Mugman ducked around a couple aisles before coming upon the kitchen area where his brother was dueling with an oversized salt monster. Cup had gotten up close to shoot, hoping to deal some damage to Saltbaker. But no matter how much he shot at the chef, the salt always seemed to come back to the body. Two salty fists made contact with the young cup, one right after the other. He stumbled back a bit only to be slammed yet again by a salty arm that elongated itself and pinned him to the wall. Mug came charging in and brought his glowing fists down on the chef. The impact seemed to explode the salt monster. Cuphead fell to the ground as the connection between the arm and body was severed.

"Cuphead! Are you okay?" Mug rushed over to help his sibling up.

"I'm fine." Cup grumbled, not truly paying attention to who was helping him. When he realized it was his little brother, he became worried that he could still be hurt.

"Mugs! Are you both okay?"

"Yeah. Looks like the chef had some sort of energy drink and now we're ready to go!" Mugman boasted while his body was still glowing that blue color. He even flexed his porcelain muscles, trying to impress his brother.

Cuphead noticed the salt monster reforming.

"Uh, Mugs!" The young cup pointed behind Mug. They both averted their attention to their adversary.

"You escape the jar and steal my stuff? You are never leaving here!" Saltbaker threatened Mugman in a monstrous voice. His hands formed into the shape of mallets before slamming down at the boys. Cup and Mug dove in opposite directions to avoid the strike.

"Can't we just talk about this for a minute? I think there's a non-violent solution to this problem." The mug child tried to reason with the salt monster.

"Nope!" The chef said and slammed another mallet fist the mug's way. Mugman jumped out of the way.

Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way… and tire him out first. The demon said. Mug lunged close, sending a fist right at the monster's torso. His hand seemed to pass right through the salt. It wasn't until he tried to yank it back out did the salt particles tighten around his arm and prevent escape. Saltbaker merely smiled and brought down both his mallet hands onto the mug child.

"Ugh!" He squealed as his body was forced to the ground. His porcelain arm came out, but only because the salt monster allowed it. The heaviness of the salt only seemed to intensify as it changed shape. As if the properties of the salt grains adopted the traits of the items they morphed into.

"Mugman!" Cuphead called out in alarm. The young cup charged forward and let loose an enlarged blue blast from his fists. It detonated on Saltbaker's arm that was going to slam down on Mug again. The mug child took this opportunity to lash out with a kick. He temporarily took out the chef's legs. This caused the monster to drop a couple feet in height. Mugman got up and blasted him with his enhanced magic, making the salt explode again. It didn't take long for the salt creature to form again. The young mug turned around as the monster rose up behind him. He went to charge forward when he realized something had hold of his legs. Salt pockets left on the ground by the chef formed together and held his limbs firm.

Saltbaker advanced on the mug child. They both began to throw punches at one another. This fight was definitely feeling one-sided at the moment.

How are we supposed to beat this thing when it just keeps recovering? Mug wondered as his fist made a hole in Saltbaker's face. The salt monster grabbed his arms and gave a forceful head-butt. Mugman yelped and fell out of his salty ankle binds. His world seemed to spin for a few seconds.

"Mugs!" Cuphead cried. The young cup jumped and latched himself to the chef's head. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Saltbaker ignored the cup's words and merely pried the child off his head. He then used Cup as a shield from his brother. A salty arm wrapped snug around the cup's neck.

"Cuphead!" Mug called out. He pointed a finger but didn't dare shoot.

"Don't worry about me, Mugman! Just blast him! He deserves it!" Cuphead struggled to call back. The arms around him seemed to tighten even more as he spoke.

I've had just about enough of you! Put him down! Tsundere growled as he changed the mug into his mutated form. A small bout of blue hellfire lapped at his brim. His sharp teeth and claws popped out as the blue color darkened on his body. Piercing yellow eyes with fiery red pupils now stared at the chef.

Saltbaker hissed in delight at having provoked the demon.

