loud, Mug thought. That is, if he had any breath to actually say anything, anyway. The casino manager and child made eye contact with another. The little mug now had a pleading look instead of his previous confident one.
"Just say where they are and all this stops…." Dice taunted the child. He then made his right hand glow purple and held it next to Mug's head. The child's eyes shifted to the side to see the purple magic mere inches from his face. Meaty gloved fingers flexed as they threatened the little mug. Beads of sweat started to form on Mugman's face as fear gripped his heart. Mug was trying to be strong for both himself and his family. But the fear and pain just came too much for him and he couldn't help but silently break down to himself.
I'm sorry, Cuphead, Elder Kettle. All I ever wanted was to protect you two. And now I've failed you. Tears welled up in the mug's eyes. If only I hadn't run off, Kind Dice never would have found me…
Water flooded from his eyes as they blinked and instinctually shifted towards home. The hold prevented him from actually seeing his home, but he knew it was out there somewhere. It was the last ray of hope he could give himself in this moment. Dice noticed the boy's gaze change direction.
"Hmm? He wondered and looked in the direction that the young mug did. King Dice noticed the house on the far end of the island, separated from the rest of its inhabitants. There was no doubt that this was the house of the paranoid kettle.
"Well, whatta ya know? A mug does squeak when put under pressure…." The die man sneered, looking back to the child. A sinking feeling came over Mugman's heart. He was afraid that Dice somehow knew which house was his. This fear became reality when the king looked again. Mug was certain he was looking at the right house. There was no way to trick him or change his mind now.
What? No! H-how could he possibly have known it was that house? Mug silently panicked as his feet kicked back and forth.
"Oh, you never had to say it out loud." King Dice answered. He then brought Mugman close to whisper his secret into the child's mug. "Boss gave me telepathic powers to ensure the task was completed. So you never had to utter a word."
P-put me down! I'll kill you! Mug silently yelled. If Dice could hear his thoughts, then he was going to let the casino manager have it.
"Yeah, I'm really scared." It said sarcastically. The die man brought the little mug back into the cave and let the heels of the mug's boots rest on the cavern floor. Mug could feel that he was slowly lowering him down to rest on his back.
"I just regret not getting to see the look on your face when I make your family suffer! Little cupface will eventually become the Devil's slave again and that old kettle will get just what he deserves, too." Mug wasn't scared of the man anymore. In fact, the adult only succeeded in making him angry. So angry that Mugman was about to use some choice words that were not usually in his vocabulary.
Y-you bastard! You'll never lay a finger on them! Not as long as I live! Anger burned within his heart. It gave him a sort of hope to find a way out of that hold and fast.
"Oh-ho! Never took you for the language type!" Dice chuckled. "But you're a situation that can easily be remedied." All the while that the die man rambled on, Mug bravely let go with one hand and felt around for something to help him. He blindly picked up a hand-sized rock.
Remedy this! He cried and tossed it toward the cube head. It hit the man square between the eyes. King Dice screamed in pain and dropped the child. The impact was so forceful that the casino manager almost fell onto his rump himself. Mugman, on the other hand, dropped to the ground like a rock. He coughed and hacked, trying to recover from the powerful grip. The young mug needed oxygen flowing through his lungs and he needed it now. It shakily got up and only took a few steps before it ultimately fell down again. This repeated a couple more times before King Dice summoned a means of stopping the boy. All the while, Dice had been rubbing a large bruise on his forehead as he watched the mug child attempt to escape.
"You ain't goin' anywhere, boy!" He sneered as he pulled two playing cards out of his sleeve and tossed them forward. They immediately grew in size so that they were taller than the little mug. The ace of spades card magically flew toward Mug. It kept going and gave him a large papercut on his right side. Poor Mugman hollered in pain as a fierce stinging sensation gripped him. He could feel his life essence pool at his shirt as the cut's sting only increased in its intensity. The other card, ace of diamonds, hovered in front of him. It quickly bent its top half upward, swatting the mug child upside the face. Sufficiently stunned, the poor child fell to the ground. His whole body felt like it wanted to give up. But he knew that wasn't an option right now, so he tried his best to get up.
I-I have to get out of here! Mug desperately thought as he forced himself to sit up through his violent shaking. The little mug gasped as the cards flew back to his sides. They immediately folded themselves around his arms and held them outward. The two cards hoisted the child up to his feet. Mugman tried his best to free his limbs from the constricting paper. But it was no good. Their hold was just too tight. King Dice stepped up in front of the boy.
"I've heard that you've been training to control the demon. It's time to show me the progress you've made." The die man said, rolling up his sleeves. "And you will cooperate!"
"Like hell I will!" Mug spat back, still trying to uphold his brave and confident attitude.
"We'll see about that." Dice replied, flexing his fingers before he balled them up into fists. The little mug's eyes widened in fear as he realized the casino manager was going to beat down on him. Smack! His head was jerked to the right. Smack! Again to the left. Mugman uttered a pained "Ugh!" every time his mug was beaten. His groans only got louder as the king continued his fury of fists.
