Mugman was getting tired and frustrated. He and Cuphead have traveled the Isles so many times that, by now, they should feel like a backyard to him. This should be especially true for a few acres of forest that sparsely dotted around Isle I. Unfortunately, it would be easy for anybody to get lost if they'd forgotten whether or not they had passed the same tree or bush twenty times. To the causal bystander, such as Mugman, the woods looked the same everywhere he turned.

Of course, it wasn't just Mugman's flimsy sense of direction that made this ordeal so challenging. The way he was constantly walking around in circles matched perfectly with the chaos circling his mind; the irritation from being lost coupled with rising concern for his brother's well-being. C'mon, Mug, his internal voice shouted, pull yourself together! You gotta find a way out of here before something happens to Cuphead!

Little did the panicking cup realize, the day was waning fast. In a matter of minutes, the sun had fully set, leaving a vibrant shade of dark-blue and purple sweeping across the sky. Mugman jumped back in distress. Now, getting out of the forest was going to be even harder with no sun to light his way. Suddenly, he'd remembered something else about the day turning into night. Gazing through a large gap in the treetops, Mugman could see a dear friend transforming her mechanical body into a functioning crescent moon.

"HILDA!" He tried getting a better look by climbing to the top of the nearest tree. "HILDA, OVER HERE!"

Though he was barely audible, Hilda Berg could recognize the tiny blue and grey figure sticking out from one of the trees, and flew down toward him, switching back into her human blimp form while treading air via unicycle.

"Mugman?! What are you doing out here?"

"I-I've been trying to find Cuphead!" The frightened mug stammered. "He-he said he was gonna try and bring Elder Kettle back to life, and I got lost in the woods tryin' to find him!"

"What?!" Hilda gasped. "Bring Elder Kettle back?!"

"Yeah!" Mugman nodded. "He didn't say where he was goin' or how he was gonna do it, but I told him I didn't think it was a good idea, a-and he got so mad that he ran away!"

Hilda covered her mouth in surprise. "You don't think that he might've gone to..."

"I sure hope not. We promised Elder Kettle we'd never resort to that!"

"Well don't you worry," Hilda answered firmly. "I'll send out an aerial squad to spread the word about your brother going missing."

She then reached out her hand. "Here, let's get you out of here first."

Holding Mugman by his arms, Hilda zipped out of the overhead of the forest, and safely dropped him off by the nearest exit, where Cagney Carnation and Moe Tato happened to be chatting. The second they noticed Mugman, they dashed toward him and Hilda in the blink of an eye.

"Hilda? Mugman? What's going on?" Cagney asked.

"Cuphead's gone missing," Hilda explained. "And is most likely in danger again. We need everyone to help search the isles, and make sure he's all right."

Moe Tato gave a bold salute. "You got it, miss Berg! I'll let da rest of da pack know, and send a search party underground."

With that, Moe shot himself right back under the grass, forming a gopher-like tunnel in his path.

Cagney reached out a leafy hand, and gently placed Mugman on his stem, as though he were riding on horseback. "Mugman, I'll help you look around on foot...er, on root, I should say."

Hilda gave a firm nod. "Hang in there, Mugman. We'll find your brother in no time."

Though the smile was forced, Mugman's gratitude was genuine. "Thank you guys so much."

With a glare of determination, Hilda zipped back up into the air. She then blew a hearty whistle between her fingers, summoning a small group of Zeppelings to gather around her. She gave them a quick rundown of the situation, and pointed forward above them, ordering the tiny blimps to go forth with their mission. The Zeppelings scattered across the skies like leaves in the wind, hovering over each residency, and asking anyone nearby for assistance. At first, this seemed rather counterproductive, for these were the very same people that Cuphead and Mugman had previously battled for their soul contracts. No one would blame them for wanting to stay out of another situation that the boys had caused with their mischief. Remarkably, each and every one of Cuphead's friends wholeheartedly agreed to join in. He may have been quite the troublemaker around Inkwell Isle, but they'd be no better than the Devil himself to turn a blind eye on a child who was most in need of their help. Before long, the search party had grown exponentially, with folks like Wally Warbles and Grim Matchstick soaring the skies, Cala Maria and Captain Brineybeard scaling the high seas, and virtually everyone on land looking within the streets and forests.

Cagney, joining the third trifecta of the team, crawled across the ground with his roots, as though they were a mass of tentacles from an octopus. He also used them to lift every tree, rock, and bush in case Cuphead was trying to hide.