"Did I strike a cord with you, demon? Is this someone you care about?" The salt monster taunted. Tsundere just made Mugman growl at him as he talked and held Cuphead hostage. "You know, I used to have someone I cared about, too. If you agree to help me find her, I'll let Cuphead go unharmed." The chef tried to bargain. Mug took a deep breath and made a slow blink of the eyes, attempting to compose himself before explaining the truth of the matter.

"It's not about wanting to help you or not…" Came a distorted voice from the mug child. "The truth is what you are asking help for is not possible. Neither one of us would survive in the astral plane for long. And neither would this person you're searching for. I'm sorry to say that they are long gone by now." He hung his toothy mug as the sad truth came out.

"Lies!" Saltbaker yelled and launched a fist toward the mug, who easily dodged it. "You're just saying that because you don't want to help me!" His grip on the cup child had shifted and allowed for his prisoner to get in a few more words.

"Would you just listen to Tsundere? He knows more about that place than you!" Cup spat as he fought against the arm plastered to his neck. The salt monster's hollow eyes furrowed in annoyance.

"It's time for your big mouth to shut up!" Saltbaker said and brought down his mallet fist on the cup child at close range. It was a solid blow that knocked Cuphead out of his grip and rendered the boy unconscious. Mugman roared in anger at the sight of his brother's limp body. Dark blue magic began to froth at his hands.

They both charged at one another, throwing punches. Mug landed a few hits before deciding to back off, making some distance between the two of them. Better to get away from those salty fists for a bit, he thought.

Saltbaker stretched one of his arms and grabbed the mug child's torso. The chef began to reel the mug child in at a fast speed. Mugman used his glowing claws to sever the arm as it flung him forward. He used the momentum to reach the salt monster's head. Mug clasped the head between glowing hands and plucked it off the creature's shoulders as he did a front flip in the air. As he came around, he tossed the object far away. It seemed to explode as it made contact with a shelf.

Now without a head, the salt mass grew a large hand out of its back, giving the mug child a good swat. Mugman stumbled away, ultimately staying on his feet. He hissed as he shook his mug back and forth, recovering from the hit.

The salt mass lumbered toward him. It began to grow more arms. There ended up being eight arms that all had the same target. Multiple laughing faces formed on Saltbaker's malleable body. Mug gasped as all the fists came crashing his way. The young mug did his best to sever the arms that came at him. Saltbaker's limbs kept regenerating faster than he could cut them and ultimately pummeled the child. Two of those hands found their way to Mugman's neck and lifted him off the ground. Mug tried desperately to get the grip away from his vulnerable area. But that left him exposed to other attacks. The rest of the fists pounded his torso. Mugman could feel some life essence squeeze its way up to his throat and mouth. It threatened to spill out. The pain got worse with each fist to the gut. How was he going to get out of this?

Spoonfred, who had refused to leave the bakery without helping the cup brothers, had found Cuphead unconscious on the floor. He nudged the red cup to try and wake him. Forkington, on the other hand, grabbed a broom and headed toward the action. For he intended to distract Saltbaker long enough that the mug child could get free. The utensil raced into the scene, raising the broom high above his head. He prepared to bring it down on the salt monster in hopes that it would release the mutated mug. One of its many faces saw the fork and lashed out with one of its fists, keeping the person at bay. Forkington collapsed as his body was shoved against the wall.

"All of you are foolish to think you can hurt me!" The chef hissed, believing he was invulnerable to all attacks while he was in that pure salt form. He poured all his salty weight on Mugman, forcing the boy to the floor.

Mug realized the salt seemed to back off after a second. His piercing eyes opened to find that Saltbaker's attention was now on Spoonfred and his brother. But his body was having a hard time getting up quickly. He knew he had to hurry to help his friends.

The young spoon had nudged the red cup awake. Cup realized the salt monster was coming his way again. He scrambled himself to his feet and pointed a finger at the salt grains, ready to shoot. Even though he knew his attacks would do little to deter it. Saltbaker raised a hand. His fist changed from a hand to a mace. The chef went to bring it down on Cuphead when Spoonfred stepped in front of the young cup. The spoon raised his arms out horizontally in a protective manner. This caused Saltbaker's fist to jerk to a stop.

