Hello all! On with the next chapter!

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Brother's Soul

Chapter 3: Stolen Heart

The worry and fear that something was going to happen occurred a few weeks after the festivities and the boys were finally able to enjoy their lives once more.

It started out innocently enough. Mugman and Cuphead were in the town square, picking up some groceries for Elder Kettle. He had come down with a nasty flu, and Mugman figured making soup would make him feel a bit better.

"Hmm, let's see... I need carrots..." The blue-straw mug browsed the offerings in front of him carefully, looking for the perfect carrot to make into delious chicken soup. He finally found it, grinning happily as he placed the vegetable in his basket.

"Huh..." He mused, looking around the marketplace. "Where did that knucklehead brother of mine get to? I asked him to get me some green onions a LOOOOOOONG time ago!" Mugman walked around the produce department, looking for his brother.

BAM!

Suddenly Mugman was slapped full force with something wet. He wiped his face off and in front of him, holding what appeared to be plastic bags full of water, was his michevious older brother.

"... seriously, Cuphead? Inside the MARKET?!" Mugman screamed. People paused to see what all the noise was about. Mugman felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment and he stormed towards his brother, grabbing him by the arm.

"You were supposed to help me shop, you idiot!" Mugman hissed. Cuphead shrugged and dropped the two water filled bags on the ground, then walked towards the register.

"I did. Got those green things you asked me about. Anything else?"

"Wha-? Huh, I- WHAT?!"

Once again, people stopped and stared at the yelling mug. Mugman felt like he needed to crawl under a rock. Cuphead chuckled at the discomfort of his brother and dragged him along. "Quit being so loud and noisy, Mugsy! You're making a scene." Cuphead acted as if he were the well behaved one. Mugman sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. NOW he remembered why he never liked doing errands with his brother.

"Come onnnnn, Cups; let's just go already."


A few minutes and quite a bit of hassling later, bags were packed and the two porcelain brothers were finally on their way back home. The bustle of downtown Inkwell Isles made Cuphead grin with energy and glee as he skipped a little ahead of his younger brother, swinging a bag full of groceries in one hand. Mugman was walking at a much leisurely pace, worried about the groceries his over-energetic sibling was carrying.

"Couldn't you be a bit more careful with that? We're gonna have to make another trip and Elder might get mad at us!" Mugman exclaimed worriedly, watching the bags more so than Cuphead.

Said red cup grinned and swung the bag in a complete circle, laughing at the sheer horror that was plastered on Mugman's face. "Relax, little bro! I've got this!"

'Good thing I didn't let him hold the eggs... who knows what would've happened...'

As the boys crossed the road, Cuphead glanced over at his left. There, in the darkness, stood the remains of the door that led of Inkwell Hell, and the shambled building behind it. He slowed his happy stroll as he stared at the building, his face falling.

"Cups, are you alright? You just stopped-" Mugman paused. He saw where his brother's line of sight trailed, and his insides knotted up horribly. He found he was gripping his shopping bags a little tighter than he should've.

"Cuphead... come on. Let's go." Mugman said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. "It's gone. All of it is gone, okay?"

Cuphead nodded absently, walking step by step towards it instead of away from it. "I know, Mugs. But... I think I wanna see what's left of this place. Don't you?"

Mugman shook his head hard, running in front of his brother and putting his arms out to block him. "NO! Not ever again! Cups, let's just go already!" He looked pretty scared, Cuphead noted, and snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

"I know, Mugs. But... why are you getting so riled up? The Devil isn't alive anymore! We defeated him!"

Mugman looked off, his arms slowly lowering. He didn't say anything, but his brother could read the discomfort in his face. Cuphead's expression softened and he approached his brother, placing a comforting hand on his trembling shoulder.

"Is this about what you told me? About you thinkin' that bum is still alive?"

Mugman nodded meekly. Cuphead sighed, but gave his brother the grocery bags and a grin. "Listen. Take these home. I'm gonna go in and check around. I heard Elder saying that the casino is supposed to be closing down. It won't be here any longer, and I'll prove it. Just head home, alright?"

"NO!" The little blue mug was horrified at that idea- why would his brother want to GO into that place?! Couldn't he understand that it needed to be left alone?!

But at the end of the day, it was his brother, and he knew he would never live with himself if something- ANYTHING- happened to him. He gripped his brother's hand tight, and gripped the groceries tightly with his other hand.

"No, I... I'm not leaving you. Not... not here..." he muttered into his brother's back. "Just... hurry up so we can leave? Please?"

