Hello all! On to the next chapter- be forewarned, this story will be updated sporadically due to me having nine other fanfiction projects going on.
With that being said, please enjoy! I own nothing.
Brother's Soul
Chapter 2
Three Years Prior...
Mugman was worn out from all the excitement. That celebratory party was WAY longer than he expected it to be. He glanced over wearily at Cuphead, who was still enjoying the festivities with Elder Kettle and laughing with Hilda Berg as she took a hug swig of what could be best identified as beer. The blue cup sighed and looked down at his glass of sparkling water.
It was about a week since the two brothers were declared heroes by every resident on Inkwell Isle. All the contracts had finally been collected... everyone was free and the island no longer had to worry about The Devil trying to kill them ever again. So why did he feel so much worry settling inside his chest?
"HEYYYYY! MUGS!" Snapped out of his thoughts, Mugman looked up at the loud screech of his brother calling him. Cuphead was dancing around and waving his hands in a weird motion, Elder Kettle chuckling as he spoke with Cagney and Cala Maria, who was swimming in a huge lake near them. All three rolled their eyes as the loud little cup dragged his embarrassed blue brother to the center stage.
"Come on, bro! Live a little! We saved the island!" Mugman couldn't help but smile sheepishly- Cuphead knew he hated dancing, especially in front of all those people that they could now call friends-but he figured maybe he could loosen up a bit. Just a bit.
"...o-okay... okay, Cups! H-Hold on!" Mugman stumbled to find his footing. On second thought, maybe not. He really hated dancing... but seeing his brother so happy, so carefree, especially after the nightmare they had to go through collecting those contracts...
Mugman's smile slowly fell. He never realized how big their home really was. Until the age of eight, all the two boys knew was that there were certain places that they were never to go to. Elder Kettle had always stressed that detail, especially to Cuphead, who tended to get himself into all sorts of trouble. Mugman listened, but had always been curious as to why they couldn't go to those certain places.
After his travels, he finally understood why. And while he had been angry at his brother for dragging them in that mess... while he was pissed that his brother was so greedy that he nearly cost them their souls... well, he couldn't just leave him to fight all those people on his own. And he certainly could not leave him to fight The Devil, of all things.
"Mugsy! He-lllloooooo! Bro!"
The adolescent blue mug snapped out of it. Apparently his brother noticed his distracted expression, for he had pulled them both away from the other partygoers and were sitting under their favorite tree. Mugman didn't realize he'd been pulled away, let alone moving.
"Wha-huh? How did we end up here?" he asked, looking around confusedly. Cuphead plopped down next to him, looking at his brother with a slightly concerned expression.
"You kinda zoned out on everyone, bro. Kinda worried everyone, especially Elder. I told them you needed a minute to get your mug on straight and... well, here we are." Mugman nodded once, looking back at the scene in front of them.
He'd always like coming to the lake. Elder Kettle often took them here to play while he watched them, lounging in his favorite, worn out chair. Mugman always got distracted by the tranquility of it all- the bright sun's ray reflecting and bouncing off the tree's green leaves, the calm breeze as he and his brother chased after butterflies and played cops and robbers...
"Brooooo? Yel-lllloooo? Anyone home?"
Mugman snapped out of it for the second time, the memory of his peaceful childhood fading just as suddenly as he remembered it. Cuphead was looking at him now, worry very much obvious on his face.
"S-Sorry... did I zone out again?" Mugman said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his mug. "Sorry, Cups."
His brother didn't buy it. "Mugs... what's up? You don't normally act so... spacey. Is it the party? We don't have to go back if you don't want to. I'll tell Elder to meet us back home or something."
Mugman shook his head no. "It's... well, the party is a lot but that's not really it." How did he want to explain this without sounding too worrisome, he wondered. His brother was already concerned and he hated when that happened.
"Talk to me, Mugsy. What's up?"
Mugman took a deep breath and let it out slowly, drawing his legs up to his chest. Cuphead simply leaned back on his hands, smiling as he stared at the clouds floating by. "You remember when Elder gave us the potion for the first time?"
"And we tried to play cops and robbers?" Mugman laughed a little. "You shot a hole in Elder's wall... oh boy, was he ever mad! I don't think I've ever seen Elder move so fast to catch you, Cups."
Cuphead grinned. "And he didn't! Although I got into a heap of trouble later on down the road..."
"Yeah..."
Mugman and Cuphead sat side by side for what seemed like hours. "So you gonna tell me what's floatin' in that mug of yours or what?"
"Y-yeah, I... it's nothing. Maybe I'm just overthinking things... I mean, we saved the island and things are better for everyone so... I don't know. I just..."
Gripping his legs tighter, Mugman struggled to piece together his ever scattering thoughts. "I don't think The Devil is gone..." he settled, whispering the words, feeling as if the words would make it become as real as it was in his head.
Cuphead was quiet, his normal cocky and confident demeanor gone as the words his brother spoke slowly sunk in. "Mugsy... that's... that's huge. Are you sure?" he asked carefully, unsure of how else to respond.
"I don't know, Cups, and that's what I'm afraid of. I know we fought him and I know we defeated him and burned those contracts, but... something is wrong. Something feels wrong..." he muttered quietly. "And... if it true... if he somehow survived everything we threw at him, I... I'm scared, honestly."
Cuphead could tell this had been bothering Mugman a lot longer than he had let on. He scooted closer and draped an arm over his shoulder. "I don't know, Mugsy. We gave it to him pretty good. Our Super attacks made mincemeat out of him!"
Mugman curled close to his brother. There had been another reason why he felt that every single ex-debtor needed to be a bit more careful, but he didn't want to ruin his brother's moment. "You're right. Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much."
Cuphead had grown up with his little brother for twelve years, and he could tell when his brother was withholding information. He knew his brother too well, even when Mugman sometimes seemed to forget. 'Mugsy... you're shaking. I know that something else happened out there, didn't it. But you'll tell me when you're ready.'
Standing up, Cuphead dusted off his pants and extended a hand to help Mugman up. "Come on. Let's get back to everyone. We'll talk later, 'kay?"
Mugman grabbed his brother's hand and hoisted himself up. He took a huge breath in, let it out, and fixed his clothes so no one else would ask too many questions. "Yeah. Thanks, Cups."
Cuphead just grinned, quickly returning back to his normal self, and punched his brother playfully in the arm before running off. "Don't you worry! If that Devil tries to come back, we're gonna beat him again!"
Mugman felt a huge twinge of fear in his heart, but pushed it away and chased after Cuphead, plastering a smile and faking a laugh to ease his brother's worries. 'Cups... I really hope we never have to fight him again. I hope that stupid casino stays broken forever... I hope I never see that crazy King Dice again! Because if what I dreamt about ever becomes real... if the worries I have ever happen... I don't think I can handle it. I don't think any one of us can...'
Cuphead was laughing, but he felt that worry for his brother grow. He knew Mugman. He knew he'd worry himself and overthink himself silly. But the concept that they didn't really save Inkwell Isles... the fact that The Devil could have possibly survived... no. He fired the fatal shot through his chest. He watched Mugman's Giant Ghost immobilize him several times, leaving no room for error. There was just no way he survived.
"I know we killed him. I know we beat him because we're just awesome! So Mugsy doesn't need to worry. He's dead and so is his crazy henchmen!" Cuphead said happily.
Little did the young cups know, as they returned to their celebration, their lives would change forever. For now, Mugman could only hope that his family stayed happy and his worries would go away once and for all.
And complete!
Please let me know what you all think! Until next chapter!