"Please stop hurting my friends!" The utensil asserted.

"Step aside, kid. This doesn't concern you." The chef replied.

"No! What you're doing is wrong! You'll have to go through me, too." Spoonfred continued to argue. The salt monster hesitated, unsure if it wanted to smash the utensil kid. But then he eventually decided to bring his fist down. Spoonfred screeched, letting his legs crumble underneath him as the mace came close. His father's heart sunk as the weapon came close to his boy. For he was too far away to do anything about it. Even if he was close, what could he do to a seemingly impenetrable salt monster?

Spoonfred covered his head with his gloved hands, expecting to feel a painful sensation. Cup had caught the spiky ball and kept it from crashing down on the utensil. The young cup was using all his strength to keep the weapon away. His porcelain arms shook as he did everything he could to hold the chef at bay. Because of this, he could do nothing about Saltbaker's other hand that had formed itself like a big butcher knife. It started to swing his way.

Cuphead cringed, waiting for the salt blade to cleave into his side. Mugman had finally found the strength to stand up and rushed himself over. The mug child caught the knife at the last second. Spoonfred took this moment to scramble away from the battle scene. Mug sent a pulse of blue energy that seemed to go beneath the salt grains. It traveled up the chef's arm and into the torso where it throbbed like a bomb about to explode. Saltbaker screeched and backed away from the children.

Mugman looked over to make sure his friends were okay. Spoonfred gave a nod to confirm this. Cup, on the other hand, clutched his hands close to his chest and winced. The spikes on the mace had torn through the gloves and cut into his porcelain skin. His white life essence bled out from the ripped pieces. It made the young mug realize that his hands stung too. He brought them into view to find that they had been cut, too. Mug winced a bit as he tried to regain his focus.

There's something inside him that is vulnerable to our magic. Tsundere noted.

Saltbaker smiled before changing up his physical form yet again. This time he made himself into a copy of the mutated mug. He forced the big-fanged smile wide. The chef charged forward in his new form with claws poised to strike. Mugman acted quick and made sure he was in front of his friends. He put his arms up in front of his chest, bracing for the hit. The salty mug leapt forward and struck, swinging its claws in an "x" motion at the mutated mug. It pushed the boy back, but Mug was able to stay on his feet. The child hissed in pain as he stood there seemingly paralyzed in pain. Life essence oozed from the cuts on his arms. Saltbaker merely smiled in satisfaction at the sight of this. He raised a handful of claws above the mug child's head.

"Mugman!" Cuphead called before shooting an orange blast that blew off the salt creature's hand. Much to their dismay, the limb grew back within a second. "Over here, you big bully! Leave him alone!" Saltbaker happily gave chase to the young cup that had just insulted him. Cup took off running, hoping to stay out of range of the salt particles. But the salty mug was right on him, snapping its jaws and slashing its claws. It was up to Cuphead to dance around and avoid those painful strikes.

Mugman saw his brother was in danger, but his body did not want to move. His head stiffly followed the cup's movements. He lowered his arms and shakily took a step forward. Mug stopped to pant for a moment.

"Mugman, you're hurt! You should rest." Spoonfred called to him. But the blue mug could not stand by while his sibling's life was in danger.

We need to hurry and find this thing's weakness. I think that drink is starting to wear off. Tsundere warned him. Mugman did all he could to push through that paralysis. The veil keeping him in place seemed to break and allow him to move freely again. He could feel himself starting to stiffen up as he raced back towards his adversary.

Saltbaker landed a hit on Cuphead's back with his claws, making tears in the boy's shirt. The young cup cried out and collapsed to the ground. He curled up, trying to protect his vulnerable parts. For he expected to feel those claws rake against him again. Mugman stepped between the two and landed a couple blows on the chef. That was before those salty arms elongated and wrapped themselves around the mug child. Pinning his arms to his sides, Saltbaker squeezed Mug close. He could feel his prey squirm and struggle against him. But the boy's struggling would do no good. The young mug was unable to move and was at the chef's mercy.