Cuphead shook his head, but had to admit- his brother was being brave doing this. He squeezed Mugman's hand and started walking towards the shambled casino entrance. "Okay, Mugsy. One hour, in and out. Promise nothing's gonna happen to you."

In all the talking and negotiating, both young boys failed to notice a pair of glowing green eyes holding a single, black die. He chuckled almost madly to himself and silently moved closer to his old stomping grounds.

"So... I see you two decided to return after all..."


Cuphead whistled as he and Mugman took in the total damage they both did the last time. Parts of the ceiling were completely destroyed, and two of the entrances leading to several different bosses were blocked by rubble and debris. Decorative portraits of the Devil, Inkwell Isles, and King Dice were broken and strewn all over the floor. A few lights were broken and blown out, except for three, which were spread far, far apart. They flickered in and out, giving the already broken and eerie space a huge sense of foreboding.

Mugman's heart was hammering. Cuphead could feel the fear from behind him, and tugged on his hand. "Come on. The Devil's room was this way, I think."

"Ummmhmm..."

They walked, the only sounds being their tiny footsteps, the occasional cackle of broken electrical wires, and the soft rush of busted water pipes. Mugman was ultra viligent, jumping at the slightest sound or shuffle. Cuphead kept his eyes on the prize and kept walking despite his fighting brother's movements.

"Mugs. This is it."

The two were now standing in front of a massive red and gold trimmed throne, or what was left of it. Most of its grand beauty had been lost after the last battle. Crumbled, broken, Cuphead placed his hand on the dirty satin and ran it along the length of the seat.

"Can't believe this... he's really gone. We really did it, Mugs."

Mugman didn't respond. Cuphead chuckled and cleaned his hand on his overalls, turning around to grab his brother. "Hey, Mugs-?"

He saw almost immediately why his brother wasn't talking.

Cuphead narrowed his eyes. Of course HE'D show up, somehow, someway.

"King Dice... what a shocker." Cuphead took front position, pushing his still terrified brother behind him. "I guess you can't live without your master, can ya? Need another butt whooping like last time?" he taunted, confident in his ability to best the die-headed man once more.

It was then Cuphead noticed something... off. King Dice, even though he had been defeated, it had been years since they had heard or saw him. King Dice still looked a mess, even with all the time he could've had to get himself a bit more... cleaned up. He was also not saying a word, which Cuphead also saw as a red flag.

King Dice ALWAYS had something smart to say, no matter what the occasion was. And he would have NEVER left himself so messed up for so long- the man really prided himself on looking his best, at all times. So what was the deal here?

"Yo? You gone nuts or something? What's your deal, anyways?" Cuphead was being serious now as he advanced towards him. "We have not seen you in forever, you'd think you change your clothes or something! And why are you HERE? You know that your boss no longer works here, right?"

He stopped within King Dice's reach. The die man was staring straight ahead, not once having moved or spoken. His eyes looked green, but Cuphead saw no familiar glow of power from his hands like before. Putting a hand on his hip, Cuphead snapped his fingers, trying to elicit some kind of response. But his eyes were still locked on...

"Oh no... Mugman?! Mugsy, you need to-"

"CUPHEAD!"

Whirling around a split second too late, Cuphead watched as King Dice, without a word, suddenly breezed past him and stopped in front of Mugman. The blue porcelain mug was too horrified and confused to think to defend himself, and Cuphead took advantage of the limited time window he had.

'What the-?! What's with him? Why did he go after Mugs like that?' he wondered as he raced towards King, blaster glowing and ready. He fired three shots- one to the taller ton's legs to get him to hopefully fall, and two to his head to make sure he would stay down.

"Mugman! Aim for his chest!" Cup ordered. Mugman shook out some of the horror as he stood face to face with someone who scared the living heck out of him, and aimed a shaky pointer at the ton's chest.

"Come on... calm down, Mugs, calm down..." he chanted to himself as his shot finally charged to maximum power. He let loose two shots to King's chest, jumping back when he seemed to be tittering forwards towards him. Cuphead landed on the ground as he saw the soft blue glows of his brother's blasts.

"YES! Alright, Mugsy!" Cuphead cheered. "Nice shots!"

Mugman stood a bit straighter, and smiled as the adrenaline ran its course, giving his brother a thumbs- up. "Let's get out of here, Cups! We'll have to explain to Elder why the groceries broke, though." he laughed as he walked past King and towards his brother.

It was what happened next that would be one of many scarring moments in the older cup's life for a very, very long while.

