Cuphead hardly got any sleep that night. The young cup had stayed up late, waiting for his brother to come knocking on the window to be let in. He knew that Mugman would try to slip into the room via the window if he didn't want Elder Kettle to know about his arrival just yet. But the mug child never came. It was early in the morning when Cuphead just couldn't take it anymore. He just had to go out and find him!

At sunrise, Cup was already out of bed and dressed. He exited his room to find Elder Kettle bustling about the house and gathering supplies. A gloved hand grabbed a Miracle Heal before he noticed his grandson standing just outside the kitchen.

"Cuphead! Did your brother come home last night?" He sounded extremely worried, almost on the brink of panicking. Using his cane, the kettle hobbled forward to be face-to-face with the cup child.

"No, I'm going out to look for him now. It isn't like him to be out all night…. I'm worried that something bad happened to him." Cup confessed.

"Good!" Elder Kettle nodded. "I'll look around in the local area. Take this and make your way to the mountain. It's possible that Mugs ran into trouble since he didn't come home. And hurry!" The kettle handed over the vile and ushered his boy out the door. He knew the training hollow was a possible place for Mugman to go for refuge.

"You can count on me, Elder Kettle!" Cuphead said as he sprinted away from his house. He made a beeline for Mt. Inkwell, and he wasn't going to stop for anyone or anything. It was Kettle's job to look around and ask their neighbors if they knew anything about Mugman's whereabouts.

Cup's throat started to feel dry as he kept his fast pace the entire way up the mountain. He was forced to slow down a little as he squeezed himself through the tight passage that led to the training hollow. The cup child stopped dead. There lay his little brother in the middle of the cavern sprawled on his back. Cuphead gasped and sprinted forward yet again. The young cup got down on his knees as he realized Mug did indeed have a number of injuries on his body.

"Mugs! Mugs, are you okay? Please say something!" He gently nudged the little mug on the shoulders. Mugman started to stir. His eyes slowly peeled open with a groan of pain. A blurry figure of his older brother materialized after a few dizzying seconds.

"Cuphead? What are you doing here?" He asked in a pained voice. For it hurt him to talk after Dice's death hold had tortured him for a good couple of minutes.

"I came looking for you! What happened?" Cuphead urged for some information.

Memories of the previous night came flooding back to Mugman. How he had been ambushed by King Dice, how he had threatened his family, and, worst of all, now knew where they lived.

If Cuphead is here, then who's protecting Elder Kettle?! Mug wondered as a bolt of fear raced down his spine.

"Elder Kettle! Where's Elder Kettle?" The little mug panicked as he tried to stand up. He immediately fell back down to a sitting position. The injuries seemed to be aggravated by the mug's movements. Pain rippled throughout his body. A gloved hand retreated to the source of the fierce stinging pain of the papercut. His white life essence had begun to crystalize over the cut.

"Slow down, Mugman! You're really hurt! What happened here?" Cup seemed to realize his little brother's pain better than him.

"No….. no, you don't understand! Elder Kettle's in danger! King Dice found me last night!" The young mug explained, wincing as he talked.

"King Dice?!" Cuphead said in alarm. For that was a name he had not heard in months.

"And that's not all…. He knows where we live!" Mug felt very ashamed about this. He had not meant to give away the location of his family. How was he to know that the casino manager could read his thoughts?

"How did he find that out?"

"I… I didn't mean to….!" Poor Mugman couldn't even get out the fact that he was to blame for that.

"Don't worry about that right now." The young cup waved it away. "If what you say is true, then we need to hurry! Drink this, Mugs."

The mug child happily grabbed the Miracle Heal and began to chug it down. With any luck, he would be ready for a second round with the die man by the time they got back to the house. Cuphead helped his little brother up and made for the cave's exit. Poor Mugman staggered toward home with the aid of his sibling. Each step sent a painful reminder of his cut where his gloved hand desperately clutched.

He finally remembered that the demon had been forced into the fight by King Dice. Before then, he had not responded to his host. Mug did not know if this was because he was sleeping or if he was mad. Perhaps now was a good time to find out.

Hey, are you okay? I know last night was pretty rough. I really could've used your help to chase him away. Please don't leave me hanging like that again.

….I'm sorry. It plainly answered. If I had been awake, that would not have happened.

It's okay. I just need you to be ready for when we face him again.

I… don't know if I can.

What do you mean you don't know if you can?

He hurt me, kid. That cube lackey of the Devil touched my core. You don't understand how much that hurts… The demon explained, sounding just as hurt as Mugman. It then realized that it had repeated the mug's words from a previous battle.

….Or maybe you do. I guess I never realized how pain effects not just the body but the soul as well. Never again will I judge you for reacting because of pain.

Thanks. That really does help. Mug admitted. By the time he and Cuphead had reached the bottom of the mountain, he was at least able to walk by himself. There was still a ferocious pain pounding in his head and neck. Not to mention the cut on his side that had not stopped stinging either.

So I don't know if you heard or not, but I apologized about yelling at you last night. I…I think I can recite it-

No, there's no need to get mushy. I can feel it in your heart. And that's good enough for me. It cut off the child. For it was satisfied with the emotion the young mug was giving off. Nothing else was required.

I must rest for now. A quick nap should help me regain strength. Perhaps that potion can aid me like it does you.

Okay, sounds good. Just don't take too long this time. Mugman could only hope it would answer when the time came. For its sleep was like a deep hibernation state. But at least he had Cuphead with him this time.

The cup brothers made their way across the island. Cup kept urging his brother to go as fast as they could. Mug wanted to get there quickly as well. However, he knew he would be useless if he didn't gain any energy back during their trek. Thankfully he was able to take it slow enough that some of it came back to him over the journey. His big brother protectively walked a bit ahead. He knew Mugs would not be at his prime even when they got home. Cup was prepared to take the bulk of the fight in order to protect his sibling. Mugman, on the other hand, could only hope the potion was working for the demon too…