The salt monster bared its fangs and chomped down on Mug's shoulder, who cried out in pain. Mugman retaliated with his own bite. Blue hellfire frothed at his teeth, burning the salt. His adversary let go and stumbled back. It made that same screech as before when the blue energy had got inside him. Mug took a moment to spit out the salt that lingered in his mouth.

"The fire hurts him, Mugman! Use the fire!" Cuphead yelled his way, having seen the salty mug's reaction. Saltbaker now looked scared. He turned tail and ran away from the kid that could use the dangerous fire. Mugman lobbed blue fireballs at the salt monster. But it ducked and weaved out of the way. The attacks ended up damaging the chef's bakery. Rubble and debris fell around, endangering Mug's friends. Forkington had to pull his boy out of the way on multiple occasions. Pieces of the ceiling nearly fell on their heads. Kiki stayed close to the utensils at all costs. Her pupils were dilated big from fear. Cup realized the danger level was increasing rapidly. Something had to be done to make sure the salt monster got hit with the fire.

The only thing that Saltbaker was paying attention to was Mugman, so it was a surprise when the red cup appeared before him. Cuphead used an orange charge shot to knock him up into the air.

"Now Mugman! Hit him hard!" Cup called. The mutated mug jumped into the air and began to spin himself horizontally, unleashing a cannon of blue fire from his mug. Saltbaker saw this attack at the last second and managed to split himself apart at the waist. The attack ultimately missed and ended up exploding on the ceiling. Its structure weakened even more and spewed hazardous material down at its inhabitants. Some of the burning debris fell on Saltbaker. The fire caused him to shriek again.

The chef then spun himself into a salt twister. Its winds ultimately doused the fire and pulled any light weighted objects in. Forkington, Spoonfred, and Kiki managed to find a place behind some heavy appliance to hide from the vortex. The cup brothers, on the other hand, got sucked in. Cuphead tried desperately to cling to the ground. But his gloved fingers were peeled off as his porcelain body summersaulted into the vortex. Laughing faces formed in the twister as they watched the boys get flung around and pelted by the flying objects that got sucked in. A board smacked Cuphead in the face, nearly knocking him silly. Mug became worried for his sibling. He angled his body so that he could reach the young cup. Using the momentum from the winds, the mutated mug tossed Cup out of the salt tornado.

Spoonfred ventured a gaze around the corner just in time to see Cuphead falling out of there. The utensil stepped out to catch the red cup. There was enough force behind the cup child's fall that it took Spoonfred off his feet. They both lay on the ground dazed.

"Looks like you boys could use a little help." Came a female voice. Everyone looked over to find Chalice standing nearby.

"Chalice, what are you doing here?" Cup asked, completely surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Well, I heard all the commotion and I said to myself: those boys must have gotten themselves in trouble again." She rambled on as if her decision to be here was no big deal.

"I'm glad you're here, Chalice. Because Saltbaker isn't going down easy – at all!" Cuphead panted and got off Spoonfred. "Mugman's still trapped in there." He pointed to the twister.

The salt tornado dropped all of a sudden. Its final draft pushing Mug's body up into the air. Saltbaker forced his grains to transform into a giant mug head. The jaws opened wide as the mutated mug fell into the salty void. Its fangs clanged closed behind the mug child. The chef then licked its lips and stood up, reverting himself to a normal size.

"Mugman!" Cuphead gasped as his brother was eaten. "Let him out of there now!" He demanded. The salt monster merely slapped its full belly in satisfaction and gave a taunting smile. Cup and Chalice rushed forward. They began to attack the seemingly impenetrable salt mug.

Inside the salty void, Mug bounced off Saltbaker's walls as he seemingly floated around in the nothingness. That was until he felt something other than salt bump into him. He looked and saw a pink heart shape floating around. It was encased with glass and even decorated with a salt shaker top. Mugman noticed this thing seemed to try and float away from him after initially making contact. That meant it was probably fragile. Using the momentum from Saltbaker's movements, the mug child caught up with the object. He began to squeeze it between his hands. The glass casing started to crack.