As Mugman walked towards his brother, relief and happiness at that scare being over as quickly as it started, the young mug failed to notice that he hadn't defeated their enemy yet. Cuphead's smile slowly fell as he watched King Dice stand, his eyes changing to a dark purple color as he snapped his fingers, summoning a single black and white card. As he did, Cuphead watched more shadows moving behind him, and he realized King Dice wasn't alone. His henchmen had been there the whole time!

"Mugman... move... move!" Cuphead muttered, already running to his aid.

Mugman noticed the changing expression on his brother's face. He wondered what the issue was and frowned. "Cups? Is everything okay? What's happening?"

Cuphead watched with growing horror as King Dice's mouth stretched into a maniacal grin and his hand reached out for his little brother. He tried to ready a blast, but he wasn't as fast as he knew he needed to be.

"MUGS, NO! MOVE!"

Mugman turned around, wondering what the heck his brother was going on about, and King Dice was standing there. He titled his head, and when he spoke, fear travelled down Mugs's spine.

"Oi. Remember lil ol' me? The Devil, the one you two twits THOUGHT you'd beaten? Well, see here, I'm still alive. And I have this little... well, he's useless, but his body makes for a good vessel, eh?"

Mugman's expression was one of complete horror. That voice... he'd had a hard time getting past it after all was said and done, and he knew, deep down, that the Devil was never truly gone. He wanted to believe everything his brother had told him, but... it wasn't true.

He was still alive.

"N-No... y-you... we killed you... we watched you..."

"Oh, that. Nah, just a fluke. See, you boys double-crossed me. Saved these worthless people, and ya own asses, destroyed my contracts... tsk, tsk tsk." King Dice/Devil crossed his arms and shook his head in mock disapproval.

"You shoulda never done that, boys. You had one task and you FAILED!"

"That's a LIE! You were going to kill so many innocent people!" Cuphead finally had a decent shot charged, and fired the strongest blast he could, buying Mugman a few seconds to get away from them. "We did what you said- YOU'RE the one who lied! You were gonna make us your lackeys! And for what?! You're a sore loser and its time for you to die and stay dead!"

Mugman racked his brain for how they stopped him last time, and it occurred to him. Maybe the could parry that black and white card- it wasn't pink by any shot- and get enough energy for a super?

He fired three shots at the card King Dice/Devil was holding. In all his talking, he was pretty much defenseless, and the shots hit directly. Mugman knew Cuphead would try and stall for him to get away, but it was about time Mugman did something for a change.

"Cups... I can do this, just... just let me be strong enough to end this so we can go home!" Mugman told himself. He turned to Cuphead.

"Cups! I've got enough energy! You gotta get out of the way!" Mugman began to summon his final super, Giant Ghost. Cuphead was fine with letting his brother finish that monster off, and focused instead on attacking the lackeys he could see- Mr. Wheezy, Mr. Chimes, the most annoying monkey toy on the planet, and Phear Lap. Even though he was questioning the choice of lackeys being used, especially since Cuphead knew Dice had stronger minions under his deck, he didn't care at the moment.

Him and his brother needed to get out of there. NOW.

"Ah ah ah. Not this time, Mugman."

Cuphead froze. Everything stopped.

He watched in horror as King Dice/Devil's hand shot out and grabbed the pink heart that controlled his brother's super. With a tight squeeze, King Dice/Devil corrupted the young mug's heart, turning it black and purple.

"GAHHHHHHH!"

"N-No... no! NO! Mugman, NO!"

Eerie laughter echoed throughout the abandoned building as Mugman's Giant Ghost changed color and form. "He belongs to me now, Cuphead. Let us see how well you do saving your brother... and the rest of the island as well."

Cuphead fell to his knees, watching helplessly as Mugman's body changed color. His eyes were yellow with red irises. His handle broke in the middle.

Mugman looked at his brother with tears running down his face. He was terrified, and he was fighting, but he was losing the battle fast. "C-Cup... cup head..." he tried to call out, albit weakly. He reached out to him. "P-Please... h-help me..."

But Cuphead couldn't. He was just as helpless as his slowly dying brother. He was being taken from him, and there was nothing he could do to stop him.

King Dice/Devil stepped in front of him. Cuphead sat there, motionless, his head hung in defeat. Snapping his fingers, he produced a scroll.

"Your brother... he's the key. With him and Dice... there is nothing stopping me from coming back and ending you and your worthless island scammers once and for all! And this time... it's personal."

Cuphead only remembered seeing his brother's body being taken away by Phear Lap, before a sharp pain to his abdomen quickly knocked him out.

'Mugman... I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...'


And done! I'm sorry about the long wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for the wait!

Please let me know what you all think, what needs to get fixed up, contrustive criticism, etc.

Until next chapter!