"Ding!" The elevator opened and Mugman got his first glimpse of Hell. Mugman shivered despite the blazing heat. It was about what he expected from Hell, fire, brimstone, etc. But knowing about something and actually seeing it were two very different things. Mugman shook, heart pounding in terror. He never thought that he would ever be down here, especially not while he was still alive. If only Cuphead hadn't….He shook his head to clear that thought. No, that wasn't really fair. Sure, Cuphead was the one who pushed The Devil too far, but he was encouraging him and laughing along. He could've stopped him, he should've stopped him, then maybe he wouldn't be in this mess.

"Did you see the looks on their faces, Henchman? Priceless!" The Devil said, laughing.

"Duh, yeah boss." Henchman replied. He usually didn't mind his bosses schemes, but this made him feel uneasy. They were just kids after all. Cuphead didn't even owe his soul anymore, so wasn't this going a bit too far? Besides, they didn't usually have mortals down here in the underworld. King Dice was the only one he knew of that came down here, and, well, he wasn't exactly "mortal" anymore. But this was what his boss wanted, he hadn't seen him look so happy in a long time. It was nice.

"Who's "lost his touch" now, huh?" The Devil gloated, much to Mugman's confusion. Who would dare say that The Devil had lost his touch? He gave a nervous gulp and The Devil looked down at him, as if he just remembered that he was still here. "Now, what are we going to do with you, hmm?" He said, looking him over up and down. Mugman shivered again. He hated having that pointed gaze turned towards him. It was like he was sizing him up, like he was a prize hog at the state fair. "Oh, I know! Ever since the….accident with my finest demons we've been a little short staffed. You're short and scrawny but you're….well you're here. So, we'll put you to work! What do you say Mugboy?"

"No! Never! I'd never work for you!" Mugman shouted, doing his best to run off even though the ropes prohibited him from doing so. He couldn't believe he had talked back to The Devil like that, but work for him?! He would never! He would be aiding in people's suffering! Helping a guy who tortured innocent souls! He could never forgive himself if he did that.

"Well, you don't exactly have a choice in the matter." The Devil pointed out. "But it won't be so bad. You might even find it fun."

"F-fun?" Mugman asked nervously. What sick, twisted things did The Devil find fun?

"Oh, yes." The Devil continued. "I know you have a dark side Mugman. Beating up the ice cream man, threatening your brother with garden tools, even crushing your piano teacher under a piano. Delicious sense of irony in that one, I have to give you credit." Mugman didn't say anything, he just looked away. He did do those things, he couldn't deny that. How did The Devil know about all of that? Had he been spying on him? "And it felt good, didn't it? When that piano fell? When you crushed your enemy under its weight? Just gives you a little thrill, doesn't it?"

"N-No." Mugman weakly protested. But it was true, a part of him, a small, sick part of him, did enjoy it. After everything that Ludwig did, trading him away in favor of Cuphead, stealing Cuphead's song, it felt good to get back at him, even if he hadn't been the intended target.

"Of course it does." The Devil continued. "Makes you feel strong, right? Like you had some influence in this world? It's addicting, isn't it?" Mugman pailed. That was true too. He could feel The Devil's words snake themselves into his brain, burrowing themselves there, compelling him to listen. Mugman shaked his head to snap himself out of it. The Devil must be getting inside his head somehow. He couldn't let him!

"You can feel like that again Mugman." The Devil whispered. "Powerful, strong, unafraid. With me you won't ever have to fear anything again. All you've got to do is let out that darkness inside you." Mugman tried raising his arms to cover his ears but the rope stopped him, so he settled for closing his eyes instead. He couldn't listen, he wouldn't, no matter how tempting it sounded. "No one would mess with you, or take advantage of you, ever again." The Devil continued. "They wouldn't dare. Isn't that what you want?" He did want that, he wanted that very much. To never be afraid, to never be made fun of for being weak, for being the "fun police". He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, no one would come between him again. He shook his head again to clear those thoughts. Whoa, where did that come from? He didn't really feel that way, did he? He couldn't tell which thoughts were his own anymore.

"What I want is to go home! To be with my brother!" He shouted. The Devil just laughed.

"Your brother? Why should you care about him when he doesn't even care about you?" Mugman stopped, eyebrows raised in alarm. Why would he say that?

"Wh-What?" he asked.

"Oh come now, don't tell me you didn't notice." The Devil taunted. "After everything you've done for him, what has he ever done for you in return?" Mugman racked his brain, desperately searching for something, anything, to prove him wrong. But he couldn't think of anything. Was The Devil right? Did Cuphead truly not care? He knew that he had happy memories with his brother, he knew it, but it was like he couldn't access them. Like something was blocking them away. "You don't need him Mugman, all he's doing is holding you back, throwing you into situations that you don't want to be in, taking advantage of you. Aren't you tired of him pushing you around?" He was, he was tired of being pushed around, of being taken advantage of, of always following Cuphead's lead.

"He has no idea what you're capable of. Let out your anger and no one can push you around again." This was wrong, he knew it was wrong. And yet….it felt so right. It was Cuphead's fault that he was stuck here after all, maybe he should make the most of it. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

"That's it, that's a good boy. Don't you want to feel strong? Powerful? I can give you all that and more." Yes, he did want that. He wanted that so much. He wanted it more than anything. Forget about his brother, he had clearly forgotten about him. This time he would be the one making the decisions, he would be the one in control.

"All you've got to do is sign on the dotted line."