The chef stopped fighting the other two cups and screamed in utter agony. It was so loud that the building seemed to rattle a bit. Cup and Chalice wondered what could possibly being going on in there for the monster to screech in such a horrible manner. Saltbaker's hand promptly reached into his torso and tried to pull out the young mug that was hurting him. Mug's body started to come out, but his hands stayed inside where they still had hold of the heart and its casing.

Hurry, Mugman! That energy drink is just about up! Tsundere urged him.

I'm trying! Mug silently spat back.

Saltbaker nudged the boy's body up toward his jaws. Those salty fangs clamped down on Mugman's torso, making it even harder for him to keep hold. The young mug yipped as those teeth dug through his clothes and got a hold of his porcelain skin. His gloved hands were slipping off the heart as the salt monster's grip violently tried to pull him out. The sharp teeth felt like needles poking into his skin and caused some life essence to seep out of his body and drip down to the ground. The vice-like grip only seemed to make the drink's effects dissipate even quicker. With the last ounce of energy drink drained from him, Saltbaker ripped the child's grip off and then tossed him away.

Mug crashed into a shelf across the way. His world started to spin as he dropped to the ground. Not only did he have the sharp, draining pain on his sides, but now a throbbing pain made his back go numb. Mugman lay there bleeding white life essence and hyperventilating as his body shrunk back to normal size. His little body shook with every breath he took. Reality was starting to blur and fade away from him.

"Mugman! Oh man, this is bad!" Cup gasped as he and the female raced to his side.

"He doesn't look too good." Chalice added.

"How many fingers am I holding up, buddy?" The young cup insisted and held up two. Mugman, who's vision was getting blurrier by the second, couldn't help but notice a second cup-shaped person next to his brother. Her gold color made it clear who it was.

"Ch-Chalice?" He weakly said before ultimately passing out.

Saltbaker advanced on the cups while they were distracted by the blue mug that had just passed out. Cuphead didn't even have a moment to process his thoughts when he heard the salt monster behind him. The cup and chalice turned around to see a fist looking like a mace about to be brought down on them.

Meanwhile, Spoonfred and his dad had been working to redirect a stream of water from a pipe that had been broken when Mugman was using his fire attacks. They had found a spare hose for the chef's sink faucet and were able to attach it onto the broken pipe in the wall. It had been building up pressure when Forkington loosened the nozzle. The forceful stream of water doused Saltbaker, making his grains heavy. This slowed the salt monster down, causing him to take longer to move and reform. It seemed to give Cuphead and Chalice more of a fighting chance against the chef. Even though it was still a job to deal just a little damage to Saltbaker.

"None of this is working. Everyone's just getting hurt." Spoonfred observed. "There has to be another way." The utensil rushed over to Mugman's limp body. He tried to sit his friend up. "Please wake up, Mugman! We can't do this without you!" But the young mug stayed passed out. The spoon gently laid him back down on the ground. "There's gotta be another drink or something around here that can help him. Father, stay on Chef Saltbaker with the water." Forkington nodded as his boy went rummaging about the chef's wares. Kiki, on the other hand, curled up next to Mugman and purred loudly with a healing frequency.

A few minutes had passed and everyone was still struggling to subdue Saltbaker. Spoonfred came back to the scene empty-handed.

"I couldn't find anything. What are we gonna do now?" He desperately asked his father. The fork looked down at the controlled stream of water. His gaze then moved over to Mugman. Kiki's emerald eyes saw him get an idea. It was definitely an idea she didn't like. The feline yowled and ran away as the water was redirected toward her and the mug. Luckily for her, she was able to get out of the liquid's range. The cold spray startled Mugman awake. His body violently jerked as he was immediately soaked head to toe. He coughed and hacked for a few seconds. Spoonfred was about to rush over and check on him. His father's gloved hand grabbed his shoulder. Forkington's look said that the young utensil should give the blue mug a minute to gather himself.