"Show it to me!" He growled while still mercilessly pounding away on the mug child. "I said now!" A fist hurled into the boy's gut, causing him to fall to his knees. Dice ceased his punishment for the moment. He watched to see if the young mug was going to be a bit more compliant now. Poor Mugman just let his head droop as he breathed heavily. A sip of liquid fell out of his head and pooled right in front of the die man's shoe. His straw wilted down and curled over his brim, miraculously staying in all the while.
"I… will…. never…. obey…. you….!" Mug barely got out between his deep breaths.
"If you won't show it to me, I'll have to rip it out of you!" King Dice threatened. The child barely lifted his head up to look at the adult.
"You… you can't…" He replied, knowing fully well that the demon would not come out of him. It was unlikely that the king had ever seen an embedded demon phenomenon before. The genie that had been around for far longer than the casino manager claimed there is no cure. So the possibility of Dice being able to get it out was very slim.
"Watch me!" The die man said haughtily. His right hand glowed purple again. This time the palm planted down over the mug's chest. Mugman immediately started to holler in pain. He could feel that King Dice was dragging out his metaphorical heart just like Djimmi had done. But his method was much more painful. Dice could feel the pink heart shape rest in his hand and chuckled, thinking it would easily let go.
"Huh?" He wondered when the dark force refused to let go. Dice didn't realize that neither the demon nor the child had a choice in the matter. Mug felt the man yank a few more times on the symbol, causing spikes of pain to course throughout his body. The hand then let go. King Dice and Mugman watched as a shapeless black shadow came out of the heart shape and slammed into the casino manager. It tossed the king all the way into the cave wall. The little mug then watched as the shadow retreated back into the heart, changing it black and retreated into his chest, immediately morphing his appearance. Without a thought, the parasitic creature brought dark blue magic to the child's arms. It disintegrated the cards on the spot. The mug's magic then moved to his hands as he leapt forward and started beating down on Kind Dice. However, the adult kept his cool and looked for an opening. Eventually, he was able to catch the mutated child's arms and hold him back, albeit with some difficulty.
"Okay kid, it's time to put those mitts away!" He hissed at the boy's mug. Magic at Mug's hands faded away as he yanked his arms away from the living dice. With claws poised to strike, his right hand passed over Dice's chest. Four bloody gashes formed on the man's skin and soaked through his suit as he grunted in pain and fell to his knees. Mugman held him to the wall with a forceful hand to his shoulder. The child's other hand rested on top the man's chest, ready to drive the claws into the already wounded area and end it. Dice's cocky and mean attitude immediately changed when he was put into a life or death situation. In fact, he even looked scared. Like he had other emotions other than hatred and vengeance.
"Please! Please stop! I'll do anything!" The king now begged the boy. His green eyes showed fear instead of malice. The demon would not have given the person's words another thought, but Mugman did not have the heart to actually kill his tormentor. Something inside him said that killing Dice was wrong. He was mad at him, that's for sure. And he sure didn't want to let King Dice off the hook with no injuries either. How he wished he could actually yell at him with his own voice. Telepathically would have to do for now since no one could hear him in his mutated state.
I'm only going to say this once, so get it through that thick cube of yours! Stay the hell away from me and my family!
"Okay! Okay! Please just let me go!" The once in power casino manager now squealed. Mug forced his grip to slowly let go. He eyed the shifty die man carefully as he backed off.
Go! Now! Mugman yelled, pointing a clawed finger towards the exit. King Dice shakily got up and started to slink for the passageway out. Without warning, Dice whipped back around and sent a purple pulse of magic at the boy. The toothy mug shook back and forth as it growled in pain. Its glowing yellow eyes squeezed closed. The casino manager acted quick and came at the child from behind. Binding Mug's arms, Dice's bear-hug like hold lifted him off the ground. Brown boots flailed around as the glass body panicked. It roared loudly right near the man's cubed dome.
"When will you learn not to mess with me, kid?" King Dice bellowed in that cocky tone once more. The mutated mug did not listen to a word the man said. Instead, it latched its fangs onto the king's right arm. The casino manager could feel the powerful grip get ahold of him even though it had not driven its teeth deeply into his arm. A deep gurgle of warning rose in the boy's throat.
"You wouldn't dare!" The die man sneered. But Mugman did indeed dare. He crunched down hard with his fangs, feeling the bone shattering under them. A large gush of blood exploded from the wound. King Dice screamed so loud it was nearly earsplitting. The purple sleeved arms immediately dropped its target as it stumbled back. Mug whipped back around, making his right hand glow blue again. He slung it forward as it met with the casino manager's purple fist. The two fists collided, causing a large explosion in the cavern. It was so forceful that it drove the die man further into the wall and tossed the mug child across the clearing. The young mug could feel that he continually tumbled over himself as he rolled along the hard and unforgiving ground. Mug's glass body kept going until it came in contact with a boulder. The impact rendered the child unconscious as his body spilled over the ground. Dice, on the other hand, was so stunned and frightened that he used his magic to teleport himself away. The smoke clouds had been too thick for the man to know that Mugman posed no threat at the moment. It merely shrunk back down, ridding itself of its sharp weapons.
Mug's limp body was all that remained in the cave as the sun retreated beneath the horizon line. It lay there with its many injuries exposed to the world, in the eerie silence that had befallen the mountain.