Mugman repeatedly helped Cagney call his brother's name, but the longer they searched, the more the troubled cup's anxiety and sadness grew. He'd been trying his best to maintain his composure in light of the dire circumstances at hand. Paradoxically, it was this pressing effort to conceal his emotions that made him dwell on them even more.

Cagney took a moment to address his passenger. "Do you remember where you last saw Cuphead?"

"We were both at home out in the backyard." Mugman explained. "We got into an argument, and he got so mad at me that he ran off without telling me where he was going. I tried looking in the woods, but I ended up getting lost instead."

"Any idea on where you think he might've gone?"

"Well," Mugman struggled to keep his voice from quivering, "he-he said he wanted to try and bring Elder Kettle back to life, a-and since folks like Djimmi and Dr Kahl couldn't help us keep him alive-"

Cagney's eyes nearly popped out of his pollen-filled skull. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa; bring Elder Kettle back to life?!"

Mugman nodded. "Yeah, and I'm real worried that he's gonna resort to asking...y'know..."

Cagney gasped. "Maybe we ought to go straight to the Casino then!"

Mugman sniffled. "P-Please don't be mad at Cuphead for this!"

Cagney stopped, not out of offense for what Mugman had just said, but out of the idea that there may have been some truth to it. The fiery flower was known to have quite the temper, but had it truly gotten so bad that it could scare off a grieving child? He certainly made no attempt to quell his outrage when he battled Cuphead and Mugman over his soul contract, which could have easily been avoided if he'd just given it to them quietly. In this regard, nobody could blame Mugman for being afraid to ask Cagney for help, especially if it involved the Devil's dirty work. Now was as good a time as any to show the poor mug that he knew better than that.

Cagney turned his head up, ready to respond, but then stopped to hear what Mugman had to say. The young cup did his best to stifle his sobbing, but it only made him further trip over his words.

"I-I know he-he can be careless sometimes, b-but he's not doing it just to m-make money or anything. I swear! He just really...I think he just wants..."

Ironically, as Mugman tried harder to defend his brother, his harsh words from their earlier confrontation pierced like a sword's thrust.

"Fine, be that way! Sit here and do nothing like a coward!"

"Why can't you, for once, take a risk for something you want?!"

"Don't you even want to see Elder Kettle again?!"

By the time Mugman snapped out of his trance, Cagney had placed him on the ground, giving the child a warm hug.

"I'm not mad at all, Mugman," the flower cooed. "I won't be happy if he does deal with the Devil again, but I understand his intentions this time, and the last thing you boys need is someone losing their temper when you need help the most."

At that kind sentiment and warm embrace, Mugman fully succumbed to his sadness, and buried his face in Cagney's shoulder, weeping hysterically. Part of him felt like kicking himself for giving in to his emotions in the midst of trying to save Cuphead. By the same token, there was no way Mugman could move forward without getting this crippling depression out of his system.

After a minute of letting himself cry, Mugman finally got his words back. "I'm really scared, Cagney! I-I've been trying my best to keep our family together, but Cuphead j-just keeps getting mad at me, and now, it feels like everything's falling apart!" Mugman sniffled. "I miss Elder Kettle so much."

Cagney gently stroked his back. "Me, too, Mug. He was a good man with a big heart, and I'm sure he means the world to you and Cuphead."

Mugman whimpered. "Yeah. I mean I know he was really old, but...maybe-maybe we didn't do enough to save him..."

"Aw, no, Mugman, no no no no." Cagney let go to look at the distraught child straight in the eye. "Elder Kettle didn't pass away because of something you or anyone else did wrong. It's a part of life that we all have to face sooner or later. Even fellas who can't die, like Djimmi or Dr Kahl's robot, will eventually have to say goodbye to someone they really care about."

Cagney then gave Mugman a small smile. "But, y'know, just because Elder Kettle is dead doesn't that he's gone forever."

Mugman's raised an eyelid, as though it were an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

His smile growing, Cagney gently placed Mugman near his garden. "You see all those flowers? Every year, they all wither away at some point or another. Some burn up from too much sun; others drown with too much rain; the worst of all is when the winter comes in, and it gets far too cold for any plant to grow at all."

Mugman's lowered his head in sadness, but quickly perked back up at as Cagney continued.