Upon recovering from his coughing fit, Mug dared to open his eyes. It took a bit for his vision to adjust. He could make out that Saltbaker had reverted back to the form that mimicked his glass casing. For he was not copying the mug's mutated appearance anymore. Mugman's vision snapped into focus as the chef brought both his fists down. Heaving salt hands pinned his brother and the female down.

I….have….to….help….them. The young mug desperately willed his wounded body to move. His bloody wounds had drained a lot of his energy. A shaky hand reached out and then thumped to the floor. It felt like a big weight was forcing his body to stay on the ground. The pain seared through his body. Mugman was determined to end this senseless fighting. He tried his hardest to drag himself toward the scene. His body was too weak to get very far.

Mug felt something under his hand. A cracking sound accompanied his movement. He lifted his gloved hand to find a broken picture frame. The young mug wiped away the broken glass and picked up the picture with a shaking hand. It was Saltbaker and Sue's wedding photo. Mugman recognized the building they were standing in front of. They had gotten married here in Inkwell. The couple were beaming with joy in the black and white photo. Mug was sure that was the happiest day of their life. It reminded him of when he found their family photo in Elder Kettle's secret basement. He remembered all their memories when looking at it; the good, the bad, all of it. Mugman had not wanted to remember the fateful day when his parents were taken away from him. But in the end, he had to face it and overcome the guilt he still harbored by believing what had happened was his fault.

A heavy feeling came over the young mug's heart. His eyes curled down, realizing how much pain and suffering Saltbaker had gone through. The dragon-worm's words rang through his head: "You two are more alike than you realize. Sometimes we have to revisit our darkest memories in order to see the way into the light." Perhaps he and Saltbaker weren't so different after all, he realized.

What am I doing? All this time I've been fighting him when I should've been helping him. I just got so angry at him for hurting my friends that I lost sight of the original goal.

"You really miss her, don't you?" A weak voice croaked from him. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to the mug child. "Sue was unfairly taken from you all those years ago."

"How do you know that name?" Saltbaker snarled at him. "Put that down!" He commanded. Mug obeyed and put the picture down. "Now get up!" The young mug did his best to be compliant with the chef's demands. His body shook horribly as water and life essence rained off him. Cuphead saw his sibling struggling, wincing and whimpering with each movement.

"Mugman, stay down! You don't have to listen to this guy!" Cup called to him.

"Silence!" Saltbaker hissed and tightened his grip around the cup child's torso, who gritted his teeth together. The salt monster then reverted his gaze to the meddlesome blue mug. "Say that again! I dare you!"

Mug had finally found the strength to stand up. Although it was far from standing straight. His upper half slumped down, threatening to bring him back down to the ground. Mugman took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Sue." He breathed. "And I'm sorry that no one was there to help you… or believe you. For years, you had to suffer all alone, knowing that she wasn't coming back…."

Saltbaker let go of the other cups and advanced toward Mugman. A wave of salt rose up around the young mug, holding him still. The heavy grains tightened themselves around his torso. He winced as the high sodium content stung his wounds. It was all he could do to keep from crying out in agony. The stinging only seemed to get worse as the salt continued to hang on.

"She's not gone! I will get her back!" The chef argued, yelling in the mug child's face. Cuphead started to sneak toward the salt monster. Mugman motioned to him to stand down for the moment.

"I know how it feels to lose a loved one. To have them within your reach but still lose them unfairly."

"You don't know anything!" Saltbaker snarled and formed his right hand like a salt icicle. The sharp pointed end pressed up against the boy's throat. Mug gagged a bit but still tried to get through to the man who had lost himself somewhere along the way.

"I know it's hard to accept when your loved one is gone. Especially when they feel so close that you might be able to take them back with you. But that's just not how it works. Whether it's a wife….or both parents," Mug felt warm tears go down his face. He remembered his moment in the deepest pit of Hell when he actually saw the spirits of his family members standing right next to him. Mugman wanted so badly to take them back to the living world with him. Had it not been for the Devil pulling him back to reality, he might have very well stayed down there with them forever. "We all lose somebody and feel that hole in our hearts."

Saltbaker started to look like he felt empathy for the young mug. But then he shook it away and persisted with his stoic façade.

"Prove it. Prove to me that my Sue is gone." He pushed the weapon a little harder against the boy's neck, making sure that he would not lie. Mug made a squeak of pain.

"Ch-Chalice, you've been in and out of the astral plane for years, right? T-tell him what it's like there." Mugman stuttered, trying to keep his resolve. The salt grains digging into his wounds stung like hell, making it hard to think straight.

"Mugman's right." She sighed. "It isn't a place where people live. It's a dark and desolate place. Where mysterious energies flow and nothing survives." The chef's gaze went back to Mugman, not fully believing all this just yet. It was hard for him comprehend….and even harder for him to accept. For years, he had been living on the possibility that Sue was still alive out there somewhere. Giving up on finding her was the last thing he wanted to do. But it was starting to look like that was the only option left.

"Then how was a demon able to take my wife?" He asked the blue mug. Trying to hint at any loophole that would give him a reason to keep searching.

"Demons are able to reach through the astral plane to connect with our world. But even they can't survive long in that place." Mug explained.

"Saltbaker," Chalice said softly and took a step toward him. "If there was ever someone surviving in the astral plane, I would have seen them. And I've never seen another living being in there." The truth of it seemed to finally be getting to the chef. Mugman felt his grip start to loosen. Even Spoonfred stepped forward to offer a piece of advice.

"Please think about this, Saltbaker. Would Sue have wanted this for you? To be angry with the world and take out your anger on children that are trying to help you? That's not the real you, Mr. Saltbaker." The salt man's resolve finally broke. His heart full of sorrow, he looked from the young spoon to the blue mug. Saltbaker's grains spilled to the floor like a sack of marbles, dropping Mugman to the floor. The chef sat down looking utterly defeated. All of the life and passion had drained from him in those few seconds. His broad salt shoulders sagged and hunched over. Almost as if he were a kid that had been put in the timeout corner.

"You're right. This isn't what she would've wanted for me." He breathed out in a long sob. "I've really spiraled these last few years, losing more and more of who I used to be. I hardly recognize myself anymore…"

"It's not too late to change your ways." Mugman told him. Cup and Chalice had grabbed his arms and helped him sit up.

"You're not alone, Mr. Saltbaker. You've got us to help you now…" Spoonfred offered, inching a little closer to the broken man. The chef reached out and pulled the utensil into a hug and sobbed loudly. Forkington had started to race forward, but stopped when he realized his boy was not in danger. The fork gave a sigh of relief as the golden cat sat herself down next to his leg. She looked up at him with her big eyes and gave a slow blink. Forkington leaned down to pat the feline. Despite nearly being doused with water a few minutes ago by this person, she allowed him to touch her. As if Kiki was saying that all was forgiven between the two of them.

Their moment of relief didn't last long. For the building started to rumble. The bakery was starting to collapse from the damage it took from the battle. Support beams started to whine and vibrations echoed through the ground like an earthquake.

"That's not good. Everybody out!" Cup called. They all scrambled to get out of there before the structure collapsed upon them. Cuphead and Chalice helped Mugman move to get out of there in time. Saltbaker rushed all his grains back to his casing that was still slumped in the corner. Despite it being cracked, he still held himself together fairly well. The cups were the slowest moving out of the group. They started to fall behind even the chef who had taken that side trip for his casing. Saltbaker wasn't sure that they would get out in time. He looped back around and headed for the cup trio.

"Move faster!" He said and scooped them up in his arms. Saltbaker had to take a dive to make it outside in time. No sooner had they cleared the building when it collapsed in on itself. Everyone watched as the shop crumbled to the ground.

"My bakery!" The chef gasped. He sat there slumped like he did back inside the building. The cups wriggled away from his grip.

"I'm sorry about your bakery, Mr. Saltbaker. But maybe we can get you a new place. One that's bigger…and better!" Spoonfred encouraged him.

"Thanks, kid. I'd like that…" The chef said in a gentle voice.