"But, no matter when, where, or how they die, new flowers will always grow back in the spring, sometimes blooming and blossoming even more than they were before."

Mugman rubbed his eye. "That's really nice and all, but what's that got to do with Elder Kettle?"

"Well, for many of us, life is a lot like flowers. Where one thing ends or dies, something new grows out of it, and more often than not, they're really good things."

Cagney summoned a patch of roots to spring up from under the ground, and morphed them into shapes and figures, as though they were extra hands presenting the ultimate puppet show.

"If it's too rainy to play outside, you have fun playing indoors. If one friend is too busy, you can spend the day with someone else. If the Devil tries to take your soul, you can enjoy beating the stuffing out of him." Mugman giggled, especially at the roots that were shaped to look like Cuphead and Mugman literally kicking the Devil's buttocks.

With a sad sigh, Cagney formed a root shaped like Elder Kettle. "Losing Elder Kettle is a lot harder, and no matter how much time has gone by, you'll never completely stop missing him."

Cagney put a hand back on Mugman's shoulder. "But when you remember the things he taught you, and all the good times you had with him, then Elder Kettle will always be with you."

Mugman folded his arms. "That's what everybody says, but it's not the same as him being here in person."

"It never will be the same, but there's one part of Elder Kettle that'll never die: his love, especially for you and Cuphead."

As Cagney portrayed his scenario with more roots, a small smile grew across Mugman's face. "As long you and your brother stay close together, caring for each other just like how Elder Kettle did, that's his love living inside the two of you. If you can keep that alive, then he's never really left you at all."

Cagney finished his touching speech by shaping his roots to look like Cuphead and Mugman's smiling heads, with a heart-shaped leaf hanging right above them. His smile growing and more tears brimming, Mugman hugged his dear friend once more. "Thank you, Cagney. That was really nice."

The friendly flower smiled back. "Anytime, kiddo. Anytime."

After a minute or so of cuddling, Mugman let go, glancing back up at Cagney. "I wish I could cheer Cuphead up like that. He hasn't been himself at all since Elder Kettle died."

"I've noticed. What does he say to you if you ask him about it?"

"He keeps saying he's fine, or that he wants to be alone, but, a few times, I've seen him get all shaky and sweaty a-and swallow really hard, like he was gonna throw up or something, which doesn't make sense considering he's barely eaten anything all week."

Cagney nodded. "Grief can have that kind of effect on people, even for someone as tough as Cuphead."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's a big part of it." Mugman stared down at the ground. "If only he'd just let me talk to him. I really wanna help him, but no matter how hard I try, he ignores me, or walks away from me, sometimes without even looking at me. It's almost like Cuphead...hates me."

Cagney clicked his tongue. "Aw, Mug, your brother doesn't hate you. In fact, I think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on here."

Mugman raised his eyelids. "What? What is it?"

"I don't think Cuphead's trying to run away from you; he's trying to run away from his problems, and, possibly, his own feelings."

Mugman pondered. "Ya mean like...instead of trying to deal with losing Elder Kettle, he'd rather just pretend that everything's ok?"

"Yeah, to an extent." Cagney lowered himself to Mugman's level. "It may not look like it, but I'm willin' to bet my petals that Cuphead's feeling just as sad and scared and lonely as you are. He might just be too afraid to let it show because it's too painful to think about it. Maybe he's also afraid that other people might judge him for the way he feels. Heck, you even asked me not to get mad at Cuphead just a few minutes ago."

Mugman stared off for a moment, thinking hard. "...Now that you mention it, Cuphead does seem to care an awful lot about what other people think of him. That's why he tries so hard to be all cool and stuff; so he can get people to like him." Mugman's eyelids rose, realizing the implication. "N-Not that I think he's tryin' to be cool right now or anything. It's more like he's hiding something from me."

Cagney grinned. "Well then, maybe he needs to be with someone that he feels comfortable sharing his feelings with; someone who knows everything about him, good and bad, but still loves him anyway."

Catching on quick, Mugman's smile returned. "Yeah...you're right! If I can show Cuphead that it's ok to tell me how he really feels, then we can go back to feeling like a family again!"

Cagney reached out his hand. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's go save your brother."

"Yeah!" Mugman grabbed hold, riding back on Cagney's stem. As they sallied forth toward Isle II, a newfound focus and sense of determination locked firmly in Mugman's eyes.

Don't worry, brother. Everything's gonna be ok.